Lilli is enjoying her new teeth. She has discovered that she has all these little hard things in her mouth and she can rub them together. It is the most AWFUL sound you can imagine: teeth grinding together. And little baby teeth at that! But she finds it fascinating. I guess I would too if all of a sudden I had hard things in my mouth where before I just had soft little gums.

She has been a little talker all day today. Just nonstop chatter. And she's been standing a lot and bobbleheading and doing her other little normal Lilli things :) Not too much excitement. I did a lot of house cleaning today which she wasn't too fond of. She doesn't really like the vacuum cleaner. Addy doesn't either. He goes and hides.

I read a letter yesterday from a friend of a friend who has a one year old baby. I don't want to be critical of anyone else's joy in their baby, but I somehow hope that I don't sound like that in this website. It was just so. . .unobjective. Everything was so happy and the baby was so cute and BLAH BLAH BLAH. I was kind of bored. So I hope you don't get all bored with me. Seriously, please comment if you do. If I say that Lilli is so cute one too many times, please tell me so. Of course, the only people who read this are my grandma and my dad and Bob's mom and they all think Lilli is the cat's pajamas so I probably won't have any objectors to my saying Lilli is cute.

Then dinner. I'm just showing this one to show how huge she is! This is just an illusion, but don't Lilli and my mom look the same size??

But she always looks very determined.

And sometimes she twirls her hands around like a flamenco dancer.

My grandma took these last night. Lately Lilli has a funny way of very emphatically throwing up her arms and making a funny face. It's like she's trying with all her might to reach something. But what??

More teeth!!

I was looking in Lilli's mouth today, noticing just what an incredible amount of drool she is producing and saw that she has even MORE teeth coming in! I thought she just had her upper teeth coming in but she also has more bottom teeth coming in. Four at once! No wonder there is so much drool! She's a tad bit fussier than usual, and slept a little more today, but other than that seems fine. Progression is exciting, but I'm not sure how I feel about more teeth. . .

How do I read this?

Just wanted to let you know, it's best to read a blog from the bottom up because things get posted in that order. That means the most recent entries are at the top (conveniently) but that if I write a few entries at once, they may seem backward to you (inconveniently). So if you read them from the bottom entries first, things will often make more sense.

Now she's full!

Now she's getting a trifle impatient.

We went out to dinner Sunday night with my mom, Mary, Schuyler and his girlfriend Sarah. Mary took these. Lilli is shown here expectantly awaiting her dinner.

There's so much to catch up on! One week goes by and Lilli's like a whole new baby! Cindy and Michael's friend Craig asked me (while Lilli was on my lap), "hey! where's your baby?" and I was like, "huh?" but then he said, "that's not your baby!" And he's right. She's a totally different person almost from week to week. Anyway, that's my way of warning you that this may be a rather long entry. Nothing happened for awhile and then we got busy and then we spent the whole weekend at Bob's family's cabin at Timberlake. . . So now I have to play catch up.

To begin, new teeth are arriving! I've been thinking that forevers, but today we are finally able to see the little white things poking through her upper gums. I'm not sure how I feel about it actually. Now there will be teeth attacking my poor nipples from both sides :( But I must bow to the inevitable. . .

She's been busy in that mouth though. She's figuring out all sorts of new stuff. Her newest and funniest trick is sticking out her tongue. It is so funny to see her stubby little tongue poking out of there and the funny faces she makes to go along with it. She usually does it when she's laughing or amused or concentrating. She is just so fascinated with herself. She's also making a lot more noises. She's figuring out "jya" and "vvvv" and all the vibraty noises she can make. In general she likes noise though. There is nothing better than two hard things banging together. Especially in a restaurant.

And, she's been interested in mirrors for awhile but now she truly seems to get it that that's her in there. She'll try to sneak up on herself by peering up into the mirror and then she'll get closer and closer until she's nose to nose and then she'll kiss herself. Like I've said NUMEROUS TIMES, it's so interesting to see her figuring stuff out. And it's wonderful to see the simple innocent wonderment in her face at the simplest things. At Cindy's this weekend though, she was really confused by a picture of herself. She kept cocking her head at it and stared and stared and moved her head some more and nothing happened! I think she expected the Lilli in the picture to mimic the really Lilli, like a mirror, and couldn't figure it out!

