Our little lady turns 1!

She's only a little spoiled!

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?? I'm a few weeks late- but things in our household have been a little upside down since Lila turned 1. I'd like officially blame the lateness of these birthday pictures on teeth (molars and eye teeth- 5 new ones so far, with 3 more to come), lack of sleep (Lila and subsequently, Mommy and Daddy), and a bad cold (yup, a cold in August. Complete with runny nose, sore throat and cough). Good news is that the cold is almost finished and last night I got 7 hours of uninterrupted (hold your applause) sleep. Now that I've gone and bragged about the sleep, I'm sure tonight will be a nightmare- oh well!

I'm all out of sappy words to describe my baby's birthday. So all I've got is pictures- sound good?!

My ladybug creation. And it was made from scratch without eggs, butter or milk. How, you may ask, can a cake and icing be made without eggs, butter , cream or milk?? Let's just say that the internet is a great resource. It was even chocolate- and tasted something like a real cake.

I got a lot of questions from people who were not at the party- "did you let her put her hand in the cake?" , did she get her own "cupcake?" All I have to say is- No and no. I would most certainly not let my masterpiece cake be destroyed by 2 little hands. I would not even think of encouraging her to dig into the cake with her hands and smear the icing in places where icing does not belong. What kind of mother do you think I am??

Well, maybe I would let her put her hands in the cake . . .

Just

maybe . . .

Maybe I did . . .

But with a face like that, who could say No!

Too bad she didn't seem to enjoy it . . .

And in the end, this was all that remained of my masterpiece. Watching her devour that cake was priceless- even if it did end in a sugar high, some very messy diapers (sorry, it's true- look at the color of that icing) and a stained outfit. Totally worth it!!!!

What a difference a year makes . . .

This is where I spent my July 16, 2008 . . . in the Labor and Delivery Wing of Bryn Mawr Hospital. When I say July 16th, I mean all of July 16th- from 9AM and well into July 17th until I graduated to the Maternity Floor around 9 AM July 17th. Boy was that one long day.

Looking at these pictures brought back so many memories, and I remember everything about those few days I spent at the hospital as I got to meet my baby girl for the first time. So I decided to start the B-day post a little early and let you know a few of my memories from 365 days ago.

I remember having this picture taken - and I was in pretty good spirits, judging by the smile. I had just taken a shower (which was a welcome change from the hall walking, gettting examined and poked at, and being strapped to monitors). I remember that the shower was amazing and I even had a chair in there in case I needed to rest during a contraction- how handy- those nurses sure knew what they were doing. I think I was texting friends when this picture was taken- filling them in on the labor progress (slow- that's for sure), my pain (not too bad yet- but not really fun either) and when I thought she would arrive (I thought it would be a few hours- Boy was I wrong there!!!)

This picture, on the otherhand, I do not remember. And for someone who remembers almost everything, that's strange. I'm guessing Ian snapped it on his way back from one of his runs to the caffeteria. I do remember being terrified that he would miss something by eating down in the caffeteria (once again, wrong) so he brought his tray up here and ate with me. I was starving, as you may guess, since the last food to enter my mouth was a baked potato at 8:00 AM. (why did I have that for breakfast- it was a suggestion from my childbirth class nurse- who I loved- so I took her advice and pre-baked a few to keep in the fridge to have handy when those first contractions started. I know, crazy- but I did just about everything by the book during my pregnancy- so why not finish up strong??) I remember him eating at that little desk, facing the wall, so he didn't tempt me with the food. I also remember ordering him not to bring back anything that smelled to strong or weird- I felt crappy enough without a labor and delivery room filled with the scent of fried onions.

I remember this picture. I also remember uttering something similar to "I don't think I can even smile anymore- so just take the picture already!" to my excited husband who was snapping away. How fun to be the husband in the labor room?? Not so fun I think- If I had to guess, I would say "its a strange mix of belonging there and feeling out of place and of wanting to be there and wanting to escape". At least that was my deduction from observing my husband doring our nearly 24 hours in the labor room.

Fast forward to July 16, 2009 . . .

What a difference a year makes . . . tonight I type this message in the comfort of my own home with an amazing little girl fast asleep in her crib upstairs. A year ago, I couldn't have come close to knowing the love, joy and true peace that I feel in my heart as a mother. I couldn't imagine that I would love someone who I have only know 1 short year, more than I've probably ever loved anything before. But you never know until it happens to you . . . you just never understand. Having a child is a true miracle and life's greatest blessing. And it is a blessing and responsibility that I take very seriously (maybe sometimes too seriously)- because so many people never get their chance to experience it. So tonight, I thank God for choosing me to be Lila's mom and I intend to spend my entire life trying to prove that I am worthy of the gift of this amazing girl.

