This photo is from the day we brought Lila home from the hospital. Look at how tiny she was! [sigh] 

This is not a terrible rash on Lila's face. This is what happens when she sleeps *on* her face. 

Well, after being sick for nearly a week, I'm feeling *almost* normal today. Sadly, Lila now has a runny nose. She doesn't have a fever, but you can tell she's just feeling a little "under the weather" and is extra sleepy. Either she has allergies as well (which is possible) or what I had was actually a cold and now she has it. :(

My child mocked me for the first time yesterday. Okay, maybe that wasn't her intention, but it sure seemed like it! Whenever I'd cough, which was frequently, she'd make fun of me! She thought I was trying to play the game where we fake cough at each other. This game started during the time when her favorite sound to make was a fake cough. Only I wasn't faking this time! It was really funny though. There was at least one time when she was nursing and I coughed and she stopped eating to look up at me and cough back. :)

And now I have committed the heinous crime of turning my back on Lila and she is crying like I've stabbed her. I must go and rescue my poor, puny child. It's a good thing she didn't inherit my flair for drama...

Charlie really does not approve of this Baby Thing we brought home. I've caught him, more than once, giving me a look of deepest disdain when I'm playing with her. The first time, I was being all gooey and telling her how wonderful was and I think it was more than he could handle. Today, Lila was playing in the floor, making her squealing noises and I was doing it in return. I glanced at Charlie and saw him giving me a look that clearly said, "Please, Mother, don't encourage her!" Poor Charlie... :)

Well, I've been some amount of sick for most of the week. It started with just a sore throat on Tuesday and by Wednesday I was full-on sick. Body aches, head that weighed 100 lbs., etc. Sadly, this has been the Mother of all Stressful Weeks for Doug at work (he didn't make it home on wednesday night until nearly midnight!), so he couldn't come home and help out. I felt a lot better yesterday and a little worse today. I think it's allergy problems. Who knows... Why must I be allergic to *grass*?!? That's not something you can just move to a new area and avoid. Unless the new area we moved to were a desert! And I don't think THAT would be worth it.

It was brought to my attention yesterday that I have neglected to talk about my birthday here! So, for those who are interested, here you go... My birthday was on Thursday of last week and it was a fun day! I was given the wonderful gift of having a few hours alone by my friend Ellen. She came over around 11 a.m. and took Lila off to play group with her. I was able to have a lunch date with *myself* and go shopping.

The shopping trip was at the Gap, where I used another birthday gift - a generous gift card from my parents-in-law. I got an outfit that I absolutely love and feel very pretty in. Skirt, shirt, and shoes - all for less than $25, thanks to a coupon and the gift card! :) After Doug got home, the three of us went to Marie Callendar's for dinner where I ate way too much. After a month of doing portion control (which has resulted in the loss of about 8 lbs for each of us!), that was a major shock to my body. I felt way gross! I recovered though and still enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Doug's gifts to me were a t-shirt from Chuy's (which i had been dropping not-so-subtle hints that i wanted) and the game Scene It: Harry Potter Edition. Because I am, without shame, a major Harry Potter nerd! To add to my Harry Potter glee, my friend Anne gave me a t-shirt that says, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." on the front and "Mischief Managed" on the back! :)

I also got some money from my parents which I plan to use on at least one chair massage at the gym in the near future. Oh, just thinking about it makes me long for one! Ack! Anyway, I also received a number of cute little things from parents and grandparents. Despite this detailed list of what I got, I mostly just love getting attention on my birthday. It's the little kid in me that loves to feel special!

Many thanks to those of you who sent cards and emails and phone greetings. They made me smile. :)

Doug, Lila, and I went to Dallas this weekend to visit family. Lila started babbling for real while we were there. Up until now, she's made little noises that were kind of like babbling, but mostly she just said, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!" On Saturday evening, she started saying, "Bow." Well, really she started saying, "Bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow!" Over the next 24 hours, she started to vary it a bit. Now she also says, "Ba" "Bo" "Boo" and "Bao".

