The Ironman

I should really let Phil write this, but that isn't going to happen. Right now he's sitting on the couch eating the ice cream that he told me not to buy anymore. Oh and making the most horrible sounds while he eats it too. It must be a Graves thing to have your chewing sounds be akin to nails on a chalkboard for some people because it runs in his family and hopefully Lily girl doesn't inherit the super annoying chewer gene. Maybe she will inherit the easily annoyed by chewing sounds gene (I know my brother is with me on this because he could not stand having anyone eat cereal next to him growing up...and probably still can't.) I'm about to have to leave the room because the sounds coming from the couch are killing me. I will have to be strategic about where I sit at the Thanksgiving table this year...

So back to the Ironman. Well it was Lily's first plane ride and she was a pretty good traveling companion. Phil managed to pack everything that he needed including his bike and make it to Florida in one piece with his parents, and they picked L and I up from the airport. Even sweet Dodge boy came. There were several meetings and bike check ins and the like prior to the actual event, and lots of catering to little Phil. The day of the race we went out to the start and watched the swim and the start of the bike, then came back that night to watch the finish. Phil had a really good time and was very happy with his performance and I am happy for him and also very glad that the Ironman is over and that he has more time to spend with his family and new baby. They were pretty lucky that the Ironman wasn't a day later because a tropical storm stirred up the water and brought in rain the following days and the red flags that signaled no swimming were flying high. Phil had a few small nagging injuries that kept flaring up the weeks and months prior to the race and he was a bit worried about them causing problems during the race, but luckily he felt wonderful all day, and the worst thing that happened was a giant blister on the bottom of his foot.

I don't really know what more to say because it was Phil's race, not mine, but I do have pictures!

Friends at last

Happy Dodge..You are going to do what?Ok, this isn't so bad!

Baby Giraffe

I should hire my friend Emily to be my personal shopper, because she always finds the cutest things for Lily. She found the most adorable giraffe costume [on sale too!] and so Lily was a giraffe for halloween. Although she didn't actually wear her costume on halloween night, but she wore it two other times and I'm going to try to get some cute pictures of her in it outside when I get a chance. Phil's work has a fun afternoon where the kids can come up and trick or treat in everyone's cubes, so I took her up there to visit daddy and show her off.

Pop that collar

This is for "Uncle Ben", who says I don't care about Dodger anymore. Look how happy he is in his coat. He's even doing his superman pose...

2 Month Checkup

Today was Lily's 2 month checkup and she is still growing by leaps and bounds. She weighed in at 14 lbs 7.5oz and was 24 inches long. She is still off the charts percentile wise for both weight and height! She had her first shots today but we only did two. She only cried for a minute and she seems to be feeling fine so far. She's sitting in my lap as a type this. She is awake for most of the day now and besides a 3 hour nap, she generally only sleeps on car rides or when she is in the sling. The past two nights she has slept 8 hours, then fed, then gone back down for another 2-3 hours. I really hope she keeps this up, it is so nice for me! I feel like we are past the initial feeling of being in survival mode and are settling into a new normal. Phil and I are both enjoying our sweet little baby so much!

Little Girlfriends

We've been going to the Arboretum at least once a week lately. The weather has been absolutely beautiful, and it is nice to get out and meet friends there for lunch. I love that I have friends with little girls so close in age! It is so fun to see them interact with each other. Lily started crying when I put her down, which caused Alyssa and Harper to burst into tears as well. Luckily they calmed down for a few pictures.

Alyssa wants a bigger bow and decides to take matters into her own hands.

8 Weeks Old

We've discovered that we can suck on our hands (loudly), kick and splash in the bath, actually notice the toys suspended on the play mat, and are smiling a lot more often (especially on her changing table for some reason.) She's also in 3-6 month clothes for the most part. Nights are getting much better, and she generally goes anywhere from 5-8 hours, then back down for another 2-3. I'll take that! Here she is, 8 weeks old, hamming it up for the camera: