Big Stuff!

On the road to Lila's first birthday there have been many milestones! Each seemingly harder than the next, but I do believe this has really been one of the toughest transitions for me. The BIG KID car seat! Wow, I can hardly believe that it is time to put her in these new car seats that seem SO huge! Mike spent Saturday morning installing the new seats in our cars and I was the first to take Lila on a cruise in the new seats. Even more exciting that having more room to wiggle is that she is facing forward...it is like a whole new world is laid out before her, she loves it!

Waiting to try out the new seat!

All aboard!

We headed to Taylor's house for the afternoon! Lila had a great time hanging out with her Auntie Tay and Alfie! She gets a kick out of little dogs because they are just her size. We have to remind her to be gentle, she likes to put her fingers in their hair and pull. At one point she had Alfie by the face and was pulling him closer to her...thank goodness Alfie is mellow! Soft touches Lila! Taylor took some great pictures of Lila! Lila humored her by posing while she snapped away -- she has never been one to shy away from a camera!

When we got home we started making dinner while we watched two big sporting events for Iowa college athletics. The University of Northern Iowa basketball team is in the NCAA tournament as a ninth seed, they won their first game against UNLV which had them matched up against number one seed Kansas last night. Woah, what a game! Kansas was the first on the board, but after that UNI lead the whole game! It was a close call, but they finished it 69-67...Go Panthers! Lila has Panther pride in her purple and gold -- thanks Jorden! We also watched as Matt McDonough clinched a national wrestling title while wrestling for the University of Iowa. Matt is the brother of a good friend of mine from high school! Way to go! It was a victorious night for Iowa sports!

Go Panthers!

This little Lila...

This little Lila had pigtails!

This little Lila is teething!

This Little Lila went swimming!

This little Lila watched for her puppies.

AND...this Little Lila is celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes!

Current TrueNorth building

As most of you know there were some big decisions made last week that will change downtown Cedar Rapids forever. The City of Cedar Rapids voted unanimously that the new $45M library will rest where TrueNorth currently sits. So, naturally...the city will forever be changed in the long run, but right now the biggest changes are for those that call TrueNorth "home."

At first we were all kind of stunned. TrueNorth had been put up as an option in the plans for the new ground transportation center and they ended up choosing another site. And then we were originally looked at again for the library site, but earlier this year the library board was to present their top two options to the city council and TrueNorth wasn't one of them. So, even though we had known that TrueNorth was being considered, to get the news last Wednesday that the city council had decided we were the right spot, over the library board's recommendations, was quite the surprise!

The media has really grabbed on to this story for more than one reason, but mostly because it is a huge decision on behalf of the city since the flooding in 2008. There are people with all sorts of opinions about the matter and we have tried to do our best as an organization to be forthright with our feelings and plans to support the city, even though we didn't really want to move, for all the same reasons the city wanted our spot!

Lila enjoyed seeing her Grandpa on the TV a few times this week during all the press that was swirling around the building. He was on "To the Point with Beth Malicki" and you could see in her eyes that she was excited to see him, but didn't understand why he was in the TV. She was smiling and pointing, but not willing to get too close!

Dad addressing questions about the city's decision

We have all had some time to adjust to the final decision and are now over the initial shock and are looking forward to the future. We have a lot ahead of us over the next 18 months, we need to find a lot, potentially demolish buildings, finalize our building plans, break ground, build and move in! The list is overwhelming, but the idea of a new place is starting to sink in! With change comes opportunity!

Speaking of change...Miss Lila is changing by the minute, which means a lot of changing for Mommy & Daddy. Just when we get used to one thing it isn't long before things are completely different! We recently moved her swing and bouncy seat to the basement. We got it all packaged up and put in storage for baby #2 to use someday (notice I said someday, not soon)! We also got a big delivery in the mail the other day...new car seats! That was an eye opener for Mom! Mike unpacked everything and pulled one out of the box and I stood there shaking my head telling him how she will never fit into the seat, they were too big. He picks her up, plops her in and low and behold she fills it out perfectly. Can you say "in denial?!?!?!" Unbelievable!



She is still really enjoying swimming lessons and loves hanging out with other kids! We are so fortunate to have good friends that have little ones so they will all grow up together! She is such a good girl and is happy and content as long as she has some toys to play with and her puppy and lovey aren't too far away! She has really taken to cuddling and her newest thing is to give kisses...which melts our hearts!

Snuggling her baby chicks!

As we watch Lila change from day to day, it is hard not to reflect on the past 11 years that Mike and I have been together and think about all the change we have seen as a couple! From high school, to college, to our first jobs, our first home, our first and second dogs, our engagement, our first brand new home, our wedding, our first pregnancy and then the birth of our little girl...talk about CHANGE! I never thought in a million years I (we) would be so blessed.