christmas madness

As you might imagine, it was nutty here at Christmas. Lilly didn't quite get it...yet...but it didn't stop her from tearing into the gifts. Like last year, the packaging held her interest more than the goodies inside; but with a little help from us, the toys were revealed and everything changed. Many thanks to everyone for the gifts!!

Next year will surely be the first of a string of those typical Christmases where all we want to do is sleep in while all the kiddo wants to do is see what Santa brought. That is why they invented eggnog and mimosas...and irish coffee...really any "morning-appropriate" beverage that can have alcohol added.

The family was here for the week, which was wonderful. Our first Christmas in H-town. Endless entertainment for Lilly. Virtually non-stop good eating. Lots of hanging out. It is such a bummer everyone lives so far away, because it was so much fun being with everyone.


reading with Grandma...

with Auntie Jenn

modeling her new shades

reading her current favorite "Little Pea" with Papa...for the 3rd time that day

Christmas morning

Lights in the Heights

Each year our neighborhood hosts a big holiday event called Lights in the Heights. Basically, three entire streets worth of houses have been decorated with lots of lights and luminaria every 10 feet. Every so often, one house will be hosting a band, group of carolers, elementary school string quartet, etc. and put out homemade cookies to add to the liveliness. As one of our friends said, "it is one of the things that makes living in Houston seem OK". Very true. It was really neat.

We had a bunch of people over before to kick off the evening and then headed out around the corner to take it all in. Our trusty red Radio Flyer wagon was adorned with lights and garland and full of beer and wine. A rolling spectacle, but matched in coolness by many others with the same idea.

Seeing that it was the 20th anniversary of the event, they had a cookie drive of sorts, the goal of which was to bake 10,000 cookies. I did my best to contribute, and ended up baking around 250 cookies. Our freezer was full of baked goodies that we couldn't eat.

offline...and back on

Apologies for the hiatus. Rest assured Team C is chugging along and preparing for Christmas. December was quite a busy month for us, although we stayed put in H-town for a change. There is nothing quite like the holidays to make life incredibly full! The Southern Grandparents and the west coast Auntie are on their way this weekend!!

So, for years in Madison we purchased a Christmas tree from a little-known, slightly shady establishment in the parking lot of Sears on the west side...for the bargain price of $10. Yep, ten smackers for a gloriously schwinty, tiny tree that was always perfect once you adorned it with oranments, garland and way too many lights for safety. This year, we visited a similar establishment and paid $50. Damn. Same skinny, short and slightly misshapen tree but with a hefty southern upcharge. We did find it quite amusing that it was 55 outside when we bought it. Lights were subsequently put on the tree in the driveway, which made it much easier and far less entangling. Decorating the tree after Lilly was tucked away for the night proved a most intelligent move, as the very next morning she found the tree and proceeded to remove and then "rehang" any ornament hung below three feet high.


These days, Lilly is very much into "being helpful". She loves to sweep with the broom, wipe up spills (that she makes herself on purpose) and throwing away trash. I caught her walking over to our trash bin, opening the sliding door and tossing in a used paper towel the other day. Our fear is that she will grab something we don't notice!

While not nearly as cold and wintry as we'd like it down here, we did have frost the other night. Hooray! We are keeping our fingers crossed for a freak Christmas snow down here....

fall...

The travel spree continues! We went to Madison last weekend for a friend's wedding and had a wonderful time. It is a bit strange going back to a place you've lived to stay in a hotel. From the moment we stepped off the plane, we had a game plan that included way too much to accomplish in a weekend. We managed to see many friends, eat + drink at our favorite places, catch the last farmer's market and enjoy a few proper fall days.

Off to New York and New Hampshire this weekend for the holidays. We cannot wait to see everyone.


Lilly having a "youthful tendency disorder" moment playing in the leaves

nothing like this in Houston...*sniff*

octopus' garden

Lilly's school holds an all-out Halloween Carnival each year....that was 850 people strong. Quite the feat of planning and it was as much for the kids as the parents. Cory and I were among the few parents who got it together enough to costume themselves. Seeing that we just attended a "fake wedding" as the flower girl and ring bearer, we had sweet costumes. Thank goodness they supplied barley pop. Oh yes, they also had a petting zoo...and pony rides.



Lilly was serenaded by the band (to the Beatles song Octopus' Garden) as she walked past them in her super fancy octopus costume. She was pretty funny to watch dance, as she doesn't quite get it yet. Our favorite is the deep knee bend decidedly out of sych with the beat. Watching the legs of her costume bounce around as she swung her arms was hilarious.

weekend crafting

Lilly is becoming quite independent these days! She loves helping getting her shoes on, so we bought (and modified--chopped the legs down) a little chair for her. Plain white wasn't cutting it...so I found myself decoupaging the seat. Lilly loves pointing at the fish.

haircut

Lilly had her first haircut on Saturday. The mullet had to go....business up front, party in the back, no more.

yinz in steeler country

Last weekend we visited Bill and Laura in Pittsburgh. What a fun weekend we had--and certainly not long enough!! Last time we saw each other was about a month before Lilly was born...and we were living in Madison.

