Here's a picture of the playdate Lily had last weekend. This was our first time meeting with this group and Lily had a fabulous time. She's so social and loves being around people. She's not smiling in the picture but during the entire playdate she was laughing and smiling at everyone. Starting from the left - Lily, 4.5 months, Kaelin-6 months, Charlotte-7 months, Jack-8 months, Zoe-8 months.

For our first night out without the baby, we went to the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark concert at the 9:30 club. It was a fun time and totally brought me back to the 80’s. I was really impressed that they still had good dance moves – I mean, they are after all, in their 50’s! The crowd was random with old people, some who brought their kids and lots of Asians. Kinda weird but we had a great time with our friends Ray, Mary and Jason. Our friends Kelly and Matt babysat for us and said the baby did pretty well. I guess that means we should start going out more!

If you didn't already know, Ian and I think our little Miss Lilian is absolutely, positively amazing. And just so everyone knows this too, Ian made a video to show just how amazing she is! Enjoy...

ok, i know,  i've been horrible at keeping this blog updated. i'm even late posting this valentine's day entry! i guess better late than never...

we celebrated lily's first valentine's day by going to afternoon tea at the mansion on O street followed by a fun treasure hunt that led us all over the mansion. lily did great and was fascinated with all the stuff packed into every room. For those of you who haven't been to the mansion on O st. you have to go! it is the craziest, coolest, kookiest place in DC. they also have the best brunch ever. everything at the mansion is on sale and every room has a different theme. there's secret passageways and secret rooms. it's like going to an estate sale and playing clue all at the same time. 

 i'll post the mansion pictures later. in the meantime, here pictures i took of her for our valentine's day cards.

Okay, so it's been a very long time since I have been able to post anything to the blog. I will try to recap the last few months in one post to get everyone up to date on all the happenings in the Walton family. 

As all of you may already know, the biggest and most exciting event that has happened, was the birth of Lilian James Boado Walton. She was born on October 24 at 7:17 am and was 6 lbs, 8 oz and 19 inches long. Here is the semi-short version of our birth story: 

My water broke at 7 am Saturday morning and contractions started a few hours later around 10 am. The contractions became progressively stronger and closer together throughout the day and night. We ended up going to the birth center around 3 am on Sunday but was sent home again because I was only 1-2 centimeters dilated (which we found out later was completely wrong). The midwife said I would have a long day ahead of me and wanted me to get my rest so sent us home with a prescription of Ambien. Ian dropped me off at home while he and my dad went to get the prescription filled. 

While at home, I was in so much pain I felt like I was dying a very slow death. Each contraction felt like I was being stabbed with a knife over and over again in the stomach. But not just any knife - an old, dull, rusty knife that was being twisted after every stab. I had lost hope that I would be able to have a natural birth with no drugs and had made up my mind that once Ian came home I would have him take me to the hospital. 

It took Ian almost 2 hours to get back home because it was nearly impossible to find a pharmacy open at 3 am. Once he got home I told him I couldn't take the pain anymore but he insisted I try taking the Ambien before I decided to go to the hospital. I was in so much pain that the Ambien didn't have any affect on me and I actually started to push because it was the only thing that made the contractions feel better. I told Ian to call the birth center and once the midwife heard I was starting to push, she had us immediately come in. We got to the birth center around 6 am and I was 8 cm dialated. They quickly got me in the birthing room and soaking in the tub. I pushed for 45 minutes and Lilian was born. 

Remember the Ambien I took? Well, it kicked in right after Lilian was born. I couldn't keep my eyes open and had to sleep. This gave Ian some good quality bonding time with the baby.  

 

Ian and I were lucky in that we had a lot of help the first month of Lilian's life. My dad came out a week before she was born to help out with the dogs and stayed a total of 2 weeks. My mom came out the day she was born and stayed for 3 weeks and the day she left, Ian's mom came to help for a week. Because of them, Ian and I didn't really have to endure the fatigue and extreme tiredness that most new parents experience. Thank goodness for grandparents!

We took Lilian on her first road trip when she was 10 days old. Ian had to go back to Ohio for election night so my mom, Lilian and I packed up the car and followed him there. The usual 5 hours drive took us 9 hours there and 10 hours back.  It was a long drive but it was good to be able to be there with Ian, even though the night didn't turn out the way everyone had hoped. 

Since Ian's boss lost the election, Ian was able to spend a lot of time at home with Lily and I. It was nice being able to figure out this parenting thing together and to be able to give each other breaks when it was needed. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when we both have to go back to work!

Here are some pictures during Lilian's first month, including her first bath and Halloween. 

Lily's first Thanksgiving was at our good friends Ann and John's House. We had all the fixings including tofukey for Ian. 

We took Lily on her first trip to NYC after Thanksgiving and had a great time visiting our friends Chris and Suneela. It was freezing cold and snowed while we were there but Lily stayed warm and cozy in her stroller while we wandered the streets of Manhattan. 

Lily's first plane ride to Seattle was smooth and easy despite all the stuff we had to lug around. We ended up getting a whole row to ourselves so Lily had her own seat! She slept for the majority of the 5.5 hours plane ride. 

Thanks to my sister and her photog friend, AJ, we were able to finally get a family picture when Ian and I were in Seattle for our showers. Too bad we'll have to get another one once Lilian is born. 

I'm in the home stretch - only 3 1/2 more weeks to go! I'm still feeling good but it's definitely getting harder to get around and my pregnancy waddle is in full effect. I haven't had any cravings until the past couple of weeks and all I've wanted to eat are desserts - mainly cookies, ice cream and cupcakes. I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready for this pregnancy to be over. I'm just so excited to finally meet Lilian and to see what she looks like. I can't wait! I really think she's coming sooner than later :)

The last shower I had was thrown by my work friends. I had a wonderful book shower and received more than 60 books for Lilian's library! I am so grateful to have such  fantastic co-workers who are always so supportive of me.

Here is a picture of the shelves I put up in Lilian's room to display all her books.