4 Months, 3 Shots, 2 Proud Parents, and 1 Healthy Baby Girl

Whoa, where did the time go? I remember when I used to wake up to my newborn, and this morning I woke up to a smiling cooing 4 MONTH OLD! Time sure does fly when you're having fun! Lilly has developed and changed so much in the last 4 months!

She is laughing...oh boy does she laugh! But, I'll tell you this, no one...not even mommy, can make this girl laugh as much as her daddy does! She knows and loves that man so much. I am so blessed that God chose him to be her father...what a blessing! In the last month, Lilly has improved her grabbing and batting skills when playing with her toys. Right now she is into everything and anything that lights up and plays music. Her favorite toys are her Leap Frog toy named Violet (who knows her name and can spell it to her!) and a light up musical nursery rhyme book from V-Tech. No teeth yet, but she sure is practicing those teething skills everyday! She is still putting everything in her mouth and chews on anything...even mommy! She'll even grab things with her hand and put them in her mouth. She'll sometimes even help mommy but her passy in her mouth...too cute!

Lilly also loves to sit on your lap and hold her head up...she's a lot stronger than I give her credit for! Just recently she found out she could stand up (with some help of course). She enjoys be held up over your head like she's flying. Daddy loves to play airplane with her! Lilly can hold her hands together and loves to play with her fingers. It's just the sweetest thing to watch her fall asleep. She puts herself to sleep by wiggling her hands in front of her face. Oh, and did I mention that she has started putting herself to sleep for naps and bedtime??? I used to love rocking and holding her in my arms as she drifted to sleep, so this has been a bittersweet thing for mommy!

We are still working on tummy time, although she has learned to lift her head up really high (she looks like a little seal) and put her legs under her tummy. She's taking her time rolling over, I guess she'll do it when she feels like it (typical behavior she must have inherited for me...oops)! She is so close though. When she's on her side, she'll kick and wiggle until she flips onto her belly.

No solid food yet either, mommy's breast milk will suffice for another month. I love my bonding time with Lilly, and if I don't have to, then I'm not willing to give it up just yet. Although, getting Lilly to latch on and nurse more than 8 minutes is a pain in my tushie, I wouldn't change it for the world! I'm definitely one of those moms that will cry and cry when the day comes to say goodbye to breast feeding.

Here are some pics of Lilly as she celebrates her last few days of being 3 months old. 

 

Laughs and Giggles

Putting herself to sleep like a big girl!

She loves her puppy and he loves to lick her face!

Airplane time!

Reading her musical light up book.

Lilly and Violet. You should hear it say her name...cracks mommy and daddy up every time! haha

So, the not so fun part of being 4 months old is that good old 4 month wellness appointment! I don't know who was dreading it more, me or her? To my surprise, she did amazing! I was able to nurse her right before her shots so she had a tummy full...I knew she wouldn't feel like eating much after her shots; that's for sure! The nurse checked her weights, measured her and asked tons of questions about her growth. We held out as long as we could, but the time came to give Lilly those awful shots. The nurse gave her 1 oral vaccine and 3 shots. WOW! Lilly, of course didn't know what to think about it all. She just looked at me and then burst into tears and loud screams. Luckily, she only cried for about a minutes...what a big girl!

Her results: One healthy baby girl! She weighed 15 lbs and 13 oz (90%tile), was 25 inches long (75%tile), and the circumference of her head was 16 and 3/4 inches around (90%tile). 

I'm one lucky mommy to have such a happy healthy baby. I thank God every day for giving me this sweet angel. She feels like a little piece of Heaven sent from God for me to take care of. Lilly has been such a joy to Jordan and I, that I just couldn't imagine a life without her. She's everything and more than I could have ever asked for in a child. I'm loving ever second of the day that I get to spend with my daughter...which is a lot since I'm a proud stay at home mommy!

Happy 4 Months, Lilly!

Waiting for the pediatrician...

YAY, Lilly passed her 4 month wellness...no more shots for another 2 months! She's not too excited, but who would be after 3 big shots???

I promised Lilly that we would  get ice cream after her shots. We got frozen yogurt instead, but she enjoyed it just the same...through breast milk of course! ;-)

Our Unproductive, Unpredictable, Unbeatable Tuesdays

Almost every Tuesday, I get together with one of my great friends, Mica. It's usually a playdate for Lilly and her daughter Harlen, but every once in a while we make time for us mommies. Her and I usually have some great agenda set to accomplish, but at the end of the day we end up getting too caught up in playing with our little girls.

