DRUNKEN SAILOR?

No, It's Lillie Marie!
After a few months of "thinking" about walking, Lillie has finally made the switch. About two weeks ago she stopped crawling completely. I took her to Northpark today to exchange some clothes. I decided see how she would do without her stroller. She did a great job, but is a bit slow. She also wants to explore everything. She was fascinated by the big fountain and an elderly lady with a walker. We made time to stop a play a little bit. This video was shot after shopping. She is a little wobbly, but getting better everyday. She also started talking a bunch too. She even speaks in sentences that I can't understand. I don't know what all of the words are, but here are a few guesses:
Hi
Cheese
Cookie
Thank you

Arts festival and a few other things...

This is the third day of the Arts Festival and we have already been twice. We saw the Yippee Yi Yo Show, ate some food, hit the kid's area, but still haven't seen the ART! I figure I will save that for later. Everything takes at least twice as long when you have a child with you. I figure it is better to go and see things in bits and pieces instead of doing it all in a day.

Now on to the other things...

I am still behind on my fundraising. The donations I have had are very generous and I am extremely grateful. I just hate asking people for money. This is my passive aggressive way of doing it. So, if you haven't donated... PLEASE DO. The money has to be turned in by the 28th (I think.) Just click on the March of Dimes on the side of my blog. It will take you to a safe and secure site so you can donate in Lillie's name. We even can take checks and cash in person. Chris and I are ready for the walk. His doctor has given him the go ahead to keep exercising. His blood pressure has been up, but now he is back on his medicine. I have been going to the gym about an hour a day everyday. That is right, seven days a week! I hope to keep it up. My brother talked me into buying some good running shoes, so now I have to put them to good use.

Lillie update...

Lillie turns 15 months old tomorrow. She is growing way too fast. I remember the days of the NICU just waiting for her to grow. She couldn't grow fast enough. Now it is time to slow down. Here are a few of the things the Lillie can do, say, or sign.
Lillie now weights apx 21 pounds.
She has been off the bottle since 13 months.
Lillie is now making the switch from crawling to walking. She starts off walking, but when she falls she crawls.
She was taking swim lessons til I hurt my hand. Sometimes swims at the YMCA. She loves the water.
She loves bath time and bath toys.
She is learning what a Kitty and a Doggy says.
She knows Lola's name and is working on Charlie.
Still no "MaMa."
Nanny got her a rocking chair. Now she likes to sit in her chair and read books.
Her favorite book is "Brown Bear."
She enjoys spending time with her cousin Kate and Aunt Gum. We have play dates at least twice a week.
She finally "gets" the zoo. She waves at the animals and gives them kisses.
Her favorite activity is playing at the park. She is an expert swinger and has moved on to the slide.
She has learned how to make calls on the cell phone. The first call was made to Aunt Marla.
She has learned how to say "ya" and nod her head if she wants something. Everything she sees is a "this or that."
She sometimes says "daddy" instead of "dada."
Did I mention, still no "mama!"
She is signing "drink, eat, milk, sleep."
She loves to cook with her pots and pans.
She went on her first Easter Egg Hunt.
Since she is no longer at daycare, she gets social time at church daycare and YMCA child watch a few times a week.
Lillie loves people. Will go to anyone that will put there arms out.
She went to her first Yard Dawgz game. Loved it!
She has been working hard at raising money for March of Dimes.
She naps everyday for about two hours.
She sleeps better at night, sometimes 6-7 hours at a time. She still has "bad nights" too.
She has the same bedtime routine since we brought her home. She has her bath, massage, story (we our working on the sign for bath and story) then bed time.
Her favorite foods include: Lasagna, string cheese, chicky noodle, spaghetti o's, cookie, and scrambled egg.
She has to eat every 3 hours.
She attempted her first "family movie night." We watched Wall-E. She fell asleep after about 15 minutes.
She loves to snuggle with Daddy when he gets home from work.
When she gets mad she lays her head on the floor and cries.
That's about it. I could write for hours... but will spare you.

Lillie and the car that gave her the confidence to walk.



Lillie and her favorite chair.

Helping momma make cookies. She loves to cook.
Swinging at Edgemere Park with Daddy.

Eating the cookies she made.
Slide!