Lilly once again, entertained everyone in the airport and charmed the flight attendants. Our carefully laid out plan of booking an evening flight deteriorated rapidly, as Lilly decided quickly that she was not tired. However, after about an hour of going back and forth from crying to laughing, she settled down for a good snuggle for the rest of the flight. Good airline karma somehow came our way--flight left on time, we scored the bulkhead seats and ended up with an extra empty seat!!

Over the weekend, Lilly said her second word. Of course, she's not yet said Mommy or Daddy. Laura and Bill have two cats, one of which we hardly saw, the other was marginally curious about the little person running around screaming "CAT!" Seems as if kitty toys are just as much fun as baby toys, as Lilly was fascinated by a shiny foil ball. Good thing Crash and Loki weren't possessive!

We spent most of the weekend sipping cocktails and eating good food....but we did go out and see what Pittsburgh had to offer. Big highlights were the Pittsburg Zoo, where Lilly was fascinated by the fish. We also went to the Phipps Conservatory where we saw the new Chihuly glass exhibit. The pairing of art glass, in very organic shapes and colors, with the different plants throughout the conservatory was incredible. Check it out: http://www.phipps.conservatory.org/chihuly/gallery.html On the way out of town, we drove through the Steelers tailgate. I'd be willing to bet that Steeler fans can give many a Wisconsin fan a run for their money. Crazy--they're all under the highway grilling and swilling beer.

new tricks

CHEERS!

sitting (very lady-like) in her new chair...

Auntie Jenny's doing....we were only gone for one weekend!

random thoughts

It's raining....again. So far, this summer it has been rainy or hot and rainy. Mosquitoes. Ozone. All around crappy. BUT, the picture above is our new painting. Ever since Cory and I left Quebec City after our honeymoon, we kicked ourselves for not buying one then. Needless to say, after three years, new real jobs, and countless visits to the gallery website, we bucked up and bought one. I spoke French to the gallery owner and somehow we ended up just paying for the painting and not managing to buy a cow or some mustard or something... Yay! It hangs proudly on our dining room wall (which we measured with this in mind before we bought the house) and makes us both smile when we come in our house.

Lilly update: her current favorite activity is banging her sippy cup on her high chair table to make the milk come out. Adding to the fun are the cheerios that she then swipes through the milk. Just today she figured out how to dump liquid on her head from the above mentioned sippy cup.

She is gaining quite the personality--laughing all the time, giving kisses like a European (both sides!) and loving her new shoes. They were not a hit at first, but now she loves them, especially the tiny Puma's like her dad's. Hipsters.

We are enrolled in parent-child swim at the YMCA. We can't really tell if she is into it or not, but we get no complaints. She splashes and loves being swished around. Cory and I particularly enjoy the pool (especially after last weekend's late night out) and are very happy that we will never have to deal with one of our own. The best part about swimming lessons in Houston?--they continue until the end of October (October!).

Team Clechenko is gearing up for the big weekend away in Minneapolis...sans the girl. The Charleston G'parents are flying in for some babysitting action.

Pictures below: not so excited for the new shoes and snuggling with the new cozy softie (thanks PA Pierce Family!)

movin' and shakin'

Lilly took her first steps last week....and it wasn't but a week later that she is cruising around the house. She went from taking 4 steps to crossing a room. It is unbeliveable. Cory and I are constantly wondering what room she goes to since we are not yet ready to chase her down.

Today, I bought her first (real) pair of shoes so those little toes don't get hurt. Baby shoes are a complete racket--they aren't cheap and when I asked the saleslady how long I should expect her to fit in them, the reply was "about three months". Damn.

Lilly moves up to the Playful Piglets class next week which means they go outside, do art and eat their meals at the cutest little tiny table and chairs. Big stuff!

picky picky

Lilly pretty much loves every kind of food--in fact, she's not yet refused a thing. The other day we were having broccoli, carrots and cauliflower (willingly and excitedly, I might add) for dinner. After cutting up the veggies into the requisite child-no-choke sized tidbits, I noticed that Lilly ate all the carrots first, and then was dilligently picking out the "trees", leaving behind the "trunks"...which then she so politely shared with me.

proto-standing

She's up! Lilly has figured out how to get up to a stand without the aid of furniture or us. She is ok on her feet, but starts laughing and realizes that she is on her own and falls down. You can tell she just wants to walk, but can't figure out how to shift the weight and move her legs. It really won't be long now.


The teeth are starting to come in fast and furiously too. Unfortunately, the fourth one is not the matching top tooth, but the one to the side. Already, you can tell that she is going to have the "Cory gap"....that, or a future destined for braces.

