Spring is here!

Happy Spring!

The weather is starting to get nice and the craziness of the end of the school year is buzzing in my ear. Lilli is 6 months old and growing like crazy! She had her 6month visit and she weighs 16.9 lbs, and is 25.5 inches long! She is no longer my tiny preemie! We are slowly teaching her some sign language to help her communicate before she talks and she can sign milk and gets really excited when we sign it to her to eat. She is also waving the famous backwards hi to herself, because that is what she sees our hands do to her when we wave to her! She loves her organic jar food and her doggies. Her muscle tone is still a little behind, so I can't wait until she can fully sit-up on her own! We are loving every minute this precious miracle has brought to us and I am very excited for the summer and to see all of her firsts! She had her first few days of daycare and then got a cold, so mommy stayed home with her! Todd is working on the houses again and enjoys being out of the house, but also misses Lilli bear and their relaxing days together!

We will be home in June and can't wait to see everyone! Gotta go, it's nap time!!

We love and miss y'all!

Kelly, Todd, Lilli, Espn and Oreo

March Madness!

March is almost over and Lilli is will be 6 months in four days! Where does the time go? We are all doing great! She is getting so big and developing a little silly personality! She laughs at a lot of things and loves when daddy plays rough with her, I think she is going to be a tomboy! She loves the dogs and now pets them when they come up to her. We love seeing her change each week.

Work for me is tough. It is a long day with the fifth graders and then coming home to Lilli bear to make up for my lost time has me tired out and I am pretty much going to bed not long after Lilli. Right now Todd is working some days and weekends, so busy is what we are! In April Lilli will got to daycare until I am done school in June. We are a little nervous, but think it will be good for her to be around other adults and kids (and germs, yuck!)

Since the last time I have checked in, my parents, Keith and Mary came for their annual March visit. It was great to see them and so great for dad to get out and be somewhere different. He is doing well and making improvements each month. This month we also had some birthday celebrations and Lilli was great at them.

We won't be home until the summer and I can't wait until Lilli experiences the beach and good old NJ! For now I am turning her into a lake girl and she will just have to love all of it!

We hope all is well and we miss you all!

Love,

Kelly,Todd,Lilli,Espn and Oreo

Lilli is 4 months!

Hello y'all! I hope 2011 is being good to you. We are certainly off to a good start. Lilli is now 4 months old and is so much fun. She has those little chubby cheeks and loves to laugh and giggle at us. She now weighs 13lbs and is measuring 24 inches long, so she is doing really well. I went back to work and I am trying to adjust to it all, so needless to say mommy goes to bed around the same time as Lilli.. Todd is home with her right now full time until the end of February and he is doing a great job and makes me so proud to call him my husband. Lilli is now eating rice cereal, so a mess is our new dinner time! I just look at her sometimes and still can't believe she is mine and that I finally was able to become a mom.

My dad is doing great! I am also so proud of him and his recovery, he is getting better each day and is starting to do normal "Dale" things. We cannot wait until mom and him come to visit for our annual March birthday get together.

Well it's time for Lilli to eat and daddy is starting our dinner, so back to mommy duty! We hope you all are doing well! We miss you!

Love,

Kelly, Todd, Lilli, Espn and Oreo

Happy Holidays 2010!

Happy Holidays to all!

As you can see Lilli is growing and changing each day. It is so cool to see how much more aware she is. The first time she smiled at Todd and I because she recognized us, just melted our hearts! Lilli will be 3 months on 12/24 and we are enjoying all of her firsts. She loves sitting in her boppy looking at all of her surroundings. Espn also really enjoys when she lays in it. He just gets cozy right next to her!

We are once again heading to NJ for the holidays. This will be my last trip for awhile since I will be going back to work after the Christmas break and even though Lilli is a great traveler, she needs a break too! So if you want to see us, come on down!

As the year comes to an end I can say that I am exhausted, but grateful. It has been a roller coaster with emotions and some of the year we would all like to forget, but we are looking forward to the triumphs and more of Lilli's firsts in 2011.

We are wishing you all the best in 2011, and hope some of you make a trip down here soon!

With much love,

Kelly,Todd,Lilli,Espn and Oreo

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow!! As this month comes to end I am very thankful for many things. The top two would be my beautiful daughter and that my dad is finally on the road to recovery. It has been a crazy few months and even though I might spend some of those days not even leaving the house, the time flies by.

At the end of October Lilli took her first trip to NJ to meet grandpa. He was still at the overnight therapy facility, but the time we all spent together was priceless. Dad is now home and still in therapy, but is improving each day. It was also Lilli's first Halloween, she did not dress up, but wore cute Halloween onsies instead.

November is here and almost gone which means Lilli will be 2 months on 11/24. I still can't believe she is here and on her way to two months when she should be only 2 weeks old. Since it is getting colder out Todd gets more days home with us, which has been so much fun spending time as a family. We go on a walk almost everyday and just spend time looking at how much Lilli has changed.

We are heading to NJ for Thanksgiving and a Beef and Beer benefit they are having for my dad. Lilli will get to meet many people that are very important in our lives. In between Thanksgiving and Christmas we will have Becky here, Mom-Mom Peggy visits often, and Santa! The holidays also mark that mommy has to go back to work after x-mas break, so each day I am going to embrace, cherish, and be thankful for.

We hope you are all doing well and enjoy the holidays!

Much Love,

Kelly, Todd, Lilli, Espn and Oreo

Lillian Elizabeth is here!

For some of you out there that do not know, Lilli has arrived early! She was born at 33 weeks and 3 days due to me getting severe preeclampsia. I was fine one week and the next week I was all swollen up, gained 10lbs and had blood pressure through the roof. I was put on at home bed rest for 2 days and then admitted to the hospital where they had to take her via c section on 9/24. She was sent to the NICU where she spent a week and half. We were very lucky that it was a short stay. She could breath and eat on her own. At birth she weighed 4 lbs and 14 oz and was 19in long. She is now in the 5lbs weight category! I am still having BP issues and are on meds, hoping to be off of them soon. We are home and loving every minute of it. She was daddy's girl before she was born, but now she just has him wrapped around her little fingers. She is truly our miracle baby!

In the whole chaos of things my dad was moved out of the hospital and into therapy. He is doing well and improving each day. It is still a long road ahead, but we are hoping Lilli gets him through it. We are heading to NJ in two weeks so he can meet is first grandchild. It is not exactly how we all had it planned out, but in the first time since August we will all be there as a family and I have part of my dad back, plus my beautiful daughter that we have been waiting so long for. I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and prayers you have been sending us. We could not of done it alone.

I will try to update once a month with pictures of our little Lilli Bear!

Much love,

Kelly,Todd,Lilli, Espn & Oreo

August

It has been awhile since I have posted and the summer has gone by so fast with many happenings.
We have traveled to NC and SC to see family and friends, Megan and her family came to visit, and I just tried to stay cool during this summer with my growing belly.
In the beginning of August my mom threw a great baby shower for me and it was great to see everyone! Unfortunately our world was turned upside down the next day when my dad suffered a brain bleed and still is in the ICU in Atlantic City. He is recovering very slowly and we have had some setbacks. I had to go back to Va. last week to start school, which is not fun being 7 months pregnant and away from my parents. Todd and I are heading back to NJ for an extended Labor Day weekend and are just praying things get better. The baby is doing well and I am not stressing her out, which is also a concern for everyone.
Just wanted to give you an update, sorry it is short and not full of details. I hope the next time I post that I have better news.

Kelly,Todd,Espn,Oreo and baby girl hammer