So, when she's happy, she says something like, "Ba ba ba bao bao oooo!"

When she's mad she says something like, "Bow! Baaao!"

When she's talking to her toys she says somthing like, "Ba bo ba ba ba bao."

You get the picture. It's very cute, but I'm hoping that soon she'll be able to say something else. Like, "Ma ma ma ma ma," for example. :o)~

"Look here - I don't know why you're laughing at me, but do you know who I am?!? I'm Lila! Nobody laughs at LILA!" 

Here she is enjoying her first finger foods (not counting the times we tried to choke her). It's little niblets of whole wheat bread and she loves them! 

Literary Lila - She's enjoying a book called 'I Love You Because You're You'.  

Lila has gotten her first two teeth! The first one broke the surface on Monday and the second one came through yesterday. They are still just little nubs right now, so they are hard to see. If she's smiling or crying you can catch a glimpse of them. I've tried pulling her lip down a bit to look at them, but as soon as you do that the tongue comes out and you can't see anything else!

Doug and I have officially paid off our house and are now debt free! Woah! This is a huge *huge* blessing from God. Doug felt challenged five years ago to pay off his house early and was able to throw a lot of extra money at it for a while (roommates' rent went to the loan). Once we got married, and then I got laid off, that changed. But God really worked things in an amazing way to allow us to pay it off in just under 5 years anyway! Go God! :)

When I joined the gym recently, I got 5 free sessions with a personal trainer (well, not FREE really, but included). I had my first real work-out with her today and that woman ain't messing around. By the time she was done with me, I felt like I was going to collapse just trying to carry Lila out to the car. I was very glad that it was time for her to take a nap when we got home so that my arms could recuperate!

Last week was a busy one around here. By Friday, I was completely brain fried and needed a "day off". We were supposed to go to MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) on Friday morning, but I decided that morning that we would stay home instead. I did not feel like starting my day by getting up early and being away from the house for 3-4 hours. The restful morning did help my attitude toward life as we entered the weekend.

I'm pleased to announce that I've already got Doug's birthday plans worked out, for the most part. I can't say more than that, though, in case he actually reads my blog today!

Lila thwarted most of our efforts at socialization this weekend. She and I went to a baby shower on Saturday (doug had to work that afternoon - very unusual) and only got to stay for 30 minutes. She was due for a nap just as the party was starting and she got tired and whiny pretty quickly. Sometimes we can stretch out the times between naps without a problem - somtimes we can't. Yesterday she slept through most of a birthday party that we were planning on going to. Oh well, it was nice to have a weekend at home too! :)

Here's a Lila Development Update:

First of all, she's 8 months old today! I took her by the pediatrician's office for a weight and length check this afternoon. She's up to 18 lbs. 13 oz. (only 5 oz. more than Charlie) and 26.5 inches. Big girl! She's totally a pro at sitting these days. She's not crawling yet, but she does travel by rolling and scootching a long on her bottom.

She got her first bruise this week when she toppled over backward onto a hard bumpy plastic ring. :( I was so sad to see the little red bumps and then the fading bruise, but I know it won't be the last time! She's also become very grabby and she explores life with her index fingers - it's really very cute. Yesterday she experienced her first finger food (little niblets of toast) and did great!

She's a very opinionated little girl, but still very laid-back. Also, she's started doing her first trick: fake coughing to make us laugh! :)

For those who don't already know, I'm about to start facilitating (with another person, initially) a new small group. It will be a part of the Support & Recovery ministry at the church, which "provides a 'safe & supportive place' for individuals that want to deal with their own issues of depression, divorce, substance abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse." I'm very excited! Please pray for our group!

This week got off to a rather slow start, but it's picking up. I just woke up on Monday with a total "blah" feeling and it stuck with me all day. I have a theory that it might be related to an above average consumption of caffiene/sugar the day before, but it's just a theory. Anyway, I was feeling much better by yesterday, which is good since it was a *busy* day!