1st Heights Pub Pedal--Lilly at home

Careful planning and cooperative weather (finally!) ensured the inagural pub pedal was a rousing success. The best part...Lilly's first official babysitting experience. Quite liberating for us....a few shots of our reward below. Lilly, on the other hand was a happy little camper until we got home.

summer vacation

We had a wonderful 4th of July in Charleston. Miraculously, Lilly was 90% good on the plane-both ways-which made us very happy. How I managed to choose flights that coincided with bed and naptime still amazes me.

Granny and Grandpa's house was full of nifty things for Lilly to explore--she especially liked the backyard (we have a jungle, unsuitable for play) with the ducks that came by every afternoon. Probably her favorite thing about the digs were the stairs! Since we only have one floor, it was all very exciting for her once she figured out how to go up. One particular time she got to the top and started hysterically crying because there were no more. Go figure. Oh yes, I cannot forget to mention that the high chair Grandma carefully selected was awesome. Really, after spending a week being able to pick up the washable plastic tray when Lilly started making a huge mess, it was hard to come back to our "euro-special" wooden highchair that is damn near impossible to clean.



The beach was a big hit with Lilly...she loved getting wet and splashing in the waves. Her teachers at school says that she gets very upset when splash time is over for the day or if she is not sitting in the little inflatable pool. I guess it might be time to investigate "shrimp dip" lessons at the Y.



All along, I thought to myself what a great time her first birthday would be. She loves attention, is a complete ham for everyone and eats like a champ. A recipe for success, right? Oh my was I wrong. After singing and candle blowing it came time for the classic 1st birthday moment--the smashing of the cake--where every child is left covered in cake and frosting and looking incredibly cute. Nope.....Lilly went into meltdown. The cupcake was smashed and then thrown forcefully to the floor. A few failed attempts at getting her to try it led to more tears. It was only a matter of opening some gifts that put her in a better mood. Not what we had hoped for, but it will be a good story when she is older.




All in all, a great vacation and good visit with the grandparents. I think that we sufficiently prepared them for the big babysitting adventure set to happen over Labor Day weekend.

sippin'

One milestone reached here at Team C's house....Lilly has mastered the sippy cup, abandoning all bottles for good. We couldn't be happier! Every evening, Cory and I would find every excuse to avoid cleaning the bottle nipples and getting her set for the next day. Now all we have to do is dump the milk into the cup. Next up, tricking her to like whole cow's milk--so far, a task we are failing at. Notice the ultra-babyproofed lamp cord in the background with the table there for 'safety'.



Unlike last fourth of July, I am going to enjoy the fireworks while relaxing on the beach. We're heading out to see G & G in Charleston which should provide Cory and I with a little relaxing time. Heck, I might even get to read an entire book in a few days rather than weeks.

everything but the kitchen sink

Toys? Who needs toys? Lilly seems to be more interested in kitchen gear than her toys these days. Thank goodness she hasn't figured out how to open the cabinets to pull things out yet. However, the cabinet knobs are the perfect height to give her the leverage she needs to cruise around the kitchen.



We were in the store today buying flowers and Lilly reached out and grabbed a rose from the bucket while I wasn't paying attention. Next thing I know she has managed shove the rose into her mouth and I found most of the petals scattered about the shopping cart. The saleslady was pretty funny about it, and just picked off all the other petals and put them in the container for sale. I couldn't help but think of the possibility that some of those slobbery rose petals may end up being involved in some romantic wedding proposal or something...

bagels!

"This bubelah loves bagels!" my grandma likes to say. They're great with lox and cream cheese or most any other way! (excerpted from "Let's Nosh!" by Amy Wilson Sanger, one of the 6 'world snacks' series books).

Cat scratch fever

The tough week continued for Lilly...
Typically, furry kitties just get up and walk away from Lilly, but this one decided her nice petting wasn't in the cards. One swipe of the paw was all it took. Totally scary. After a phone call to the doctor, confirming our initial suspicions, we headed off the ER. The local hospital where we were didn't have a plastic surgeon on staff, so an ambulance ride (!) later we found ourselves at the childrens hospital downtown...at 11:30 pm. We waited....and waited....and waited. All the while, we didn't sleep. At last, someone showed up at 6 am but it wasn't the plastic surgeon. So again, we wait. The plastic surgeon showed up around 12 and an hour later, we were able to leave, with 5 little stitches. Long story short--hosptials, no matter how wonderful, are completely paralyzed by themselves. Let's hope that we don't return soon. Lilly was a super trooper through it all. Our little franken-baby! Looks like her modeling/pageant career is now out of the question.

Memorial Day Fun

Darrell had a barbeque over Memorial Day weekend...despite the rain, it was nice to hang outside. Lilly is really getting to love the tricycle and really likes riding around the block. I think it kind of looks like we are walking a dog since she doesn't pedal. Beer, especially High Life, seems to perk her interest. The pictures are from Darrell...we forgot ours...typical.

Toy-1 Lilly-0

After a short bout in the ring, Lilly is sporting a big shiner. Seeing that she is showing interest in standing up and pulling whatever she can get her hands on above her, it probably won't be the last.

lil' lifeguard

Can't swim yet....but she'll rescue you from your bad mood!!