VOTE for LOLA

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!!!

I believe she is on Page 7 now: http://www.kgsr.com/acl/KidsThatRock.aspx

Water Baby

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.

Some beach moments!

Two videos showing some fun beach and pool moments!


Make a Smilebox slideshow

URGENT: Kids that Rock Part II

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!!!

http://www.kgsr.com/acl/KidsThatRock.aspx

Kids that Rock!

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!!!

http://www.kgsr.com/acl/KidsThatRock.aspx

Oh Rachael Zoe

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!

It's time to back-up and recap

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!

Shiner #2

Angle 1

Angle 2

Angle 3

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!

Happy Friday!!!

Doesn't this face make you happy?!?!?!?

It usually makes me VERY happy to see Lo's beautiful face but this morning was a different story. Lola decided to wake up around 6:13 a.m. bright eyed and bushy tailed. I was very, very very tired and really wasn't in the mood for play time. She proceeded to run around our room laughing and talking. Took everything off my bedside table and kept saying "Here'ya Mommy, Here'ya Mommy". At least she was calling me "Mommy" rather than the usual "Amy". She was also trying to drink/eat all of my medications sitting on the table which included Chloraseptic, Zicam and Sudafed....I had a little cold this week. She then spilled a glass of water all over my book. She was punching on my cell phone and acting like she was talking to who knows who. She kept saying "poopy, poopy" or "tee-tee, tee-tee" as she knows this will usually get me up to change her diaper but not even that would work this morning. I kept saying "Lo, come lay with Mommy & Daddy or go to your room and play". Nope. She continued to stay right where she was. Apparently, she really wanted us to wake up. We finally gave up and roused out of bed around 7:00 a.m. which isn't too early so I can't complain I guess. Fun times!!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!!

Obsessed with shoes

I have a ton of work to get done over the next couple hours so don't have much time today but thought I would take a quick break and post a blog. Lola has developed a new obsession for shoes. I'm not saying this is a good thing but I have to say she comes by this honestly as I too love shoes. I was just thrilled when I found these adorable shoes at the Gap.

When Lola got home yesterday I was ready to try the shoes on her to make sure they fit and they fit like a glove. Then I put them back in the shopping bag so I could hide the purchase from Clay (he says she has too much stuff...I don't know why he thinks this) and thought I would phase them in slowly and maybe he would never notice. Well, Lola wasn't having that. She threw one of her little fits and kept saying "Want shoes on, Want shoes on, Want shoes on". I tried to put an old pair on her and she didn't want them. She only wanted her new little pink patent leather shoes. At that point, I let her wear them and she absolutely LOVED them. She kept saying "walk outside" over and over. So, we went for a long walk outside and she just pranced up and down the street in her new shoes.

Then, this morning I was looking for her sandals everywhere but couldn't find them. Well, Lo took it upon herself to go into my closet where the shopping bags were hidden, pulled out the Gap bag, pulled out her brown tennis shoes and once again shouted "Want shoes on, Want shoes on, Want shoes on" and she did this right in front of Clay...exposing my purchase. Man, I'll have to work on her there...she needs to learn to be inconspicuous about some things...right??? Anyway, once again, she thought she was "Miss Thing" prancing around in her shoes. She couldn't wait to get outside to try them out. Clay loved them too!

Look how cute these shoes are that I found on my new fav shoe website - http://www.littlemonkeytoes.com/. I love them! The problem....well, they are $119....Seriously! But, I have a solution, my mom is going to buy some converse and we're going to try to make some ourselves. They will be cute, cute, cute!!!! I bet they'll even be cuter than these...can't wait!Oh, we try not to spoil the little girl but sometimes it's hard when it comes to shoes (and maybe clothes too...I'll save that for another blog)!

I'm haunted...

I'm haunted! By the Twilight series. I know I've referenced these books in past blogs and they are literally haunting me. Why? Well, I can't read anything else until I finish them. Oh, I guess this is part of my obsessive behavior. So, I finally finished New Moon last night. The 2nd book in the Twilight series. It was ok. I hear the last two are fab so I knew I had to get through it in order to move forward to the next one. Do you want to hear how it ends??? Well, there were obviously vampires involved and werewolves and Edward and Bella end up back together happily ever after...imagine that!!!

Anyway, I'm alone tonight. Clay and Lo went to visit his parents in Baird. Clay's dad recently had open heart surgery so they went to Baird to check in on everyone and help out for a day or so. Unfortunately, I had to stay back for a couple reasons:

1) I had to run 5 miles this morning. I've really been slacking with my running so I knew I couldn't miss another weekend run. I was so happy to meet three girls that I clicked with wonderfully and we will be true running partners for the next couple months as we prepare for the half marathon. Then, hopefully the full marathon.