The month of birthdays has begun for our family. My mother's birthday was on Monday - Happy Birthday Mama! And my sister-in-law's birthday was yesterday - Happy Birthday Megan! There is another person you know with a birthday this month, but she, in all her glorious wonderfulness, shall remain nameless...

A bird pooped on my baby this weekend. A friend was watching her while Doug and I went on a date (more about that later) and a bird pooped on her arm! Eww! And, as if she hasn't had enough drama lately, we were hanging out on the back porch on Saturday evening and the mosquitos decided to have a Lila feast! They didn't touch us, but she's got half a dozen bites on her legs and some of them are quite big and red. Poor girl! :( Not that she seems to be at all bothered by them...

But about that date! On Saturday, we went out for lunch and then painted ceramics. I had never done that before and wanted to try. It was so fun! I painted a pillar candle holder and Doug did a vase. I'm so excited to see how they turned out! They are being glazed and fired and we get to pick them up on Wednesday afternoon. That is, if I have time to drive down there to get them. The place was about 20 minutes away. There are probably places closer where we could have done it, but we had a coupon for this one. Well, I'd better go give this Chicken some milk! :)

Lila is already looking at life through rose colored glasses...You can't tell from this photo, but her outfit says, "Mommy's Little Girl!" :) 

Playing in our Easter clothes. She was really hammin' it up for the camera! 

Cute baby with Daddy. Lila loves to roll around on the bed. 

Lila has been a *pill* for the past few days! She's just been SO fussy and for no apparent reason, I now know. I took her to the pediatrician this morning who said that her ears look great (has been on antibiotics for an ear infection for a week) and there's no sign of active teething or any other problem. She's just a Crazy Chicken!

Actually, one theory is that she's getting bored during the day with only me to play with. Doug was home with us for the better part of two weeks due to his kidney stone trouble. Now that he's gone back to work, maybe she's jonesing for her Daddy? Her mood does improve dramatically once he gets home from work... She also had four days of grandparents toward the end of last week. My little social butterfly. :)

She and I went out to lunch with a friend and her daughters on Wednesday and Lila got her first teething biscuit while we were there. She loved it! It kept her totally entertained until she dropped it on the floor and I couldn't give it back to her. I also learned that I need to keep a bib in her bag for these occasions because those things are messy!

Warning: This is a poop story.

Earlier today, I had just finished giving Lila her morning cereal and carrots and was cleaning up. We were just about to walk out the door to meet a friend for lunch and we were actually on time so far. Then I glanced at Lila and noticed that she was making Poop Face. "Okay, no problem," I said out loud. "How long does it take to change a diaper?"

I think Lila took that as a challenge. I checked and she did, in fact, have a poopie diaper, so we headed for the changing table. I got her laid down, socks off, and shirt pulled up to her armpits to avoid getting anything on her clothes. I took off her diaper and in the blink of an eye, she stuck her foot in the poop. [sigh] Okay, now I have her hog-tied, trying to get a wipie under her dirty tushie so I can focus on her dirty foot.

I get that done and as I'm grabbing another wipie to work on her foot with, she starts peeing! This just keeps getting worse! And, on top of that, I ran out of wipes halfway through the clean-up and had to grab some more. Thankfully, I have the back-ups in a convenient location and nothing major happened while I was re-stocking. And the most amazing part is that after we got everyone and everything all cleaned up and put her clothes back on - we still made it to lunch on time!!! :)

Doug finally passed Stone on Saturday. He had that procedure on Friday morning that was supposed to break the stone down into tiny pieces and it wasn't too bad. He felt pretty good for most of Friday, but was having some pain again by Friday night. On Saturday morning he passed (without pain!) what would appear to be almost the entire stone and then another small piece later on. It may have broken down some, but certainly not into little pieces like sand, which is what they told him would happen. Whatever, the point is that it is finally *out*!!!

