Mmm...Mmm...Good!

You guessed it, Lila had her first taste of rice cereal this weekend! We decided to save it for Friday evening considering her Thursday evening was spent recovering from her doctor's visit. We got all geared up, preparing the cereal just as it said on the side of the box and then it was time for the first spoonful!

Yum! I think I like it!

Oh yes, I definitely like it!

I would say that her first attempt at "real" food was a success! She has happily indulged each day since we have replaced a typical bottle feeding with some cereal. Today she was even grabbing at the little dish trying to get me to go faster and talking her way through the feeding. I can't wait until we give her something with more flavor!

Saturday found Mike at a good friend of ours Man Shower. This is to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our good friends Brandon and Monica's little girl in January. The guys all got together to play yard games, have good food, a few cocktails and catch up. Mommy and Lila did some shopping just the two of us, she is such a trooper, at one point it all must have been too much, she fell sound asleep on the last leg of the trip. We then met up with Amber, Dylan and Danielle at Vito's for dinner. We both commented several times on how well behaved all three of the kids were, it was honestly like we were almost having dinner just the two of us with how well they did. After dinner the ladies and kids headed to meet the guys where we hung out for awhile and braved the cold weather.

Lila loves being outside so much that I am really sad that it has been so cold the past few days, it makes me nervous that we are on a downhill slide into an early winter. I don't know what we will do during the winter months, I know she will really miss the fresh air.

Ahhh...the summer sun!

Her first full week at Connie's was a huge success! I am so happy that I can go to work and honestly say that I don't think twice about where she is during the day. The many times Lila crosses my mind over the course of the day I find comfort in the fact that she is with Connie and I can rest assured that she is being well taken care of. What a blessing!

Well Baby Check-up

Little Miss Lila is getting bigger and bigger! We had her 4 month well baby check today at the doctor's office, it was a little late, but either way we got her all checked out! She is doing GREAT! We are so happy to report that everything is right on track. She weighs 13 lbs. 7 ozs. (50th percentile), she is 25 inches long (75th percentile) and her head circumference is in the 50th percentile as well...she is absolutely perfect!

She of course had to have a few shots, 3 to be exact and a vaccination given by mouth as well. She hated the shots, but was a real trooper and settled down pretty quickly, thank goodness for Daddy to give her lots of love and snuggles to make the pain go away.

She is all snuggled in and tuckered out from her day, she is sleeping in my arms as I write this (not going to put her down for this nap)!

We got the go ahead to give her cereal for the first time, so that will be a fun thing to introduce her to this weekend! We bought a video camera finally, so I would assume you might be seeing a video of her first attempt at food!

It was exactly a year ago today that we found out that we were expecting! I can go back to that day in an instant. We had tried 3 pregnancy tests the night before, two of which came back with an error and one that said Not Pregnant. Mike was so mad, I looked at him and said, "we will wait to take this last one tomorrow, but I am telling you now we are pregnant." That morning we woke up, the first thing I set the pregnancy test on the counter and went to start brushing my teeth. It says to wait 3 minutes for your results, after about 35 seconds I glanced down and it was there...PREGNANT! I called out for Mike several times, louder and louder, he finally heard me in the laundry room and I heard him running down the hallway. He was crying by the time he got to do the doorway! Even though I had told him we were pregnant the night before I was stunned! It took me about 5 minutes and we were both hugging and crying with excitement. We confirmed everything with a blood test that morning and that started our amazing journey into parenthood!

We are so blessed to have such an amazingly perfect little girl. We thank God everyday that she is in our lives, she makes every moment better by just being in it! We love you Lila and we are so proud to be your Mommy and Daddy!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

On Friday we headed to Lamont, just us girls: Jen, Celia, Ruby, Lila and I to take my Grandma out to lunch and spend some time with her for her birthday!

Grandma and her girls!

We had a very nice time visiting, despite the rainy weather! We went uptown to have lunch at the Common Grounds, which is an all volunteer coffeshop in Lamont. Grandma enjoys volunteering and she really appreciated having us all up to meet her friends and co-workers. After lunch we had a very special treat...ice cream from the Dairy Sweet. This is the place that my Grandma and Grandpa would take us when we were little, I can close my eyes and go to the backseat of their car eating a huge crunch cone. Most of the crunch was scattered all over the backseat...I giggle now thinking at how laidback they were, never making a fuss over the gigantic mess I would leave. Those are the best memories, the ones I hold so dear to my heart, I smile to think of all of those memories that Lila has yet to make!

We had an unexpectedly low-key weekend and it came as a nice surprise! We were able to spend some time as a family and come and go as we pleased...Lila enjoyed a little jammie time where she didn't have to wake up and get dressed right away, we can all admit to enjoying days like that!

This week Lila will go full time to Connie. We will miss Jorden a lot, Lila and her got very close and we are so thankful she helped us out this summer, she was truly a lifesaver! We are looking forward to getting into a normal routine with Connie, I think Lila is craving a little consistency as well. She really likes Connie and the kids at daycare, so we have no doubt that it will be a smooth transition to full time! Stay tuned!

Monkeying Around!

