My Loves :)

Zoo Adventures

The Zoo!



Walking with Mommy



Waving at the train



Such a big girl

Watching the elephants with Grandpa



Is this where I wait?



The train is fun!



So much to see!



Big day, time for a rest.

Gramma and Grandpa come to visit!

Gramma and Grandpa came to visit Lakely and I while Tony was away on his "man trip." We went to the beach Friday and Lakely had a blast playing in the sand! It was overcast at first, but ended up being a beautiful and HOT day. Saturday I got to experience some ME TIME while G & G babysat. It was much needed and absolutely wonderful! We went to the zoo yesterday, which was Lakely's first time, (pics to come). She had such a great time walking around and looking at all the funny animals. She always points at everything any way, but her index finger had to be about dead with all the pointing, ooohhhhhing and aaahhhhing she did. We rode a train around the park too. She waved and focused on the people we passed as opposed to any of the animals. We can't wait to go again soon and see the tigers!!




Building a sandcastle!



Playing peek-a-boo with Gramma around the umbrella pole



Deciding exactly where to start digging..



Coming back from a stroll with G & G



Waving at Mommy

Grammy and Poppy come to visit!

Grammy and Poppy came to visit us last week and it was the first time they had seen our new place. Lakely had a good time giving them a tour, especially when we made it upstairs and she could direct us all to her room. We showed them around town and the different places we like to frequent (aka MacAurthur Mall). We did some power shopping with Lakely, which is much harder now since she recognizes things that she WANTS. She had Poppy wrapped around her finger within 10 minutes of our Dillards detour. She ended up with a crazy pink headband and a stuffed dog named Buddy that no one knows the price of to this day.

We tried some new places around town to eat. 456Fish is "da bomb!" We're, (I'm) so glad to have company because it gives us an excuse to go out and explore the area. I never realized how many fun things that we can go see that's within walking distance. A Ferry is literally 3 blocks from the house that takes you directly to downtown Norfolk and it's only $1.50! You can't beat that for some cheap fun! DT Norfolk is beautiful by the way; didn't expect that in the least. The first time I ventured over there I had a homeless woman pounding on my car window for some money...must have been in the wrong part of town, ha!

All in all the visit was a success and we look forward to seeing them back again in October :) Love you guys!





So excited about her new bracelet!



Showing off her bracelet at dinner to the table behind us.



Ordering up some fabulous wine for the table...



Pajama party with Grammy and Poppy!

August Staycation

Our first VA Beach trip as a family! We were all caught up around the house, the weather was phenomenal so off we went to the oceanfront for the weekend! We had an amazing time. Lakely was beside herself playing in the sand and waving at all the people on the beach. The water was actually super cold so Lakely and I watched from the shore as Tony headed out to body surf. He said it was fine once you got in, but he never stopped telling me how cold the water was once he got out! (I think it was a ploy to get me in.) Anywho, we are loving living close to the water; can't wait to create fun, new memories here with my babies! Snack time! I love my Daddy Her little ruffle bottom Right after she ate a handful of sand... Tuckered out!

Mommy and Me Day

Lakely and I needed to get out of the house since Tony and I had spent all weekend indoors beating the heat and unloading boxes. We decided to take a little ride down to our old stomping grounds and play in the sand! This is actually her first time walking around in the sand since she was so young the first time we went to the beach. She was pretty hesitant at first and kept reaching up for me to clean her hands off, but once she sat down and was "committed," the annoying granules weren't so bad after all!

I'm One!

BIG NEWS

Long story short: We're moving to VA July 8th for Tony's job. He got a incredible job opportunity that we just can't pass up. We found some renters for our house, now we just have to find a house for us to rent for a year until we decide where we want to buy...

Lakely is growing SO fast! She now has four teeth on top and two on the bottom. She is experimenting with all kinds of solid foods; one of her favorites is seafood. She had a bad day at school today, which ended with her in the ER. She apparently was pulling a toy of a shelf and it fell and hit her in the face. It split her head above the right eyebrow and they put five stitches in to close it up. She seems fine tonight; we'll know more in the morning.

We're having her birthday party on Saturday! I can't wait! I think she's really going to have a blast. The family is coming in town and we'll have her little friends over (as well as ours), to have great food and fun times! Pictures to come.

Watch Out People!

Giggle Box

And she's off!

Lakely started taking a few steps here and there right around 10 months old. Now, she's walking ALL OVER! She'll sit back down once she realizes what she's doing, but then she's up and at it again within minutes! We are SO excited, yet so very nervous. She was already getting into everything and now I'm sure it'll be even worse. Our weekends consist of baby proofing something we thought we had covered, but Lakely proved otherwise! Ha!

