Thanksgiving

We headed out to Denver for Thanksgiving again this year. We spent a great day with family and close friends. Our feast (as Brooklyn calls it) was delicious and included a few of my favorite holiday dishes- Pretzel Jello Salad, stuffing, and pureed sweet potatoes. YUM. We cooked and ate a ton of food, then the men went to the Broncos game while the girls stayed home and relaxed after a long day in the kitchen. Here are a few pictures of the trip thus far:


Lolie at the airport, trying to drink Moms water

My beautiful Mother and sisters

Auntie Paige and Lola

Paige's boyfriend, Matt and LolaMe and my Los

Bubbe, Lilly and LolaWhile in Denver, Bonka took Lola on her first ride in his Corvette

All They Want For Christmas...

Is their 2 front TEETH!

Brooklyn lost her first tooth about 2 weeks ago. It was loose for quite a while. Dad tried to get her to use the door and string trick but as soon as he explained to her how it worked she way shook her head saying "No, No. Nooo way Dad!" We thought she would lose it eating the Laffy Taffy and Now and Laters she got at Halloween. No luck. Then one night she calls Daddy to tell him she FINALLY lost it. Then just two days later, she lost the second one. How cute is it that its right before Christmas so she can now sing about wanting her 2 front teeth and at the rate they're growing back in, she'll have them by Christmas


The same week Brooklyn lost her first 2 teeth, Lola cut her first 2. FINALLY. The poor thing has been teething since she was 3 months old. The whole week before the first one poked through, she was SOOOO fussy. Ornery during the days, crying at night, and not sleeping very good which then messed up her nice, new bedtime routine. It was the longest week ever! Lola is such a good baby and hardly ever fusses, that I was for sure teething wasnt going to be too big an issue for her. Wrong. Were now stocked up on Teething Tablets, Tylenol, and Orajel. The tablets seem to work well and I prefer to use that over the Orajel because its safer (and not as sticky/messy). The Tylenol has helped her sleep a lot better too. She loves to gnaw on ice cubes, her hard books and pretty much anything else she can get into her mouth. I think its so cute that both our girls got 2 new teeth for Christmas this year. And of course the song makes it that much cuter :)

Thankful

I would feel very ungrateful if I didnt take a few minutes to acknowledge the many things in which I have and am thankful for. First and foremost I have a wonderful family- An amazing husband is so sweet and generous and understanding. He treats me like a princess and is always making me smile and laugh. He is very patient and always positive. It impossible not to love him and everything about him. PLUS he is an amazing father to Brooklyn and Lola. He spends a lot of time with them (more than most dads), reading stories and playing with them. They both adore him and I absolutely love the way they look at him. He loves to take care of us and he does a wonderful job of it and for that I am truly grateful. Im grateful to have 2 very beautiful daughters whom I adore and love. I enjoy the time we get to spend with Brooklyn and she is such a great big sister to Lola. She is always hugging and kissing her, reading to her and playing games with her. Brooklyn can have the attitude of a teenager sometimes but lately she has been nothing but sweet and for the most part, easy going, which has been wonderful. Lola is my precious baby girl and I am so lucky that I can stay home with her and raise such a sweetie. She fills my days with happiness and joy that surpasses anything imaginable. I am so grateful for her arrival into our family this year. I am also very grateful for the great job my husband has that provides for us everything we need and then some and makes it possible for me to be a stay at home mommy to my baby girl. Im grateful for our good health and great health insurance in the event we ever need it. Im grateful for our house that I try to make a loving home for our family and I hope that it is a place of happiness and peace for them. Im grateful for my parents without whom I wouldnt be who I am today. They are an amazing support, wonderful grandparents and we're very lucky to live close enough to spend quite a bit of time with them. I am grateful for my sisters and brothers who are indeed my best friends and I love our close relationships, inside jokes and awesome childhood memories. Im grateful for all of our friends who are there for us when we need a hand, a shoulder, and especially someone to have a great time with. I am very grateful for ALL the modern conveniences that make life easier and more enjoyable. And most certainly, I am grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has made everything I have (great and small) a possibility. All that I have is because of his love for me and all that he sacrificed for me. I hope he knows how much I appreciate the gospel because it has shaped me and my family into something that hopefully makes him very proud of us :)

Misc. Pics- November

Lolie rolling around the house

Helping Mom in the kitchen

Look at those lashes!!

