Sitting Up Asleep!

Since Lolli no longer requires a swing or swaddler to go to sleep, Lauren has been laying down with her on the bed until Lolli passes out. Today she refused to lay down, so Lauren just laid there while Lolli sat up. Eventually Lolli fell asleep sitting up and fell onto the pillow. It was very cute!

Lolli's Big Day

Lolli and Lauren went to a preview class at Gymboree. There were 4 other babies in the class and only one of them was crawling, which made Lauren feel better. The class was so much fun! They played with bubbles, balls, and a giant parachute. The moms held the babies and "swung" them to help the babies kick a big ball and "play soccer." The moms laid on their backs and let the babies go "surfing" on their shins. All the moms helped their babies practice crawling and walking on the big foam gym. Lolli liked the ramp and alligator bridge the best. Then they sang some songs and played a few more games. Whew! That was an action-packed 45 minutes!

From there, Lauren drove downtown while Lolli napped in the back. They went to the zoo and met up with Darcey and Katie just in time for the elephant show. Lolli liked watching the elephants do tricks but was more entertained by trying to grab the sunglasses off of Lauren's head. After the show, Lauren and Lolli actually got to pet an elephant! Very cool!

After the zoo, Lauren and Lolli stopped by Katie's neighborhood to check out the baby swings. They weren't as safe as the one Granny P has, but Lolli liked it ok. Lauren was nervous to push her very high though, but Lolli didn't seem to mind. Once they got back home, Lolli laid down on the bed and took a 90 minute nap! She was exhausted!

This evening Zach, Lauren and Lolli went for a walk and played at the playground across the street. Their baby swing was even less secure, but again, Lolli seemed to enjoy it. She even went swinging on the big swing on Zach's lap and then Lauren's lap. She loved that and squealed a lot!

Terror at the car wash

Lolli got really scared at the car wash today - before she even entered the tunnel!

The Mike's Carwash employee took Lauren's ticket, marked the windshield, and then used his chalk thingie to make a cute smiley face on Lolli's window. Well, apparently the sight of a man right outside her car window, coupled with the noise from him writing, spooked her because she started screaming! She cried hysterically for about 3 minutes before finally calming down just in time for Lauren to steer the car into the tunnel. Lolli did fune during the car wash, because Lauren held her hand the whole way. What a silly girl!

Lolli's Big Meal!

Lolli woke up at 7:45 this morning and ate both boobs around 8:30. Then around 10:30 she did something that surprised and impressed both Zach and Lauren: she ate an ENTIRE thing of baby food! All 3.5 ounces of banana-applesauce went into her mouth and down into her tummy! Woohoo!

Lauren hopes this is a sign of things to come. Lolli eating more solids during the day should *hopefully* lead to Lolli breastfeeding less during the night. She's currently eating every 3 hours around the clock, except for 1 or 2 longer stretches during the DAY (she's backwards on that one, huh?). She sleeps great at night except for waking up every 3 hours like clockwork and eating for 10 minutes (which is a long nursing session for her).

Also, Lauren can start making some baby food now that it seems like Lolli will actually eat it. Woot!

Big Girl Napping!

Lolli woke up around 7:45 this morning. She stayed up until 11:30 or so and then she slept for *90* minutes! She stayed up again until 2:30 or so and then slept until after 4! She stayed up ater that until 8:30 when she went down for the night. Hooray!!! She's been taking one long nap almost every day, so hopefully she's moving towards making a "schedule" for herself!

Lolli's Dream House

Zach, Lauren and Lolli went for breakfast at Bob Evans this morning. Lolli had her own plate of silver dollar pancakes (no butter, no syrup). She was a very good girl and all the other diners loved watching her! After that, they all went to Granny P's to wake up Uncle Alex. Lolli got in bed with him and woke him up. But when he rolled over to sit up, it scared Lolli and she started to cry :(

From there they went to a garage sale in the same neighborhood. It was a good find - Lolli got 2 books, a Lolli-sized chair, and a furry rocking horse that sings! All for $7.50! Excellent! Then they went to Toys R Us and WalMart to price swingsets. From there it was on to Gpa Swain's to show off the horse, Roxie. Lolli had fun playing with Gpa's crutch. Then they all went to Gma and Gpa Great's house to show off Roxie again. Lolli had fun walking around with Gpa and eating a cookie (organic wheat teething biscuit).

Finally it was time to go home. However, on the way home, they drove past something that made Lauren stop the car and turn right around! A playhouse for sale! Upon further inspection they learned that the house was $50. It is white and pink with a blue roof. It has a flower box in front along with a mailbox. Inside there's a table and 2 chairs, along with a babydoll high chair built into the table. There's also a sink, stove, and cabinets. Wow! Zach and Lauren paid for it and Gma and Gpa Great brought it over later on. Lauren cleaned it up and now Lolli loves to go out back and play in her house!

Backwards Crawling

Poor Lolli is still only going backwards. She gets up on her hands and knees, but her legs must be weaker than her arms, because her knees slide backward. She gets very frustrated because when she's laying on her tummy and something is out of her reach, she goes up on all 4's to try to reach it. But instead of moving forward, she gets further away from the desired object.

This morning she did a whole circle around the living room going backwards. It's funny that she's able to move, but I think she'll be happier once she figures out how to go forward.

Lolli's Big Morning

Lauren and Lolli woke up around 8:15 this morning. Lolli got a new diaper, and then played in her rocker while Lauren showered. Then it was time for breakfast. Lolli never really eats her breakfast, but Lauren keeps offering it. Today was no different, so Lauren ended up eating Lolli's organic baby nutrigrain bar herself. Yum!

