Lily's 1 Year Check Up

Lily had her 1 year check up this morning. I'm thrilled to report (other than the shots) everything went great!

Mommy, I'm too grumpy to play pat-a-cake!!

Lily's doctor is thrilled with her development and had nothing but good things to say.

Here are the major stats:

Weight ~ 23 lbs 1 oz
Height ~ 31 1/4"
Head Circumference ~ 18 1/2"

You know, it really wasn't that bad!

Lily has gained almost 2 pounds in the 2 months that we've been home and has grown one inch. No wonder my arms are so tired!!

Presents!

For Lily's birthday we bought her a few little things. Lily really wasn't too sure about the birthday packages we gave her. At first she was a little hesitant to tear the paper...but then she got the idea...and away she went!

One of Tony and Lily's favorite things to do together is play with stacking cups and blocks. Tony builds these elaborate towers and Lily is a one woman wrecking crew! They can do this for what seems like hours but Tony needed some more "building materials".

The funny thing is the one "toy" that Lily kept going back to was actually a plastic square insert that was in one of the boxes. She was really fascinated with that thing. It reminded me of the story my father always tells about the metal swing set they bought for us one summer. He swears he worked on the darn thing for a week trying to get it assembled and when he finished we never touched it....but we played with the box it came in for the rest of the summer!

By the way, no you don't need to have your eyes checked. That wild print in the background is really our family room furniture! Think 1970's doctor's office decor. Tony and I like a lot of color. Pretty much all of the rooms in our house are painted with intense colors. When we painted the family room we went with a mild-mannered beige...what were we thinking? We had to jazz the room up somehow!

Lilypalooza

We're in trouble if Lily expects a birthday celebration like this every year!

To start our day we headed to the diner for our regular Sunday breakfast with Dad Dad. Mary, our favorite waitress, brought out Lily's french toast with a candle on it and a smiley face made out of cantaloupe! Lily did not know what to make out of all the fuss!

What on Earth?!?

After breakfast we headed home for Lily's nap. She definitely needed to rest up so she would be ready for Lilypalooza! Mary Beth and Patti planned to have a shower for me together with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. When the shower was cancelled because of our travelling to China Mary Beth and Patti suggested we have a 1st Birthday/Welcome Home Lily party instead. What a party it turned out to be!

The scene of Lilypalooza...before the crowds showed up!

Mary Beth hosted the party at her beautiful home. Every family should have a Mary Beth...and no, you can't have ours! I like to kid that she's our Martha Stewart...minus the condescending attitude and jail time. Seriously, Mary Beth makes every occasion special with all the love she puts into it. Mary Beth is a wonderful cook, enjoys entertaining, and somehow makes it all look so easy. I highly recommend you find a way to get invited to Thanksgiving Dinner at her house. Mary Beth loves to feed a crowd and it's a day you wont soon forget!

Lilies and a parrot

Lily and a Parrott

Patti and Mary Beth divvied up the cooking detail. Based on the huge spread they must have been cooking for days! Patti is what my mom always called our "social butterfly". Patti can make anyone feel welcome and made sure everyone had everything they could possibly need. Patti also arranged to have a moon bounce for the kids (and some of the adults, too!).

Dad Dad brought some of his delicious potato salad...both with bacon and without...for those obnoxious vegetarians in the group. Dad Dad also took care of the beer and wine. Beer and wine at a 1st birthday party?? Hey, we had soda, juice, and water, too!

Suzy and Sheila brought several yummy desserts. There was something there to satisfy every possible kind of sweet tooth. If you were trying to diet Lily's party was not the place to be!

Tony and I...well...we did...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...just showed up with the guest of honor and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Before

During

After

The love and support from our family and friends during the long wait to bring Lily home was their gift to us. On the party invitations we asked that they not bring any other...people did not listen!! We practically had to rent a U-Haul to bring all the gifts home.

Listen...I said, "No Press!"

More than 60 people came to help us celebrate Lily's 1st birthday. When you come from a large family...and you sprinkle in a few friends...it doesn't take much to gather a crowd. The weather was absolutely beautiful, the food and drink plentiful, and lots of family and friends to share in the celebration. We could not have asked for a better way to celebrate Lily's special day! Thanks so much everyone and thanks Mike for sharing your beautiful pictures!

