Pictures from our trip

For some reason I couldn't get them to load onto where I wrote the story ...maybe because I wrote too much??? Anyway, Pic of Lily on the first plane ride, Lily and her uncle Richard, and Lily with my Grandma

Our Trip to Hunstville

Lily and I got back on Friday and whew...were we tired! We had quite an adventure getting there. We had a great flight to Atlanta. Lily was in a good mood, slept part of the time, I played inter-active trivia on the TV screen on the back of the seat. It was so nice. The plane wasn't full so they let me take her car seat on the flight with me so she got her own seat at no charge!
Then we got to Atlanta. Our hour and thirty minute layover turned into five hours and forty-five minutes because of delays! The terminal was under construction and the A/C was on the fritz. Some areas were freezing and some were hot. The waterfountains were all broken and there was only one ladies room for 20 gates! Lily is very good as long as there is motion, so I got plenty of exercise walking up and down the terminal for hours on end. She was an angel and I met so many nice folks who wanted to talk to her while I was walking. We finally board the plane at 6:45PM. This plane is one of those super-small ones. Two seats on one side, an aisle, and one seat on the other side. The plane was full so I had to hold Lily. I was releived to be getting on the plane because I only had 5 ounces of formula left and one nappy. The flight to Huntsville is only one hour. Well, at 7:55PM we were still sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta and they announce over the PA that our pilot has been delayed and will be arriving in 20 minutes (duh...late? we had already been on the plane over an hour!) Lily was still (thankfully) an angel, but I was a nervous wreck because she had now finished what little formula I had. We finally take off at 8:30 only to land in Birmingham at 10:00. Yes, I did say BIRMINGHAM....not HUNTSVILLE where we were supposed to go! They announce over the PA that the weather is too bad in Huntsville and we stopped in Birmingham to re-fuel and then we would be returning to Atlanta. Well, me, and about 75% of the plane, jumped up at this point demanding to get off the plane there. Lily was still behaving like an angel.
I got off the plane and sprinted to the car rental counter to rent a car. I had had enough airports for the day and didn't care what it cost me because Huntsville is only an hour and a half drive from Birmingham. Well, this really great couple who I had been talking to all day at the airport offered for Lily and I to ride with them. We took them up on it and arrived in Huntsville just before midnight! WHEW!
Sunday we went to the Hospital to see Aunt Kathey. She wasn't very coherient, but she reached for Lily so I know that she knew that we were there. I held Lily on her lap for awhile and she had her hand on her leg. I feel good that she got a chance to meet her so that now she can tell my mom how beautiful she is. After leaving the hospital we went to my grandma's so that she could meet Lily. I took advantage of the babysitters and went to meet my Aunt Charlotte at a sports-bar and got my first opportunity this season to watch the Bucs play.
The next morning we get the call that Aunt Kathey has passed away. We re-arranged our return trip to be able to stay for the funeral. No one wants to have a death in their family, but in this case it was a bit of a relief. Aunt Kathey was suffering so much and now she is with her sister up in heaven. We also got to see many more of our family too. Lily got to meet her uncle Richard for the first time, and many many many cousins. Richard kept calling her "it". So we decided that we are going to have to come up with a really mean name to call him when Lily starts to talk.
Our flight back was a dream compared to the trip there. There was extra room on both planes so that Lily got to have her car seat and her own seat both times. The layover in Atlanta was in another terminal that wasn't under construction and it had a Krystal (my favorite junk food that we don't have here) and the flight wasn't delayed. It actually arrived about 15 minutes early. Again...Lily was an angel. I am so glad!

Lily is going to be spoiled!

This morning my little angel slept in until 11....yay! I was able to go on a 45 minute bike ride, shower AND have time to finish a couple of sewing projects. I haven't been sewing much lately and it is killing me! Lily is finally getting to a point where I can get a couple of things done from time to time. She woke up because the doorbell rang. It was the maillady with an Express mail for Lily! I scanned it for you to see how much Lily is going to be spoiled. Because this letter (with CASH included) wasn't the only thing she got in the mail today. She also got an embroidered burb cloth and some new panties with her name embroidered across the rear. (Thanks Kelly & Family) I get bills....but my 2 month old gets cash and gifts.
And that cash....back when we were young, our "road allowance" was $2.00 an hour. Well prices sure have inflated quite a bit since then or maybe grandkids are worth more, because Lily got several twenty dollar bills!!

My yard

I took these pictures in my yard today. Beautiful huh? I am so excited about those bananas! I am going to mash them up and freeze them to feed to Lily. The orange orchids are actually growing inside a tree! The tree has these little fig like fruit things that I don' t know what they are but there weren't any today to get a photo of them. The last is a pick of some other strange fruit that grows in my yard. Is it a star fruit? Anyone know what it is? Is it edible?

Lily is a super-model

Lily has made her debut today as a super-model. Click the link to see her modeling the latest in Punk Baby fashions by Lucky 13
http://www.addictedtorockabilly.com/babysnakeanchordress-ADDICTEDTOROCKABILLY.html
Personally, I think she is the best looking model on the entire site!

