Summer Fun

We had a fun (but super busy!) summer.  We went to the symphony, apple orchard, zoo, children's museum, swimming pool, and a few trips.  Needless to say, in the meantime, this little cutie has grown up too fast.  She now thinks it's hilarious to dance, stand on her head (we think this is a sign of intelligence) and make us laugh. 

Husker'ing at the Symphony

Feeding the ducks in our backyard- the Four Amigos

Bouncy Bridge at the zoo

Apple picking.  She's a natural.

Love this girl

Apples and pumpkins in one pic... Nailed it!

Showing off

Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame game

The weather was charming with a 31 degree windshield

Graney Mania!

Children's Museum... just a little dinosaur spotting

Ladies, start your engines

We ride this about 5 times in a row every time we come

Trapped!

No words

Lilah showing the ducks how to hide under a blanket.  It might help, you never know.

Summer Days.

Standing on her head.  Talent :)

Swimming and looking fabulous!

Visiting the Sophia Holmes in Chicago

This was the best we could get of both of them

Husker Travels

Ready to Road Trip!

My beautiful cousin, Heidi Otto, got married on July 12th this year in Nebraska and I couldn't miss it for the world.  Heidi and I spent a lot of time together as kids and I just adore her.  Plus, getting to see my cousins/aunts/uncles/mini-cousins that I don't get to see often was a fantastic plus as well :)  Before I took Lilah back in July, I wanted her to appreciate a few Nebraska Lessons.

Corn:  We Like It.
      We had to teach Lilah about corn before going back to Nebraska. I tried to sign her up for detassling but it turns out she's not eligible.  So, we did a little corn cleaning in our kitchen instead.  Let me tell you how she did, pro.  She bit into an ear, she threw ears on the floor, she hoarded all of them.  She has got this down.  Ben and I are quite proud.  First Husker Lesson done.

Tough work carrying corn

Next Husker Lesson: We Road Trip.  We are Road Warriors.
      This was a bit harder.  Ben unfortunately had a tricky work schedule and was not able to travel back to Nebraska with Lilah and I.

Weddings:  We dance, we play and we shout a lot.
   Heidi's wedding (she's marrying an Auburn fan... hmmmm..... but luckily we have overlooked this and we LOVE Kyle!).  He is a true Southern gentleman.

The Lady Cousins

My Awesome Cousins and Brothers!

Meeting Other Huskers:  Important
    Lilah and her girl pack ran the floor along with meeting her cousins

Lilah and my god-daughter, Alexa

Needless to say: Grandparents were not missed on this trip!  We LOVED seeing both sets and getting to enjoy new boxes of toys at each!  Uncles, definitely did not skip them either... we uncled it up as well! Lilah even got to see her cousin Stella again!  Stella is almost 6 months now, Lilah is ready to play! Gramma especially was thrilled to take her to the zoo on a nice morning.  Highlights were feeding the camel, seeing the baby lemurs and riding the train! And of course, no trip to Lincoln is complete without a trip to EITHER Don & Millies or Amigos.  We chose the former... this time.

No one tackles cheese frenchees like this girl

One of the animals?

Gramma & Lilah

Dirty Little Hillbillies

Ben and I decided we needed a short break from the chaos that our lives have been for the past many months.  Since we are in a different region these days, we decided to visit a nearby site and we concocted a plan to go to the Great Smoky Mountains for some fresh air.  Naturally, Rooney had to come with us... he goes on all our great road trips.  Luckily, Lilah had just learned the word "Bubble" before we left and uses the word completely out of context.  We thought we might lose our sanity somewhere on the 7 hour drive.  And then we reached Dollywood and we knew sanity was a relative term now.

