our big walker, Lilly

Here's Lilly walking, outside, on our deck, at Flora's apartments, in Apollonas. Hasn't she grown into quite the big girl? We're so proud of her and all her new steps and developments. Right now she's teething; she's gotten three more teeth while we've been here in Greece, a fourth is coming out now, suddenly they're all in a hurry to get out! Maybe the warm temperatures help? Or maybe it's just that time. Right now she's at home sleeping. She's taken to long siesta naps here in Apollonas, anywhere from two to four hours. I think the A/C in the bedroom, plus the dark shutters, help. The bed isn't too bad either. Then she goes to bed at night around 9:30 p.m. and Leighton and I follow shortly after. She still nurses throughout the night, and day, but the night nursing goes by pretty smoothly.

We all get up between 7:30 and 8 a.m. and have breakfast while Christina or Flora sweep the decks and paths. Mornings are my favorite, I love getting coffee going, fresh orange juice, some of the thick lush yoghurt, fresh fruit, musli. We also have Greek honey, bread and jam. Lilly sometimes likes to eat some banana, today she had quite a bit of yoghurt, but typically she prefers nursing in the morning, then will eat quite a bit of bread around 9:30 a.m., accompanied by big sips of water, and then some fruit (peach or tomato) a little after that. After bread, I'd definitely say that tomatoes are her favorite food.

Speaking about foods, Lilly's really into helping herself with a spoon and plate now. I made lentils a little back, and Lilly was so happy to be able to sit on the floor with a little saucer with lentils on it, and feeding herself with her little spoon. I love that it's so easy to clean up a mess down here! Marble floors are the creation of a genius. She definitely likes to be able to sit on one of the stools, between Leighton and I, by the counter, eating meals, as opposed to the high chair we had for her in Norway. At lunch, she'll reach out for bits of tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, bread, ham, turkey, or cheese. She's a big girl now and wants to have that be known and shown.

Leighton and I can definitely see why it'd be good to have a sibling close in age to your child; Lilly much prefers being at the beach when there are other kids there who want to play with her. She also loves interacting with adults too, but as it is, we're kind of at the mercy of chance (who's at the beach when we're there and will they be up for playing with Lilly?).

There are days we don't go to the beach at all, and even when we do, it's only for a couple of hours or so. With our home being so nice, the water so close by, and nature being so spectacular up there, we also like to hang out at home a lot. Lilly loves walking around on the paths in the garden, climbing stairs, talking with Christina (who also speaks English) or Flora or Steljos (who only speak Greek, but Lilly's become quite the Greek talker herself, "Jasso" ('hei'), and "Kala" ('good'). And then of course, it's their dog, Dick. He's only five years old, but quite the patient one with her.