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Ma-Ma

FINALLY!! Lakely has said the magic word! Given it has only been once, but I'm sure within days it will be rolling off her tongue! This morning she saw her Daddy for the first time in 6 days (due to him traveling for business), and I SO wish that I had had a video camera on when he went into her room this morning to get her. It was probably the sweetest thing I have seen yet. Her jaw dropped, she looked at him, then me, then back at him with the largest grin you've ever seen! Arms flapping, he picked her up and she laid her sweet little head on his chest and hugged him so tightly! I could shed a tear thinking about it! Ha! During this past week, Lakely and I have practiced walking A LOT. She will now walk holding on with just one hand, and she'll take a single step alone before she sits down. Since she sits on her own, and doesn't fall on her bum, I really think she'll be walking on her own within a week or so. We also practiced the stairs. She loved it! Sometimes she would forget that she couldn't lean back, but she remembered quickly when she started feeling off balance! All I did was stand behind her and she figured it right out! She really is such an angel. I can't believe she'll be 10 months Sunday; time to start planning her BIG 1st BIRTHDAY!

BIG changes

I feel like Miss Lakely is no longer changing daily, more like hourly. This weekend we experienced some crazy changes in her sleep patterns. She has NEVER fought taking a nap, going to bed at night or sleeping in her crib. Well, we experienced all three! She refused to take a nap in her crib at Grandma's house and it even got to the point where we put her portable swing INSIDE the crib to get her to shut her eyes. Given, it was HOURS past her typical nap time when she finally went to sleep. Then that night was even worse! She went down easily but woke up around 1:00am completely upset...guess what I did?! AHHHHH! Something that I SWORE up and down I wouldn't do...put her in the bed with us and she slept snug as a bug in a rug! Then to top off these unusual sleep habits, I had to let her cry herself to sleep lastnight. IT BROKE MY HEART! I sat there watching the monitor counting down the minutes until she layed her sweet little head down...13 minutes to be exact and in those 13 minutes I had to fight every urge I had NOT to run up to her room!


Friday we're headed to the doctor for her 9 month check up! Results to come!

Busy Week

This past weekend Lakely's mobility tripled what it was the previous weekend. She is crawling EVERYWHERE! Before you could set her on the ground, she would move a little here and a little there but wouldn't ever get to far away from us. Now, you set her down and she's gone! Holy smokes, I'm already worn out and it's just begun. Crawling aside, she usually "cruises" from ottoman, to couch, to bar stool, or whatever is near. She absolutely loves standing up and walking. My prediction is that she'll be walking alone by 10 months...we'll see ;)
It is only Tuesday, however we've already had a busy week it seems. Or rather a week with many changes. We've installed her big girl car seat in my car now, and she seems to really like it. I used to always complain about carrying the infant carrier, but sometimes it really is nice having the option to tote her around in it if need be. We're still getting used to it, and it is a monstrosity of a thing back there, but it'll be perfect in a few months when we can make it forward facing.
Enough rambling...once again, it is only Tuesday and Tony has had to sign 2 boo-boo reports already. Now that she is on the move, she gets hurt ALL THE TIME! She now has a bruise on the top of her hand (from another baby dropping a toy on her), and a small bump on either side of her forehead from her getting hurt pulling up on things/falling. I'm going to be a nervous wreck until she masters walking!
Tomorrow Aunt Betsy is supposed to be headed to the hospital to be induced!! I truly hope she's able to get in. If not, she'll have to wait a day or two longer. We are ALL ready to meet Miss Ava!
Thursday we have Lakely's Pulmonologist appointment. We're hoping to rule out asthma and allergies and for them to tell us she'll be cough free sooner rather than later! We've been doing a daily inhaler that seems to be doing the trick, I just wonder if we can ever stop doing it.
We're hoping to be visiting the family this weekend! It's all up to Ava I guess!

March

All I want to do is STAND!


Grandma's 90th Birthday! ...30 minutes before the stomach bug ATTACKED ME!


Loving on Daddy :)


Rockin' my big girl hat

CrAwLeR Class!

Today was Lakely's first day in the crawler class. She is no longer considered an INFANT! Ahhh! She's growing up so fast! She seemed to have had such a great time though! This is her new "do" as a big girl, in the big class... (or better yet, Tony went to pick her up from school and she had some FUN pigtails)!