Tonight before bed she figured out that she could fall backwards on purpose and that that was pretty fun stuff. She'd just tilt back and start to smile and look at us like "here I go!" and then fall back and laugh and laugh. She did that quite a few times before she got tired of that game. She's also getting a lot closer to crawling I think. She's managing to scoot on her bottom but if I put her in a crawling position she'll rock quite a bit and sometimes get her arms moving. But she just can't figure out the knees. One thing she CAN do though is get to a sitting position from all fours. And she's getting better and better at pulling herself to a stand.

ANYWHO, we had a  fun time at Timberlake and Lilli got spend a lot of time naked in the shade on the grass. Good for her rash. And she loves to pull grass.

Oh, one last thing. Her cute new expression is when she's all excited she puts both arms up really fast and screws up her face and lets out this little shriek. SO CUTE. Ok, guess that's enough for now.

She's been so cute today. (Don't I say that everyday?) She keeps trying to climb up my legs and get in my lap. Halfway up though she gets kind of stuck and gives me this really funny look and I have to help her the rest of the way. I wonder if she's been wanting to do that for awhile now, but now just has more control over her body as is better able to communicate her desires? hmmmm.

We also took her to the doctor today for a persistent diaper rash. It started small over a week ago but has gotten progressively worse, until now there are these red bumpy patches and little satellite pustules. mmmm, satellite pustules. Anyway, turns out it was a yeast rash so we got a prescription so hopefully now it will get better. I plan to let her crawl around outside naked tomorrow if the weather is good.

And eat the things that she shakes after she's done shaking them.

She likes to shake things.

Here's Lilli and my mom playing on Sunday night.

We had a very exciting day today. Oh yes. We went to Costco. I always end up spending way way more than I intend whenever I go there. Basically, I went there to get diapers and batteries (48 AA's for 10.99!!). So how did I end up buying a huge pack of gouda cheese and a queen sheet set? We don't even use flat sheets! That is the mystery and curse of Costco. Of course, I also couldn't resist buying Lilli some more clothes and toys. Just what she needed. Anyway, Lilli enjoyed it up to a point. She's funny, she'll only take so long of being in a stroller or shopping cart. Then she gets fussy and I have to put her in the sling which she enjoys. Maybe it's the walking motion. Anyway, I thought she was sucking my hand but it turns out she'd fallen asleep and her head was all wonky and there was drool all down my arm. Which poses the question: how come when I want her to go to sleep in a nice comfy bed sometimes she won't when she'll just go to sleep in any old position otherwise?
 
I've also been continuing trying to get her to crawl. She's getting pretty good at going from a crawling position back to sitting, but going from sitting to all fours is still very awkward for her. Usually she lunges forward and ends up on her belly, but she looks as though she's not quite sure what just happened. She's so cute now though when I'm sitting on the couch and she's on the floor and she lunges for my leg and then tries to crawl up me to get up on the couch with me. Yesterday she was REALLY cute. We were all sitting on the bed and Lilli was half standing, half sitting against Bob's legs. She was really happy and bouncy and I put my arms out and said "come to Mama" and she just lunged towards me with all the trust in the world and the biggest smile on her face.  It was so cute that Bob said, "hey, let her come to me now!" and so I set her up in a similar position and Bob put his arms out. Well, she wouldn't lunge and Bob was crestfallen. Maybe it was a one time deal. So he took her again and I put my arms out and, well, she lunged. Very sad Bob. I tried to explain to him that it's just part of babies, that they like their mamas more at first. After all, I have the boobies, and she spends the majority of her time with me. He was hard to convince though.  I also tried to tell him that babies tend to like better the parent who changes their diaper more often. I don't think he bought that though. Ha ha.
 
Oh, in other big big news, we got Replay TV. (Thanks mom and dad). It's basically the same thing as Tivo. Anyway, now this means that we don't have to miss any important TV (such as the Real World) because we have to put the baby to bed or something like that. Whee! Let the new era begin!