Poor Lila decided to have her own medical drama on Friday afternoon. She was in the backyard early in the day and had her feet in the grass for approximately 20 seconds. Apparently that was long enough for her to find something she's allergic to. She ended up with an angry-looking red streak across the bottom of her foot that has a bunch of tiny little bumps and is a bit swollen. I took her to the pediatrician who said it looked like a reaction to SOMETHING and to give her Benadryl for a couple of days. That really did nothing for her foot, but as of this morning it is starting to look a little better. The sad part is that we also found out that she has fluid in one ear and an infection in the other ear and we had no idea! She had no symptoms of being sick except for a little extra fussiness and sleep wierdness, but that happens periodically anyway. Sheesh!

Me and my *first* baby. He doesn't look like he's enjoying this, but he really is... 

Frolicking in the back yard. Doug and I went to a semi-formal dinner on Thursday and I felt like we were about to go to prom! 

Happy Babies are fun! And look, we just noticed that Lila finally has a chin! :) 

Doug had his second, and hopefully last, kidney stone procedure this morning. He's supposed to rest today and eat blandish foods, but he's feeling pretty well. Tomorrow he is free to do whatever he feels like doing! He ws in much less pain after this procedure and is really only sore on his side, where they zapped him. Now he'll be passing the stone in tiny bits (and it could take 2-3 months!). :)

As you can see in the photos below, I bought an Easter dress for Lila. Isn't it pretty?!? I love to buy clothes for her, though I don't do it very often (because she's been given so much). I do buy things when I have the opportunity though because I figure I'd better enjoy dressing her now - before she develops an opinion on style! Of course, *I* think my choices are great, but she might have other ideas.

Doug's mom, Irene, came to town yesterday to help out. She watched Lila last night while we went out to a Dell Inventors' Dinner and this morning while I went to the medical center with Doug. Lila certainly enjoyed her Grammie Time, but it was nice to see her wanting to spend time with ME this afternoon. Usually, we spend all day together, so I become old news! :o)~

This was Lila's way of letting me know that she no longer wanted to sit and look pretty and have her photograph taken. Too bad for her! :) 

She is, clearly, the cutest child ever! God used all the high-end parts when he was putting this one together! 

This child has a very sneaky look about her. I wonder what she's up to... 

Yesterday morning, I had been feeding Lila her breakfast (cereal with tofu and sweet potatoes) and we were winding down. She had gone from eating to playing with the spoon and the food. I finally determined that she was not going to eat any more, so I tried to take the spoon away from her. I was trying to pull it out of her hand, but she had a pretty good grip on it and wasn't letting go. Then she suddenly threw her head forward and rested her forehead on the highchair tray. It was like she was utterly dejected and just giving up. Oh the drama... :)

Doug is still doing alright. He's now taking the approach of only going in to the office if he has a meeting to attend. Otherwise, he's working from home. Only two more days until the lithotripsy and then that stupid stone should come out in a bunch of tiny pieces! We will *all* be glad when this ordeal is over!

I have been using my new gym membership this week. I've worked out the past two nights and am planning on going again sometime today. It's too soon to notice any real difference in my strength or endurance, but it's already had a huge mental impact. It just feels so good to know that I'm doing something good for my body!

Doug's pain pretty much went away over the weekend. He went to work this morning like usual... and came home by 10:45 because the pain had come back in earnest. He hadn't done anything strenuous, so who knows why it started again. He took his pain medication and rested for a while and he's feeling better now. He's not going back in to work today though. I wish this dumb stone would just come out!

Lila and I went to MOPS on Friday. That was a nice time to be out of the house for a while and Lila, of course, made the nursery (Moppets) workers love her even more than they do already. :) That afternoon, we had an unexpected visit from Megan, Hope, and Olivia (our sister-in-law and nieces)! They had been visiting family south of Austin and stopped by to hang out for a bit on their way back to Dallas. :)

Lila decided to be nuts yesterday and refuse to take any naps! We did finally get her to sleep twice, but it was not easy. I think the time change was throwing her off. We started her bedtime routine a half-hour later than usual so that her body wouldn't be saying, "What the heck?!? It's *so* not time for bed!"

