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

Lola is 9 months old!

This was the most difficult picture to take, so far!

"I will let you see my 9, but I won't smile!"

"Fine, I will smile, but you can't see my 9!"

"You can't make me sit still!"

Not the best, but it will do!

Month nine has been quite a month. The biggest achievement is that she started crawling and is able to go from sitting to standing and standing to sitting whenever she wants. She is very good at pulling up with the help of tables, couches, chairs, legs, etc. Also, she has finally perfected picking up her puffs and Cheerios... AND putting them in her mouth (see month 8). Now we have to worry about her putting all five of them in her mouth at the same time. A few times, she waved perfectly on command. Once, Brian came home and said "Hi Lola" and she smiled and waved to him. The other time was when I was leaving and when I said "Bye Bye" she waved at me! She's so cute when she's sitting and bounces up and down and claps her hands!

The new, but not so fun things she's doing is spitting her food all over her, her chair, the table and whomever is feeding her. Brian and I have walked away many a time with orange polka dot shorts (squash remnants). It's not that she doesn't like them, she just thinks it's fun. Also, if she is playing with something she isn't supposed to and you take it away from her, she will clinch her fists and scream at you. Ahhh.... I'm sure it only gets better! :)

For Logan!

My nephew, Logan will soon be starting his freshman year at the University of Illinois. Logan was born when I was 12 years old and I can't believe he is now heading to college. I have loved every minute of watching him grow up into a handsome, athletic and intelligent young man.

Brian, Lola and I wish you the best of luck at U of I!

Twins

Melinda and I realized that Lola and Alina had outfits from the same fashion line, so of course we had to snap a photo. (Lola's shorts match Alina's dress).

Lola was a little out of sorts and I couldn't get a smile out of her at all, so this is the best I have. Also, she is still trying to figure out who or what this little person is and why I won't let her swat at her face! :)

Sneak Peek!

We had Lola's 9 month pictures taken on Sunday. Our usual photographer is 9 months pregnant so I thought better of having a nine month pregnant woman laying on the ground in the middle of July. We used Nina Williams from Creative Spark out of Peoria and she shared a little sneak peak of the pictures. I know I'm biased... but I can't stop looking at them!! :)

I bought the pink tutu for her when she was about 2 weeks old and her brown tutu was a gift from her second cousin, Angi.

Standing.... Almost

For several weeks now, Lola has enjoyed standing up when we're holding her. She laughs and claps every time she's on her feet. A few days ago, I stood her up on her own at the couch and despite being a little wobbly, she did pretty good. Today I did it, and she was completely sturdy! She's not sure what to do once she gets there, but she loves that she can stand up 'on her own'! I didn't do a good job getting her feet, but she almost always stands on her toes! :)