This week seems to have gone by extremely fast! Mike put together Lila's Exersaucer on Tuesday night. She is really curious about it all, but she is still such a peanut that she swims in the seat, we will have to put a blanket in there to try and fill it out so she can enjoy it even more!

Lila has started to really enjoy her other toys too, always trying to get her hands on anything within her reach. She is starting to giggle and continues to babble and coo at anything that will sit still long enough to listen to her storytelling! Mike calls her his little monkey, so it is only appropriate that one of her favorite stuffed animals is a monkey!

She is also really enjoying watching her Baby Einstein videos...just like her Daddy, comfy in front of the TV!

We spent some time on Saturday with our good friends the Holubs and once again the kids really enjoyed getting together! It is so fun to see them all together, Dylan of course is the big boy, but he is so gentle with the little girls and the girls were having a great time on the floor!

Just as the guys started grilling Lila decided that it was time to fill her diaper, which in most cases is no big deal...but when I got up to go and change her Amber was giggling trying to tell me that Lila had indeed pooped because it was all over her Mom! She had managed to get poop all over me, but there was only a tiny little drop on her outfit...don't ask! Thank goodness Mom has a sense of humor and that we were at our friends house because I was able to borrow a t-shirt and we went on with our night. I of course couldn't be angry, who could be mad at this face?!

This is my last week at home with Lila, she will start full time at her daycare provider next week. We are all looking forward to the consistency, but as always when there is change, it will be bittersweet to lose my Wednesday's with her. Just like all of the other transitions, this will be for the best!

A good cause...

I know I keep saying this, but time has really flown by. Our darling little girl was 16 weeks old on Saturday. She has changed so much in such a small amount of time, it is a wonder what the next days, weeks, months and years have in store for us?!

We had a nice weekend. Friday night we met up with Wayne & Elaine and went shopping at Kohl's, Grandma and Grandpa thought Lila needed a few things for next summer, then we had a nice dinner out!

Saturday found Mike and some good friends golfing in a benefit for a little girl named Taylor Whitehead. Mike grew up with Taylor's Dad Jeff and was very good friends with Jeff's brother Tim. Taylor is now 10 months old. When she was 4 months old she was admitted to the hospital with labored breathing. While in her father's arms she took her last breath. She stopped breathing for 10 minutes before the hospital was able to intubate her. Taylor now suffers from sever brain damage, it is believed she is blind and has several other life threatening conditions. In addition, it is not known if she will ever be able to walk. Her heart has also been severely damaged and diagnosed as, she is in need of a heart transplant, but since she has brain damage she is not a candidate.

The family is now doing an experimental treatment with a hyperbaric chamber that helps get oxygen to her brain. While you cannot repair damaged brain cells, it is possible for the brain to create neural paths for the body to operate. This treatment has show signs of success already, but unfortunately it is not covered by insurance. The funds raised during Saturday's benefit went towards the purchase of the hyperbaric chamber to have in their home so they don't have to continuously make trips back and for to the hospital. It was a pleasure to be a part of the benefit and to support the Whitehead family. Taylor's Dad Jeff spoke at the benefit thanking each and every person for coming and showing their support, he spoke of Taylor so proudly and it was an amazing reminder that all children are miracles, Taylor is a true testament to that. To learn more about her story or how you can donate visit: taylorwhitehead.blogspot.com.

Despite the fact that it was a very warm day Lila joined us for the benefit and enjoyed herself...Daddy of course enjoyed showing her off to all of our friends and some of the other people he grew up with that he hasn't seen in a long time.

All smiles...say cheese!!!

Here are a few other pictures over the last few weeks that I thought I would share! Lila is continuing to grow and add new milestones to her list everyday! She is so happy, which makes life a whole lot easier for Mom and Dad, she truly is a joy to be around!

Look at my barrette!

Spending time with Celia!

Loungin'

A Walk Down Memory Lane

This weekend we went to Lamont, IA to visit my Grandma. It was the annual Lamont Days, this is a big tradition that has been going on for years in Lamont, it dates back long before I was born. Jason and I used to be in the Smith Insurance float...very proudly I might add! The town has changed a lot since then, but they still keep the parade going. My Grandma volunteers at the local coffeeshop and was proud to ride in the float and have her family watching...their float won first place!

Go Grandma Go!

Collecting Candy

Look at all my loot!

I'm having fun, are you?!

We lived in Lamont until right before I turned 4 years old! Believe it or not, I remember it well! My Grandfather owned an insurance office on Main Street called Smith Insurance. It is always so nice to go back and see that Smith Insurance is still there...it is what started my family's legacy.

A few doors down from Smith Insurance stands a clock. That clock is in memorium of my Grandfather. He was a very well known man througout the community. In the afternoon we walked over to see the clock and show Lila the memorial and I whispered a little bit about how much her Great Grandfather would have loved her. We miss him dearly and it is moments like those when I miss him the most, yet feel the closest to him.It was a nice weekend spending it with family and enjoying some of the sunshine! It seems as if getting everyone together is a challenge these days and we know it meant a lot to my Grandma to have us all there. Who would have thought after all the years of being in the parade as a little girl, I would be going back with my little girl to watch it with her?!