2) I have to work. Yes, work on the weekend....Ugh!!! Lola's school was closed on Thursday and Friday for staff development so I had to miss some work unexpectedly. I didn't want to take vaca days so I decided to make up the hours this weekend. I got 5 hrs in today. Woohoo! I'm very proud of myself as it is not easy to force yourself to work on the weekend. I need to work another 6 hours or so tomorrow...then I'll be caught up and ready to start the work week off right on Monday.

Now it's Saturday evening and I'm winding down for the night. I can't remember the last time I had a night alone. It's been ages. Maybe before Lo was born. Well, there was one other time but I was sick throwing up so that doesn't really count. So, what are my plans??? Well, I'm going to kick back, watch the movie Twilight for the fourth time (Yes, I know...obsessive! Did I ever tell you I watched Sweet Home Alabama in the movie theater 7 times...Yikes...obsessive again! Where do I get those from??? I think my dad) and get pumped to start reading Eclipse (3rd book of the series). I'll end the night reading and being haunted by gorgeous vampires and werewolves. I hope to blow through a couple hundred pages tonight!!! I have to say this is a fabulous way to spend an evening.

Lo's 1st shiner

1st Shiner! Poor baby girl!

She actually has a little knot on her forehead too but I wasn't able to capture in the photos. She's a tough one!

At least she's still smiling...shiner and all!

Well, Lola has her first shiner. I'm happy to say this did not happen in my presence, therefore, I didn't have one of those much dreaded "I'm a terrible mother" moments. So, who's presence did it happen in??? Well, none other than Mena (my mom), Memaw (my grandmother) and Aunt Bobbie's (my aunt) presence. Hmmmm!!!! Yes, Lo fell straight off the porch with everyone watching. After the fall, when my mom saw Lola's eye, she had deja vu of when I was about 18 months and had my first shiner. Apparently, Memaw was driving me in her car and I was standing up in the front seat when she had to slam on her breaks and I went flying into the dashboard. Boy, how times have changed. Can you imagine having a 18 month old standing in the front seat in today's world??? Anyway, according to their story, there was really nothing they could have done to prevent Lo's fall/injury. It's all just part of being a toddler and I'm surprised it didn't happen before now!!!

I know I'm pretty far behind on my blogs. Once again, things have been crazy around here...never ending I swear. Just 3 weeks ago, I was going to tell you that Lo could say her alphabet from A to F and could count from 1 to 7. How quickly that has changed! She now can say the entire alphabet! It's adorable as she puts so much expression into it when she recites the song. And, she can count from 1 to 10! Wowsers. Crazy how quickly they learn! She can also sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". She uses the little hand movements on when she sings these songs. She tries to sing "Rock-a-Bye Baby" but this one hasn't been perfected yet. Finally, she sings a very special song called "Lola is a Good Girl". Clay's grandmother, Baba, wrote this song and sang it to Clay and Molly growing up. Here's how it goes:

Lola is a good girl yes she is I say

She will run and holler all the live long day

And when the day is over Lola goes to bed

And sleeps and sleeps til morning just like a sleepy head

Lola Lola is a good girl

Lola Lola is a good girl

Clay and I can even harmonize on this one. We've actually developed some stellar harmony on the Alphabet song too. We're elated that Lo can sing along with us now!

Germaphobia

Definition of Germaphobia/Mysophobia: Mysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contact with dirt, to avoid contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is often referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. Kaitlyn Gallagher in 1879[1][2] when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands. This phobia is sometimes referred to as germophobia (or germaphobia, not to be confused with Germanophobia), a combination of germ and phobia to mean fear of germs, as well as bacillophobia and bacteriophobia.

I'm sure you're wondering why in the world I would randomly educate you on the terms germaphobia and mysophobia. Well, I fear that Lola has potential of being one. Oh yes...she is showing all the signs. It's actually kind of funny. Well, as long as it doesn't become a true OCD issue. Anyway, for a while, anytime Lo's hands get dirty (specifically when she's eating) she'll reach out and say "here'ya, here'ya, here'ya" and wants me to wash her hands off. This really happens when she eats avocados as they can get real messy. I would always wash her hands with little wipes but that's not good enough for her anymore. Now, she actually wants to run her hands under the faucet and wash them with soap. Over the past couple weeks, I've seen Lo's need to have clean hands escalate to another level. If we are eating or putting on lotion or just heading out the door to go to school, she'll say "wash hands" and reach up. So, I put her hands under the faucet and then she feels all better.

