Its amazing how on top of things I can be when I have a large enough incentive. We're still hoping Zoe comes this year so we have done our best to get everything in order for the "just in case." My doctor is still very positive that she'll be here this year but probably not before Christmas. Darn! Regardless, we've been having so much fun helping LaNea find her Christmas spirit.
Of course, we always start by decorating the Christmas tree. She wasn't able to put the ornaments on very well but she enjoyed trying. She has also been perfect in not touching them now that they are up there. Its her job alone to turn on the Christmas tree lights, don't even think about doing it without asking her first! After the first few days, she's been very good about not touching the presents too. We may have to have another review after my birthday but we're still really proud of how well she's done.
Her favorite parts of Christmas have been Santa, snowmen and Christmas tree. I believe she's figured out reindeer a little too. Fortunately she doesn't seem to understand what they actually mean. Its nice that she still doesn't have any crazy expectations of Santa this year and hopefully by next year she'll actually get to experience what its like to build a snowman! I think my favorite part of this Christmas time has been getting to experience the holidays through her eyes. Its so much easier to embrace the holiday spirit when you have a little munchkin to lead you.
One last funny thing about LaNea. She's really started to like joining in on our prayers. She doesn't really need to say the whole thing but when it comes to what she's thankful for...that can go on FOREVER. She's been extra grateful for Santa and snowmen but she's also really good about reminding Eric and I of the smaller things that we really don't think of being grateful for.
Sorry my pictures are pretty randomly placed. Sometimes Blogspot doesn't make things easy. :)
My mom was fascinated by Izzie and LaNea's relationship. They are best friends and so good to each other. Eric and I were just proud of Izzie though. She only freaked out at my mom on her arrival and after that, just treated her like the rest of the family. Maybe it helped that she could never say no to offering her part of her meals?
LaNea loves having someone join her in her adventures. As soon as Grandma made it to the top she received a cheer with clapping to let her know how good she had done.
Trying to get LaNea to actually focus on a boring camera when so much else is around isn't easy but we did want to get a few good shots of my mom with LaNea. 
And we did succeed a few times! My mom came out for a week to help me around the house since I've been moving so much slower these days. LaNea loved to have someone to play with and talk to. Grandma brought her a ton of toys that she's collected over the years and LaNea was instantly in love. She is now very dedicated to a large baby that's weighs about as much as she does. She loves to dress it in baby's cloths (wears 3mons) and change it diapers and she will share her snacks and such. Its fun to see as I know she'll make an excellent big sister.
It was so much fun having my mom here and its always fun to have someone love your child almost as much as you do. I enjoy being the proud mother of such an amazing little girl. And yes, she does miss her "maama" already and has asked repeatedly that she come back! :)
We FINALLY took my mom's visit as a perfect excuse to visit the Renaissance Festival. It was just as we hoped it would be. So many people were there and the majority were dressed in the most crazy outfits. We got to watch a few of the shows like the jousting tournament and a bell player. We mostly just walked around though with our mouths open at all the amazing things to see. One of the craziest was the elephant rides they offered. Not baby elephants either but the really tall ones. LaNea wasn't brave enough to do that but she was brave enough to do a pony ride as long as I held her hand the whole time. Not easy keeping up with a pony while 8 months pregnant but it was worth it. LaNea didn't stop talking about those horsey's for the rest of the day.
All the girls, this was obviously taken at the beginning of the day before we were exhausted and my ankles completely missing.
One of my favorite parts of being a Primary teacher is getting to know all the younger kids.
Not that I have any favorites but if I did, it would definitely be Brieanna. I've never known a sweeter girl who gets along with everyone. I also love that she's shy as we totally relate!
While Eric and my mom took LaNea trick-or-treating, I stayed at the car to pass out candy. Loved seeing all my kids in their costumes and my mom took many pictures of all the different cars so I wouldn't miss anything.
Trick-or-Treat!!
LaNea was invited to a fun Halloween party on Friday so she and I were able to dress up early.
Isn't she a gorgeous princess. She wouldn't keep the crown on but she loved her poofy dress!
One of the many adventures we did was the pumpkin patch. LaNea is always ready for any adventure and has fallen in love with pumpkins. She especially loved the maze that this patch had out of cardboard boxes.
We also went to a barnyard the college puts on. It was fun showing her all the animals that she knows so well. Unfortunately daddy is becoming too successful at teacher this monkey how to climb. I kept having to pull her off of all the gates.
The baby chicks were easily her favorite. They were only 3 days old and she was so gentle with them.