For those who don't already know. Doug had his procedure yesterday morning, but they weren't able to get the stone out because it's too big. So the doctor put a stint in and gave him antibiotics and pain medication. The antibiotics are for the infection they discovered when they went fishing around in there. In fact, the doctor was thoughtful enough to give us a color photograph of the puss they found!

The pain medication is, of course, for the pain. And Doug was in a *lot* of it after the procedure. He's feeling much better now, but still walking very... gingerly. He has another procedure scheduled for next Friday to break up the stone so the thing can finally COME OUT! Sheesh! This is the kidney stone that just won't die!

Since we keep talking about how this experience is like pregnancy and labor, Doug has decided to take it to the next level. He has named the stone. It's name is Stone. Original, no? I wanted to get a small rock from the backyard and paint a little face on it, wrap it in a little blanket, and present it to him at the hospital. I ran out of time before leaving the house, but it was just as well since they couldn't get the baby out! :oI~

Well, Doug still hasn't passed his kidney stone. If it doesn't come on its own before then, he has a procedure scheduled for early tomorrow morning to remove it. We are praying that the stone will come out before then, but one way or the other it will be over tomorrow. I'll be so glad and Doug will be even more so! He's been in varying amounts of pain constantly since Saturday night. :(

On a more positive note, I'm very very very excited because I bought a gym membership on Monday! I haven't gotten *good* exercise in nearly a year and a half and havne't gotten ANY exercise in about a year. Now I can go and work out whenever I have the time (probably in the evenings, after Lila's in bed). I wend for the first time last night and it felt so good!!!

Another exciting thing - we have entered the wonderful world of the slow cooker! I bought one a couple of weeks ago and have used it twice so far. I made Beef Bourguinon over the weekend and a Pot Roast last night and both were great! I did have a little mishap while chopping vegetables yesterday that involved a lot of pain and several minutes of bleeding, but that had nothing to do with the Crock Pot itself. :o)~

Doug is working on passing another kidney stone - poor guy! - and I have decided that this is God's way of putting him through a close approximation of pregnancy and labor in a short amount of time. Let's examine the similarities...

* He's been experiencing severe pain at times, during which he was crying and moaning much like I was during heavy labor.
* Off and on for a week and a half, he's had discomfort and pressure in his back and abdomen.
* Because of the backup in his kidneys and the medication they have him taking, he has to keep food in his belly all the time or he gets nauseated. However, he can't eat much at a time and often just the smell of food makes him feel ill.
* He threw up once.
* He had an ultrasound today.
* Last night he had a nest of pillows set up in the bed to make sleeping more comfortable. A nest of pillows so big that it was encroaching on my side of the bed! He hasn't been sleeping well due to discomfort.
* And, to top it all off, if this "baby" doesn't come naturally before Thursday morning, they're going to do a disturbingly invasive procedure to remove it, which will leave his most private parts exposed to many medical professionals.

If this weren't so sad, it would be funny! Actually, Doug does find it kind of amusing. I'm sure he will find it much more amusing once it's all over! :o)~

Cutest baby ever. What more can I say? :) 

I thought it was high time I took some photos of my first babies! And here's the biggest baby of them all - Charlie. 

Here is Cordy trying to look serene despite the bright light that keeps flashing in her face. Cute little Fuzz Girl! 

Baby Einstein - It's not just for babies. This is Cordelia enjoying Baby Mozart. 

Bathtime is the funnest! (the little red spots on her belly are eczema.) 

What did Doug and I do before we had Lila? We can't remember! We are having a date tonight and we couldn't come up with anything interesting to do. We finally decided on dinner and an IMAX movie, but that was due to a lack of options. (though i'm sure the movie will be fun - i like imax!)

It seems like all we do these days, if we go out alone, is see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. That's generally fine because we love that place, but we don't want to do the same thing all the time and there are no movies playing right now that we're interested in anyway. Oh well...

