Lily from birth til 10 months!

Month 1 (February): We had a hard time in the beginning feeding little Lily. Her mouth was so little she had a hard time latching on when nursing. So we had a fun time trying to figure that out. At first Michael had to help me feed a tube into her mouth while she nursed that gave her formula so she would have incentive to suck. That was horrible! Finally she figured out how to nurse with the shield. She was so small they were worried about her gaining weight. I would nurse her for 10 minutes on each side then pump while Michael or my mom gave her a bottle and we would repeat that every 3 hours! By the end of the month I didn't have to keep pumping or give her a bottle. She could just eat with the shield. Her feedings were long though. 45 minutes a time 7 -8 times a day! Nicole and Holly both came over and took amazing newborn photos of her. For some reason Nicole's newborn pics weren't on my computer so they aren't in this post. By the end of the first month, Lily gave me her first smile! It made all the hard work of the first month  completely worth it! We had a lot of adjusting to do as parents this month. But it was fun! So many family members helped bring us dinners and even clean our house! We are so grateful for family and friends.

Lily in her Fisher Price Rocker

Lily's First Bath at Home was Given by Nicole!

Lily loves her daddy!

All Dressed up for Valentine's Day!

Month 2 (March): I knew I would have to go back to school in a few months so I just tried to treasure every moment I had with Lily. I could just cuddle with her all day long, and I pretty much did. I started getting her on a sleep schedule too so that we would both get some sleep when I had to go back to teaching. She still was sleeping by our bed in her little Fisher Price Rocker. At the end of the 2nd month we moved her to her room but she still slept in that little rocker. By the end of the month she was sleeping through the night! It was amazing and wonderful since it takes a lot of energy to teach.

So comfy!

Fashion Model!

Month 3 (April): I went back to work and Lily would go and hang out with my mom every day. My mom was so nice! She would bring Lily to school twice a day so I could nurse her and see my sweet baby! I was so lucky to have my mom be Lily's babysitter. They had a lot of fun together and still have a special bond. It was nice to have peace of mind that Lily was still getting lots of love and was safe while I was at school. Michael and I were so excited to spend our afternoons with her. Lily loved her swing at this age. While I was making dinner I would stick her in it and she would smile and laugh at her owls and then usually fall asleep. Michael started "practicing" for the blessing with her. He would hold her up in the baby blessing hold and tell her things he was going to bless her with and she would giggle so hard! It was so cute. We loved sitting on the couch with her while watching tv with her laying on our legs. She would just lay there and talk to us. We finally started taking her out in public when she turned 3 months old. We were very worried about RSV. She was glad to get out of the house and visit people. She loves going to the store!

Look at my pretty blue eyes!

I love to stick out my tongue!

cutest pout ever!

Month 4 (May): We blessed Lily on May 20th. Michael did an amazing job. Lily did too! She didn't even cry. Both of Lily's grandparents and most of her uncles were in the circle. After Sacrament Meeting we went Heritage Park in Cedar Hills and had a lunch. Lots of people came to celebrate with us! It was so fun! Lily got really good at holding her head up and at holding onto toys this month. It was my first Mother's Day this month too! Michael made it very special. I felt so blessed to finally be a mommy on Mother's Day! Holly and Nicole both took supercute pictures of Lily in her blessing dress for me too!

Her Beautiful Dress! She could be a bride!

Thanks for the bracelet, Judy!

So reverent :)

Silly Lily!

Me and My Mom and Lily on Mother's Day

Renee, Lily, and I on Mother's Day!

Month 5 (June): Summer started and I was done teaching and officially a full time stay at home mom! I was in heaven! The very first day of summer Lily learned how to roll from her stomach to her back! I was so excited that I got to witness it. The next day she figured out how to go  the other way. We put Lily in her crib this month as well. It was kind of an adjustment for her but I think she liked being able to stretch out and being able to roll around (although that caused her to wake up in the night a lot). Michael and I were both home with her everyday. It was bliss! I started taking her on walks every morning. We loved it! Michael also had his first Father's Day. We gave him a mouse pad with lots of cute pictures of Lily on it.Lily started sitting in her bumbo and loved it! She finally is able to nurse without the shield too! That is so nice. It was annoying always having that thing with me and keeping it clean. I have to feed her a lot though. About every 2 1/2 hours.

