Today is the last day to vote!!!! We have until 5:00 pm. Every little vote counts so please go vote.
Funny story. You know I've told yall I'm obsessive compulsive right?!?!? Well, since I found out voting had already started, I developed a strategy. So, I have three computers in my office. I work on my laptop and then I have another laptop and a PC on either side of me. As I work, I've been voting on the other two computers every 30 seconds. So, I've roughly calculated out the votes: If I get at least 60 votes in per computer per hour (at the very least), that would be 120 votes per hour x 9 hours = approximately 1000 votes x 5 days of voting gives us a grand total of 5400 votes plus all your votes out there. Now, you wouldn't think anyone would else in the contest would be as crazy as me but you never know! If we don't win, I'll be in shock!!! And, I would love to meet the person that wins b/c they are obviously more insane and dedicated than me.
Here's the bad news....due to my lack of understanding the directions, some contestants got a two week head start on us so we have a lot of catching up to do. With that, please help and vote as many times as possible today. We'll get the results tomorrow...keep your fingers crossed!!!
Well, summer is finally winding down and it's been a good one. I have to say I'm thrilled the heat is behind us...I hope! Over the past several months we’ve discovered that Lola absolutely LOVES water! I haven’t decided if she loves music or water more. Regardless, they are both something she is clearly very passionate about.
Since moving to Austin, we’ve spent lots of time in, on and around water. Whether it’s getting in the blow up pool in the yard or playing with the water hose or going to the pool at our local park down the street or going to Barton Springs or going to the lake or most recently going to South Padre. Even with all of this water fun, it still seems Lo can’t get enough of it. She has become quite the water baby. She even thinks she can swim on her own. I’ll recap this later.
A couple weeks ago we went back down to the lake and enjoyed a nice weekend with friends. It was great for the kids to play together and entertain themselves while the adults socialized. I laughed so hard the entire weekend. It’s been a while since I've had a real true good laugh….the kind where your abs hurt after you've finally recovered from the emotional fun…I was happy that I was able to have many of those moments over the weekend. We had a absolute blast.
Boat ride. Lo was a little hesitant at first (can you tell by the look on her face?) but she got over that pretty quick.
This is her "Show me your teeth" smile. We can't always get her to smile so we'll say "Show me your teeth" and she gives us a big teeth smile.
Lola is really into driving things right now. She always wants to go play in the car and pretend she's driving. Well, the boat was no exception to this new obsession. She was constantly trying to get in the drivers seat. Mark even let her drive on her own at one point.
Time to get in the water and have some good times!
As mentioned before, we spent an incredible week in South Padre. We were all in heaven! We couldn’t have asked for a better week. Wow, words can’t explain how wonderful it was.
We started the trip off right. As soon as we walked in the condo, Lo immediately started yelling “WATER, WATER, WATER!!!!” Then, she took it upon herself to violently throw up all over the patio. Nice! Not sure where that came from…we think maybe she was car sick b/c she threw up in the house when we got back home.
Once we recovered from that ordeal, it was time to hit the beach. Woohoo!!! This is one of my favorite things to do and as expected Lola loved it too. Over the week we picked up shells, played in the sand, played in the ocean (I was on the constant look out for sharks especially after watching the scary documentary showing all the shark attacks around the country), Clay & I attempted to ride the waves on the boogie board (this was surprisingly a ton of fun), we played in the pool, I read 1000 pages and of course sunbathed. It was all greatness!
Although Lola thoroughly enjoyed the beach, it seemed she enjoyed the pool even more. As noted above, she felt she could swim on her and needed no assistance from the parental guidance. The first day at the pool Lola became very frustrated by the fact that Clay and I were holding her. She would say very sternly to Clay “Clay, Walk away!!!” (Yes, she is now calling Clay by his first name too). She did not want us anywhere around her as she wanted to swim on her own. Clearly she didn’t understand that if we actually did “walk away” she would sink. This is something we didn’t want to prove to her so we had to come up with some sort of solution to this little issue. We ended up buying a little life jacket that allowed Lo to swim around the pool on her own. She was in heaven. By the end she was jumping of the steps and the side of the pool and swimming around like a natural. We’ll definitely have to start swimming lessons next summer b/c she is 100% ready to rock the lessons.
So, Amber was able to vote yesterday. I think I have the rules & regs wrong. It appears you can start voting now. You can also vote multiple times every 30 seconds. So, if you have a free day, vote multiple times. If you would like, please go ahead and vote every 30 seconds for the next week 24 hours a day every day! That would be great if you could help us out. We'll share the love down the road I promise.