When the weather was warmer, we would take our girls on a stroller ride around the mall. Now, we settle for a little indoor play time at one of our houses. This past Tuesday, Mica and Harlen came over to scrapbook. In the past 4 months, we've probably taken 1,000 pictures of our sweet babies and now we need somewhere special to put them! I've inherited two cases or scrap paper, a binder full of stickers, and two boxes full of cute application things from my mom. So, it was only a no brainer that Mica and I get together and scrap the day away!

But, as usual, we got lost in the giggles, smiles, and good times with our babies. Our little ones played, and when they weren't playing they were nursing or napping. If one baby was up the other was sleeping. There never seemed enough time to even glue a picture on a page! I think between the two of us we might have got a page scrapped...I only got a half of a page done!

Like every end to our Tuesday, we laughed and told ourselves "One day, maybe next Tuesday, we'll do something productive"! But until then, we'll definitely be enjoying our unproductive, unpredictable, unbeatable Tuesdays!

Harlen 2.5 weeks old and Lilly at 1.5 weeks old.This is the girls first of many playdates together.

Mica and I with our babies...we tend to steal each others babies! ;)

Playdate at Harlen's house! The girls are 3 months old.

Talking away like little girls do....

The sweetest things are definitely free!

My girls! I love these two sooo much!

This is my favorite picture of Harlen and Lilly!

A GREAT visit with some very special GREAT grandparents

On Saturday, Lillian was so fortunate to meet her great grandparents, on Jordan's mother's side, for the first time. Although it was bitter sweet, we loved spending time with them. Last month, Jordan's uncle had passed away from a heart attack, and this past weekend we celebrated his life with a memorial service at our church.

  Let me tell you, this little girl is so lucky to not only have great grandparents but also to have such amazingly strong-faithed people in her life. Her great papa not only designed our church but he was a pastor there as well, and is now happily retired in North Carolina. He touched so many lives through his ministry as a pastor and we are so blessed to be apart of his life. What a great man to know and love! Lillian loved spending time with her great grandma too. She has such a love and passion for music. She sings, plays the piano and is one of the most talented people I know. I'm sure that all of her children and grandchildren get their musical and art talents from her. I can't wait to see what talents Lillian will inherit .

Lillian also got to meet her great aunt Jenell and cousin Emily. Her great aunt, Jenell, flew in from North Carolina and her cousin Emily flew to Texas all the way from Germany! They just cooed and awed over her. I just loved watching everyone interact with her. Lillian has such a wonderful family and the love they showed for her was priceless.

Unfortunately, Miss Lillian was not as happy as they were. This girl was so fussy most of the time for her family's visit! When Lillian was not sleeping, she spend her time crying and so upset. I don't know if it was the hustle and bustle of all the people, but this girl was way over stimulated this weekend. I was so upset that her family couldn't enjoy their time with her as much because of her fussyness. We will see everyone again in April, and I'm praying that my daughter will be in a much happier mood!

Layla (Jenell's granddaughter), Rene, Jenell and Lillian (Rene's granddaughter)

Lillian and Jenell

Emily and Jenell trying to make Miss Fussy Pants happy.

Johnson, St.Clair and Wright family

Great Papa Johnson and Lillian

Great Papa and Grandma Johnson with their great granddaughters.

Four generations of Johnson women.

Daddy and Uncle Chris are soooo silly! I'll never take these two clowns serious! ;)

Jenell, me and Erin

Emily and Lillian

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

One of the things I love about January is SNOW! This year was extra special because I had Lilly here with me to enjoy a little winter wonderland. Jordan and I decided that we would take her outside while it was snowing and see if she would enjoy it as much as we do. She was a little cautious about it at first. It was so cold and white fluffy things (snow) kept falling on her face. The suns reflection on the snow was so bright she kept squinting her eyes and she would smile every time a snow flake fell on her face. All in all I know she had a great time. I know her daddy sure had fun showing her the snow and letting her stand in the snow....in her leather boots btw!!!! Thank goodness they were getting too small, because the bottoms got ruined but I guess it was all worth it! ;)

The front of our house.

Lilly was so interested in the snow falling outside.

BRRRR this is cold daddy!

Playing in the snow is FUN!!!!

Mommy and her Snow Bunny!

A snow kisses face!

She's My Star

"I'm the paparazzi and she's my celebrity". I read this statement on one of my friend's blogs and thought that it fit perfect with the way I am with taking pictures and videos of Lilly. She is like my little celebrity. I just don't ever want to forgot how little and sweet she has been. I know as the years go by, my memory of her being a baby will fade, so that's why I try to capture her every chance I get. Here's some videos of her at 3 months old. :)

You'll have to pause the music to hear the videos. 