This was a wonderful week and it was fun to try so many things that we hadn't done before. Thanks for coming out mom, we all loved having you here!
LaNea turned two today. Its crazy for me to actually say it, but I know most seem to have thought she was 2 already, until they hear her talk that is. :) We don't have her 2 year check up till next week but we assume she's around 28 lbs and 35 inches tall.
She LOVES her princesses and switches her favorites too often for my sanity. Currently she's in love with Cinderella. She loves dancing, especially with her daddy but when he's at work, she'll ask me to fill in without hesitation. She loves reading and sit and read her stories for at least fifteen minutes, all on her own. She's always willing to try new things and make them her own. Her and I try to do at least one art project a day and she's getting really good at them for a uncoordinated 2 year old. She still hasn't figured out how to count with me and while she'll allow to go through our ABC flashcards with her each day, she's really not making a huge effort to show me how amazing she is at them. She does enjoy puzzles and through her shapes/colors puzzle she knows most her shapes and her colors.
A BIG step for me happened this morning when she started singing Happy Birthday with me, using words. Eric and I both love to sing and I'm so excited that she'll start joining in with us now.
She knows so many words I couldn't list them all if I wanted to. The ones I wish she didn't know as well would probably have to be "You broke it!", "it fell" and "messy". Yep, she definitely takes after me when it comes to her clumsiness.
That's probably the best definition of her I can give. She's spunky, daring, loving and always surprising us with what she'll do and what she knows. Almost every day, Eric or I will look at each other and say how much we love her, don't know if we'd ever be able to say that enough.
Happy Birthday, Munchkin!!
Sorry, our pictures are always so random but I promise she is not easy to get pictures of. Especially ones where she is actually smiling and happy.
SHe was excellent in opening up her gifts. We did have to say no to playing with them in between but she loved trying to open all the different boxes.
She loved the candles on her cupcake so much she asked us to do it again but without the singing. But how come no one ever told me to be careful? LaNea immediately pulled out the candle and put the burned end in her mouth. Don't worry, it was after this she asked to have us light them again. :)
So LaNea will not be the only child for too much longer! We're thrilled to be expecting her sister to join our little family January 1, 2012. We got to do her technical ultrasound this afternoon and everything is looking great. Her measurements are just like LaNea's. Long legs and smaller head. She also measured exactly as she should for her projected due date. Who knows, maybe this little girl is going to be more cooperative. She is also a lot more active than LaNea was or at least I can feel her more.
I can't be sure if LaNea understands at all what I'm talking about when I mention the "baby in mommy's tummy" or now "your little sister" but she she might be. She will say baby in tummy and she was even willing to say Hi to her little sister. It'll be exciting for them to meet.
So today is Brittany's birthday but Eric and I weren't quite up for the long drive to Houston for the cake/ice cream celebration. But neither of us really wanted to go without the cake either. So we decided it would be fair to make a batch of cupcakes in Brittany's name! Thank you Brittany, I was so craving something sweet!
For the last little while I've been encouraging LaNea to help me with the cooking. She and I both really enjoy getting to do this together. She's so great about not touching the stove or oven door but will peer in with me and do her best to help where she can. I believe she had a lot of fun helping me stir the cake batter and twice as much helping me frost.
My dear friend Amber made me a couple of aprons and I discovered today just how useful they can be! LaNea was thrilled to be wearing it and it kept her completely chocolate free! THANK YOU Amber!
As you can see, Snow White and Aurora had to help with each task. These are her favorite toys and she keeps them with her always. You'd not believe how augmentative they can be, which means its probably a good thing LaNea doesn't have a sibling yet. For the most part they keep LaNea happy and take lots and lots of naps!
Her almost finished product. Literally! She got another good glob on there and then began to lick it off while I finished up the rest. :)
Yeah, she's pretty happy. She loved the frosting but not the cake so much. 
Even Izzie got involved in the mess. As I was cleaning up LaNea's left over cupcakes, Izzie jumped from under the table to snatch a piece from my hand. Is it terrible that I was more proud of her for being so brave than angry that she did something she shouldn't? As difficult as our poor dog can be, we really do love her and hope that one day she'll recover from all her anxiety issues.
LaNea attended her first day at swim lessons this morning. We had so much fun trying to get her to do the different things that were asked. She has no problem floating on her stomach but she hated to be on her back. We might have to have her practice more during her baths.
She loved the game of throw the duckie and then swim to get it. More she loved when the teacher would stand next to us and cheer her on but she enjoyed chasing her duckie too.
