Brad did such a great job with our jack-o-lanterns! Last night we lit them for the first time before Lorelei went to bed. She loved looking at them but also wanted to grab the candles. Then when we told her "no" she took my hand to let me do it instead! :) She wanted to continue to sit on her pumpkin as well.
Lorelei's First Halloween Picture!
My goodness how much things change in a year! Last year I had to prop Miss Lorelei up against a pumpkin because she couldn't even sit up on her own. :) This year she was climbing on the pumpkins. :)
After running a few errands today we took a trip to the park. It was a high of 78 today and absolutily beautiful in the shade (rather warm without) so it was a wonderful time to play. This is one of our new favorite parks because there are so many trees and I love having a ramp instead of stairs. :)
The poodle all ready to go trick or treating. Then she was getting sweaty in her costume so we took it off for the drive to the Check's house. We went trick or treating in their neighborhood rather than our apt complex. We got to see some great yards with lots of lights and blow up decorations. :)
The moms with the kiddos. Sara with Lily the cat and Melissa with Kira the flower and Chase the fireman. All the dads were there to take the pictures for us. It was nice being able to get together with everyone. :)
Lets just start out by saying...we now have 590 pictures in our October 09 album! And we still have Halloween coming up!!
Okay well the last couple days have been a chance for a lot of pumpkin pictures. Tuesday we stayed home all day (yes I went insane there towards the end) but did make a trip to Food Lion for a few groceries and a mommy pumpkin (one for each member of the family of course) so Lorelei was thrilled to pick one that was the perfect height for sitting! :)
She also LOVES to carry her little pumpkin around all over the balcony. She also wants it to sit on the ledge with her.
This one is one I thought my sister would like so have to get it up here.
We also made our first attempt at play dough. This was a total flop as all Lorelei wanted to do was eat it and then had a huge fit when I took it away. Guess we'll give it to some older friends to play with!
Wednesday ended up being a great day for us. Lorelei and I made a trip to the mall in Norfolk since it was a rainy morning and the parks etc would be wet. This means we got to meet Brad for lunch. Yay! We went early to avoid the mob of kids at the play area. She really enjoyed it. Then we went in a few stores before Brad came for lunch. She also got her first ride on one of those toy car things. They have them near the play area and she enjoyed playing in them. We only put quarters in one and she was just content to play without them moving...wonder how much longer that will last? :)
Then when Brad got home...pumpkin carving! We were excited to do it outside this year, since last year it was too dark by the time we got started. This makes much less mess in the house too! Brad is the designated family carver because I do not have enough strength, ability, or patience for this task. This leaves me to get the guts out of the pumpkins and get the seeds all ready for baking the next day. Lorelei enjoyed watching and actually lasted a lot longer than we thought she would. I'm waiting to see her reaction to her beloved pumpkins having faces... :) As I'm typing this Brad is still working on the last pumpkin. What a trooper. :)
Lorelei wanting to scoop out the guts herself after watching me do it. Then trying to feed Brad with the scoop. :)
Some fun moments: Brad cutting the paper for the faces and me asking why "because pumpkins are round, and paper is flat." Good thing I have him to tell me that stuff right?
Also Lorelei has been having a lot of fun going behind the chair outside and peeking out. Tonight she started to say her own version of "boo" when she peeked out. SO CUTE!
Before we headed to the store I said "let me go get my shoes" and when I came back Lorelei had gotten one of her shoes out of her diaper bag and was handing it to me to put it on.
Low: sooo tired, are grown ups never not tired?, working on the calendar for MOMS club...computers!
High: fun shopping today, getting some frames to put pictures in, previously mentioned fun moments. :), yummy pumpkin bars that I get to make now too, beautiful weather, getting packages in the mail
We had a beautiful day today which ended up being perfect for our trip to the zoo. MOMS has playgroup Mondays as well as Wednesdays, so I was in charge of choosing location for this one. One of the other moms suggested the zoo because a baby giraffe was born on Wednesday! That's right folks, we got to see a 6 day old baby giraffe. :) SO cute.
This is Lorelei exploring while we waited to see if anyone would show up to join us. No one had RSVP'd so I figured we might be on our own. We headed in by ourselves, but then one other mom caught up with us at the elephants, not to far into the zoo.