Well, I took Lilli to American Idol tonight. It's not exactly my idea of a fun way to spend two and a half hours with an almost eight month old, but there it is, he convinced me to go. His argument was partly based on the fact that our friends Kurt and Jo were supposedly taking their baby as well, but guess what? They got a babysitter! Probably what I should have done as well, but Lilli is still not really into being away from me yet. So off we went. Besides the fact that its horrible going anywhere its crowded when you have a twenty three pound baby strapped to you and the encompanying luggage, I couldn't find my seat due to the idiocy of a few ushers and was all stressed out about being late. Finally, all sweaty, I found my seat and Lilli and I settled in ok, before the music started at EAR PIERCING LEVELS. I knew that it would be loud, but we'd gone to the ice show and I had assumed the music would be about the same. But I was wrong. This was much much much much louder. Diana DeGarmo may have sounded good on tv but in person she reminded me of a shrieking banshee. Sorry. I tried to stuff cotton in Lilli's ears but it kept coming out and I kept having to stuff it back in, which probably bothered her more than the actual loudness. She actually did incredibly well. She enjoyed watching all the lights and she had a few (liquid) meals and jumped about quite a lot. At one point I think she was actually bouncing and kind of dancing in time to the music. Maybe we have a musical/dancing prodigy on our hands! And she was charming everyone around us with her bobble head. The guy behind her was totally cracking her up too. I couldn't hear her laugh but I could feel her little body convulsing with giggles. Anyway, we are home now and she is in bed, thank goodness. I was afraid she might have ringing in her ears and be fussy but she seemed fine. Maybe next time I should take cotton for my ears.
 
But in general she was very happy and good natured during the whole thing. Actually, lately she has just been a happy giggly baby all the time. She is laughing a lot more and just seems like she's made a quantum leap towards being a really real little person. It's just so weird to me! I can hardly remember what it was like when she wasn't so interactive. And everywhere we go people tell me how adorably cute she is. I try not to let this go to my head. Afterall, it's not merit based or anything. It's not like the better people get the cuter babies. But nonetheless, she is cute. I could overhear people in the crowd tonight saying, hey, look at that cute baby! :) And at Starbucks today, I didn't even have her with me, and the girl told me that last time I'd come in with her they'd all thought she was so cute and talked about her for a long time. Bob thinks she was just trying to get a bigger tip. Well, it worked! Those Starbucks baristas are no dummies.

She's been so funny today that I've noticed especially how many little expressions she has. And it really brings home to me how much of a little person she is now, with thoughts and feelings and everything! And MOODS! It's so weird! Anyway, she can look grumpy, and happy, and perplexed, and frustrated.  Sometimes she's silly and sometimes she's serious.  Cindy and Michael came over and she just LOVED playing peekaboo and one thing I noticed is that she can anticipate things now. Like, Cindy kept putting the cloth over her head and pretty soon she figured out that that cloth was coming and she'd put her little hands out before it could get there and think that she was just so smart and she'd laugh and laugh. I've noticed that too when I'm tickling her. I'll start at her toes and slowly walk my fingers up until I get to her armpit and then tickle her there and after I've done it a few times she starts laughing when I get to her tummy. Gosh, babies can be so much fun. Sometimes I didn't think so when I was nursing for the fourth time in a night at 5:30 in the morning.
 
She was doing something really unusual at Bob's grandparents too. Bob had brought his basketball and she was playing with it by patting it and rolling it. Well, suddenly she gave this shudder like she'd gotten a chill and she made the funniest face like she'd eaten something horribly sour. And she kept doing it! Over and over! It was so weird! I don't know if it was the texture of the ball or what but it was definitely giving her the heeby jeebies. Finally, Cindy couldn't stand it anymore and she made us take the ball away :)  Then she took a poop (Lilli did, not Cindy!). She has the funniest poop faces. I can't even really describe them but they are intense looks of inwardly focused concentration. Her face turns all red and she does this little half smile.  I'll have to try to get a picture someday before she's too old and embarrassed by it.
 