The only other big problem we faced was when she tried to teach them how to push off from the wall. She couldn't grasp the concept of holding on to the wall while getting ready to push off. When the teacher wanted them to move around on the wall, LaNea did great. She could move quickly all by herself but I kept having to stop her from climbing out. 
So overall we had so much fun and LaNea did amazing. We'll go each day for the rest of this week and then Tuesday thru Friday of the week after. Don't expect her to be a swimmer by the end but I hope we'll both just feel more comfortable with her in the water.
We have lived in Texas for the last 3 years. For us that's a good amount of time. And yet, I still don't like it here. I'm not complaining or trying to criticize the state, but I just don't like it. I hate that the grass looks and feels so different than what I grew up with. I hate that the bugs here are bigger and a little more scary. I hate that I don't feel comfortable walking on unpaved paths. And I hate that the predators here seem so much worse than everywhere else. I guess since Pioneer Day is coming up, somehow my thoughts began to think about the pioneers. I gained a new appreciation for what they must have surely went through. I know that if we continued to live here, LaNea would be just fine with fetching balls out of bushes, rafting down rivers with alligators nearby. I admire anyone who has made a change like the pioneers whether for a better job or to be closer to family. I can't imagine that any of those first pioneers were every very comfortable in their new surroundings and yet they stuck it out for the benefit of their future. Pretty impressive to me. Anyways...
Now, I am sorry that I haven't really taken any good pictures of LaNea lately, ever. One day, I'll do better. For now, here's just a few to show what LaNea's been up to lately.
I hate that she sucks her thumb. Not that it doesn't look cute but I know way too many horror stories to want it to continue. Now that LaNea has a terrible habit of picking her nose while sucking her thumb, I have the perfect excuse to encourage her to stop! :)
This little girl is Lexi. I was watching her for the last little while. LaNea loved Lexi and would always enjoy getting her to laugh. That's not to say she didn't get completely jealous of Lexi too. If I was giving Lexi too much attention, LaNea would make sure she climbed in between Lex and I, who cares if I was giving her a bottle!
LaNea has begun making many friends in church and at playgroup. But her best friend would still have to be Izzie. She always needs to know exactly where she is and is always willing to share her food with her. Izzie is now sleeping in LaNea's room at night and I'm sure that's only helping the friendship grow. Now if only I could teach Izzie that "dom" means "come", LaNea would be in Heaven!
This is just to show how helpful LaNea is. She's always okay with picking up her toys and putting her clothes in the basket. She is also good about putting dirty dishes in the sink, throwing away garbage and LOVES to wipe down the house in general. She's also very interested in helping unload the dishwasher. The good side for me is I tend to unload it twice as fast to make sure she doesn't get to the breakables! I love my little girl and how big she thinks she is.
LaNea has the funniest routine in the morning. Eric always opens her door and normally she's waiting for him. She will always grab both her pillow and her blanket to bring with her. She also likes to bring a doll if she had one with her. But this morning she decided she needed a little more than she could carry on her own, so she loaded her daddy up. She held onto her blanket but brought daddy a pillow, a book and a random part to her kitchen. She in turn held onto the blanket and her doll. She's funny because while she's not attached to one thing in particular, she loves to have her things around her!
Unfortunately her favorite spot is in her big chair, right in front of the tv watching The Cat in The Hat!
At the beginning of the month, my mom paid for LaNea and I to come and visit with her and my sisters. I think we all had a lot of fun and LaNea really enjoyed getting to see her grandma. I'm sure it helped that she didn't have to take all her naps and got to stay up with all the adults each night.
Laura's boyfriend, Fernando planned a small surprise for Laura while we were all there. While she was spending the morning with us, he got their apartment all decorated with streamers and balloons and set up her birthday gift. He also got her a delicious cake called a Tres Leches cake. Soo yummy!
Mom and Laura
Dinner out
Getting to cuddle with Aunt Melissa
After our short hike, we stopped for lunch at a really fun restuarant that even allowed dogs to join us.
This was my favorite picture. It was such a beautiful day to go hiking.
While I was there I got to visit with one of my closest and longest friends! I had so much fun getting to visit Amber's family and together we got to relax and catch up!
We also met up with our other friend, Melissa. We hadn't seen her in a LONG time.
Overall, I was very happy to be able to go back to my own schedules and sleep times but it was great to see everyone and especially to have LaNea get to know her family. Thanks again for the trip mom!
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