Lola and Lilly's first playdate

Lilly teaches Lola how to share

Six Months

Lola is now 6 months old. We have already spent half a year with our precious baby girl and we have loved every minute of it. She is so much fun and fills our hearts with more love than we could have ever imagined. It has been fun the last month to have her first fall, and first Halloween. I love watching her see things for the first time. Everything is so new and exciting. Its fun to watch her little eyes light up with excitement and when she's curious about something or not quite sure what to think, her tiny eyebrows raise with wonder. She is at the age where she pays attention to anything and everything. Grabbing it, eating it, and playing with it to figure out just how it works or what it does. She can now grab anything she reaches out for and gets it in her hands on the first try about 90% of the time. She is now grabbing at my hair and our food from the table, naughty girl! She loves her toys, especially the crinkle ones and she goes to town on any type of tissue paper. Christmas will be a fun one this year, as she could get wrapped boxes and be totally content with just the paper and bows! We took Lola to the Dr.s a week back and she weighed 14 pounds and 4 ounces and was just over 25 inches long. She is getting to be such a big girl! She has her 6 month check up next week which will determine her stats. She is now jabbering constantly and loves to squeal. She can be really quiet for hours and then doesnt stop talking when she has something to say. She is still rolling and still only to her left. She is getting close to learning how to move her legs while on her tummy and start to creep. She can almost officially sit up by herself. She does it now for a minute or so but then gets tired and just lays/falls onto her back. We purchased a Jumperoo toy last month and she LOVES it! She gets so excited when she sees it. She'll sit and jump in it for 20- 30 minutes and sometimes longer. And she gets this so-serious look on her face when she's focused on her jumping. It is the funniest and best toy purchase we've made so far! She is still exclusively breastfed for all her meals and also eats cereal with fruits or veggies for Breakfast and Dinner. We cant wait for the day she takes a bottle so Daddy and I can go out for longer than a few hours. I actually dont try the bottle as often as I should because I still really enjoy her and my time together when she nurses. I know it wont last forever so Im cherishing it now while she's still interested. She still takes 2-3 naps in her swing for 1-2.5 hours each nap however, during the last month Lola decided that she needed an earlier bedtime. It used to be around 8pm but for whatever reason she started getting more tired earlier and earlier and would get cranky, even hysterical if we got her into bed too late. I read that we should try putting her down 15 minutes earlier each night until we found the time that worked best. So we were starting with 8pm and after a week or so of some pretty long nights, we found that 6pm was the magical time for Lola. Any later than 630 and she can get so upset that she cant hardly settle down to fall asleep and then it makes for a long night with an over tired and hysterical baby who doesnt fall asleep until hours later. So 6 it is. She now eats dinner at 515, has her bath after that, then stories, nursing and she's in bed by 6. She sleeps 6pm to 4 or 5 am, eats, and goes back down for another 2+ hours. It has really worked out nicely and Dad and I are enjoying our special time together in the evenings. So that is whats new this month and as always Lola is a very easy going and happy little baby that we are so in love with and cant get enough of.

Misc. Pics- October

I havent done a very good job of updating the blog lately. This last month has been pretty busy for us. But now that we're in Denver (for some good old fashioned family time and Thanksgiving feasting) I have a few 'babysitters' to help play with Lolie while I play catch up :) So enjoy the many posts to come...

Halloween

We celebrated another fun Halloween this year. Brooklyn was a (cute) Wicked Witch and Lola a Flower Fairy. It was a lot of fun dressing Lola up this year and I already cant wait until next year when she's walking! After picking Brooklyn up, we did some Trick or Treating with the 2 girls. Brooklyn had already gone out earlier and was just getting over being sick, so about half an hour was all she was up for. We couldnt complain. Lola was so good considering it was way past her bedtime. She just sat in her stroller all wide eyed at the lights and passer-bys, eating her skirt. She will probably poop glitter for a week! We got home and within 30 minutes both girls were sound asleep :) Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!