Anyway, it seems that some of my entries are too long to be enticing to my readers, so I'm trying to shorten them up. There's just so much to get down in writing before all of sudden she's like sixteen!

She was a craaazy girl when I tried to put her to bed tonight. She kept bringing her legs up to her chest and then smashing them down on the bed, and sometimes on my legs. ouch!! But then she grabbed hold of her feet and started clapping the soles of them together like it was the most charming thing in the world. Then, when she was finally half asleep, I kept trying to sneak away but everytime she would flail about for her lost booby. (It's kind of funny: her mouth is all open wide and searching about and she rolls her face into the bed, hoping its where the boob is hiding, and her arms are reaching out for me. Actually, it's kind of pathetic and makes me feel guilty.) Finally I just had to let her do her "When Harry Met Sally" moans and she fell asleep.

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She's being awfully silly today :) She keeps doing this funny little thing with her head. If she's playing there and I'm not looking right at her but she wants my attention she'll cock her head to one side and peer at me with this goofy smile on her face. Then when I look at her she'll laugh and smile and move her head back and forth, not unlike a bobblehead. It's like she's trying to get me to laugh. Naturally I do because it is so funny looking and then she looks very pleased with herself.

We went shopping today too, and I took her in the sling, which she absolutely LOVES. I've tried the stroller but she often demands the sling. But even in the sling, she likes to check to make sure I'm still there. She'll crane her little head around and up and look at my face and smile really big and then look back around at the big wide world. She rarely makes a peep when I have her in the sling. I tried to cart her around in it today while I picked up around the house, but it's hard to bend over with a twenty pound weight attached to your hip.

In other big developmental news, I had her seated on the floor playing with her toys while I was reading on the couch when suddenly I looked over and there she was tugging at my sleeve. She must have scooted about a foot and a half on her bottom. I didn't observe her doing it and it must have been kind of a gradual process for me not to have noticed it but there she was, trying to stand and getting ticked off that I wasn't helping her. Once I had her standing she wanted to get up on the couch with me. She is such the little cuddler and so she spent a good fifteen to thirty minutes bouncing on my tummy (ugh. . .the twenty pounds!). But anything to make her happy :)

We spent a rather quiet day today trying to recover from our busy weekend. We did our usual: playing, sleeping, and eating. As promised, we spent some time outside today, though it was just in the back yard. Bob picked up the poop yesterday so we could safely spend some time there without coming in smelling like poop ourselves. She LOVES being outside although I have to keep a constant eye on her as she will try to eat anything. She got mad because I took away a nasty old leaf she was sucking on.

I think she's getting better with the pre crawling as well. Now she uses her feet to get her butt up in the air but then she can't figure out how to move forward by just advancing one foot and arm at a time. So she gets frustrated and gives up and lands flat on her belly and just lays there looking disconsolate.

AND, now she's being proactive with the arm "pick me up" signal. Before she'd mostly do it when someone went to pick her up, but now if she wants to be picked up she'll put her arms up first. Like today, she was in her little exersaucer thing and Bob was sitting in the chair next to her and patted his arm and grunted and put her arms out to him. He was very pleased she wanted her daddy. :)

Now, AMAZINGLY, she has gone to bed early and so Bob and I can watch Road Rules without being afraid of permanently skewing her forming little mind towards a love for reality tv (of which we are a little bit ashamed :)) I was pretty ticked at Atticus today for twice waking her up from naps, but I may have him to thank for her being tired now. . .

My birthday was the 10th and, appropriately, we had a birthday extravaganza leading up to it :) This meant a lot of parties but we (meaning Lilli) survived. I think she's relieved it's all over, though she'd never tell me because she wouldn't want to hurt my feelings :) Anyway, she was a very good girl through it all. She got passed around a lot, and mostly was very patient about it. One thing I noticed though was that now when someone else is holding her and she wants me she'll stretch her arms out towards me and arch her whole little body in my direction. But then if I don't act on it fast, OUTRAGE.

