It's Been A While...

...since I last posted on here, but I've mostly been working on lovely chaos. However, I figured it was time for a Lula update. She's such a little joy. I was sick for almost four weeks straight and she endured it very patiently and calmly without being demanding. It always amazes me how laid back she is and how well she plays by herself. Not that she doesn't have her moments and plenty of them, but overall she is just a great little girl. (As usual...makes me nervous about this next one!)

She goes through phases as I'm sure all kids do. Right now she loves to take everything in and out of the Moses basket, including herself, where she slept as an infant and where baby boy will sleep. I hope she doesn't try to take him out! This can keep her occupied for 30 minutes to an hour! It now stores her stuffed animals and baby dolls.

She's also much more interested in her baby dolls now. She loves to bundle them up in a blanket and snuggle them. She also comforts them when she gets hurt instead of allowing herself to be comforted, which is just about the cutest thing ever!

And sometimes she likes to sit in pots!

She has also loved having the Christmas tree up this year. She still doesn't get the whole thing, but I imagine she will next year. I have to remind her frequently not to take the ornaments off, but she's done pretty good overall with leaving it alone. People keep asking her if she's excited about Santa...she doesn't know who Santa is! I think she'll have fun opening presents. She loves surprises.

While she was napping today, I finally got all four stockings hung on the fireplace. (Will post on lovely chaos in the morning.) So when she got up and walked into the living room, she oohed and aahed at the new scene, then crossed her arms over her chest and kind of leaned back like she was assessing. It was so grown up and hilarious. She's a funny little girl!

Sorry...My Child is Cute!

So...this blog is basically going to be about Lula from now on mainly for family and close friends. If you want to hear about our house renovations, things I'm making, my thoughts on life, etc. follow me at my new blog: lovely chaos. Here is my adorable child who is always moving too fast for me to get a clear picture of.

Halloween

I wanted to do a "traditional" Halloween by trick or treating in our neighborhood. So we invited some friends over to go with us, got Lu dressed up as a German beer maiden and headed out. She was skeptical and only warmed up to the idea of getting little packages from strangers at the last house! It was fun though and I'm glad we did it. Tegan and Lula gave us a "scary" performance when we got back home by banging on the piano together. They were pretty cute!

Meandering in Maryland

Lula and I made our way to the DC area to visit my parents for a week. We survived two flights and arrived exhausted and napless. I posted about Traveling with a Toddler on my new blog Lovely Chaos. Lula crashed as soon as we got in the car for an almost 2 hour car ride home (due to major traffic delays!) Nana was there to welcome us and we had a relaxing evening at home.

The next day we headed to the National Zoo. Lula's never been to the zoo before. She was just happy to be free and on her feet after the car ride, then the metro ride, then the walk to the zoo. We let her loose and she ran all over the place playing in the dirt and climbing on the benches. Who cares about the animals! She was interested in the pandas and literally fell out of her stroller trying to get to one of the pictures of a panda strewn about the park! She also wanted to tell the little girls next to her about the pandas. And then decided to lay flat on the floor in the middle of crowd. Hmmm! It was a beautiful day and nice just to roam around with no agenda.
On Sunday Papa Jack agreed (very willingly) to watch Lula while Mom and I headed to the outlets in Leesburg. We hit some antique shops on the way and then spent the rest of the day at the outlets. Being pregnant I don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes. So I found some good deals that will get me through the rest of this stage fashionably and comfortably! By the time we got home, Lu was in bed. We found out the next day how much she'd fallen in love with Papa when she wouldn't let him go to work without a production!
Lu and I spent a quiet day at home while Dad and Mom worked. Tuesday morning Mom, Lula and I made smores in their fireplace on the deck. It was a gorgeous day, but cool enough for a fire. Dad had apparently confiscated the graham crackers. So we improvised with cinnamon sugar pita chips...an excellent alternative...very excellent! Lu was a little nervous around the fire. She's adventurous but cautious at the same time. A great combo I think!
Wednesday Mom prepared a tea for the ladies. We put on our hats and ate pastries and drank tea. It was lovely. Lula's first tea. Her favorite part was the Devonshire Cream which she was trying to lick off the plate! That afternoon after Lula's nap we went to Ikea. I'd never been before and it was overwhelmingly wonderful!
Thursday Papa Jack was able to stay home with us. So we played in the morning and headed back downtown in the evening with Nana to visit a celebrated vintage shop where I bought some great dresses and sunglasses. Then we went to Bethesda to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. Lula was exhausted by this point, but she did OK.

Lu's favorite "game" was to buckle and unbuckle the little green seat she sat in for meals. She carried it all over the house all week!
View from my parents deck:

Friday we headed back home. I was dreading the flights, but we survived once again despite no nap and were picked up by Jay. Everyone was exhausted and happy to be home together. Jay had been traveling all week too for work. And that's it in a nutshell! We had a wonderful time but it went by too fast as usual.

Lula's First Castle and Harvest Fest

Yep, we bought Lula a castle! It was only $20 on Zulily.com and I just couldn't resist. It's made of cardboard and can be painted or colored if desired. Lula plays in it a little now, but I think she'll love it more and more the older and more imaginative she becomes. Now where to put this enormous contraption! Jay was pretty annoyed with me (not really, but he was rather sarcastic while putting it together). I found a place for it though, which will be revealed in a future blog.
Lula LOVES Mollie. I mean LOVES her. Unfortunately, Lula's a bit rough with her. So Mollie often runs instead of staying to "cuddle." Here was a sweet moment though. I asked Lula if she wanted to read to Mollie. She hopped up on the couch, opened her book so Mollie could see, and garbled some nonsense as if she were reading. I didn't catch that moment quick enough, but I did catch her snuggling beside Mollie showing her the front of the books. So sweet!
This morning we headed to Rutledge Farm to their Harvestfest. Pat went with us after surviving a flat tire on the way to our house. I've missed taking Lula to such events as it seems between my work schedule and her nap schedule, these things never work out. But now that she's down to one nap in the afternoon, we're a little more open for such outings. It was a gorgeous day, and we had fun just walking around. Here Lula attempted to ride the little tractors.
Lula loves animals and had no hesitation reaching out to pet the goats and ponies.
But the pumpkin patch was her favorite. What is it with kids and picking out a pumpkin?! She had so much fun running down the path and looking at all the pumpkins and other kids. Whenever we're in the store and we see a pumpkin, she always points and says, "apple!" So I think she was excited to finally get her hands on some of these "apples."
Yeah for pumpkins!
Finally one Lula's size!
Heading out with my dad and grandma and a very dirty bottom!
Content with my pumpkin. When she got up from her nap this afternoon, she pointed to her pumpkin which we put on her dresser. I asked if she wanted to kiss it, and she gave it a big wet one! She also kissed it before going to bed tonight along with her rubber duckies and all the little creatures on her dresser. Good night, Pumpkin!