Update on L*ily

L*ily will be 5 months old tomorrow - I cannot believe it! She is doing very well - she was 10 lbs 9 oz at her 4 month check. Three days before that, she flipped from her front to her back for the first time. I laid her on her tummy for tummy time and went around the corner to get her baby keys from my bag. I came back and she was on her back with a startled look on her face. So I laid her on her tummy again and turned to get the keys - she flipped again! So, I laid her on her tummy a third time and watched this time and over she went. She likes to learn a new skill right before we go to the doctor and then show off when we get there. Sure enough, she did her flip for her doctor who told me "she is not supposed to do that yet." Way to go L*ily!

It so happens that my nephews have the same pediatrician - she is an excellent pediatrician that they were already seeing, but we were also referred to her from the hospital because she works with children with Down's Syndrome too. Shortly after I had L*ily in, M*inke reminded the pediatrician that we were related when she had taken one of the boys in. The pediatrician said, "Oh L*ily, she is one amazing baby!" It brings tears to my eyes and I ask myself, "how did I get here?" I tend to get a bit Poly*anna about things sometimes, and I know that L*ily has many challenges in front of her but these days I am trying to soak it all in amidst the juggling (this is why I can't seem to blog as often as I'd like!) and I am resting in the sentiment, Look how far we have come!

Even as I say that, I do ask for your prayers for our next brain ultrasound coming up this Friday. The purpose of this again is to monitor the size of her ventricles to see if they have increased. There was no change between the last 2 ultrasounds after they had increased slightly from birth to 2 months. The doctors are hopeful because she is meeting all of her developmental milestones thus far. I will update after I have one - likely we won't know the results until after the weekend.

Sisters

Z*oe loves being a big sister - and at her age this means a lot of touching L*ily's face, head, hands, and the rest of her body. We have had to talk a lot about being gentle. But it is also so sweet to see and I am so happy that she has taken so well to her little sister.
When one of us starts talking with L*ily or doing something for her, Z*oe wants to help or to just hang around.
Sometimes this means L*ily gets a burp cloth not quite under her chin, Z*oe's face a little to close to her own, or ends up modeling something, like say, sunglasses:


But just as often, it means Z*oe is kissing her, "loving on her" or talking to her, and L*ily is always watching Z*oe to see what she will do next - following her every move with her eyes. She tracks well these days and tracking Z is way more exciting than some little rattle! I am so excited to see how they grow together and grow into loving, fighting, silly sisters. I had that and I'm glad they will too. Thanks E*m!

Four Inches!

This is how much hair my not quite 3 year old got cut off her head last week. Unbelievable! She was born with S*undseth hair (J*en's) and D*ave's cowlicks, so when her hair gets too long, its in her eyes and all over the place. I think her new hair looks adorable, although A*untie E*mily says now she looks old. What do you think...

Before:

After: