flowers

 Lily Bear is 4 months old today.  In my opinion, it's gone really fast, and I can't believe she's already 4 months.  In Jesse's words, "that's it?!"  And today, a lady looked at Lily and said, "so, I'm guessing...8 months?"  Close.  We've also gotten 9 months.  Really?  She can't even sit up on her own yet, but yes, 9 months is a good guess ::note- slight sarcasm:: I guess it's because she's so awesome.  Speaking of which, she's giving the sitting up a valiant effort :)

And, without further ado..4 month pictures!!  I was laughing during most of these, as taking pictures of her continues to become more of a challenge and more entertaining.

  

Jesse was the attention-getter and the dog-keeper-away-er.  And also, the guy panicking the photographer's ear with "don't let her eat the lily, it'll poison her!!!!"  We're a great team.  

naps

I love the days that I am able to trick Lily into taking a longer nap.  Longer meaning a nap more than 30 minutes.  I feel so productive, and sometimes, can even get in a power nap myself.  I.  Love.  It.  I just wish she would take the hint and make them part of our daily routine, but I'll take what I can get.

She has been sleeping through the night for the most part..but waking up some nights around 3 or so for a feeding.  But getting up once in the night isn't a big deal in my book, so we roll with it :) We went to her 3-4 month check up on Monday, and she weighs 15 lbs, 6 oz now, and is 25" long!!  Lily is getting so big!  The nurse picked her up and made the comment that she is "solid" and I have to agree: I'm pretty sure I'm building up some awesome arm muscles carrying her around everywhere..and more often than not, her plus an armful of other stuff.  I'm getting pretty good at multi-tasking..

Anyway..what else.  She typically does really good with the babysitters I leave her with while I go work out at the Y.  This morning, I guess she didn't cry at all, so yay!  I've been enjoying my workouts, that's for sure.  It's really nice to get an hour or two of just "me" time (even if I have to be working out to get it!).  I've been switching it up between running (to get in shape for training for my half marathon..seems backwards), Tai Chi, fencing, swimming, and other aerobic classes at the Y depending on my schedule.  And for the record, as far as fencing goes, Jesse and I are taking fencing classes at the Y together, and basically, we're awesome.  Well, not really, but we're getting there.  He's better than I am, but we've both agreed that just because we like each other does not mean we'll take it easy on each other.  Thus, the bruises I have on my leg and rib cage where he stabbed me yesterday.  It's ok, I got him back.  I did tell him if I won all the matches last night he owed me ice cream..he won after I said that :/ I'll see about getting pictures of this at some point.

That's about it for now, and I have to go get ready for work.  Woohoo..I close tonight, which means Jesse will be on an adventure by himself in putting Lily down for the night!  Everyone say a prayer for him!

pretty sure I need to give up and admit she likes to suck on her fingers..

more swimming

Lily went swimming today for the first time ever!  And, as my friend Julia (aquatics director at the Y) would agree, she's a natural.  Julia and I 'borrowed' a swimsuit that fit Lily, got a swimming diaper, and away we went!

Little Mermaid!

I look kind of creepy..

Miss Jodi

She was very calm during the whole thing and really seemed to enjoy floating around (as much as a baby can at 3 months old?).  Lily seemed to naturally want to float..and since I don't know if babies float by themselves, we kept a hold of her just the same.  She was also fine floating on her back some, which apparently, older kids (like toddlers) aren't too fond of.  So go Lily!!

Aunt Julia

haha, Lily's face..

And yes, I dunked her.  Lily came up a little confused and trying to figure out what just happened while she tried to blink the water out of her eyes, but there were no tears!  We might have a future swimmer on our hands :) she was really quite adorable (as always), and by the end of our time in the pool, she was trying to kick her legs and splash with her hands.  

That's really about it..Mom and Dad H came to visit for the day and we really had a good visit with them.  They haven't really seen Lily too much since Thanksgiving, so I enjoyed getting to talk about Lily's new developments and how much she's growing/changing.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures though :( 

Oh!  I probably didn't mention (did I?): Jesse gave himself a concussion Monday.  The reason I mention this is to pass on the information that he's doing much better and his head doesn't hurt as much now, so that's good.  And  yes, it's a good story.  We have a sloped ceiling in Lily's room and he walked into it.  And gave himself a concussion.  He's slick like that.

Top 5 Snow Memories

West Virginia (at least where I am) is supposedly getting a "winter storm".  I'm not overly impressed, but there is a decent amount on the ground.  Seeing all the snow and not being able to go sledding (1. no sled [easily fixed, I realize this], 2. nowhere to go [even though it's all hills here and there is no flat ground anywhere, I don't know of anywhere without trees to go sledding!]) has made me think of my favorite snow and sledding memories.  While I was thinking of the top 5, I realize that the most prominent ones involved injuries haha I guess if it's traumatic enough, you will remember it more?
In no particular order..
1.  sledding with Jeremy and the Dryden's.  I don't know how to sum it up, but there were many, many hours of fun on the one hill in Findlay.  We did everything: from full-contact sledding (trying to knock each other off on the way down the hill), to linking 6+ sleds together to form a train and, our personal favorite, using Jeremy's inner tube.  The inner tube was definitely the best, and when we were smaller, we'd try and fit at least 6 of us on there and try and see how many would still be on at the bottom of the hill (normally at least one managed to stay on).
2.  commandeering the snow plowed pile of snow next to our house in the dead end and making snow forts.  Jess, Joel and I were super lazy when we built snow forts.  I only really remember building a handful in my life because we lived on a corner lot that had a dead end, so the snow plow would just create one for us, and all we had to do was dig it out a little bit.  I think the best fort Joel and I ever made was about 4 feet tall and circular with no entrance.  So we felt the best way to get in was to try and vault over the wall (do you remember this, Joel?).  Yes, we were cool. 
3.  back to sledding: that one time that Jess, Joel, Jeremy and I went sledding.  We all piled onto the inner tube, and down the hill we went.  It was icy, and we were going really fast.  Joel and Jeremy heroically bailed when they saw we were going right for the trees, but Jess and I couldn't and she thought it'd be good to stick her foot out to try and rebound off the tree.  Needless to say, the resulting trip to the ER was not as much fun as sledding was.  Jess, secret confession time: those of who didn't get hurt and who weren't Mom found it really funny and were trying not to laugh most of the ride to the hospital.  It was funny mostly because the three of us were stuffed in the back of the mini-van with a giant inner tube.  
4.  so many great sledding memories!  When we went in Montana while we were visiting our relatives.  We met up with some of their friends and so we could sled down a mountain.  Yes, they're hardcore out there.  They even wore helmets.  Someone drove us about a mile up the mountain in his truck, with all our sleds in a trailer on the back, and the rest of the adults stood at the bottom of the road telling drivers that there were kids on sleds coming down the mountain.  We didn't go very fast, but trying to steer around switchbacks and hairpin turns is not natural.  Or, you know, the risk that if you miss a turn you might fall down the side of a mountain..
5.  my first snow day!!  Can't leave this one out: sophomore year of college, I finally got to experience my first snow day.  Going to school on a walking campus, and it being -20ºF and all (oh, and also keeping in mind that all the other schools in the area had cancelled classes), MVNU decided it would be ok to give us a snow day.  Probably because so many students skipped classes, but regardless, Jesse, Jess, Richard and I (and a bunch of other students) went sledding. Too cold for classes?  Yes.  Too cold for sledding?  Never.  There were a bunch of "borrowed" cafeteria trays (naturally), and it was lots of fun.  Actually, I think this is the only time that Jesse and I have ever been sledding together?  This needs to change..
6.  ok, last one.  And 6 is the new 5, and I just didn't want to leave this one out.  My great-grandmother and I used to talk about snowmen during the winter.  I (probably with some sibling help) built a huge one in my grandparents front yard one year for her, since she couldn't build one herself :)


I have so many other great memories of snow/sledding growing up, and I can't wait to make some more with Lily and Jesse.  Provided I can find a cleared hill, Lily WILL be sledding next year at this time, and I'm very excited about building her first snowman with her and having a snowball fight (ok, that one probably won't happen for several years..).  For now, I'll be content with playing with Zeke in the snow.  

365 Day Challenge

Check out my other blog where I'm going to try and take one picture a day of Lily! (click HERE for the blog)  And, since you came all the way here and probably wanted more of an update than that, here's a video.  Don't mind the dog, he's just chewing on the plastic squeaker part of a stuffed toy he demolished earlier.  

In my uneducated, never-done-this-before opinion, I think it won't be long before she's crawling!  The whole point of the video was supposed to be Lily trying to get up on her knees (which she is trying to do) but she only does it once.  I still think it's cute :)

Oh, and while I'm here, I may as well mention that Jesse watched her with no exciting incidents for a few hours while I was at work the other day.  He even got her to take about an hour nap!  I don't know how he did it..but he's also started reading stories to her from my Nook Color.  Which is precious.  She sees all the bright colors of the story and tries to touch them.  And since it's a touch screen device, she sends them all over the place in the story.  Jesse said he'd be ok with it an not annoyed, but he really wanted to see how the story turned out, as it was one he'd never read before (How the Elephant Got His Trunk, Rudyard Kipling).  It is a good book..now if only they had Harold and the Purple Crayon, life would be complete.  I would read that to Lily every day.  

so long 2010..