Lorelei was excited to see the Bongos. There was even at least one baby calf to watch as well. :)
The best picture I could get of the new baby giraffe. It is not out for display yet, but obviously you can still see it. It is in a smaller area with its parents. There is one giraffe left out and it was missing its friends...but gave us a nice close look at it!
Normally I'm not big on getting pictures of all the animals at the zoo, but we had an amazing view of the lions this time! They were on top of a huge rock, and we could see two of the four baby cubs.
Lorelei is big into sitting on anything her size lately (don't worry we already got her a chair for Christmas). These are the little steps to go in and look face to face with the groundhogs. She thought it worked better as a seat. The little guy next to her is Alex.
The farm animals are always a hit. Lorelei had no trouble getting up close with the cow and petting its slimy nose, as well as the goat who would rather be taking a nap.
Our first zoo train ride! :) The start of many more to come I'm sure. :)
We enjoyed a great Friday when Sara and Lily came over for lunch. Unfortunately the Bonfiglio's (Melissa, Chase and Kira) had to stay home as Melissa was coming down with something and didn't want to get the kids sick. Turns out she has H1N1, so very thankful she stayed home, but hoping her kids still don't get it and she gets better very soon! After our visit and nap we were excited to get a package from Grandma Stahl with Lorelei's first official Disney movie, Snow White! This picture is her getting started watching it (but a preview for Dumbo). She was not able to watch it all the way through but we are watching it bit by bit. :) Thanks Grandma Stahl!
Saturday was very busy with a baby shower for Mirinda! Their baby is due Dec 18th and we are excited to find out what it is and what name it will have. :) Two of Mirinda's good friends and I did the shower together and many of the ladies who came were from church or Mirinda's work. They enjoyed lots of food, a few games, and of course ooing and aahing at the cute baby gifts! :) Mirinda loves Care bears so that was the theme, as you can see on the table. :)
Sunday is really the reason for the title of the blog. Since I woke up with a stuffy nose and a few other cold symptoms I got worried because Melissa said her H1N1 seemed to start out like allergies...I didn't want to get Lorelei sick or take it to church and get all of them sick as well. After much deliberation we decided to be safe rather than sorry and I went into Patient First to get checked out. The tests turned out negative, thankfully. They looked at me like I was wasting my time coming in and basically said I would know it if I had it...most people are feeling like they get hit by a truck with it. Good to know I was in the clear but sad that I wasted so much time going in.
Then around 11:30 or so Lorelei ended up falling into the balcony door and gashing her head on the frame of the window. She seemed okay after a few minutes of some crying, but we were worried that it might scar, so called the pediatrician, who said to take her to CHKD rather than try some liquid stitches ourselves in case we would get it in her eyes. So we packed up to make ANOTHER trip to the doc. Brad and Lorelei didn't go with me the first time, so this was only their first of the day.
All of technology decided to fail us today as well. We couldn't look up directions because the internet was not working, so we decided to get by on the GPS, which ended up taking us to the wrong location. Thankfully the cell phones did not fail us and we could call Sara with help on the directions. Thank you to the Checks!
After taking twice as long as we thought to get there, we walked into a waiting room PACKED FULL of people...Brad says 70 but I think more like 50 were there...either way it was A LOT. To top it all off there was probably only one other child there for something other than THE FLU! After waiting an hour (knowing we had at least another hour wait before we went in) we decided to ask the nurse if Lorelei would need stitches. She said no (although reminding us she was not a physician of course) so we decided to pack up and get out of the danger zone. Please keep us in your prayers that we did not catch anything while we were exposed.
Okay well not the most fun weekend report and we are really wishing we could rewind the day! At least we will get an extra hour next weekend. :)
Today was our big Trunk or Treat event with MOMS club. I had never done this before, but it was something they seemed to do regularly in the past. We all met at the park, decorated our trunks and brought some treats (or any goodies like pencils, stickers etc) to give to the kidos. We brought little bags of oyster crackers. The weather was absolutely perfect and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. Plus its really just an excuse to see all the adorable costumes! Thought you would have to wait until Halloween for the pink poodle debut but you get to see it early!
For any of you thinking "Really? They are making their daughter a PINK POODLE!?" That was my first reaction to the idea. But three costumes later, it is the best choice. She loves dogs so much, so that is what she HAD to be, and I didn't want people calling her a boy all night trick or treating, therefore, she is a pink poodle! :) She loves it!
