I realize that I haven't posted much lately. Is my life boring? Am I not doing anything that's worthy of sharing with my family and friends? Yes and No. Things are pretty 'normal' around here. Lia is growing and learning week by week. She loves to run, climb and tries to jump. Her best friend is still Monkey! She's been eating and sleeping like a dream! She is really good at cleaning up her books and toys and will actually put pieces of trash in the garbage can. Lia has shunned her potty though. She has no time for it!! She does like to help cook. She will push the button on the salad spinner and stir the pot. Very cute. Lia loves other babies and children. She is very social and fun.
An interesting thing I've been doing is a child-care swap for a few hours a week with another Mom in my neighborhood. She has a son who is 2 weeks older than Lia. His name is Oliver and he adores Lia and Monkey! It has been alot of fun having a playmate for Lia on a regular basis. And I'm using my free time to work at Hanna's Herb Shop some more. I'm happy to get out of the house, talk to adults and make a little extra money.
Also, my friend Julie and I entered another race. This one was called the Colder Bolder (although it took place on a fairly nice and sunny day)! It was a 3K race around CU campus at the beginning of December. We left our babies at home this time. We mostly walked it and came in close to last! Out of about 1300 people, we finished ahead of 2 dozen or so!!! I've learned a valuable lesson: You don't enter a race in wintertime and walk it! People who race in wintertime actually enjoy running. Even though we finished last, we are talking about doing the Bolder Boulder again in the spring. Maybe we should run that!
Another fun thing that is going on is that we are planning a family vacation with my Dad, Step-mom Linda, sis Michelle and her hubby Pete. We are all going to spend a week in the sunny Keys in March! I can't wait. Lia is becoming quite the seasoned traveler.
Besides that, everyone here is healthy and happy. Paul is still working a bunch but he's been able to go hiking a little more and that makes him happy. We got our Christmas tree over the weekend and Lia is fascinated with the lights and bulbs. It is amazing to see the wonder of the holiday season through the eyes of a child. I have a feeling Santa is going to be VERY good to Lia this year. Paul's parents are coming out for a visit. They'll be here in a couple of days to help celebrate the holidays. Maybe we'll have some snow for Christmas. It's been a mild, mostly snow-free winter so far.
Fun things coming up with Lia are visits to the Butterfly Pavilion, maybe another music class, trips to the library for story time, swimming at the rec center and playdates with her friends. And of course walking and playing with Monkey. I hope you are all well and have a great holiday season.
I realize that I haven't posted much lately. Is my life boring? Am I not doing anything that's worthy of sharing with my family and friends? Yes and No. Things are pretty 'normal' around here. Lia is growing and learning week by week. She loves to run, climb and tries to jump. Her best friend is still Monkey! She's been eating and sleeping like a dream! She is really good at cleaning up her books and toys and will actually put pieces of trash in the garbage can. Lia has shunned her potty though. She has no time for it!! She does like to help cook. She will push the button on the salad spinner and stir the pot. Very cute. Lia loves other babies and children. She is very social and fun.
This past weekend was a big step for Me and Lia. Paul went back to Maine for his Grandfather's funeral and took Lia with him. Of course, I was freaking out! But Lia did great. She slept well at night and ate well the entire trip. And she had fun with Mimi and Poppy! Monkey and I stayed home and had some fun ourselves. We went on extra long walks and I stayed up late watching movies and reading trashy romance novels. It was fun for a couple of days but I really missed Lia and Paul. I'm so glad to have them both home!
We have been having a beautiful Fall so far. The weather has been crisp but sunny. The leaves are changing. Here are a few pics of Lia enjoying some fall festivities. Having fun at a pumpkin patch with her friend, Julian. Carving a pumpkin with Dad (which she took very seriously)! And trick or treating on Halloween. Our little baby bear had a great day. She seemed to know she was so cute! We went to the Munchkin Masquerade on pearl st where the stores pass out candy to the kids. It was a bit overwhelming and crazy but we had fun. Lia was very protective of her candy bucket and didn't want any help carrying it when it got heavy. She actually got pretty upset when I took a piece of candy out of it! Paul and I had to be sneaky about it. We did give her a small bite of kit kat but kept the rest for ourselves. Later we walked around our neighborhood and visited some neighbors. Hope you all had a fun Halloween and are having a good Fall.
More things that make Lia laugh:
Lia and I recently got back from another trip. We headed east and visited Paul's parents in beautiful Maine. This was the farthest that Lia has ever been. The trees were starting to turn and the colors were amazing. The weather was cool, crisp and sunny- perfect fall weather. We took a drive to the ocean and Lia was very captivated by the seagulls! And we saw Paul's cousin get married and visited with many family members. Congratulations, Nick and Angela. You make a great couple. And thank you for everything, Mimi and Poppy. We had a wonderful visit.
Lia is 15 months old already! She has developed such a personality in the last few months. Much of the time, she struts around the house like she's on a mission! She is very 'large and in charge' and has her own agenda. Lia is independent, adventurous, silly, funny, happy and sweet. She gives the best hugs ever where she just holds on with all her might for a few moments. She even tries to cuddle with Monkey sometimes. Monkey's not so sure about that! Lia likes to talk and has a few words. She'll say Daddy, book and dog pretty regularly and she'll sometimes say 'all done', go, car and a few other words that I'm not sure what she's saying. She loves to dance whether it's to music on the radio or if I'm singing. Books are the favorite toy right now. She loves to open them and look at them by herself. And now she will actually sit on our laps and let us read to her. She likes to take all the books off her shelf and make various piles all over the house. Lia also loves to play dress-up. She likes hats and scarves and mittens and purses. She parades around the house wearing various things. It's really cute. Climbing is a favorite activity these days. She loves to climb up the neighbor's stairs, and on any small chairs, tables, shelves she can access. Baby proofing has hit a whole new level! Monkey is still safe on the couch; but for how long, I don't know. Lia has learned the names of many body parts and can point to them. Her belly button is by far the favorite! She seems so fascinated with it. Lia is also walking more when we take Monkey for walks, staying with me and holding my hand. She likes to stop and 'say hi' to all the flowers we pass along the way. She is very gentle and touches them with one finger. So cute (but it takes forever)! It is just amazing watching her grow from baby to toddler. Lia is such a joy to us!
Lia and I took a trip to Erie to visit my family. Unfortunately, Paul had to stay home and work. I was a little nervous about flying solo with Lia but she was amazing. She did great on both plane rides and slept 11 hours straight EVERY night we were there!! We had a wonderful time visiting with family. Lia met her Great Grandparents (my mom's parents), her other Great Grandma (Linda's mom) for the first time and spent alot of quality time with her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Some of the highlights were playing on the beach (she loved all the rocks more than the water), playing with Grandpa's and Aunt Michelle's cats and just spending time with family. Lia got 2 new teeth while on vacation and that didn't slow her down a bit. She did start picking her nose which isn't too exciting. But she also learned how to do eskimo kisses with me and that is very exciting! Thanks to everyone for making it such a great trip for us. I'm ready for the next trip!!