Happy Birthday Sweet Lily

Today is our Lily's first birthday! Happy Birthday sweet girl...Mommy and Daddy love you so, so much!!!

I don't want to eat this...but it sure is fun to play with!!

We had such a wonderful day and there is so much to post about how we spent our day...but...right now we are so incredibly tired and need to head straight to bed! We will update with all the details in the next few days.

Happy Birthday Lily Girl! We know it's your birthday...but each day you are an amazing gift to us!!

We love you!!!

Mommy and Daddy

Crying In The Hallmark Store

So, I'm standing looking at birthday cards in the "Daughter" section of the Hallmark store when it hits me...I am standing looking at birthday cards in the "DAUGHTER" section...me...looking at cards for our daughter and the next thing I know I had tears running down my face.

To be honest, I never thought we would celebrate Lily's first birthday as a family. We anticipated that our daughter would be about 14 - 16 months old at the time of referral and about 18 months old when we met. Naturally I was a little sad that we would not be together for our daughter's first birthday...but knew we would be together for every birthday after that.

When we received Lily's referral we were shocked by how young she was. Then it hit us...not only would we be together for her first birthday...but many other firsts...her first step...her first words...and the list goes on.

We have been a family of 3 for a little over 2 months and sometimes I still can't believe it. It will hit me at odd moments...we have a daughter...we're parents...and literally it takes my breath away. Being Lily's mother is such an amazing experience...it fills a place inside of me that I never knew was there...much less empty.

Happy Birthday Katie!!

Happy Birthday Katie! I can't wait to see you this weekend!

Today is our niece Katie's 15th Birthday. Happy Birthday lovey...hope you are having a great time at the beach!!

Katie was born the day of my Dad's family reunion 15 years ago. My "job" that day was to hide Mary Beth from Ed. Mary Beth was in labor at the picnic but did not want Ed to see how close the contractions were coming. Mary Beth had a very long and difficult labor with Ryan and delivering Jamie wasn't a walk in the park either. I guess Mary Beth felt the longer she could stay out of the hospital (and in the blazing sun) the better. People always say that doctors and nurses make the worst patients! I wont say Mary Beth is the worst patient...but...

Anyway, it turns out Mary Beth was right. By the time they got to the hospital (after the picnic was over) Katie was just about ready to come and join our crazy family!

Ed was and is a terrific dad to his sons. However, he really was hoping to add a little pink to his blue life. With each of Mary Beth's pregnancies when she announced that she was pregnant she also told us the sex of the baby. No, not from a sonogram....from Mother's intuition. By the way, she was right 100% of the time! For years, even prior to Mary Beth being pregnant with Katie, Ed had been buying Polly Flinders' dresses for his future daughter. When Katie was born her wardrobe was complete...and very, very pink! In fact, we would tease and call Katie "Pinky Tuscadero". What made Katie's birth even more special for Ed is that she was born on Father's Day weekend.

When we were waiting for Lily's referral to pass the time we did a little pool with our family to see who could guess closest to Lily's actual birth date. We kind of chuckled when Katie guessed her own birthday...but she won the pool and was only off by 3 days!

Lily's First Girl's Night Out

I'd like to start with some hummus as an appetizer...and for dinner I'll have....

I have a Girl's Night Out group that started years ago when we all used to work together. Okay, so we may not be girls anymore but we have a lot of fun when we get together. Most of us now work other places, a few of us are now stay-at-home moms...but a few of the girls are diehards and still work there. We try to meet about once a month for dinner and to catch up on what's going on in each other's lives. There is an unspoken rule that no kids are allowed. Last night I broke that rule...with everyone's blessing!

Lily and I joined Bonnie, Patty, Betsy, Laura, and Janis for dinner at an Egyptian brick oven pizza place. Betsy has moved out of the state and was just in town for the day so it was great to be able to catch up with her. Unfortunately, Barb and Kathy weren't able to join us this time. We missed you guys! It was a lot of fun to see all the girls and Lily was extremely good...LOUD...but good. I think Lily wanted to make sure the folks in the kitchen knew she was there!

