Laila on the plane!

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Here we come, Texas!!!!

By this time tomorrow, we will be arriving at Grandma and Grandpa Janish's house in Texas! We are all very excited! We discovered today that Laila has a double ear infection but her Dr. said she is still ok to fly. She is still in good spirits- laughing and playing. Flying with an infant is never easy...let alone one that isn't feeling 100%. But we will all make the best of it and try to remember that the outcome will be great!

2 days!

An oldy but a goody! Laila and grandpa paul in september! We can't wait for them to be reunited! Only 48 hours and we are on our way! :)
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Laila hangs out with Santa!

150 big ones!!

Laila is 150 days old today!

That is getting up there!




Here is Laila in her excersaucer that Grandma and Grandpa Tarasar bought for her for Christmas! She LOOVVEEES IT! (it even has chicken to help "feed" into her poultry addiction).

10 days until Christmas

We are in full countdown mode here at the Janish household in freezing cold North St Paul, Mn. Currently it is -3 degrees with a windchill of -25 degrees!!! Although apparently it is only going to be a high on 37 degrees today in Arlington. But 37 is better than -3!

I am home sick today and I hoping that Laila is not going to pick it up. I am just relaxing on the couch hoping that I will be up and running by tomorrow!

We started feeding Laila her delicious organic rice cereal...mmmmm... :)
She is an eating machine and she loves it. When I say love I mean...LOOOOVVVEE....she is an eating machine and gets really angry when we take her spoon away when she is all done.

Here are some pics of our little lady Laila!

Sleepy Mornings

Laila and I are watching Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. She seems to be enjoying it.
I forget to update about her 4 months appointment! Laila wieghs 15 lbs and 3 oz (as of the 23rd- I'm sure she wieghs more now!) and was 25 '' long. Her ear infections have cleared up and we are hoping she doesnt get another one. If she does we will have to start looking into the options. I don't want her to have to go through the misery that I had to when I was younger.

We are just hanging out today. We decided last night to skip church this morning and just have a lazy morning. Steve is still sleeping but we are going to wake him up soon. :)

Gettin' Ready For Texas!

Thanksgiving!!!

Laila's Thanksgiving Dress.
( it WAS meant to be her Christmas dress....but..well...she is a healthy, growing girl) :)

Laila with her Auntie Jesi.



Laila with her Grandma Tarasar on Turkey Day!

Almost Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving! It may be my favorite holiday and I can tell that Laila loves it.

We are heading to my parents house in Anoka for dinner. We will also be making a stop by my friend Jes' family event to show off Laila. :)

Laila has a blanky now and she loves it! I'll post a picture of it...it is a bit strange. It is just a square of fabric with a bear head attached. Sounds creepy, I know, but is actually cute. The bear head is also a rattle. Lucky Laila!!!

Steve and I still trade off putting her to sleep (we are both baby hogs) and we still trade off getting up with her in the morning. He is just the best daddy and still an amazing husband! We will be celebrating our 1st anniversary in 26 days! Wow! What a crazy year it has been!

Laila was getting ready for her big trip to Texas tonight before bed. She tried on her sunhat, sandals and shorts. She told us she wanted us to take pictures of her...so we obliged of course. We'll post them this weekend.

Well, Steve and I are going to take advantage of this rare Wednesday evening with no work tomorrow by watching a movie and making pizza! Maybe we will even stay up past 9:30! Woah....slow down, I Know!!!!!!!

Pic O' The Day

sorry its sideways..i tried three times and it keeps posting it like this..so it must be how the universe wants you to see it!! pretend it is artistic.

A Journey in search of furniture

We are on our way back to the Twin Cities from Aberdeen. Lucky for us the sun is shining and we have no rain in sight. We headed out of town Saturday around noon. We spent the evening napping after the long drive. We went up to the Ward and had dinner and drinks. We both had a LOT of fun!
Steve's parents house looks so strange without their belongings. Not to mention we just took the last remnants of Bebe and Paul when we took the couches.