Oh, a funny thing about Lila. She knows her name, of course. Don't really know if she knows who Mommy and Daddy are. But here's the funny part - she knows *exactly* who Charlie is! If we say his name, she starts looking for him! How cute is that?!? Also ironic since he is the one who doesn't really like her. He mostly just tries to stay away from her. Cordy secretly likes her and will let her pull out tufts of fur without complaint, but Lila doesn't seem to know Cordy's name. :o)~

I haven't given a real Lila development update in a while, so here you go:

You know how babies around this age like to "stand up" (you hold them upright, but they support their weight with their legs)? Well, Lila won't do it. She *can*, but she chooses not to. If I can get her to stand at all, it is only with her body bent over. That is, her legs are straight and holding her weight, but she's bent at the hips so her upper body is parallel to the ground. Silly girl! :)

However, she's a pro at sitting unsupported and has been for several weeks now. She's a very busy girl! If there's something anywhere near her that she wants, she goes for it! (and you'd be surprised how far she can reach when you're trying to keep something away from her) She hasn't figured out getting from laying down to sitting yet though. Now that she can roll over, she won't stay on her belly long enough to learn how to push up to sitting or onto her hands and knees.

She's already very good with her hands too. She can pick up and manipulate even the smallest things (like little lint balls or strings that i'd really rather she not play with). She can bring a sippy cup (or any cup with handles) to her mouth, but hasn't yet figured out that she has to tip it up to get the liquid out. She just sucks and wonders why nothing is coming out! :) She can also drink from a regular cup with assistance (she prefers cups with nice colors, like blue or red).

She is still exercising those vocal cords by making loud noises - surprisingly loud at times. She's also beginning to discover the joy of banging two objects together. I'd rather her do that than shriek though! She can also travel around even though she's not crawling. She rolls, of course, but she can also cover amazing distances just by wiggling and twisting around!

Lila occasionally goes through a whiney period where she doesn't sleep well (like right now) that I'm assuming is teething, but no actual teeth have been sighted. All in all, she's still the most beautiful and smartest baby around! :)

We had an adventure this weekend. Actually, it started off pretty low-key. Dinner at home on Friday and we watched the episode of 'ER' that I'd recorded the night before. Saturday morning was fine for a while. Then Doug started having pain in his side again - just like when he passed a kidney stone in November (i think that's when it was). We knew there were more stones in there, but the doctor had told him there was little chance they'd work their way out and become a problem. *Wrong!*

The pain continued to get worse and I suggested we go to the emergency room so he could get something for the pain. However, Doug said if it was like last time, then it would be over in a few hours and he could handle it. Well, this was not like last time. The pain just kept getting worse and he finally gave in and said he wanted to go to the hospital. By the time we left the house, he was crying and groaning because he was in so much pain!

After seeing that, I now believe that passing a kidney stone is as painful as being in labor. In fact, I was crying and groaning much like that while I was in labor with Lila! Ick! Anyway, we went to the ER and after what seemed like FOREVER they gave him drugs that took away the pain and made him slightly dopey. As far as we know he still has not passed the stone and the pain comes back periodically. He's armed with pain medication now though, so he's been okay.

He's supposed to go and see his urologist this week to follow up. Personally, I think he should give the doctor a good kick in the butt. Okay, not really, I do think the doctor should at least apologize for being wrong and do something about the other stones that are lurking in there now! Poor Doug... it was so sad to see him lying in a hospital, doped up and in pain. :(

Irene, Doug's mom, and I had a fun adventure yesterday. We took Lila to the park near our house in the afternoon and while we were walking to the playground, we saw an interesting rock sticking out of the ground. It had a vein of pretty blue in it. Irene is a real rock nut and I kind of like them myself, so we stopped to pick it up.

Turned out it was too big to just pick up, so we started trying to dig it out of the ground. All we had to work with was a stick and a smaller rock, so we weren't able to get it out of the ground. (i did manage to get half a dozen ant bites on my knee while trying though.) We gave up and went on with our playground fun.

On our way home from dinner yesterday evening, we made Doug stop by the park so that we could try again. This time I'd brought a spade along to help dig. We still weren't able to get it up though because we could only spend a few minutes trying. Doug was in the car with Lila - she was tired and hungry and he was just tired. So we gave up again and went home.

