Busy two days....

Fitz's parents made the trek down from NY to visit with us Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We tried to cram as much into the time as we could, from the aquarium, to a trip to New Bern, to beach trip. And actually, that was all in one day. On Monday, we grilled out, making bbq ribs, and corn on the cob on the grill. All delicious, my compliments to the chef (Fitz-ie)!! Then on Tuesday we made a mass-exoduses to the Aquarium for some fish watching and to see what Lilly would do now that she can actually see and watch. She really liked the alcove part of the shipwreck exhibit, it is almost like you are inside the water and she had a ball watching the big fish swim around. Then is was home to get ready for a lunch date in New Bern, my good friend Leslie was home from CA for a visit and her Dad was kind enough to drive her to New Bern to meet me and Lilly for lunch. Fitz and his folks rode along up and ate at a different place so Lilly, Leslie and I could have our girl time. I sure do miss her!! Then is was back in the car and home for a feeding and then get ready for a trip to the beach. It was a bit windy to stay for too long but we managed to get a ton of photos. Lilly did much better with getting her feet wet, hopefully we can find a calm day and actually sit her in the water. As for now, it is back to the regular schedule....laundry, cleaning, and Lilly time.

In other new, my folks left today for Grand Cache, Alberta, Canada so my dad can compete in the Canadian Death Race on Saturday. It's a 75 mile foot race up and down mountains that must be completed in 24 hours or less. So if you remember send him some good vibes Saturday to Sunday. Here's to those silly Hoover's and their silly races.....Go Death Racer, Go!!!

Getting some shut eye!!

I am full aware that by writing this, I will jinx myself and not get any sleep for a week, but I have to brag anyway. Because what else do parent do, but brag about how wonderful their kids are...

For the past two nights Lilly has slept from 9pm-6am without waking up. This means that I have been getting potentially 7 hours straight of sleep....wonderful!! Today, we have to do some shopping due to a recent growth spurt upwards....Lilly needs some sleepers in bigger then 3-6 month sizes. She's growing up so fast, they all do, and time flies...so go spend time with someone you love.

First road race at 15 weeks

Lilly and Fitz did the 29th Annual Historic Beaufort Road Race on Saturday and ended up getting 3rd in the baby jogger division. Not to shabby, considering Fitz has only tried the baby jogger 1x prior to the race. Our good buddy Dustin made the trek down for a visit and to try his hand and the....FAST, HOT, and FLAT course. And boy was it hot....no wind, and 90% humidity....YUCK!!! Then the boys headed out for some surfing, and Mr. D had a grand ole time on the purple monster (my board), Lilly and I took a great nap instead of hitting the beach. The photos above are as follows pre-race nap for Lilly, then a quick bite to eat on the starting line in photo two, and the final photo is post race of the family. Everyone has to start racing sometime, why not now?!

Big Bertha and the Fat Lip...a short story by me.

Ok, I do not claim to be a super surfer or anything even close to that; just a girl who grew up at the beach and surfed every summer growing up (as a "fair weather surfer). I only go when the waves are just right for me . . . not too big and not too powerful; just right-like goldie locks. So this weekend the surf was up thanks to the hurricane that churned up some swell. Fitz got up bright and early and checked the online surf reports and when there are no reports listed then the surf is great because everyone is out surfing. He headed out and got a good hour and a half before he came home to spend come quality time with Lilly. Then we headed out again in the afternoon, while my Mom got her Lilly fix in. Having had fun on Saturday, we decided to head out again Sunday morning; although the wave were not as big as Saturday they were a bit more powerful. So with Lilly once again in great hands with my Mom; we commenced surfing. On ride number 2 for me, I was a bit to far forward on the board and over the front I went. Now as a seasoned wiper-outer, I went straight to the bottom to avoid the surf board hitting me, but forgot that with low tide I was only in 18 or less inches of water. And before I knew what had happened some part of my board had.....whamo...in the face. I stand up quickly and I'm seeing stars....thinking that's no good...touch my face and think I hope I did not break my jaw. Fitz heads in to check on me and I start spitting blood. So we head into shore and I keep spitting blood. We go through all of the check...open/close mouth-check, no loose teeth-check, small cut requiring no stitches-check, check, and check. Ok, clean it with some salt water, and head back out...but I had lost my nerve and we just headed home instead. Then we had a nice visit with our good friends..EP and J. Kane from Raleigh. And I found my nerve again, and we headed back out for some afternoon surfing with my Dad. We all caught some nice rides, and I even impressed myself and fun was had by all. Some people chose to get tattoos on the inside of their lip....I prefer self-inflicted marks. Here's to losing one's nerve and finding again in time to have a BLAST!! (I know the photos are now very impressive, but today I look like I had collagen injected into my bottom lip. And I could not post photos without adding a photo of Lilly.)

