A Snowy Day

Lula's first big snow merited a trip outside to at least take some pictures in it. So we bundled her up and stayed out briefly for some video and camera shots. It was really beautiful. She didn't really know what to think about it, but decided that the white fluffy stuff looked good enough to try as I handed her a little scoop. Upon feeling the cold, however, and realizing this wasn't the usual white treat of Andy's frozen custard, she refused another bite! Oh well! Next year she'll be able to play in it and will probably enjoy it a little more. But the pictures turned out pretty cute! Who can resist a scrumptious little marshmallow?!




Lula's latest development is clapping. I don't know why it's so exciting to see her do such a simple thing, but nevertheless it is. I think it's the fact that she "gets" something. She realizes that when I sing a song, she's supposed to clap and enjoys doing so based on the smile that always accompanies the clapping. I skyped with my mom this morning to show her Lu's new "trick." She was delighted of course and wanted to see if Lula would clap while she sang. She did and seemed to like it even better than when she does it with me! Probably because my mom is incredibly enthusiastic!

Lula was also playing peek-a-boo with my mom's picture which sits on a bookcase in our hallway. That was cracking me up! And finally, she's up on her knees and rocking...a typical precursor to crawling. Better get the baby gates up!

Lula's Dedication

After sifting through the pile of my old baby clothes my parents brought from Maryland, I discovered my dedication gown that I wore 30 years ago. Since Lula had yet to be dedicated, we had the appropriate attire, and my parents were in town, we decided this was the perfect opportunity to symbolically give her to the Lord. Jay's mom Pat and her husband David also joined us this Sunday for Lula's dedication.


First attempt at uploading a video! Hope it works!

Christmas 09

After my parents' surprise appearance, we got right to business with Christmas activities. My mother, aka Nana, being the epitome of Christmas spirit, couldn't wait for Lula to start opening her presents. So a couple of days before Christmas Lula started opening. Her first present was a set of holiday pjs.


And her next gift was an adorable outfit from Grandmother Collins.

Since Jay and I didn't get Lula any presents because we knew the grandparents would be in full force for Lu's first Christmas, we decided to give her a "used" present: my old laptop. It doesn't do anything because Jay completed erased it, but she thinks it does something!

On Christmas Eve, Pat and David went to their service at Evangel Temple while my parents, Jay and I went to our service at Christ Community. Then we met at Pat's house for a lovely warm meal, trifle, and stockings. Lula was exhausted after staying awake through the service. So after opening her big presents that were to stay at Pat's: a walker and a precious rocker, we put Lula down. We enjoyed the rest of the evening together chatting and opening our stocking gifts.

Christmas morning and day were spent at our house so that Lula could easily nap and wake to open her presents. We started with a lovely brunch featuring lots of carbs that caught up with us later! Then when Lula was awake and spry, we began opening her many, many presents! Jay and I quickly went through them as Lula was more interested in the wrapping and ribbons than the actual gifts.

One of the very special gifts Lula received was several boxes of my toys...that are now being called "vintage"! They were in really good condition and my mom had cleaned them well after being in boxes for 20 some years. It's really cool to see her playing with my old toys...and of course I love vintage things!


Lula also received an amazing new high chair from both grandparents. Jay and I just love it! It's the kind that adjusts so they can use it until they're 3 or 4. We love the European and wood look. It matches our kitchen very nicely and Lula is sitting up much higher. She seems to love it too.
After all the present opening, which was very relaxing and peaceful, we all got a little silly. I tried to get some "Sexy Santa" poses out of dad, but instead I think "Silly Santa" is what came out! We enjoyed the rest of the day cooking, putting a puzzle together, and putting the high chair together. Around 3, the carb coma hit, and Pat and David headed home while the rest of us zoned out and relaxed the rest of the day. It was a lovely Christmas.

Santa Has Come to Town!!!

We had a big surprise this morning! My parents, who drove from Maryland, were planning to spend the night and then be here some time this evening. But when I called my mom this morning to see what was going on, she said, "Santa clause has COME to town!" They drove through the night and got here at 7:30 this morning! They're so crazy! Of course I am ecstatic...except I have to work on line this morning and the downstairs hasn't been cleaned yet! At least I did the upstairs yesterday and of course they only want to play with Lula at the moment so it's no big deal that I have to work!

After hauling in all of the presents, which I'm SO excited to open with Lula, I took some pictures of my little reindeer in her Christmas pjs. She is most thrilled with the paper so far...pretty typical for an 8 month old. I can't wait to see what all has been bought for her. It's so fun to celebrate this holiday with a little one.

Nothing Too New

Well, Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is nigh. We spent a lovely Thanksgiving in Nashville with my family which has grown tremendously over the last year and a half! With our ("our" being the family's...not mind and Jay's!) newest addition, Lola Jane, the grandbabies now total 4. My Dad had predicted 5 by the end of this year...so he wasn't too far off! We'll be here for Christmas and my parents are coming for two weeks to help us celebrate Lula's first Christmas.

