F the growth chart!

That's right, I said F!! According to this growth chart Lola is not normal, so today I used this growth chart for a more practical purpose. As George was working up a nice hairball I placed it on the floor under his mouth and splat! Then I waded it all up and tossed it. It served a much more appropriate purpose! Because Lola's weight falls out of the "normal" range it was requested we see an endocrinologist. From there we were sent to the lab for blood work. We received two calls one call saying her growth hormone level was on the low side of the normal range and the other call saying her blood work came back normal. I guess it depends on who reads the results. Anyway, with the blood work coming back normal they still have to get to the bottom of the Lola weight mystery. Today we visited the nutritionist. She reviewed Lola's food diary (this is something I had to keep up with. They wanted to know what she was eating, how much and how the food was prepared), she took Lola's measurements and spent a few minutes playing with Lola. Her conclusion: "this baby is PERFECT and you are a great mother, keep up the good work!" She explained to me that doctors are trained to react when something is not "normal" they have their charts to go by and if there's something just a little off they have to investigate. I feel bad for Lola that she was put through the blood work part of this but at the same time am grateful that we can rule out any hormone or thyroid issues, she's simply a tall skinny girl!

Holiday gift cards go to practical use

No more spending my holiday gift cards at the Benefit counter at Macy's.... this year they were put to more practical use like taking care of my daughter. I figured with the extra cash I'd stock up on supplies so I wouldn't have to go to Sam's Club for another 4 weeks! That's gift enough!

Lola vs. Warhol (and other stuff)

Most of you are aware that I am a huge Warhol fan but most recently I have brushed aside Warhol for the most wonderful piece of art I have seen yet! The piece above was created especially for Aaron and I as a Christmas gift from Lola, her teachers presented this to me the day before break. I was at a loss for words! This baby continues to impress me daily - she is so awesome!!!!!
A message to my designer friends (you know who you are Amy, Angela and Crystal) Watch Out .... there's a new artist on the horizon!

On Saturday we visited with Aaron's family for a holiday gathering. The kids had so much fun opening their Christmas gifts! Emma was so excited about her cheerleader outfit and pom poms from Lola & Ian (too bad the photo didn't turn out or it would be posted).

In other baby updates Lola continues to eat anything but baby food. I can trick her by feeding her Gerber Graduates, she thinks this is real food! This photo shows Lola trying to figure out what this lil cruncher is all about.... after a few bites she was totally into them! These are her new favorite snacks. She prefers mild cheddar.

And finally... today I got Lola ready for her first day back to school after the holiday break. She looked absolutely darling in her pink dress, white tights and pink boots. When I picked her up this afternoon she was in her backup outfit.... how do I go a week having her at home in her lazy clothes and the first day I put her in a darling pink dress she has a major blowout at school? Good thing I take a photo of her every morning before school. She does look pretty cute!

Lola meets the family

Since the kids have been dating for 8 months now they have decided to take their relationship to the next step... Rowan thought it would be a good idea to introduce Lola to his Grammie Donna!
Everyone enjoyed lunch and company at the Cheesecake Factory this afternoon. This was the first date where the kids sat in high chairs!
Lola thanked Rowan for being such a gentleman by sucking on his fingers (we hope Grammie Donna doesn't think she's too forward with her Grandson). As parents we were not proud, we redirected her behavior and allowed a more appropriate hug to take place!

Baby not keeping her eyes on the road!

Lola no longer has to focus on the road... she has the luxury of watching videos in the car! That's right, the Saturn Vue has upgraded to ultimate family automobile and now provides in-car programing for the children. She watched Monsters Inc. this morning on her way to school. Tomorrows in-car feature will be Sesame Streets Kids' Favorite Country Songs! She is going to love seeing the Dixie Chickens sing Oh Susanna! This will come in very handy as I continue to put a ton of miles on my car driving to Illinois & Toledo. Not to mention the upcoming road trip to Florida!

Lola continues to impress us with her eagerness to try new foods! She was all about the cranberry sauce and leftovers from last nights Christmas dinner! Now that she's eating real people food she's pooping real people poop. The flushable kind! The staff at Lola's blog would like to send a special shout out to Auntie Moe who flushed Lola's first real poo poo down the toilet at the Grand Bear Lodge! This is a milestone!

Express Christmas

Lola's first Christmas proved to be a busy one! We traveled to Illinois for a long weekend with family & friends. Our first stop was in Downers Grove to visit my Dad & Joni. Dad made an excellent pasta dinner, we opened presents & relaxed. On Saturday afternoon we traveled to Utica where we met up with Ethan, Celia, Emma & Grace. The kids spent the next couple of days swimming at the water park at Grand Bear Lodge and having a ton of fun at the indoor amusement park! (I did not take any photos of that because I was too busy enjoying the lazy river and going down scary water slides!) We had a fun holiday celebration with my Mom & Chuck as well as the rest of the Illinois family.