Lobby Day

Yesterday Lillie and I went to our first Lobby Day at the Capitol. We weren't sure what to expect. We met Aunt Gum and Kate at our house around 9am and walked up to the capitol to start our day. We saw various lobby groups around the capitol, but had a hard time finding our group. After wandering a bit we found them. We had a private room filled with snacks and coffee. A few legislators came in and shook hands and took pictures. We also got to meet Katelyn and her family. They are the Ambassador Family for March of Dimes. Katelyn is now 5 years old, but when she was born she weighed only 15.5 ounces. That is less then a pound! After that we headed out to drop off gifts and info about March of Dimes to all of the legislators. We broke up into groups so it went pretty fast. The capitol is a very interesting place. I will have to take Draven there as a field trip over summer break. Once our work was done we headed to a private conference room for lunch and a meet and greet with a few senators. Lillie had hit a wall so we left after we ate. Chris met us up there so we could go to Guthrie with him. I don't go there often and when I do it is a trip down memory lane. Marla and I went and visited a few of our old haunts in December. Lillie and I just drove around and looked at the pretty homes and daydreamed about owning one of the old downtown buildings. We stopped by to visit Hanson's (Draven's god father) grave.

That is a must every time we are in town. After he passed that was the one place we could go to and feel connected with him. Now he lives on in our memories and is always with us. Still, it is nice to visit and see how big the redbud is that we planted over 12 years ago. I even found a few of Draven's toys out there from one he was just a toddler. Very Sweet. After Chris was out of court we hit a few antique stores. Lillie was tired of being in a stroller so we only hit three stores.

After a busy day we still found time to make it to the gym. We took Lillie and Draven to the pool and swam as a family. Draven spent a little time in the teen center, Lillie played with other babies, and Chris and I got a little cardio in. We are all preparing for the Walk for Babies. Lillie is even walking instead of crawling most of the time. A very busy day for all of us. I think today we might just stay in tonight and relax. Still working on fund raising for MOD. Don't forget to spread the word!

Photo update...

Lillie and Kate at the zoo. Lillie is really starting to enjoy the animals. She waves to them and gives them kisses. She calls the gorillas "dada" and all cats "lola."

Lillie's first EasterEgg hunt. We went to Edgemere Park forSt. Luke's big hunt. She found a few eggs and seemed to get the concept. After egg hunting we did a little swinging and cookie eating.

Lillie is keeping an eye on the Easter bunny to make sure he doesn't get too close.

Lillie and Draven this morning before church. What good looking kids.

Today is Easter. My gift from the easter bunny is getting to stay home while everyone else is at church. Draven and Chris are acolytes and Lillie will be in daycare. Chris thought I should just enjoy a few quiet hours at home. Nice. After blogging it is bubble bath time. Jealous?

Last night we went to a Yard Dawgz (i think they spell it like this?) game. Draven took two friends and we took Lillie. Everyone enjoyed the heck out of it. Lillie watched 3 quarters of the game before she started to squirm. I forgot my camera. There were lots of great photo opps. Maybe next time. We will go again.

March Of Dimes

I am getting ready to send out an email to my friends and family. I don't have everyones email address, so I thought I could get the word out here as well.
I need everyone to make a small donation to help a cause that is dear to our heart.

http://marchforbabies.org/lillie120

As many of you know, last year we brought in to this world our precious daughter, Lillie Marie Henry. During the pregnancy I could tell something wasn't right. Every doctors appointment I told my doctor my concerns and she would reassure me everything was fine. I wasn't getting very big, I decided Lillie wasn't either. My doctor said "not to worry." I told my doctor that she doesn't kick, just a flutter on occasion. She told me I was pregnant with "a mellow baby." When my blood pressure began to rise I was very concerned. I never had high blood pressure. She put me on bed rest. I asked about Lillie. Will the baby be OK, will I need a c section, will we need to take her early? Her response, "I am your doctor not your babies doctor. I just need to take care of you." After 2 weeks of bed rest, I noticed the movement stopped completely. My maternal instinct finally took over. Maybe my doctor was wrong. I went to the hospital and Lillie was taken via emergency c section with in hours of my arrival. My placenta and her umbilical cord did not develop. She was not getting any nutrition. She was starving to death. There is no way she could of waited another day. She was born January 20Th 2009, 36 1/2 weeks, weighing a mere 2 pounds 15 ounces.
Lillie is a smart, happy, healthy girl today. No thanks to my doctor. Many thanks to my family for telling me to ignore my doctor and listen to my gut.
Now Lillie and I want to do everything we can to keep this from happening to other babies. We need to take better care of mother's to be so they can give birth to healthy children. That is why we are a part of March of Dimes and the March for Babies.

OUCH...

blogging left handed. Tripped, fell on drinking glass, cut hand, went to ER, got stitched, now medicated, down to just the left hand.
No blogging for a while...

Girl's trip to the mall...

My sister and I decided to take the girls to the mall for a special outing. We did a little shopping, had lunch, and then they got a big surprise. We took all three of them to get their ears pierced. What do you think?

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!