Lillian Belle's First 4th of July

Family. The Beach House. Tons of food. Fireworks.

Doesn't get any better than that! 

All-American Cuteness

I made her headband that morning. Love!

Lilly! Stop being so cute, these pictures make me want to wake you up from your nap to squeeze you...

You're not afraid of your uncles anymore - yay!! I still am, but I'm glad one of us isn't ;)

Hehe, Daddy's teeth & lips are a little green from watermelon ice cream cake.

First time eating strawberries!

It was such a great 1st Fourth of July for our Lilly Belle :)
I love all of these firsts. It is so much fun to watch her experience the world.

My Journey Begins...to Becoming a Teacher!

So, this is happening.

I am in college. Like for real.

I have been a study maniac at nap time and bedtime.
(and take many brain breaks for Pinterest teacher boards and blogs as motivation)

I have been talking to every teacher I can - wherever & whenever I can.

A few days ago, I took Lilly to Lakeshore Learning which is a store for teachers and just walked around talking to everyone in there. They were obviously all teachers and I just approached every single one of them in there asking if they could take a minute to answer some questions I have on becoming a teacher. They were all so willing to chat and so excited for me - and of course adored Lilly Belle. Some of the advice I received was excellent! 

I am also thankful that my close friend, Casie, is a Kindergarten teacher. We had a playdate with our kiddos yesterday and she taught me so much about things to do now to make sure I will get a job when the time comes. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! So, starting this fall, I will be spending one day a week in her classroom. She teachers morning Kindergarten from 8:30-11:30 and I will get to help her in her room. She also made my day life when she said I can help her put her classroom together this year. 

I also have my friend, Ashley, who now teaches 5th grade. She just completed her first year of teaching and I would love to go and help her as much as I can as well so I can get a feel for the "big kids" too ;) 

I learned that I should just go for it as far as taking a lot of classes each quarter. If I take just one extra class/quarter, I cut out a whole quarter of classes/year. And I'm also going to continue always taking class in the summer. Now that I am in school now taking one class this summer, I am finding that next summer I would be fine to take two. This summer was our test run since I haven't gone to school in a long time. 

Currently, I am attending Bellevue College. The class I take is online so that has given me the freedom to study, do homework, projects & discussions all while Lilly Belle is sleeping. She has not once had to play while I sat there doing studying. I have (so far) been able to put it all away when she is awake and make sure I am giving her my full attention. So far, it's a win-win. 

I am still not sure where I will go once I am done with classes at Bellevue. I have a few paths I could take - all with pros and cons. So we'll see where I end up.

Right now, I am focused on my current summer class, finalizing all of my finical aid/student loan stuff & researching different schools that offer a BA in Elementary & Special Education.

We have some big decisions to make in the next few years, but I know it will all be so worth it once I am officially a teacher and  have my own class!

And I'll end on this funny photo which I found on a site from a first-year teacher ;)

Wisconsin Visit - June 2014: Part 2

The pictures are a little mixed up, but all from the same trip :)

Sharing avocado with "Auntie" Kaylin

Morning snuggles with Uncle Caleb while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Gigi stopped in for a morning visit

LB thinks her Grandpa is pretty funny

Got to spend a lot of time with my friends 

Grandma & Grandpa have a cool bath tub

Selfies with "Auntie" Jenna at "Auntie" Micky's shower

Grandma, LB & Mommy & Micol's shower

This face!

and those eyes... (mac and cheese date with "Auntie" Micky at our favorite...Noodles!)

Big girl in Grandma & Grandpa's tree swing

Spending time with her "cousins" & "Auntie" Carly

Meeting her Great Grandma Hampe for the first time!

So special that she has both my grandma's in her life. I know Matt's grandma's would have loved her too!

My grandma found an old movie of me when I was like 2 and wanted to show Lilly & I :)

My baby cousins, Aunt & Uncle came to visit LB 

**Side Note: they actually are my aunt and uncle and first cousins ;) 

Cousin Gabby & Lilly 

I see some similarities in Marina & Lilly in their baby pictures. I think it is their eyes/nose area...maybe chin too? I don't know...they're all so cute :) 

Marina, Gabby, Lilly & Jacob

TONS more pictures to come...

Lilly Belle: Eleven Months

Lilly Belle's 11 month birthday landed on 4th of July so we ditched our stickers for a pinwheel at Nana & Papa's ;) 

Lillian Belle: Eleven Months Old

Matt and I are feeling super chill about Lilly Belle almost being one...NOT. It is actually killing us how fast time is going. This next month can go in slow motion, please...

Weight: I still see rolls and she still has a budda belly. Winning.  

Health: Lilly is a healthy little peanut. She has been such a trooper getting her two top teeth at the same time. We only had a few days where I thought it was really bothering her and she only had Tylenol once or twice for it. 