Here we have from top left, clockwise...the kids lined up at Joy's car to see the inflatable Scooby Doo! Our "trunk" decorated with whatever we had around the house. I had to haul Brad's huge pumpkin down the stairs...ugh! Lorelei with baby Luke (I think he is a dinosaur). He loved her dog collar. The fab four enjoying their treats, not cooperating for a picture, but we will do better on Halloween. Lorelei eating a powdered donut. All the cars lined up to hand out goodies.
After we were done the kids enjoyed playing at the park. It was a great morning. :)
This week has been a very busy one! Monday we went and made blankets (fleece, you know I'm allergic to sewing) for the NICU babies for our MOMS project. Tuesday we were able to go visit our friends Carly and Silas!
Lorelei always loves going to visit her friends. When I say "do you want to go play with your friends" she says "yeah" (Her version) all excited or just screams her excited screams. We are thankful to have other children for her to play with...and their toys too of course!
Lorelei enjoyed raiding Silas' toys while he was finishing off an unplanned morning nap. Then the kids enjoyed playing together when he woke up, and we took a little walk as well. Then after lunch we headed home for nap. We still had time to kill in the afternoon and it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day so had to get out and enjoy it. We were cooped up with the cold for about a week before this. Lorelei enjoyed seeing the ducks and riding the swing at our little pond.
Wednesday we enjoyed walking to Mt. Trashmore for playgroup. Sara and Lily walked with us so it was great to have company and motivation to get some exercise. Poor Lorelei ended up with a bit of a sunburn on her cheeks! Didn't think about sunscreen in October! Well there are three days of fun, now the busy week continues...
Just wanted to jot down a few things about our girl to take note of our everyday lives and what she enjoys. There are lots of little things I may not think to mention so maybe you will think its interesting as well as informative. :)
So far toddlerhood is challenging but very enjoyable! She has no problem letting us know what she wants no matter how much screaming it takes, and will melt into a puddle when unhappy. Why didn't they tell us about "the terrible ones"?
So many joys make up for the challenges. The huge smile that melts your heart, the laughter at such goofy things, kisses and my favorite - hugs! We are now getting the adorable arms-around-the-neck hugs which just make my day. They are always so spontaneous and special.
Lorelei is also very good at communicating. She takes our hand and pulls us wherever she wants us to go. She also points and goes over to things (like the frig). Lately she has gotten better and better at answering questions with a nod or shaking her head. One example of our communication (or miscommunicating) is this morning. She was in footed pj's (its been very cold this weekend) and was holding out socks for me to put on her. I tried to deter this idea but when she was insistent I figured I better just choose my battles, so put the socks on over her footed jammies...well then as soon as she had those socks on she marched over to the door to go outside! Apparently she has figured out she needs those on to go out and thought that was the magic ticket. :)
Our schedule (new this week as we are now officially done with morning nap):
6:30-7:00 - wake up, play until Lorelei takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen, then eat some breakfast, then play some more
10sih - Go run errands, do MOMS activities, or just play with friends (morning snack in there too)
1ish - afternoon nap
3:00 - play and have afternoon snack, then play some more till Dad gets home, then play some more with Dad!
5:30-6ish - supper
6:45 - bath with Dad
7:00-7:30 - Read book (Time for Bed or Goodnight Moon), bedtime
I know she looks a bit scared but she was actually thrilled when she was getting a crazy ride on Dad's leg!
Favorite things to "play"
OUTSIDE - This girl is going to have trouble this winter! We have had a few rainy cold days lately and she is constantly dragging me to the door whining to go out. I usually have to take her out the front to explain it is raining...doesn't last too long and then I'm being dragged to the door again. What do we do when its nice outside? Anything from a walk around the pond (her highlight being the swing), to just hanging out on the balcony playing with the ball, watching birds, etc. She also loves the park and is very glad when I tell her we are going to play there.
Pretend/Dolls - I have been thrilled that Lorelei plays pretend! She takes her toy dishes and silverware and feeds either us, herself or her dolls the food! She also pours her "tea" into cups (but Dad taught her it was fun to scream into them instead, so that one is more popular). She gives her baby dolls kisses (again more than her parents) and also likes to point to eyes, nose, ears, etc and then points to hers/ours that matches.