I am so very happy to have these new couches! I may sleep on the couch for the next week to make sure it feels nice and welcome in its new home. :)

Laila stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Tarasar while we made the trek to South Dakota. I miss her terribly but I know she is in good hands. Not to mention much happier there than in the truck.

We are looking forward to a few things coming up. My mom's birthday is this Friday Nov. 21. After that is Thanksgiving and next is CHRISTMAS in Texas!!! Yay!

Well, I better get back to entertaining steve and stop playing on my blackberry! :)

16 weeks and counting!

Yesterday was Laila’s 16 week birthday which also makes her 113 days old.
I had the day off for Veteran’s day on Tuesday. Laila and I got to hangout and snuggle a lot.
We also got a rare chance to see Scott and Tanya. Not for long but an hour is better than nothing! Aunt T got Laila an adorable new outfit. Laila told me she loved it and can’t wait until she is big enough to wear it!

Laila had started to roll over…I suppose she has been for a few weeks now. She hasn’t managed to flip all the way over but it very close. The other day Steve was teaching her all about animal noises and we found out that she has a fondness for turkeys. Or perhaps just the way her daddy looks incredibly silly when he gobbles.

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today. It may be one of my favorite holidays. I love all the food and I love having an excuse to just hang out with family. I enjoy that it isn’t muddles with presents and we don’t have to worry about decorating. It is just a wonderful day to remind ourselves how truly blessed we are! This year we have a LOT to be thankful for!

Halloween and MORE!

For Halloween, our little Laila was the cutest baby bumble bee that I have ever seen! She tolerated her costumer quite well and only threw up on it at the very end. She actually got to wear it is few times. Once during our annual pumpkin carving event, once at home with mommy and daddy and once at Victoria’s to take some adorable posed pictures. At which point, she threw up all over her costume and Victoria’s couch. Sorry, couch! I think Laila was trying to tell us…she was ALL DONE….until next year that is.

This weekend my friend Christine flew in for her annual Minnesota trip. She spent Friday with Laila and the rest of the weekend was spent shopping at Mall of America, watching movies, making cookies and all sorts of delightful events. Laila very much enjoyed her time with Christine and took an instant liking to her.

It was really great to be able to spend some time with Christine and I am looking forward to our spring trip out to Washington D.C. next year. We will be able too see my old friend and also Scott and Tanya Janish!

We are counting down the weeks and days until we get to go to Texas for Christmas! 6 weeks and 3 days to go! It is ALL that Laila can talk about these days! She talks about how excited she is to see her Grandma and Grandpa Janish. She can’t wait get her first present from Santa Claus…she told me I swear she did!

Also, the most EXCITING thing of the past week was my friend Victoria had her little baby! Wednesday November 5th at 8:23 p.m. It is a BOY! His name is Ridley Dexter Holland and he weighed 9 lbs 0 oz. He was a big boy! Steve Laila and I went to see the Holland family the day after he was born. We got to hold him and Laila took some pictures with him. She kept touching him and I was afraid she was going to scratch him! But she didn’t …she knows to be gentle with the babies.

Laila is getting so big these days! She is 3.5 months old now and 111 days old. (Steve reminds me how many days old she is occasionally) She is talking more than I have ever heard a baby talk! She has so many stories to tell and I love to talk to her. She is sleeping through the night and we are so very, very thankful for that among many other things, of course. We are truly blessed in so many ways!

After a long week...

It has been a long week. A week that seemed to last at least 2 or 3 weeks long. Laila had her first fever and she has been coughing again a lot at night. She seems to be ok though. Her demeanor is normal, laughing and cheerful.

Mama is not so cheerful though. I have been fighting sickness all week until last night when my body finally gave in. On Laila's first Halloween of all days. It is ok though...we are going to celebrate today.