Happy Birthday . . .

America!!! Did you really think I was going to say Lila?!?! I still have 3 more days- come on people, you know me better than that! I am savoring every last day of my "baby days" until I have to (begrudingliy, if you must know) call her a 1 Year Old- Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So here are some pix of our 4th of July Celebration with the little lady. I remember all too well our 2008 celebration that included a very pregnant me, some rain, some sticky hot yucky weather and a little disappointment (on my part) that "baby P" was not in fact going go be born on the fourth of july. Somehow in my crazy-party-planning-mind I thought this Birthday would be super fun. What better way to celebrate your birthday each year than with fireworks?!? But our little lady had a different idea. She, in fact, wanted me to wait all 40 weeks (plus 2 more days) to make her arrival. She wanted to do things on her own timeline and on her own terms, a trait which has continued to be one of her trademarks throughout he first year of life. More to come on those "lila trademarks" in her birthday post. I've already started formulating it in my mind- does that surprise anyone?!?

Back to the pictures. . .

Captivated by the 4th of July Parade!

Wave that flag!!! Don't you love the vampire teeth- her side ones came down faster than the middle 2- so she looks like she has little fangs. So cute!!!

Daddy and Lila celebrating America's Birthday!

The firetrucks and ambulances were a big hit- she loved the flashing lights

Waiting for the Garrett Hill parade to start


Our family at the country club for fireworks. Lila did surprisingly well, a little tired b/c it was 2 hours past her bedtime, but not one tear.

She held onto this flag with a death-grip. It was very popular that day!!

Look who's standing- not walking- but standing and dancing!! Was this adorable 8 yr old really my little flower girl- man, I'm getting old!

The kids together at the club for fireworks. Three of these little angles belong to Ian's best friend Matt and his wonderful wife Moira, the cutie standing in the back with the Monkey (also known as Monk- a baby gift from yours truly, that turned into her favorite friend) is Taylor, my high school BFF Jen's daughter, and of course the smiley one in the middle is our little Lila! I think these kids will be buddies forever- and the parents are going to make sure that happens!!!

The sun will come out . . .

TODAY!!! Finally, the sun has returned to PA -and we couldn't be happier to see it. For the past 15 days it has rained- either a little or a lot. Needless to say, we are happy to see the sun today and hope it decides to stay. Isn't it summer?

We've been busy little bees for the past month (has it really been that long since I posted? Yes it has- sorry). Lila is movin and shakin all over the place. We have installed our gates and safety latches on the cabinets and everything. What I find the funniest is that the cabinet she seems "drawn" to is the one with the cleaning products under the sink- figures right?! Luckily I safety locked that one first, so we're good. She finds the bathroom extra fun. I most certainly DID NOT (and by did not, I mean DID) turn around while filling up the bathtub to find her splashing her hands in the toilet- oh man. And I used to laugh at people who bought toilet locks- not so funny anymore. I did not purchase one, since the splashing novelty has momentarily worn off- but if it returns, I may join the toilet-locking club.

Standing at the gate at the top of the steps. I love to shake the gate like a caged zoo animal.

Did I mention that Lila is into everything?? She's not very interested in toys, just rearranging and exploring the house. Her favorite objects are Mommy and Daddy's shoes, remotes, cordless phones, cell phones, stereo equipment, dust bunnies and small pieces of food or debris on the floor. I swear she has eagle eyes- she can see the smallest things on the floor. And boy does is her mouth hard to get open if she has a "treasure" in there. Speaking of mouths, her teeth continue to emerge at rapid fire. She has all 4 top and bottom teeth and 3 out of 4 of her 1 year molars- crazy!! 11 months old and 11 teeth.

See all my teeth?


My first set of wheels. Mom hopes all my cars are this cheap!

Since I promised vacation pix, I will post a few . There are approx, 1 million, so I can't share them all. Here are a few of our favorites.

What is it about vacation . . .

I thought I'd devote a post to finishing that sentence ( see first item on the list for the reason why this post is only words and not an exciting Lila update with pictures and all)

What is it about vacation . . .

- that makes you forget (at home) your digital camera cord that allows you to save pictures to your computer and post such pictures online for all to enjoy.

- that makes you think it's OK to eat 1/2 a bag of Salt & Vinegar chips. Or even purhase salt & vinegar chips to begin with

- that has your daughter wanting to walk (with assistance of course) all over the place. Especially when such "place" is covered in child unfriendly marble and ceramic tile.