To recap, go ahead and vote as many times as you can starting NOW and then make sure to vote October 1st multiple times too. Unfortunately, the rules are not clear so we want to do whatever we can to make sure we win!!!
We all think our kids rock right?!?!?!? Well, ours really does. This is one area where I'll be real blunt. Seriously, the child loves music! And good music at that. In this particular picture Lo was jammin' out to Wilco...head banging and all. Anytime good tunes come on the radio or tube, she throws her arms in the air and claps singing along to whatever great band happens to be playing.
So, here's the important part of this blog....there is a competition called Kids that Rock on the KGSR radio station. We've entered Lola in the competition with this picture. We need EVERYONE to vote for Lola on Thursday, October 1st. Our goal is to win two three day passes to the fabulous Austin City Limits festival. This is a $400 value!!! If we win, then Molly & Ben will be able to join us for an experience of a lifetime.
To recap - On OCTOBER 1st, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to the website below and vote for our little Lo Bear. You know she is a rockin' kid so just do it!!!
Ok. I'm going to post a mean blog. Well, it's not really mean I don't guess...maybe just some good critical criticism. We all need that every once in a while right!?!?!?
I don't understand Rachael Zoe whatsoever! Why in the world does she wear so much make up? Doesn't she realized she would be much prettier with less? Isn't less more? And, why she always complaining about how the media thinks she's too skinny but yet she prances around in front of the camera asking if she looks too skinny? I'm ok with her size but the fact that she's ALWAYS talking about it drives me insane. Maybe the media wouldn't be on her back about her weight if she didn't talk about it so much...maybe she's even brought this upon herself. You think? And, why does she always wear big huge bell bottom jeans? I mean...aren't you a stylist? Don't jeans make an outfit? I understand wearing them ever so often but seriously can't you ever wear some skinny jeans or maybe just some boot cut jeans. And, the most frustrating thing about Rachael Zoe, why does she always wear sunglasses inside and at night? All I have to say about this question is "SERIOUSLY". HUH!!!
I'm sure it's fairly obvious but Rachael Zoe really frustrates me so I figured I could get my anger out on the blog. This is why I say "Oh Rachael Zoe". Granted, I love the show and can't not watch it and I actually like her a lot but I just don't understand her. I mean the constant complaining. COME ON Rach!!! You work in the fabulous fashion industry and your job is to run around picking out clothes for beautiful celebrities and attending rockin' parties. How hard can it be? I guess any job is a job but in this economy I'm not so sure she should run around complaining about hers. HUH again!!! Not only that but the constant complaining about the media terrorizing her. Come on Rachael....you know you love it!!! Why else would you talk about it so much when you know cameras are recording you? And, if you hate the attention so much, then why do you have a show exposing yourself to millions of people?
Ok. I got it all out now! If you haven't seen the show you should watch it. It's full of greatness but I must pre-warn that the amount of make-up worn, the amount of bell bottoms to be seen, the amount of complaining to be heard can possibly send you overboard!
With that said, she is a great stylist and her sense of style is right up my ally. Her website http://www.rachaelzoe.com/ also gives some excellent fashion advice along with her "must haves" for the upcoming season. Gotta love that! I also LOVE watching the fashion on the show. Whether it's NYC fashion week or just an outfit she's putting together for Liv Tyler, it's all fab. Watch it! It's fun!
Once again, I’m so far behind on the blogs. I don't know how this keeps happening. Time flies! I have to get into a blog writing routine again. I think I feel it coming on. Especially since Lola continues to amaze us by constantly saying or doing something new and different. She makes us uncontrollably laugh out loud on a daily basis!
You know, I’ve always heard the toddler years are amazing and each “milestone” is even more exciting than when they are infants. I remembered reading a line in the great book Naptime is the New Happy Hour by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor. After she quoted the horrors of parenting a toddler she also noted the good news which was:
"Parenting a toddler is also a lot more rewarding. Baby milestones may seem exciting at the time, the first time your baby rolls over you may want to call everyone in your electronic address book , and when your baby takes the first steps you'll be tempted to send out a professional press release.....I agree the year between zero and one is chock full of exciting firsts but if you can believe it, toddler milestones feel a lot more monumental."
I never believed this would be possible as I was one of those moms who sent a mass text message out to everyone the first time Lola sat up on her own. But now I completely understand what she's saying. The author also continues on to say one of my favorite lines in the book:
"There is something about seeing my daughter ride her little Radio Flyer tricycle for the first time that made me want to stuff her back in my womb and refuse to let her ever leave the safety of my body again - but not before filling an entire digital memory card with pictures."
