Exciting news!

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with CIN Lesions by my gynecologist and was told I needed an operation the following week to investigate and remove them if necessary.  My gut instinct told me to perhaps just check that I wasn't in fact pregnant prior to going under anesthetic.  Even though my hubby and I weren't actively trying to fall pregnant, we had decided not to "be careful" any more so therefore the possibility was there.

I went for blood tests 2 days before the scheduled operation and received a call from my doctor 2 hours after my blood test confirming that I was in fact pregnant!  I was both shocked and ecstatic!  Obviously the doctor could no longer operate but he is going to be keeping an eye on the lesion situation.  If necessary, the operation will be done after the birth.

Today was our very first scan.  I was nervous, apprehensive and excited.  The first scan is always uncomfortable being an internal scan, but you get over that when you finally see that teeny tiny little bean's heartbeat on the monitor.  It is so incredibly tiny - it is hard to believe that Lily was that little tiny creature so many months ago.

So the doctor confirmed that all looks healthy and normal.  I am officially 6 weeks and 5 days along and due on the 19th April 2012, nine days before Lily's 2nd birthday.  Here's to our April little angels!  I can't believe that Lily is going to be an older sister!  We are truly, truly blessed.

16 months today

Happy 16 months my precious little Bug, the absolute light of my life!  You are such a darling, perfect, beautiful little angel who constantly fills my life with love, laughter and excitement.  Every day brings about new milestones, no matter how small and my heart wants to burst with pride and love.

You're now walking beautifully and rarely get down on all fours to crawl around.  It is amazing how much bigger and taller you appear now that you're vertical instead of horizontal.  I still have no idea where your little teeth are hiding as you still only have 2 little pearlers at the bottom front of your mouth.  Never mind, I'm sure (well... hopeful!) that they are on their way.

At the moment life is a little exhausting for mommy as you're not sleeping perfectly like you had been for the last month.  I am  hoping it's your teeth bothering you so that as soon as they sprout you'll be sleeping like an angel again.  Although I say you aren't sleeping perfectly, I honestly can't complain.  There is usually only one wake up call during the night at around 2:30am when I have to hold you in my arms and rock you back to sleep for about 20 minutes and then the very early wake up time of around 5:30am.  Murphy's Law however, this morning when it was daddy's turn to wake up with you so mommy could have a rare lie-in, you woke up after 7am!

Anyway, happy 16 months my angel.  Mommy loves you to the moon and back!  We are truly blessed to have such a gorgeous little family xxx

Amazing developments!

Even though I have loved every single second, hour, day, week and month of my life with Lily in it, I must admit that this 16th month has truly been amazing.  It has been amazing in the developments Lily has shown in just a matter of a few weeks.  I am truly in awe of how such a little person can grasp so many things in such a short space of time.  Just within the last 2 weeks since I last updated this blog, Lily is doing the following:

• WALKING!  Lily has now fully grasped how to walk and is happily alternating between crawling and walking.  She walks with a unique style consisting of both her arms up with her little hands in line with her head - simulating the feeling of walking while holding onto our hands.
• Her understanding of little body parts has expanded and she now knows where her head, nose, eyes and toes are.  I think this is due to us singing "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" to her on a regular basis.  It is too cute - when we start singing, she is used to us pointing at her correlating body parts so she then starts pointing, but randomly just pointing at her stomach in tune with our singing!  However, when we say head, she does point to her head.  Such a giggle watching her!
• She is starting to communicate a lot better with me which is making my understanding of what she wants or needs a lot easier.  I've discovered that when she is finished drinking or eating, she says "ka".  I couldn't quite work out what she meant initially, but have since realised she is trying to mimic "gone" which to her understanding means she is finished.  So "ka" is often mentioned when I've made her bottle a little too full or when I'm trying to encourage vegetable consumption.  
• Lily also says "da da" for her dummy.  Whenever she wants it she asks for it.  I presume "da da" originates from me saying "dum dum".  We don't get confused between her wanting her dummy or her dad as dad is very accurately pronounced "daddy".
• Whenever the phone rings, she says "who's tha?" (without the "t" on the end of "that") and when we hand her the phone she confidently says "hello".  Actually, whenever she hears a beep or ringing tune, no matter if we're at home or out shopping, she will put her hand to her ear and say "hello" as though she is in fact answering a real phone.  Earlier today I was reading a book of words with accompanying pictures to her and showed her the telephone picture.  I said "telephone, hello!".  We then continued to the end of the book and then started all over again.  When we got to the telephone, I said "what's that?" and she blurted out "hello!" and put her hand to her ears as though she were legitimately answering a telephone call!
• She has now learned and fully understands the word "no".  She says it with pointed finger as well!  Whenever the dogs bark, she sternly points her finger and shouts "no" at them.  She also says no when she doesn't want something or gets annoyed.  She says it sternly and with such conviction!
• Lily now also knows how to say "shhhh" and she does so with her finger over her lips.  A few days ago, I was telling her not to climb on the coffee table.  She turned around, looked at me, put her finger over her lips and said "shhhh"!  It took all my strength not to start laughing - it was truly hilarious!  
• Every night after I have given her a bath, I wrap her up snugly in her towel and we say bye bye to the baby in the mirror.  Lily waves and says "bye bye"!  We then walk from the bathroom to her bedroom and in between, Lily shouts "daddy!" for her dad to come up the stairs to kiss her goodnight.  It is truly heartbreaking to hear her calling her daddy when daddy is still at work and isn't there to answer her calls.
• Other words in her vocabulary that I can remember at this moment are "wow", "wee" (whenever on a slide or swing or in a lift), "te te" (for Teletubbies), "mum mum" (for mom), "more" (when she wants something I'm eating or drinking), "baa" (for what a sheep says), "moo" (self explanatory), "birdy" and "copter" (helicopter).  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few...
• While out shopping, she is such a friendly little character.  She loves handing the tellers bits of shopping to scan and will happily chat away to them.  When we leave, she says "bye bye" and gives them the cutest little wave.  Then, while I still have her sitting in the trolley while I'm unpacking our grocery bags into the car, she waves excitedly at all the cars driving past.  I love watching the surprised and touched faces of the passers and drivers by.  I'm sure it must lighten their day... Well it most certainly lightens mine!

Watching my little angel grow and flourish is truly an amazing gift.  I treasure all these precious moments and am so grateful for this medium to be able to capture these memories, never to be forgotten.

First few steps

FINALLY, at 15 months and 3 days, Lily took her first few steps!  It took a lot of coaxing from mom and dad, but she did it!  We were so happy, screeching with glee and praise.  Our little angel was so proud of herself beaming from behind her dummy.

Yesterday, without me really realising it, she walked from the couch to the coffee table which required about 4 or 5 steps all on her own.  I wish she would do that more often, but we are still having to coax her and remind her to walk.  Never mind, at least we are at the beginning of a new phase and soon she will be running around just like all her little friends.

Here's hoping that mommy will get a few cardio and toning sessions in during all the running about!  Who needs the gym?