Sleep: What what?! Documenting this: June 29th, Lillian Belle sleeps through the night! Prior to that, the rest of the month - especially in WI, girlfriend was still up every 2-3 hours...sometimes every  hour and sometimes I got a 4 hours stretch (sometimes). I just soak it up though because I want her to keep nursing for a while yet. Mornings are super hard for me though until I get my coffee. Thank goodness I have Super Daddy to help me out there. 

Social: Lilly Belle LOVES people. Yes, I said that word louder so it is in caps. She loves waving and smiling at everyone...and I literally mean everyone. She also has to say good-bye "Ba" to everyone with a full on wave. I mean, people we pass in the store even. She is so friendly and outgoing. All you have to do is smile and give her a little wave and you'll win her over. Sweet girl. 

She still likes to be around kids. I try to give her that opportunity as much as possible. She is so observant and likes to try and copy them. She isn't so much a fan of being around younger babies, they don't interest her much. Put her in a room full of kids older than her though and she will be happy as can be. 

Schedule: Our schedule changes daily. She is really good at going with the flow. We make sure she gets her naps and if she doesn't then we put her to bed a little earlier. She usually only naps for 45 min-1 hour at a time every 3-4 hours, sometimes 5. 

Diet:  Lilly is still nursing a few times throughout the day. More this month so probably 4-5 times. That is including when she wakes up in the morning and when I lay her down for bedtime. During the night she nurses 1-3 (or 4) times (usually).  

Clothes: I have officially put all of her 6-month onesies away as they are too snug now. She is fitting a bit snug in her 9-month onesies and pants and now suddenly fits perfectly in her 12-month clothes. Make it stop :(   

Baby Gear Love:  She is still swaddled every night and I still love our Aden & Anais blankets. We use our Ergo a ton as well as our Britax stroller (which we talked about yesterday and decided we would buy that stroller all over again, it's awesome!) 

Crying: Lilly really only cries when she is overtired. 

Likes:  Mommy ;) No but really. People. Kids especially. Waving and saying "hi" to people. Playing with "dog dog" and her books. Her favorite is to take every book out of her basket and off of her shelf. Lilly loves Minnie Mouse - go figure. We tried for a while to change that to Pluto or Mickey but as of now, Minnie is her clear favorite. She still likes bath time but is much too interested in standing to last long in there like she used to. 

Milestones:  Lilly Belle continues to grow socially & physically. It has been amazing to watch her move all around & to see how quickly she can go from crawling to standing. She is pulling up on everything and walking along furniture. She can walk as we hold her hands now as well. Lilly is great at communicating, especially at meal time. She tells us "done done done" when she is done eating & will sign "more" when she wants more...of anything. She actually uses the "more" sign for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or anything Minnie related as well ;)  

Ok, so I have like 8,000 pictures from this month so I'm going to do my best to narrow it down.

Wisconsin pictures will go in a separate post - SO many! Also...just realized these are just the ones from my phone. So...maybe 4 more posts will cover it ;)

Stop it.

"Mom...stop." ...ha, Cogsy begging for water & photo bombing. 

My Sleeping Beauty. And...photobomb by her monster.

"Hey guys!"

"What are you guys doing in there?"...she stood here for a good 20 minutes just watching the kids and holding onto the train. Sweet girl.

Nana came to music class with us :)

Her little body! I die.

Love this girl.

Her sweet little tired face.

Learned "Cheeeese!" (loves footballs)

Need to do a post on this, but this was her Father's Day project. First time painting :) Don't worry- I made the paint out of flour, water & food coloring. 

Happy Father's Day - "Rad Like Dad"

First time she was totally interested in the "crabby cabby's" at Nana & Papa's Beach House.

Lilly and Grandma on the porch swing right before heading to the airport.

Silly Grandpa!!

Ready for Sunday School :)

Afternoon playing at home :)

I cannot believe my next post will be her One Year post :'( 

Lillian Belle,

Our sweet girl. You are turning into the friendliest person I have ever met. You love to smile and wave at everyone. You will wave and wave and wave until they wave back. And then you give them the cheesiest grin. I'm talking, random strangers at the grocery store or Ikea... When they don't wave back I can feel your disappointment and I am always telling you to never ever stop waving and smiling. And now, at your age, I mean that literally. But, as an adult, I hope that you are always bringing sunshine and smiles to people's lives like you are now. And Lilly, when they don't let you in - just keep smiling....Eventually they'll smile back. 

I love you so incredibly much. I cannot even begin to tell you. Your daddy and I are so thrilled to be your parents. You are without a doubt the happiest, sweetest baby I've ever known. (I'm only slightly bias). 

Big kisses!!

Mommy