From July 28, to September 28... two whole months!

It is an unofficial birthday today! My little Lils is 2 months old! And to celebrate, she got to go to the doctor and get shots.

This is her before the shots...
Pretty happy...



After Shots!!!.....


But we did have happy things happen after the shots. The doctor said that Lillian is 11 pounds, 8 oz and she is 22 inches long! She is really growing. Dr. Rasmussin, who is awesome by the way, said that she thought Lilly was doing great! Now to get her to sleep more and not keep mommy and daddy up every two hours at night! We are working on that now too.

After the doctor, we got to meet our friends Annie and Jayden for some lunch and some fun. Well, I got to have the fun. Lils slept most of the time. But she woke up just in time for Annie to snuggle with her and get her picture taken with Lils finally.
Here are some cute ones of Annie, Lilly, and Jayden.

Sitting up

It takes a lot of work to sit up. And it takes even more work to be this cute!

Lil and Mommy

More visits from Nana and Grandpa

So my parents are headed home now. They came for a quick visit to see The Lils and to visit her parents, of course. (But I know who gets top billing these days!)
She had such a good time with both her Nana and Grandpa. They really NEED to move closer to us!

She entertained them by standing on her legs and smiling and playing. Nana and Grandpa got to change diapers, deal with fussy baby, and feed her. Mom and I went to the store and left my dad in charge of a sleeping baby. I guess while we were gone, Lils got fussy. Dad picked her up and tried to figure out what the problem was. He changed her wet diaper and then decided that she needed to change pants. (nothing was wrong with the ones she had on, he just wanted her to have some fashion shows or something!) When we got back, she was in some green pants that didn't match her outfit at all. Oh Grandpas!

She was soo excited to see them, she had trouble getting to sleep for her naps yesterday! We thought she would just be exhausted last night, but instead, she wiggled herself all over the crib the whole night. So she is really snoozing now! Have to catch up on the sleep.

Luckily, we don't have anything planned this afternoon, so mommy and Lils can take some much needed naps and relax.

Better enjoy our time off now! It is quickly coming to an end.

Here are pictures of Nana and Grandpa, and of course, our little superstar!





Grandpa is a great hugger!


Look at those strong legs!!!

Oh Nana, you are so comfy!



Grumpy that Nana and Grandpa are gone!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

Ginger let us borrow her Bumbo, this foamy thing that helps the baby sit up. It is very handy, we hear. It takes a little bit of "maturity" to sit in it. Babies have to be able to hold their head and upper body up pretty well before they can really do well in it. She hadn't quite had the strength yet to sit in it successfully (I mean without slumping over and getting mad)
I tried it with her today and she did great! Such a big girl!
We also need a picture of her trying to stand up. She has such strong legs, that she likes to try to stand up (with lots of help, of course).

Update

Wow! Has it been since Saturday that we posted anything? I guess things have been pretty busy around here!


Saturday, Billy started making a batch of wine in the kitchen. (better than doing that in the bathtub right?). The next few days, I was wondering why our entire house smelled like dirty diaper. I mean, I can understand the baby room smelling like that, but the entire house? I was lighting candles and spraying air freshener and looking for any stray missing dirty diapers. Come to find out, wine that is "brewing" smells exactly like dirty diaper. Yep. Gross.
Doesn't make me want to drink it later.

Monday, we had a great visit from Docia. She actually took us out to lunch and we got to visit and talk. She taught me a new way to burp the Lils since she is so hard to burp! We had a nice time.




My friend Allison, who has a darling little girl named Hailey, who is just over a month older than Lils, took a trip with her daughter to Oklahoma to visit the family. I told her she was either brave or crazy, or both to do that! But then, I got to thinking. I really need/wanted some new school clothes, so I decided to try out a trip. Granted, it isn't a three hour trip to OKC, but it is still a trip that required some planning.
We drove yesterday to Allen to the Outlet mall there. Lils was soo good. She was such a trooper since she had to sit in that hot car seat for so long. She really was great. I was really proud of her and of myself for being able to handle things so far away from home. That is a big step for me! So I got to do some shopping, and Lils got to do some people watching and by the end of the day, she was worn out! So was I for that matter!

Tuesday evening, we decided to go to small group at church for the first time in a long time. It was so nice to get to see my friends and to talk about church stuff going on. I love that little group so much and have really missed them. They all loved on Lil and played with her and talked to her. It just amazes me to know how many people love this little girl. I hope she feels that love for the rest of her life!

