Preparing for change...

So today was a big day for Lillian and I, our lives (mine and Lilly's - well..and George's - but I'm not sure it's gonna break his heart like mine...not to say he doesn't care - it's just different I think). Today, Lillian and I went to Lewis Little Folks - the daycare at NASA - where Lilly will be going to have her meet the teachers, see the room, and just kind of get familar with the environment. It was also for me to become comfortable with the environment I'm about to leave my sweet pea in for the majority of the day :( - breaks my heart - not because I worry about the care at the daycare, but because someone else will be watching/caring for her - not me :(! Lillian was very attentive to what was going on in the room, taking it all in while I talked with her teachers Renee and Alycia. They both seem very nice and I'm sure will take great care of Lilly.

Ideally I'd love to have as much time with Lillian as possible, but still maybe keep my 'foot in the door' at NASA and continue to bring in a little bit of an income, so we can get bills paid off, build up our savings again, and still have some extra $$ for us to be able to fun things with Lillian as she grows :) So we'll see - I'm anxious to talk to my boss next week and explore my options! I kind of feel like I'm playing 'tug-of-war' with my emotions of what to do, so I know it'll be nice to understand my options more clearly!

I'm beginning to get nervous about next week :( so please keep me and Lillian in your prayers as we make this transition!

Here's a picture I took today :) I think it kind of sums up/frames how I feel about my little sweet pea - It is of Lillian in her crib with part of the quote that I love...I think it says it all :) -

she actually fell asleep in there on her own - that was a first for us, as she usually falls asleep in our arms while eating - so hopefully the start of a good transition for her to 'soothe' herself and fall asleep on her own, which I think I read, we were supposed to start trying to do that with her around this time (I need to look again). We aren't quite to the age of letting her 'cry' it out - so I just stayed in there held the pacifier in her mouth and out she went :) She didn't sleep for long, but it's a start :)

Sure do love this little girl!

3 Month Milestone Photoshoot

Today was Lillian Grace's 3-month photoshoot with Kim of Kimberly Althausen Photography and we had a great time!

Lilly was a trooper for a whole 2 hours before she'd just had enough...she was ready for a nap so we stopped, Kim packed up and then we headed up to St. Demetrios, where we got married, and will be doing Lillian's Christening. We've asked Kim to possibly shoot her Christening, so she wanted to check out the lighting, so we are hopeful that we can have her capture this special moment as well!

Kim just posted her 'Sneak Peek' of Lillian's 3-months milestone shoot! I am so happy that we 'stumbled' upon Kim (a coworker at NASA works with her Husband and he mentioned that she was working to expand her portfolio, when I had asked him if he knew anyone that shot maternity photos), she is truly talented and is truly a blessing to work with, especially after our ill-fated, dishearting experience with our Wedding Photographer - the RAD Photographer (not so RAD)!

Kim did a great job with Lillian and her work speaks for itself!










One last thing... a funny recap from today...shows how our little sweet pea is growing! We had set Lillian up on her boppy pillow for some tummy time pictures (like pic. #3) and Kim shot a few and then all the sudden Whoops - Lillian dove over the side of the boppy! Those little legs are getting strong! Not only did she do it once - but twice! No worries, she didn't get hurt, I think she just surprised herself and us :)

We can't wait to see the rest of the pictures :) Thanks so much Kim!

It's March Already?

Wow - I can't believe it is March already and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to start the new month with - Spring is in the air :) YAY!!!

Both George and I started back to work this week, but I am thankfully getting to work from home this week and I'm enjoying every extra minute that I have with Lillian! Which was especially nice today because we were able to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a walk outside this afternoon!

Here are a few pictures from our outing! I braved taking both Skyler and Shelby with us - it was the first walk I've done with both Dogs and Lillian in the stroller, by myself (only our 2nd walk ever - but George was with us last time!). I ended up 'rigging' the leashes around my waist (I use to do this when I would just go running with Skyler so I could have my hands free). So, I put her leash around my waist like I used to and then looped Shelby's leash thru the other one. That way I could use my body to stop them if they decided to go crazy should they see a 'SQUIRREL!' (that's my Pixar UP reference :)) and we also had our 'Gentle Leaders' on - so we well under control - which was important when walking two decent sized dogs by myself with a stroller and baby :)

Skyler enjoying the walk... - I like this pic. b/c it captures all our shadows :)


...Lillian (she passed out as soon as we got started)


and Shelby


all three of my walking partners :)


Happy puppies after a 2+ mile walk!


Kisses from my other baby girl!


Here are some closeups of my happy walking partners!
:) Shelby :)


:) Skyler :)


and...my Sweet Lilly :) looks like she enjoyed the walk :)


We are all hoping that this beautiful weather (i.e. sunshine and blue skies) sticks around so we can enjoy more walks and time outside!

A week of firsts :) ...and our last week all home together :(

Here's a recap of our last week of 'Freedom' - both George and I start back to work tomorrow and while we will welcome the paychecks, neither of us is looking forward to leaving our little girl!