Lula is getting ready to crawl, which is probably the biggest change we've witnessed and she has two precious new teeth. Did I mention that in my last blog? Can't remember. Another big change is that her hair is too long now to put in her well-recognized and loved mohawk. It's very sad, but I'm not willing to cut it to bring it back!

Janae took some new pictures of Lula and the family. I can't wait to see them...although it was SOOOO cold the day we took them that there might only be a few good ones of the fam! It was pretty miserable trying to smile and look cute in freezing weather. Anyway, I'm sure I'll put all kinds of links to those pics once they surface since Janae is one of the most amazing photographers ever and her work deserves to be seen!

Well, here's my little one:

Lots of Firsts

I always feel like I need pictures to post a new blog, but I guess that's not necessary! Lula turned 7 months old on Tuesday and has since become a new baby. Several new things have happened this week...good and bad. I'll let you decide which is which!

Trying to run errands this week was nightmarish as Lula has not only found her voice, but found it at top volume! At my very first stop in Babies R Us, Lula screamed at the top of her lungs and then proceeded to fuss with big crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks. This was my first stop, let me remind you. My usually super-content laid-back babe was out of control. So I went to the "family room" where I changed a very messy diaper in public for the first time since she's been born...yes, it's true. I also realized much later that I left my changing pad with my wipe case there. Grrr...

Then I attempted to keep shopping, but she just wasn't in the mood despite the fact that I had stripped off her coat and boots and my coat in an attempt to make everyone comfortable. So I hurried through that store hoping that I could at least make one more stop.

Heading to Hobby Lobby, I tried the front of the cart for the first time. Lula can now sit up really well. So I thought she would enjoy being out of the car seat and able to see everything well for once. She did pretty good...for a while. So that was the last stop of the evening.

After a couple more days of unsuccessful and stressful errand-running trips, I figured something was up. This wasn't my usual Lula. Noticing an excessive amount of drool and gnawing lately, I decided to feel around in her mouth. Sure enough to my great surprise and delight, a bottom tooth was poking through! Ah ha! Now we can blame the unnatural behavior on the pesky tooth!

That same afternoon, I looked at the monitor during a nap to discover that Lula was laying on her belly falling asleep. This is a child who still doesn't really roll over much because she hates being on her belly! But this week she has started scooting around on her back and rolling over onto her belly on purpose. I was a nervous wreck of course, but she was just fine.

Today, I decided to look at that precious tooth again and discovered that there's not one but two sprouting side by side!!!

And last but not least...and probably worst of all...Lula had her first "major" injury. Sitting in my sewing room while I ironed, Lula toppled over to the side and bashed her head against a wooden basket. It wouldn't have been so bad except she hit the handle just right and scraped a big chunk of skin out of her forehead. It was the worst I've ever heard her cry and it broke my heart. I'm always very careful to make sure nothing's in the way if she were to topple. I should've known. But I can't protect her from everything and thankfully she's pretty tough...definitely not a whiner! She quickly dried her tears to get back to playing.

Wow! What a week! To make matters more...well...challenging, Jay has been in Phoenix since Monday missing out on all the "fun"! But tomorrow I'm going to see Edward while Grandma watches Lu, Jay is picking Lu up so I can finally finish running my errands, and I can put all the "tragedies" behind me!

Rocker Chick

Lula had her 6th month appointment last week and is doing great. She turned 6 months on October 17. It's hard to believe she's that old and at the same time, it seems like she's still so little and will never get bigger. She's such a joy. Today she was playing her own form of peek-a-boo and squealing with laughter. Thinking it would only last a minute, Jay finally went to get the camera where after she immediately stopped! How do they know?! It was pretty hilarious though. She's on the verge of crawling and delights in just about everything.

Friday Jay and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss. We looked pretty snazzy, but forgot to take a picture. It's more fun to look at Lula anyway. So we'll get back to her.

This was her first Halloween of course, and not wanting to spend money on a store-bought costume, I used what she already. Her well-known mohawk set the tone and helped me decide on an 80s punk rock chick. Jay invented the headband which was the perfect accessory. We went to a little party for the kids at a friend's house. We arrived at 5:30 and were home by 7! Sadly, we are getting old and are very OK with it! I guess this is fitting since I'll be turning 30 in 8 1/2 days. Wow! I can't believe I'm almost 30! Does that mean I have to start being responsible? Dang it!

Anyway, we couldn't decide which pictures to keep because they were all so cute. But we narrowed it down a little. Here's our little punk rocker.






To offset last night's outfit, today I dressed her sort of like a punk rock ballerina for church. Being way too cute again, I had to take some more pictures. Lucky for you, this time we only kept one!

And finally, giving it her all since the expectation as a rocker was set so high, here's little Lu singing her debut.