Music/TV - She loves music all the time, whether it is her toy dog or house with children's songs, or when we turn on Rascal Flatts while she is eating. She even has her own way of singing that is SO cute. Not able to get that on video but will have to try. She also loves Baby Einstein animals videos and Sesame Street/Elmo's World.
Books - One of my favorite past times! We love to read books and its a great way to get her to settle down for a bit. Her favorites are usually the ones with animals.
Lets Move - Lorelei loves to keep moving! Whether she is spinning, dancing, playing ball or wrestling with Dad (and me sometimes too!) she is always on the go.
Okay I think that's all my brain can think of for now. :) There are so many great things we love about this girl but at least this gives you a taste of what we enjoy!
This weekend was our get-everything-done-on-the-huge-list-that was supposed-to-be-SPRING-cleaning day. :) These are the chores easily put off such as cleaning out closets and purging clothes etc. We did a great job and had a few bags to donate to The Salvation Army...yes even Brad purged! I was very proud of how good he was about getting rid of stuff (for those of you who don't know, this is not in his nature). This picture is just before Brad and Lorelei headed out to walk over to the pet store. It was very cold and cloudy all weekend (great weekend for staying in!) but this girl always has to get out, so this was good chance for me to get a few closets etc cleaned out without her underfoot! As always, the animals were a big hit! :)
We actually ended up taking way more pictures than I thought we would on a work weekend! Since we were stuck inside most of the day, we had to get creative to stay busy. Lorelei is playing in a box, I think while I was cleaning out her closet. The next picture is her new "surprised face" she picked up from one of her books. Its cracks us up!
Then in order to keep Lorelei entertained in her room, I suggested building a fort...well this was way more mess (and included me helping rather than cleaning) than it was worth. I think they both had fun though.
Thankfully we were able to get a lot done during her nap as well!
Sunday was another day of getting chores done (especially during nap) but we did have some fun as well. After church we had a fun "family date" at The Cheesecake Factory. We sat behind the waiter's station so the many waiters/waitresses kept her amused. It also helps that they bring out a child's plate with banana and bread as soon as you get there! It was nice to be able to enjoy going out together.
Just have to show off her church outfit. Love having all these new fall clothes! This one was even consignment!
Another item on the list was baby proofing. I know our child is 13 months and has been walking for a while now, but she really doesn't get into the cabinets (no handles) much at all. Anyway, this is Brad trying to get some stuff installed (ran out of time during nap) with Lorelei trying to help.
Sara, Melissa and I decided we would try and get together for a lunch play date about once a week. This is a great chance for our kids to get to play together as well as a chance for us to chat of course! Poor Chase is the only boy, but seems to have fun anyway. We have fun having an older one around to play with too! This picture is the three girls as he was not wanting his picture taken that afternoon. The children always enjoy being able to play with new toys as well. Lorelei and Lily were both thrilled to be able to play with a kitty and loved the dog in the backyard (they didn't know there were two more upstairs!). Many fun play dates to come!
With Brad working late this evening, Lorelei and I had to get creative. I read about this idea and decided to give it a try - it was a huge hit. :) Rides in the laundry basket! We pull her with a rope up and down the hall. Had to add the blankets for some padding (we do hit a wall now and then) and she had a blast.
That night I ended up going on a baking spree because I had been wanting to make pumpkin cookies (I blame the pumpkin pie candle for smelling so good) and then figured I may as well make muffins as well to use most of the can of pumpkin!
Lorelei snitching a cookie off the table first thing the next morning! What a healthy breakfast!
Brad did such a great job with our jack-o-lanterns! Last night we lit them for the first time before Lorelei went to bed. She loved looking at them but also wanted to grab the candles. Then when we told her "no" she took my hand to let me do it instead! :) She wanted to continue to sit on her pumpkin as well.
Lorelei's First Halloween Picture!
My goodness how much things change in a year! Last year I had to prop Miss Lorelei up against a pumpkin because she couldn't even sit up on her own. :) This year she was climbing on the pumpkins. :)
After running a few errands today we took a trip to the park. It was a high of 78 today and absolutily beautiful in the shade (rather warm without) so it was a wonderful time to play. This is one of our new favorite parks because there are so many trees and I love having a ramp instead of stairs. :)