Camera ready....if only the operator was good!
So I have continued on my quest to take good photos of Lilly, as to save us money on having to get professional photos. So here are some of my latest tries; Lilly has started to smile and occasionally we can catch it on camera-note photo one, the rest are over two days where I think I still need to work on the background, but hopefully time will help that!

Family and the 4th of July!!

We had the largest gathering of my Mom's family outside of PA since I got married 5 years ago, at the end of June/beginning of July. My Aunt Elise and cousin Kit, my Uncle Matt and cousins Andrew and Issac, my Uncle John, Aunt Jan, and cousins Rachel, Janine and Stevie all made the trek down for a visit, time at the beach and to meet Lilly. We did some shopping, tea drinking, regular drinking (well not me, but the ones old enough did), beach time, bike rides, Bochee ball, hanging out and more hanging out. It was so great to see everyone and have everyone meet Lilly. And she did not disappoint!!

We then got a short break while everyone headed home, before we started our weekend that was the 4th of July. We started it on Friday with a kids parade in PKS with two family's from our birthing class. Then Fitz did some fishing with one of the Dad's; they caught a hammer head shark, a black tip shark and a ray...so much for living off of the land. Then we did a nice cook-out with the Furtner Family in PKS. On Saturday we hung out with my friend Cristin and her girlfriend Camella for breakfast in Beaufort followed by a trip to the Coral Bay Club for some sun time. Then home again to bake a cake and get ready for Carole's b-day party/cookout. Fitz and I knew she was going to get engaged that night so we made sure we were present for the surprise. Then it was home at a late...9:30pm for bed!!

We recovered on Sunday and spent the day together, before Fitz flew out on Monday. Oh, well super-fun times....just wish we were always on vacation. Don't you?!

Look how far I've come!!

My Mom suggested that we start taking photos of Lilly in her car seat each week so we could track her growth. And what a great idea it was (still is)! Here are two very dramatic photos....in photo one Lilly is 1 week old and in photo two Lilly is 13 weeks only (3 months on 4th of July). We have had a flurry of activity recently and all those photos will be posted later on. Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Tag, I'm It!!!

If you have a blog and your reading mine then you have been tagged!!

10 years ago...I was enjoying the summer before my senior year of high school, mostly swimming and working as a life guard, and spending time at the beach.

5 years ago...I was having a very busy summer; I had graduated undergrad from NCSU in May, training for my first ironman race in FL in Nov, and getting married in August.

1 year ago...I was starting to think about having a family, and still working at GSK with a house in Morehead City. I was not racing much due to a busy 2006.

5 things on my to do list today:

bike ride

swim

laundry

grocery store

write a letter to Bobby

5 snacks I enjoy:

Healthy: cold watermelon, cold apple with pb, fruit smoothie, carrots with ranch dressing, and banana bread

Sweet: twizzlers, ice cream (goodberries-yummmm!), nilla waffers, heath bar sundae from baskin robbins, and katie dugans' chocolate chip cookies

If I were a billionaire I would:

pay off my and my family's debts

donate money in honor of each person I know to a charity of their choice

buy a small island and have all my friends/family visit for a month

hire a chef and a dish-washer

let Fitz, Lilly and my parents chase their dreams

6 people I want to have lunch with:

Fitz, Lilly, my Pappy, my dad's Mom and Dad (because I never got to know them), and Heath Ledger.