It's clear by the photo below that Lola and her twin cousin Celia absolutly love dressing alike. They were SO EXCITED to be together for the holiday!


The morning of Christmas Eve we met up with family friends and had lunch at Starved Rock Lodge. This is has been an annual celebration for over 10 years. Below is the group photo. See if you can spot the twin cousins!


We drove home on Christmas Eve and had to hurry up and open gifts the that Santa left while we were gone becuase we had to get Ian back to his Mom's by 9pm! He scored a ton of loot from Santa and was so excited!


And finally... a relaxing day at home! Christmas Day! Lola had a great day and loved opening her gifts! We had a nice dinner with Mom & Chuck, Lola even ate Christmas dinner! On her menu: ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus, corn casserole & cranberry sauce! She ate a plate full! Her first Christmas was a busy one and a perfect one!

See Melissa...

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Lola wears leopard better than Mary Kate

Lola looks absolutely fab in leopard! She can totally pull it off unlike poor Mary Kate Olsen.
Lola has a little more in common with Mary Kate aside from the likes of leopard fabric. She suffers from being under weight herself. For now she sits in the 20% for her weight but she's working hard each day to pack on a few more pounds!

Not So Great Clips

While not in the company of my husband or myself Ian headed off to Great Clips for a haircut. We can't be sure but are wondering if the stylist was inspired by Lloyd Christmas.









And tonight Lola tested her Daddy's patience. She's not an easy one to feed as this is quite an evening task or should we call it our evening struggle. On tonight's menu: chicken & apples and for dessert, bananas!

Another Santa, a flu shot and 2 teeth!

Brody invited me to his Mom's Christmas party at her work today, this was our first social outing together! I was so excited when I heard that Santa was going to be there I just had to wear my special Christmas dress! Mom said I would be in big trouble if I puked on it, she says it's dry clean only, whatever that means.
I like this guy they call Santa! I'm sure he liked me as well, I caught him laughing a few times as I would do my happy fun dance!

I had to go to the doctor today for the second half of my flu shot. That wasn't fun.
Mom put me on the baby scale and I've gained a couple of pounds since my last visit! I weigh 15 lbs 14 oz! This must be good since Mom was freaking out!! She said "Oh Lola, my little chunky monkey, I'm so proud of you!"

Next week is my first ever Christmas, I was told to ask for something good so I've asked for my TWO front teeth and they have arrived!!! That's right, TWO TEETH!

Lola meets Santa!

Lola got all dressed up today to meet Santa and she forgot to take her coat off! Thank goodness the coat is as picture perfect as her outfit!

Someone thinks she is 10 months old

Little Miss Lola refuses to eat baby food at school and cries until her teacher puts her at the lunch table to eat proper grown up food with the 10 month olds. Today she ate ham & noodles, broccoli and strawberries! I was there to witness this huge event!

Lola loves snow!

We had our first snow fall of the season! It's beautiful out!
I had to drive to work this morning on roads that weren't so great. Normally this is of no concern to me but this morning I had a baby in the backseat. I white knuckled the entire drive and got to work in 40 minutes, a trip that is normally 15 minutes.
Lola seemed excited to witness her first snow fall and if we weren't in a rush to get to swim class by 5:30 we would have spent more time playing in it!

First ever class photo!

Lola's first class photo turned out great! This of course being the baby class, Lola has since moved up to the older infant room with her pal Brody (pictured in the blue on the far left).

Goodnight Norma Jean

Friday wasn't an easy day for me as I had to say goodbye to my cat of 18 years, Norma Jean. Norma was born in 1989 in our house in Sylvania where she lived the majority of her life as the princess she thought she was. She wasn't much of a cuddler until her later years. Moving down here didn't seem to bother Norma, she moved into a home with an active little boy (Ian) and the two of them took a liking to each other. Ian has always been so nice and gentle with Norma, she would let him pet her as long as he wanted.
Until Tuesday Norma was doing very well in her old age and still hollering at me everyday to feed her her "special" food, she got to eat canned food. I noticed a change in her on Tuesday and I didn't see that sweet spark in her eye. On Wednesday and Thursday she was spending her time sleeping under the Christmas tree. I took her to the vet on Friday and was told what I already knew, her body was shutting down, she was ready to go. The vet didn't know if she would make it through the night. I had her put to sleep at 5:30 on Friday evening. Aaron, Lola and I were all there with her. I held her and gave her a ton of kisses as she fell asleep. I was lucky to have such a nice kitty, she was a sweet girl and will be missed!