Our cabin was beautiful but was up the most insanely winding and steep road I have ever traveled.  Worse than Machu Piccu!  We laughed everytime as we smelled Ben's car engine nearly smoking that we would be trapped in the land of the Hillbillies.  Our cabin's downstairs bathroom was broken, so we opted for no baths for the first 2 days.  When in Tennessee.... be a dirty little hillbilly.  We never got see the local raccoon that frequented the cabin for treats, but we did get to see a black bear running across the road!  I also had a very unfortunate meeting with my first hornet who stung me on my hand.  It hurt like a *#$%!  My hand was the size of Texas for the next 4 days.

We loved the over-the-top towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg where we stayed.  It was like where Mountain Town + Hillbilly culture + Vegas all met and the result was pretty unique!  Along with adorable shops of taffy, chocolates and black bear items, you could stop in about 30 haunted houses, visit a number of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" museums or simply listen to banjo music everywhere you go.  We took part in Hillbilly golf, where Lilah nailed her first hole-in-one.  We both couldn't believe it, the little cutie pie didn't even know how to swing her hockey stick club but got the ball where it needed to go in one try.

We hiked daily and the views were Gorgeous!  Similar to the beauty of the Rockies but with completely different vegetation. We struggled a bit to keep Lilah happy on these 2-3 hour hikes but turns out she enjoyed hitting the back of her daddy's head with leaves, sticks and tugging his hair.  Bless Ben, the man is a saint.  Lilah also consumed a vast amount of fruit snacks while on these hikes to keep her content.  We loved the new territory!

The mountain cart that takes you to the mini-golf course high up the hill!

Diver scaring off the great white sharks while the aquarium was being cleaned.... nuts!

Gatlinburg, TN

Ripley's Aquarium-- outstanding!

Great Smoky National Forest

Junior PGA Tour

Hole-in-one!  For real.

Cade's Cove and Abrahm Falls

Our little fruit snack monster

Mid Hike Bath

 

Growing Up Is Overrated

Growing up is lame.  No one ever warned me that when you have a baby, it will continue to get older and cuter.  But it happened.  And as sad as I was to let her grow up, she just is getting so darn stinking funny and adorable to be around I can't help but love it!  Lilah started in the toddler room at daycare and I was pretty nervous about it.  Mostly because they expect her to eat a snack sitting at a table and to take a nap on a cot, not a crib.  Good luck.  And our reports from the first week of toddler room were less than glowing.  Lilah did not want to sit down and eat, she prefers to stroll while snacking.  Lilah didn't understand she had to sleep on a cot, she wanted to keep playing with toys.  Lilah wants to be held the whole time.  It was a little disheartening... Maybe next week she'll figure this out?  Meanwhile, we are uber sad to leave our infant room teachers, they are absolutely wonderful.  But, on to new stages and new things!  Those babies just don't hold enough entertainment anymore... on to the toddlers.  My mom texted me in the middle of the week worried about how Lilah was doing in the toddler room because she hears about those gangs of toddlers who go around and steal cookies.  From the one thing that's stolen a cookie from Lilah (<cough> Rooney...), the experience wasn't pleasant... I think she can handle herself.  Amongst other unfounded worries... Ben after not seeing Lilah for 2 weeks thought that she was getting too skinny.  Lilah is down to just one double chin, we have major probs here folks.

If you were worried that Lilah wasn't doing cute things, please rest easier, she is.  They are as follows:

We "talk". This consists of Lilah speaking in some foreign language I have not identified.  But it's cute.

We "talk on the phone". ( No idea where she learned that.)

We have chats in the backyard every evening after dinner.

We drink from hoses

We mastered escaping thru doggy doors

We eat at chairs and tables at daycare now instead of highchairs

We drive things.

We stick our faces in fountains.

We think grandpas are neat.

We run thru sprinklers.

We giggle in an adorable way at almost everything.  Even while spilling clean laundry.

We love our ball tent.  Love.

We eat 100% of everything put in front of us... except strawberries and carrots.

We make our daddy an ooey gooey marshmallow (men live for this stage).  And built a fort without him.  This made him sad.

Purses and Diapers.  This classic will never fade.