Ilana lately

Lately Ilana LOVES to climb on our sweet puppy dog, and he lets her...as often as she likes...which is almost all the time, every day...sweet, sweet puppy dog!
She also LOVES sitting in her chair and reading. I find her like this about once a day, patiently waiting for me to finish whatever I'm working on, usually a meal. Thanks Nonni and PopPop!
Short story, but super cute:
Last semester during a bouldering competition at the rock (that Paul manages here at Baylor), a student dressed up as Spiderman at the end and rappelled down from the second story balcony. At first Ilana was FREAKED OUT. I'm talking screaming, pointing and running straight to me. Poor thing. But, once she settled down and realized he wasn't going to hurt her, she became enamored with "Spiderman." Even as we were walking out the door she was pointing and "aahhhh"-ing with fascination. Well, the event must be marked in her memory forever, because a few weeks ago we were in the medicine aisle of our grocery store and of course all the kids bandaids are prominently displayed right at their eye level, about 2 or 3 rows up from the floor. So, while I was looking for something else Ilana started eying up the kids bandaid selection. They had everything: Hello Kitty, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh, every action hero you can think of, etc, etc, etc. What was the one that we couldn't leave without? SPIDERMAN!! Now, I find Spiderman bandaids in the oddest places. Ilana's never actually needed a bandaid - cautious child I have! - so, she finds other things to do with them, like...put the box in her stroller and stroll them around the apartment:
or put them on her pants:
or even on her fleeces:
What are we going to do with her?!
-H

Mosey's Christmas

A few days after we got home we received Moses' Christmas present in the mail. Even Ilana's been enjoying it from day one.
Then we filled it and he really started getting the hang of it.
Thanks Millers and Rabucks! It's perfect. Yes, it says "Always Kiss Me Goodnight." What a sweet puppy. :)
-H

The many looks of Ilana

Since we've been home Ilana has taken many forms.
The "Thug Ballerina:"
The "I'm so cute you can't ever be mad at me:"
She really does love her lady bug outfit!
The "Helper:"
She wears her purple hat almost all the time. What are we going to do with her? (More about all the cardboard in a few blogs.)
"Fierce, really fierce:"
Whatever look Ilana takes in a day, we just make the most of it. She's a total toddler now - temper tantrums, opinions, the works. There will never be another time like this, so we're just trying to enjoy her!
-H

CHRISTMAS!

This Christmas was crazy fun. We stayed at 3 homes in 20 days - phew! Were we glad when we finally set foot in our little apartment in Waco?! Here's our Christmas in pictures:

Before we left Waco, Mark let Ilana play the guitar a bit with him at the Outdoor Adventure Christmas party.
We arrived in Philly on December 11. Gigi got the privilege of reading to Ilana almost as often as Ilana wanted. Ilana also discovered a new love for rocking chairs.
We all enjoyed a shower for Erika that Sunday. (Yes, she's smelling a diaper. No, it's not dirtied by a baby - it had chocolate in it. It was a game!)
That Monday afternoon we made our way to Hanover where Ilana found yet another rocking chair and continued practicing her new talent.
After a few days of screams, she eventually warmed up to Pepe (or was it that he warmed up to her?). By the end of our time in Hanover she was having a blast with Pepe all the time!
The day before we celebrated Christmas with the Millers it snowed 12 inches! The guys worked all day clearing the driveway, but we had to take Ilana out for a little bit. So, we all took a break and played for about 20 minutes. We put Ilana in the Miller's big orange bowl...
and ran her in circles all around the back yard...
we played for 30 seconds longer, then she realized how cold she was (poor Texas toddler!). So we went inside for some hot chocolate.
After celebrating Christmas at the Rabuck's I think it's pretty easy to tell who's the boss:
The next day we made our way down to Annapolis where Ilana met another cat, who, although he usually runs from toddlers, decided to give Ilana a try.
She LOVES playing on the steps when we're away from home.
In Annapolis she also deepened her love of rocking chairs...
and chairs in general.
Paul and I were able to get away for an Ilana-free over-night in DC. We actually left the hotel room at 7, which is normally bath time and bed time for Ilana. It was wonderful!
The next day we went to the National Geographic Society Museum, the Natural History Museum (with everyone else in DC) and ended the day at the Library of Congress. It was a blast...and very bright!
We had a great Christmas, but there really is no place like home. Let the last semester of grad school begin!
-H

She can put a hat on!

-H
ps-I will have the cell phone with me while I travel today. :)

Fasten your seat belts...

Here's the update you've been patiently waiting for...
My best friend got married in mid-October. Thanks to my mother-in-law I was able to go to Nashville for 3 nights ALL BY MYSELF. It was my first overnight trip without Ilana since she was born. It was fabulous!
Homecoming weekend was pretty fun. We went to the parade where Ilana enjoyed a great view from Paul's shoulders. Even Baylor's live bear mascots marched in the parade. Ilana really enjoyed that!
Halloween was pretty fun. The plan was for Ilana to go as a superhero (thanks to her amazing superhero cape she got about a year ago from her best friend Ada), but when trick-or-treating time came around she did not want to wear the cape - the wings won out. So, she went as a fairy princess. She was pretty cute all the same. Our good friend Robin walked around with us and in general made the whole thing possible. Thanks, Robin!
This was her in the beginning of the night, She wasn't a huge fan of walking around after a few minutes of this, so I ended up carrying her most of the time...poor thing, she's just so little!
If there weren't a lot of people around she enjoyed walking the halls with Robin.
We're starting to be really silly in the tub.
I could tell it was getting cool when I saw this pile of socks.
On Thanksgiving Day we set up the Christmas tree. She LOVES it!
She also loved the sweet potatoes at dinner that night.
We had a great dinner with friends!
The next day Ilana and I went down to visit the Cogliandro's in Houston for a few days. Besides it being a great time to see great friends, I think something might be starting with Ilana and Makani...


(Sorry this last one is sideways and from a different angle, it was way too cute!)
December has been lots of fun so far. Ilana and I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen (baking with a toddler is...fun!).
Then we bundled Ilana up in her long johns and went to Christmas on 5th Street, Baylor's huge Christmas block party.
She had no fear of the animals in the petting zoo. I actually don't think she knew what the big deal was. They were all smaller than Moses!
Then we saw the pretty lights.
After that Ilana had had just enough partying, so Paul took her home for bed, but I stayed and watched Jon McLaughlin. It was a great concert!
Dad, I think you would have even enjoyed it...

I wish I could have gotten a longer video. I thought it was awesome!
Since then we've been busy in the kitchen. Can you guess what we've been doing?


We've spent the weekend delivering cookie trays. We have some more to deliver to offices tomorrow, then we've got to get packing to head home for Christmas!
Ok, I think you're all caught up. :) Hope you enjoyed our semester. Nothing like drinking from a fire hose, huh? We can't wait to see everyone on the east coast...real soon! Love to you all!!
-H