Laundry, by Elvis..

Above, Lily helping Mommy by (un)folding the laundry, while wearing Daddy's boxers... (yep, she put them on herself).

Below, the Elvis look...

Little Helper

Either she thinks it's a really cool toy, or she wants me to clean the floors...

Lily is loving the UPS guy lately...

She gets in and out all by herself! I get to help by pushing her around the room and making "vroom, vroom" sounds, though by the look she gives me I think she's a bit lost on that concept.

Oh no...

I guess it had to happen sometime...

Life!

She looks so innocent when she's sleeping...

I found Lily here while washing my hands mid-diaper change (due to a rash we were trying to combat - not my usual tactic!). She had gotten across the room, slid this game box back to her crib, opened the box, and was taking the cards out one by one! She was so proud of herself for opening the box, and I had to agree - that was quite a feat!

A new favorite toy: canned tuna or salmon...

Please send a can opener, I'm starving here!!

Friends and Relatives!

Continuing our "Swaptember" adventures, we went to the Aquarium with our friends Lauren and R*

The girls enjoyed the fish and the people watching opportunities, but we agreed we prefer the zoo.

Aunt Alaina came to visit us - what a treat! We haven't seen Alaina in too long due to crazy summer work schedules and it was good to catch up. We were all down with a bit of a cold but Lily hammed it up for Aunt Alaina just the same! Alaina brought along a special tshirt for Lily to match one of her own. Aren't they cute?

In other news, Lily's hair is getting really long! We've decided not to cut it but to let her bangs grow out - meanwhile Jess has fun braiding it during bath time!

Museum Time!

It's "Swap-tember," which means we get to visit the local science museum with our zoo passes!

Lily enjoyed playing in the big-kids section, and as much as she enjoyed the aircraft cockpit, she really enjoyed playing with (and trying to eat) the skeleton...

Cannibalism Exhibit?

Going on 8 months!

Lily turns 8 months old today... she's growing like crazy and ever so proud of herself! We're proud of her too - she's happy, giggly, smart, beautiful (we know, the hair rocks), and has a great sense of humor! She loves to wave goodbye, she gets super excited to eat dinner at the table with Mom and Dad, gives us plenty of kisses and cuddly hugs, and chases Engine with a happy persistence. Lily plays contentedly by herself or with friends, loves to sit on Dad's lap, and is always pleased to chill in the carrier on our backs when we're out and about.

The above picture was taken while I (Jess) was doing a photo session at Peace Love Play. I turned around to see Lily, halfway across the playroom, contentedly talking to toy food... a piece of felt bacon in her mouth! She really enjoyed the toy food and cookware, and has taken to playing with Tupperware, measuring cups, and tuna cans at home. Maybe we'll have to invest in some felt bacon!

Lily is pulling up on everything and standing very confidently, and always proud of herself! She can get where she wants to go pretty fast. She loves helping us with important paperwork, taste-testing our cell phones, and turning off the PlayStation - she can even take the disk out! We're hoping she's pick up that only those round plastic disks go in that slot, not crackers and sandwiches!

We're loving our new place - it's got plenty of space for us and is in a beautiful setting. We often enjoy night time walks, the pool is just around the corner, and we've been meeting lots of kind neighbors who are all very fond of Lily!

Come and visit sometime, we'd love to see you!

7 months old!

Oh Lily Grayce, you are getting so big! You are 7 months old now.

Just as we moved into our new house in Tampa, you learned to crawl and to pull yourself up on things, and to climb on tables and over pillows, and to get in all kinds of trouble helping Mommy and Daddy unpack.

You got three teeth this month, and although that made you a bit grouchy at first, you sure are excited about them. We are too. You're talking so much now. You love to say "Mama" and "Dada" as always, and you've now added "Bu-Bye," "Heiiii" (Hi), and "PuhPaaa" (Cat) to your vocabulary.

You are so good at playing on your own - you love to put your ball in and out of tuperware containers and to hug your many stuffed animals - and you're also fond of playing with your friends, especially little R, whom you see pretty often these days! You want to be just like her, when she gets a spoon to eat her yogurt, you want a spoon too, just to eat. You like to sit on each others laps, and sometimes you'll both get together and drag a book over to Mommy and try to sit on my lap so we can read a story together.

You love to smile and laugh with Mommy and Daddy when it's way past your bedtime (and ours too) but we don't mind, because we love spending time with you. You help Mommy take Daddy to work in the morning and pick him up at night, and you're always so excited to see him. Daddy says it makes his day, everytime.

You are beautiful to us, and you are so patient with us as we learn along with you. You snuggle right into us in your carrier as we do our chores and you fall asleep cuddled with Mommy every night. As big as you are getting, you still fit just perfectly in our arms.

We're so excited to have you in our lives.