7 Months Old

In mid August Lily turned 7 months old! What a difference a month makes. Lily is officially mobile! She quickly transitioned from "scooting in a forward motion" to full-on crawling. Time to get the gates up and do other baby proofing. She's got so much more personality now and is very talkative. No official words yet, but she definitely make "d" sounds around Matt and "m" sounds around me. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but I feel like we could be getting close.

I couldn't decide which 7 month picture to post because I got so many cute expressions.





Lily is still doing well eating her solid foods. She still eats everything we offer her and favors veggies over fruits. I'm still nursing but we had to introduce some formula since we've been away on the weekends a lot. (My frozen milk supply is officially gone.) She hasn't had any problems with the formula and seems to like the first one we tried, so that's been a big relieve. Part of me is ready to give up nursing but there's another part of me that wants to keep it going. I'm still working from home right now, but if that changes and I'm going to be gone more, we may have to go all the way with formula. Knock on wood - Lily has still never been sick and seems to be growing and developing wonderfully! I'm glad I've been able to give her such a good start in life.

Tutu Lily

July was a fun month... but it was also very busy and caused me to get behind on a lot of things. I have many blog posts to catch up on. Until then, here's a peak at my cutie pie. My friend Kelsey let me borrow the tutu outfit and it made for some GREAT pictures. :)

6 Months Old!

My little girl is getting so big! It's amazing to think of how much she's changed and learned since she was born. The doctor was very pleased with her growth and development. Lily's 27" long and weighs 16 lbs 3 oz. She had a couple shots at her check up but it seemed to go better than last time.

Lily has mastered rolling both ways and likes to roll herself across the room. She also can sit on her own. She LOVES her jumperoo and bounces like crazy when she's in it. She still "talks" a lot and is starting to mimic sounds that we make. My favorite is when I clap and say "yeah!" she says "yeah" back. (At least that's what it sounds like to me.) She makes da-da and ma-ma sounds but I don't consider any of them an official word yet.

She's still eating breast milk and rice cereal and we just started introducing fruits and veggies. So far she's had apples and zucchini and doesn't seem thrilled about either. But she still eats it, so that's good. I tried making my own baby food and it was really easy.

Kiawah Island Part 1

We are on our first family vacation! We are in Kiawah Island, SC with Matt's family and having a great time. I'll write more when we get back home. For now I'll just send a sneak peak of pictures we have so far. Lily did FANTASTIC on the flight here and she's been her usual happy self since we've been here. (I got all stressed out over nothing.) She is such an amazing baby!

View of the beach from our condo.

Grandpa & Nana have been a HUGE help with Lily. It makes it more relaxing for Mommy and Daddy when the grandparents can help out.
Reading in her tent on the beach

Meeting Uncle Jason

Meeting Aunt Millie

Attacked by the paparazzi!!

Happy 4th of July! Lily loves the beach!

Beach naps are the best!

Birthday, Wedding, Father's Day

We had a busy weekend, and thus, several pictures to post!

Friday was my birthday...my first birthday as a Mom. It felt different because I'm definitely not #1 anymore. But it was also really special to be able to celebrate with my daughter.
My parents came up and spent the afternoon with Lily and me. We went shopping at the Wilton tent sale and went out to lunch. After Matt got home from work we had a nice relaxing evening at home. All in all, a great day.On Saturday we went to Michael & Laura's wedding in Chicago. Michael is a friend from high school, so several of my other high school friends, their parents, and my parents were there. Matt and I stayed the night in Chicago so Lily had her first sleepover at Nana & Grandpa's house. It was a big production to get Lily and ourselves ready, packed, and out the door, but we managed and actually made it everywhere on time.

The "townie" girls

and the husbands

The reception was at The Congress Plaza hotel, which was beautiful. I got to dance and catch up with old friends, which I always enjoy.

The happy couple and their last dance. Now they are in Tahiti/Bora Bora which is where Matt and I honeymooned. I almost hopped in their suitcase because I would LOVE to go back!

But we couldn't go too far because Sunday was Matt's 1st Father's Day. Before we left Chicago we had breakfast with my parents. Then we drove straight to Matt's parent's house to see them and Lily. Though we knew she was in good hands, it was tough being away from Lily that long.

Lily had a great time with Nana and Grandpa and so did they. They reminded us how lucky we are to have such a sweet and easy baby.

3 Generations

After Father's Day dinner we had birthday cake for me. It was Lily's first birthday party and first time seeing candles being blown out. As usual, she just stared and didn't give much reaction. That girl is like a sponge and just soaks everything in.

5 Months Old

Lily is 5 months old! Since there was no doctor's visit, I'm not quite sure what her height and weight are. Last I checked, she was around 16 lbs. She's still wearing 6 month clothing, though I think she'll be in the 9 month size before summer is over. She is long-waisted so outfits quickly become too short.This week Lily really started "talking". She's making "ba-ba" sounds instead of just noises. She talks the most when she's got something in her mouth (like the rattle below) or during a diaper change.

She's very good at rolling from back to tummy and hasn't figured out tummy to back. She usually just stays on her tummy until she gets tired and then cries for help. She's still a big fan of the "half roll" and watching tv.

This month Lily found her feet. She hasn't put them in her mouth, but she like to grab them.

Lily's hair is coming in nicely on the top of her head, but she has a giant bald spot in the back. She was born with all of the dark brown hair in the back and it's slowly falling out. All the new hair is blonde - about the same color as mine. I'm sure she will turn brunette when she's older, but it's fun to see her blonde for now.

I am consistently giving Lily rice ceral once a day. She is a pro at eating from the spoon. (As if anyone doubting the eating skills of a Cianciarulo.) We use the cereal as just a snack and are waiting until the 6 month mark to introduce more solids.

A few more pics in her "adorable" outfit...

"Hey...I know you!"

"I love Pooh bear"

Family Photos

Sorry for the delay in postings. I guess we were too busy having fun (or too busy working for that matter.) Over Memorial Day weekend, Lily and I went to Indiana to visit Grandma and Papa. We took Lily to an art fair in Lafayette. As you can tell by "serious Lily", she was pretty overwhelmed by the crowd.

The following weekend, Matt, Lily, and I went to my Aunt's house for a family gathering. Many of my cousins got to meet Lily for the first time. Lily eventually warmed up to them, but for the most part she was quiet and "taking it all in" like she does in new situations and around new people.

Cousins Allyson & Shelley

Great Aunt Carolyn

(keys taste good!)

Cousin Linda

(rattle tastes good too!)

Cousin Morgan

Cousin Jill