Happy First Father's Day!

Michael, My Dad, and Lily on Father's Day

Michael, Craig, and Lily on Father's Day

She loves her swing! It's a lifesaver!

Month 6  (July): Lily had her first 4th of July! Renee (Michael's mom) gave her the cutest outfit that said "I love the 4th". Lily also got her first cold this month. She also had fun on Pioneer Day. She started getting extra cuddly this month and would snuggle on my shoulder. I absolutely love it when she does this! Now she mostly just does it right before I lay her in her crib before a nap, but she will still do it sometimes for a few seconds every now and then for fun. She started eating rice cereal this month and then oatmeal too. She goes crazy for the stuff. We would just feed her while she was in her bumbo. I started out the first week just doing breakfast (after I nursed her) we would then have some cereal. The second week we added it to lunch time and the third week we added it to dinner. It sure is messy but she likes it a lot. She got a lot faster at nursing too. About 15 minutes a time and only 5 times a day. She started shaking her head no a lot.

Happy Independence Day!

Month 7 (August): Lily turned 6 months! Half a year old! She had her 6 month pictures taken by Nicole (my sister-in-law) who did a marvelous job! She learned how to sit up by herself this month too! We also took a Mommy and Me Swimming class. Lily was like a little mermaid int the water. She loved swimming after her little duckies. She was really good at it and enjoyed it a lot. She looked so cute in her little hat and swimsuit. Since she is so white I had to slather on 50 spf sunscreen and she wore a swim shirt even though we were only out for like 20 minutes. She still got burned on her little legs on day. I guess that's what she gets for having such beautiful blue eyes! I started feeding her yellow veggies this month. I started with squash then sweet potatoes then carrots. Then we tried some green veggies: peas and beans. Then we did some fruits. She was allergic to pears at first but not now. As far as I know she still is to prunes, I will retry those again soon. She loves bananas and peaches and even mangos! I would stick with a new food for at least 3 days before adding a new food. I would always do the new food at either breakfast or lunch to make sure she wasn't allergic. Michael had lots of food allergies as a baby so we were a little overrotective. But better safe than sorry! We had our first family vacation this month too! Most of my family met Ryan and Jayme and their kids in Mesquite so we could all meet the newest Stoker, Kash! My mom rode with us down there. Lily did pretty good until we got stuck in construction in the canyon for like 2 hours! We stayed at the Casa Blanca. It has an awesome pool! Lily kind of had a hard time sleeping in the pack n' play in the same room as us and everything. But we survived. We went bowling and ate at our favorite restraunt there-The Fez. They have the best breakfast deal around! It was a blast. Lily loved the pool and hanging out with all her cousins and the rest of the family! And Kash was so darn cute it definitely made the trip worth it. Michael and I had our 7 year anniversary this month as well. We got to go out and eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was the most amazing things our mouths have tasted. We also got to go see Wicked! It was a very fun month. The only sad part was that Michael had to go back to school :( Lily and I miss spending all day with him but we are so grateful he can provide for us. Lily started doing "Big Girl" where she would put her hands together and hold them up to her forehead whenever we said "Big Girl!". She looked like a little ballerina. She also started clapping whenever we said "Yay!"

Lily with her best friends Beckett and Sophie

Happy 7 Year Anniversary!

Look at me sit by myself!!!

I'm gonna roll over and I'm really happy about it!

Month 8 (September):  This month Lily started scooting/army crawling around everywhere! She is quite determined. If she sees something interesting she will get there one way or the other. I started teaching piano lessons! I love it. I only have 7 students but that is the perfect amount for right now. We started giving her finger foods. She loves the puffs! She loves cheerios too and the rice cups and cut up bananas and pears and peas. She loves rice and refried beans too! Her naps finally became awesome this month. They are between 1 1/2 hours to 2 and 1/2 hours long and she takes them at 9 and 1. It's wonderful! She sometimes takes a catnap around 5 too. She loves to read books and turn the pages herself. Her favorites are "That's Not My Kitten" and "That's Not My Dolly". She loves touching all the different textures. She also loves the Curious George books and her book about colors. She likes this book called "Kitty Kitty" and laughs at 2 of the pages. She likes to give all the kitties kisses too. She even sort of says kitty. She goes "kkkkkk". Its too darn adorable!