 

Lilly playing peek a boo with jordan on Christmas day.

 

Such a happy girl!

   

Sending some good ol' daddy time.

Playing in her jumperoo.

3 Months, 3 Clothes Sizes AND 3 Diaper Sizes...Oh My!

Miss Lillian has gone through 3 diaper sizes and 3 clothes sizes all in 3 months! I would love to go on a shopping spree for myself as much as I do for Lilly! I'm always going to Target or Old Navy to get clothes for her. To be honest, it is pretty fun shopping for her and her sweet little baby clothes...kinda addicting!

This month, my "burrito baby" chanced soooo much! Now, she loves to sit up while you hold her. This girl loves to take in her world every chance she gets. She is very observant and it's almost like she wants to know how everything works...I can't wait till she starts asking "why" all the time. haha

She's also getting better with tummy time. Before when Jordan and I would put her on her tummy she would turn her head to the side and fall asleep. Now, she lifts her head and kicks her feet. She can also hold, hit, and chew on her toys. She is all about chewing these days. EVERYTHING goes into her mouth; her toys, her clothes, my clothes, you name it and she can find a way to put it in her mouth. She has a few chew toys, but her favorite is her hand. She's also found her thumb. Uh oh! She enjoys sucking on her thumb...even though mommy has tried countless times for her to stop. I think this thumb sucking thing will go down in the books as our first battle between mom and daughter! haha

I'm pretty sure she has also found her voice. She is such a Chatty Cathy now. Every time she's awake she is always singing or talking. I love having conversations with her because she can talk my head off! She's the most adorable thing ever when she's talking. It just melts my heart when we're talking to each other and then she stops and smiles at me....one of my favorite rewards she gives me. Just recently, I have started singing to to her and she has started "singing" back....eeek sooo cute!

I have never seen weeks and months go bay as fast as they do now that we have Lillian. It's like every week she learning how to do something different and every month she's grown up just a little more. As fast as she's growing, I might need to start planning her 1st birthday because I know that's just around the corner!

Watch me grow in 3 months!!!!

1 month old

2 months old

Bath time with mommy...just look at my belly!

3 months old on Christmas Day!

Mommy's favorite 3 month old picture of me.

Welcome 2011!

Wow, I can't believe 2010 has come and gone. What an exciting year it was! I was preggo for most of the year and then welcomed my beautiful daughter into this world in September. This year, I found my long lost sister, Lacy. I have dreamed about meeting her my whole life and it still shocks me that I found her on facebook. Not only did God give me a daughter this year, but he gave me my sister AND a nephew. Lacy has been with me through my whole pregnancy and the birth of Lilly. What more could a sister ask for? I thank her for all of her support and encouraging words. Although we still have never met in person, I enjoy talking to her every chance I get. I pray that one day we will get together so I can give her the biggest hug ever!

Jordan and I were able to go to Florida on his first business trip when I was 7 weeks preggo. I remember the plane ride being the worst part of the trip. I got extremely nauseous for both flights...yay for first trimesters! when I was 4 months pregnant, we traveled to North Carolina where were went camping and went to a 3 day bluegrass festival. We had so much fun that we decided we would go every year. I can't wait to take Lilly on her first camping trip this April!  In July, Jordan and I spend our 3rd year anniversary in Burleson where we enjoyed our last anniversary without kids. It's kinda weird to think that we will never completely be alone ever again. There will always be babies and kiddos in the background playing or needing mommy's love. I'm 24 and I still need my mommy! ;)

I think 2011 will be a great year. Our daughter will start to sit, crawl, talk, eat real food, WALK...and experience so many more milestones in her life. I am so honored that I get to enjoy every single moment of it all. I wonder how this year will change my new family? I wonder what our daughter will teach us about ourselves and about her. She has already made me a better person; more than I ever thought I could be. I can only imagine what else she has in store!

So, I toast 2011 with much love and hope. Here's to the St.Clair family. May we learn to appreciate our time together and grow in Christ even more. May our daughter grow and learn to be a remarkable little girl with laughter and joy in her heart. Let 2011 bring us challenges and accomplishments that we may be able to work through and grow as a family. Here's to 2011!

Happy FIRST New Year Lillian!

Cheers to my sweet little family!

She made it till 2011, but she wasn't too happy about it!

Me and my girl! I'm glad I chose to spend my NYE with this little sweeite!