Sick baby.

Lola has a cold! I don't know if it's due to the vaccines she received on Tuesday or from the daycare, or a nice mixture of both. I personally say it's from daycare. There was a little one with a horrible sounding cough in there the other morning when I dropped her off. Max, being a good daddy will be taking a sick day today and possibly tomorrow so he can stay home with her. He was up with her all night because she was just miserable. It was so sad! Her nose is all stuffy and her eyes are watering, but not a high fever and just a little cough. I just sat in the bathroom with her while I ran the hot water so she could "humidify". We don't have a humidifier, but I know what we're getting next time we go shopping!! It seemed like she immediately felt better after being in there for 10 minutes. She's sleeping right now and I think it's the first sleep she's had all night. I'll have to remind Max to go in there with her throughout the day. I may call the doc today just to see if there is any reason we should bring her in, but I think it's just her first little cold and she will be feeling better in a few days.

Speaking of docs, I don't think I like our pedi. He's really smart and has offered some good, although general advice, but he's not very personable. I think I may look for a new doc here pretty soon. I want my doc to not seemed rushed every time we are in the office.

Time for mommy to get ready for work while the little one is sleeping through her runny nose...

4 Months, folks...

Whew, what a whirlwind of a week! For some reason, I've been super busy which is good. I don't really know why I've been so busy, it just seems like I no longer have time to BLOG! Maybe it's because I don't get to sit around all day in my pajamas and I actually have to work now. But anywhoot...like I said, it's been a busy week with the job, doctor appointments, visiting family, etc., etc.

Max's sister Sheila had her baby on October 24th - Aristeo Santino (or Santos, they have yet to decide) was born at 7:30 am, a healthy 7.5 pounds and my, what a hairball!! That little boy is hairy! We went to see them on Friday afternoon and Max and I got to go to dinner at a restaurant. Unfortunately, it was Chili's, but we still got to have dinner together which was good.

Lola turned 4 months over the weekend! She's such a big girl. Her 4-month check-up was today and here are her specs ---

13 pounds, 7 ounces - 50th percentile

24.75 inches - 75th percentile

16 1/8 inches - head - 50th percentile

My baby is getting so big! I can't believe it! We may start some rice cereal in a few more weeks once she is sitting up a little better. She hasn't rolled over yet, but she sure is trying! She is much better at tummy time now and she will actually hold herself up for a few minutes at a time. Pretty soon she will be rolling over and sitting up on her own. I have some new pictures to post, but am too tired to upload and edit them right now.

Oh - here's a heads up to all in regards to a little holiday/x-mas eve shindig that Max and I will be hosting at our house this year! Kerry and I were reminiscing about the days at her house where mucho drinks and mucho cupcakes were had! So, details on the date to come soon and I hope all can make an appearance for a short while!!

A few things...

• Today was Lola's first day at daycare! All I have to say is she made it so much easier for us to leave her because she went right into the teachers arms and smiled real big! No crying from her; I'm sure she didn't really understand that we weren't there for 5 hours. It was sad, but no real tears from me or Max. Apparently, she did very well...which was expected. She slept from 9:00 (when we dropped her off) until about 11:15. Then they fed her, changed her and she sat in the swing chewing on her hands and talking up a storm until daddy got there to pick her up. Her report said that she had a great day! The teachers commented that she was the calmest baby in the room. Awwwww, our lil' Lola is calm and easygoing, just like her momma & daddy!
• Today was MY first day of returning to the work force. My feet hurt from wearing heels again! I've always loved wearing heels and my feet never really bothered me much since most of my time at work is spent sitting at a desk, but after wearing flip flops for about a whole year, the first day with the heels has kinda got me down. Otherwise, the first day was as good as expected. Not much work to partake in, just getting comfy with the office and all of that good stuff. I'm happy to know that there is a great salad place in the tunnel where I can eat healthy bits! Tomorrow I will actually have some work to do, so of course I am excited about that.
• Just finished watching the Presidential debate - and although my mind was made up a long time ago about who I would vote for, tonight just confirmed that. I am actually pretty terrified of what might happen to our country if McCain/Palin take office. Obama has a lot of repairing to do and I really, really hope that he can turn our country around. Things are getting pretty scary out there.
• I just have to say how happy I am that Casey Anthony has finally been charged with murder. Max & I have been following this case just out of the pure insanity of this girl! I know that nobody knows the whole story or even if the little girl is dead, but all of the lies that she has spun are completely outrageous. I hope that they don't find a dead baby girl, but it's looking highly unlikely that they will find her alive. And if they do find her body, I hope Casey Anthony rots in prison.
• On a lighter note - I can't wait for my first paycheck! Unfortunately I have to wait a whole freakin' MONTH! I know, crazy! But, when I do get that check I am 100% entitled to a huge shopping spree and a trip to the salon. And, I get a whole additional month to lose some weight so when that shopping spree approaches I will be able to fit into the clothes I want! C'mon motivation!