Friday I went shopping with Duyen for awhile (Bob threw me a surprise party, and Duyen was the decoy) and we intended to get manicures but instead I was distracted by Gymboree and we ended up spending all out time there. That's what happens when you become a mother! I bought her the CUTEST set of overalls (on sale) and I wanted the whole ensemble but it would have cost a fortune. That didn't stop another mother at the counter with an eight month old who was wearing the whole getup: pants, shirt, socks, cardigan sweater and I'm guessing she had the matching hat in the bag there somewhere. AND, the mother was buying a whole counterful of new clothes! But, this little baby was even bigger than Lilli which was kind of a relief actually. 24 pounds! I think Lilli has actually kind of plateaued. She looks decidedly leaner these days. Anyway, later at the party when I was showing off Lilli's new overalls, Sonja reflected on how times have changed when the topic of animated conversation is Gymboree. There were three little babies at the party. Yes, times have changed.

THEN, Saturday night we went to Sonja's cabin on Camano where she was the only little baby. That was interesting for me because circumstances have REALLY changed since the last time a bunch of us went up there. Boy. For one, Bob and I were not together although we were both there. There were a lot of other differences, but the past is the past :) Those who were there, they know :)

When we got home Lilli was pooped out but somehow she was having trouble falling asleep. I'd think she was asleep and I'd try to sneak out but she'd start tossing and turning and making moaning noises. If you've ever seen "When Harry Met Sally" she kind of made those noises like Harry made when he couldn't sleep and was depressed. When he'd just lay there and moan. Finally I left the room but she moaned for another five minutes or so without realizing I was gone and then fell asleep. I was very amused, probably mostly because I kept thinking about "When Harry Met Sally."

On a related note, I've been meaning to tell how darn cute she is when she wakes up before Bob and I have gone to bed and I go check on her. She just smiles and smiles and is so happy to see me and if I lie down next to her she immediately puts her arms out to me and rolls towards me and usually promptly falls back asleep.

I can't believe summer is almost halfway gone. I had all these ideas about taking Lilli to the park everyday and we've gone, like, twice. We'll have to go tomorrow. . .

She was having a hard time concentrating on eating with that pretty foot always dangling in front of her face.

Bob's family threw me a lovely birthday party and Patty and Cindy made tons of delicious food. This made Lilli mad as she hates to be left out of eating: she really wanted a cheese sandwich but had to settle for some oatmeal, peaches and bananas.

Lilli, anyway, thinks I'm hilarious. . .

Koala Baby! My mom took these over the 4th.

We are entering a new era in which Lilli is fascinated by little, tiny, chokable things. (eek!) Over the weekend she really liked the metal buttons on Mary's jacket. She would stare intently and then slowly reach out her index finger to touch it, and then try to grab hold of it with her finger and thumb. The baby books call this the pincher grasp or something like that and it's supposed to be a big developmental step because they can more accurately pick up small objects (and thus choke on them). This morning in bed she was mesmerized by my rings which was really cute and a good thing because that will be an easy thing to keep her occupied with in the future when we are out and about and toyless. Plus, since they are on my fingers, she can't choke on them!

Today was a pretty eventful day in babyland. First off, I gave her a bath in the sink, and she was her usual delightful little bather self. But TODAY, she splashed for the very first time. I mean, she's *accidentally* splashed before, but I think today's was an intentional splashing. And then she was absolutely fascinated by the water coming out of the faucet. She's done this a couple of times, but she'll try to grab onto the stream of water and be so amazed that her little hand goes right through. It's so cool to watch her figuring out stuff.

And then a little later, I put her in her crib sitting down while I did something in the nursery and when I turned back she had managed to pull herself up on the railing and was on her knees looking at me over the bar. She look SO pleased with herself the little dickens. We will now have to babyproof the crib by lowering it and taking out the bumper probably.

THEN, (that's right, the fun doesn't end there!), I was playing with her on the bed and I put her on her tummy facing away from me. She craned her neck around to see and then, just like that, she turned over onto her back like it was the easiest thing in the world. Again, very pleased with herself. So I think we're getting there on the rolling over thing. I think I mentioned before that she's not so keen on being on her stomach and hasn't really figured out that she can roll over, even though she's done it rather serendipitously several times. Then she took a nap and it's so cute how she smacks her lips three times in such a classic baby way before she falls asleep.

