Everyone loves Friday. You know what I love more than Friday? My kid laughing. What may be a funnier video is if I would have turned the camera onto my mother who was dancing like a lunatic. But, honestly, to get this response from Lillian, I would do just about anything!
Each year, the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati hosts the Butterfly Show. Lillian and I attended the event this year with our friend, Patti, and we had a great time! Lillian really enjoyed watching all of the butterflies as they flew around and hung out on the flowers.
In the shot above, there are actually butterflies on my head and shoulder. At one point, they were landing on Lillian’s stroller tray, and I had to quickly shoo them off before she grabbed them and squished them into a pulp…she has a lot of love to give!
It was really nice to walk around the conservatory and surrounding park. We topped off our afternoon with lunch at Don Pablos where Lillian received lots of attention, as always! For all of the fun she had, Lillian thanked me by napping for two hours that afternoon. So sweet!
No. No, Lillian is not walking. I have been getting that question a lot lately, and subsequently judged given my response, but, you know what? My kid is SMART! Let me tell you about all of the wonderful things that she is doing!
Physical: Stands alone. Walks a lot holding onto furniture. Has two dance moves: the head bob and shifting weight between her feet. Wants to climb on everything. Is really improving on tipping her sippy cup. Can show you that she is ‘one’ with her index finger. Most importantly, she nods ‘Yes’ when asked if she loves Momma.
Personality: She is fierce and has quite the personality developing! Knows what she wants and does not want and will let you know. Likes to sleep and does not like to wake up. Wakes up crying/screaming from night sleep and nap sleep. Every time. Delights in making people laugh. Enjoys reading – turns pages on her own.
Verbal: Says hi, uh oh, mama, dada, cat, oh wow, and ‘aww’ when hugging. Signs milk, more, all done, and the song ‘The More We Get Together’. Can identify Mom, Dad, Grandma, dog, cat, bird, light, nose, mouth, and she knows what to do when I ask for a kiss.
Finally, she is AWESOME at keeping herself amused while playing. Her big thing right now is what I call ’shepherding’ her toys. She will take a group of objects and put them in a container, take them out, move them to a different space, and repeat. Watch:
Father’s Day was a special one for us this year. Brian returned home from a three week business trip to Europe! The weeks seemed to drag on, and I think that all three of us are happy that it is over…for now!
Despite it being Brian’s day, Lillian got an outfit from Spain and a stuffed animal from Scotland. For his Father’s Day gift, Brian got a freshly made pan of Welcome Home Bars (YUM!) and a hanging toiletry bag since he seems to be traveling quite a bit these days. Brian said he was also excited to sit with his feet up for the first time since he left back in May…seriously.
Given the jet lag, and his busy schedule over the past few weeks, I wasn’t aloud to point a camera Brian’s way, but Lillian is always ready for a close up! However, now that Dad is back in the country, I am finally encouraging her to start walking, and it was hard to get a shot of her Father’s Day outfit. Even so, she looked pretty darn cute!
There are some cool ‘new’ things in Lillian’s life! The first being this chair that is the perfect size for her. 28 years ago, it looked a bit different with gray upholstery and a little blonde girl with barely any hair (me!) was sitting in it. My parents got it cleaned up, and now it is Lillian’s! Vintage!
When I was pregnant with Lillian, one of the baby showers that was held in my honor had a potted Lily plant on the table that I brought home and planted in the front yard. When April/May came and went and nothing happened, I thought that we had lost the plant in the transition. When I returned home from our Sylvania trip, however, it had bloomed! I love that we have this little reminder of our sweet girl in our front yard!
Lillian and I spent the last week and a half in Sylvania visiting friends and family. We are now back in Cincinnati, and settling back into our routine. The time away was great! Here is a recap:
On the way there, Lillian was resting up for all of the action:
Lots of swimming:
Each day, she would stop in Great Grandma Betty’s room and hug the animals:
A visit to the Toledo Zoo, and Lillian’s first time on a merry-go-round!
New shoes! The shoe professional said her feet were extra-wide and the tops a bit pudgy causing a ‘muffin top’ effect. Boo.
Now that we are back, Lillian is resting peacefully. She may sleep for days in order to recover from being loved so much by everyone during our stay!
I have really been working on ‘receiving’ lately. Compliments, help, grace, time - I am really bad at receiving those things. I think I first realized this when I noticed that I really dislike opening gifts. Reacting to gifts makes me vomit inside! I feel like no matter what my reaction be, it is not going to appropriately express how I actually feel about it. Or like when a group sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to you – even after a few cocktails, I feel extremely awkward. I think the most relatable ‘bad at receiving’ action is when complimented. I am so quick to brush off a compliment with a lame sarcastic comment that most likely starts with ‘Your Mom…’. Why is this? In all of these examples, people are most likely being genuine and I have a difficult time allowing those things to make me feel good.
When did I learn to shun these super nice things? I don’t think that it is something born in us; Lillian is AWESOME at receiving. If you pour out love to that girl, she will take it, absorb it, and in most cases send it right back at you in a wonderful way. Give that girl a compliment, or the smallest bit of attention and she soaks it up. I really do think that it benefits her. I never want to take her ability to receive away from her so I am really going to work on getting better at it myself.
A great place to start? Receiving help. Something about being a young new mom makes me feel like I should be super woman. Cleaning, cooking, working out, looking hip ALL THE TIME. This is just NOT realistic. It’s not. Stop doing it. I am so lucky to have people around me offering to care for Lillian to give me some time off every now and then. Or even Brian wanting to care for her at the end of the day. Sometimes I deny these offers because I feel guilty for wanting that time away from my sweet kid, or I worry that if I accept these offers, I will be perceived as a bad lazy mom. The reality is that this time needs to happen so that I can recharge and come out on the other side being a better mom to Lillian.
So there you have it. That is what I’m really focusing on right now. If you see me rejecting the option to receive, call me out on it, for real. I may respond with something about ‘Your Mom…’, but really, I will appreciate it!
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