Lily spent most of the dinner shamelessly flirting with a man at the next table. He was great with her and once Lily had his attention she didn't plan to let it go. I think we're going to need to keep a close eye on this little lady as she gets older!!

I brought the camera along because I thought it would be fun to get pictures of all of us with Lily. I took the camera out when we first sat down at the table and took a picture of Lily looking at the menu and then stuck it back in the diaper bag and promptly forgot all about it! Hey, with my new "mommy brain" and all that chatting and laughing I'm surprised I even took one picture!

Happy Father's Day!

Relaxing with my Daddy on his first Father's Day!

Yesterday was Tony's very first Father's Day!

Tony is a really wonderful Daddy to Lily. Tony does absolutely anything and everything involved in Lily's care. Tony is definitely a "hands on" kind of Daddy and it shows in the bond between Tony and his baby girl.

It has been amazing to see Lily's love and bond with Tony grow. When we first met Lily she was a little hesitant with Tony...not so anymore. Lily's face breaks into a huge smile the minute Tony walks into the room. When Lily sees Tony she chants, "DaDEE, DaDEE, DaDEE" with the happiest little tone in her voice. It's absolutely priceless! Sometimes when Tony and Lily are in the next room I just sit quietly and listen to them laugh and play. I can't think of a sweeter sound.

Tony's dad, Frank, died almost 10 years ago after a long battle with a terrible disease. There are so many reasons why I miss Frank. I wish that Frank could have met Lily and enjoyed being her Yeh Yeh (grandfather) and I also wish that Frank could see the amazing dad his son has become.

The 3 of us had a nice quiet day together. During the afternoon we took a long walk and played together. In the early evening we headed up to Patti's for a cookout with the family. Yes, we were all just together on Saturday...but that was for the family reunion...this was for Father's Day...it's different!

Daddy's Girl

Happy Father's Day Dad Dad!

Unkin Ned teaching me to play the drums!

Like this Unkin Ned?

I learned a few valuable lessons this year preparing for Father's Day:

• The crafts they sell at Michael's that look so easy...AREN'T...especially if you're craft impaired like me!
• If you are planning to do a craft as part of your Father's Day gift...you better have a Plan B
• Lily hates, hates, hates putting her hand in anything gooey!!!

I had hoped to give Tony a plaster mold of Lily's hand for Father's Day. To say the least...it didn't work out! That's okay...it will be a funny memory...and Tony can't play golf with a plaster mold...so I'm sure he'll be happy with a new set of clubs!

Dad Dad's Family Reunion

3 Generations

For well over 50 years my Dad's side of the family has gotten together annually for a family reunion. My Dad's mother (Granny) and 4 of her sisters (The Aunts) came to the United States from Ireland in the early 1900's. The sisters were always extremely close and once a year had a big party to get everybody together. As our family has multiplied we have outgrown the backyard barbecue and now rent a pavilion at the State Park.

Back in the day Granny and her sisters would all line up their chairs in a row near the buffet table and critique all the kids as we passed by to get our food. It was like passing the reviewing stand at a parade. As we walked past you would hear things like, "Now Katie, is that Donald's daughter? Well, would you look how big she's gotten." or "Mary, that's Jack's oldest, right? Isn't he the one that makes a lot of money?" You get the idea. It was always so much fun to listen to them all sit there as proud as peacocks talking about their families. It's been many, many years since Granny or any of The Aunts have been alive but their love for each other and their families is still evident at these gatherings.

I wonder what Granny and The Aunts would have to say about me!

The reunion is always the 3rd Saturday in June and it is normally either pouring down rain or unbelievably HOT...but that doesn't matter...the show must go on! Today the weather was perfect! The temperature was in the 80s and there was a beautiful breeze blowing. Somehow it just didn't feel right! I wonder if it's possible to order the same weather for next year?

I tell you Clare...even with my shades on the paparazzi still hound me!