Today is Wednesday. My maternity leave is flying by! We are hanging out this morning, relaxing and awaiting the arrival of Lilly's Nana and Grandpa. They should be here to love her and spoil her later this afternoon. Till then, we nap and wait.

Overalls

The Lils has her overalls on and is ready to do some work!






Or nap, whatever comes first!

Lils visits Grandma

I was bored yesterday, I admit it. That's what happens when you wait an hour and a half to get your oil changed. You get bored. You start playing with your phone. You actually check work email. Yep. I did it!
And there, waiting for me, was a message from my principal. Please come fill out paperwork ASAP. Yep. Fun.
So I worked out a plan with Billy's mom who lives down the street from the school, to watch her while I went to work today to get some papers filled out. No school germs allowed for the Lils!

They had a lovely time. They talked, and played, and had a great time! She smiled the whole time she was with her grandma. And I got a nice little break away from poopy diapers and cranky babies. :)

I guess this is a nice little trial period for what is going to happen in 17 days when I go back to work.
17 days. Yikes!
I can't believe it!

Happy Lilly Equals a Happy Daddy

For the last few days, Lils has been super fussy around 7 till bedtime. I mean, crying, not happy kind of fussy. Poor Billy! As soon as he came home from work, he would have to deal with a crying, mad baby.

So today, our little Lils was so happy to see Daddy and not fussy at all!
She smiled as soon as he laid down with her.
Nothing like snuggling up with this kid to do your heart and soul some good.

:)

Polka Dotted Photo Shoot

My child really does smile. It is just hard to capture it on film. Like trying to take pictures of Bigfoot! But here is my attempt at the elusive smile...

Welcome to My World!

Picked up waking baby.
Noticed small amount of spit up on shirt.
Decided to give baby bath.
(she needed it, trust me!)
Gave baby bath.
Put on cute outfit for clean baby body.
Fed baby.
In the middle of feeding, Baby poops. All over me, and clean cute outfit.
Change baby. Wash off with washcloth, put into cute little onesie.

Finish feeding baby.
Set her down in crib.
Baby fusses.
Pick up baby to play.
Poop EVERYWHERE!

Change baby.
Clean her off with baby wipes (forget another bath, or even the washcloth! I have no more energy!)
put on boring plain onesie.

Get ready for blow out number three while making a mental note that when she goes to daycare, I need to pack 12 different changes of clothes, just to be safe!

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

Yeah, I don't think I have actually had a dream since before Lils was born. When you only sleep in 2 hour bursts, you don't really have time to dream.
She must be going through a growth spurt because for the past three days, she has needed to eat every 2 hours! Even at night. Especially at night.

Last night though, we got to sleep 4 hours before waking up cranky and hungry.

Maybe we are making progress?

cursillistas!!!

So training for Cursillo was this Saturday in Arlington and I couldn't resist coming to see some of my friends from Cursillo!
Lils got to be admired and passed around quite a bit.
Must be hard being so darn cute!
Plus, she got to wear her new outfit! Mommy loves new outfits!

And I have decided that LeRoy Thompson is now my personal photographer, since he happens to be with camera most times and saves me when I forget mine! Thanks again LeRoy!

Here are pics of the visit with my Cursillo friends.




Susan and Becky. Not sure if they are fighting over her or petting her. :)


This is one of my favorite pictures. Susan makes everyone feel at ease. Even fussy sleepy babies.



Janie couldn't resist smelling baby smell. I just told her she was smelling spit up, but she didn't care.



Lils, you and Becky should be good friends!

The other Thompsons

We have known Docia and LeRoy for a long time. Longer than I can remember. Docia, Billy, and I worked with the youth together when we had a youth group at our church. We sit in the same pew at church and their last name is also Thompson. Needless to say, people think that we are actually related. And we might as well be!
So when their daughter Monica, who has been a lifesaver in giving me milk pumping hints, and their granddaughter Anna came into town, we couldn't resist stopping by to see them.

Here are some pics thanks to Docia and LeRoy, since I totally forgot my camera!







Anna did a nice job being gentle with the baby.





Monica hanging with the Lils.





Why does my child look like an old man here?

9/11/09

Today is the anniversary of 9/11. So much has changed in our world since then. And yet, so much still remains the same. I can remember being glued to the tv and the phone as I waited for Billy to drive home from Florida. What a scary few days those were.

