Return to Urbana

What a marvelous time we had with the girls in Urbana!! It was so much fun to get together with Zoe and Ellie again. The girls played and played and played and played together. Lyla really loves her girls, and even though the trip ended in illness for her, we had an absolutely wonderful time. 

Here are a few of the highlights:

Matching PJ’s for the girls – Lyla loved jumping on Ellie’s bed:

Present for Ellie’s birthday from Lyla Q. She obviously loved it:

Ellie’s first Big Girl Bed and new bedding:

The girls really loved jumping on the NEW bed:

Mommy was really excited about the new bed:

And, then, the Urbana snow storm arrived. We got to stay an extra night:

It took a joint effort from Martina, Mike and I to dig out the car to be able to leave:

We celebrated Mike’s birthday on our last night:

Note the cake – it was a practice run for Ellie’s birthday party next weekend:

Lyla especially enjoyed it – this picture makes me a little sad because it was taken several hours before her raging temperature leading to her RSV:

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!

A Weekend with the Pokabla's

We're home tonight after a great weekend at the Pokabla's in Pittsburgh. Lyla loved spending time with the girls, and she couldn't take her eyes off Ellie and Zoe - she was mesermized by their every move. In fact, I think tonight she's wondering where they are now that we're home. She had a great time showing off her new hand skills to Zoe, and Ellie enjoyed picking out her PJs each night.

Martina and I were able to get away for a few minutes while the daddy's did some babysitting. Everyone was having a great time when we returned. They were all contentedly watching "W":

Later in the day on Saturday we visited one of the Pittsburgh Inclines and got an amazing view of the city. It was a very chilly day, but it was well worth the effort - we had a great time. Lance & I were really impressed with Pittsburgh - it was much prettier than we ever imagined.

Other big news from the weekend was that Rice Cereal - Attempt #3 was a SUCCESS!! With a little coaching from Aunt Martina and a new spoon, Lyla seemed to actually enjoy it this time and didn't get that look of sheer dread. She kicked her little feet and moved her hands and even talked a little as she ate her cereal this morning. I can hardly wait to do it again tomorrow!

We had a great weekend, and it definitely wore all of us out, even little Lyla who couldn't get enough of Ellie and Zoe. It took her awhile to decide to wake up this morning to join Ellie for her dance party in the Pokabla kitchen. She wanted to hang out a little longer with Daddy:
















I was really sad to leave Martina this morning, but we're all very excited that the Pokabla's are moving to Urbana, Illinois in June, so they'll be closer to us in Louisvlle. In fact, we're already planning trips to meet in the middle in Indianapolis as soon as everyone gets moved and settled.

Thanks for an amazing weekend, Mike, Martina, Ellie & Zoe. We're still full from all the great food! :)

We love you all very, very much and we can't wait to see you all again very soon!!!!