Phew!

We are finally home safe and sound after 4 flights, 3 states, 2 National Parks, 8 grandparents, 7 aunts and uncles, many, many hours in the car and too many other relatives and friends to count.

It was a long 2 and half weeks but so much fun to spend time with family and friends and it really solidified how lucky we are to have such a good baby. Lily did remarkably well on all legs of the trip. We really couldn't have hoped for a more well-mannered baby. Her worst moments bookended the trip--puking all down the front (and inside!) of mommy shirt while waiting to head to Maui in the terminal of LAX and then a little bit of fussiness on the flight back from Sacramento to LAX. Overall a great trip. Lily's a star traveler already.

So what's new in Lilyland? She's smiling up a storm. It's the best feeling in the world to see her smile. Hard to ever be upset or sad when you see that every day. She makes HUGE laughing faces but so far no sound comes out. I'm sure any day now the giggles and belly laughs will start. She awake a lot more during the day. She loves to play on her floor gym. She reaches for toys and grabs a hold of them. She's still figuring out that she can move them once she's grabbed a hold; but she loves to look at her toys. Sometimes she gets a little fussy just because she wants to lay down and play. She loves the flow in the dark planets now suspended from the ceiling in her (and our) room. She finds them hilarious and loves to watch them.

A review in photos...first stop Maui.

Lily with Daddy and Uncle Gary on his wedding day

Chilling in Lahaina


Hiking down to the blowhole that wasn't really blowing


The whole family in front of the Iao Needle


On top of Haleakala, Lily's first National Park. Yes, we are still in Maui, just 10,000 ft up.


Then on to Northern CA and Oregon.

Meeting her Great-Great-Grandma Smith


Aunt Melody with cousin Isabella, Lily and mommy, and 2nd cousin Stacy with 3rd cousin Jacob


A short hike to a waterfall


Crater Lake with Aunt Anna


Hard to believe Lily's cousin Isabella is only 20 days younger than her.


Isabella prefers sleeping on her side while Lily prefers the "touchdown" position

Remote posting from a lanai in Maui

2 months old!

Lily is two months old today. We're celebrating her birthday in Maui. We arrived here on Tuesday night and we'll be leaving on Wednesday night. Lily was a good baby on the flight over. She cried a little bit but I don't think she annoyed anyone too much. She sat on mommy's lap most of the flight but also really enjoyed stretching out over two tray tables. Her ears didn't seem to bother her and she didn't even spit up on mommy during the flight (but did while we were waiting at the gate to get on the flight). Her favorite part about Maui so far is the waterfall outside of our room and tiki torches. She'd star at tiki torches for hours.



On the 3rd we all went to Uncle Gary and Aunt Cat's wedding. Lily was very well behaved and didn't cry at all during the ceremony. She slept through part of it and then woke up abruptly when the conch shell was blown. The luau after the wedding was a little harder for her, she was getting hot because it was so warm and humid. Lily, mommy and daddy watched the luau from the back but still got to see most of it. Thankfully she didn't get upset until after we ate. It was too bad our table wasn't tiki torch adjacent.



Lily had her two-month checkup about a week before we left for Maui. She needed to get several shots and her pediatrician and parents wanted to make sure she didn't have any kind of reaction to the shots before we traveled thousands of miles away. As expected, she's growing like a weed. She's already 24 inches long (grown 3 inches since birth) and now weighs 12 lbs 4 oz (up 3 lbs 7 oz since birth)! She's definitely a health girl. She's over the 90th percentile in height and weight. So she's not fat, she's tall too.

She has changed a lot in the last month. Here are a few updates on Lily.

-She rolls onto her side and smacks her lips when she's hungry (when she's sleeping next to me she snuggles into me looking for food).
-She rolled over from her back to belly on July 2nd!
-Still loves lights and also flames like tiki torches.
-Finds loud music soothing (was kept in a deep sleep by a live band on the 4th of July).
-Loves faces. Prefers to look at mommy's faces if in the room, then daddy, but looks at everyone's faces.
-Coos and oos and aahs a lot. Has a talkative time in the mornings and evenings.
-Smiles a lot.
-Tries to sit up! She wants to move so badly and is already trying to sit upright on her own.

How Lily is developing:

Into complex designs

At this point, your baby will begin to move beyond his early preferences for bright or two-toned objects toward more detailed and complicated designs, colors, and shapes. Show your baby — and let him touch — a wider variety of objects. Good choices include plastic cookie cutters, soft balls, and stuffed animals.

Hear ye, hear ye

Your baby can differentiate familiar voices from other sounds and is becoming a better listener. He also can show you that he's in tune with his environment. Notice how he looks to see where certain noises are coming from.

An ongoing conversation (although still one-sided!) can help your baby develop his sense of place. He may even watch your mouth as you talk, fascinated by how it all works.

A helping hand

The chaotic first months are over and your baby's schedule is probably becoming more predictable. If you and your partner are raising your baby, it's important for both of you to get a chance to care for and bond with your baby. Make sure whichever one of you is not the primary caretaker gets regular time alone with your little one, for bathing him, changing him, and just getting tuned into his needs.