Weekend Away

Ryan and I went to Kansas City for a Royals game this weekend so Lilah spent Saturday and Sunday with Grandma Julie and Grandpa Loyed. She was so excited to play with her toys at grandmas that she wouldn’t even give mom and dad a hug and kiss goodbye and although it nearly broke my heart, I do appreciate that she feels comfortable being with left with other people. She kept busy with swimming in her giant crab pool and listening to music at the arts festival, playing with Uncle Ry and Frances and visiting Great Grandma Stratton. Here are some pictures to document her adventures:

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday Lilah got to celebrate Daddy’s birthday for the very first time. She started the day off with a bang, waking up early in order to hang flashy Happy Birthday signs from the ceilings and walls of our dining room. She tried to patiently await Ryan’s exit from the bedroom to see her lovely handiwork but patience is not a virtue that our daughter possesses and she ended up crawling into the bedroom to get him before he could come out. She was very excited to give Daddy her gift, a set of Stars Wars pancake molds and a subscription to Draft magazine. After the morning excitement it was time to head to the babysitters house.


The evening brought about more celebrations with a trip to Café di Scala. Lilah had her first bites of the famous homemade cavatelli and red sauce, bites in which she enjoyed almost a little to much for a nine month old. She also got to try a bit of our dessert… something tells me our ladybug is going to be a foodie at a very young age!!! We were both so proud of how well behaved she was, despite being up almost an hour and half past her normal bedtime. Once again I forgot to take pictures (I really need to work on that)but a great time was had by all. Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

So about a week ago I thought it would be a fun idea to enter Lilah into a contest through Parents Magazine. I received an email yesterday saying that Lilah now has a chance to become a weekly favorite but we need your votes to do it (everyone who is entered has the same chance). She is currently number 972 for the week so pass on the following link to everyone you know and lets see if we can get her vote count up! If she were to win the contest she would be able to have a shot to be on the cover of American Baby magazine… pretty awesome!!!

Get your friends and family to vote too! Just forward this email to them or share the link. http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/305293
(For some reason, the link I posted yesterday takes you to someone else’s kid… let me know if this one does as well)

Anyway… this past weekend marked the first in a series of weekends in which our family is incredibly busy. With Lilah’s first wedding (Congrats Katie and Todd), her first trip to the bowling alley, a trip to a bbq festival in Valley Junction and her first sleepover, Lilah was in a constant state of new experiences. She was, as always, perfectly behaved although in her usual manner refused to take naps all weekend. She managed to catch a few minutes of shut eye in the moments spent driving to and from all the festivities but refused to allow herself to sleep too much. In typical Lilah fashion every minute spent sleeping was a chance of missing out on the excitement around her.

I didn't really take any pictures of her this weekend but my aunt Jenny took this picture a few weeks ago at her housewarming bbq. It is one of my all time favorite Lilah pics:



I also thought I would share the result of what happens when mommy is in the kitchen, daddy is outside grilling and Lilah sees an object on the table within her reach:

Parents Photo Faves

Parents Photo Faves
Tell everyone you know to vote for lilah. I will blog more about it tomorrow as I am typing on the keyboard on my phone.

Rebel Yell

Once upon a time in small Midwestern city there lived a man, a woman and a baby. The baby was of the most beautiful variety and quickly captured the hearts of everyone around her. It was a seemingly peaceful existence, and folks would often comment on the good nature of the happy child. But then one day the baby turned 8 1/2 months old and realized she had a voice. And what was once a peaceful home became ripe with the yells, cries and general musings of a little girl we shall call Lilah.

Aw yes, it has happened. Lilah has discovered how to yell and practices any chance she gets, no matter the occasion. Whether it be when we dress her in the mornings or go for a ride in the car, chances are her little voice will be yelling away. I am often left in awe of how such a tiny little person can be so full of noise, personality and spark and am curious to know if this is just a mere glimpse into the future personality of our darling daughter. While it does tend to, at times, get rather noisy in our home, I must admit I love hearing her voice and can’t wait until the day when real words will come out. (So far she does say mama and dada!!)

One thing that really makes her yell…. Grass. Whether it’s the strange texture on her feet when she is used to playing on carpet or if the grass is poky, I guess I won’t ever know. I have been told that this is a common thing with babies…. I am guessing she will soon outgrow it. In the meantime here is a picture to commemorate her experience:




Here is a pic of Lilah doing one of her favorite things: capturing Finn. (Who really could care less for the interaction).

Steady as she goes...

Each day some sort of activity takes place to remind us that Lilah is quickly becoming less of a baby and more of a little girl. The latest example?? She can now pull herself up to a standing position using whatever furniture happens to be around although she usually prefers the bookcase. (We must bolt that to the wall, I have a deep seeded fear that it will topple over). She has discovered that once she is standing even the tiniest of steps will allow her to reach the first shelf and she has taken to standing on the bottom shelf while trying to pull books off of the next one up. She has also realized that the baby gate is a useful ally in fulfilling her quest to stand and she will often pull herself up to watch whatever activity happens to surface in the kitchen (usually Finn eating or us cooking). As of yet there haven’t been any occasions in which she has stood without needing to hold onto something but I have a feeling the day will be here soon!

She likes to show off her vocal skills.

Digging through records. Only eight months old and has already begun to develop a taste for vinyl.

The Zoo

Last Sunday we decided to take advantage of a seemingly gorgeous day and took Lilah on her first trip to the zoo. The day started off with a nice breakfast at Jethros (yes I did find a vegetarian item on the menu), some coffee and then off to the zoo we went. While Lilah is still a bit small to actually enjoy all the animals she was fascinated by the giraffes... the baby goats caught her eye as well. We didn't stay long, it turns out we were fooled by the bright blue skies and as we were nearing the end of our outing the thunder started rumbling. We made it to the car just in time to dodge the rain drops.

It's not everyday you get to have
your picture taken in an egg.

Taking a break on the bench.

Lilah and Daddy

This has nothing to do with the zoo.. it just makes me smile.