Snow Day!!!

Today was one of those magical days when all the stars align and everything just works out. We spent the afternoon with Ari & Rand, and Lyla loved every moment of playing in the “..nnooww”, as she calls it.

I love watching the relationship develop between Lyla and Rand. They are becoming good friends, and I think she will remember him as one of her very first playmates. He watches over her, and is really mindful of everything she does, like a big brother. Likewise, Lyla loves watching every little thing he does – while she can never keep up, just watching him slide down the hill on his brand new tube gave her great pleasure.

I am struck at the difference between this year and last, when we were “snowed in” with Rand & Ari at almost this exact same time of year (It was early February, 2010 to be exact). Startling differences in the photos:

Then:

Now:

Then:

Now (Love the smile, Rand):

Then:

Now:

What a difference a year makes!

Here are more pics of the afternoon:

One of Lyla’s great joys in life these days is eating snow. It doesn’t matter if it’s outside, or if it’s snow that Mommy and Daddy have tracked in the house, we have to keep a close eye on her. I was very proud of her today when her “Christmas Story-esque” snow suit caused her to lose her balance and fall literally face first into the snow. She popped up, licked her lips and kept on ticking. I, meanwhile, successfully resisted the urge to run inside in search of a dry towel for her sweet little face. :)

We laughed until our sides hurt at Rand and his new tube. It FLEW down the hill, even a little faster than I think Ari originally anticipated:

And, of course, no snow day would be complete without some hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies after. Ahhh, it was truly a wonderful day.

Are these WAVES in Miss Q.’s hair?!?! Hmmmm…..

A Fall Trip to Cherokee

It’s been a busy time in the Hottman Fam this week. Lance has been in Philadephia taking Oral Boards, and Lyla and I have been hard at work preparing for her very first birthday party on Saturday. She got to spend the afternoon with Aunt Ari (aka Aunt Cheese) and Rand today while I went to run errands. She had a great time, and after a long nap, we ventured out to Cherokee Park.

I’m amazed at the changes in Lyla over these last few days. I want to remember every one of them because she’s changing so rapidly. She’s really becoming a little girl – she seems to enjoy clothing changes followed by me crooning over and over about how cute she is.

She’s also really talking. I think she already has several words. Today, I was standing at the counter playing on my phone while holding her and she pointed to bananas on the counter and said, “Nanas!!”.

Here are some pics from the Park. She really enjoyed her time there today, especially the swing. She laughed the entire time I pushed her. As usual, she particularly enjoyed trying to catch up with the other kids – but she can’t quite do it…yet:

We had a very busy weekend with Aunt Martina, who helped us get so many things ready for the party. We miss her already, but we're looking forward to another visit to Urbana in January. We can't wait to see Zoe & Ellie!