lilah's 9-month check-up

Lilah had her 9-month check-up today, and she's growing like a weed! She's 18 pounds, 11 ounces (50th percentile), and 28 & 1/4 inches (75th percentile). (For comparison, Libby was 16 pounds and 27 inches as her 9-month visit.) She also has an ear infection, which is her fourth in less than 2 months (third in 4 weeks), so we got a referral to the ENT. That's scheduled for May 31st with the same doctor at Children's Hospital that did Libby's tubes. Looks like Lilah's headed down the same path, which is actually a relief, because these ear infections just make them miserable. Antibiotics knock out the infection but not the fluid, so that fluid just gets re-infected as soon as we stop the antibiotic.

Lilah's been a busy girl lately. I was filling out her baby book this weekend, and it seems like I was writing down "8 months" for every milestone.
• She has 2 bottom teeth and seems to be working on the upper ones from the way she's sucking on her lips, chewing on teething rings and drooling.
• She's eating three good solid meals and day, and loves Puffs for a snack. We're going to introduce some other finger foods very soon.
• She waves enthusiastically, especially at Daddy.
• She babbles "dadadadada" all the time, and "mamama" sometimes.
• She's crawling everywhere, although still with her belly on the ground.
• She can get in and out of a sitting position by herself.
• She can pull up to a standing position by herself, her new favorite activity!

She's delighted by Libby and all her dancing and silliness. They're starting to play together and it's awesome to hear them laughing together. She's also in love with Miss Kimmy, her primary caregiver at daycare. We recently found out Miss Kimmy babysits on the weekends, so we're going to have her watch the girls for us so we can go out soon, and hopefully make that a regular thing.

happy half-birthday, Lilah!

Sweet little Lilah turned 6 months today! Here's what's going on in her world:

• Her cute habits include kicking her legs whenever she's excited or sees you coming, rubbing her head when she's sleepy and blowing raspberries. She loves the jumper that hangs from the doorway, Sophie Giraffe and TV (we don't turn it on for her, but she sees what Libby is watching).

• She started eating rice cereal about two weeks ago, and we added applesauce this week. She still mostly spits it out, but she'll get the hang of it soon. We're going to try sweet potatoes this weekend and see if she takes to them better.

• She has her 6-month appointment on Monday, but unofficially she weighs about 16 pounds. She has the cutest little roly-poly thighs (Helen says they're juicy, tee hee). So we're not sweating the fact that she's not really eating solids yet.

• She's been rolling both ways for about 6 weeks but isn't sitting up unsupported yet. She reaches for toys and rakes things toward her when she's on her belly, a good precursor to crawling.

• She's not really digging her pacifier lately, so we're going to try to just stop offering it and see if she's cool with that. I'd love to not have to keep track of and wash those, and it will be nice to not have to wean her from them later on. She sucks her thumb a little.

• She's still getting exclusively breastmilk. My goal is to nurse her for at least a year, like I did Libby. I'm very proud of this.

• We started sleep training her this week using the Ferber method, which we've used very successfully for Libby. It went pretty well Tuesday night and great last night. She just started fussing again tonight, so we'll see how it goes. Even if we have to go in there several times to soothe and reassure her, it's wonderful to have both girls in bed by 8. There's not a lot of free time for two working parents of a 2.5-year-old and a 6-month old.

I'll post her official stats after her appointment on Monday.

neighbor girls

We are so fortunate to have a little girl just 2 weeks older than Libby living right next door to us. Even better, Ariella has super nice parents, so it's fun to have play dates with them or just socialize in the driveway. The week before Christmas they invited us over to bake holiday cupcakes. The decorating didn't last too long, but they loved it, and I think they enjoyed eating their cupcakes even more.

Yesterday we took the girls to Joseph Beth Booksellers to see a little preview of the Cincinnati Ballet's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and Ariella was there, too. Libby and Ari are both really interested in ballet and love to dance. They were both smitten with the older dancer dressed as a fairy and had their pictures taken with her. Libby went back a second time just to give her a hug.

