Just Some Pics

... after a bath

Just plain cute...

Hanging out with big brother

Spending some play time with mommy before she goes back to work.

The Day Mommy Cried

Lola had her 2 month check-up and she is growing like a weed. She now weighs 10 pounds 14 ounces. Her head is 38 cm and she is now 22 inches long. That means she has gained one ounce per day for the last 38 days. In addition, she has grown 1.75 inches and her head is now 2 centimeters bigger. She is in the 50th percentile in all growth parameters - meaning she is exactly average (but as a person, we all know she is well above average:).

It was a tough visit. She got 4 vaccines (it would have been 5, but they were out of the other one). Daddy held her while mommy cried. Mommy can give shots to other peoples kids, but not her own. Lola cried, but quieted quickly afterward (much more quickly than Mommy). She looked funny with 4 big girl band aids on her legs (that didn't leave much leg left). She slept most of the day, and the next day seemed back to normal.

Luckily for Mommy, Daddy will be on summer vacation when the next set of shots are due...

S-M-I-L-E

Gamma and Pops

Gamma and Pops came to visit for the day - boy was Noah excited. Of course, why shouldn't he be? He got Nachos for breakfast, then he got to go to the zoo and see all of the animals. Lola slept in the sling the whole time and hardly knew that she had taken her first trip there.

Then, Noah got McDonalds for lunch and then they were off to Chuckie Cheese. Mommy and Lola stayed home (Noah thinks only Gammas, Pops, and Aunties can take him to the "rathouse". Finally, Noah's day ended with Sushi and kid chopsticks. To Noah this day was almost as good as Christmas!!

Here is a pic of Noah at the zoo. The other pics were after we got home.

Also, for those of you who think that pictures frighten Lola - trust me - she always looks like that. She has HUGE eyes!!

Lindsey

Happy 16th Birthday Lindsey!

Pigpen

This weekend we put up a shed in our side yard. It was a beautiful day and the project turned out to be a lot of fun. It did require quite a few persons to assemble. Auntie Courtney (chief engineer / surveyor), Memaw (to watch the munchkins), Uncle Kevin (assembly when the directions were in Greek), Daddy (foreman), Lindsey (parts delivery), and Mommy (paperwork and photography) all participated in the event.

Lola found the process boring and slept through the whole thing, while Noah (quality inspector) made sure to check that the ground was solid and that the tools were in working order. He also repeatedly said when he grows up he wants to be “a construction man who tells everyone what to do.” Apparently, being a construction man is a dirty job…

Gentlepersons, Start Your Engines

Uncle Kevin, Daddy, and Noah spent last week building a pinewood derby car. It was certainly hard to tell who had more fun doing it. By race day, the car was painted (metallic blue), weighted (lead fishing weights), and lubricated (WD-40). It passed check-in without any trouble. Noah bounced in the bounce house while Uncle Kevin and Daddy scoped out the competition. Then came the race. There were several heats and each time, Noah’s car won without the need for the electric eye finish. Noah was excited to win a first place trophy, for his age group, and his car came in 4^th overall.

What Could Be Better?

Noah couldn't be happier - he now has pajamas with 2 of his favorite things together... Pirate Sponge Bob. Thanks goes to Auntie Courtney and Target for making Noah's life so wonderful:)

Getting Closer

I am getting closer to catching Miss Belle's toothless grin!






She is now getting so big with her smiles that you are expecting a big belly laugh to go with it. Unfortunately, her new tricks have made her desire to sleep during the day diminish (she did sleep 7 hours last night).
She prefers to spend the day talking and smiling. Boy, are we in trouble, as it looks like we might have 2 talkers on our hands (some family might argue that we have 3 talkers in our house).

I keep just missing it

Just a quick update. I have been trying to catch a smile for you... but i keep just missing it. Here are some pics of her "almost" smiling. Whatever the case, she looks a lot happier and actually shows some promise that she will grow out of her nicknames (Pickle, Lemon, and Lola Reed Grumpy Pants).



I should also mention that last night she slept in the crib in her room (no music or vibration). Previously, she had been sleeping in the porta-crib in the living room. She even slept 6 hours in the crib. However, I did wake up once thinking that she was crying, but when Mark went to check on her - she was sound asleep. She looks so tiny in the crib, but we are certainly blessed to have 2 kids that, at least so far, are great sleepers (at least at night).

Lola's New Tricks

We would see it, and then it was gone… So quick, we weren’t even sure it happened. However this weekend, that all changed. It really happened – Lola can now smile! Mostly the smiles come with cute little baby coos. It is the best thing ever and just makes our days. It also makes her look a lot less grumpy. We hope to catch a picture of her cute smile soon… but so far she is too quick. How is it that babies look so cute when they give you that smile with a mouthful of gums?

She has learned another new trick too. She can now get her fist into her mouth at will and sometimes just her index finger. This makes her very excited!! She likes nothing better than to suck, and now that she can find her fist anytime she wants – she is in heaven. Sometimes she gets so excited about her accomplishment that the fist comes right out. She also has red marks on her fingers and hands from her powerful suction. It is a good thing she doesn’t sleep in our room – because the noise that accompanies the fist sucking is quite loud.