Water Baby

It's safe to say that Lily loves the water.  She's always enjoyed bath time and she loves water days at daycare.  Grandpa Hoy has heated his pool up to a very comfortable 80 degrees and she's enjoyed playing since early this spring.  This past weekend she threw tantrums when daddy tried to pull her from the pool.  And she couldn't get in enough boat rides or riding the waves.

As for mom and dad, we both enjoyed the lake this past weekend.  Mike and a friend spent most of Saturday taking boater's safety to be able to legally ride the jet skis.  Later that evening (after a few adult beverages) Mike bet me I couldn't get up on skis.  The wager = Sunday morning baby duty.  I'm happy to say I got to sleep in Sunday morning! 



GI Update

A little over a week ago, I finally got a phone call from Motts Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan to schedule Lily with a GI specialist.  They were unable to get us in until August 6th but at this point it was still better than having no appointment with anyone.  Then last Wednesday I got a call from Helen DeVos saying they were starting to schedule their August appointments.  I pulled up my calendar to August, went through the motions of verifying Lily's birthdate, address and insurance information and the referral lady said, "How about Friday?".  Of course my reaction was, "I'm sorry - do you mean this Friday?".  She went on to apologize that it was last minute but it looked like there was a cancellation so an appointment was available in two days.  SOLD.  We booked it.

Friday morning we made our way to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital which is both the most amazing medical practice and most depressing medical practice Mike and I have ever set foot into.  We pulled into the parking garage and ended up parking next to a family unloading their 3 or 4 year old son and their suitcases.  Their son was sporting a bald head and breathing tubes.  I wanted to hug him and his parents and tell them they were the strongest people in the world.  The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming as we passed visibly sick children on the way in.

Lily's appointment was in the pediatric building across the street from the round hospital most people are familiar with.  When we entered the waiting room, I was extremely impressed.  We were instructed to check in using one of the automated stations - think airline self check-in computers.  Finding Nemo was playing a big screen TV, there were activities on all of the walls, statues to play on, and colors everywhere.  We were called back to see the doctor exactly on our appointment time and she came in immediately after Lily had her vitals taken.  And she was AMAZING.

She confirmed she felt nothing internally wrong with Lily and helped us develop her treatment plan.  She explained to us that Lily's belly was a little distended, likely from her not completely emptying herself.  And then Lily put on a show and demonstrated how she was having issues going to the bathroom.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  The doctor was able to witness a piece of what we'd been seeing and also inspected her diaper.  We were instructed to make some more dietary changes and given a list of suggested meal plans.  In addition, we were to up her Miralax dosage until her stool was much much softer.  The 1tsp we had been giving her didn't seem to be doing the job.

I'm happy (not sure if this is the right emotion) to say we've had four days of successful silent stink bombs.  Last night we had a tub necessary blowout and this morning ended in a change of clothes for both Lily and I - I'll spare you the dirty details.  Isn't it funny how excited you get about poo when you become a parent?

On the Move

Lily has been super stubborn on the whole walking thing.  She is fully capable but is taking her sweet time.  I wouldn't say I'm completely upset that I don't have to chase her around restaurants or the grocery store, but it would sometimes be convenient if she would just walk herself into daycare on the days I have to lug in a pack of diapers, a gallon of milk, a beach towel, and her swim suit.

While eating dinner, Mike and I noticed the top of Lily's head moving around next to the table and it was clear she wasn't holding on to anything.  When she realized we caught her, she couldn't stop giggling.  She hasn't decided she's ready to walk all the time yet but I was able to catch her on video for a few seconds.

That's MY Daddy!

Lily is NOT a fan of when Daddy and Diesel cuddle.

15 months

Terrible twos?  No...terrible month 15.  Most of the time Lily is the sweetest most laid back baby I've ever met.  Recently however, she's become a drama queen.  I know most of you are probably smirking and saying I wonder who she gets that from.  Don't worry - my husband reminds me every time she throws herself into a fit.

Last week we scheduled a re-shoot of Lily's one year photos.  Our photographer offered to come back to get a few shots of Lily smiling.  We figured there was too much going on at the orchard and she'd probably be more comfortable at home with Diesel.  Not so much the case.  Instead, each time Erin pulled up her camera, Lily threw herself into a fit.  When the camera was away - she was perfectly fine.  The crazy thing is, she let's me take her picture all the time.  And she didn't have a problem when Erin was just playing with her.  Needless to say, we didn't get any additional pictures of her smiling.  Lily -1, Mom - 0.

Yesterday, Lily threw herself into a seven minute (yes I've started timing them) tantrum because she wanted her bedtime bottle an hour before bedtime.  We've cut her afternoon bottle out so I would expect her to want her night bottle early.  But I told myself I would stick to my guns and offer her the sippy cup of milk but not her bottle.  I lost it when she crawled to the fridge and pounded on the door.  When I opened it she pulled her bottle off the shelf and tried her hardest to get the top off.  Lily - 2, Mom - 0.

This evening, Lily threw herself into a 24 minute tantrum.  For the life of me I couldn't figure out what she wanted.  She'd had her bedtime bottle (early) and eaten dinner.  She rolled herself around the living room kicking and screaming - refusing her blanket, stuffed animal, and another bottle (I was trying everything).  I finally just left her to her tantrum and started putting laundry away.  When Mike walked through the door, he found her by herself in the living room throwing everything in her way.  We managed to get her into her pajamas and when I carried her to her room kicking and screaming, she practically threw herself into her crib.  The minute I set her down she rolled over, snuggled her blanket, and shut her eyes.  Who knew she just wanted to go to bed early?  I shut her door and started sobbing.  Lily - 3, Mom - 0.

Summer Fun

It's hard to believe that we are almost half way through June already.  It seems our summers have always flown by - packed with weddings, canoe trips, and camping.  This summer is flying by packed with trips to the zoo, kids birthdays, and a few weddings.  Oh how things change. 

This past weekend was particularly busy.  Mike now has every other Friday off and you'd think we would combine forces and get things done around the house while Lily was at daycare but this was not the case.  We both spent the day at two separate golf courses - mine for work, his for a bachelor party.  Saturday we celebrated our good friend Cru's first birthday and Sunday we spent the day outside.

The Stuevers

Happy Birthday Cru!

Loving the frosting

Lily has hair - and it's curly!

Proof my child can stand on her own when she thinks no one is watching



The many faces of Lily



Ham

A Day at the Zoo

We spent Saturday with some of our favorites!  Lily and her future husband visited John Ball Zoo for the first time.  We enjoyed catching up with the Reuschels and the Noreens at Founders for the rest of the afternoon.