Then we had a very scary moment. I was doing something on the computer, and Lilli was in her highchair sucking on a teething biscuit. I looked over, and I noticed that a rather good sized chunk had come off in her mouth and I was afraid of her choking on it so I took it out and put it away. Well, next thing I know, there must have been another chunk in there, because she was choking and spluttering and tearing up and I just grabbed her up and laid her on my forearm with her stomach on the heel of my hand and pounded on her poor little back, probably a trifle harder than necessary but it was SO SCARY. The whole time I was thinking, should I call 911? It probably wasn't a big enough piece to really choke her, it probably just bigger than was comfortable to swallow whole, but it was my first panic experience. She didn't cough it up or anything, but stopped coughing after a few seconds and then she was fine. She didn't even cry from the shock of me grabbing her up like that. SO. There you have it. Be careful with those teething biscuits.

In another unrelated observation, I've been noticing lately how when she wants to get somebody's attention she makes little grunty "ah" noises. I'll be sitting there, reading something or something like that while she's playing on the floor and I'll hear "ah. . . ah. . .ah" and I'll look over and she's staring fixedly at me and trying to get my attention. She needs quite a few cuddle breaks while playing, which I don't mind at all. Well, I guess that's it. Hopefully I will publish some more photos my mom took at Lummi by tomorrow.

Something about her expression here makes me laugh.

you're distracting me from my finger you silly photographer!

ooh, toy! this is one of her favorites that Grandma Cindy gave her.

hmmmm. . .bright flash!

Hey, I'm ticklish!

This finger doesn't taste very good.

Mesmerized by the camera!

My dad took these at Lummi over the 4th.

Whenever I move something, anything, towards Lilli's mouth, she opens it very obligingly wide. This comes in very handy when I'm trying to get her to eat or drink. (Sometimes when I have a spoon (which she recognizes) she'll open her mouth wide even before I move it towards her mouth). But it's kind of gross when the dog sniffs her mouth and she opens her mouth as if to say "ok, put your nose in here, if you want!"

Yesterday when it was dinner time, I put Lilli's bib on her. Usually I put it on her just before she's about to eat, but this time I had yet to get her food ready. But as soon as I left the room she started to fuss and protest. Clearly, she knows now that when I put a bib on her it means she's going to eat and gets mad if her expectations aren't met IMMEDIATELY. Clearly, she's a genius (and perhaps a bit of a tyrant.)

I really like this poncho and am thinking about making it.

What can I say?? All modesty aside I think these pictures are really flattering so I can't help but show them off a little. I hope I don't seem conceited. I just really like the pictures! Next time, it will be all about Lilli, I promise!! I do think her photos are inherently cuter!

I like this one because it has the Space Needle in the background, and, naturally, I usually do my knitting in the park while wearing sunglasses and a poncho. :)

Here she is again. I look at that expression and really wonder what she's thinking.

This website isn't about me, but I thought Becky took some great photos (and the weather was nice too!), and if you like the ponchos you can make them by going to the store and buying the pattern!

These pictures were taken last week at Kerry Park in Seattle by the sister of the owner of Hilltop Yarn and Needlepoint, where I used to work. Lilli sat and played (she was such a good girl!) while I modeled some ponchos for a new line of patterns the shop is putting out.

Bob said last night, a bit sadly, that he thinks Lilli is entering a new stage in which she loves me best. I disagreed, as I think it's only that she is most used to me and thus *needs* me most. BUT, as I reminded Bob, even though it is a wonderful thing to feel needed, I would *HAPPILY* give up being most needed for being only "equally" needed. If you know what I mean. :)

We spent some of the holiday weekend at Lummi Island, and a good deal of time was spent by all watching the baby channel, as Randy calls it. Monday morning we put Lilli on her tummy with a spoon in front of her (she loves spoons), and we all sat around her and cheered her onward. She managed to do a full push up and get her tummy off the ground, and with a little help she got her knees up, but she hasn't quite figured out how to make all the parts work. She pushed backwards a bit, and wiggled her hips a lot, and pushed her stomach in and out but finally just gave up and laid her little cheek to the floor. We felt sorry for her and so pushed the spoon within her grasp. But then she didn't have a very good angle on the spoon, being on her tummy, and so we had to roll her over. She doesn't much like being on her tummy. I am convinced that if she did like it she would be crawling by now. Maybe we should just MAKE her spend time on her tummy, but I don't have the heart to do it when she looks so frustrated and cries and looks up at me with those big, sad, betrayed eyes that say "mummy, why are you doing this cruel thing to me???"