5 places I have lived:

Jacksonville, NC

Morehead City, NC

Raleigh, NC

Cary, NC

Durham, NC

(and back to Morehead City, NC-full circle)

5 jobs I have had:

lifeguard at a pool

worked at a fish market

TA for general biology

Scientist (researcher at GSK)

Mom to Lilly

5 things few know about me:

I can find 4 leaf clovers

I have a large scar on my leg from shaving when I was 12

I have 5 tattoos

I am an organ donor

I would love to learn a second and third language

Useful Products for New Mommy's ... at least in my opinion.

I'm not sure how important anyone finds my opinion, but I will share it anyhow. We have had alot of luck with the Pamper's Swaddlers diapers (no so with huggies brand). I'm not sure if it's just my baby, but we have had leaks only with the huggies and none so far with the pampers. The other item we have been trying is cloth diaper "systems," I have both covers that you put cloth diapers into and "all in one" models. They both have their pros and cons. My test products have been: Bum-genius 3.0 for the all in one model, and the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap for the cover. Price-wise they are nearly equal if the wrap ends up getting dirty and can only be used once. The pros are they are easy to clean and clean up very well. The 3.0 is a single use diaper, but is very easy to put on because it's all in one just like a disposable. The Wrap can be used more then once if it ends up getting dirty. I have not tested any over night because that seems to much to worry about after the 2am feeding. I can average about 5 cloth diapers a day and then I clean them each night (sort of a pain, but so far it has not really been a problem). Nursing products I have been happy with are LilyPadz nursing pads. They are silicon pads and although are not absorbent are more comfortable then the disposable pads. Also, the nursing tanks by Glamormoms are great for both home and being out. I'm sure there are more things I could comment on, but I'll stop for now.

In other news, Mr. Fitz has been working his head off for the P-P-ed not only is he working full days when the sun is up, he goes back to work after the sun goes down until near or after midnight. So we are rarely alseep at the same time, since when he's headed there; I'm getting up for the second feeding of the night. Sometime that will change!!

Tomorrow my Aunt Elise and cousin Kit come into town for a visit and to meet Little Lilly. Then at the end of the week more company comes; my Uncle Matt, Leslie, Wes, and my cousins Issac and Andrew. Then more company comes for the weekend; my Uncle John, Aunt Jan, and cousins Rachel, Janine and Stevie. We don't have any real plans; we can go surfing, hit the aquarium, walk around downtown Morehead and Beaufort, and then just hangout of course. Here's to family making the effort to get together!! Cheers!!

Slightly Productive.....but Mostly Lazy Day!

It started out to be a productive day with working out, and getting small jobs accomplished (like finished the screens for the windows; and decorating Lilly's room, and laundry), but as you can see by photo number 4, two of the family members ran in to a nap zone and could not escape. I worked for 3 days on painting the letters to spell Lilliana and put her name up on the wall. First the letters needed to be painted pink, and then the white swirls needed to be added, and then it all had to dry. We also found butterflies to put on the wall to make her room more girly. The butterflies are these really cool wallpaper cut outs and go up with just a bit of water. The final wall is shown above; we still need to work on the wall above her crib; I think we will put photos up there later on. For the evening we are going to my folks house for a First Day of Summer party with ice cream sundaes!!! YEAH!!! Here's to summer and ice cream of course!

Silly Lilly.....

We did a very low key Father's Day, alittle surfing, some El's, napping, more surfing, and then more napping. Lilly (although she did not pose well for the photo in her Father's Day outfit), was the perfect little princess, just continuing to wrap her Daddy around her little finger. Lilly loved the beach, and only got alittle sun, right under her eyes (where I did not put any sunscreen and the reflection off the sand got her). I hate to write this, but she has been sleeping at least one 4 hour stretch at night, allowing me to get alittle shut-eye. The last picture is of Lilly sucking her thumb....for those who don't know....I was a BIG thumb sucker as a baby/child...so much so that when I broke my sucking thumb, I just moved on to the other thumb. I am NOT encouraging her thumb sucking, and she only did it enough for me to take the photo, but none the less; it was funny to see more similarities between she and I. I guess she really is my baby!!

Beach Baby...Beach Baby....