After Lila was in bed, I went back out to the park with a flashlight, the spade, and some water to loosen up the dirt around the rock. It took me 5-10 minutes, but I *finally* got the thing out of the ground! I filled the hole back in and brought my prize home. Hail the conquering hero!!! :o)~

Irene and I scrubbed most of the mud off of it last night and it is, indeed, an interesting rock. It has been soaking overnight in a bucket of soapy water and I'm going to finish cleaning it up later. I'm excited to see it all clean and in the daylight. I will have to give it a place of prominence somewhere!

Lila did something *very* cute the other day. It was Thursday, when Doug was off work and we were all just hanging out together. She was laying on the bed in the study, playing, and Doug came in and lay down beside her. They were playing together and being silly, etc. I finished up what I was doing and lay down on the other side of her. Now comes the really cute part...

She started rolling back and forth between us and giving hugs! She'd roll over to face me and give me a big hug. Then she'd roll back to face Doug and give him a big hug. She did it several times and it was so sweet! :)

Okay, I am now typing one-handed because I have a baby AND a cat in my lap!Cordy must really be feeling neglected because she's putting up with the uncoordinated smacks and fur pulling which are Lila's attempts at petting.

And speaking of hugs, I just got several more! :)

Lila helping us plan our vacation. Not surprisingly, most of her suggested activities centered around milk... 

Baby in the lap of luxury. She very much enjoyed bathtime in the giant jacuzzi bathtub! 

This is a shot from our balcony. Very pretty grounds and the lake in the background. :) 

Doug, Lila, and I got back from our first family mini-vacation today. We had a great time and we're all very tired! In fact, Lila and Doug are both napping right now. I wanted to take a nap earlier, but now that I have time, I'm feeling alert. Oh well...

We stayed at Vintage Villas on Lake Travis and it was wonderful! We had one of the King rooms (ours was called Laredo). It was quite large - king size bed, sofa, entertainment center, table and chairs, tiny kitchen area. The bathroom had a shower stall and a two-person jacuzzi tub as well as a toilet and two sink vanity. That's actually where Lila slept (heehee).

We put her pack 'n' play in the bathroom and that's where she spent her nights. I felt mildly guilty until Doug pointed out that the room was bigger than her bedroom at home. Plus, if we'd had her in the room with us, then we would have all had to go to bed at 8:30. Anyway, the weather was beautiful and we had a great time relaxing and eating out and playing with our baby girl. And this morning I got to spy on a wedding that was taking place at the Villas. :o)~

So, I exploded a can of soda in our freezer today. Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper, to be exact. You're thinking I put it in there to cool it off and forgot about it, right? Well, no. It's not that simple. I did forget to replace the one I took out for dinner last night and found myself wanting a soda at lunch and not having a cold one. But that's not a huge problem because I know how to cool one down fast.

We have an automatic ice maker that dumps ice into a bucket in the freezer. If you put a can in the bucket of ice and spin it around for a few minutes you'll get a cold soda and an even colder hand. This is what I went to do today. Only - and I'm guessing here because I was only halfway paying attention, having done this so many times, and because it happened so fast - I seem to have dropped the soda heavily onto the corner of a piece of ice. In a split second, this punctured the can and sent Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper spewing all over the inside of the freezer and my arm!

The good news is that I had the door open only enough to let my arm in, so the soda didn't get all over the rest of the kitchen as well. I was so shocked that I just stood there for a minute, staring. Why do things like this never happen to me when someone else is around to witness them?!?

Anyway, I just finished cleaning up the freezer and my right arm is very cold. I'm going to have to dump out the whole bucket of ice because it's now Dr. Pepper flavored. A pleasing hot-weather treat for the fan of Dr. Pepper, but not so good for cooling down your glass of water.

:o)~

Lila is in love with the Baby in the Mirror. She is also fascinated by the fact that this Baby follows her wherever she goes! :) 

Bean in the front yard. This was before she started building a nest in her lap. 

