Happy Birthday to Jeff!

From driving around the yard on his Forrest Gump lawn mower to driving around Texas in his new Town and Country mini-van.... its clear that Jeffrey is now in his thirties.

I wanted to have a picture of him in his two favorite vehicles... but he has been out of town so much that I haven't had a chance. He likes his new job and I like all the cereal it brings-- but his little family likes to have him around a little more. Here is Lily having a VERY good nap with Dad after missing him for 3 days.

Jeff requested his mom's pumpkin torte for his 30th birthday. Now sweating and covered in pumpkin... I must say that I've just developed a great new respect for her. Next year... I might just make him a box cake before he has time to request something.

This cake is probably a failure... as was my perfect present ordered weeks ago from the website of one of his food network favorites, which turns out is backordered until Christmas. They didn't even have the decency to tell me until I emailed that it hadn't arrived yet. So, I tried to take a picture of Lily to frame for his office... and she didn't cooperate really. Here's one of my favorites though.

I think her look is saying... "Seriously, mom... give it up."

You would think sleeping for 9 hours in a row at night would be enough... but no... I would like Lily to be able to nap well too. Napping has recently become an issue again. She'll nap as long as I'm holding her. I try to set her down in her carseat, in her swing, in her baby papasan, in her crib... and between each failure have to walk her around to get her to go to sleep again.

Desperate... I laid her on the couch with my face about an inch from hers and try to hold the pacifier in her mouth. When she finally stopped crying and fell asleep, I practically levitated off of the couch to finally get something done. I looked down at this:

That stupid hospital pacifier (which is still the only one she'll even accept in her mouth) and the blanket had me worried about her being able to breathe. I didn't want to change anything if it was keeping her asleep. So... I ended up sitting on the coffee table watching her the whole time... utterly defeating the whole purpose of getting her to sleep alone! At least if she was sleeping on me, I could be facing the TV. I'd watch to make sure I could see her chest rising... and just when I'd start to panic... she would do her Maggie Simpson impression with the pacifier and I would calm down. Then the pacifier kept falling out and I'd have to replace it instantly before she had a fit. I ended up sitting on the coffee table-- with my back to the tv --holding the pacifier in her mouth-- my back hurting just as bad as if I were holding her-- just wishing she would wake up... so I could finally get something done.

This is what Lily left behind on the couch. Like mother - like daughter.

Growing like a weed!

We have got ourselves quite a rolly little baby. This is Lily in her bunny hooded towel that we got from the McAnellys at 1 week and now at 2 months. I think it is hilarious how you can't even tell that it's a bunny head in the first one because she's so small... and now she's pretty much filling it out.

At the doctor, we learned that Lily is 24 inches -- in the 95th percentile, has a 40cm head-- in the 90th percentile, and is 14.1 pounds -- which is off the percentile charts.

At 2 months, she's already outgrown most of her 0-3 month clothes. I've had her 3-6 month clothes in the back of the closet and realized I should probably get those out. I put one 6 month dress on her that I've been so excited for her to wear... and could barely button it. Each night we have to give her a bath and lift up her chins to wash her neck. I know they say it is not, but I'm wondering if her weight gain could in anyway be related to her mother's nightly milkshake or rootbeer float. If I'm not gaining the weight... someone's got to be.