Gidden, Gidden!

That's right, Lily's babbling. She said "Dada" really early at about five months. "Baba," "Kaka," and "Nana" followed. Then she said "Mama" for the first time on Mother's Day at seven months.

Her favorite word for the last couple of weeks is "gidden." This is a combination of sounds and I'm excited to see her advance beyond just repeating one sound over and over. "Gidden" is a cool word too. Lily's Grammy and I are just sure it means something, if only we could peak inside her brain to see what she's thinking. She also makes specific gestures when she wants something. We are pretty sure that opening and closing both fists means that she's hungry. It is a modified milk sign from American Sign Language. I don't think her daycare is teaching her sign language and we only started signing recently at home, so either she's very advanced (as I'd like to think) or we're just lucky.

About the word "gidden," Lily says it and it sounds similar to "Get 'Em!" Like "Get 'Em, Cowboys!" Lily has plenty of teams to choose from. I graduated from Oklahoma State and East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. Jon graduated from Purdue University and is attending the University of Indiana for his MBA. Aunt Katie attended to "the other university" or OU. Grandma and Aunt Joye went to Pitt, while Grand Dad went to the University of Cincinnatti. And Aunt Jamie is is a graduate of the University of Virginia and UC-Berkley. What a diverse group of universities to be tied to through family. I haven't even mentioned professional sports yet. Jon grew up in Pittsburgh and roots for the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. We live in Indiana now, so we both root for the Colts. I also have a life-long affection to Dallas teams like the Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers.

I secretly want Lily to love the Oklahoma State Cowboys above all. I know it's incredible selfish and silly, but it's my family's school. I'm not the only alum. Both parents, a sister, and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins are graduates as well. I loved attending classes and living in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It was always breathtaking to step onto campus before I started college and in the fall when I was a student. The student body was friendly and congenial. The buildings were comforting. The games were prideful and spirited, even when the outcome wasn't good. I had such a wonderful experience there and my secret wish for Lily is that she bleed orange too.

Catching Up on Seven Months of Lily

I decided to start blogging recently when someone told me I should start journaling and another friend told me that I'd be an excellent blogger. I have a degree in journalism so one would think I would love to tell stories, but I've never committed to a blog until now.

It seems fitting that I write about my daughter Lily, since her extended family is far away. Jon and I moved to Indiana a couple of years ago. He's originally from Pittsburgh and I'm from Southern Oklahoma. We met through a mutual accquantiance and started dating in September of 2004. He was transferred from Oklahoma to Indiana in May of 2005. We continued to date long distance, racking up considerable expenses in airfare and hotel stays. In November 2005, Jon decided to propose to me during a photo shoot that our future brother-in-law took of my sisters and us. Those pictures would become our engagement photos. We planned a July 4th wedding in Keystone, CO. If at least half the wedding guests were going to have to travel, we thought might as well make it fun! It was very fun.

In February 2007, Jon and I found out we were expecting a baby. We learned it was a girl and decided on the name Liliana Joye. Liliana because it was beautiful and has an Italian flair, we both absolutely love Italy. Joye because Jon's aunt is named Joye and my Grandmother is named Joyce. The name literally means "pretty happy" in the baby books. We thought that was really fitting.

Liliana Joye was born on October 15, 2007 via c-section. She was perfect and stunningly beautiful. She had a touch of low blood sugar at birth so I worried about her for most of our hospital stay, but she was healthy and content. Jon and I both fell in love with our daughter at first sight.

Lily has been in daycare since I went back to work at 3 months. She is thriving there with the other children. She never cries when we drop her off and always smiles when we pick her up. Jon and I love to spend our weekends taking care of Lily and showing her off at Kroger, Target and the gym! She gets compliments for her sweetness where ever we go!

Her most recent accomplishments are getting two bottom teeth and learning to drink from big girl glasses. She takes sips of Mommy's drinks now all the time.

I hope to keep my family and friends updated on our lives and Lily's milestones with this blog. Stay tuned, we've only just begun sharing the joy of Lily!