Oh, too funny and so true. Love it!!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a toddler as it helps you laugh at some of the things that have a tendency to drive you insane and it also makes you feel like your not so alone in the crazy toddler world after all.
With that, I have to say, Lola never fails to suck me in more and more as we continue to see her personality develop and as she continues to do new things. She is a quirky little thing. Some say I’m quirky so maybe she comes by this honestly. She's also kind of insane in ways. The things that come out of her mouth never cease to amaze me. Like yesterday when she was fake talking on my cell phone she said "Hello. This is Amy Odom at Marsh". Seriously, where does she come up with this stuff. Or, last night Lola wasn't feeling good and as expected she woke up in the middle of the night. We gave her some Tylenol and put her in bed with us for a bit. She took it upon herself to sing at the top of her lungs (basically screaming) for no less 30 minutes...ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, etc. This was 3:00 a.m. mind you so it became irritating considering we were trying to catch some ZZZs. We finally took her back to bed and she was quite as could be. Was she just trying to irritate us to no end??? If so, accomplished! She's also so sweet and compassionate. The other morning she crawled in bed with me as I was sleeping and all I heard was "Mommy, I love you" then she gave me the sweetest kiss right on my lips. Oh, it just melts me. On top of her quirkiness, insaneness and sweetness, Lo's independent nature is a bit eerie...especially when you think of the teenage years...eek! When Lola wants something, she's going to go for it even if she has to go at it alone. She's also very daring and seems to have no fear whatsoever. She definitely didn't take after me or Clay here. All of this really makes for some fun times and some great "monumental" moments. I can’t wait to update you on all that is new but for now, it’s time to back-up and recap.
A couple weeks ago we went to Batfest on South Congress bridge. There were bands, food/drinks, shopping and fun for the kids. Lola had a great time and by the end she was walking around that festival as if she owned the streets. Moving in and out of the crowds and waving her arms like you wouldn’t believe. At the festival, she had her first pony ride. As you know, Lo loves “horseys” so it was great for her to finally be able to see and ride a “horsey”. She was a little hesitant at first but it didn’t take long for her to find out that she loved it and didn’t want to get off. Here are some pics from our fun at Batfest.
It was 105 decrees in Austin this day. Wowsers!!! We got Lo a snow cone to help cool her off. She thoroughly enjoyed. By the end, we were all soaked with sweat.
Lo's first pony ride! We actually kind of felt sorry for the ponies but lets not talk about that.
She's getting geared up to own the streets. Before long she was on her own...no need for Mommy's hand anymore. It should be noted I had ran 7 miles this same morning (hence the reason why I'm so swollen in all the pics). By the end of the day, I had easily gotten in 9 miles of exercise if not more. Amazingly, I wasn't the least bit sore the next day!
We decided to take a break from the heat and walked downtown to one of our favorite new restaurants - Franks. Hot dogs galore. It is so good! Lo took a huge gulp of water and gave a big refreshing "Awwwww" for the camera.
She loves the hats! I've developed a recent love for hats also.
Clay and Lo being goofy!
I love good 'ol family time....there is nothing better!
Well, we had another incident yesterday and Lola officially has Shiner #2. Not even 3 weeks after Shiner #1 mind you. Thankfully I did not have one of those "I'm a terrible mother" moments as once again it didn't happen in my presence...what a relief! Of course, I'm sure this will come all too soon.
Anyway, every Wednesday is "Wheels Day" at Lo's school. All the kids bring their bikes and/or tricycles and they all play and ride. Well, apparently Lo was riding the tricycle and took a big 'ol fall. She face planted right into the gravel. They said she was a real trooper. She got right up and didn't cry or make a peep. Once they wiped all the dirt off her face, they were horrified to see it was pretty scraped up. They called me at work to tell me about the little incident. I'm pretty sure they didn't know how I would react. Who knows...I could be one of those crazy moms that flip out every time my child stumbles. Obviously, I'm not one of those moms and I told Miss Corazon not to worry that it's all just part of being a toddler. They said they gave Lo two ice cream treats yesterday afternoon b/c they felt so bad.
We woke up this morning and the scrapes looked much better but her black eye was much more colorful and was swollen up pretty bad. She was pretty fussy so I'm wondering if it was bothering her. She kept saying something hurt but I wasn't able to distinguish what exactly hurt. Lets hope this is the last big fall for a while!
Today is the last day to vote!!!! We have until 5:00 pm. Every little vote counts so please go vote.
We decided to take a break from the heat and walked downtown to one of our favorite new restaurants - Franks. Hot dogs galore. It is so good! Lo took a huge gulp of water and gave a big refreshing "Awwwww" for the camera. 
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