Indianapolis

Lillian and I just returned from a four day trip to Grandma and Opa Hanou's house.  We were hoping to see some of our Michigan family too, but Mother Nature had other plans!  Grandma Kerschen, Nana Nancy, Aunt Cathy, Johnny and Layla weren't able to make it but we can't wait to see them in May!  It's hard to leave Daddy behind, he sure misses his girls when we're gone.  But it was so nice to see Great-Grandpa, he is looking great!

Lillian rolled, scooted, dragged and army crawled her way around Grandma and Opa's house.

I have nicknamed Lillian "Lieutenant Dan", because she will not use her legs to crawl! 

But, make no mistake, she sure does get from A to B in a hurry!

Grandma Hanou tossed a ball back and forth with Lillian for 15 minutes one night!  We couldn't believe how long she stayed interested, we've got quite a ball player on our hands. 

We have a due date!

We had a great doctors appointment on Friday and learned that our next baby is due September 11th.  Of course, I'm hoping he or she comes early (my dad and I share a birthday - September 7th) or late (September 17th was my Oma's birthday).  Either way the baby is healthy and active.  We get to go back to the doctor in just 2 weeks for our first trimester screening....that will be a little early for gender prediction - but trust me - if they let us know, we'll let you know! 
Lillian is a busy little girl these days.  She still won't officially crawl but she sure does get around!  She "army crawls" and rolls all over.  Her poor knees are chapped from dragging her legs behind her all the time.  She continues to be a great eater and especially likes anything she can pick up and feed herself.  I want to share two of my favorite Lillian stories, mostly so I can recall them years from now and smile! 
1.  Lillian loves to pull off her socks.  We cannot keep them on.  Shoes are even harder.  The other day I sent her to school in tights.  She was so frustrated that she couldn't pull them off that she rolled over to the little boy next to her and pulled his socks off!
2.  Lillian has discovered moms freckles.  She tries so hard to pick them up, especially the big ones on my shoulders.  So sweet.....

Lillian loves hanging out in the kitchen while mommy cooks dinner.  Notice the socks have been pulled off her feet!

Lillian opening belated Christmas gifts from Aunt Candy!  As usual, she loved the paper (but the clothes are super cute Candy - thank you!) 

One of my new shirts from Aunt Candy, and a hair clip mommy made me.  Yes, I know she doesn't have any hair but it's still fun to try!

Lillian at 9 Months

Lillian's 1st Unscheduled Doctors Visit

We almost made it 9 months without a doctor visit other than "well baby check-ups".  Not bad considering Lillian's been exposed to god-knows-what in daycare for 6 months now.  I tell everyone, "she's a tough kid".  But even tough kids get sick every once in a while!  The poor girl wasn't acting like herself all weekend; she was fussy, didn't want to be put down, didn't want to eat, just wanted to be nursed, held, hugged and rocked to sleep.  She had a low grade fever (never above 100) and no other symptoms, so we thought she must be getting another tooth (she has 6 already!).  But daycare called this morning, less than an hour after Mike dropped her off, Lillian had a 100.7 degree temp and was really fussy.  So I took her to the doctor, he checked her out and she appears to be healthy except for a mild sore throat.  So, teething it is.  I'm glad I took the day off....she's been sleeping all afternoon!

Dad's not complaining, Lillian picked the best spot to nap during the Superbowl yesterday!

Vail Brings Visitors

When Mike and I relocated, separately, to Colorado 13 years ago, we both felt a little anxiety about moving far away from friends and family.  But, boy did we underestimate the power Colorado has on people!  We are so lucky to get so many visitors.  John and Candy were just here: 

They came out for a ski trip with a couple of their friends Leslie & Steve.   Mike and I (and of course Lillian!!!) were able to break away and join them in the mountains for a couple of nights.  Coincidentally, Mike and John's "Cousin Phil" was out skiing Vail too! 

The "gang" skiied Beaver Creek Friday in 11 inches of fresh snow.  Mike described it as "epic".  They all felt a little bad that I didn't get to ski, but I got to spend the whole day with Lillian so I can't really complain!  Besides, I'm not allowed to ski since we got another positive one of these recently:

Yup, that's right, Lillian's going to be a big sister in about 7 months!  Mike and I feel it couldn't have happened soon enough, we are dangerously close to smothering Lillian in love!  Can you blame us?

Nothing like a new baby coming to help motivate Mike and I to get Lillian sleeping better!  About a month ago now, we decided she was old enough to sleep through the night without feeding.  When Lillian woke up at night Mike went in instead of me.  He rocked her for a couple of minutes and laid her back down. We thought for sure, Lillian couldn't make it through the night without a meal, we thought she'd scream her head off, we were so nervous and we were so WRONG!  We had a couple of crying episodes, a couple of nights in a row, and that's it.  It's been smooth sailing ever since! Lillian goes to bed around 7:00, I wake her at 10 to feed her and she sleeps till 6:30 AM.  It's awesome.  Thank god for the internet, we "google" everything!