Lily sitting with Grandma Malouf at the Labor Day Swim Party at Aunt Joan's house

Month 9 (October): Lily was the cutest Tinkerbell you've ever seen for Halloween! Michael was Peter Pan and I was Wendy. Michael's mom also got her the most adorable outfit that said "Daddy's Under My Spell" that came with orange and black striped leggings and a cute little black tutu with stars on it and of course Halloween socks to go with it too. I would have her wear it and then wash it as soon as I could so she could wear it again. She probably wore it twice a week that month. I held my first piano recital this month too. We did it the day before Halloween so the students wore their costumes and played spooky songs. We got to go take Lily up the American Fork Canyon and see all the pretty leaves! It is literally right around the corner and we don't go enough! Lily figured out how to crawl this month! She also started to at first just stand against the furniture but by the end was pulling herself up. Lily has started to really HATE getting her diaper changed or getting dressed. As my mom said, its like trying to change a puppy. She is constantly rolling over and crawling away. She screams and yells at me! Hopefully she stops because she will be in diapers a lot longer yet. She says "mama" and "dada".

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell!

Tinkerbell is very excited!

Month 10 (November): Lily figured out how to go up the stairs! We have to do it before she goes to bed and then I have to chase her down the hallway :). She likes to cruise along the couch and she can stand by herself for a long time. She is so coordinated. She will bend down and pick things up and then stand back up again. She always has to have something in her hand. Holly took her 9 month pictures and they turned out great. She was a hard model because she kept crawling away during the pictures. We did lots of outfit changes. It was fun! We had a fun Thanksgiving Break. Ryan and Jayme and their 5 boys came up! We got to have 2 Thanksgivings. On Thursday we spent the day with the Maloufs and then we all had pie at Aunt Diane's. On Friday we spent the day with my family. We ate at the church across the street from my mom's so we would all fit since there are 40 of us. We played volleyball after! It was a blast. I would usually go back to my parents house after putting Lily to bed so I could play games with my family. Michael was nice enough to let me! We are getting ready for Christmas! My mom gave Lily a Little People Nativity. She loves it! She loves closing the gate so it makes animal sounds and pressing on the baby Jesus so it will play music. She likes to carry around the different animals and suck on their heads. Lily got her first ear infection. She also had diarreah and bad diaper rash this month too :( But she is a trooper! She is still always so happy even though I know she isn't feeling too good. She hates taking the medicine though. I don't know why, its freaking delicious! I wish I could still have my antibiotics like that. This month we had to quit nursing. My milk just suddenly disappeared. So we started her on Similac Formula. She hated it at first but is doing good now. Maybe she will start to finally chunk up! She started doing some sign language this month too! She signs more, all done, and thank you. She does the whole thing of patty cake now. She loves the roll it part. It is so cute to watch her roll her arms. She also blows kisses and waves bye bye. Lily has always liked to point and has done "E.T. Finger" for a few months, but now she likes to do the "come here" with her finger and just make it bend in and out a lot. She likes to imitate our voices too. She tries to say things and she likes to fake scream when I do it and she goes "shhhh". She  does little sound effects too. When we read her books she does little noises for when the bunny runs away and when Curious George falls into the water. She absolutely loves reading books! We have to read at least 3 before her naps. I put her in her little sleep sack thing, we read three books and like magic she starts yawning and rubbing her eyes. So I close the blinds and curtains, turn on her sound machine, hug her for a minute and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and then lay her in her bed and she usually falls right to sleep.

Mommy and Lily at my family's Thanksgiving Feast!

Our Little Tinkerbell!

I just love you to death!!!!

Crawling Everywhere!

I think I'll just go up these stairs now!

Did you say, Christmas???

Well from now on I'll do the month posts individually! So the future posts won't be nearly as long :)