Preparations for Baby #2

This past weekend my good friends gave me a baby shower for Baby Horton #2 (please feel free to leave a comment with name suggestions :)). He will make his arrival on or around December 24. It's hard to believe that that is just over a month away. Time goes by so fast. I had a great time celebrating with friends and family. Even my mom, sister, aunts and cousins were able to come. I will post pictures soon from Lily's 2nd birthday parties (yep - she had 2 of them). It's crazy to think two years have gone by. She has been such a blessing in our lives!

Here are some pictures from the shower...

Behind on Blogging...

As you can tell - I'm not much of a blogger. I love reading other blogs but find it difficult to take time to post my own. We have been incredibly busy these past few months. I am ready for spring! Lily has had one too many colds this winter. She has started developing another one this weekend. Other than that, she is growing so much. At her last doctors appointment she was 22 1/2 pounds and 31 inches tall. She is pretty much 50th percentile or right about average. Since her palate repair Lily has started talking and understanding so much more. I am amazed at how many words she repeats and says on her own. Right now I think she can say mama, dada, ball, cat, Alice (grandma), Jesus, milk, snack, car, dog, blanket (she tries), cup, socks, shoes, phone, Dora, Diego, Gabba (from Yo Gabba Gabba), Noah (sounds like Moah), Papa, no, yeah, oww (when she gets hurt), wow, pooh, and many others that we can't understand. I can't believe Lily will be 17 months this week. As of yesterday I will be spending everyday with Lily. We are going to have to find some fun activities or make some new friends so we can get out of the house. Any takers :)?

Here are some pictures from the past few months. And no - I'm not going to cut her hair yet :).

Playing Indoors with Lily...

Enjoying the Snow!

Christmas and New Year's!

Well I have fallen off of the blog train, but it's time to get back on. We had a wonderful Christmas. Lily did so great! She doesn't understand gifts yet but she enjoyed being around everyone and standing on the gifts :). She even did great staying up late 2 nights in a row. Late as in 11:00 pm. That's a big change from 8:30 pm. Everyone was so gracious to Lily. Our house looks like a toy store. I feel like words aren't enough so here are some pictures from the holidays...

Lily's 12 Month Stats

Today we had Lily's 12-month doctor's appointment (only 2 months late :)). She is doing great and the doctor was pleased. Here are her stats:

Weight - 20lb 15oz (40%)
Height - 30 in (55%)
Head - 46.25 cm (75%)

Our little girl is growing so much. She has been in the 25th percentile for weight since she was a little baby. I can't believe she's gained 1 1/2 pounds since her surgery.

We also go back to the children's hospital for another post-op appointment today. I am praying that Lily gets cleared to eat whatever she wants. If she does, I'm going to buy goldfish, cheerios and whatever she wants :). She also has a hearing test today. Please pray that everything looks good.

Here are some pictures over the last few weeks. I love the pictures of Lily and Caraline - they are starting to play together really well.

Surgery Success!

Life has been crazy the last couple of weeks but Lily finally had her cleft palate repair on October 21st. We had waited for this for an entire year. She did pretty good too. There were definitely some rough days but looking back it wasn't that bad. I would compare it to having a newborn again. My good friend Sarah spent 6 nights with us to help take care of Lily. What a blessing! She took the night shift every night to be up with Lily so I could sleep. I can't even begin to express how much that meant to us. Thank you Sarah! My mom came after Sarah and spent several days with us. She got Lily and I out of the house which helped trememdously. Lily is still on a soft food diet but if everything checks out well when we go back in December - Lily can eat whatever she wants. Here are some pictures of surgery day and beyond...

"No-No's"

For anyone who wondered what "no-no's" (arm restraints) for Lily look like!

What a Weekend and Coming Week!

Lily had a great birthday. A few family members stopped by to see Lily, but we are postponing any big birthday celebration until after surgery and recovery. What better way to celebrate her surgery with a PARTY!!! I can't wait till that day. On Tuesday Lily has her pre-op appointment followed by surgery on Wednesday. The surgeon anticipates that we will only be in the hospital one night. I am little less optimistic. We have been waiting a year for this day and it's finally here. Please pray for Lily - pray that she is healthy, pray that she does excellent during the procedure and pray that she bounces back quick. I am mostly nervous about the days following surgery. Lily is a thumbsucker and come Wednesday will not be able to do that. She will actually be wearing "no-no's" (arm restraints) for 2 weeks after surgery. I have seen Lily's personality come out more and more lately and she is a determined little girl. Hopefully that will help her with recovery. Thank you so much for your prayers - we rely on them! I will keep everyone updated towards the end of the week...

Happy Birthday Lily!!!

One year ago today I was sitting at the hospital waiting to be induced. At that point I was 8 days late. If you know anything about my personality - I am always on time! So being 8 days late was definitely a stretch for me. After about 9 hours of labor - our precious daughter Lily was born. She was born at 6:52 pm (I think - I'll have to double check), weighing in at 8lbs 9oz and 20.5in long. Not a small baby! You cannot even begin to prepare for parenthood. This past year has been the toughest, most rewarding, amazing year of our lives. I don't know what we would do without Lily or for that matter what we did before Lily. I can't believe it's been a year. Happy 1st Birthday Lily!

I thought I would post a few pictures over the last year - from birth to now.