Camden Comes to Visit

So now that I'm banging these out, the dates are all out of order! Yikes...I need to keep up with my blogging. :)

Allison and Camden came to see us a few weeks ago (during our sleep training week). It was fun to see him and Allison - both mommy and baby look wonderful. Camden at this stage doesn't really care about Lilah, but she sure was interested in him. She tried to hold his hand and grabbed for him, but I was holding her with a tight grip because I know what she does when she gets ahold of my hair. Ouch! Camden laid on Lilah's Baby Einstein mat and she in her jumperoo...she could hardly jump because she just wanted to watch him. And, he could have cared less. We hope to get together with Cam and his mama again soon!

The Not So Spooky Halloween!

What fun!! Jen from our PEPS group and her little family (Luke and Leah) had us over for a little Halloween bash. It was perfect! We of course only stayed for a short while, as did all the other families, since the babes can only take so many photo sessions. I have so enjoyed my PEPS group and all the moms. It was nice to meet a lot of the daddies we've heard so much about, and of course to see all the cute babies in their Halloween costumes. Lilah was a flower, and the most beautiful one at that. We lined the babies up along the couch a few times to take pictures, and then laughed at them as they touched each other, looked at each other with wide eyes, and then lost it and cried.

Afterwards we trick-or-treated at Brian and Connie's up the street (we go to church with them) and then came home (candyless since Lilah is on a diet of pureed sweet potatoes, peas, pumpkin, banana and applesauce). After we got her to bed that night Lance and I sat on the couch, had dinner together and watched a movie.

Not that I was ever a big Halloween goer-outer, but my how our lives have changed. On the Saturday night of Halloween all we wanted to do was be together as a family....didn't want to go out and get dressed up, but were just happy as clams being at home with our baby girl. Perfect 1st Halloween for our pretty pink flower!

Sleep Training

Well, I won't put a lot about this as I like to forget the week of hell that I went through. And I don't say that lightly, but I feel like it was pretty close to what hell might be like (although I never plan on actually knowing this). What can be worse than hearing your baby cry and scream for hours on end, daily? The answer happens to be: a baby that doesn't sleep. That is worse. But at the time, it felt pretty horrible.

For a week straight Lance and I endured "sleep training" with Lilah. Let's be honest here - the little girl has never really liked to sleep. You know when people say all newborns do is eat, sleep and poop. Well, Lilah ate...she pooped...but she DID NOT sleep (at least not much). After her cold where I held her for two nights in a row to help her to actually breathe, it all went downhill. She didn't like to nap and didn't like to sleep at night. I felt like a zombie and acted like one too, or at least like a very nasty housewife to my poor hubby. After a restless and tough weekend, we went and got a book and started our training.

To spare you from the details I'm sure you've heard (Lana and Krissy)..after a week our baby is doing much better. She is so much better rested and she takes usually 3 naps a day (which would be less if she would actually sleep past about 5:30 - obviously we're still working on a few things).

Better Late than Never?

So, I've decided I'm the worst blogger...or pretty close. I recently looked at some of the girls' pages in my PEPS group who clearly write weekly. I'm lucky if I get an entry done every three weeks. Oops!

My new goal is to at least put a few photos and a quick little note every week. I don't even know if anyone really follows this, that's why I hesitate to spend tons of time on something that my mom and Lance's parents follow....but, if just for them, I'm going to work towards my goal anyhow! ;)

p.s. this pic is from a few weeks ago...we had to get a picture of this cute outfit granny got, as it no longer fits. boo!

Mommy Happy Hour (or not-so Happy Hour?)

Some girls from college and another girlfriend of ours all got together for a little "mommy happy hour" at our house yesterday....although for some I'm not sure if running around chasing their 1 and 2 year olds was too "happy". :) It was nice though to get together and not have to worry about someone watching the babes...I think next time it'll be a mommy happy hour minus kiddies and babies. So nice to catch up with all you girls and looking forward to the next one!

Hopefully by then Gretchen and Kent will have their new baby boy (going to be induced today!) and Gretch can get out for a little break with us to celebrate!!!

The Adventures of Solids...

You'd think that this little girl cannot be related to Lance and I. The two of us love food - most things we'll eat, and we truly enjoy food and eating. :) Lilah on the otherhand, not so much. To nurse her now, I have to go into her room, close the blinds, turn off the lights, shut the door and I can't really talk to her. Anything is distracting and much more fun than eating. So, we've tried solids off and on for about a month now. I'm getting serious about it now as she grabs at our food and stares at us as we put each bite into our mouths. So far she's not much of a fan of solids either. Most of it ends up on her face or bib, but I'm going to try once or twice every day to try to get her to actually swallow some of the yummy rice cereal (you know if you've tasted it that it is not good) and sweet potatoes (which are pretty tastey, and mixed with some breastmilk are even better). Here are some of the pictures of our feeding adventures!

First Family Pumpkin Patch

What a perfect thing to do on a sunny, fall afternoon! Although Lilah didn't know what was going on other than that we kept sitting her down in awkward positions and places and singing her name to get her to look at the camera, we had to take a trip to the local pumpkin patch.

There's one only minutes from our house and it was great! We got some kettle corn and a pumpkin for Lilah and of course got the great shots. She was such a good girl and I think just liked looking around at all the big kids. And yes, we are those parents that put their baby's head in that cutout (see the picture) for a cheesy shot.