Date Night

This week has been beyond crazy with work and getting ready for our trip to Denver and the big first birthday party, but we still managed to get out for a date night.  We saw one of Ryan's favorite bands, The Darkness.  I had no clue what to expect, but they were pretty awesome.  I can only describe the lead singer as a cross between Russell Brand on Get Him to the Greek and Johnny Depp on Pirates of the Caribbean.  Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining.  But, I'll take pretty much any excuse to get out of the house with my hunky husband. 

Tomorrow - DENVER!  Can't wait!!

- K

Insta Weekend

I meant to post this yesterday, but then, you know, The Bachelor was on.  I'm gonna go ahead and call Ashlee right now.  She's where it's at.

Anyways, this weekend Ryan had to work quite a bit so Lyla and I had some girl time.  We played hide and seek and dress up.  We also had another epic pinterest fail with oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies.  Don't be fooled by their appearance...they were still delicious.

I also spent a lot of time sorting through our pics of L's first year, and ordering more for the big birthday party this weekend.  I could spend all day looking through those sweet pictures. 

She was pretty excited when dada got home, and promptly attacked him with kisses, pets, and hugs.  She like to practice being gentle with just about anything these days, especially the cats.  Dad got lots of gentle pats one night.  And some not-so-gentle ones too.  Makes my heart melt to see those two.

We even managed to have a little BBQ despite the weather.  You know you're acclamating when 34 degrees feels balmy and you only wear a sweatshirt outdoors.  But actually, I am hoping we get more snow.  Mostly because I recently bought L a snowsuit that was kinda pricey, and still has yet to be worn.  Go figure.

- K

Christmas Pictures

While Jo was in town over Christmas she took some pics of Lyla and the fam.  Christmas may be long gone, but they're just too cute not to share.  (And no, I was not going for ombre hair...I just needed to get it done that badly.)

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

- K

L Walking!

To answer some questions you may have:

Yes, I really do talk in that dumb voice.  All the time.  Poor girl.

Yes, our house is often that messy.  I'd like to blame just having come home from a trip, but that would be a lie.

Yes, those are two boy cats.  And yes, they cuddle like that a lot.  Don't ask.

Finally, yes, we do keep our jammies on all day sometimes.  Ok, most times.

- K

80th Birthday!

L with the birthday girl

This weekend L and I went back to Denver for Great Grandma's big 80th bday party!  It was a surprise for grandma, so there were some sweet tears involved when we walked in.  It was so good to see our family and show off all of Lyla's new tricks.  I'm pretty sure she's the future Miss America with all the waving she does.  She literally had our entire section on the plane waving on our ride home.  Too cute.

We also got to meet our handsome little 3 month old friend, Dex, for the first time!  He was so adorable, and Lyla loved him.  She crawled up to me when I was holding him and starting smooching him, sharing her toothbrush, and waving.  She's gonna be a good big sis.  (No announcements there. ;)

It was 60 degrees out there (and -11 in MN), which made me realize exactly how much I need to get back to Denver someday.  Also, I had forgotten how hard it is to travel with a baby.  She just does not sleep well on the road.  Still, can't wait to be back in 2 weeks for the big ONE year birthday party!!

- K

yummy

L and gma

auntie savannah

doing dishes with gma

smoochin

i mean, i could just eat. her. up.

auntie jo

goodbye smooches

These Days

 This upcoming little birthday has had me a little emotional about our little girl growing up so fast, but I sure wouldn't trade the stage she's in now for anything.  She's got so much personality...here's a little taste:

1) She's popped 2 more teeth (8 total now)...and has taken to biting her own hand when throwing fits.  Which I guess is better than biting others...?

2) She's throwing fits already!  They really aren't bad...yet, but this little lady sure doesn't like not getting her way.  She totally understands "no", and listens most of the time, but she also tests limits constantly.  I have to force myself to be serious when disciplining, but inside I just die laughing.  She's nailed the fake cry, and those big brown eyes seem so innocent.  She's gonna be a tough cookie, but secretly I like having a little sassafrass.  Keeps things interesting. 

3) She took her first steps!  I'll post a video soon.  :)

4) She's started dancing!  It's this hilarious little arm wave, very rap-star-esque.  I love it.

5) You pretty much can't feed her anymore with a spoon.  She wants EVERYTHING I am eating, and has to have her own spoon to work with.  She's getting pretty good with it, but for the time being I've given up on wearing white.

 - K

December Recap, Part 3

Now that we're about half way through January I'm finally getting around to our final post about the holidays.  It's been a rough week, but I finally have my happy baby back, so life is good.

The day Jo left after Christmas, Ryan's family came into town.  We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas morning for a second time, and L got spoiled AGAIN.  We also happened to all give gifts that everyone had either already received or already owned.  I guess we know each other's taste!

The rest of the week was mostly spent eating at great restaurants, and cooking amazing champagne-lobster-steak feasts on New Year's Eve.  We also braved the MOA the first Saturday after Christmas.  Big mistake. 

Even though the visit ended with food poisoning and Lyla was kind of cranky from teething, we had a ton of fun.  Miss those people every day!

- K

what? i'm busy.

auntie alycia and uncle colin

spoiled

uh, seriously?

cheers!

helping grandpa

new year's eve feast

eating ice cream with grandma.  she says "what's the worst that can happen, diarrhea?  we'll be gone"...

...turns out it was way worse than just diarrhea.

Pajama Party

I've recently made two of probably the dumbest decisions I've ever made.  The first was accepting a vodka soaked gummy bear from a complete stranger in line for the bathroom at Lambeau Field.  Happily it was not laced with anything, and so there were no negative effects.

The second was yesterday when we went to the neighborhood all-you-can-eat sushi place for lunch with Ryan's family before they left for the airport.  When the sushi came out I stated "this is definitely not their A game", but instead of listening to my instincts, we continued to eat every last piece.  I mean, who wants to pay the extra 10% for not finishing??

Unhappily, this one did have negative effects.  I won't go into the gruesome details, but let's just say that both Lyla and I got food poisoning (even though all she had was an avocado roll and ice cream), and the pajamas pictured are our third set of the day due to poor little L's inability to keep anything down.

Oh, and she also got her sixth tooth today.  Fun times.

- K

I, on the other hand, crushed tons of Sushi with no ill effects.  Well no ill effects except for a broken heart.  When I found Lyla asleep in puke in the middle of the night, I woke her up and carried her to the bathroom for a bath.  When I looked up from turning on the bath she leaned in, with puke all over her hair, and gave her daddy a big kiss.  It was a gesture I will literally remember on my death bed.  Love my little pukies.

- R

December Recap, Part 2

This Christmas was the best.  Having a little one kind of makes you see it all from a child's perspective again.  Even though Lyla didn't quite know what to think about opening presents, and really preferred her aunt's "adult language" themed stocking to her own, it was so fun watching her take it all in.

Jo was in town again, and we had a great time shopping, eating, drinking, eating, cooking, and eating.  It was really calm and cozy having her here for Christmas, but I don't think I need to elaborate on how much we like having her around.  ;)

Here are some pics from our little holiday.

- K

pre christmas eve service champagne toast

that pointer finger is always out

more interested in mom's new camera than those dumb baby toys

you can't see it, but she's wearing a reindeer sweater too

sushi at chino latino

so proud of using the spoon by herself