I must preface, Lola has never been afraid to dig down deep and play in the mud, sandbox, etc. as noted in these pics taken yesterday in the yard:

Dirty girl!!!

Slipping and getting more dirty!

Slipping and now have a dirty dirty bum!

Now, it's garden time!But, the other day when we were playing with the hose, naturally, Lo's feet/sandals got a little dirty. She tried to spray them down with the water hose but wasn't able to get them completely clean as she was standing in a puddle of muddy water. Then she said "Feet...dirty, dirty" and proceeded to head up the stairs, take off her shoes, walk to the front door, went in the house and then straight to the bathtub. I guess it was bath time! She again said "Feet...dirty, dirty" and threw her leg over the tub trying to get in. So, I started running the bath water and got her in the tub. When she got in, she immediately started putting her feet under the faucet and obsessively washed her feet over and over. I wonder if she fears having permanent Safeway meet like her mama has???? Anyway, it's all pretty funny. When we went to school the next morning, she saw her sandals on the front porch and once again said "Shoes...dirty,dirty". Then when I picked her up from school she was playing outside and her shoes were dirty and she wanted them off as soon as we got in the car. She's a real hoot isn't she!!!!! Here's a pic of Lo washing her feet off after her mud fun yesterday:

With this, do you think we have a potential germaphobe on our hands?????

Tree swing...no more!

Well, I have some very depressing news. Something that no woman would ever want to admit. But, in order to move forward towards closure, I figured I would go ahead and be open and honest about yesterdays happenings. Lola and I were swinging on our fab tree swing (seen in the "Great father/daughter moment" post on 7/15). As we were swinging along having a glorious time, the swing made a funny noise then suddenly busted out of the tree causing us to fall to the ground right on our bums. My tailbone doesn't feel too good today. Yes, it completely busted when we were swinging on it! Can you believe?!?!?! When it happened, Lola's eyes were wide open and she said "Swing broke...OOOHHH NOOO!!!" and continued to say this over and over. I wonder if she was trying to rub it in my face? Ha,Ha. I know she wasn't intending to do that but I do wonder if the swing busting out of the tree should tell me something???? I mean it can sustain my hubby who weighs 225 lbs but it can't hold me...hmmm...that's interesting. Over the past 6 weeks, I've gone down a size in clothes so I thought I was doing good but the swing has proven me wrong. Guess it's time to really buckle down on the diet and exercise!!!

So, while I have you here and have revealed my very depressing news, I guess I'll go ahead and reveal some uplifting news too. Adam and Brana found out they are having a baby girl! YEA!!! So, now Lo will have a boy cousin and girl cousin close in age. We're elated and are all in high spirits! Brana's due date has also been moved from December 14th to December 7th. Oh, how a week can make such a big difference towards the end.

In honor of cousins, I thought I would attach a couple cute pics of Lola and her cousin Doss. They are so cute together! Doss is 7 months and is growing like a weed. I continue to tell Tia Molly and Tio Ben they'll be amazed by all the wonderfully exciting things Doss will start doing over the next couple months....crawling, pulling up, saying words, etc. It's all too much fun! Enjoy the pics....

Lola and Doss rockin' out with their head phones. Very cool and just perfect for a concert going baby. The headphones help protect their little eardrums when the music is loud.

Uncle Clay and the babies.

We're all taking the babies for a stroll in the wagon. Lola kept stealing poor baby Doss's hat. I swear my waist isn't as big as it looks in this picture. Doesn't the camera add 10 lbs??? Or maybe it's the dress? Either way, I don't think I'm as wide as this picture portrays. Molly was also complaining about the way she looked in her dress...she too thought she looked wide but I thought she looked slim and trim.

Ahhhh...the sweet babies!!!

Lola got on the ground with Doss and Guthrie. She was being very sweet and gentle thank goodness as that's not always the case...she patted him and tried to give him kisses.

Our bundle of joy...

See the joy written all over her face...lovely!!!

Our little bundle of joy has officially become a true toddler and this is clear by the lovely fits she gives us often. Lately, it seems the "joy" part is not always there.

