P90X

I try to get to the gym at least twice a week, and then the rest of my workouts are either at home (on the treadmill and doing weights) or running outside with Lilah when it's nice. Mandi gave me her P90X videos since she wasn't going to use them, and so I've used those to supplement my at-home workouts (the treadmill can be one of the most boring things). P90X is pretty awesome...challenging workouts and I can do them while Lilah naps or some days (when I'm feeling quite motivated) before she gets up. Lilah must have wanted to try it out because I found her the other day with my bands all wrapped around her. After snapping a few pics, I told her "these are NOT for Lilah" and then put them so she couldn't get to them again. :)

p.s. the thing she's chewing on is a plastic carton of McDonalds fries....just like her mama and daddy....workout so you can eat things like that!

Our Big Girl

I don't think I mentioned this before - but at 8 months and 1 day, Lilah officially started crawling. It took her a few days before she really got the hang of it. For awhile she would do a few crawls, then just roll to where she wanted/needed to go. Then, it was all over. She figured out how to do it efficiently and quickly. It's pretty wonderful in that I can just yell to her where I'm at and she'll come "thump, thump, thumping" down the hall or around the corner to come and find me. I think our very favorite is when Lance gets home though. It's so cute...I have GOT to get it on video this afternoon. I just tell her, "daddy's home!" and she crawls into the kitchen and peeks her head around the cabinets until he walks in. If he doesn't get in as fast as what she thinks he should, then she starts to whine. She gets SO excited to see her daddy. He always washes his hands when he gets home before he'll pick her up. Usually she looks at me like, "why won't he get me?" and I tell her to go get daddy. She crawls like I never see her crawl to the bathroom to wait for him to snatch her in his arms. It's the best feeling and has almost put me in tears so many evenings.
In a month's time she's learned to not only pull herself up on her knees to things, but now up to her feet. Needless to say, this has resulted in her not only getting into EVERYTHING imaginable, but also a lot of bumps and bruises. She forgets sometimes that if she lets go or flails backwards that the hard floors don't feel so good. Lance spent a weekend doing our minimal babyproofing, most of which is almost done (except for a gate to block off our gym).
Sometimes you think, "it can't get any better than this", but then the next week comes and it does. Maybe not better, just equally as amazing and such fun new adventures.

I Love Her

How can you resist this smile?!? She is such a happy girl and is always very smiley and happy. There is not much better in this world than your baby's smile and laughter.

Do I Really Have an 8 Month Old!?

On Monday Lilah turned 8 months old!! I cannot believe that she's THAT close to being a year old. I've already started to talk and think about her 1st birthday!?! Crazy? Maybe...but I am a planner, so I've got to start sooner than later!

Here are 8 things that Lance and I love about our beautiful baby girl:

1. she is way too curious anymore to just lay around...she is crawling/scooching/rolling everywhere (but especially to all the things she cannot have - the computer cord being the #1 most favorite thing)
2. Lilah claps but it's very gentle and looks like the sign for "more" (her hands are closed instead of being open like a clap should be)...she does this with music, with our singing, and at random times when she is happy or proud of herself
3. she has the cutest and cheesiest smile now with 4 teeth!!! it makes me die laughing when she does her huge smile and then it's contagious - we're both then cracking up together for no apparent reason, other than she's the cutest
4. we both absolutely love it when we're holding her and she puts her face right up to our's and then buries her head in our face/head/chest and giggles....that's her way of snuggling and daddy especially loves for her to snuggle with him
5. she does this thing where she scrunches up her nose and then blows out her nose at you....she does it to everyone and thinks that nearly every person we encounter is there to either A. entertain her or B. be entertained by Lilah...please don't ignore her if we walk by you or she spots you...she does not like that :)
6. Lilah does this kind of "dance" where she bobs up and down. Lance loves it when she does it to the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" when he reads it to her at night time...it's now his favorite book for that reason!
7. daddy thought I should put that he loves it that she gets so excited when he gets home...she can hardly stand it until he holds her and whines until he comes to get her
8. Lilah is a talker! She's saying all kinds of "words" and talks to us and anyone who will listen and it's so fun. If I sing in the car, she'll "sing" too.

