1st Birthday

Yesterday was Liliana's first birthday.  I can't believe it has already been a year since she was born.  Everyone told me the time will go by quickly, but I didn't really believe them--but oh my, they were right.  It feels like just yesterday I was in the hospital getting ready to deliver her.  And often I think of when she was a newborn...I was soooo cautious in everything I did with her.  Truthfully, I'll probably be cautious with the next one too--maybe only slightly less cautious.

Liliana was and is the perfect baby.  Even as a newborn she hardly ever cried.  I read "The Happiest Baby on the Block" when she was just days old, and I remember thinking that many of the suggestions didn't apply to me because I didn't have that problem.  (Although I loved the book and recommend it to anyone).  My sister came to visit when Liliana was just a few weeks old.  The sleeping arrangements were such that Adam slept in another room so that my sister could sleep in the same room as me and the baby.  I remember telling her to wake me in the middle of the night when if she heard Lili wake up without me knowing so I could go to her crib to get her and feed her.  I say that because when Liliana would wake up to nurse, she would just wake up and start making little "baby noises"--she didn't really scream or cry.  Looking back she was a great, great baby!  She still is very good!  She's very happy--all the time.  We are very blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy, smiling child all the time!

So her first birthday.  In the beginning I wanted to make it really big and special...but since we're away from family and we don't have that many really close friends in Omaha I thought we could do something small.  Adam made her a cake, and I bought a couple presents for her to open.  She was wake before Adam left to school, so he got to play with her for a few minutes before heading off.  I took her to the gym (she loves playing at the gym) like we do every day.  Adam came home from school early, and he already arranged to have the day off from work.  After her nap we went swimming for the first time.  Liliana LOVED being in the water!  We were there about an hour, then all of a sudden a ton of people started showing up so we decided to leave and go to a splash pad in the area.  She had so much fun playing in the water, eating strawberries, and watching the other kids run around.  When we came home, Lili was tired so we put her down for a nap, and when she woke up she opened presents and ate her cake.  We had dinner plans at 6 o'clock so we kind of had to rush--but not really, we just needed to be mindful of the time.

She loved the toys she got from grandma and my sister!  The toys talk and sing to her--that will be a lot of fun for her, but not so much for me!  =)

Here are some things about my 1 year old child:

At her last weigh-in (about a week ago) she was 18.5lbs (she was sick; she lost weight).

She's petite.

She smiles all the time, and she has this big cheesey smile she does.

She still only has 2 teeth, but she eats EVERYTHING.  There isn't anything she doesn't like.  Although there are some things she likes more than others.  I keep meaning to go to Whole Foods to get some beets so she can try them.  I love beets, and I'm sure she will too--well, hopefully.

She's learning to share.  She does this by "giving" you whatever item straight in your face.  (She nearly knocked over a little baby at church when she shoved her little stuffed animal in her face in an attempt to "share" it with her).  

She likes being around other children.  She loves following the "big kids" around.

She folds her arms for prayers, and she smiles and claps her hands when we say "Amen"--that's partly our fault, we excitedly say "Amen" over and over trying to get her to say it...so far it hasn't worked...she just gets excited.  Haha

We have dance parties every day--now when she hears any sort of music she "dances".

She gives kisses...mostly open mouth kisses...

She knows the sound of the dishwasher and refrigerator opening.  When she hears them, she comes running.  And oh yes, she's learning to run.

She only sleeps in her crib--which is good and bad.  She falls asleep in her car seat once in a blue moon, and that's only if she's dead tired.  She never falls asleep at church--ugh!
She also gives sympathy coughs.  If she hears someone coughing or sneezing, she start coughing a few times.
 

And...last but not least...she's VERY cute.  We love her lots and lots!

A Skirt on Father's Day

Recently, my grandma sent me a bunch of beautiful fabric.  I'm not a great seamstress, but I'd like to be--I figure the best way to do this is to just keep sewing, just keep sewing.  There are tons of sewing blogs out there, and I stumbled upon this one and decided to make the Hemless A-Line Skirt.  It was actually super easy, although I didn't find the directions particularly easy to follow.  But after looking at the pictures and reading and re-reading the instructions and using my own imagination, I was able to pull it off--I think.

I cut the pattern out, and measured it exactly.  The zipper was the hardest part.  I didn't use a zipper-foot, and I had to do a few of the stitches by hand.  But all in all I think it came out okay.

The top of the skirt has the same pink band around it.

