Cara's First Birthday Party

Last Sunday, Lola and I drove up to Elmhurst for Cara's first birthday party. Amanda did such a great job with everything and Cara was adorable!

In 15 short years, the girls will be celebrating their Sweet 16 together! :)

Family Pictures

Here are a few of our recent family pictures (also Lola's one year pictures)!

A Little R & R

Brian and I just returned from a 5 night Royal Caribbean Cruise, our first trip without Lola. I was a little emotional (and by a little, I mean really crazy) before we left at the thought of leaving her. The last few days before we left, I kept waiting for Brian to give me a little wink and tell me that we could take her, but the wink never came so off we went, leaving Lola with Grandma Paula and Papa Dana.

I don't think an hour went by that I didn't think about her, but Brian and I had a great time together! We sampled some authentic Rum Cake and relaxed by the Caribbean Sea while in Grand Cayman and swam with dolphins in Cozumel. We also got a very strong lesson in patience on the way home - due to late flights and long delays, it took about 14 hours to get home. We got home about midnight, slept for about six hours and then went to Clinton to get Lola. She was very happy to see us and has not let us get out of her sight over the last three days... somewhat annoying, until I remember how much I missed her while we were gone! :)

Relaxing on the cruise ship

The park in Cozumel where we swam with the dolphins

The view of Cozumel from the boat.

Happy Halloween!

Lola's second cousin, Angi sent Lola an adorable little Halloween outfit. It said "Wickedly Cute". Lola spent the day playing with her new toys, carvings pumpkins with her friends and then Trick-or-Treating at Grandma Paula and Papa Dana's with her cousins.

Here she is playing on her new little pony.

Lola and Alina before pumpkin carving.

Miss Tinkerbell!

Playing hide and seek with her bag.

With her cousins.

Lola is One!

Lola had a great first birthday! Her and I spent the day at my parent's house and I got to see her play with all of her friends at "day care". She also shared her cupcakes with her friends, Grandma Paula, Papa Dana, Grandpa Larry and Grandma Donna. She got a few gifts from both grandparents, but most were saved for her party.

That evening we stripped her down and let her go after her cupcake. She got a handfull of icing and kept shaking her hand, trying to get it off. I had to let her know that it was yummy and that she could eat it! Then she started to enjoy it!

The last of the number pics... I debated whether to do "1-2" or "1", but decided to go with "1" so I could show the comparison.

Her party was on Saturday and it was a fantastic day! Lola was a little shy, but she enjoyed all of her family and friends being there and loved playing with her new toys. Halfway through the party, my camera's memory card was full so I'll put a few out here, but as other people's pictures are sent to me, I'll probably include those, as well.

The first (and last) 3-tiered purple cake that BRIAN AND I MADE! :)

One of Lola's gifts.... a shirt that says "Best Friends - Lola + Cara". And, of course, Cara has a matching one! :) Lola is busy reading the card.

Lola's new hat

Lola's Birthday Eve

Our little Lola is almost one!

Tonight we made cupcakes for her to take to Grandma Paula's. They were Funfetti cupcakes with purple icing and sprinkles. Here she is helping us make them.

We also had to make a batch of homemade icing for her cake we're making for her party on Saturday. Brian and I had been wondering how you show a one year old that it is a very special day................................

Stacy's Baby Shower

Last Saturday, Lola and I went to our friend, Stacy's baby shower. Lola was quite high maintenance and wasn't really in the smiling mood, but she sure was cute!

This is a picture Stacy took.

Lola is 11 months old!

This has been a very exciting month! Lola has three teeth (2 on the bottom and 1 on the top - almost 2), she has taken a few steps (the falling kind, but they were steps) and has made progress with her sounds. We haven't heard anything for sure, but we might have heard "Da!" and "Woo Woo" when she heard a dog barking.

A few other fun things - She loves to dance when she hears music and gets the biggest smile on her face. She also is getting very smart. She knows when you've hidden something and goes to look for it and she plays peek-a-boo. She also has tried many new exciting foods!