Now, what do I mean by this? Well I mean if Lola isn't clinging on to my leg or doesn't get exactly what she wants at a particular moment, she has a tendency to either whine and/or give out red faced blood- curdling screams and at times will even throw herself on the floor in the process and when you try to "redirect" her to something else she rolls around shouting a sharp but loud "NO"..."NO". She's thrown one or two of these lovely fits in public which I won't tolerate. In addition to all of this fun, she's still hitting (usually me or poor lady bird) and throwing things (usually at either me or poor lady bird). To make matters worse, she will no longer stay put long enough in a restaurant for Clay and I to enjoy a meal. It doesn't take long before she is whining and then starts swinging her whole body from side to side in the high chair. What else? Well, she won't stay still long enough for me to change her diaper...she actually runs from me which translates into lots of tinkle on the floor. She also isn't content in the car seat...if she's not sleeping or eating in the car then she's whining or once again throwing a fit. Finally, when it's time to go to bed she's screaming at the top of her lungs and resists it until she finally knocks herself out for the night. Lets see...is there anything else??? Or, is this enough?!?!?!?!? AHHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!

Here's what I know. Lola is almost 18 months and has always been a little explorer. She's gaining more and more independence with age which means she doesn't like to be confined and when she does feel confined or restricted she becomes frustrated which can typically lead to a fabulous fit. Now, this is all understandable right. Unfortunately, Lo's still not mature enough to know what is good and what is bad and is still searching for those boundaries. So, when she doesn't get her way, her reaction can be a little volatile.

I know this is all natural but what do you do about it??? I've googled and done my research and every site seems to have something to say but is there really a solution???? Or, is time the only solution??? I want to know how to control the fits but still let Lola continue to be herself. I don't know exactly how to do this but starting this week I plan to find out. We're buckling down!!!! I will take no more from our little angel face who I'm now starting to think may be a "Damien" child (remember the movie....evil genius). Not really. I should give her a little break b/c she is so adorable and we love her more than anything in the world but I fear she is becoming a brat and it's all our own doing.

Surely this isn't the case. So, in the meantime, I'm going to become a strict mommy. No more laid back/easy going mom...it's time to get serious about this parenting thing. Well, I'm obviously already serious about being a parent but I'm just not going to let Lola get away with some of the little things....those things that I sometimes just let fall by the wayside without a mention b/c I'm too tired to address it at the time. Not anymore, we're going to be consistent and try to get this all under control asap. Otherwise just think what we would be dealing with when she is two or three...Yikes!!!

As usual, any advise you have would be great. I'm thinking I may go buy Tori Spelling's new book "Mommywood". I'm slightly obsessed with the Tori & Dean show and I've seen their little boy, Liam, throw some pretty gnarly fits so maybe she would have some good advice...you never know!!!

Now, enough is enough with the complaining. You wouldn't know it by this blog but we do still have constant irresistible moments. Like when Lola goes to pick "matos" (tomatoes) from the garden with Clay and then wants to hold and coddle them all night long. When we finally put them up on the counter, she'll start screaming "matos, matos, matos". We actually have to cover them up at night and say "night, night" to the matos before Lola will go to bed. Or, another cute moment was when Lo took off my flip-flops, looked at my Safeway feet and said "dirty, dirty" while waving her hands at them and then continued on to say "nasty" about my feet. Or, the moment captured in the pics below. Lola got her sunglasses, keys, purse and strangely a pink shovel which she placed in her purse and she was ready to hit the road!

Lola is putting on her sunglasses. Then she would push them up on her head. I wonder where she gets this from???

She's ready to go! She was saying "Keys...Going to car... " while waving and saying "Bye, Bye!".

After she was unable to open the front door, Lola decided her little race car will have to do and hops on for a fun ride.

Great father/daughter moment

I just hate that I wasn't able to get a blog out last week or this week for that matter. So much has been happening! Little Miss Lola gives us something new to laugh and boast about every single day. It's just amazing! I feel like I want to freeze time and stay in this stage forever...it's just too much fun! So, I'll have to give you the low-down on everything new with little Miss Thing. Also, Beans and Uncle Adam are taking some vacation days and are spending some time with us this week. Unfortunately, I may not be able to get to all of that today. Too much to do and too little time. However, I will talk about a new "phase" Lo has been going through as it's been tough on both me and Clay.

Lately, Lo has really been favoring women...specifically me. Obviously, I love the fact that she wants to be with me all the time...hugs on me, kisses on me, plays with me, etc but her time she wants to spend with me has continued to become more extreme and I think (actually I know) it's really starting to hurt Clay's feelings a bit. He is such a good dad and makes a point to spend quality time with Lola every day starting from the minute she wakes up. Once Lo wakes, Clay takes her in the bathroom with him while he gets ready, then he drops her off at school. Although Clay has to work long hours, he always makes it home to spend more time with the baby girl (even if he has to go back to work afterwards) and my favorite part is he puts her to bed every night.