I'm not one for deep and thought-provoking blogs- I prefer these conversations in person- but with the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, like so many people, I'm reflective.

This past year was a doozie.  I can't think of another word that so accurately describes it.  I loved it: so much happened, both good and bad, and I have hopefully grown and matured through it.  Blah blah blah, it was busy, to say the least!  Let's see if I can highlight some of it..

-January- began the New Year on the right foot: in PA with Jesse's family.  We went to Philly and saw the Liberty Bell and stuff there (I didn't lick The Bell though [shout out to the tv show How I Met Your Mother]).  Found out at the end of the month that I was pregnant *bombshell explosion sound effect* and began training for a half marathon.

-February- began to tell people that I was pregnant and made it official by putting it on Facebook.  Jesse celebrated his 25th birthday and nothing else happened.
-March- my 23rd birthday month!!  I don't remember March..I think I slept through most of it.  My identical twin, Emily, came to visit..and I think Joel and Kimmy did also?
-April- buuuuuuuuuusy month!  Easter in Findlay, half marathon in St. Louis, visit to Michigan to help Matt and Erin move from an apartment to their first home.  Also, began working at the Y for some fun and a little extra money.

-May- found out we were having a little girl.  I think Joel, Kimmy, Mom and Dad visited.

-June- travelling for weddings, spent a week in Oberlin, OH with the worst case of poison ivy ever known to man and decided on the name Lily Anne for our little girl.
-July- took a deep breath and relaxed for a few weeks.  Had a fun 4th of July celebration with our good friends, Jen and Chris.

-August- PAGANOFEST '10.  Traveled to Marble Head, OH for a Pagano family reunion and to visit Aunt Karen before she passed away.  What a wonderful weekend of fun and love.  Was told by a co-worker that I was starting to waddle (thanks, Whitney).

-September- nothing exciting happened in this month.  Just kidding.  Lily Anne Hildebrand joined the world on 9/24 after a super fun 2 days of labor and no sleep.  Thanks to Betsy for sacrificing sleep and being there for the whole thing and helping Jesse and me out through it all.  I also have a new definition of the word "pain," and all pain from this day forward is related to what 12 hours of hard labor with no medications and natural childbirth feels like.  I could write a book on this month.  Next.

-October- lots of visits from family, which I loved.  Moved into a new house 3 (?) weeks after Lily was born. Stupid idea.  But, this house is so much better, so I suppose it was worth it.  Also, cut the grass with a baby in a front pack for the first time ever.  She slept like a champ and I realized then she sleeps like her mama.
-November- the year is winding down, and we went to Toledo, OH for the wedding of Nikki and Rick Brennan, which I was in, 6 weeks after I had Lily.  I somehow fit into my bridesmaid dress and was ecstatic, although not so much about leaving my little girl with  my parents for a full day.  Lily met two of her great-grandparents, and spent some quality time with my family.  I somehow being away from her survived without tears, but just barely.  Thanksgiving with Hildebrand's, who volunteered to babysit their grandbaby for a few hours while Jesse and I went on a date to see a movie.

-December- signed up for a half marathon in April.  Started working again.  Christmas in Findlay, New Years in PA.  Jesse and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary.

It was a great year, for sure.  Upon reflection, I can honestly say Jesse and I are continuing to live by our motto of "go big or go home." whether that's good or not, I'm not really sure.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2011 will have in store for us.  As of right now, the only plans we have consist of a trip to Nashville, TN at the end of April for my half marathon, and a trip to Montana in early June for a week-ish.  I'm looking forward to watching Lily continue to develop.  

Off topic- but New Years was a blast.  As usual.  We were missing some family members this year, which was a bummer, but we (quietly, because of a sleeping baby) brought in the New Year just the same.  I actually almost missed it because some of us were playing a pretty intense game of Ticket to Ride and didn't know what time it was.  I guess the year would have ended whether I was paying attention or not..but I had fun :) Jesse got to play lots of computer games with his cousins while I went out shopping with Nikki and two aunts.

That's about it!  Welcome 2011!

Best Face Photo of 2010

The I Heart Faces challenges are back, and this week was a chance to review the best pictures of 2010, and post the best face photo.  

To no one's surprise, I'm sure, I picked one of Lily that I took at Christmas.  I took many pictures this year that I really liked and that I thought turned out well, but this one- with that cute little face on her first Christmas- is the one I decided on.