Coney Island Shuffle

Lillie is officially mobile. Over the last two weeks she has gone from crawling and just walking around the coffee table to actually walking between the furniture. She is very proud of herself and has not stopped smiling about it. This changes the level of supervision that is required in a normal day. She was quick when she was crawling, but as long as the stairs were blocked off she could not get into much trouble. Now her world has expanded again and she is finding many more things to get into on a daily basis. Her current favorite spot to explore is still the kitchen cabinet that holds the tupperware, but she is realizing her new found mobility gains her access to things above floor level including anything set on the edge of the dining room table or piled on chairs. This would cause most people to cut down on clutter, but we just move items to higher surfaces.

Her Freezings and Thawings

Pumpkins.

If You Were Born Today

Lillie is officially ONE. We threw a party for her at home and had a great bunch of friends and relatives over to celebrate with her. Grammy and Aunt Linda flew in from New Jersey and did 99% of the cooking, while Grandma Judy, Her cousins Abbey and Al, 2 Great Aunts and Great Uncle Kenny made the long drive up to Duluth just for her, it really meant a lot to all of us. The birthday girl fed herself dinner and had her first piece of cake. She was not too keen on wearing her special birthday hat, but, suprisingly, she calls the shots around here so it didnt have to stay on too long.
It is amazing that it has already been a year.

Drive Slow

So, months have gone by between posts and the leaves on the trees I pass on my drive to work are changing more and more each day. I remember the summer but I am not ready to let it pass and be overtaken by the fall wind and dark mornings. We had a blast this summer, showing Lillie as many new things as we could fit in. She got to dip her toes in Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Gunflint Lake, and the Atlantic Ocean. She swan in a pool for the first time. She has tasted too many foods to list, and never will have to eat that horrible rice cereal again. She has even held (NOT TASTED) a cold bottle of Leinenkugel's on an 80+ degree day.
She is getting bigger, growing teeth, crawling quickly, and pulling herself up on anything stationary.
Change is happening everyday and each day we have with her is better than the day before. Only a month away from her first birthday.

Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)

Nice Kicks yo.

Your Mother Should Know

Mother's day has long past but I thought these shots were worth posting. Lillie is more fun everyday with the exception of the poop. I though the newborn pasty, mustard colored, stinky poop was bad, but this new stuff is worse. It is solid and looks like it should have come out of a two year old, not a BABY. Anyway, she is trying to talk all of the time and her face has become so animated, you can read most of her emotions on the first try. She loves the dog and cat and they seem to have completely accepted her as one of the family. Mingus puts up with the pulling of the tail, and Jakes likes walking next to the stroller.
Her sleep schedule is also been great - she goes to bed around 7pm and sleeps to about 6am. That is my sleep schedule as well so it works perfectly. More soon.

Meat and Potatoes

Mashed sweet potato segment with fine milled organic oatmeal and homemade blueberry and pear puree (in season).

Wash The Day Away

Lillian got a new bathtub the other say as she has officially grown out of the bathroom sink. These little things really eat me up. Last week she was splashing around in the sink, and now she is taking a bath in an actual bathtub - well a tub in a tub, but still, she is growing so fast. Half of the clothes that are in her room are too small, and A few days after buying the tub I had to go out and buy her socks that fit. I know she is supposed to get bigger, but her size is so manageable right now. I have had the same socks for around ten years with the exception of the two or three pair I receive at Christmas each year (Thanks Mom).

Brimful Of Asha

Tonight Sally was at work and Lillian and I were together alone for the first time since I had the knee injury. We sang a few songs, ate a good portion of oatmeal, sweet potatos, and blueberries, and watched the neighbor kid climb all over his roof. I secretly hoped for him to fall off.
Lillian went to bed, in her crib, at 8:10 and didn't even make a peep when I set her down. It was truly a great night.
Pictures are from this week.

Ain't No Woman Gonna Make A George Jones Outta Me

Some of my favorite recent pictures. Kids having kids, Sweet Potatos, and a great picture of Lillie and Forest. I broke down and bought a cheap video camera so I may try to post some videos soon.

Prehensile Dream

Again too much time has past between posts. Soon after the last post, I was skiing and was going a bit too fast for the conditions. I fell pretty hard and ended up with knee surgery to repair two ligament tears and a fractured tibia. So Sally has been in charge of everything. Grandma Judy has been coming up when Sal has to work, and Grammie Edna also came for a visit to help out. So, I've got a few pairs of skis for sale if anyone is interested. Anyway, throughout that time Lillie has made some big changes. She gotten much bigger, started on some rice cereal and fruit, and has laughed a few times. Her hair has also filled in and her eyes have changed further into the hazel/brown area. It is hard to believe that she is already six months old.
I have started brushing my teeth before bed in order to set a good example for her. I hope she notices. I am also debating putting out a swear jar....for Sally, of course.

Just Kissed My Baby

The trip to New Jersey was a blast and Lillian was a dream on the airplane, both there and back. And at the same time, I was so concerned about Lillie that my personal flying anxiety level stayed pretty low. Prior to leaving Duluth, we had a pretty big conversation about whether or not to take the car seat. Sally confirmed with Enterprise that we could use one of theirs so I hesitantly gave in, secretly happy to carry one less item. After the flight to Newark, we went to the car rental were shown a closet full of car seats to choose from. Most were for much older kids and had been used heavily. Near the back was a brand new infant seat, still in the box, shining like Excalibur from the stone. So after that chunk of luck we headed to Connecticut to see Steve and Joli. We only had a night to spend with them but it was great nonetheless. Then on to Jersey. Lillian got to meet all of her cousins, aunts, uncles, friends from the Garden State. She even got a surprise visit from Mark Gastineau, #99, her newest cousin. All in all, excellent trip.

Hey Baby Where You Been

So this is usually what happens to most blogs. The creators have great intentions and get some initial content going, and then it fizzles out like the end of a sparkler. I will not got out like that, I hope. Although it has been a while I plan on continuing my posts, even it only for my own amusement. The above picture was taken on Jan 6th, 2008. Lillian is cooing and drooling like a champ. Sally has gone back to work, but only Wednesday and Friday nights, so Lillian and I have those two nights together and Daycare has been avoided so far. Our Wed and Fri nights have consisted mainly of changing, feeding, and hours of walking around the kitchen and living room with Lillian in different configurations. She really likes to be held facing foreward so she can see the mess that is Castle Volkmann, grinning widely at what may be hers someday.

We are going to New Jersey next week for nine days and I am VERY nervous about the flight. We looked into driving, and riding the Amtrac but both took too much time and $$. We are flying out of Duluth, so it will be a true test of my anxiety and Lillian and Sally's patience with my anxiety. So- hope fully I will post photos of our travels after the trip. wish us luck.