How to make digital videos for the internet

For those interested....
If your camera has a video setting (most do now-a-days) turn on the video setting and hit the shutter button. It should tell you it is recording. Record whatever you want (most average digital cameras will take up to a 60 second movie) hit the shutter button again when you want to stop recording. Yay!! You have a video. Now for the hard part. Downloading. It will download onto your computer just the same as your pictures do. Most computers will automatically play them with real player or some sort of media player that is built in. Or, if your computer isn't very new you may have to download a media player (most are free).
How to get it on your blog:
Upload to a pic or video host. I use photobucket 'cause it is free. Switch the setting from pic to video and click upload. Once it is uploaded it will give you three different lines of text. Go to the middle one, highlight it, then click ctrl C (at the same time of course). Then go to the blog that you are writing and switch from 'Compose' to 'Edit Html' (at the top on the right) and then either before or after all your words type this

and then click Ctrl V and then publish your blog as usual.
How to email them:
Attach them the same way you do a photo. BUT...if you use a fee email service like yahoo your video will be too big and it won't work. The way around it is to publish your video (like on your blog or a myspace profile) and then go look at it. In the bottom right corner of the video player is a 'share' button. click that then it will give you a form to fill out and it will automatically email it to whoever's email address you put in.
If you get lost call me or email me shelley@shelleyfaye.com

bobble head

These are pictures of Lily's 2 month birthday, and what she would look like with hair! (notice how she has her mother's double chin)
Lily has been working so hard at holding her head up! She looks like a giant bobblehead. She gets frustrated with herself when she isn't able to do it. So she keeps picking up her head and fussing the whole time. She is so determined too. Several times today I held my hand on her head so she wouldn't try to hold up her head because I didn't want her to fuss. i know she is going to master this within the week!

Jinx

The previous blog was supposed to be posted on Thursday but for some reason I never hit "publish" so it was just waiting in limbo for a few days.
Unfortunately I jinxed us. I wrote that blog on Thursday and yep, I was up at 3AM Friday morning with a screaming baby. AND again this morning! why do I have to brag?
By the way....Ross is responsible for this hat picture! I was asleep and he was doing a 'photo shoot' all on his own! I love her in hats, but everyone teased me about the other one. This time...tease Ross.
The other pic is of this contraption thing that I am trying to get Lily to like. She likes it for about 3 minutes then cries. I keep putting her in it everyday hoping that sooner or later she'll start to enjoy it. I figure I could get so much done! I think the problem is that she isn't tall enough to see over the sides. But the sides being tall are good because they hold her head up for her.
Oh, and head holding....tonight she held her head up for what seemed like a full minute! She was looking away from me and I started talking and she was able to continue holding her own head up and turned to look at me! I cried.

2 months old

Yesterday was Lily's 2 month birthday!
When I tell people that they are supprised at how quickly the time has passed. Me, it feels like she has been in our lives for so much longer. I look at her and I see this mature little girl who is trying so hard to learn her environment. She has so much personality and I don't feel like she is only 2 months old.
She is still working on holding her head up, but she works at it all the time. I love to have her on my shoulder and watch her lift up her head. It is so funny because she makes a struggle face and her head bobbles around for about 20 seconds before she puts it back down. That is a new thing. Before, she would head butt you, now she has enough control to put her head back down on her own! She can focus on things and loves to watch things. She likes to watch the monsters over her bed, the birds on her swing, Zelda, and the celing fans. She can recognize Ross and I and will smile on command. And her greatest accomplishment in 2 months is sleeping through the night!
Yep, I said it. Ross thinks I jinx her when I brag, but I have to! I can't remember the last time she woke up in the night. I still complain that I wish she would sleep more, but that is only because I stayed up too late and need a nap, (she has not accomplished the napping yet). She goes to bed around 10 or 11. I know some of ya'll may think that is late, but please keep in mind that Ross works nights until 6 AM, and the earliest I ever have to be up is 9, so 10 or 11 is perfect for our family. And then she wakes up around 8 or 8:30AM . This is tough for me, or at least it was at first, but then she eats while I check my email, then falls right back asleep and will sleep until around 11!!! yesterday, she slept extra late just because it was her birthday. She slept until 1:15PM!!! She would have kept sleeping too, but I had to wake her up and change her because her poopy nappy was stinking up the whole house.
To celebrate her birthday we put her in her swimsuit and headed to the beach. We went late in the afternoon and sat in the shade. We didn't take her in the water, but let her feel the wind in her hair (well....what hair she has anyway). She layed out and enjoyed the salty air. I did too. I also discovered that my new suit is see-through :( (I was so excited about it too...I could actually get my boobs in it! I guess I am going to have to buy a grandma suit....but that is another story altogether)
We then came home, fed her then went to Longhorn to feed ourselves in celebration. She was so good! No crying at all. Then we went on a family walk around the neighborhood. I was pooped!

Our First Trip!