We did a trip to the beach early in the morning to enjoy the fact that Fitz was off again today and because the sun was shining and because we CAN!! There were no waves worth riding on a surf board so we decided to just relax and listen to the waves crash on the shore. Of course we don't travel anywhere without the camera now so when some chances arose for photos ops...we were ready. As you can tell by the final photos, the water was too cold for little Lilly to get her feet wet, but we are going to keep trying because she's going to have to be a "beach baby." Hopefully, if I keep posting beach photos, some of our friends who don't live at the beach will feel the need to put their toes in the sand and come down for a visit!!!

Cute baby and a birthday!!

I turned 27 yesterday, and it was a different birthday form years past. The day started with a morning of calming a fussy-wussy baby, then she was shipped to my Mom's for the lunch hour so Mr. Fitz and I could have an "adult lunch." So to the Beaufort Grocery we go, dressed up from our normal everyday wear...only to have a family of 5 seated next to us....and the first thing that is little girl did was to pock me on the arm and say hi. Now, NORMALLY I don't mind cute little kids, but you know when you make the special effort to try and be D.I.N.Ks again (dual income no kids) .... and there are kids...well you get the picture. However, the day was beautiful and Mr. Fitz had taken off work so we got to hang out and enjoy being a little family... Later on in the evening we made my birthday cake....funfetti of course...in the shape of a giant cupcake (curiosity of my folks as a b-day gift). I can't wait for someone else to have a birthday so I can make them a giant cupcake!!!!!

Kick Ass Cook-out!
So we did it, we took the plunge and tried a longer drive with Lilly. We made the trip to Raleigh to attend a cookout hosted by our friends Mike and Jackie. It was so great to see everyone and we got to surprise most people our presence, since we had originally RSVP-ed that we would not be able to make it. There was a large group of people and kids ready to party, so a fun time was had by all. Then we got to sleep in the most excellent "Man Cave," and Lilly only woke up 3 times during the night. Then on Sunday, I first got my butt kicked by 2 pregnant ladies running in the morning. I chalk it up to a lack of sleep and recovery due to Lilly not sleeping more then about 3 hours straight. We then made the trek from the Lake Johnson area in Raleigh to North Raleigh to visit out friends Jay, Emily, and Kate and Scot and Stephanie with their new baby Camryn. It was so nice to see everyone and introduce Lilly to all of our friends. The photos above are as follows: Grace and Finn on their first date (just kidding), Finn and his Mom pool side, Jordan "partying like a rock star" in the pool, Sean looking older then his 2.5 years, and Katie helping Grace put her feet in the water. There are no photos of Lilly because Fitz was busy playing Corn-Hole, and Stonehenge.

She's in the 25% for height and weight!!

Lilly had her 2 month check up today with the pediatrician, and she's doing just great. She is in the 25% for height (21.5 inches-up three from birth) and weight (10lbs-up 4.5 lbs from birth). The only thing she needs is a little iron supplement because she came early, otherwise she is just perfect. She got her 3 shots today and did as any baby would do...she cried, but then calmed quickly afterwards. Here's to some good milk!!!

Playing catch-up, with pictures to come later.
We have had a busy few days recently, full of fun (of course). On Friday of last week Fitz's sister, Chrissie, came into town for a weekend visit to meet Lilly. We introduced her to all of the sights, sounds, and tastes of MHC, NC. We took in two days at the beach, a little surfing, some bbq ribs and shrimp, the PKS Aquarium Luigi's pizza, and of course lots of time with Lilly. She is very personable during the day, mostly because she is sleeping. Then Fitz and Chrissie flew out to NY on Monday and with in a few hours the house was full again, this time with my good buddy Dustin and his pooch Dooley. Again, we did the sights, sounds and tastes of MHC with the Sanitary Restaurant, Bountiful Bagel, the PKS Aquarium, beach time, and of course more Lilly time. Lilly really likes to nap by the ocean in her little pop-up tent made for one. I think she likes the sound of the waves, and birds and such; just like her Mom. I have not really had time to workout recently, but hopefully that will happen soon again. Lilly has a doctor's appointment on Friday for her two month check-up. She will be getting shots, and weighted and such. We can't wait to see how much she weights....she got some cheeks on her!?!?!