- that makes the baby start to regress in the sleep department- AKA- waking up crying several times a night for the first 10 days of our trip- only to have 3 "better nights" to be followed with 2 more "horrible" ones. Good lord, please let this have something to do with being in a strange place, teething, or missing the soft bumpers in her crib!! I'm not sure I can handle a permanent regression once we get home.

- that makes you stress free and yet very tired all at the same time. This doesn't make sense, but I am very relaxed and have help from Ian during the day and I am still beat. Hmmm. . .

- that has you eating more fried food than you did in the past 9 months. Notice how I said 9 months- since my pregnancy diet did include a small amount of french fries (OK- a large amount of fries- but the baby made me eat them!!)

- that makes you consider (notice the word consider and see below for explanation) leaving your busy stressful Northeast lifestyle and moving to an island to open . . . (insert your choice of small fun business here) . . . a beach wedding planning business- or ice cream shop- or fruit stand.

- that makes you want to come home- even though you are in paradise and the sun has literally not stopped shining- you eventually miss your bed, your friends and your "normal".

You'll hear more from us once we return later this week. Get ready for some major pictures- I took about a million in the past few weeks.

Our first Easter

Happy Easter!! Here is a recap of Lila's first Easter- in pictures.

The bunny left this basket for Lila on Easter morning. What you can't see here is her favorite part of the basket (see below for the answer)

Yup- she loved the easter grass the most. I did have to keep a close watch on her to make sure she didn't swallow any. She spent lots of time yesterday and today emptying the grass out of the basket, pulling it apart, and spreading it all over the floor. This proves my theory that the best toys are usually the least expensive (or free) ones!

Our little bunny- still in her PJ's on Easter morning.

All dressed up for Easter!!

Our family - Easter 2009

Motherhood and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

If someone told me several years ago that I would spend my Saturday night steaming vegetables to make my own baby food, I would not have believed them. In fact, it reminds me of a great line from the "Sex and the City" movie where Carrie is talking with her girlfriends about how different she is in her 40's than she was in her 20's- she says "If I met me now, I wouldn't recognize me" . . . that pretty much sums it up for me. Who knew this would be my life?? Well folks, it is. I do love my new role of mother- but there are days that I pinch myself because I feel like I am not living in "Lindsay's world". Truth is, "Lindsay's world" has become "Lila's world" and it's as simple and as complicated as that. But I digress . . .

Getting back to the veggies. I spent almost 1 1/2 hours steaming and steaming in the kitchen. I steamed carrots, beans, and sweet potatoes. I painstakingly chopped the perfectly mushy veggies into small, choke-free, bite sized pieces (which took twice as long as the actual steaming). I cut small pieces and then decided that they were not small enough and re-cut all of them. All in an effort to teach my lovely daughter to eat real food (not just purees and mashed stuff). I was excited to debut my new food at lunch on Sunday. That's where it all went downhill. Lila had her own idea about my new bites of veggies. As soon as she tried 1 little piece of potato she decided she wanted them mashed instead. Her hands smashed onto the tray and the mashing began. Smashing and mashing my perfectly steamed, precisely cut bites. It was funny to watch, but inside I felt kind of irritated. Didn't she know that I spent my Saturday night lovingly cooking and cutting so she could learn how to eat real food without choking? Didn't she know that I cut them all twice so she didn't choke and that it would have taken half the time to mash them instead? Didn't she know that I used to spend my weekends traveling, and eating out in the city and having cocktails with friends till all hours of the night?? And now, here I sit, in front of the Fisher Price Space Saver highchair watching my vegetable masterpiece being destroyed by mini-me. If she wasn't so darn cute with those orange coated hands and face, I might have burst into tears.

Lesson learned- motherhood sometimes pushes you to the edge. Sometimes you want to laugh and cry at the same time, for no apparent reason. And while mourning the loss of my former self and my former life, I have discovered the greatest joy of all . . .and it sounds something like this-

Sorry- I can't figure out how to turn the video right side up- but it's the sound effects that are important this time! Enjoy.

Tax Season Strikes Again

It's the least wonderful time of the year in the Petropoulos household . . . tax season! I have officially become a "tax widow" and am not enjoying it (just like every year). We haven't seen much of Daddy lately (3 nights this week were after 11 PM) so I figured I would post some pictures of the little princess for him- just in case he has time to check the blog. Lila misses her Daddy so much- but can't wait to spend 3 whole weeks with him in Florida once April 15th arrives.

Gee Dad, this is fun!!!!

All dressed up with no place to go!

Working on my standing

I can clap!! Sometimes I start clapping spontaneously and mommy thinks it's really funny.

The Million dollar smile