Labor Day Weekend 2009

We headed up to the lake for Labor Day Weekend, making it Lola's first official trip up there and her first boat ride. It was a beautiful day, filled with lots of sunshine and laughs. After a nice relaxing day, Dad & Sue treated us to the Prime Rib Buffet at Lake Lawn Lodge--she keeps impressing us with her excellent manners when we're out in public. The fellow diners were quite entertained by her as well.

Lola and Grandma hanging out on the lawn. Bringing the Pack'n'Play was an excellent idea!

She only looks like she doesn't mind the life jacked. She was NOT thrilled with the idea of wearing it.

I love this picture of her and Sue. It's crazy to think the first time she brought me up to the lake I was only 7 years old...

Helping Papa drive the boat.

She really loved being of assistance.

Our little trio...Lola is passed out!

"Hey, I want some..."

"WHAT?! You're not going to share?"

Generations of Catholics

• tra·di·tion  Pronunciation: \trə-ˈdi-shən\
• Function: noun 1 a : an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) b : a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable 2 : the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction

This morning, 4 generations of St. George Catholics celebrated the close of our parish's 75th year with Mass given by Cardinal Francis George. The theme for the anniversary year was "Home to Generations of Catholics" and today, that really hit me--4 generations of my family were celebrating Mass together. Papa Kurek (and Lucy), my Mom, John & I, and the youngest generation--Lola. 

The love and devotion I have for my faith was instilled in me by the two generations that preceded me. It is a gift, passed down from one to the next. And John and I feel blessed to be able to pass it down and share it with Lola. It is our Catholic tradition. 

I made a very good friend in Martha Peña (here with Lola) while working with the 75th Anniversary committee these past 2 years.

Our Shepard, Cardinal George, speaking to his flock :) 

As all good Catholics do, we "broke bread together" and celebrated with lots of food afterwards!

Since Lola is always an angel and eats all the "healthy" food I give her, we thought she deserved to eat not one, but TWO brownies for dessert! Shockingly, she took a great nap this afternoon.

The Farm

Oh, to live on a farm. I wouldn't mind. Our Dad always threated to send us there when we were misbehaving...

A neighboring town was hosting a "Harvest Day" celebration this weekend, so we took Lola there this morning. We had so much fun!

We drove over to the farm from the parking lot on a hayride, through the woods.

 Lola enjoyed it.

As soon as we got on the farm, we spent a little time taking in the antique tractor display. It was awesome. And all three brands of tractors held a little special meaning to us...

The Farmall by McCormick--by Mother's madien name...

A John Deere (Sam's biggest client).

And an Internaltional Harvester--Papa Kurek worked for Harvester for a LONG time.

Lola loved "driving"...

Mommy wanted to try, too.

Then we went and visited the Monarch butterflys before then went back to Mexico. I was a little surprised to see one taking a break on Lola's arm--she wasn't.

"You're going to let me hold one?"

She was going for the poor things wings. Discovery, I guess.

Then we went and painted a little fall decoration.

And of course had to swing for a bit.

And a new park adventure--the see saw. A little unsure, at first.

But sheer enjoyment once we started bobbin'.

We ended with a sweet Italian treat-Gelato!

A fun mess!

We had the best time this afternoon playing in Ellyana's backyard, enjoying the beautiful weather! We played with water (and mud!), chased eachother back and forth, and played Ring-Around-The-Rosy. And we ended our fun with a sweet and MESSY treat--Grape Popsicles! 

They sat so sweetly on the stoop together for this picture-

Percussion skills run in the family.

Little Monkey

Auntie Karen & Uncle Dave got Lola the cutest Monkey PJs for her birthday, and we just can't get enough of her in them. The older she gets, the cuter the PJs get!

I snapped these after her bath tonight. Just hanging out, having fun, waiting for the love of her life (Daddy) to come home from work!

If you ask Lola "Where is the blue fish?", she'll walk over and touch it. She's such a show off :)
Oh yes, I can praticaly run. Catch me if you can!
She's coming to get you...

Growth Spurt @ 13 months

We had to go back to the Pediatrician last week so Lola could get her MMR and it was right at the 13 month mark. She was 20 lbs. 4 oz. at her 12 month check up and at 13 months is 21 lbs. 13 oz. She is growing SO fast and is practically running she moves so fast. 

In addition to physical gains, she keeps amazing us with her intelligence. She picks up on things so very fast, we continue to be amazed (as I'm sure all first-time parents are!) You can ask her where many things are and she will point to them. 

Words she can say include: Dada, Ma! (for Mommy), Ba (for Ballon), Shoes and Pup-pup (for Puppy).

She loves rearranging things--toys that are traditionally stationary objects seem to end up on the opposite side of the room they're supposed to be at. The other day, I caught her pushing her name puzzle/stool over to the coffee table so she could use it as leverage to ascend the furniture. I let her do it to encourage discovery, then promptly took her off and put the stool back. Thankfully she didn't attempt it again. When we go over to someones house that has stairs, I'm reminded of how much I'm thankful for our single floor plan, because she loves climbing those, too. If we put her in our bed, she'll turn herself around and slide down the side of it to get down. That one really impresses us because she figured that out all on her own--it's amazing how much she can figure out how to do by herself. 

The rest...

A few weeks ago, our photographer sent us our CD with the rest of our pictures. I uploaded them all--CLICK HERE to see them. I'll be sending some out soon, promise :)

Here comes trouble.

She was reacting to our photographers dog. This is classic Lola.
Can't stop kissing this sweet pea. Ever!
Oooh, I love what the eyes say in this picture.

And this picture shows just how much I adore my AMAZING husband. It's true, a picture speaks a thousand words. 

Starved Rock

Daddy took the day off and made it a 4-day weekend (!), so we headed about 70 miles west this morning to go hike Starved Rock--something that has been on his "to-do"list. The last time I was there was for my Senior Class Trip in high school--a good 10 years ago.

We started the afternoon with a very delicious picnic. I stopped at Rubino's on the way home from school yesterday and picked up some goodies.

After fueling up, we hiked to the French Canyon. A very cool site--something only God could do. The trail wasn't very stroller-friendly, but we made the best of it. 





So blurry because she was dancing and moving so fast....having a good time!
Our little Trio had a great day!