Reading with Papa

Mimi & Papa dropped Lola off this evening after dinner--but before they left, Papa & Lola got some reading time in. The title, "The owl that boo'd instead of whoo'd" was very season appropriate. I tried to get an impromptu picture of them enjoying the book--but as soon as she saw me with the camera, she hammed it up and said "CHEESE". Gotta love it! I think it's safe to say I'm no longer the #1 girl in my dad's life. :)

cuatro años

I'll never forget, for the rest of my life, the way I felt when I woke up on our wedding day. Our photographer was brilliant at capturing the emotions of the day. This picture sums up that feeling more than words can. I knew that there was nowhere else in the world I was supposed to be on that day. Everything had lead me to that very day, marrying this very man. Four awesome years. I love being his wife.

2 Year Old Stats

Well, we finally got Lola in for her 2 year old well visit. The most exciting part of any well visit is the physical stats, of course. We were certain Lola weighed at least 30 lbs., but like usual, she just seems heavier than she actually is.

Weight: 27.4 lbs. (55th percentile)
Height: 35 in. (75th percentile)

The nurse practitioner that we see alot commented to John that she was very smart--even though she didn't do a formal assessment, she could just tell from how she presented herself. When he came home and told me, of course, I was very proud :)

She also got her flu shot. Here's the kicker--I've taken her to almost every appointment solo and had to endure many shots followed by tears (though she always got over them fairly quickly.) When the nurse gave her the flu shot, instead of crying, she simply said "thank you". What?!

She's long mastered the alphabet, colors, shapes, numbers. She's doing great with lower-case alphabet recognition, can count up to 10 in Spanish, and is proficient with many sight words. She's beginning to string sight words together while we read, which is very exciting. Hearing her read simple sentences is awesome! We're working on counting with actual objects now, rather than just counting for the sake of counting.

As far as her vocabulary is concerned, I am really noticing her picking up and remembering multiple new worlds on a daily basis. She also talks about things she's done in the recent past. She speaks in many three and four word sentences. Out of nowhere today, she ran in the house from outside on the patio and presented herself with a declarative: "Here I am!"

She can sing many songs by heart and will break into one spontaniously without a moments notice. She doesn't stop at "Twinkle, Twinkle", "ABCs", "I love you" or "Itsy Bitsy Spider" though--we're quite impressed that she also knows the complete lyrics to the Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl" and most of the Frames' "Star Star"--I kid you not.

She has grown into a little girl before our very eyes. I know many parents get sad thinking about sending their children off to their first day of preschool, but personally, next fall can't come soon enough. I love every second I spend with her--each is a gift--but I know school is an environment that she will love and thrive in. Her weekly dance class is a great start. She listens so well and is meeting new friends. I'd say it's also good for her to work on her independence, but she's always been strong in that--very much like I was. I hope it comes from her knowing just how loved she is that she already feels confident enough to spread her little wings.

Of course, the next thing on our toddler agenda is potty-training. I'd love to have this done before Johnny arrives, but I'm not going to stress about it. Most likely we'll tackle it after he arrives and we're cooped up in the house for a few winter months. I'm hoping it'll be a first-round success as she's already very familiar with the concept, having made many a poop on the toilet already!

Stay tuned...

Meeting Baby Ryann

This morning, we made a special trip into the city to meet the newest addition to Team Stine--Baby Ryann. To sum it up simply, she is petite perfection! She is the best kind of baby--sleeps & eats great, cries very rarely and is already offering lots of smiles. Tracy is a beaming mommy and Chris a proud papa--of two now! And Parker's just ready for her to play with him :)

Snuggling her was a dream. I told her I've got a boyfriend for her already and he'll be ready to date by New Year's :)

Lola was interested enough to say hello and giver her a kiss...
...but then she had more important tasks to tend to.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to make a stop at Aloha (our fave lunch spot.) We parked on a side street just around the corner and Lola had to make a stop on some person's steps, just to be her cute self.



I promised an updated belly pic--here are Mommy & Johnny @ 25 weeks.

More Lola LIVE!

These videos were shot 6 weeks ago--it really shouldn't take me that long to post them! She changes so much in just a short amount of time, but they're still cute as heck so I couldn't resist. The first video is probably my favorite--when you ask Lola "How old are you?", her response is perfect!

Dance Class LIVE!