I've been looking forward to bringing Lily to the family reunion for years. Honestly...years. A while back a friend of mine called me and told me that one of her friends was adopting from China and to help fund the adoption she was making dresses. Jane had seen the fabric for one of the dresses and told me it would be perfect for "one of those Irish things your family does". The print on the dress has shamrocks, ladybugs, and lily-of-the valley. Could it be more perfect? I absolutely loved the dress and could just picture what our Lily would look like in it. I was wrong. She looked 100 times sweeter than I even imagined!

Lily received her first piece of jewelry at the family reunion. Aunt Pat and Uncle Bernie gave Lily a beautiful silver bracelet with her name engraved on it. It's funny, I've virtually stopped wearing all jewelry because Lily always tries to pull it right off me. It's a different story when it's on her. She loves her bracelet and will twist her arm to the right and left admiring it!

Thanks Aunt Pat and Uncle Bernie!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today is our nephew Ryan's 21st birthday. Happy Birthday handsome!! Hope you are having a fun and safe time celebrating tonight . Okay, okay, I'm Aunt T....you know I can't help but worry!

The Birthday "Boy"

It seems impossible that 21 years have passed since a positively beaming Ed carried Ryan out of the delivery room to show all of us who were anxiously waiting. I can still remember Ryan's poor sweet little bruised up face. The forceps really did a number on him and led to his first nickname, Rocky. Honestly, both Mary Beth and Ryan looked pretty banged up after that long ordeal! Luckily, I think Ryan's labor and delivery is the hardest time he has given Mary Beth and Ed in 21 years.

I was exactly the age Ryan is now when he was born. That means I've been an aunt for exactly half of my life! No wonder I have called myself "Aunt T" instead of "Mommy" more times than I care to recall when I'm talking to Lily. Is it any wonder she says "DaaDEE, DaaDEE" when she sees Tony and has yet to call me Mommy? The poor thing is probably trying to figure what the heck my name actually is!

To be honest, I don't think I'm going to be able to handle the fact that Ryan can drink a beer with me on the beach this summer. My little 'Ry Guy' drinking a beer....I think not! For me summer vacation means the 3 B's....beach, book, beer. Of course, this year we'll be adding another B....baby. So, I guess that means very little beer for me....and probably not a whole lot of reading! No Ryan, that does not mean you get to drink my share...but I can recommend a few good books!

Hey, Mom can't have a post without a picture of me in it! Happy Birthday Ryan...I love you!!

Happy Anniversary To Us!

Today is Tony and my 7th wedding anniversary. 7 years...wow...now I know why I was feeling so itchy all day!!

Tony and I dated a loooonnnnggg time before we got married. I mean, honestly, I thought the man would never ask me to marry him! Truth be told it was me that dragged my heels. See, I had been there...and done that...and the story didn't end "and they lived happily ever after". I was gun shy and perfectly happy to date Tony for the rest of my life. Tony saw things a little differently. From the very beginning when Tony and I were dating he would say things like, "When we're married....". I would just look at him like he was crazy and let it go.

Then, during our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks, in 1999, Tony and I were walking along the beach one evening when he "found" a seashell that just so happened to have a beautiful engagement ring in it. I was shocked. We hadn't talked about the whole "marriage thing" in quite some time and I thought he had just decided to stick with the status quo. Obviously, I said "yes"...and here we are...celebrating our 7th anniversary!

The night Tony asked me to marry him was wonderful. Not only were the proposal and the setting perfect but when we went back to the house and shared the news with my family they couldn't have been happier. At that time our oldest nieces were 7 and 8. They were so excited that Uncle Tony found a seashell that had a ring in it that actually fit me! How could that be?? They just couldn't believe it and spent the rest of our vacation carefully inspecting each seashell they found! After everyone got over the initial shock our nieces went off into one of the bedrooms to compose a celebratory cheer/dance. I don't remember all the words but the main part went something like, "Aunt TT (it's not a typo...my kids call me Aunt TT not TJ), Uncle Tony we're so happy you're getting married because now you'll be the real Uncle Tony." It was absolutely priceless!

When we first were discussing our wedding plans we thought we'd go off some place quiet and get married. My brother-in-law, Ed, said that was fine as long as he could come, too. He wasn't the only one that felt that way so we decided to have a *very* small local wedding instead.