And of course, one picture of my Lili-Bear waking up from a nap.

Since Sunday

Sunday I wasn't feeling that great, and decided to stay home from church to rest.  Unfortunately, Liliana stayed home too...she was supposed to take a nap, but she was up the entire time Adam was gone.  Needless to say, I was still exhausted and not feeling great.  After church Adam came home, we had dinner, then he had to go to a meeting.  I realized that Liliana had not been outside all day, so I took her to the library.  When we got there it was closing in ten minutes, so I let her play inside for as long as they would allow, then we hung out outside for another half an hour.  She had fun playing with random things...rocks, sticks, and dirt (her favorites).  We came home, she ate dinner and took a bath, and just as we were reading a bedtime story Adam came home.  He said "Good Night" to her and she went to sleep.....................And that's when the trouble began........................around 3 o'clock she woke up and she was soooo hot (it wasn't hot in the apartment).  We took her temp and she had a fever.  We changed her clothes and tried to get her back to sleep.  I ended up sleeping in bed with her. 

Yesterday, waking up from a nap.

This morning she decided to put crunchies, part of a banana, and her pacifier in that empty container.  I let her do it.  Whatever makes her happy!

So, it's now Wednesday afternoon, and she's doing a little better.  She doesn't have a fever anymore and she's starting to drink some liquids again.  Plus she's playing with her toys more too.  But she's still very cranky, and she'll cry at almost anything!  It's been rough on me and her.  I'm hoping this is all due to teething, (she's almost 1 year old and only has 2 teeth) but something tells me it might not be.  She's not showing all of the "classic" signs of teething--other than fever and diarrhea (which, by the way, I read are "teething myths").  She doesn't want cold things, and she's barely eating.  Maybe it's something else...........hmmmmm...I don't know.  If the fever returns tomorrow, I'm taking her to the doctor.  (I called them yesterday and told them her symptoms--they thought teething too).

Oh man though...I realize it is ROUGH on Miss Lili, but it is starting to take it's toll on me!  It's hard to watch your child in so much pain, knowing there's nothing you can do.  She just cries.  She doesn't want to be held, but she doesn't want to be put down...it's weird...and sad.  Plus, of course, she hasn't been sleeping well--which means I haven't been sleeping well.  Although, she's napping right now; the smart thing for me to do would be to nap also!

Hopefully she feels better soon, and pops out at least 2 teeth!  I miss my perfect, happy baby!

Diary of a Good Wife

Alright, it's done...new blog name...and I like it.  Diary of a Good Wife.  This blog will keep a record of events and experiences in my life.  It may not always be exciting, but I'll certainly be glad I have things documented in years to come.

And I may not always be a great wife, but I'm certainly a good wife (if I do say so myself) and I'll try to be a good wife (and mother) every day. 

Now, here's a picture of Liliana........hmmmmm...something tells me the audience may get sick of seeing this little girl all the time...so nevermind...no pictures right now.

Trying to change the blog name

So I went to Settings, and tried to change the name/location of this blog.  I wanted it to be the same as the name of my blog...Just Scratching the Surface...as in just scratching the surface of life.  When I started it I was newly married, and now I have a baby and life was, and still is, just beginning--so to speak.  The world is my oyster.  Anyway, I tried to change the blogspot name to that and it's taken...in fact variations of it is taken.  So I decided to see what blog has the name "Just Scratching the Surface"...turns out they are kind of strange Christian rants or something...a mix of political and religious musings, I guess.  Then, I thought well maybe I need to change the name of my blog, so my readers (all 3 of you) don't confuse my blog with their blogs!  I thinking of combining this blog with the other blog I started.  In fact, I'm gonna try to do that somehow--I mean that name is available...or at least it will be if I delete the other blog, right?  =)

Oh, and for you visual people...here's a picture of Adam reading to Liliana.

Storm Chasers!

Last night we went to an Omaha Storm Chasers game.  The stadium was awesome.  There was sooo much to do other then watch the game.  It even had some carnival rides and bounce houses--but really good ones--and a basketball court!  We sat on the grass and watched the game.  Well, mostly we watched Liliana run around.  She's a little bit of a busy body (or normal baby, I'm thinking all babies do this at one time or another)...but she goes up to everyone and smiles at them, or tries to take something they left out, or sits on their blanket.  I think it's cute, but I'm pretty sure not everyone feels this way.  =)

But we had a fun time.  Although, Liliana didn't get to bed until almost 10pm, but she woke up a little after 8am...so that was nice.