Lola meets Liam

Lola's friend Aila brought over her new baby brother on Saturday. Lola loves babies and was all about holding little Liam. She took a short break to play in her princess room but had to get back to that baby real quick!
Congratulations Marti, Dave & Aila! Liam is such a perfect little guy!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

When it comes to these two the above statement has proven to be true. Today was Rowan's first day back to school after a holiday in Florida. It was pretty clear that he missed his friend Lola.

Back in the newborn days of Lola & Rowan she would cry if she was in the same room as him. Things have changed. As toddlers she is always trying to squeeze a hug, kiss, or some hand holding to which Rowan sweetly responds with "no Lola".

Today a miracle occurred.

I said "Rowan, you're back! Did you miss Lola?" He said "YES!" which was the go flag for Lola who quickly used this to her advantage and moved in for a hug. Rowan PUT DOWN a toy so that he could hug her back. A wave of "aaww" spread across the room amongst the adults. It was a sweet Lola & Rowan moment.

They held hands all the way to the car.

The Dude turns 10!

Here's Ian turning half way to 20 and that's CRAZY because it seems like a year ago he was 2 1/2 (which was when I first met him).
So far all I can figure out about little boys is that they are interested in 2 things: game boys & Guitar Hero. I guess I can round that off to one thing... video games. Big surprise!
However in the last almost 3 years Ian has excelled in being the best big brother ever. He loves his little sister and even though she occasionally gets on his nerves he is very good to her. This 10 year old is beyond his years in math & reading and plays a mean game of basketball and is awesome on his skateboard!
Here's wishing the next 10 years treat you just as well as the first 10 Ian!!!!
We love you dude!

after bath pampering

Lola's Daddy is good for a lot of things around here, things like:
* taking out the trash (when reminded)
* mowing the lawn
* cleaning the gutters
* shoveling the snow
* playing video games
* entertaining the children
* burying groundhogs
* getting tattoos

BUT I bet you didn't know that he is a master at giving Lola manicures & pedicures. He's actually thinking about changing his major.

Lunch Menu: sand

Sand is Lola's new favorite food and I'm wondering if I need to take her to the hospital to have her stomach pumped OR should I just be glad she's eating something?

Summer Olympics 2028

Lola & Stella are currently training for the Summer Olympics 2028 where they plan on taking the gold and putting Michael Phelps records to shame.

If they don't make it to the Summer Olympics their next game plan is putting these two to shame:

Happy Valentine's Day

Love Lola & Stella

Adventures in Babysitting

Not only do we have a great network of friends but we regularly dump our kids off at each others houses mainly for date nights. It works out nicely for everyone involved.

Last month Sam came over for a visit while his parents went to see Avatar (so they say). Sam immediately became fixated with our ceiling fans at which point he pointed & grunted until we turned them all on. Later that day Angela and I tried to trick him by turning them off. He noticed and we got a good laugh.
Some things other than the ceiling fans that Sam enjoyed while visiting:
* Ian
* Ian's cars
* Ian's light saber
* Hitting Ian with the light saber
Sam also loved Lola's baby doll (you read that right Joe). Pushing the baby in the stroller was great fun for him. I think he is ready to be a big brother.




Our most recent baby-sitting gig was with the regulars. Rowan and Lydia. When they come over they go to bed here because their parents know how to party and by party I mean PARTY!
Rowan is always a perfect little gentleman and follows instructions very nicely. Something I'm not used to with a toddler. His mother claims he dislikes having his teeth brushed, I disagree as I had no problems helping him brush. When I say "time for bed" he walks to the stairs and waits while I chase Lola as she screams "NO". He then proceeds to lay down and go to bed without making a sound. Aside from not wanting to hug Lola upon her demand he is a perfect kid.
And then there's little Lydia, always smiling even with a cold. She is an easy baby!

Lola knows Jack

As I walked past Lola's easel the other night I was taken aback by a chalk drawing. I looked at Aaron and he gave me a glance as if to say "I know, can you believe it"
I said "Lola what is this"
She said "It's Jack Skellington"
I pointed to what was clearly a mouth and asked her "what is this" she said "that's his mouth with sharp teeth". She then pointed out his eyes & nose (nostrils!) . I'm not one to brag but this is good! This little girl can draw and seems to really enjoy doing so! yay Lola!

vintage shoes

I had to post this nice little photo of Miss Lola.
I'm not too sure how Grandma Joni will feel about the use of the word vintage but here is Lola modeling a pair of her Grandma's baby shoes. I absolutely love this classic baby shoe look and struggle to find perfect double strappy shoes like this.

huh what?

This is Lola having a conversation over the telephone with her gigi. She is perfectly capable of using real words however she chooses to use gibberish and baby talk while occasionally throwing in random objects she sees in her environment. This is her way of keeping up a fast paced conversation that no one understands.
If you have ever spoken to Lola on the phone you have experienced this.

Enjoy!

sledding!

Since they are saying snow is on its way I thought I better post these photos & video from the last round of snow we got. The last round being the only round we've had so far this year.
Lola invited Rowan over for some sledding and hot chocolate. They were SO CUTE and loved being pulled around the backyard on the sled (thanks BFF Jenny for finding this treasure, it will be passed back down for Miss Stella).
Unfortunately we haven't had enough snow for a snow day yet. I think Aaron deserves a snow day since he is now employed with me we can enjoy those days off of work together! I'll cross my fingers for one tomorrow but won't hold my breath.



Its all fun and games until someone falls off.

Those are some nice chompers!

In case you missed my live tweets to the right Lola went to the dentist today. This was her first cleaning therefore it was properly documented with tweets, blogging, baby book updates & videos. She started off great and warmed right up to the dental hygienist. She chose to watch a Disney Princess Party DVD and picked out some Ariel sunglasses. The mood changed once Dr. Jackson showed up. She did tell him that she was 2 and that she would be 3 on her next birthday. She also told him that she was having a pink birthday party but once he leaned that chair back her bottom lip started doing that thing it does. The tears started and she asked me to hold her. I did and during that time the dentist was able to count her teeth. After about 2 minutes she decided that she could sit in the chair. After that everything went smoothly and she is proud of her smile!

Lola would like to thank her friends Sam & Rowan for recommending Dr. Jackson. Not sure which one of you will get the thanks for the new business gift.

Unfortunately the settings we not right when I took this video.

Guitar Hero Princess

her talents are endless

Future flower girl totally crushing on groom-to-be

Looks like someone has a crush on Brian and I'm NOT talking about Lindsey.

Lola got to spend some quality time with her cousin Lindsey and Lindsey's fiancé Brian over the holidays. I'm pretty sure they were both impressed with Lola and know they made the right decision choosing her and Celia to be their flower girls for their upcoming summer wedding.



Congratulations Lindsey & Brian, we are so excited for you both!