Pre-First Day Jitters

Tomorrow I will begin my new job. Tomorrow will be Lola's first day of daycare. I always get so nervous before my first day of a new job. There's all of these worries...will the people there like me...will I catch on quick enough...will I wear the appropriate clothing??? But more than anything, I am more scared for Lola. I KNOW everything will be fine and she will only be there for a few hours each day, but it's gonna be kinda sad leaving her for the first time. I'm just glad that I have been able to stay home with her for as long as I have. And I know she will get sick, maybe a little cold after her first few days there and that's gonna suck. It looks like Max will have to miss a few days of work if that happens.

Anyways...I will spend the rest of the day playing and goofing around with my Lolabear and spending as much time as I can with her.

On a sad note --- since I've been home during the day for the last several months I have acquired a wonderful daytime television rotation! For at least a few days I will miss my ER, Will & Grace, Frasier, Desperate Housewives, Without A Trace & King of Queens rotation. But, I'm sure that will pass...freakin' tv.

Finally!

Good news! I finally accepted a job offer. I am so freaking excited it's ridiculous. I start next Wednesday. It's actually a part time position for now, which is completely okay with me since it will allow me more time with Lola. I thought the hours would be a bit more flexible to begin with, but I think we've worked something out that will work for both me and Max. I will be working from 10 am till 3-ish every day. It's in a beautiful office downtown and is only 10 minutes from the house.

I'm thinking the position will prove rewarding and at the beginning of the year, they will most likely offer me a full time spot. The salary package is very nice and I think I would love to work for them for a long time to come. It's an Australian based company and the Houston office is the only office in the states. Perhaps the fact that it is an international corporation will one day allow me to visit Australia & Europe! Time will tell, though. It's an executive recruiting firm, which is awesome seeing as how I have always been interested in that line of work. There is also a possibility to grow into more of a research role, which would be tops! I love research and all of that stuff.

We are very, very happy that I will once again be bringing in some money! It looks like we will have a much better Christmas than we did last year. That's always good.

That is it for now...yay me!

Neighborhood Night Out

Yeah...we actually had one of those on our street last night. Figured it would be fun, the weather was decent, so we went and met our neighbors! Now that I'm part of the "mommy" club, I was immediately drawn to the laid out blanket with the two other babies and their mommas. One little boy was a huge 8 month old who was trying to crawl all over the place and had a wonderful time eating his mom's empty paper plate. The other was another 3 month old, only 1 week younger than Lola. Since Lola was being grumpy I was hesitant to lay her down with the others. That, and the fact that she's never really been around another baby her own age! It was really cute, though. The boy was a little bigger than her, but they were cooing in unison and it was super adorable. But, THEN...the 8 month old, as inquisitive as he was, slapped Lola on the head!! WTF. Yeah, I know I may have been a little overly cautious, but she startles easily, and it was right on the top of her head! You know, the part of the skull that hasn't fully formed together yet. Little fucker. I was pretty irritated because I saw him slapping his hands on the blanket and slowly moving towards her, but I figured his mother would pull him back towards her before he actually bopped her. But, no. She didn't. So, Lola screamed and I had to comfort her. My poor baby.

And then she got bit by two "skeeters" on her face...one on her forehead and the other on her little nose.

In conclusion, neighborhood night out wasn't very fun. It's times like these when I remember that I really don't like people. Well, stupid people at least.

3 months - 1 week late.

Lola is now 3 months and 1 week old! She's getting so big, I can hardly believe it. She is now smiling like a pro and beginning to squeal with laughter when she is amused. She loves her little play mat where she can stare up at the lights and music and she bats at the hanging rattles. She will lay there for a good 30 minutes, which is good as it always gives me some time to clean. She still hates tummy time, so we're still working on getting her to push up when she's on her tummy. She is getting pretty good at sitting upright if we're holding her - her head isn't too wobbly and she can sit still for at least 30 seconds! I know it's going to be too soon before she is sitting up all by herself, so I'm in no rush. She's a kicking maniac, which is definitely helping her build her leg muscles. She has her 4-month check-up at the end of the month and we are very excited to see how much she has grown. She's got to be at least 15 pounds already! Here are some new pics of my ever-growing Lolabear.

A little collage I made... Enjoying play time.

Awwww.
What's up with this face?

She may be getting too big for her Boppy.

One good thing.

I think the only good thing to come out of Hurricane Ike is the fact that I lost 7 pounds! Yippeee! That did come from the stress and worry the night of. I think I've developed a new fear - FIRE. I was freaking out during the whole storm worrying that a tree was gonna fall on the house and one of the many candles we had lit would catch fire and our house would burn down. All of these scenarios kept playing themselves out in my mind as I listened to the howl of the wind and the breaking of tree limbs hitting our roof. Thankfully, nothing that bad happened. But, now I find myself thinking about how much it would suck if our house caught fire. It would make me so sad.

Anyways, on to better things. Yay for losing 7 pounds...now I just need to keep it up! I am going to the gym today and I'm going to do the power flex and the step class. Two hour work outs are the way to go. I need to work off the Halloween candy I ate last night and this morning!

A few images of our house courtesy of Ike -

the calm before the storm!

After - same area.

The tree that fell on the house. No damage, thank God.

This tree was completely uprooted!
This is just a quarter of our backyard - the whole thing looked like this!

Max and his chainsaw! Watch out!!