We are also going to the Como Zoo Conservatory with our friend Victoria and her good friend Leann. Laila is so excited she decided to fall asleep right before we are suppose to leave. :)
Oh well. She needs her rest and I could use the time to finish up some laundry and whatnot.

Steve is at the Gopher football game today. So we thought we would do a girls day. I am feeling much better after sleeping for 14 hours last night. I am sure I am overexerting myself but Laila needs a new experience once in a while!

We will post pics when we return!

Another one just for Jennifer! :)

Pic O' The Day

Let it Snow!!!

It snowed today. Laila was mesmorized as she layed on her changing table looking out her window. "What is the white stuff?" we kept asking her. She answered with all kind of ideas. She is talking up a storm the past few weeks and it is amazing. I love her little voice. :)

Saturday Oct 25 we went to our annual Pumpkin Carving Party. It was Laila's first experience and she loved it. (ok she slept through most of it) But she got to play with her Auntie Libby and Auntie Melissa. She also got to see her cousin Locke, who is just adorable.

My new job is going great! I am so much happier then I was at Qwest. I get to sit with one of my very good friend, Victoria, all day :) so that makes it even better! This is Victoria's last week at work. She is very pregnant and her baby is due Nov. 1. Laila is so very excited to meet her new little friend!

Laila is so big! She is 3 months old now. She blows spit bubbles (which we find so cute), she giggles and talks all the time. She is still getting up once a night to eat...but Steve and I are surviving. We are pretty used to it and we trade off nights so we do get to sleep quite a bit.

Just in the last few days, Laila has really become aware of things like her toys. She loves rattles and the little animals on the tray of her swing. We got her a new blanky with a little bear attached and she loves it!

I have tried to add pictures for about 15 minutes and it isn't working so I will have to try again in an hour or so.

News Flash.....

Good News!!! I got a brand spanking new job! :) I am so very excited! I start October 20th and my hours will by 7:45 am - 430pm. I can't, honestly, tell you how very relieved I am. I will get to spend more than one hour a night with my perfect little baby girl. She has been missing her mommy terribly lately.

I am working at US Bank in the ACH Forgery department. In addition to getting a great new job with amazing hours... I get to work next to one of my best friends!! Victoria and I met at Wells Fargo 2 years ago this Thursday, Oct 16th. I am pleased to say it is our 2 year anniversary :)

One a different note, Laila is doing great. Last week we thought she may have had pink eye because there was a case at daycare and she was very gross and goopy. We took her to the doctor and while we aren't sure if she did have pink eye, the doctor found she had an ear infection. Which explains her irritability the past week or so. Luckily, we caught it very early and it wasn't too bad. A few doses of antibiotic and she was feeling as good as new!

She is talking up a storm and smiling all the time. We have lost the camera charger..so no new photos....I have made it my only duty to find it this week. (or go buy a new one). I promise new pictures by next weekend.

Laila misses her Grama and Grampa Janish and can't WAIT to see them in 2 months in Texas :)

Update!!!

Wow! Laila is 10 weeks old! We have had a very crazy month and we haven't had a chance to update very often. Laila and Steve have been fighting through illness. They are both finally coming out the other side.

At Laila's 2 month check-up she weight 10 lbs 12 oz and was 23'' long!! That is 2lbs 14 oz and 3.75'' longer then when she was born! She was 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height! We think she is going through another growth spurt as she is sleeping and eating much more the past few days!

Currently, Steve and I are watching the Vice Presidential Debate. And since this is OUR blog, I can say, that my head is about to explode from frustration from the ramblings of Sarah Palin. We may be moving Laila to Canada if she somehow, someday becomes President (even if by default).

Tangent.....sorry.

We will get some pictures up of Laila soon. Love you all!

One rough week.

I am sorry that we have been absentee lately. We have had a rough few weeks and I have been trying to make ends meet. I have been dealing with a little post partum depression and have been seeking help with that. After we got that under control we got a call Sunday morning from Steve's mom letting us know that his grandmother was not doing well.