So enjoy some photos of Libby and Ariella (and Lilah) as their friendship blossoms!

pre-christmas activities

Yesterday we took the girls downtown to see the Duke Energy train display and to see Santa at Macy's. The line was way long for the train, and Libby isn't really a train-enthusiast—just a big Polar Express fan—so she was satisfied to peek through the window. Then we walked across Fountain Square so Libby could watch the ice skaters on our way to Macy's. This is the third year we've taken Libby to see Santa there, and it's the same Santa every year, which we love. Plus, there's nothing for sale—you see Santa, take your own photos and get a candy cane. You can even write a letter while you wait. And we did have to wait a while this year, but Libby was very, very good in line. Lilah slept from the time we left the house until it was her turn to sit on Santa's lap, then went back in her stroller and fell asleep again. She's a super easygoing baby! As you can see from the photos, Lilah grinned away on Santa's lap and Libby told him exactly what she wanted this year: "presents." More specifically, "two presents." I suppose we should appreciate her lack of specificity for now because I'm sure it will only be a year or two before she has a list a mile long with princess this and princess that on it.

When we got home we baked cut-out cookies and plan to decorate them tonight. We'll also be partaking in our annual Christmas Eve dinner of all appetizers and snacks. We'll post cookie-decorating photos and Christmas morning photos soon. Until then, Merry Christmas to all!

lilah's 4-month stats

Lilah had her 4-month check-up today, and she's growing like crazy! She weighs 13 pounds, 13 ounces and is 25.25 inches long. That's the 75th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height! You can definitely tell she's chubbier and taller than Libby was at this age. Lilah has long arms too, and she's outgrowing her sleepers sooner than Libby did. Libby weighed 12 pounds, 6 ounces and was 23.25 inches long at her 4-month visit, so Lilah is a pound and a half heavier and two inches longer!

Lilah looked great and was smiling and laughing at Dr. Z the whole time. And she only cried for about 10 seconds when she got her 4 shots. She and Libby both have little colds (our new constant reality), but no fever or chest congestion. I'm hoping we can all stay relatively healthy through Christmas and New Year's this year. If so, it will be a first since Libby was born.

play date with maddie & sydney

We had Maddie & Sydney—my friend Melissa's little girls—over for a play date this morning. Libby ADORES Maddie, who is 4, (and Maddie adores Lilah, lol) and she loved swimming with the girls at their grandma's pool this summer, so we thought we should host. It's hard to get posed shots of two 2-year-olds and a 4-year-old, but here are a few and some candids from our fun morning!

little mama

Libby has been very into mothering her dolls since Lilah was born and has been mimicking everything we do to care for Lilah, including changing their diapers in the pack n play (we have to keep the diaper ointment out of reach) and "nursing," which mostly involves using the Boppy pillow to feed her babies bottles. Here's a pictorial of "daycare" with Libby.

fingerpainting

It was 80 degrees yesterday, so I decided it would be fun to take Libby outside and introduce her to fingerpainting. She was super excited about the Crayola "art dress" I bought for her to wear. When I first squirted the red paint onto the paper plate, she happily exclaimed, "ketchup!" I think her favorite part was mixing the colors together on the plates. It was a quick project, but I think she had fun because first thing this morning she said, "Mommy: color outside. Get shoes on!"

pre-painting snack

testing out the "ketchup"

hard at work

all done and ready for more snacks

Libby's masterpieces

welcome lilah

Here's a video of Lilah's first moments in the world.


And here's another with Libby's first moments with Lilah.

introducing lilah grace whitman

Our latest addition arrived yesterday morning. Lilah Grace Whitman was born August 17, 2010 at 9:27 in the morning, weighing in at 7 pounds, three ounces and measuring 21 inches long (another string bean).
Mother and baby are doing fine, recovering well in the hospital. Libby is having a blast hanging out with Pop Pop & Grandma Whitman, so I'm sure she hardly misses us. We're looking forward to coming home on Friday so "our girls" can meet for the first time. Here are a couple of photos to wet your appetite, but check back often at our Mobile Me Gallery (see link on the right) for new photos and video. Cheers!