Well, lately, every time Clay picks up Lo to start winding her down for bedtime she goes NUTS. Screaming at the top of her lungs and reaching for me saying "MERE'YA, MERE'YA, MERE'YA". Clay finally gives in and lets her run to me. This has been a huge change and it's really been disheartening for Clay. She's actually been better when he takes her upstairs and away from me but it's been a tough couple weeks. In addition, if I leave the house for a bit, Lo has been known to scream the entire time...just lays on the floor and is inconsolable. It's actually real sad. What do you do about this???? Man, it's been rough...specifically for Clay!

Anyway, I'm sure this like all the other phases will be short lived but it's been hard on both of us. So, in honor of Clay, I thought I would post some pics of Clay and Lo having a great father/daughter moment. Lo loves to swing! She is usually yelling"weeeee, weeee, weeee" the whole time.

I heart Rachel Ray!

Have I ever told you that I LOVE Rachel Ray? Well, I do. I love her even though she is a bit obnoxious and has a tendency to use acronyms a little too much i.e. EVOO - extra virgin olive oil. Seriously, how tough is it just to say "extra virgin olive oil"? Do you really need an acronym for this? Anyway, I initially developed my Rachael Ray "crush" when I was on maternity leave. I discovered if you focus, you can actually catch her on the tube 3x a day. Yikes! Oh, and I took advantage. I watched her morning show at 9:00 am, 30 minute meals at 1:00 pm and 30 minute meals again at 5:00 pm. What I like about Rachael is that she has great 30 minute meals that are fantastically flavorful (like this term?) yet easy all at the same time. Clay tends to be the cook in our household. He loves to cook b/c it involves two of his favorite things: 1) Thinking and 2) Self indulgence. I'm not much of a cook but I can handle Rachael's meals. Ever since maternity leave, I still try to catch an occasional 30 minute meal on the Food Network and I buy her cookbooks and LOVE to cook her meals.

Here's how this very random blog and random obsession with Rachel Ray apply to today: Clay has had a tough couple weeks. He's been studying non-stop for his architecture license and has actually pulled off taking 3 exams in less than a month. In addition to this, he is stressed at work and has been working very long hours. Poor thing...yesterday he had to drive to San Antonio to take another exam at 6:00 pm. He finished that, drove back to A town and then had to go back to the office to work through the night. Oh, and then when he got home, Lo was awake and was hysterical as her little ears were hurting (Yes, she has ANOTHER ear infection). It can be tough on him. On top of all of that, he has to deal with me. Yea and believe it or not I'm not always easy to deal with. For some reason lately I've been a horrible wife and have done my fair share of snapping his head off and yelling at him for no good reason. Not sure why....going through a "phase" I guess.

So, today I decided I was going to try to make it up to him and I busted out the Rachel Ray cookbooks. I was ready to cook a fab meal for a fab hubby! I started prepping this morning at 11:00 am. I picked the perfect dish. Then, I went to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients and some wine of course. Then, it was time to start preparing the meal. I felt like I was a contestant on Top Chef. It should be noted that as I prepped and began cooking, I was watching none other than the first-class Rachael Ray. Yes, one of her shows just happened to be on...gotta love it! Here is what I cooked:

• Prosciutto-wrapped halibut (they didn't have halibut so I substituted with sea bass) with tortillas (homemade), savoy cabbage (wasn't sure what this was so I just went with green cabbage...I chopped/shredded myself. This was quite a big accomplishment considering I'm not a real good veggie chopper), and warm cinnamon-chipotle tomato salsa.
• Saffron and olive rice
• Black beans and I also prepared (i.e. opened a jar) green chili tomatillo sauce b/c it's Clay's favorite.
• Garlicky Guacamole, chips and homemade durros to add an extra special touch.
• For dessert...butterfingers. Yummy! I may have even had one or two while prepping/cooking the meal.

This wasn't one of Rachael's more simple meals and definitely wasn't cheap but I wanted it to be special so I gave it a shot. Now, I have to admit that I didn't know what half of the ingredients were, I had to look up some of the "culinary" terms (such as "dredge") on foodnetwork.com to make sure I was doing the right thing and I had to continue looking at the picture to make sure mine looked like hers (it didn't) but I still managed to pull it all off thanks to the astounding Rachael Ray!!! By the time Clay got home, I had cleaned the house, picked up Lola and put her in a very "Clay" outfit (black shirt and striped pants), lit the candles, put flowers in the vases, had everything cooked and beautifully displayed and most importantly wine in the glasses. It was absolutely delicious!!! Clay went on and on about how proud he was of me for producing such a fabulous meal. I'm certainly glad it all paid off and he enjoyed it!