Just like Daddy..

Eric and Lily watching Saturday morning cartoons...

(OK, so they're really watching my screen saver of recent photo sessions, and Eric is naming Lily's friends, but that's kind of like Saturday morning cartoons for a 6 month old.)

busy days!

Lily really enjoys playing with her little friends.... above, with B. They like to pull each other's hair.

Lily with twins J & E, after a nice long swim.

At the eye doctor with Daddy. Lily had her first eye appointment! The doctor was great with her and she laughed the whole time. She did wonderfully and her eyes are healthy. She currently has 20/30 vision, which is normal and great for her age. She can see us smile from across the room, and she can also spot Engine in his "hiding places." But we knew that!

Daddy and Mommy had to get new glasses as it's been 2 years since we had our prescriptions changed! (Eric only wears his to drive at night, in case you're wondering why you've never seen him in glasses!) Thanks to the InfantSee program for checking out Lily's eyesight at such an early age and helping us learn about her growing brain!

Did you know that two-thirds of your brain is dedicated to sight?

3 years running

Eric and I celebrated our third anniversary today.
We spent it taking photos for other families at a local park and splurged on two ice cold bottles of Gatorade.
It was a pretty good day, though we still have to have our traditional celebratory Wendy's meals!
I also started something big today...
I joined Team in Training, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's endurance sports training program, and am now officially on the team for the Women's Half Marathon in St.Pete this November!
It's been a big month - 1 move, 6 months, 3 years, and 13.1 miles!

Six months!

Six months ago today we were welcoming our little girl...

Happy Half-Birthday, Lily!

 

Hittin' the Beach

We took Lily to Cocoa Beach while my Mom was here. It was her first time experiencing the ocean, sand, and waves (well, besides the tide pool at Blizzard Beach!) She enjoyed riding in the Ergo carrier on Eric's back more than anything. The water suprised her a bit and she wasn't quite sure what to make of the wet sand!

Lily is almost 6 months old, and boy did that go fast. We're enjoying her so much. Sorry for the delay in updates but we hope you've enjoyed all the catching up!

- Jess and Eric

4th of July

My first 4th of July was pretty busy and a lot of fun, even though the rain kept most of the fireworks away. We went to two parties, and I even shared my Daddy for a bit with my friend B.

Later I shared my Mommy with my friend R while we played at her house. We're both getting pretty big, and pretty soon it's going to take more than one of them to watch us!

After a long July 4th, I settled into bed. Then I heard fireworks! Mom said they were just local people setting off fireworks, but boy, they made some really big noise! So I got up and jumped a lot. Then I feel asleep again. But then I heard fireworks, again! So, of course, I got up and jumped and laughed and told Mommy that it was time to play. Mommy thought it was time for sleep, but those fireworks kept going off everytime I started to sleep! I helped Mommy party until 2am when I had to call it a day. It's hard work keeping Mommy up past her bedtime. I can't wait for fireworks again!

Love, Lily

Gma Visit, by Lily

Grandma R bought me this fantastic ball which is great for throwing at Mom and Dad. It really gets their attention fast! It has a ball inside of a ball, and Engine likes it too, but he can't have it. Mom says, "Engine, that's Lily's toy," but when she's not looking I share. I'm cool like that. Also, that great top I'm wearing was a gift from my Grandee and Opa, and it WAS a dress, but apparently I keep growing too fast, so now my dresses are shirts. Really sweet shirts. I'm trying to slow down on the whole growing thing, but it just keeps happening!

I took Grandma to visit a place called Teen Missions International way on the other side of Florida. We got to go to the beach too, and if Mom stops typing so much you might get to see photos of that some day. Grandma really enjoyed visiting Teen Missions, and I enjoyed the singing after my nap on Dad's back. I also peed on Dad while they were changing me on his lap, Mom thought that was funny.

Grandma got to see some friends at Teen Missions, including Martina, who is going on a trip to Indiana this summer. I met Martina when I was visiting New Jersey. She said I'm a lot bigger now. She looked pretty much the same to me. I hope Martina has a really great summer singing songs about Jesus and playing with kids like me at fairs!

Ok, it's about time for bed so I'm going to head out. Bye!

- Lily

Worn out!

Lily enjoys sleeping after a good swim..

Or a long day of chasing Engine...

When she's awake she loves dancing, singing, lalala-nanana-ing, and playing drums with Lauren and baby R.

She's also become very fond of her feet. As feet go, they're pretty cool. She'll show them to you if you come visit.

First Haircut (2)

Our friends Kyle and Gigi helped us give Lily her first haircut. Lily gave Gigi a kiss at the end, totally unprompted! Kyle took all these great shots so that Jess could do the cutting. Thanks guys!

First Haircut (step1)

Driving?

Visit from Grandma

Lily and Eric and I all enjoyed a great visit with Grandma R last week. She spoiled Lily with lots of kisses, cuddles, and this awesome jumper (which is awesome for Mom too, since previously I was being used as a jumper)!

We kept a pretty crazy pace while Grandma was here, so more pictures to come!

Lily started attempting to sit on her own, she can hold it for a while now so I'm sure it won't be long!

We celebrated Cow Appreciation Day this year, which basically means free Chick-fil-A for those not too cool to dress like cows. Even Lily got a free meal, which of course Grandma and Mom ate for her!

first food!

Yes folks, that's a red bell pepper!

We got some beautiful organic red bell peppers at the Parke Family HydroFarm in Dover the other day, and Lily was quite excited about them. We thought she just wanted to play with them, but sure enough, it went in the mouth and she didn't want to give it up! She had red pepper juice all down her shirt. So there it is, Lily's first ever food - a red bell pepper slice, straight off the farm!