One Month Shy of a Year!

In other numbers - 11.0
Not much new from the last post.  Lilly still only has the two bottom teeth but she has discovered that all you really need is two teeth to eat whatever you want.  Two teeth are apparently all you need to bite people with as well.  She bites me in the same place every time so I am trying to figure out how to break her of it quickly.  The only two things I can think of are rubbing bitter bite or vinegar on the spot that she goes for.   Will anyone call CPS on me for doing this?   
Lilly is not walking yet but she is starting to "stand" on her own for about 5 seconds which is her way of learning to balance.  Her vocabulary is starting to become a little more clear.  We have heard her say yes or yep, wow and I think I heard her say "hey" as well.  She still babbles quite a bit and I hope that her ears are not holding her back from learning to master her speech.  Speaking of ears, we had another ear infection this month!  Her Dr told me she only has to have one more infection to get tubes and honestly, I hope she gets one so the we can take of this for once and for all.  She takes them like a champ but momma is really starting to worry about the damage they may be causing.
Speaking of momma, she has been super busy preparing for a first birthday party.  I am trying to tone it down and keep it pretty simple but I am afraid that I have just gotten it way out of hand with the theme and decor.  I just can't help myself! Am am no Martha Stewart so we shall see how it all turns out.

Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take ya

As many of you already know, Paul won (me) a trip to Aruba through a performance program at work. Waste Management has over 50,000 employees and out of those employees, only 100 employees were picked to attend. There were several factors involved but the only thing I needed to know is that we got to pack our bags and board a plane to paradise for 5 days/4 nights. It was the first time away from Lilly for more than 24 hours but we all made it. She only gave us a little bit of grief when we got home but that didn't last long.

Once we landed, then was the mode of transportation that took us to our hotel.

The first day we had to hurry and get ready for a meet and greet cocktail/dinner reception. It was good for Paul to finally put a face to all the names he talks and emails with on a daily basis. While Paul was chatting away, I was enjoying the island rum punch and socializing as well. Many of you know, the more I drink, the louder I get! But Paul said that I made good friends with the wife of a very high ranking employee so I guess the rum punch worked.

Everything was "branded" with the Circle of Excellence logo

 The second day we were treated to massages in the am and then an afternoon of leisure around the resort. (I.E., hang out at the beach all day and have cabana boys bring you more of the island rum) It was a nice relaxing day but unfortunately, Paul and I both got a little too much sun. Even though we constantly applied and re-applied sunscreen, it didn't help as we were basically sitting on top of the equator. Luckily we had to go in a little early anyway to get ready for that nights catamaran cruise and dinner. It was an early night due to the sun exposure and the next morning’s activities.

 On the third day, we signed up to go deep sea fishing. We were paired with another couple on a charted excursion for mahi, tuna, wahoo, etc. It was a slow day of fishing and in the end; the girls were the only ones who reeled anything in! We ended up taking our Mahi over to a restaurant at the dock and they grilled and paired it with some sides for us. Delish! That night we took another catamaran cruise over to a "private island" for dinner and dancing "carnival" party. We ended up partying with all the big wigs on the last boat back to the hotel and hopefully got Paul a new job on executive row...



The Fishing Team - Charlie, Dawn and Daugereau's




Dawn and I at "Carnival"

The fourth and final day was competition day between all the different regions of waste management for bragging rights. You were chosen to play corn hole, volleyball, tug-o-war or three legged race.  I was lucky enough to be able to be in the cheering section and hang in the shade.  Paul was picked to play "corn hole" and he was paired with the VP of South Sales (or something to that effect). They one the first game and on the second they were in competition against the CEO and his partner. Paul was standing on the same side as the man who signs the checks thru 3 brutal games. He was giddy the whole time and still doesn't stop talking about who he got to stand with that afternoon. In the end, Paul and his partner took 2nd place (after playing for 3 straight hours against 4 team and countless games) and the Southern Region took 2nd overall place as well.

Paul with David Steiner, CEO

Banner with all the Circle of Excellence winners



He's not giddy at all!

 Our vacation ended with an awards ceremony and taking the casino for about $100 more than we came with!

This is the South group

10 Months came and went

Someone Lilly turned 10 months and that was two weeks ago...
And somehow we missed it!  Maybe it was due to the fact that she has been super sensitive to any allergy in the air (yeah zirtec) and she had a double ear infection (which makes infections #3 & 4).  Oh yeah - did we mention that Paul and I were busy getting ready for a trip to Aruba?  But guess what, we all survived!  Even the grandparents that came and helped us out by watching the bug in shifts survived!
So here we are at 10 months and 2 weeks and here is a little update.  This kid moves fast and she is not even walking yet.  She is everywhere and her attention span is around two minutes with one object.  She throws tantrums which I think are hilarious but she doesn't get my humor when I laugh at her.  She is offically walking along furniture, can move from one object to another if they are close and can walk behind her "walker".  We still only have 2 teeth but she has been teething forever it seems with the top two.  Hopefully they will break through soon and we can all get some peace around here.  We are sleep training some nights and then others she will just sleep through the night.  Don't know how she fell out of her awesome sleeping habbits but I long for those days to come back!  Even on the nights that she does sleep thru, my alarm clock in my head goes off around the time she has waking and then I am up and she isn't.  Maybe I should start screaming thru the monitor to give her a little taste of what it is like to work in a drive thru on the 2 am shift!   
This kid still loves to swing or just be outside in general.  You can pretty much make her day by just taking her outside.  Which is good since Paul and I aren't really inside people.  Until of course it is 100 degrees in the shade which in that case, we will see you at the pool.
Here are a some (ok a LOT) videos that we have taken recently - enjoy!

An RV Tour

Dining table also makes into a bed (and the famous bathroom)

View of the bed and a twin bunk bed

Sofa to lounge on (also makes into a bed)

It's Been Too Long

We have had a lot of activity around here!  First it was mommy's birthday and turns out, it was one of the nicest birthdays as far as the weather goes that she can remember in a long time!  A couple of our friends came over and we enjoyed my makeshift swing set that my daddy built for me.  It's pretty sweet and suits me just fine for the time being.  Then we went camping in our new RV.  Mommy insisted that she had to have a camper with a bathroom for me but I secretly think it was really for her.  I also saw my first cows (and a donkey too)!  I was pretty interested in them but there was a bull that was pretty interested in me too so we admired them from a distance.  Anyway, here are some pictures to prove all the excitement!

Lilly is always the center of attention-haha!

Me & Nash

Jake's first time in a swing

Peas & Cheese & Turkey Oh My!

9 Months - Even Steven

Lilly had her 9 month checkup yesterday and the stats go a little like this...

weight 18lbs
height 28 in
head 44 cm

We were all about the even numbers.  The doctor said her ears and lungs were clear even though she has a terrible cough and as usual, a runny nose.  I guess my kid is just gonna be a "snotty" kid.  Of course if that is all she is then we should count our blessings!

In milestone news, this kid is everywhere!  She rolls, crawls and pulls up on everything.  If she is in the living room and I am in the kitchen, I can look at her and tell her to come in here and she will crawl and laugh until she is pulling up on my pant leg.  So Cute!  Last night she pulled up on the couch and starting side stepping to get to the remote control.  I don't know if this means she will be an early walker or not but I guess I should start mentally preparing myself.  We still only have two teeth on the bottom but she has learned to bite :(  And it hurts so watch out because if she goes in for a kiss, she will bite your cheek or your chin instead!

I will post pictures tonight when I get home (doing this post during my office hours)  

Snow Day

There was only an inch but it was enough to say it was Lilly's first snow day.  And it was enough that both our offices were shut down so we all got to play in it!