Vacation!!

Wow, these last two months have really flown by!  I kept meaning to sit down and update the blog, but then something would pop up, and I kept putting it off.  Oh well, here I am now, and I'll crank out an update before I run off to the dentist.  :)

Let's see.  At the beginning of November, Mom, Sarah, Leila, and I went to Virginia Beach for a week.  It was awesome!  We spent a lot of time shopping, exploring new places, eating out, and going to the aquarium and zoo.  Leila was such a trooper, and was completely fascinated by the aquarium.  We called Daddy when we were done and said we wanted a shark, a blowfish, and a sea anemone for Christmas.  (He might have just laughed at us.)  But she was completely mesmerized, and would stare at the fish for ten minutes...which is a lot when your average attention span is only 2-3 minutes.  Here are some pictures from the aquarium and other adventures from the week.

Fascinated by the turtles

Looking at the sharks swimming overhead

Dressed like Kermit the Frog to go out for that day

Acting like a monkey with Grandma at the zoo

We went down to the beach for one afternoon (which is surprisingly good for us, as none of the Florek women actually like the beach) and Leila must have inherited that dislike from us.  She screamed and cried and whined and begged a passerby to be adopted...all to get away from the ocean.  We ended that trip rather quickly, and found a small playground on our walk back.  That went over a lot better!

Before the screaming began

Ahhh...a bottle fixes everything!

Headed away from that horrible beach!

She likes the swing!

We had a great time, and can't wait for another Florek women vacation!  Coming next: Thanksgiving festivities!!

Virginia Vacation!

So a lot has happened since my last post...sorry for the infrequent updates, Leila is quite the time consumer!!  Anyways, here's what's been happening with the DeBackers lately:

A very big achievement: Devin passed the bar!!  He is now an official licensed attorney in the state of Virginia, and is currently in the process of applying for a Washington D.C. license.  Leila and I couldn't be prouder!  I've always said my hubby was a genius, and he definitely proved it this summer when his attention was split between bar studying, a very pregnant and very needy wife, and a little newborn.  Devin always continues to amaze me, and this was just another thing to add to the list.  When we found out that he passed, Leila and I put together a "Yay!  Daddy passed the bar!!" package and gave it to him when he got home.  That night, mom babysat while Devin and I had a proper celebratory dinner.

Leila liked the sound of the Skittles box

Yay!  Daddy passed the bar!!

Soon after that, I packed Leila up for our Virginia Vacation!!  (And, just for the record, I always thought I needed a lot of stuff for vacation, but my goodness!!  For being soooo small, she needs a ton of stuff!!)  We drove 12 hours on Thursday to Mom and Dad's house in Chester, and Leila did fabulously on the ride!  She started fussing a little when we neared Waynesboro, but I think she was just sick of the car...I know I was!

On Saturday, Mom, Leila, and I joined my college roommate, her husband, and son for WILLIAM AND MARY HOMECOMING!!  (Can you tell I'm excited about that?!)  Though the game was lame, the day was absolutely enjoyable!!  We all went shopping at the college bookstore - where Leila got her first WM hoodie - waited forever at one of our favorite restaurants, The Cheese Shop, and met Devin's sister, Danielle, for a few minutes.  It was Leila's first football game, and you can tell by the pictures below that she was absolutely enthralled.  (Note the sarcasm.)  It was also the day for another first: Leila's first time holding a boy's hand!!  Everyone has told me to enjoy the moments now because they grow up so fast, but seriously! already holding a boy's hand!  I'm not quite ready for that!! :)

My little cheerleader hanging out at the bookstore

The babies were both asleep for the game...they were clearly enthralled!

Me, Leila, my roommate Julie, her baby Alex, and her hubby Scott

Leila and Alex holding hands - way too early for that!!!

Leila was such a trooper for Homecoming - only cried once during the day, and that was my fault for having butterfingers and not being to put together a bottle fast enough!!  Have I mentioned that I have such a good baby!!

The next day, we all went to church - another first for Leila.  Lil'Bit tried hard, but was somewhat overwhelmed by the loud music and it's almost impossible to keep a three month old quiet for an entire hour.  So she and I spent part of service hanging out in the childrens' wing and in the lobby.  That's okay; it was good going back to church and introducing Leila to some family friends.

All ready for church!!

The  next two weeks here involve craft fairs, a week at Virginia Beach, visiting Sarah and Daddy at work, Fall Festivals, seeing Devin at a conference, meeting friends, visiting Lightfoot, and anything else that pops into my head.  It's gonna be a fun-filled Virginia Vacation!!

