so busy!

moving has been taking up most of my time and my hard drive died in my computer, so i haven't posted in a long time. i am grabbing a few moments to post some new photos now.

here is lilyanna crusing around the boxes. this was taken a week ago. our apartment is looking much more roomey today. most of our big furniture is gone.

our silly girl!



 and more cup balancing!

 but happier this time! practise means less concentration and more energy for smiles.

 hopefully my next post won't be so delayed.



balancing act and reflections

sorry for no updates over the past few days. packing up, seeing friends and lilyanna are taking up my time! i can't wait to be done with this moving! (and mom, you of all people, know just how much i like packing!)

the other day lilyanna and i were practising balancing cups on our heads. she got very serious about it and wouldn't smile at all. here she is concentrating:  

 ....trying not to let it fall!

 then she checks out how mommy is doing with her cup.

another of lilyanna's favorite activities is interacting with reflections in the tv. she will wave, clap, yell and laugh at anyone she can see in there---including and best of all---herself! it is so cute!

ice ice baby!

lilyanna loves eating ice, and probably now more then usual with her top front teeth giving her such grief. here is a video lily enjoying some ice:

tiny tiny tiny

lilyanna has a sore on her baby toe. it looks like a broken blister. i'm pretty sure it's from the friction of her crawling and getting to standing. this afternoon teddy decided to fashion the world's tiniest band-aid in order to protect it. 

 i told him that she'd pull it off, but he insisted it'd stay put. not 5 minutes later it was in her hand.

 but no problem! this little blister doesn't stop her from crawling, standing or dancing! here she is dancing to her favorite sesame street song by will i am.

and she also didn't flinch (like i did!) when i put her in the bath tonight. what a tough little lady!

best friends!

we had a play date today with lilyanna's friend brenna and her mommy. we see them about 3 or 4 times a week (but not usually over the weekends). today we walked to the grocery store and then had a little coffee break before walking back home. these photos are of lily and brenna enjoying a snack break at starbucks.

"hey! long time no see!"

 "yeah, i know. we should get together everyday. wanna have some of my banana cookies?"

 "sure! thanks. so what have you been up to the past couple of days, anyway?"

 "oh, you know, drinkin' milk and moving around more all by myself."

 "yeah. moving around is great, huh? thanks for sharing your snack with me."

we're gonna miss brenna and her family when we leave. we love getting together with her and her mommy for walks and play time. 

a "stand-up" girl!

lilyanna is most happy when she is standing up. it has been this way for quite some time. the only difference is that she can do it all by herself now! (and she can get to sitting as well!) see the photo:

that was the first time she got up smoothly without help. she just reached up, put her feet under herself and pushed up! now, it's all she wants to do. she finds the nearest thing that's taller than her sitting position and grabs it and ta-da! standing! even if it means crawling to it.

this is one of her favorite places to stand.....on the back of the couch. she jumps/bounces continuously, so that's why the photos are blurry. 

 and another of her new things.....pointing. she points at everything!

 more bouncing and pointing.....

 "hey! are you taking pictures, AGAIN??! i'm trying to bounce here!"

all of this mobility means she is spending a bit more time in her exersaucer when we can be right there to keep her from falling or pulling something down on herself. it'll be so nice to have more space for her to explore. 

"take me out to the ball game....."

we figured it was time to introduce lilyanna to the good ol' game of baseball. a bunch of friends were going in celebration of a birthday, so we joined in on the fun.

here we are at the start of the game. lilyanna is being silly!

she spent a little bit of time chewing on her ladybug...

then she tried to get into the cheering.....

and when the crowd got louder, lilyanna got scared. burrying into mommy's chest was a nice and safe place to be though.

after warming up to the cheering and doing some more of it herself, lilyanna took a time out.

today was actually not lilyanna's first game. we went to some games last season and this is a photo from the game we were at on the day bafore lilyanna started to make her entrance into the world. i figure she wanted to come out and see what all that excitement was all about, so today she saw with her own eyes! i look pretty tired there in the background. nothing says "the day before going into labour" quite like this photo of me! (it's a much better photo of our friends lucy and kevin!)

but this is actually closer to how i felt! this was taken on the subway ride either to the game or on the way home. i was feeling pretty good that day.

today was fun. lilyanna was a trooper. once she got used to the noise she seemed to really enjoy clapping and cheering. i thought lilyanna and i would have to leave early, but she did very well. everyone was impressed. what a good girl we have! 

lovin' it!

this series of photos shows just how much lilyanna loves watching the videos i have taken of her. watching her watch a video is almost better than the video itself!

 "hey now! don't interrupt me! now could you play that again?"

 "yeah! this is great!"

 "that video didn't just end, did it?"

 "yes! there i am again!"

what a great smile! i have been so tired this week, feeling a bit run down. i guess that's why i forgot to update new photos. hopefully i'll get time throughout the packing process to post a photo or video more often than this week. we'll see how it goes.