We immediately decided that we needed to go down to be with her. We packed up and headed out a few hours later. We got down there in time to have Grandma Schryer see her youngest great granddaughter. It was one of the most amazing and precious moments I have ever experienced in my life.

We stayed the night and headed back the next day. We got home very late on Monday night. In the wee hours of the morning I woke up with flu-like systems. I won't give details but...it wasn't pretty. We stayed home Tuesday and slept all day. We were both physically and emotionally exhausted. It was exactly what we needed.

Wednesday we found out that Grandma Schryer had passed away in her sleep around 3:30 am. Although it is very sad, it was a sense of relief that she was not suffering anymore. Both Steve and I worked all day to keep our minds busy.

Tomorrow we will head out to Wessington Springs, Sd for 5 days to spend time with Steve's family. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. See you next week!

Back to Reality

Well, reality has truly set it. I am back at work and I am not enjoying it! It was my first full week back this week and it was harder then I could have ever imagined. I miss Laila so much and I am having a hard time being apart from her. Steve of course already had to go through this so he is doing ok with it.

On the upside, Laila really does like daycare. She smiles almost everyday we walk in the door. And the girls there just LOVE her. She has had a bit of a cold this past week (as have I), so we are struggling with that.

Right now, Laila is out with Grandma and Grandpa Tarasar at my mom's great aunt's 70th birthday party. Steve and I are catching up on laundry and other various housework. Ok, we aren't really. I am blogging and Steve is watching the Vikings game. :)

We have a lot coming up in the next few weeks. Next weekend I am hosting a baby shower for my good friend Victoria, then the next weekend it is off to Mitchell, SD to see Laila's Great Grandma Schryer. The first week in October Steve and I are going to a concert and a housewarming party. Then we week off (thanks goodness!) but then it is off to Chicago for Steve's birthday. We are very excited to see the Jensens and meet little Prentice!

Well, back to folding laundry and gearing up for another LONG work week!
This is our weekend look :) taken this morning.

Labor Day

Wow, what a crazy week we have had! It all started last Friday when Scott and Tanya Janish (Steve's brother and sister in law) flew in from D.C. We picked them up at noon and headed back to our house to meet Marissa (Steve's sister).

We had a jam-packed weekend planned which included Steve's annual fantasy football draft. Steve's friends arrived from all over the country for this event...Vegas, DC, Florida and Chicago! It was really great for them to be able to see little miss Laila.

Around 3:00 pm (sidenote: Wanted to leave at 12:00 pm...but..) Tanya, Marissa, Laila and I left the boys to their devices and headed up to the cabin. We didn't make it there until 8:30 pm...normally at 2.5 hour drive that turned into a 5.5 hour drive. Wow. We got a few interesting phone calls and texts from the boys at the draft but it was a mostly uneventful evening filled with margaritas and campfires.
The guys (steve and scott) arrived the next day around 1:00 and we just hung out for most of the day. That evening we headed up to the local bar on the lake, The Bungalow, for cocktails and entertainment.

Sunday was filled with sunshine and boating. My mom watched Laila from about 12 -6 and we took the boats out on the lake! We went skiing and tubing....and attempts at wakeboarding. :) It was wonderful and I even got a little bit of a tan!
Monday we all headed home and went our separate ways until we meet up again in Texas for Christmas! Laila had a great time meeting all of her Grandpa's family. She got to meet her Great Grandma Audrey and her little cousin Anna! We will post more pictures later..there are a few hundred! :)

Minnesota State Fair

Steve and I went to the State Fair last night. We brought Laila to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night. She had a great time and so did we! We have been so blessed that my parents are willing to watch her so we can have some time alone and do some things that we enjoy.