Apple and Pork Festival

Today Lola went to her first Apple and Pork Festival... and boy did she take advantage of the day!

A quick background story for context... when I was eight months old, I went to my first Apple and Pork Festival and had my first gingerbread cookie (an A&P favorite!). And every year since then, I've had one (or two...)!

And the new tradition begins...

And yes.... that is three gingerbread cookies I have (I'm not ashamed!).

Lola also sampled an apple fritter, an apple cider float, a baked potato, ham and beans and demolished a corn muffin. Jeesh, Lola!

We also stopped by her cousin Wyatt's pig he decorated in school. Her name was Lucille!

Trip to the Orchard

One of the traditions I couldn't wait to start after having a baby was to go to a pumpkin patch in the fall. Today was our first annual pumpkin patch outing when we went to Curtis Orchard in Champaign. We all had a great time. Lola was very mellow all day, but I think she enjoyed being outside and people watching.

With the goats and turkeys at the petting zoo

Picking out her pumpkin

Showing off our new pumpkins

One last pose

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today Brian celebrated his 31st birthday and first birthday as a dad. He still had his birthday card from last year sitting on his chest of drawers and noticed it was signed "Jaline and Baby Preston". This year he got a Cinderella card from Lola and I (his two princesses!) :)

So I know I'm biased, but Lola had on a new outfit today and looked so cute! She had denim capris with little flowers on the cuffs and a matching shirt.... and her first pony tail!! She wasn't really fond of me playing with her hair but I told her she better get used to it!

Lola is 10 months old!

I feel like Lola has really grown up this month! I'm amazed at how intentional she is with the things she does. If she has something in her hand she shouldn't have, and we go to take it from her - she will turn and crawl away as fast as she can with the thing in her hand. Or one of the cutest things she did this month was play peek-a-boo with us. She'll stand at the coffee table, duck down so we can't see her, then pop up again and wait for us to yell "peek-a-boo"! Also, she has been waving for awhile now - but it wasn't always on command. This month, it was absolutely on purpose. She would wave at us and when we waved back and said "bye bye" she would smile and turn to crawl away. And this one I wasn't sure about, but after seeing it several times, I think it definitely counts. We'll play ball with her and she will reach out her arms to try to catch it and then throws it back at us. Surprisingly enough... it gets to us most of the time! She is also a pro at walking around the furniture and is getting very brave letting go of one thing and reaching for another. Her other big accomplishment is climbing up the stairs all by herself (Brian was behind her), but she climbed up the entire thing.



This month we also switched to some big people food. She's had green beans, black beans, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, mandarin oranges, but her favorite is bananas!

First Tooth

Grandma Paula discovered Lola's first tooth on Wednesday! It's not all the way through yet, but you can feel a tiny little point. She hasn't really been fussy at all, so either we dodged a bullet or I just jinxed myself and it's on the way.

No... I didn't get a picture of the tooth, but this is what she looked like on the day she got her first tooth! :)

Fun with Toilet Paper

Lola discovered something new that she loves to play with.....

...pulling it is only half the fun. The other half is tearing it into tiny little pieces and eating it!

My Cardinal Baby

If you didn't know...

My family has always been St. Louis Cardinal fans as was Brian's family - yet another reason why we were a perfect match. However, a few short years ago, Brian decides he wants to be a Cub fan (gasp!). I despise it everyday, but have come to terms that it is out of my hands. But... over my dead body will my baby girl wear anything with that little bear. This is just one of several Cardinal outfits she has, but I want to make sure she knows who to cheer for!

It's kind of hard to see, but trust me... that is the Cardinal logo! :)

State Farm Park

Brian, Lola and I went to State Farm Park to let Lola swim in the kiddie pool. She is always a little unsure at first, but then she decides she really likes it and loves to splash and splash! We "swam" for awhile and then walked around the big pool.

Here is Lola and her daddy looking very stylish in their sunglasses!

Lola and I in the pool