Lila hanging with Teddy and Snoopy. She was severely abusing my poor old teddy bear shortly after this photo was taken. 

Doug and I got to go on a date Friday night - woohoo! It's funny how I get excited about going out by ourselves, but as soon as we walk out the door I start missing Lila! I usually recover quickly though and I do enjoy our dates. Our dear friend Julie babysat for us this week.

I have tried Persian food several times in the past and never really enjoyed it. However, I decided I'd like to give it one more try on Friday and this time I loved it! I think I had the proper expectations this time - which helped immensely - and I also ordered the right thing. It looked like a grilled doody, but it tasted wonderful! If you live in Austin and are curious, we went to Alborz (on anderson).

After dinner we went to a place called Main Event. It's kind of like Dave & Buster's, only it's much more family-friendly. We randomly bumped into our friends Susan & Andrei and ended up bowling and then playing video games with them. I bowled my worst game *ever*, but it was still lots of fun. Go date night!

Funny Lila tidbits...

Yesterday, Doug, Lila, and I spent some time outside. Doug and I were trimming trees and bushes, etc. Lila got to sit on a couple of blankets in the middle of the yard and play with toys. She was totally diggin' it for awhile. Then she got bored with her toys and started exploring. She discovered that if she pulled on the blanket, she could uncover a veritable cornucopia of fun things - grass, twigs, dead leaves!

She, of course, made this discovery while neither of us was looking at her. So the next time I checked on her, I saw her digging around in the grass and coming up with a twig. When I went to take it away from her, I found a whole stash of little twigs in her lap. It looked like she was trying to build a nest! We watched her for a minute and it was quite funny. She'd fish around until she found something, then pick it up and look at it. She didn't put it in her mouth, just examine it. Then it would go into her lap and she'd start fishing again.

This did, eventually, digress into putting things in her mouth and then we really *really* had to put a stop to it. She was very irritated that I wouldn't let her play in the grass anymore, so she resorted to pulling her hat off and either eating it or tossing it. I was trying to keep the sun off her head, so I kept putting it back on. It was around this time that playing in the yard was no fun anymore... :)

Also, at some point in the past... 72 hours, Lila has discovered her volume control. She has always been a pretty quiet baby, even when she's "talking". But now she has discovered the fun of going, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yippee.

Finally, she was doing very funny things during dinner last night. We went out for Vietnamese noodles - yummy! - and she was at the table with us, in a high chair. I gave her a plastic soup spoon to play with (her third - she'd already dropped the first two onto the dirty floor) and she was merrily chomping on it. Then she put one end of it in her mouth, took away her hands (so that it was dangling from her mouth), and started going, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" I think maybe you just had to be there, but it was VERY funny!

Then she decided that her head was just to heavy to hold up, so she leaned forward and rested her chin on the table. She looked like a little puppy. I was already laughing at her silliness and this just made me laugh more. I was in tears! So then she started giving me this weird look that said, "What's up with you?!?" Which, of course, made me laugh even more.

Ahhh, she's so cute! :)

I am pleased to announce that I'm feeling *much* better! I still can't breath through one side of my nose, but I have a normal amount of energy and brain functioning again. :) I was feeling yucky enough on Wednesday that I just hid in the study, sneezing and sniffling, while our small group met in the living room. Very sad - especially since we had a visitor this week! Alas...

Wednesday was also my friend Alma's birthday - Happy Birthday again, if you're reading this! :)

A while back, I mentioned that I had joined a website/list called FlyLady.net. While, I just finished off my 31 Beginner's Babysteps (the first thing you are asked to do to help you develop routines and habits) and my house is looking so much better! My coffee table, kitchen table, and guest bed are no longer the dumping grounds for STUFF they once were. My study is considerably cleaner and less cluttered than before. I'm still working on things like making my bed and keeping my laundry from getting out of control, but progress has been made!

Cute Lila update - she's starting to try and look around corners and over edges to find people/things that have been passed out of sight. Smart girl!!!

I don't feel well today. I think I'm having an allergy attack. Yucky. Will post again soon. :)