Here's a picture to give you and idea of why we aren't looking forward to leaving this little girl - this is what we get to wake up to every morning...why wouldn't we want to stay home with her?


We started this 'last' week after spending a great weekend with my brother, Daniel, and his wife, Becca. They came in late last Friday night...

Here's a picture of Lilly waiting for them after we made up the guest bed :)



so after catching up a little bit we all headed to bed, so we could start our Saturday at a decent hour!

We decided to head down to the Westside Market - http://www.westsidemarket.org/ - George and I have been wanting to head down there for forever and I've been meaning to go ever since I moved here...just never happened, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do with Dan and Becca. It was kind of crazy to find some parking, so we decided to head over to a paid lot and walk over. It was a little later in the morning, so we kind of lucked out with getting some fresh fruit and veggies for GREAT prices. I got a big container of blueberries for just $1.99 and you would pay like $4.99 at the grocery store for a container 1/2 the size! We also picked up some homemade perogies - Becca even got some to take home! Since we did get there late, a lot of the 'good' stuff was gone - so we definitely plan to go back another time and probably a little earlier. Lilly was great and slept thru our excursion thru the market - but I know it'll be a place she grows to love going to when she's a little earlier!

After the Market we went and hit a little coffee shop to get something hot to drink, as it was pretty chilly outside! Here are some cute pictures of us from the coffee shop!

Lilly with mommy and Aunt Becca!


Lilly with Daddy and Uncle Daniel - 'Reading the Newspaper' :)


After warming up and doing some tricky maneuvering in the bathroom to change Lilly (I never realized how few places have changing tables :P), we headed over to the Great Lakes Brewery to do the tour of the facility. I know...great parenting...but no worries - Lilly slept the whole time, so she wasn't corrupted, and Uncle Dan and Aunt Becca had a good time!

Here's a picture of Lilly with her Daddy and Uncle Dan and Aunt Becca


After the tour we went to this yummy mexican restaurant, Momocho's Modern Mexican - http://www.momocho.com/home.php - that Dan and Becca had seen featured on a show on TV. The place opens at 5pm and we got there around 5:20ish and there was already an hour and a half wait...guess we should have made reservations...now we know for next time! I think the hostess felt bad for us because we had a baby, because we ended up getting seated within a 1/2 hr. Which was a good thing, because Lilly wasn't too thrilled to be there - she had had a long day and was done with it! I think all she wanted was to nurse and to go to sleep b/c she wanted nothing to do with her bottle - poor George ended up taking her and walking up and down the stairs trying to get her to eat and go to sleep.

Here's a picture of Becca with her fun margarita sampler (I can't wait to try it next time I go and I'm not nursing :))!


So, while it was kind of a hectic meal and rushed, it was absolutely delicious - we definitely recommend it and hope to go back! If you decide to go - you MUST order the sofrito green beans - they were absolutely delicious - even George liked them and he doesn't do green beans!

It was a fun day and Lilly was a trooper! We finished the day off by coming home, putting Lilly to bed, and curling up on the couches and watching 'The Town' - with Ben Affleck, which I probably wouldn't have picked on my own, but it was actually a pretty good movie!

Sunday, we got up and George made us all breakfast and then we started to get ready...Lilly and I had Maria and Kyle's baby shower to go to and Dan and Becca needed to get on the road to head home!

Lilly and Aunt Becca before getting ready:


Here is a picture of Lilly with her Uncle Dan and Aunt Becca just before we/they left:




It was so good to see them and we had a great time visiting with them! Thanks so much for making the trek up guys!

Lilly and I had a good time Maria and Kyle's Baby shower! We can't wait to welcome their little girl! Lilly was a little fussy because it was during her nap time and she'd only slept for about a 1/2 hr on the drive down, and it was a bit over stimulating with all the people at the shower, so she was only content while I was holding her for the most part, which was disappointing for everyone that wanted to hold her! But, a few people got to hold her for a little bit! Here is a cute picture of her with our Vera and her girls - Vera is our brother-in-law, Frank's sister. She and her husband are going to be Kyle and Maria's little girl's Godparents, and Kyle and Maria will be Lilly's!



It ended up snowing while we were at the Baby Shower (all our snow had melted), but by the time we left there was at least an inch or two on the ground and we ended up having an ice storm and got another 6+ inches of snow. Here is a picture of Lilly on Monday morning - you can see the ice on the power lines! Thankfully we weren't some of the Thousands that lost power!


And Lilly taking a bath later that morning! I've started scrubbing her back and bottom first before setting her down in the tub - look at how well she is holding up her head!


Monday night, Kyle and Maria went to Babies R Us to pick up a few more items that they still needed and then came over to have dinner with us! George made some delicious Chicken, and I made some yummy asparagus, parmesan lime potatoes, and salad! It was fun to just hang out and catch up with them - we didn't really get to visit at the shower, plus George wasn't there. They also picked up some little gifts for Lilly at Babies R Us - a cute Soccer rattle and a St. Patty's day onesie that says McCutie :) Can't wait to put Lilly in it :) Thanks guys!