And now we are here. Napping, reading, and enjoying each other. I guess that is the best thing we can do to commemorate and remember.

Hope you guys are doing the same. :)

Visits, Cookies, and much more.

We had some great visits yesterday. Allison came over and got to hold the Lils and hang out with us for a while. I miss my school/work friends so much. They are the only reason I would want to go back to work. :)
Well, that and the fact that I get to actually talk to grown ups about things other than dirty diapers and feeding times.

In the evening, Harry and Mary Hodge came to visit and brought all sorts of goodies for us! Yay for goodies! And some super yummy cookies!
And yay for great friends!
We went out to dinner and Lils was a little fussy, but in general, ok. Poor Mary though, she got slimed by Lil when we got back home. I think it is her way of accepting you into the fold if she slimes you.

Things seem to be going ok lately. She is sort of in somewhat of a routine, as I can say when she "normally" does things now days. She "normally" eats from this time to this time. She "normally" sleeps this many hours. She "normally" will do this when she is happy/hungry/tired. I am getting her more and more figured out, which is a good thing. Now, I will say that I don't have her TOTALLY figured out. OH NO. but it is getting better. Our only major hurdle is this breast feeding thing. It truly is sucking the life out of me and is so painful, I can't even explain. It shouldn't be painful after 6 weeks. So I went onto a forum, (kellymom.com) and posted a question about my issues. After much feedback...maybe too much feedback?...I realized that we very likely have a latching problem. We may or may not have a overabundance of milk issue, and we might just have the dreaded nipple confusion. I am hoping that the nipple confusion isn't the case, as she NEEDS to use a bottle when she goes to daycare in a month. OY.

So now, I pump and she eats from a bottle because things are just too painful any other way. Sad, but true.
The only issue now is the stress of producing enough milk in a day to keep her in supply. I was dumb enough, also to try to "beat her to the punch" as it were and try to pump before she got hungry. This has created a waking up every two hour habit for pumping/feeding at night time. Not good at all for me. NO it is not.
Thank goodness for naps during the day or I would be a crazy person. But we HAVE to get this fixed before I go back to work.

The forum people suggested I talk to a certified lactation consultant. (It seems that the ones at the hospital may not be certified?) and so I have an appointment for someone to come to the house and talk to me about it all on Thursday evening.
I am hoping that will really help. I can watch all the videos in the world, and read all the directions about latching/breast feeding, but it won't get solved until I have some real live help. So, let's hope that goes well. It certainly can't hurt, right?

So, that is the status of life in the Thompson household these days.

Thanks so much for checking in. I am so amazed/honored that so many people keep up with us via the blog.

:) Nikki

Lilly and her Nana

Yesterday was Lilly's Nana's birthday! Yay for Nana. We love her so much.

The Barry-Brandt Family Visit

The Lils is on the bouncy chair, her daddy is on the couch and they are both snoring! It has been a great day for us here at the Thompson household. Our friends the Brandts came all the way from Tyler just to see Lillian Elizabeth! What an amazing thing to know that so so many people love this little girl!

We are truly blessed with some great friends!

Ginger has been such a great friend to me. I don't know what I would do without her. She supports me and helps me feel like a good mommy, when sometimes, I don't feel that way myself. And she helps me to know that I am not alone in the stuff I am feeling. That is such a great thing.
Plus, she just rocks!
Her whole family is pretty great.

Here are some pics...


Poor Miles. There are no pictures of him because well, he was inside watching TV. We were too boring for him. I mean, second graders have better things to do than hang out with grownups on the back porch talking about grown up things.
:)
But we have pictures of that Owen, who one day might just marry Lillian.

I took some video. I will edit it and get it on the blog soon.

Till then, enjoy the photos!





Miss Ginger and Lilly. They will be GREAT friends!



I just loved this picture of Jer and Owen.



Owen kissing Lillian! It is already love!



I think this one is my favorite! That Miss Ginger is so much fun!

just for the record

Between 6 and 9 p.m., my child is a bottomless pit who will eat non stop. Makes it look to her daddy like I don't feed her during the day.

And the prize goes to...

LeRoy Thompson for fixing the picture! Yay!
And thanks so much.
I love love love this picture!

Visitors Visitors Visitors

Here are some pictures of some recent visits.
:)


The Lils and her Grandpa just hanging out.



My aunt Gail and my cousin's girlfriend Amanda.



Gail got to feed her. And burp her. And catch some drool. Exciting times for all.