Isn't this picture great? This was taken on the first when David and Sherah were here and we were all going out to eat on Daddy's credit card! We got Lily dressed up in this sweet dress and Brandi was trying to make her smile so we could take her picture.
Anyway...I wanted to tell you all that Lily and I are going to go on our fist trip together a week from Saturday. We have booked a flight to Huntsville to visit my Grandma so Lily can meet all of my mom's family. I feel bad that we won't be able to go to Nashville too, but traveling just costs so damn much! I am nervous about how she will behave on the plane too. I know that everyone will be giving me dirty looks if she cries. And lately, she seems to be crying more and more often. The past couple of days have been really trying. She seems to be upset more than she is happy. She also has had a bunch of boogers so I am hoping that it is just a little cold and that is what is making her upset. I'm sure it will pass.

Games

Lily plays this little game with us sometimes. Usually she likes to look at us and will gaze at us like she is trying to memorize our every detail, and other times she plays the look-away game. When she is ready to play this game she will do whatever she can NOT to make eyecontact with you. It is really funny when you get your face up close to her and she tries so hard not to look. Her eyes will just about roll back into her head trying to avoid looking at you. by moving around you can make her eyes roll all over. I kept trying and trying to get it on video but when you take out the camera she plays a different game. That game is called tongue out. I guess it is because when I first discovered that she would do that I tried over and over to get it on tape, now every time I get out the camera she won't do anything but stare at it and stick out her tongue. I finally got her on video doing her crazy exercises by sneaking up on her so she didn't notice the camera. She loves these little monsters that go around (Thanks Kathy!!)and she will just kick and kick watching them (unless you have the camera....then it is just tongue out). I have a friend that said her baby goes to sleep watching the mobile....not Lily....she works out!

Also...we have discovered that she really likes football. Well, Ross swears that she likes Rugby better, but he can't prove it. Today I was watching the North Carolina Virginia Tech game and Lily was so content sitting in the boppy just chillin' listening to the game. Then, when I tried to go to the post office she freaked. Usually she likes riding in the car, but not today. She screamed the entire time. We get back to the house (and back to the football game)and she is calm again. Then she started to fuss every time there was a comercial! It was so strange. She was calm as long as she could hear the game. Isn't that great? Now I have an excuse to just sit and watch football all day.....it keeps Lily happy!!

Sleep

I miss sleeping. I so wish that Lily would get on a routine! Last night she went to bed at 9 PM, up at 3:30AM, stayed awake! back to bed around 7 AM, up again at 8:30AM, back to bed at 10AM up at 11AM and just now went to sleep again! (It is 11:30PM!)

Didn't someone tell me that newborns sleep alot? how come mine doesn't?

I love making mini-movies!!!

This movie is of the first time David held Lily. The next movie is of Dave and Sherah making sure that Lily gets her exercise.

FSU vs Miami

Football season is finally here! I am so excited! Of course there will be some changes. Usually I would schedule my work around FSU games and did nothing but watch football. Well, Lily is still going to need me on game day. Thank goodness I have a DVR. I can't fit in most of my FSU gear, but at least my jersey still fits. Of course I planned ahead and got Lily some game-day gear too. Tomorrow nights game is here in South Florida but I am not going. I wouldn't have been able to find a sitter AND someone to go with me, nor could I afford the tickets. So, it doesn't look like I am going to get to go to a game this year unless FSU plays in the Orange Bowl again. GO NOLES!!!

Exercise

I have been running and running and running, and it seems like I am actually getting fatter! I can't get this weight off me fast enough. My friend Jaz who recently had a baby too bravely posted a picture of herself in the "fourth trimester" so she inspired me to do the same. This picture was taken exacly 7 weeks after birth and I look like I am 7 months pregnant! I keep trying on my fat pants hoping that one day I can fit in them again. It is just so depressing. And I know people are trying to be supportive by saying "you look great for just having a baby" but I am very aware that they are lying to make me feel good but it doesn't help. I don't think there is a right thing to say, so I think it is best when people just don't say anything at all. Sorry.....had to bitch for a second. I usually run when I feel this way, but it is nasty stormy rain right now and I can't take Lily out in this weather.

Lily sticking out her tongue

Family

According to my favorite author Kurt Vonnegut, the reason that most marriages in our culture don't last is because we don't have enough extended family around. If I had read this last year, I doubt that I would agree. However, when you have a new baby, having your family close by is the greatest thing ever! Ross and I were really blessed that Marje could be here for the first month, then we were left on our own for a few weeks. We get along just fine, but it was so much nicer to have an extra set of hands around. The past couple of days my brother and his girlfriend have been here and again....so nice to have an extra set of hands or two. David was so funny because he was here almost two full days until he finally held Lily. He kept blaming it on Sherah saying that she was "hogging" her or that she pushed in front of him. But we all think he was scared. He finally held her and then fed her and today became much more comfortable with her. Tonight they watched football together. Sherah is great with Lily too, but neither she nor David are volunteering to get up with her at the crack of dawn like Marje did!

Smiles

Lily has learned how to smile! She smiles all the time now. I read somewhere that a newborn will copy you if you stick out your tongue. It is true! I even got it on video. Lily has become so much more fun to play with lately.