October Conference

It was a beautiful Conference weekend full of inspiration and renewed determination to do what is right. 

It was also full of delicious food, birthday dinner, Halloween decorating, and baby play time. Lilian had a blast playing with Stagg cousins, Papa and Grandma, and Grandpa, Gram, and Uncle Michael...of which I took no pictures.

But here are a couple of Lilian in our back yard, and a few pictures from our epic trip to the Cabin in August. 

Lilian is 10 Months Old!

**UPDATE** I obviously started working on this post a couple of weeks ago when Lilian was actually 10 month's old. Now she is nearing 11 months. Oops.

My baby is 10 months old.

She can crawl, pull herself to standing,

feed herself avocados, pick grass and eat it, pull her books off the shelves and flip through the pages,

and she is incredible at imitating sounds and inflections. She's even learning to whistle! True story.

She loves reading and getting out of the house on errands. All animals make her laugh, and she's in love with Daddy.

She is always happy. Her first tooth erupted on my birthday, July 30th, and her second one just popped out on her 10 month birthday. We love her so much!

Seven Months Young

Lilian is 7 months!

 She FINALLY got sick. The three of us all caught a cold and Lilian experienced the misery that is sinus congestion for the first time in her short life. In true Lilian fashion, she powered through it with a smile on her face (most of the time..).

 For Father's Day we went to Heber City to see a working bomber from WWII and although it was fun for Dad and Papa, Lilian wasn't overly impressed.

 Last night she slept from 8 pm to 7:30 am. Haaaaaaallelujah!

She is somehow scooting around. I never see it in action but I'll leave her in one spot, do some dishes or something, and when I come back she is far from where I left her. Time to start baby proofing.

She's had carrots, sweet potatoes, and prunes (oh. my. goodness. Diaper=destroyed). Along with whatever we think would be funny to let her tastes, including but not limited to: crepes, jell-o, watermelon, mustard, sprite, and a little bit of guarana.

She's still just as happy as ever and is the perfect little companion. We love her more than anything!

"I don't want to be a hipster!"

We also love our new corner chair. It's kind of funky but it's perfect for our little Tree House.

Carrots

Lilian is getting bigger and stronger!

She can roll over both ways, pivot, and she's trying to do the wounded soldier crawl. She wants to move!

She loves playing with daddy. I walk in from doing yardwork or switching the laundry and Robert is always doing something new and making her laugh.

She's eating baby food now and loves carrots. . . well, she's only ever had carrots. We haven't really branched out from carrots yet.

Six Months!

Lilian is 6 months old!

I was chatting with Tarra about motherhood (her sweet girl is almost 1 YEAR!) and we reflected on how time passes differently now that we have a little one. Sometimes the days drag on but all of a sudden 6 months have gone by! It's incredible how quickly time flies when you are watching your child learn something new nearly every day. The rate at which they grow and change reminds me how each day truly is a gift. As adults (really? I still feel like a kid!) we don't change a whole lot day to day physically, intellectually, emotionally...etc., but babies do.

Lilian wakes up ready to play and learn, eat and grow, cry and feel. As her mother, I am the one who will facilitate most of her learning. I was talking to another mommy friend (my VT's, actually) and we decided that, although the time goes quickly, motherhood is a lifelong, emphasis on LOOOONNGG, calling. With just one little baby, you are often tired at the end of the day but not sure why. We often ask ourselves "What did I DO today?" It is a hard transition to make from student/employee to mother. There is really no way to measure your accomplishments or to feel like you are making a difference. That is where the LOOOONNG comes in. Time passes quickly, but the fruits of our labors are only reaped in small moments now and then until we die.

We don't have a big project with a deadline, or quarterly reviews with someone who can tell us what we are doing right and where we could improve. It is a dichotomy of time, passing quickly but lasting a lifetime and beyond. Going fast but never ending. If you're on a train going 100 MPH but the ride never ends, you might as well be standing still. It's a weird feeling, often overwhelming, but full of blessings from a loving Heavenly Father and Mother who know exactly how it feels. It is a comfort to have our earthly parents, siblings, friends, and of course our Heavenly parents, on the same train with us. It is a long calling but definitely not a lonely one.

Uh...train. 

Robert and I are so grateful to have Lilian in our lives! She is such a joy and a little miracle to watch. She loves pinching faces, jumping, taking baths, her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal, being tossed in the air, and laughing at Robert. She can roll over from her back to her tummy, pass things between her two hands, put her binkie in her mouth herself, and is working on sitting up on her own. She's happy, vocal, and outgoing with a smile for anyone. We love you, Lilian!