A few times though in the last couple of months I've put her down in a sitting position on her mat and looked away for just a second and KABOOM there she is on her tummy next time I look. She always looks pleased and surprised at herself but then quickly demands to be righted. I'm not quite sure how she manages to get into that position so quickly. I think she must tip forward or sideways.

One more thing: I finally managed, while at Lummi, to read a book for more than an hour in one sitting! woohoo! This is a breakthrough. . .(of course, she was napping).

I left Lilli this evening with Bobby for like the second time EVER. I was only gone for about three hours, and from all accounts it was a success, which is good news for me in terms of future outings. But she was really happy to see me, which was very gratifying, I must say. She smiled and when I took her she giggled and did her little happy squirm. Then she got *MAD* when I didn't feed her right away. So maybe she just wanted the boobies. Oh well. Once I'd fed her she was happy again.

Lately, she's pretty funny at the breastfeeding. It's so funny to think we once had a problem with it. Nowadays, I'll have her in my lap as I get ready to nurse her (unbuttoning my blouse, or what have you) and as soon as she sees my breast she just grabs on. She won't even wait until I get her in a reclining position. Very impatient. I guess at least she recognizes it. But it's so funny to see her in any old position, very determinedly sucking at the breast. It kind of reminds me of a documentary I recently saw on some African tribe where the women go topless. They just carried their toddlers on their hips, and the babies just perennially had a titty in their mouths. They were rather long and saggy breasts (probably due to continually going topless and thus braless) which made it easier to get them to the babies' mouths, even when their mouths were up by the mother's shoulder. But it made me think that that must be the natural state of things. I know that if Lilli had it her way, she'd love to have a titty in her mouth 24/7.

I *think* Lilli might be trying to say "dog." It might be just the wishful thinking of a doting parent, but quite often when the dog goes by or does something funny, she stares at him fixedly and says "da!" quite expressively. The dog is not impressed with this. He HATES it when I call him over just so Lilli can pet him. He looks at me like, "what am I, chopped liver??" But anyway, I'M impressed.

In other observations, I was just putting her to bed so I was noticing all the amusing ways she moves her hands while she's nursing and falling asleep. She's been doing this quite awhile, but she often pats my forearms in the most endearing way, and also picks at the front of her outfit, all the while moving her little fingers and wrists about. It's kind of like a flamenco dancer. Lately, when she's more awake and nursing, she also likes to feel my teeth, but that's not as cute as she usually scratches my gums with her sharp little nails. . .

She was just really cute a second ago as I'd put her to bed but she wasn't as fast asleep as I thought she was and she started to fuss. But as soon as I went back in the room and she saw me, the fusses turned to giggles and she immediately closed her eyes and went back to sleep. That's one of the best moments of parenthood, to have someone so happy to see you they are immediately comforted and giggle with the joy of it. Actually it happens pretty often that I'm sitting in a room with her while she's sleeping and she wakes up and looks around kind of scared, but then sees me and smiles right away and kicks her little feet. SO freakin' ADORABLE!!!

Hmmm, what else? I took her to Seattle with me yesterday and she was SO GOOD. She didn't cry once, in the car or at the park where I was helping out for the yarn shop where I used to work. She let complete strangers hold her. But then today, she was just a complete fussball, and we went to my grandma's to eat dinner and she would just not let anybody hold her and she cried at my Uncle Randy. She did fall asleep for a long nap at 7pm though, so maybe she was just tired. Of course, that meant she went to bed late. . .maybe she'll sleep in!!