Lola's First Dance Class

Today was a day any mommy of a girl dreams about--the first day of dance class! I remember everything about dance class growing up and how much I loved it. While it wasn't as serious a discipline for me as skating and cheer was, it was still an activity I enjoyed so much. Lola is quite the mover and shaker, so imagine our surprise when we found out a dance company in town offered a 2 year old class! Mom offered it as Lola's Christmas gift, so together, we took Lola to her first session this morning and watched our girl shine.

When we arrived, there was an exercise class going on and she kept saying: "Exercise. My turn now. Exercise. My turn now!"

Trying to get a picture together--"trying" being the key word! Ha!
We shopped for her ensemble at Star Dancewear, which was quite sentimental because that's where I used to get my dance things. After I got her all dressed and pulled her hair back, I couldn't help but fight back tears. Her sweet innocence melts my heart to pieces. Just look at her!

Getting a good-bye kiss from Grammy.

Holding hands with new friends.
I was SHOCKED at how well she sat and listened. I fear she might be the kid in preschool who won't sit still!

They sang songs and danced--to many of Lola's favorites!


Ellyana, Lola's best friend, is in the 3-5 year old class right afterwards. Next year, they'll be together. Lola's class is only 30 min. The 3-5 year old is 1 hour, half tap, half ballet--and they get to participate in the year end recital!
Oh, we LOVE wands!
Thanks for a great first class Miss Sue and Miss Debbie.

Update on Baby Johnny

On Saturday, I turned 24 weeks pregnant--a very important milestone. 24 weeks is the first chance a baby has at survival outside the womb--Lord knows we don't want a little one born that early, but every week after this week the odds are better and better that he'd be ok if born premature. I'm on modified bed-rest again--same as I was with Lola. Though it's alot harder to do with a very active toddler! Thank goodness for the Grandmas--Grammy has been helping out around the house and running errands every chance she gets and Mimi has been taking her out every day she has off. We are so blessed to have help just around the corner.

I have every faith that he will stay in there quite a bit longer like he's supposed to. He's growing great--at my ultrasound yesterday, he measured a bit ahead at 25w (I was technically 24w3d) and he measured in the 67th percentile, estimating his weight at 1lb. 11 oz. He's already as cute as can be, as you can tell from the ultrasound pic. And oh, is he strong! I don't recall Lola being this strong in the womb this early on, but everything seems to happen sooner with the 2nd. I will have to post a belly pic soon--I've got a great bump these days!

Uncle Mikey Visits!

Uncle Mikey came in town this past weekend for a visit, and while we were so happy to have him here, no one was more excited than Lola! She was talking about him coming to visit days before he arrived and knew he was coming on the airplane! We just hung out most of the weekend--and Uncle Mikey spoiled her with lots of love and cookies--and a sweet new Panda backpack!


Running around like a crazy woman in her new Daisy PJs from Nonna & Papa!
With her new Panda!


Hugs for Uncle Mikey.

We did hit up Wishbone & Bleeding Heart on Sunday morning--Lola was thrilled to be stealing Uncle Mikey's money.
Over the weekend, she also contemplated a future life in the convent. Mommy & Daddy would be just fine with that--probably more Daddy than Mommy!

It's a Girl!

HUGE CONGRATS to our dear friends Chris, Tracy & Parker Stine. They welcomed their sweet new addition, Miss Ryann Brielle, into the world this afternoon. She measured 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 in. John can explain to Chris better than anyone just what kind of trouble he's in having a sweet little girl in his world! We can't wait to snuggle her and are so glad she's finally here!

*Happy Grandparents Day*

When it comes to Grandparents, Lola could easily
be considered the luckiest girl in the world.

Lola & Johnny's Room

I have been racking my brain--how on Earth am I going to decorate a shared space for Lola & Johnny?! I have been loving the light blue/poppy red color combo for sometime now, and I figured that might be a good color scheme to go with. I didn't want to risk it being too feminine or too masculine. Thank goodness for etsy.com--I found two sellers with art work I fell in love with and I think it has me off to a great start! The print in the middle totally stole my heart--how perfect for brother & sister.

"Cheer, cheer!"

When I was 4 years old, Nana taught me the Notre Dame Fight Song--how could I NOT know it?! My uncle/god-father was the captain of the marching band's drum line, after all. Well, college football season kicks off today in South Bend and we only root for one team in this house--the IRISH! I started playing the fight song for Lola yesterday and she's now officially obsessed. She made me play it over and over again in the afternoon, as soon as Papa & Mimi dropped her off from their Friday night date and as soon as she woke up this morning. Her simple request is: "More 'Cheer, cheer'!"


Mommy plays it off You Tube. Over and over....and over again!