Visit from the Grandparents

The weather this past week has been good for one thing: curling up on the sofa with a cozy, thick blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and reading all day.  Normally, I absolutely love these days.  I can just read...I can't see the dust on the furniture, the dog hair on the floors, the dirty clothes gathering up in the laundry room...I can simply read.

Unfortunately, this was not the idea week for this read-only weather because the GRANDPARENTS were here!  Though I know they are more interested in spending time with Leila than with me these days, I always love a visit from my parents.  ;)  They so nicely came to keep me company as Devin spent the week in Del Rio, Texas for work.  Because the weather was so dreary, we spent our time indoors: shopping for clothes for Leila (and please no comments on the fact that she has more than 100 outfits already), exploring the little towns outside of Florence, going out to eat, and honestly, just enjoying each other's company.

Dinner at Fava's Restaurant in Georgetown, Kentucky

Some of the highlights of the week included:

-Leila's first time in a restaurant:  On Monday, we were famished from our shopping trip so we decided to go to Olive Garden.  She did wonderfully!!  (And by "wonderfully" I mean, she had no idea she was in a restaurant because she slept the whole time.)

-The Flea Market in Georgetown:  Daddy did some research and found a flea market that boasted being "the best in the area!"  Always up for an adventure, we loaded Lil'Bit in the car and drove the 30 minutes to Georgetown...or at least, Daddy thought it was supposed to be 30 minutes, but it was, in fact, an hour.  And when we arrived, man, were we disappointed.  It was so gross that Mom walked through next to me threatening bodily harm if I let anything touch the stroller.  We decided to leave very, very quickly and ended up exploring the downtown area full of quaint little shops.  Our afternoon was salvaged thanks to a cute kids store and a diner named Fava's.

-Kinman Farms:  On Saturday, we all (including Devin!) went to the Fall Festival at Kinman Farms.  Though the festival wasn't all that great, it was a fun afternoon as the weather finally warmed up and dried out and we took some fun pictures in the pumpkin patch.  We then, once again, explored another small town with shops and decided to eat at a little diner/pub.  It was there that I discovered this:

The Kentucky Hot Brown

Yes, I know it looks like a plate of pig slop, but it's the best ugly-meal I've ever had!  You're looking at Texas toast, layered with turkey and ham, smothered in melted cheese, and topped with bacon, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and a roll.  So freakin' good!

There were so many good times had this week, and despite the fact that all times were great times, I definitely have a favorite memory.  Ever since I was a little girl, Saturdays were meant for garage sales with Daddy.  I was Daddy's companion, and I cherished those early morning father/daughter times.  In college, I would come home on the weekends just to go to garage sales, and I continued that through the first three years of marriage traveling from Charlottesville to Chester just to go.  I was saddened when Devin and I moved to Kentucky because that meant no more garage sales with Daddy on Saturday mornings; there was no way I was going by myself because that's just not how it was supposed to happen.  So imagine how happy I was Friday night when Daddy reminded me what time I had to get up to hit the garage sales with him the next morning.  Such a small thing, but it's something that brings me such joy.  I hope Devin and Leila have something that's just theirs that she will love and look forward to as much as I love going to garage sales with my Daddy.

And, to close out this somewhat long post, here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patches at Kinman Farms:

My little pumpkin

Family fun times - check out Leila's piggy hat!

Leila with Grandma and Grandpa

The little John Deere Baby!

Oktoberfest Festivities!

So, not too much has happened over the past two weeks.  I have discovered that Leila likes to go "swimming" (aka splashing around in the bathtub full of water) and we've had fun taking a few swims.  She likes to try to push off the bottom of the "pool" and loves to smack her fists on top of the water.

Going swimming!

One of the highlights over the last two weeks is going to Oktoberfest in Cincinnati.  Apparently, it's the largest Oktoberfest in the country, and second in the world only to the Oktoberfest celebration in Germany...at least, that's what the website claimed.  Devin, Leila, and I went and experienced music, entertainment, lots and lots of people, and, the most important of all, German food.  Leila wasn't impressed with it very much, but Devin and I had a lot of fun!

Throughout the entire time we were there, Leila was holding Devin's fingers and never let go.  It was by far the cutest thing ever...I think it's because he was the only familiar thing in that environment for her, and she was holding on for dear life.  Anyways, here are a few shots from the festival!