We met up with my cousin Libby and her husband Derek as well as my brother Andy and his girlfriend Ashley. We watched Brandi Carlile and escaped with only a few fried foods :) We also went up on the ride (I don't remember the name!) after it got dark where you can see both city's skylines. It was beautiful.

It really was a wonderful night. Perfect weather, good music and great company! What could be better? Steve said multiple time that he missed Laila... :) he is too cute, right?!

As always...pictures!

Our Little Nature Girl

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The picnic was Laila's first REAL adventure outside...she slept the whole time. But! She did survive so that was a success in my book. This past weekend we took her up to the lake in Emily, Mn to spend some time outdoors. My parents are convinced that she will be an outdoorsy type of girl (unlike her mother). To say the least....I like it inside. Unless I am on a beach in a tropical location with a Pina Colada in one hand and a gossip magazine in the other.

Anyway!...Laila weathered the weekend very well and loved being out by the lake. She met Kiley my parents dog and spent a lot of time being cuddled. (Giving Mom and Dad time to nap..yay!) She is growing, growing, growing and now eats more at each meal. Took us a few times to figure out that she still wanted/needed more but we got it all covered now!

In addition to the big first weekend it was also Laila's 1 month birthday! yay! Mom and Dad celebrated with a drink in her honor and a sunset boat ride. :)

We are home for a few days and then it is back up to the lake with Scott, Tanya and Marissa! It will be an fun weekend and I am getting very excited! My dad's family will also all be up there to see Laila. It will be an overstimulation extravanganza for my little babe, but we will survive. (No baby has ever had long term harm from being held TOO much and being loved TOO much right?!)

Here are some pictures from the lake!

Some things never change....

Steve and I are realizing that even though we have a new baby and she is, no doubt, a LOT of work...we still find time to enjoy the things we love. Our lives are still our own! That hasn't changed...it is just better and more important now! We have been working on balancing our needs and wants with Laila's and each others. Obviuosly, Laila's needs come first before either of ours but we don't BOTH need to do every task!

We will definitely figure it out in the next few months and get better at taking care of ourselves so that Laila has happy, healthy parents!

This weekend is an exciting time for our little family. It is Laila's one month birthday and we are going up to the cabin! YAY! Her first time up at Grandma and Grandpa Tarasar's cabin! We are also going up next weekend for Labor Day. So as my dear husband informed me we will be spending 5 of the next 12 nights at the cabin. I hope Laila likes it. :)

Date Night

Last night we went on our first date as Mommy and Daddy. We left Laila with Grandma (Pam) and I headed downtown to pick up Steve from work since he takes the bus in. We went to a nearby restaurant and had a drink and food. After that we headed to the Twins game. It was a LONG game going 12 inning and lasting until 11:45! But is was a lot of fun and very nice to spend some time together alone again.

Our First Picnic

Well this was our third weekend with our little Laila...the first that was really just us. No visitors or other events going on. We just spent the weekend laying around, napping and spending time together.

On Saturday we went on a picnic. Here are some pictures from our outing. :) Laila had a great time and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

2 weeks old.

Well, technically she is 16 days now! But Wednesday marked Laila's 2 weeks in the world and we have LOVED every minute of it. Even the crying and pooping, long night and spitting up. The past two weeks have FLOWN by. Two weeks ago today we were just packing up to leave the hospital and now..she is sleeping soundly in her own house.

Steve and I can't believe how much we love her and how instantaneously we knew we would love her forever. She is so perfect to us and we try to take advantage of every single minute with her. She is getting a little more personality everyday. Her hair is getting curlier and lighter; her eyes are bluer. (Maybe she will look a little like Mommy eventually!)

We have been slacking on the photo taking now that I am home alone...so much to be done and not enough time for photos! But this weekend when Daddy is home we will take a TON of pictures! (It doesn't help that I lost the camera for a few days!)

Laila misses her Grandma and Grandpa Janish and she told me she can't WAIT to meet her Uncle Scott and Aunt Tanya. :) We love you all!