We just hung out at home on Tuesday because of the weather and on Wednesday, Lilly and I headed out to Moe's Southwest Grill to meet up with my coworkers, Leah and Lynn, they wanted to see Lilly again since they hadn't seen her since they visited in the hospital. Then we came home and just hung out with Daddy! Here are some more cute pictures :) She really is starting to get such a precious personality!

She LOVES to smile and is starting to giggle :)


Look at those pretty blue eyes!


Sitting up in her Bumbo Chair - still a little lopsided..but we can tell a difference just from last week when I tried her in the chair! Love her look of surprise!


Playing with Daddy!


Check out this smile/laugh!


and hangin out with Mommy...


On Thursday, Lilly and I got to watch her First ever Shuttle launch (on the computer) - she did get to go to one with us while I was pregnant, so technicaly it's her second :) I woke her up to watch it - not that she'll remember it, but I got some cute pictures :)

Sleeping just before the Launch (had to make sure it was going to go before I woke her up).


Just waking up...


Looking at Shuttle Discovery on launch pad...


And we have lift off!!


So cool! It never gets old! Just sad she won't get to see one that she'll remember :(


The rest of the week/weekend we just spent hanging out at home because we had a pretty big snowstorm on Friday it was really just that it was so windy (not too much more snow), but made for some dangerous driving conditions and we were perfectly happy to just hang in since we won't get so much time to do so any time soon!

Here are some pictures of a cool snow drift that we had in our yard between our house and our neighbors!




Our other 'babies' enjoying the snow!

Here's Shelby...


and Skyler...


They Love playing in the snow!


and our little munchkin who was hangin' out inside with her daddy - she's a little too small to enjoy the snow just yet - maybe next year :)


and...what her camo onesie says...in case you were wondering - George got this at the 'Daddy Bootcamp' class he attended. He's such a good Daddy!


So...that is how we spent our 'last' week! Lots of firsts and lots of memories we will remember for years to come! While George being unemployed for the past few months wasn't 'ideal' - it really couldn't have happened at a better time! He was able to get our Kitchen remodel finished, be home for my entire maternity leave, which in turn allowed us to both enjoy our little girl to pieces like we never would have been able to do!!! A true Blessing in disguise!

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks, as I'm sure it will be a hard transition for all of us!

On a happy note - we will be doing a 3mo. photo shoot with Kim ( http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Kimberly-Althausen-Photography/151969411511387 ) sometime this week :) and we are beginning to plan Lillian's Christening, so details to follow on that :)

As I've been telling myself more and more these days - we are truly blessed!!!

Lilly 'Loves to Rock in between naps' :D

We started our day early today, our good friends Ryan and Barb had invited us to come to the music class that they go to with their two little ones. It is really a class geared towards toddlers, they had signed up their 2yr old, but also bring along their new baby girl - so Barb had invited us to come and check it out with Lilly just to see what it was all about. We had a great time and Lilly enjoyed taking it all in - watching the other little kids, singing, dancing, playing instruments, etc. and Lilly loved it! Her outfit said it all - and was quite fitting for the outing today :) Thanks Aunt Mariann! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures at the class - I forgot my camera :( - but here is a cute picture of just Lilly and her shirt! and this one gives you an idea of how much fun she had :) After the music class we headed over to a sub shop with Ryan and Barb to grab a quick bite to eat, before heading up to the hospital to visit our friends Will and Rachelle and their new baby girl - Ava Katherine - who was born last night! We went together so that we could watch Rowan and Quinn while Ryan and Barb went into visit them and they could watch Lilly while George and I went in to visit. We all had such a great time sharing our pregnancies together and are now looking forward to watching our little girls grow up together - so fun! ! Here's a picture of me holding Ava with Rachelle - the proud new Mommy :) Ava is absolutely precious and it was so crazy holding her - I forgot how tiny they are and it's crazy to think that Lilly was that small just 2months ago...time has flown by so fast! Ryan and Barb were nice enough to take some pictures of Lilly while they were watching her - as you can see she was having a great time! After our visit at the hospital we came home and I fed Lilly before we headed out to take Lilly on her first walk outside - it was in the 50s here today :) a real 'heat wave' here in CLE - what would have made it even more perfect was if the sun was shining, but we'll take the warmer weather! Here's a shot of Lilly all bundled up for the walk :) Lilly with Daddy and Shelby and Skyler - and ready to go! And with Mommy! and the walk... Lilly loved the walk and passed out shortly after we started and woke up when we got home, so we decided to do some tummy time - I was so impressed with how well she was holding her head up today! She amazes me every day with something new! and here are just some more cute pictures! We are so truly blessed with such a sweet sweet girl! Love this smile :) and this laugh :D

So...our little sweet pea is resting now...as we've had a full day and I think we are all exhausted! We are excited for this tomorrow and this weekend as Lillian's Uncle Daniel and Aunt Becca are coming up to visit for the weekend :) We can't wait!