Team A'Hearn

Over the past few weeks, Lily has been teasing us with her slow and steady progress in learning to walk. She’s been able to stumble around for a while, but she’s always needed to hold our hands. Well after tons of practice, she finally took a few steps on her own last night! It was probably due to mommy and I cheering at her, but she thought the whole milestone was just hilarious.

We couldn’t believe how much more carefully we needed to watch her once she started recklessly crawling, so I’m not sure we can fully appreciate how crazy it will be once she really starts running around. Yikes.

Walking has also coincided with another fun milestone this week. She’s been babbling like crazy for months, but has only recently been articulating genuine words (with real meaning). Well rather than waking up each morning with her usual nonsensical discussions, we’ve heard a loud and sing-song “DAAAD! DAAAD!” for the past few days. Ug. Why not mommy? Daddy’s not ready to wake up yet.

Lily entered her teens the other day, but thankfully it’s the good kind (as measured in months). I don’t even want to think about the chaos that will be my baby girl at thirteen years. She’s just so much dang fun to be around these days, so I suppose I should savor it now!

Photo updates today: I renamed her original album to “0-12 months,” and created a new one to cover the coming year. These are always available via the “Photos” link along the top of the website. Enjoy!

Lily went for her one year pediatrician visit yesterday and is doing well! She’s still barely 18 pounds, so is sitting comfortably in the 3^rd percentile for weight – and is about 27 inches tall which places her in the 5^th percentile for height. So she’s tiny, but is otherwise very healthy. And despite a recent head cold she’s eating very well and sleeping great – no complaints from mommy and daddy!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a fun 1^st birthday party for Lily! We all had a great time and were glad that she did so well throughout the day. I added a photo recently with a cute shot her of her eating her birthday “cake” (an egg/wheat/dairy-free brownie topped with a blueberry glaze). Credit to Stephanie for the creative, allergy-free eats!

Finally, we got the following two videos the day of Lily’s birthday – as you can see, she can’t walk completely on her own yet, but it’s certainly not stopping her from tearing around the house screeching with glee.

Unbelievably, Lily turns one year old today. It’s still ridiculous when I think about it, because it seems like just yesterday that I was holding her in my arms after welcoming her into the world only minutes earlier. But it also seems like it all happened ten years ago. What an incredible blur it’s all been.

Things have settled significantly over the past few weeks. After illnesses and the stress of confirming her many allergies, Lily has become accustomed to her limited diet. In fact, she spent the past two weeks having some kind of growth spurt – we couldn’t shovel food in there fast enough! While that’s tapered as of late, seeing her eat that much was still a very welcome sight for mommy and daddy.

Her personality is developing more than ever! She’s developed quite a little attitude about some things, and has already learned how to get into serious mischief. However, she thankfully spends way more of the day smiling and goofballing than being sassy.

Pictures and videos to come – especially following her celebration with family and friends this coming Saturday.

We love you more than anything, Lily – happy first birthday! Here’s to 365 days of pure magic. We can’t wait for many, many more.

As you’ve probably seen (or been a part of), the mid-Atlantic region was hit with monstrous amounts of snow over the past week. One of our official weather stations nearby at Mount Vernon measured 23 inches, and that doesn’t count “round two,” a little aftershock of a storm that brought a bit more (including some wind as well, which contributed to drifts up to a foot).

Well the sun has finally emerged, we’ve dug ourselves out, and are more than ready to get rid of some raging cabin fever. Photos here for posterity. And don’t think we didn’t get some more good shots of Lily in the snow – her album has some updates, too!

Things are finally getting back to normal here in Happy Town. Lily hit eleven months yesterday, but we’re all ready to put January behind us. It took a little while, but she started acting like herself two days ago and has been eating well. She did, however, spend two days with head-to-toe hives – the source of which several different pediatricians couldn’t pinpoint. The result: a four-day antihistamine regimen, no more formula at all (how could someone be allergic to hypoallergenic formula?!), and Stephanie being asked to restart nursing. That last point has posed some significant problems, as Lily was fully weaned as of two weeks ago.

Later this coming week, we have a follow-up appointment with an allergist and a nutritionist – we’re very worried that Lily just isn’t getting the nourishment she needs. Because of her allergies, finding a variety of good, filling foods is an enormous challenge. Oddly, though, nobody else seems that concerned since she’s technically gaining weight and filling diapers – but she’s practically off the charts (on the low end) for her age/size.

In happier news, she’s as fun and crazy as ever. She’s walking around (with her baby push-cart) all over the place, is always grinning like a fool, constantly babbles to anyone who will listen, and has some kind of hyper-awareness of surrounding sights and sounds. “Yes, Lily, that’s the lamp. Yes, that’s the cat. For the hundredth time.” But she’s certainly keeping us on our toes, and we’re loving every minute of it.

Plans are also in the works for her big first birthday extravaganza! We are utterly astonished it’s almost been a year already – what a crazy ride it’s been with our sweet little monkey!