For our wedding party we asked "our kids"...8 of our 9 nieces and nephews. Christina, our youngest niece, wasn't quite a year old then and was a little too young to have an official role. I can remember us talking to Gretchen, the minister who married us, about having the kids as our bridal party. She sort of sighed and strongly cautioned us about what a disaster that would be. How wrong she was! Ryan and Jamie were our Best Men, Sadie and Katie were Maids of Honor, Jason and Michael were Ushers, Maggie was the Flower Girl, and Charlie was the Ring Bearer. It went off without a hitch! Okay, I'm conveniently forgetting that is was 101 degrees at 6:00 pm in an unairconditioned church...but really...other than the sauna-like conditions it was perfect!

We had rented a horse and carriage to take us from the church to the restaurant where we were having dinner. Since the boys were teenagers I wasn't sure if they would be too cool to ride in the carriage, but I rented one big enough for all of us just in case. After the service we left the church just as the Clydesdales were coming around the side of the church pulling the carriage. The boys' eyes got wide as saucers. My nephew, Ryan, asked me if they could ride in the carriage, too. Of course I said, "Yes!". Then all the "big" boys gave each other high-fives and climbed in that carriage faster than you can imagine. We rode in the carriage through town and the kids could have taught the Queen of England how to wave to a crowd of onlookers!


Tonight the 3 of us went to dinner at a little Irish restaurant to celebrate (we decided to forgo the fancy white tablecloth restaurants for now). 7 years ago after dinner we headed off for a 10 day honeymoon in St. Lucia. Tonight after dinner we headed home and Tony gave Lily a tubby and I vacuumed the steps. What a difference 7 years makes! But you know....I wouldn't want it any other way!

Tony, thank you for being patient...thank you for asking me to marry you more than once....thank you for a wonderful 7 years! I love you!!!

Our Girl Has Rhythm

When we were in China the Director at Lily's orphanage told us her name, Yin, meant "Beautiful Music" and that she was named that because she loved music. Well, tonight she really proved him right! Lily is just like her Daddy...she has a ton of rhythm!

It's so much fun dancing with Daddy!

There is a small amphitheatre within walking distance of our house. During the summer each weekend they offer free concerts from 6:00 - 9:00. Tonight we packed a picnic and went to enjoy The Spindles, a Motown cover band. Lily loved them! The group was very good and very entertaining....but it was even more fun to watch Lily.

I just love this dining alfresco.

The Spindles....gotta love men who can dance and wear pale pink suits!

Lily had both of her legs stuck straight out and was bouncing them along to the beat. The group did a Motown version of the Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand". It was really very good and by far Lily's favorite!

Feet don't fail me now!

What do they mean James Brown is the Godfather??? I thought my Uncle Rich was!

8:00 PM - 5:56 AM

Ah, it feels so good to stretch out and not have Mommy and Daddy hogging the bed!

Almost a full 10 hours. Yup, Lily slept in her very own crib from 8:00 last night until almost 6:00 this morning! Now, I know the Benadryl may of helped but it's still exciting. At around 2:30 she had a nasty coughing spell but it didn't wake her up. She just coughed and coughed and kept right on sleeping.

Me, being the hyper-vigilant, neurotic mother...slept like a log! Honestly, other than checking on Lily when she was coughing, and my normal bathroom run, me and Mr. Sandman spent some quality time together. How sweet it is!

The night of Lily's baptism she slept in her crib for 5 hours. Each night after that (Sunday - Wednesday) Lily started off the night in her crib but ended up back in bed with us. While Lily was sick she didn't sleep much anywhere and definitely not in her crib!

Wednesday Lily was feeling better so I thought I'd try putting her down in her crib. She slept from about 9:00 - 4:00. The funny things is I don't think Tony or I slept a wink...we kept going in to check on her...and worrying whether she was okay. Last night, Lily zonked out right after her nighttime bottle and I put her in her crib. When Tony and I went to bed around 11:00 we joked about how long it would be before Twitchy McSquirmy would be joining us. Next thing we knew it was morning and Lily had slept the whole night in her crib!

What is really great is that Lily didn't seem the least bit afraid when she woke up. When I walked in her room she was sitting in her crib chatting away and greeted me with the biggest smile.

