Road Trip!

Last week we took a road trip to visit my family.  

Lila got to spend time visiting grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Here's Lila with her mama and great grandma. 

We spent Friday morning at a pumpkin patch, and Lila insisted on wearing her Halloween costume - a kitty! 

It was a chilly, windy day, but we had a great time!

painting whiskers!

Lila's great aunt works at a fire station and we popped in for a visit.  Lila got her own personal tour of the fire station, including time to crawl all over an old school fire truck.  

She had a ball rolling up and down the windows and opening and closing the doors. 

 Lila even got to climb in an ambulance, where one of the paramedics hooked her up to an EKG machine.  Lila got to hear her heartbeat and take home a printout of her heart rhythms. 

So much to do, and so many people to see...  thank goodness for naps in the car!

Lila is an amazing road tripper.  

We banked over 1,000 miles, countless restaurants, new people, missed nap times and late bedtimes, and Lila was a trooper through it all.  We only  had a few meltdowns but for the most part she was a smiley, agreeable, happy girl.  I'm so thankful for the week we had an all of the time we were able to spend with  family.

Busy, busy

Lila has been very busy lately.

She's already stealing the keys and driving away in the car.

Her grandma and aunt came to visit last weekend.  She was in heaven!  So many people to play with her!

And of course, lots and lots of trips to the park. Lila never gets tired of the park!

So big!

It has been far too long since I've updated. In the month + since I last posted, Lila has grown and changed so much!

Even though spring is right around the corner, Lila has decided that a few of our Christmas ornaments (!) must stay out. She is particularly fond of these silver balls. We've decided to just let her have them. They make her so happy.


Lila is working on at least 4 new teeth, and when she gets new teeth, she gets horrible diaper rash. We brought her home one evening and her little tush hurt so badly that she couldn't sit in her high chair. It was so sad! So, we put a cushion on the floor and opted for a picnic. No picnic would be complete without a balloon, right? Lila's daycare celebrated the first anniversary of its opening and they handed out balloons to all of the kiddos as they left that day. Lila chose green balloon and kept it with her the rest of the evening.

As always, Rocco was nearby and enjoyed the floor picnic as well.

A few weeks ago Lila and I took a road trip together to visit my family. Daddy was swamped with work, so he wasn't able to join us, but we still had a good time. Lila got to see so many family members, including a tiny new baby cousin.

Here's Lila with her Auntie EM and her cousin Jeremiah. Jeremiah played so nicely with Lila. He shared his toys and was very patient with her.

See that puppy in the background? Lila followed that dog around all weekend and barked at him. It was the funniest thing ever. Next time you see her, ask her, "Lila, what does a puppy say?" and she'll tell you.

Here's Lila with Mama, Auntie EM, Grandpa, and her great Grandma and Grandpa. Four generations!

Lila with Mama, Auntie EM, and Great Grandma. I think she's wondering when we're going to dive into that cake...

Lila with her great uncle Kevin.

Lila with Auntie EM...

Lila with all of the girls. Well, not all of the girls...but everyone that was around that weekend, including 3 week old Abigail. How funny is it that we even got the new baby looking at the camera?


In addition to new teeth, Lila has several other new accomplishments to boast, including WALKING! She can walk while pushing a toy! She's not quite steady enough to walk unsupported - yet - but she is well on her way. Mama and Daddy are scrambling to Lila-proof the house!

Lila is talking up a storm these days. She has so many new sounds, and at times her babbles sound like she's telling a story, complete with inflection in her voice. She loves to take her toy phone - or a real phone - and put it up to her ear and chatter away. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, it seems! :) She brushes her own hair, tries to put on her own shoes and socks, and even grabbed one of my hair ties and tried to put it in her hair. It's amazing knowing that she has been watching and learning all of these months. It's a little scary, too!

Lila will try to feed herself with a fork or spoon, but she doesn't quite have it down yet. We still give her a utensil at every meal, but she usually winds up trying to feed us instead. :)


Here's Lila yesterday (Saturday) morning, chilling on Daddy and Mama's bed. Check out that bed head! I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture. Our baby is a toddler!

Everyone told us that Lila would be more and more fun the older she gets, and it is so true. She blows kisses, giggles, pets her puppies, snuggles with her stuffed animals, plays peek-a-boo, and we look at each other every day and say, "I love her so much!" She's her own little person now, not just a baby anymore. (Sniff, but only a little...)