Lily at 3 Months

(First of all, because it took me AGES to set up last month's blog post, I've decided to shake things up a bit. I will now blog at the beginning of the month about family stuff, what we've been up to, etc. The on the 9th of every month I plan to do a blog update about Abby, and on the 24th about Lily - their birthdays for anyone who's paying attention. This will spread the work out a little bit and hopefully in the long run make my life easier. Or just give me an excuse to take even MORE pictures!)

So, Lily is 3 months old today. I seriously don't know how that happened because now it's like I can't even remember her not being around and being a part of our lives. When I was pregnant I was worried about how adding another person would change our little family unit, and how Abby would react, and all that. But Lily has just slid right into her groove in our family and it's great. We are loving having her around.

Lily at beginning of October (Lily actually sleeping was so rare I had to take a picture)

At the beginning of October, Joel was gone for a week back to the US, so every day I tried to take a picture for his "Daily Dose of the Dynamic Duo." Well, since the "Duo" barely ever slept, it only lasted the first couple of days because I was exhausted. But here is an adorable one, right after bathtime for both girls. Abby loves holding Lily. We are so blessed that there's hardly any sibling issues between the girls. I hope they grow up as close and sweet as they are right now. (Yeah, yeah, you cynical ones out there, I don't want to hear it. Let me live in my fantasy world.)

What's fascinating to me is how Lily is such a different person than Abby. It's going to be so interesting to watch as they grow up. Here is a quote from The Baby Whisperer:

The "Spirited" baby seems to emerge from the womb knowing what she likes and doesn't like, and she won't hesitate to let you know it. These babies are very vocal and even seem aggressive at times. She often screams for Mum or Dad when she gets up in the morning. She hates lying in her own pee or poop, and she says "Change me" by boisterously vocalizing her discomfort. Indeed, she bables a lot and loudly. Her body language tends to be a bit jerky. These babies often need swaddling to get to sleep because her flailing arms and legs keep her up and overstimulated. If she starts crying and the cycle is not interrupted, it's like a point of no return, until she's reached a fever pitch of rage. A spirited baby is likly to grab for her bottle at an early age. She'll also notice other babies before they notice her, and as soon as she's old enough to develop a good, firm grasp, she'll grab their toys as well.

This is my little Lily to a T. Opinionated, bossy, and not afraid to let you know it. (Mom. Quit laughing.)

This picture is for all of you who don't believe me.

You know what, I LOVE that about Lily (okay, not the incessent crying). She's gonna need a lot of channeling, but I love that she's not gonna be anyone's doormat later in life. She's gonna be my little Zena warrior princess. Rock on, little chica.

Storytime with Daddy after his trip

Now both of my girls are Daddy's girls, but it's so fun to watch Joel turn into a marshmellow around Lily. This time around he's much more relaxed because now he knows what's going on. I tremble to think how these girls are gonna have him wrapped around their little fingers when they're older, though.

So, this month I don't have any fun stats about Lily. Until our car arrives, it's almost impossible to get to the embassy to have her weighed. The last time we were there though, she weighed 10 pounds, 4 ounces, and that was 2 1/2 weeks ago now. She's got a cold right now, courtesy of her big sister, but other than that she is doing great. She's still got reflux, but it's mostly maneagable as long as we don't run out of her meds. She sleeps well maybe every other night, and as long as Abby cooperates on the same night, I can actually get decent sleep occasionally. Not great, but decent. And yes, if she's in bed with me, Lily will still try to talk to me all night long.

Lily talks.all.the.time. Really. She'll carry on a ten minute conversation with you. And her grin just lights up the room and makes you feel great -- like you earned it or something.

That's all the pictures I have for now. Our camera battary is dead and we can't find the charger (probably in our shipment of stuff that hasn't arrived yet). I'll have more next time.

Love,

Julie, Joel, Abby, and Lily