Leila was not impressed

Family fun

Sleeping Beauty

Snuggling with Mom

Wide eyed on the car trip home

A Quarter of a Century...

Yesterday marked my 25th birthday...and as I pointed out to one of my dear friends a few years ago on her 25th birthday, a quarter of my life is now over.  It was definitely funnier when I was 22 and saying it to someone else.  But, ignoring that somewhat depressing thought, it was a great birthday all around.

Florek tradition indicates that for my birthday, my Mom and I go shopping all day long.  In the past, this has included 10 hour shopping trips followed by a birthday dinner with my family.  Well, this year, with little Leila being here, was definitely different.  Knowing that we couldn't get to nearly as many places with a little one in tow, we spread my birthday shopping out over three days.  Day #1 was spent at a closing Borders, shopping for kid's books, dvds, biographies, and cookbooks.  Day #2 was Lil'Bit's first trip to the mall and, if there was ever any doubt that she was my daughter, it is completely erased based on her expert shopping skills.

I was Mommy's Shopping Buddy!!

She was completely content being pushed around in her stroller and carried by Grandma (or myself).  Leila charmed all the sales clerks with her smiles and even picked out some outfits for herself...or I might have done that.  :)  Day #3 was more shopping at Kohl's and Target, followed by a relaxing afternoon at home, then dinner out with Devin at Myako's.  Also, my wonderful sister sent me a gorgeous flower arrangement for my birthday; it was an unexpected and delightful surprise!

Flowers from Sarah!

One of the best moments of my birthday happened while Mom, Leila, and I were relaxing at home.  I was holding Lil'Bit and Mom snapped a photo of us to remember my first birthday as a mom.

Snuggling with Leila

Then, I started playing with her feet while simultaneously saying, "Happy Birfday Momma!" in a really funny voice.  Boy, did she love that!  She started laughing and smiling (and drooling, but that's a sign of happiness for her) and having a grand ol'time!  It was truly the best moment of my birthday - her being totally happy!  I quickly grabbed the camera, and here's the evidence of what a goofy sounding "Happy Birfday Momma!"  will do.

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"Happy Birfday Momma!"

What a cutie pie!  Devin got home after work and finished my birthday by giving me a new lens for my camera (it's supposed to take amazing portrait shots, but I have to read about it first) and taking me out to dinner.  It was truly an awesome birthday...even if I'm a quarter of the way to pushing up daisies!! :)

Mom babysitting Leila!

Growin', Growin', Gone!!

This post (shockingly) is all about my sweet Leila Grace Ann.  First off, when she was two weeks old, she had a professional photo shoot (courtesy of Mom and Dad) and she did...well, about as well as any two week old can do.  She definitely had some very fussy moments, and I still don't understand the point of having me rock her to sleep only to wake her up for some "wide eye shots," but whatever.  The photos turned out wonderfully, and here are a couple of them below:

Then, she had her one month appointment this past Monday.  Leila was born 8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21 inches long.  Devin, Mom, and I took votes on how much she had grown; here are our votes:

Devin   9 lbs. 2 oz and 23 inches
Mom   8 lbs. 14 oz and 21 inches
Me      9 lbs. and 22 inches

Boy, were we all off (at least in the weight category).  Lil'Bit turned out to be 10 lbs. 11 oz. and 22.5 inches long; that would put her in the 90th percentile for both.  Mom said that she's outgrown her nickname of Lil'Bit, but I think we'll keep it for awhile.

The doctor said Leila was in perfect health; that she was growing perfectly; and that Devin and I were doing a fantastic job (which is always nice to hear from a professional).  Now, we're trying to conquer Tummy Time, which is always fun.

Daddy and Leila doing their Tummy Time

Home Sweet Home

Don't get used to the blogging daily...That's definitely not going to happen, but I wanted to share some pictures of our house here in Kentucky.  So enjoy!

Formal Living Room (plus Leila's carseat)

Formal Dining Room

Kitchen

Eat-in Area

Family Room

Guest Room #1/Scrapbooking Room

Guest Room #2

Guest Bathroom

Leila's Nursery

Leila's Crib - I love the owl bedding!

Wall Decorations - Check out the Jelly collection!

Dresser - My mom bought beautiful handpainted knobs that are on the dresser and changing table; they are different woodland creatures, and they are fabulous!

Changing Table - The banner above spells out "Leila" and was made by Alisa and Andrea ; thanks so much!!

Glider and Comforter 

Master Bedroom

Lil'Bit was asleep in our bedroom, so I snapped a picture of her as well