Sometimes, you just GOTA take a nap...

The past week has been busy. We have been working hard at some "sleep training". I figured it was time to address the situation. Lola would cry if I put her down but then smile and want to play when I arrived at the crib to pick her up. Heather promised me that if I stuck it out, her tried and true method would pay off in as little as 3 days. It seemed impossible but.......

She was right.

We changed our previous routine around so now we have snack, bath, story and bed with Ocean Wonders in the background. While the few minutes of crying seemed like HOURS to me, the results were definately worth it. She never cried longer than 5 minutes before I went in to check on her and sooth her. The first night, she fell asleep under our hands when we( Wil and I) were talking to her. By night number 3, all I heard was one little squeek before she drifted off. This is great for many reasons. Firstly, she understands that she can put herself to sleep without being nursed. Secondly, she sleeps through the night( now that I figured out I have to turn her night light OFF and remove her mobile or else she sees her buddies and thinks it's playtime). Thirdly, if she DOES wake up, she can usually fall back asleep herself, unless she is hungry.

Selfishly, I am thinking that I may actually get to go out one evening....

My favorite Bed Head

Lola may still have a bald spot at the back of her head but you'd never know it when I pick her up from her crib in the morning. This was the toothless wonder that greeted me this morning at 7:00 am when I went to see what all the noise was about. She doesn't cry, just alot of ennnnnnnnnnn until someone picks her up. Stay tuned for some photos of the "Melis Curls" that occur after her bath....

Evolution: From Ewok to Sheep

We have finally moved on to our pink "sheepskin" from Raquel. The pink Ewok has offically been sent to retirement in yonder storage box. But I do think this is pretty darn sweet as well....

One and two and three and FOUR

Lola loves her kick toy from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Seb. It is part of our daily routine of fun and games and appears in our morning play session AND our afternoon/evening session with Daddy. I like to think of it as a mini aerobics class to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle". She always kicks harder and laughs longer when I sit beside her and call out encouragement and compliment her "technique". She's pretty good and saving all her energy for one sporatic burst in which her tongue sticks out and all her arms and legs get going....

Isn't it IRONIC

Well, I never thought it could happen. She looks sweet as pie in her new favorite chair, but this little lady has a very definate personality.

After all we did, the pumping, the crying( and not just Lola!), the feeding tubes and the endless attempts to breastfeed, Lola has now made a decision.

NO more bottles allowed-AT ALL.

Yes, I know, I should have been more diligent and continued to bottle feed her even though breast feeding was going so well. What to do now? I have no idea. We are trying to re-train her to use a bottle but so far, it's not going so well. WHO would have ever thought that she would "forget" something she did for the first 5 weeks of her life? NOT ME, that's for sure!

Isn't it ironic?

Smiles and giggles

Lola is all about laughing these days. And she's finally able to sit up on the couch. But you have to stay very close because sometimes when she reaches for something she just topples over and she hasn't quite figured out how to roll yet. She's very, very close to figuring that out though. Any day I expect her to "complete" her roll. Right now she gets up on her side and totters, then falls back.

Necessity- the mother of invention

The problem was simple. I needed to carry the empty basket upstairs to get more laundry but Lola wanted to come too. On a lark, I plopped her in the basket only to discover that she loves it. It is now her new chair while I cook dinner and do other tasks. Goes to show you that kids to like the simplest of things....

V- day

Happy Valentines Day! We have been trying to keep ourselves busy with all this cold weather. This is the card we made for Wil when it was blizzarding and too cold to leave the house.

HEY! What are you looking at?

Our darling little girl in her skivies, of course! Check out those baby rolls.....

L-O-L-A Lola...

It's been too cold to do much this week. While it has been nice and sunny the wind chill is making almost impossible for me to take Lola out for very long. This is what happens when we have to stay inside, I have no more "games" to play and Mom and Lola get bored.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, Place your bets!

As most of you have seen Lola's eyes are blue. As most have you have heard,I was really hoping they would stay that way. I was convinced( and convincing myself) that they were going to stay blue just like her Dad. Now I'm not so sure. They are definately changing these days and I think I see some little spots of brown. Only time will tell but is sure is fun to guess!