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that this is necessarily the start of something permanent. One night does not a pattern make. Yikes, I sound like Yoda! But, hey, a girl can dream....that is when she actually sleeps!

Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Since last Thursday our poor little Lily has been sick with a nasty, nasty cold! During the day Thursday Lily was uncharacteristically fussy. I really thought it was as a result of the 7 mosquito bites she had gotten the night before. By the way, the 7 bites turned into 5 bites...when 3 of the bites on her leg morphed into one HUGE bite bigger than the size of a quarter!

As the day progressed Thursday Lily became fussier and fussier. By the time evening came around she started feeling a little warm and when Tony got home she felt hot. I tried several times to take Lily's temperature with an "ear thermometer" and kept getting different results....99, 104, 100, etc. I then tried the thermometer on myself and got a reading of 103.7. Now granted I had a cold but there was no way that was my temperature! Without a whole lot of options I switched from the ear thermometer to the "rear thermometer". Lily was quite unhappy with that decision and Tony and I were really unhappy to see a temperature of 102.6! Right away I made my first (of I'm sure many) after hours phone calls to our pediatrician. She was great and had us start Lily on Infant Tylenol immediately. We gave Lily a dose and her fever broke within a few hours. Our doctor also mentioned that "ear thermometers" are notoriously unreliable and not to use them. Who knew?

Friday was more of the same. Lily was not at all herself. Very fussy, very clingy, really just in a misery but no temperature. Then the sun went down and Lily's temperature went up. Once again Tony and I gave Lily Infant Tylenol and that seemed to help. Saturday I called the pediatrician again even though Lily continued to not run a temperature during the day. The doctor gave me the "Rah, Rah, Fever is our Friend" speech. Honestly, the doctor was very nice and was trying to reassure me that this was just Lily's body trying to fight off whatever bug was trying to move in and that it was great to see her immune system kicking in.

Saturday night into Sunday morning was just awful. Lily coughed the entire night. We had bought some Infant Tylenol Cough and Cold for our trip to China and thought we would switch from regular Infant Tylenol to that.

The way Lily comforts herself is to suck on her index finger. However, when your nose is stuffed up and you try to suck on your finger the two don't mix....kind of like Merlot and Martinis. Oh wait, that's a story for another time! Seriously though, Lily would try to suck on her finger and then not be able to breathe and would wake up gasping for air and then drift back to sleep and slip her finger in her mouth and repeat the cycle again.

Our pediatrician does not have Sunday hours and will refer you to the ER if your child needs to be seen. Tony and I did not feel that Lily was sick enough to go to the hospital so we kept up with the Infant Tylenol Cough and Cold and longed for Monday morning. As soon as the pediatrician's office opened on Monday I was on the phone. Our regular doctor could not see Lily until 3:00 Monday afternoon but one of her associates had a cancellation at 10:30. I jumped on that.

We went to the doctor and were relieved to find out that Lily's ears, throat, lungs, and sinuses were infection free. She just had a nasty cold that her body was trying to fight. I told the doctor that we had switched from Infant Tylenol to Infant Tylenol Cough and Cold. She quickly told me that was the wrong thing to do. Yikes! She explained that the cough and cold medicine contained a decongestant that would loosen up all the mucus in Lily's head and start it draining. At Lily's age she is too young to blow her nose or clear her throat. So, what Lily really needed was something to dry it up not loosen it. Again, who knew? We have so much to learn!

The doctor recommended that we switch back to regular Infant Tylenol and Children's Benadryl. The doctor warned us that the Bendadryl might make Lily either very sleepy or very hyper. It didn't appear to do either but it definitely did start to dry things up.

Look Mom and Dad....No Hands!

During the last week poor Lily was so stuffed up she did not want to eat or drink a thing. Lily and I spent so much time in a steamy bathroom I think we’ve started to grow moss and the only way the poor sweet thing could sleep is if I kept her body pretty much upright. Finally yesterday we started to see shades of the healthy, happy Lily again and today I would say she is at about 90%. It's so great to see her sweet smile and to hear her constant chatter. She still has a bit of a cough but the doctor said that will take some time to go away completely.