Lily is 9 months old!

Wow...nine months...really???  This has been a fun month in more ways than one.  Lily is doing all sorts of new stuff...crawling, pulling herself up to a stand...the occasional wave and a whole lot of clapping.  There were also some firsts for me, namely, my first few nights away from Lily.  I went down to Pawley's Island with some of my very best friends and had SUCH a fun time.  I am so lucky to have those women in my life!!  Lily has REALLY enjoyed practicing her new skill of pulling herself up to a stand, especially in her crib, and especially when it is time to go to sleep.  That has been a fun one :).  The girl does not give up easily! 

Right now, Lily loves to play with anything that is not one of her toys.  Some of her favorites include a pair of plastic 3D glasses, Tim's watch with the velcro wristband, and spoons of any kind.  She likes to open and close things, be it doors, cabinet drawers, or books.  Her favorite foods are apples & pears, butternut squash, yogurt, and Cheerios.

Oh, and lastly, Lily started saying mama tonight at dinner.  Actually, it was more of a "mommom."  This was the first time since the fluke "mama" she said a couple of months ago.  She's been saying "dada" for awhile, and recently started with the "b" sound.  I am glad she tried out the "m" sound tonight!

Here is Lily earlier today.

    I LOVE HER!!

Up close

Yesterday, Lily, Grandpa, and I went to the Got to be NC Festival at the fairgrounds.  Lily was definitely taking it all in...the people, the music, the attractions, and some animals.  There was a petting zoo with a random assortment of animals (goats, pigs, small cows, turtles, alpaca, and a kangaroo).  She didn't do any actual petting, but she did get up close with some goats.  She was trying to reach out and touch them, but we kept her at a safe distance. 

Oh Jackson...

I have to admit, Jackson and I have been at odds over the past several weeks.  Some days, I am tripping over him at every step.. or playing referee between he and Lily... or even scolding him for waking Lily up from a nap because he is barking too loud (three days in a row last week he woke her up!).  But then, there are moments like this, that remind me that he is such a sweet dog... 

This was where I found him yesterday morning, curled up on his bed underneath the coffee table.  I had slid his bed under there to make room for Lily to crawl around and never moved it back.  Yes, Lily started crawling last week, Thursday evening to be exact! 

Oh Jackson...could I just make one request?  Would you please stop licking Lily in the face?     

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day has brought more meaning to it than any other for me.  I could go on and on, but I will simply say, I love you, Mom!

Lily (and Tim) have already made this a special day for me!  I awoke to beautiful bouquets of lilies, peonies, and carnations and opened some gifts for the kitchen...new knives and a collection of wooden utensils.  Lily, you will have to keep your hands off the knives, but I will be glad to share my wooden spoons!

Happy Mother's Day!

What am I doing here?

Lily has found herself in some new, and compromising, positions today.  When I went to get her this morning, she was peeking out over her crib at me (good thing we dropped it last week)!

This afternoon, she somehow backed herself underneath this toy.  She required some assistance to get out.

Happy Monday!