Toys, toys and more toys

But these are some of her fav new toys given to us by Lyndsey and Laurence. They are perfect for practicing lifting with two hands, have lovely textures and are great for chewing on( you'll notice a pattern here) Oh, and she is amazed at the duck sound. It always makes her stop crying from sheer confusion at what the sound is and where it is coming from. Not that is what I call success!

Our New Trick!

Lola has started to "airplane" on her stomach! This is very exciting news for all of us. She can also hold her head up and look around and use her arms to prop herself up. Stay posted as there will be some new photoshoots coming up........

Who needs Star Wars when you've got your own Ewok?

Lola was dubbed the "Pink Ewok" by Jane. I must agree, wholeheartedly.

Lola is about to grow out of this suit so I figured I better get a good shot before that happens. Special thanks to Jovan for this gift. It has been instrumental in our daily walks which is good for the enjoyment of Lola, and the sanity of her mother. Now, if that blasted "Bundle Me" I bought in December EVER arrives we will be moving on to that for our walks and car rides. Not as cute but it will do the trick.

Our Favorite Thing

Nothing beats a good hand to suck on, or arm or neck..... well, you get the idea.......

Our very own tiny toes

AHHH finally.... something to chew on!

She has finally figured it out. Toys are not only for kicking and grabbing-they are also for sticking in her mouth. Alternately, she LOVES to suck on her fist or palm or whatever part of her hand she can jam in her mouth. Combined with all the drool and bubbles she is making, it makes for alot of mouth wiping and giggles. No soothers though, those she just spits out. But beware, if you get your hand or arm near her mouth, she'll latch on before you know what's happened.

Wil has been working hard on her "training". This is their quality time while I make dinner or take a minute to relax. It consists of a bit of flying, brief periods of standing and then "sitting up like a big girl" on Daddy's knee. Oh, and a WHOLE lot of giggling for everyone involved.

It has been really amazing to watch Lola change over the past few weeks. She no longer wants to nestle in our chest to fall asleep and " high shoulder perch" has been mostly replaced by the lower face out "hip ride" so that she can move all her arms and legs while looking at everything around her. She loves to watch the Baby Mozart DVD( many thanks to Heather for this!), she loves to sit for stories and she loves to sit up on our knees and wobble her head around. I am constantly amazed at each new thing she learns. As I packed away another batch of newborn clothes this evening that no longer fit, I realized that everything "they" say is true: babies change and grow up fast. Through all poopy diapers, sniffles, crying jags and middle of the night wakings, I love her more each day. She is an endless source of delight and laughter for Wil and I. She's good, ( mostly) clean fun.

Movie Date

Lola and Jack watching Baby Mozart. It appears Lola is going to be one of those kids that talks through everything.

Our lady in Pink

Happy New Year! We hope everyone's holidays were filled with fun and Santa was very good to you. Santa Wil was very good to me and spoiled me with some special jewelry containing Lola's birth stone. It was a wonderful surprise, especially for someone who isn't normally a jewelry kind of girl. Wil picked the perfect design, simple and timeless. I'm so lucky.

We had a great time visiting our families this year. We spent Christmas day at the farm. As usual Mom had the house decorated to perfection. Lola's favorite thing was the lights on the Christmas tree. The photo above is Lola's Christmas outfit. She matched very well in my mom's living room. We got to visit with family but not long enough to squeeze in any games nights. Next year!

We spent New Years in Windsor with Dave and Heather as our ever gracious hosts. Lola had her first movie date with Jack and Baby Mozart. She seemed to really enjoy it judging from the jiggling chair and squeals I hear while we ate dinner. Sarah and Seb took great care of us during our stay and we were able to squeeze in a lot of family visits now that we don't have to travel so far. Lola even got to go to the Windsor art Gallery with Bill, Wil and I. After a quick snack, she slept through most of it. All is all, a very successful holiday.

Our Little Thinker

She's definately thinking hard about something....