A Few Hott Updates

I’m really not abandoning this blog. I swear.

This has been the busiest summer of our lives with our pregnancy, Lyla and, of course, house building. We are now believers that building a house can be one of life’s most stressful events…not sure what we were thinking of or if we would do it again. I’ll have to revisit this topic in a few months.

Summer Photo Updates:

The most important news: IT’S A BOY!! We were thrilled to find out in June that Lyla is going to have a Little Brother. Wow!

Really, a boy or girl would have been more than fine with us both, but Lance had a certain glow that day in June. It was a spectacular, thrilling day, and we couldn’t be more excited!

And, on the house front, here’s a photo from early July. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along. Right now, they’re working on the trim inside and finishing the outside. Our builder is projecting mid-Sept. to early Oct. for a move-in date. We’re betting on October.

We had a great 4th with the Hottman’s, and took a long overdue family photo – hard to believe that this time 2 years ago there were NO babies, and now there are 4 girls! Our Lil’ Hottie is going to be in for an interesting ride. Fortunate for him, on my side of the family, my cousin Sarah is expecting a little boy just 2 weeks before our due date.

The girls enjoyed an afternoon stroller ride with their Daddies:

We enjoyed a long overdue trip to Urbana to see the girls and Martina. And, Lyla got her first haircut from Aunt Martina. It looks GREAT! :)

And, one of the reasons for my lack of attention to this blog is that we’ve tried to spend a few spare moments this summer just feeding the ducks and playing in the dirt:

It is a sweet summertime, for certain…one of the sweetest of all.

Hott Fam of 4 & More Updates

My blogging has been horrible lately for many reasons, but mostly because by the time I have the opportunity to write, I’m exhausted! But, I’m going to try harder because I want to remember as many moments as I can of this wonderful time in our family.

The Hottman’s will be come a Fam of 4 on November 18 or whereabouts. We’re ecstatic about the news and can’t wait to see Lyla as a Big Sister. The more we grow to know her, the more convinced we are that she was born to be a Big Sister. Last night she wanted to touch and feel my growing belly, and she knocked on it as if she wanted to see who was inside. She’s also been touching her own belly and saying, “Baby!”

Here are some pictures from her “Big Sister Photo Shoot” by Mommy:

First, there’s nothing more satisfying than a fist full of dirt for an 18 month old:

She loves to ask Lance and I to draw her triangles, squares and rainbows:

She’s really taken a new found interest in her baby. She spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to wrap her in a blanket, and she loves pushing her down the sidewalk in her shopping cart.

Here, she felt compelled to try out her baby’s new bed herself…I guess she just wanted to make sure it was really comfy for her:

Also on the Lil’ Hottie (as Lance has affectionately dubbed him or her) front, we will find out the gender in just one week on Friday, June 24. Lance is convinced we’re having another girl – I’m not so sure. This pregnancy has been a little different, a little rockier in terms of my wrecked skin and nausea…I’m wondering if this one is a boy. We’ll be thrilled either way. It’s so exciting to go to the ultrasound with no real expectations.

Lance started his new job for Team Health working for the Jewish System’s Saints Mary’s and Elizabeth earlier this month. So far, it’s been absolutely wonderful. I think he’s really happy in his new position, which has been really great for us all.

In other big news in our family, our house is really coming along. The roof is now on, and bricking should start sometime in the next few days. Building has been a fun process all in all, but it definitely has its stressful moments, Still, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing a plan come together.

Here are some photos:

Here, we were happy to have Steven, Lisa and Hollie come visit:

Happy Easter 2011

What a wonderful Easter Sunday!

The day started with a visit from the Easter Bunny, who brought a long awaited (by Mommy anyway) table and chairs for Lyla. Her first word when we came down the stairs this morning was “Goby” (Lyla for Broby, her favorite Yo Gabba Gabba character) when she saw the book on her new table.

Lyla loves her new chairs. She refused to get down when she got to sit in the chair, and it took her all of an hour to figure out how to climb on the chairs and table unassisted.

After a nice nap, Lyla got to go to Nan & Nonnie’s for Easter Sunday with her cousins. It was a great day – she had so much fun with Isa and Blaire. Here she is with Isa in Nan’s tent she set up in the living room for the girls:

Sweet Isabella:

And, playing with Blaire was another highlight of her day. They looked at books together, although Lyla wasn’t as willing to share as this picture probably indicates:

Lyla enjoyed playing with Isa’s sunglasses:

Her most favorite activity of the day was going outside with Daddy. In fact, she refused to eat her Easter dinner, instead demanding to go “..side” . She loves playing in the waterfall out back:

With the turtle:

The girls enjoyed an indoor Easter egg hunt:

Lyla was particularly fond of an apple sauce “drink” from Aunt Beccs and Uncle Kip. She loved it so much, in fact, that she tried to pirate the other girls’ drinks as well.

We’re all so very blessed. Happy Easter.

Foundation!

Our House is moving along – they’ve laid the foundation and we’re starting to be able to discern where the rooms will be. Today, we went and visited with Lyla – she loves going to “The House” and usually has a breakdown when we get in the car to leave. Here she is with Daddy in front of the house:

Here’s the house from the front:

Here are Lyla walking around in what will become our finished basement:

Daddy has introduced Lyla to her most favorite thing to do when we visit The House – throwing rocks into mud puddles over the concrete wall. She could do it for hours and be completely happy:

Here Lance is getting ready to take a walk in his new backyard:

We love visiting our new neighborhood – today, we were happy to meet our next door neighbors, Jennifer, Lucas & Laura. The kids had a great time with Lyla, and she loves their “doggie” Rosie, who is more her size than our current neighbors’ dogs.

We’re Building!

Our family made a major decision this week, one that we’ve lamented over, prayed about, discussed and researched: we’re building a house. This was a huge deliberation for Lance & I, but we’re convinced we’ve found just the right neighborhood and community for our family. We’re excited to get started on the project, which should be completed mid-September.

We decided to take Lyla to our lot to check it out before anything is done there – we think we’ll all love looking back on these photos. She loved being there and cried when we put her back in the car.

Another sign. We’ve made just the right decision together.

Here are some pics of our beautiful girl:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I’m feeling tremendously blessed today in so very many ways.