After that, Lolli got dressed and they headed to Kroger. Lolli was a *very* happy shopper and rode in the the cart 95% of the time (which is unusual for her)! She talked to a few strangers and got lots of comments, as usual. She's an attention-seeker, that's for sure.

After Kroger, Lolli played in her walker while Lauren put the groceries away and filled up the cat food. Then Lolli played in her pack n play on the driveway while Lauren changed the cat litters and mowed 1/3 of the yard. Whew! The busy morning wore Lolli out and she was ready to nap!

Lolli's 6 Month Shots

Even though Lolli is 6 months old, she just got her shots today. She couldn't get them last week at her 6 month appointment, because she was getting over a cold. The doctor said she was fine to get the shots as long as she didn't have a fever, but Lauren wasn't gonna take any chances with her baby!

Lolli was very brave today! She drank all of her Rotovirus and didn't even spit out a drop, which really impressed the nurse. Lolli didn't do quite as well with the shots, because she had to lay down. As soon as Lauren layed her back on that crinkly white paper, Lolli started crying. Lauren wasn're sure if it was because she knew the shots were coming, or just because Lolli prefers to be standing or sitting and hates laying down.

The shots were over and done with in about 30 seconds. Lolli was screaming her little head off until Lauren picked her up. The second Lauren had her in her arms, Lolli stopped crying. Whew! However, by that time Violet had started crying and she didn't stop for several minutes. Luckily Lolli was happy to let the nurse hold her while Lauren took care of Violet.

Rehearsal day

Lolli and Lauren picked up Gma Cathy this afternoon and headed to Greenfield to sit with Annie while she got her nails and toes done. Lolli stayed with Uncle Aaron at his apartment but got scared, so she hung out with Lauren and Cathy after that. Lauren ran into Peebles and found a dress for Lolli to wear to the wedding - yellow with lots of polka dots and a big pink bow. Lovely!

Then Lauren dropped Cathy and Lolli off at Gma Greats. Lolli stayed there until Lauren and Zach picked her up later after the wedding rehersal. Lolli went to the rehearsal dinner but didn't stay awake for long. She was less than thrilled when she got woken up a few hours later to go home, but she did ok. It was a big day for her (and everyone else)!

Photo Shoot w/ Gma Cathy!

Lolli's Gma Cathy came over this morning and she, Lauren and Lolli went to Target. They all bought coordinating shorts and headed to the mall. They went to Portrait Innovations and got their pictures taken. Lolli did pretty well considering she was tired! The pictures turned out very well. The most memorable part of the day was Lolli trying to slide out of her stroller - she's getting to be pretty wiggly!

Mid-air fart!!!

Zach was holding Lolli high above his head and wooshing her around for fun this evening. Lolli and he were both laughing when an unexpected sound interrupted. "Pfffft!" Lolli tooted in mid-air! Zach laughed so hard that he almost dropped her. Lolli found it to be pretty funny, too. She must have gotten her sense of humor from her great grandpa!

Lolli goes for a walk!

Zach took Lolli's walker outside and put it in the side street. Then he popped Lolli inside. She took off! She can really make that walker move now! Whenever Lauren's in the kitchen doing dishes or cooking, Lolli goes in her walker and cruises around on the fake wood floor. She loves yanking the dish towel off the oven handle and trying to get the trash bag out of the can. It's hilarious to see her zooming around!

Strong Arms

Lolli can hold herself up now (momentarily)! If Lauren sets her down on her hands and knees, it's a few seconds before her knees give out. She will stay up on her arms for a few more seconds, and then lower her chest back down. A couple of time she has pushed herself up onto her arms all by herself - it's very impressive!

Lolli loves animals

Lolli squeals and giggles whenever a cat or dog comes around her. She loves to pet them! Lauren and Zach are working with her on petting with an open hand instead of grabbing a handful of skin or full and yanking. She's getting better at it. Today Zach helped Lolli go for Otis rides around the house. She cracked up every time Otis would take off. Otis seemed to get a kick out of it, too. Fun!

Spinning baby!

Lolli spun herself in a complete circle this morning while she was doing tummy time. There were toys all around her and she eventually managed to get each one of them! It's pretty funny watching her curve her little body into a right angle while she's making her turns.

Mini- Marathon

Zach ran the mini-marathon today, so of course Lolli went downtown with Lauren to watch! She wore a green shirt that said, "My dad's the man!" and had a picture of Zach running in last year's mini-marathon. She and Lauren parked in an IUPUI parking garage. They even had to sneak into IUPUI's lecture hall to use the bathroom because Lauren couldn't figure out how to pee in a portapotty without leaving Lolli outside by herself.

Lauren & Lolli camped out around 1/4 mile from the finish line and waited for Zach to go by. Finally they saw him!!! Zach ran over and high-fived Lolli, who got very excited to see her daddy running with all the other people!

After the race, Lolli and Lauren found Zach and cousin Joel sitting under the big P. Lolli gave her dad a big hug and then got bored with that and tried to eat some grass :)

Organic Baby NutriGrain Bar

Lauren bought Lolli some organic little fruit n grain bars (like a Nutrigrain bar), since Lolli likes to feed herself (and often refuses baby food). Lolli loves them! The only downside would be that it makes a big sticky mess. But Lauren thinks it's important for Lolli to be allowed to feed herself, since she has the desire to do so. For the first try, Lauren tore the bar into bite-sized pieces for Lolli. By the third day, Lauren was handing Lolli the whole bar and Lolli was taking her own bites! What a big girl!!!