Lily's First Birthday - Part 2

One year ago today we welcomed Lily Grace into the world. Life has not been the same since. I still find it hard to believe I am the mother to three girls. So much can happen in the course of a few years.

Lily is a cutie for sure. She is far from soft-spoken. She knows what she needs to do to get our attention. She's been recently spotted "fighting back" when competing for a coveted toy but also has moments where she is welcomed by her sisters in whatever game they are playing. Here are a few other developments in the life of Lily:

Sleep
We decided a few weeks ago to stick to our guns and push through the whole sleep training thing. It was tough-going in the beginning. I mean, what else should we expect when Lily had been used to being rocked or nursed to sleep for her whole life? A few days ago things just clicked-for me and Lily. When she's done feeding I pleasantly bring her to her room and go through our own little routine before I sneak out and leave a smiling and awake Lily behind in her crib. It seems like lately rocking her to sleep has been the exception rather than the rule. Thank you God!

Mobility
Lily is still not walking, but she is cruising like crazy. Occasionally she'll practice standing herself up either using the floor to push up or a small toy or box (rather than pulling up on furniture). She'll then stand for a good while before plopping down and trying it again. She's also taken a few steps between pieces of furniture and me and Jonathan. Lily really doesn't let much get in the way of her getting to where she wants. She isn't really all that into climbing onto things, and I am in no hurry for that to happen anyway.

Teeth
Lily still only has two teeth. I think maybe two more on the bottom may be on the way, but I'm not too sure. I think Sarah had five teeth at this age and Abigail had her two top teeth. She's still able to chew on a few table foods though.

Communication
Lily can shake her head "no" and nod "yes", but not always when it makes sense. She's better at letting us know "no" than "yes". She's got the "da-da" sound down. Almost every time I ask her to say, "ma-ma" she will either shake her head or say "da-da" instead. And, like I said before, she is good at making her voice heard. She can squeal like the best of them.

Our baby is one! I cannot believe it. We look forward to continuing to see her little personality develop. Happy real birthday Lily!