What a fun age...she is the most perfect little lady!

Photo Session with Jen Finch

Here is the link to the beautiful pictures that our wedding photographer, Jen Finch, took of us and Lilah a few weeks ago. She does AMAZING work and just captured our little baby perfectly. You can see all the photos at: http://www.pictage.com/778160

It's All About A Schedule

Well, after almost 8 months we've FINALLY come to the realization that God gave us a child that desperately needs her schedule and consistency. If not, then all falls to pieces. Literally.
We took our family trip to Leavenworth for our Christmas present - Lance and I thought it would be nicer to have "experiences" as a family than gifts. We like to do that for our anniversary too. We thought we had it all figured out just perfectly, but alas, you throw a stubborn baby in there, and your plans are foiled. ;)
So, to make my long story short....Lilah did NOT nap as planned on the way there. So, between when she woke up from her first nap to bedtime was 9 1/2 hours. Too long for a baby. Way too long. Getting her to bed was easy. She went right to sleep and Lance and I cuddled in this little alcove in our room with a dvd on the computer and snacks all ready to go. She was fast asleep until the end of the movie (I guess we can be thankful for that). Then, to make this story short and less painful to revisit...we all got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep after that point all night! UGH! Luckily Lance steps up to the plate in situations like this, because I melt down in tears and don't function. So he might have gotten 3 hours of sleep as the poor guy worked to get Lilah down much harder than I did.
The place we stayed at was wonderful - the best food and the coolest rooms/cabins. We hope to go back again. However, our plan to travel with the little one was not so successful. Lesson #159= wait to travel with Lilah until she gets a little older, therefore now - we leave her at granny's and we go just the two of us. Got it.

I Got Wanged!

On Wednesday of this last week I met up with my teacher girlfriends for what we thought was some relaxation. There's a place (I'm not even sure of the name) in downtown Kirkland that charges $25 an hour for a "foot massage". I have heard great things about this place and was looking forward to trying it out with Dana and Annie during their winter break too. We walked in and it had quite the Asian flare and there were rows of easy chairs set up in theater style. We expected to talk and visit, but it was very quiet and dark. So, we sat down for our hour of bliss. ;)
So, my massager was Wang...the biggest guy there. No big deal, right? Wrong. The awesome thing about this place is that it's not ONLY a foot massage - but also a head massage, neck, back, leg, and arm massage. The funny/scary thing about it is that it's not only massage, but a slight beating. Not kidding.
Wang started on my head, which felt good...until he stuck his fingers in my EARS. Good thing I cleaned them that morning. Nasty. I mean the guy not only got his fingers in there, but he rolled them around. Then he moved to my arms, not so bad. Felt pretty good actually...but then we all were almost in tears as a lady in the same room started snoring. How she snored while getting this massage I have no idea, but she did somehow fall asleep.
Then Wang got to my legs...yikes. Part of the foot and leg massage felt great. Parts of it made me cringe. He pressed so hard on my foot and I'm assuming it was to get the toxins or something out of my body. And then he started slapping stuff - my feet, my legs, later my back. It was pretty forceful. When I would make faces or laugh because I was in a little shock, he just smiled at me. I don't think he spoke any English. He also cracked all my toes (it still gives me the shivers) and then picked me up and ended the massage with a back crack! I looked at Annie with a look like "Help!" and then we both couldn't control our laughing.
I told her later I wasn't sure if I'd say it "hurt so good" or "hurt real bad" afterwards...but I seem to be fine. And crazy enough, I'd go again. I might request one of the women to do her magic on me and maybe not Wang (aka: sumo wrestler...just kidding, he wasn't quite that big). Now I get to say to everyone and tell the story of getting Wanged, which makes it all worth it. :)