18 months

(Lola, 18 months--rocking on her horse and modeling one of her adorable Christmas outfits from G.G.)

While her well check-up isn't until next week, I thought I might as well blog Lola's 18 month mark before it escapes me...

We went for her developmental check-up last week (same day as the climbing-out-of-the-crib event) and it went great. She was exactly where she should be with everything that was assessed and even a little advanced in some areas.

I couldn't even tell you how many words she's speaking now because there are too many to count! She is even starting to put more two-word phases together, including this afternoon's "more cheese". She continues to use her manners and melts our hearts every time she says "please" for something--and she's even starting to do it un-prompted.

She is SO active, I can hardly keep up with her! She is climbing on everything she can and is running laps around the house. This morning, we went to an open gym at a gymnastics studio and she had a blast running around like the crazy woman she is.

Coloring is probably her favorite activity of the moment. She'll sit at her table and doodle for quite some time--usually keeping the color on the paper. She knows all her shapes, most of her colors and can recognize and say many of her letters.

The toddler meltdowns are upon us, but they usually don't last too long and the next thing you know, she's smiling and giggling again. She continues to bring us more happiness than we could have every possibly imagined...

Cakearella

Our sister Renee is all sorts of brilliant when it comes to cake decorating. When someone is a natural talent at something, it's immediately apparent. But when they actually work to make themselves better than their natural ability--well, that's when you get perfection.

Renee stayed with us for the last two weeks so she could attend the Master Course at Wilton's HQ here in Chicago. She learned all sorts of useful information and applied in on her final project--a three-tired wedding cake. (See above.) If this is what she can accomplish in only two weeks, we can't wait to see what she has in store for the cake world in the future.

Fun fact: Her cake has over 100 handmade Wilton roses on it!

Playing in the Snow

Mother Nature gave us a beautiful dusting of fresh powdery snow last night, so we got Lola all bundled up to enjoy it this morning. She loved it--and made the cutest snow bunny. Putting her in her snow pants brought back SO many memories from my childhood. I remember sledding for hours on the hill behind my elementary school and trekking back home (just around the block) wearing those snow pants--and as soon as I got home, my mom had fresh, dry clothes waiting for me--and some steaming Swiss Miss with marshmallows....Our next snow adventure is to take her sledding on that same hill!




PLEASE don't think we're bad parents for the next few pictures--it happened so fast...and it was way too cute not to document.




John doesn't have the camera in his hands too often, but when he does, he makes 'em awesome. Just look at that face!

All done--time to go in.

The typical scene in our entrance hall--all winter long.

Cribs are for babies.

So, the day we took Lola to her 18 month developmental appointment, she decided to gives us the shock of our lives! We put her down for her nap and decided to lie down ourselves and catch a few Zzzz's because we didn't get many the night before. The next thing we knew, our little person opened our bedroom door and walked right in! John and I flew out of bed and both looked at each other with shocked expressions while we held our hands over our hearts (because they were about to jump out of our chests!)

We put her back in her crib and asked her to show us how she climbed out--without any hesitation, she threw her leg over the railing and began her decent. John promptly disassembled her crib, I moved the changing table into our room, together we moved her dresser away from her window and moved the gates to her doorway and closet.

So far, I'd give her transition a B+. My best girl friend is just getting ready to transition her daughter to her big girl bed, and when she was talking about it I felt bad for her. What on Earth would I do if I couldn't keep my baby in her crib? Turns out you put gates up in their room which then becomes a bigger crib :)

So for now, her crib mattress is on the floor. Eventually, we'll get her a twin, but I don't know when we'll actually put the bed in a frame--she likes to jump on her bed and I figure if it's on the floor, it's not a long way down!

Little Miss Eliza Rae

Jenny (one of my dearest friends from high school) and her husband T.J. welcomed their beautiful daughter, Eliza Rae, into the world yesterday! Jenny is blonde & blue eyed and she married a dashing Filipino. It was half-way through a conversation Jenny and I were having a few months ago that it dawned on me this child was going to look nothing like her! No doubt, though, she will have Jenny's kind heart--and SASS as TJ said! She is a little Asian beauty and we can't wait for the new Goco trio to make a trip back up to Chicago to meet her--thankfully Jenny's family still lives here so she's obligated! And since we make trips down to Florida, we'll get to see her there, too :)

Congratulations Jenny & T. J.--and welcome to the most incredible ride of your life!

You can visit the Goco's over on their blog: The Goco Family

Toddler Cusine

Approaching the big "YEAR & A HALF" mark on Tuesday is shocking. She's turning into such a big girl. While out shopping at BuyBuyBaby a few weeks ago, we picked up a fun Sesame Street plate that she loves eating her meals off of now--probably because Elmo's on it. And if Elmo's around, we know happiness abounds! We're also practicing how to use a fork. She really enjoys it--but she can't yet figure out how to get her food onto it. So Mommy helps :)

A typical dinner, including her current favorite--zucchini.

Kitchen Klubhouse

While we were all eating dinner last night, Lola figured out that not only could she take out all the pots & pans from the cabinet, but she could fit inside the cabinet, too. It was GREAT fun for her and entertained us for a good 15 minutes. If we ever play hide & seek, I know the first place I'm looking!

Reunited.

Between traveling to Florida for Christmas, me being gone on the cruise and the everyday craziness of life & conflicting schedules--we haven't seen our best friends in over a month! You can see how excited the girls were to be back together again--and doing what they do best--sharing snacks!

Disney Date

While we were in Florida last month, John took me on our first Disney date to Walt's magical kingdom. It couldn't have been a more perfect day from start to finish. We love every moment we spend as a Trio, but every now and then, it's nice to just be Husband & Wife instead of Mommy & Daddy, too. And of course--to be "kids" again!

The weather was cool, the crowds were light, the lines were short and the sky was blue. Could you ask for better?!

John getting to meet Pinoch--a very big deal.
I got to say "HI" too.
My kind of girl.
My other house.
Mick & Min were on a date, too!
Headed over to my favorite...
SPACE MOUNTAIN! There was no way I was paying $18.95 for an 8x10 pic of us on the ride, but the nice guy behind the counter let me take a picture of the picture. Just as good in my book.
While I cut part of my husbands head off, I still managed to capture the smile that takes my breath away on a daily basis.
Our view from Dumbo. Perfection.
The carousel wasn't John's style. I, however, loved it.
John's favorite.
All of our ethnicity's represented--

Polish
Irish
Spanish
Italian
The famous Turkey Leg. The ONLY food in Disney worth the price you pay for it.


Our first parade of the day.

Saw this waiting in line for Thunder Mountain Railroad. DiTORE!
Relaxing on the railroad.
The castle by day.
Our second parade of the day--Mickey's Street Party.
John was a little frightened--
--by the sight of this!
Per Ren's suggestion, we went here. It was awesome!
And the castle by night.

MAGIC
And on our way out, we stopped in the camera store and I ended up giving John a little trivia/history lesson: Shirley Temple presented WD with an Oscar for Snow White and gave him 7 miniature Oscars--one for each dwarf. :)