10 lbs and counting!

Lillie had her one month check-up today at which we learned that she now weighs 10 lbs and is 22 in. long!  Our little chow monkey definitely loves to eat!  In addition to eating, Lillie has learned to smile, which of course we love.  She still likes to sleep, as you can see below, but sometimes she has to keep one eye open so that she won't miss something important.  And of course she still has to practice the Monster Mash dance, even in her sleep sometimes.

Aside from all of the eating, smiling, and sleeping, Lillie still finds time to do a little crying.  We won't show you a photo of that, but we will show you a photo of Iris' reaction.  Apparently Iris is a fan of the ostrich technique of trying to hide from your problems!

Over the weekend, Grammy and Pappy came to visit.  We enjoyed hanging out at the house and relaxing with Lillie.  We also went down to the city dock in Annapolis for our first family portrait by the water.

 

The amazing mirror

Here is Lillie's jungle activity mat picture. She usually enjoys the mat for 10-15 minutes and then she is ready for something else. We can't wait for her to start trying to reach for the items, but for now she enjoys looking at the lights and the mirror.

4 Weeks Old

Lillie has reached 4 weeks old as of today. Friday will be her one month birthday. She is growing and beginning to make lots of new and cute faces for us to take pictures of, such as this one.
Lillie also experienced her first snow this week. We got about an inch and a half, so not too much. Just enough to get Lillie outside for a couple quick photos.
Lillie is getting more and more time on the floor with her jungle activity mat. Although none of the exciting things hanging from the jungle mat are as interesting to Lillie as a light bulb, she does like to check herself out in the mirror.
She is also getting to spend some time in her bouncer. She doesn't like to spend too much time in the bouncer but the vibrations do seem to help with her hiccups sometimes. This past weekend the weather was warm enough for us to get Lillie outside again. On Saturday we took her downtown for her first trip to the city dock in Annapolis. We met Ross downtown for lunch. Ross is the Naval Academy Midshipman that we sponsor.Sunday was warm enough to be outside without a jacket. Before watching the Super Bowl we took Lillie outside for a breath of fresh air on our screened in porch. Shortly thereafter our friends Andrew, Michelle, and Will came down from Towson to hang out before the game.Lillie continues to like her baths. This weekend she got to try out her hippo towel. Overall life is simple but sweet.

First Visit to PA

This past weekend was really exciting because it was Lillie's first out-of-state car ride. It started with Papa coming up from NC on Friday for a quick visit and to pick up Grandma who had stayed with us since Lillie was born. While we were very thankful and needful of her hel
p, Papa, Chris, Greyson and the rest of the NC family needed her back. While it was a tough goodbye we didn't have much time to fuss before we were in the car and heading north to Lancaster, PA to visit for Pappy's birthday.


On Saturday night Lillie also went out to her first restaurant. Things went very well, and Cameron and Lillie decided to catch a little shuteye while the everyone else ate. While Lillie chose to have her dinner as well while we were out to eat, both she and Cameron were back to sleep by the time we got back to Grammy and Pappy's house. They presented us with a perfect photo op.


The next day Lillie visited Dradder and Great Pappy for the first time. Aunt Judy and Uncle Pete were there as well and everyone thought that Lillie was really cute. Great Pappy had a huge smile on his face and whenever he wasn't holding Lillie he was on the edge of his seat trying to watch her. Dradder really liked Lillie's hair and everyone laughed at Lillie's callick/mohawk. Everyone made comparisons to Lillie and Jake when he was a baby and Dradder told her favorite story about walking with Jake when he was young and filling in a hole in the road with rocks.


Lillie had a good drive home after all the excitement and in general had a really good experience with her first trip away from Annapolis. While its always sad to say goodbye to family it did feel good to get back home again. Other than her big adventure to Lancaster, Lillie has been getting some belly time and is already lifting and turning her head from side to side several times while on the floor. Here is a picture of a tucan that kept on sneaking up and kissing Lillie on the nose. She had her eye on that sneaky Tucan.

Lillie's Life: Week 2!

Lillie celebrated her 2 week birthday yesterday (and yes, we had cake again!).  At her check-up yesterday, we were surprised to learn that she now weighs 8 lb, 7 oz!  Doctors are typically happy if a baby regains their birth weight during the first 2 weeks, but Lillie almost surpassed her birth weight by a whole pound!  She's also 1 in taller than she was at birth.  Everyone who sees her comments on her long limbs, fingers, and toes.  Do we have a future Olympic beach volleyball player on our hands??  In the meantime, Lillie has been practicing her monster mash dance for Jake..

.

This past weekend Lillie got to meet her Uncle Chris for the first time.  He was certainly smitten, as you can tell from the photo below.  

And last, our photographer posted a sneak peak of the photos from Lillie's session on her blog.  You can check them out here (click on blog once on the site).  We're still waiting to see all the photos from the session so stay tuned...

Introducing Lillie Johanna Bleacher!

Lillie Johanna Bleacher was born on January 6, 2009 at 9:18am.  She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 inches long.  We are truly blessed and cannot express how much we are enjoying being a mom and dad.  The labor and delivery was quite exciting and fast.  We went to the hospital around 2:30 am only to find out that I was not dilated at all.  We were told to walk around the hospital floor for an hour.  When we were checked again at 4 am I was only 1 cm dilated.  I was told to go home and get rest.  During the hour or so that we were at home my water broke and my contractions were so intense that I felt like I was ready to push.  We headed back to the hospital around 6:30 am to find that I was 7-8 cm dilated!  I began pushing at 8:40 am and our little girl was born at 9:18.  We are so thankful that everything went so well.  

Lillie's first week at home has been wonderful and of course a little tiring.  Thank goodness that Grandma is here to help take care of us all (and to cook - yum!).  She is a doll and we are loving every minute of being with her, even the crying, poopy minutes.  :)  Her first week has been busy.  Last Friday she had her first visit to the pediatrician, on Saturday she got to meet her cousin Cameron (who is 3.5 weeks older) for the first time, on Sunday her Grammy and Pappy came to visit, on Monday a photographer came to take photos, and on Tuesday we celebrated her 1 week birthday complete with cake and candles!  This weekend she'll get to see Papa again and will get to meet her Uncle Chris.  Life is pretty swell.

The photography session was particularly exciting.  The photographer likes to get photos of babies while they're sleepy and naked.  At one point she had the 3 of us on our bed (with a WHITE comforter) for a posed photo.  Lillie decided it was a perfect time to let loose and spat up, pooped, and peed on me while I was holding her within about a  minute span!  I laughed hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all.  Thanks to Grandma for her stain removing abilities!

I think we're finally in labor!!

So, it's about 12:41 am on Tuesday, Jan. 6 and I think I'm finally in labor!  About 4 hours ago (on Mama's birthday!) I started having contractions with a little pain down in my pelvis.  Over the course of the last 4 hours the pain has intensified and I've had a few other symptoms of labor (I'll spare you all the details).  I called the doctor on call...  here comes a contraction... and she said that since I'm managing the pain OK at this point and since the contractions aren't very regular (they're about 1.5 to 5 min. apart) that I should hang out here at the house until I start having trouble with the pain and/or the contractions become more regular.  Over the past hour the pain has definitely intensified but I'm getting through it by breathing and walking.  The last 3 contractions have averaged about 5 min. apart, so if this pattern continues for the next hour or so we'll probably head to the hospital!  Hopefully Lillie Johanna Bleacher will make her appearance soon!