When Daddy's away. . .

 

Lilly and I have had a lot of one on one time lately with Drew gone to school all day. The weekdays were a little rough because we had no car, and with temps in the 100s that meant a lot of time in the living room, kitchen, bedroom and back to the living room. This weekend Drew went on a science retreat, and Lilly and I took full advantage of our time with each other and with the car. We went to Target and got a bigger car seat (and a new toy since the carseat was super on sale). We hung out at the library where Lilly wanted to make friends with everyone, as usual. And we enjoyed a mommy-daughter date at Ikea Saturday night. Ikea is a crazy place on Saturday night. We had a lot of fun, but we're definitely glad to have our scientist back at home today!

Here's Lilly being very helpful in the kitchen. . .

Watching the chocolate chip cookies bake. . .

She misses playing outside in the grass.

I finally gave in and let her eat lunch outside. . .

It's not too bad in the shade!

We also like to sing songs, play giddy up horsey, read, and race up the stairs. 

Oh, and we also do a lot of this. . .

Lilly and Hugo

This weekend Lilly got to meet Hugo! And I got to see my old college friend Aleni and her husband Taylor. They were our first guests at the new house, and we had a great time! Aleni and I had the same due date, but Hugo was born a few days later than Lilly (who was 5 days late herself). Pretty much they are the same age. Hugo is a very calm and happy baby, and he was a good sport when it came to putting up with Lilly's advances. We're so glad they were willing to drive 3 hours from Fort Worth to see us!

The babies played pretty well together once Lilly stopped trying to grab Hugo's face.

The adults got to relax and watch "Tangled" while the kids played.

When the babies (and Taylor) woke up from their afternoon nap we went to the Pflugerville splash park.

Drew insisted on putting Lilly in her longhorns shirt.

The splash park was a lot of fun!

We also tried out these bouncy animals and the swings.

I think Lilly had had enough fun at this point. . .

Then we had to say goodbye, but hopefully not for long!

And for those who just can't get enough . . . here's some more splash park action:

First Day of School

Sippy Cup

Lilly recently mastered drinking from her sippy cup on her own, and I think she looks soooo silly.

Check out her great technique. . .

Pinky raise:

Side sip:

One-handed:

9 months!

Lilly is 9 months old now! And we absolutely love this age. It is so much fun watching her walk around the kitchen flapping her arms in the air and talking to herself. She is really starting to understand and react to the world around her and she's slowly becoming more independent.

Things Lilly is doing now:

• Walking! So far this has only made things easier for me. She can entertain herself for a long time walking around the house playing with her toys and getting into cupboards (anything dangerous is locked up or up high).
• Blowing raspberries. She's really good at doing this on command. And when Drew is right about to put a spoonful of food in her mouth. :)
• Giving kisses. If I pucker-up my lips, she'll lean forward and kiss my mouth!
• Playing peek-a-boo. She loves to play this around corners. She'll peek out and then hide behind the wall and giggle. So cute!
• Smiling a lot. She's so happy all the time. (Except the occasional tantrum when she can't have something.) She can make 10 new friends in a single trip to the grocery store. She smiles and waves and says "hi" ("aah") to everyone.
• Drinking from a sippy cup or a straw. She tips her head WAY back to drink. We've only tried a straw once when we were in the car, and I was surprised that she picked it right up. 
• Waking up a lot at night. We've had a lot of transitions lately, and sleep is not at its best. She also got her 3rd tooth a couple weeks ago and I think the 4th one is just breaking through now.
• Exploring new foods. Lilly will eat almost anything, and she enjoys tasting little bites of what we're eating, in addition to her baby food. She still loves cheerios.

Hello Austin

Today we spent 4 hours at the DMV to get our new Texas driver’s licenses, so I think we have earned the right to call ourselves Texans! We are really enjoying it here so far. It’s hot, but really not that bad if you have a good a/c. We usually go for a walk in the evening and it kind of feels like Hawaii--warm, humid and breezy (too bad it doesn’t look like Hawaii.) The people here have been very friendly and welcoming. Lilly always helps break the ice by saying hello to everyone and showing them her Texas-sized grin. It’s an exciting and diverse city with lots of growing families, and we are excited to call Austin home for the next 5-6 years.

 The first day we arrived there were boxes everywhere!

But Lilly headed straight for the stairs, of course 

Mostly we were just happy to be home.

We have spent a lot of time at IKEA, Target and Home Depot. . .

Unpacking the kitchen was my first priority when I arrived.
Here's Lilly checking out her kitchen cabinet. It now contains a jumbled mess of plastic storage containers that she can play with.

We have a couple "pet" squirrels in the backyard

And I couldn't leave out these pics of Lilly enjoying a messy teething biscuit. 

Thank goodness for this bib I found at Ikea!

Cousins

Yesterday Lilly got to meet her cousin Dylan! It was very fun to see the two babies together, and to spend some time with Terry and Amanda. They live about 1.5 hours away in San Antonio, so we’re hoping to see them pretty often.

Dylan is 5 weeks older than Lilly. They weigh about the same, but have very different proportions. 

Lilly likes to stick things in her mouth and assumes everyone else does as well. She often tries to feed me cheerios or let me suck on the heads of her dolls. She is really kind.

The brothers (wearing their U.T. Austin and U.T. San Antonio shirts) and their babies

Amanda and I. She's due with their second child in January!

And here they are in action:

Now we just need to get Lilly's little cousin Archie here from Pittsburgh and it would be a real party!