A look into Lola's life

her first pair of sunglasses!she tried eating them later when they fell off her face!

my baby already knows sign language!!haha

only Lola would have two of the exact same robes!!

one side of lola's room

lola in her crib playing

the other side of Lola's room/reading corner

watching the piano music maker in her crib

After almost four months, not counting the time I was pregnant, I finally have Lola's room the way I want it. Of course the pictures don't look that good, but we love it. Lola and I have our own little corner to sit and rock, read and listen to music and she has enough room to play in there now-well, when she gets older. The pictures of the room make it look messy, but its really not-I promise!! We had futon in there for guests to sleep on, and we really didn't even use it, so we decided to take it out this past weekend. Now her room finally looks like a nursery.
The time is getting closer to when Chris leaves Iwakuni so we are trying to enjoy every minute we have with him. He taught me how to play golf on Sunday!! And I actually liked it-when I hit the ball!! We hope to go this weekend but we have the spring bazaar on base (lots of Japanese furniture, clothes, paintings and random things), as well as an Easter party for the unit so not sure if we will make it. I already have my pink golf outfit and pink golf clubs picked out though-and of course Lola's!!! Chris has been looking at a pink child's golf set here on base since I was pregnant and I might have to breakdown and let him buy it-its super cute! Even though she wont use it for a long time!
We went to eat Sunday night with my Japanese friends at a restaurant out in town and had so much fun. I didn't realize how well my students are learning English until that night. Megumi also brought her friend Ken (that's his English name-I have no clue how to pronounce his Japanese name) with her. He is learning English also through a company out in town. I explained to him about barbie and ken! We forgot the camera so we didn't take any pictures!
on the way home Lola had her first meltdown! I knew she was hungry but I thought she could make it home, since we were only a 5 minute drive away.....well she couldn't!!! She screamed and cried the whole way home. When we got to the gate, the gate guard just looked at us with this horrified look at said please just go! When we finally got home and she started nursing it took her a good 5 minutes to calm down. She would nurse for a few seconds and then start crying.But of course she was fine.
I will probably put up some more pictures later this week-its so hard for me to decide which ones to post and they take awhile to upload.

3 1/2 months

not really sure what to do in this thing

love bath time!

fell asleep in daddys lap

this is what she does when she spits up---rubs her face all in it!

cant tell by the picture, but she loves baths!

Lola went to her first birthday party on Saturday! Of course she wont remember and nothing significant happened but it was still another first!! She is more and more active everday, trying desperatly to move. When we put her on her belly, she moves her legs like she is trying to crawl, but cant get her arms and legs moving together. We got her an exersaucer(pic above) and she isnt quit big enough for it, but just loves it b/c she can sit upright and see everything.
Last week I had spring break, and had all these plans for Lola and I,and had so much I wanted to do around the house and feel like none of it got accomplished. We did go to Fernando's retirement, which was sad! And Lola and I played a lot!! It was windy and cold so we havent been able to go for our usually jog in the morning, which I am missing but it will be soo warm I'm complaining again before I know it!
Lola is making G,M and P sounds now! Every morning I wake up to her talking to herself..if she wakes up before me! I think she must be going through a growth spurt because she has been sleeping soo much the past few days. anyways promise i will update more regularly now. love and miss
see everyone hopefully in june!

3/1-lola is almost 3 months!

lola holding the music maker on her swing

one of our favorites places to eat-chicken shack

My CLC girls!!

Me & my Cori who is leaving me!!

happy baby Lola

what Lola will look like when she gets hair!!
So Pam left on Tuesday and we weren't initially that sad b/c we thought we would be seeing her again in a few short weeks-yeah right we are in the military when do plans ever stay the same?but we are still coming home, just not until june now.
Anyways we have been having a blast over here. Saturday night Pam and I went out with all the girls from CLC (chris' unit) for Cori's retirement/going away party, and I actually sang karaoke-well more like yelled the song but whatever!
Chris and I have actually gotten a chance to go out since his parents were here and could babysit, but thats over now since I dont trust anyone else but grandparents to watch her(still too overprotective I guess)
My classes are going well,they are kicking my butt but going well. And Lola is doing amazing. She pulled herself over top of her boppy(its a round pillow) yesterday and today while on her belly,and can inch herself along now.She doesnt move very far or fast but she pushes and pulls herself along.She can also turn from her belly to her back,but honestly its probably more like a fall to one side. Other than that we are just hanging out enjoying life.Lola and I go on a jog/long walk every morning and she either sleeps or enjoys looking at everything passing by.will update again soon!miss you guys!!

2 months already

happy Lola with meemaw!

she loves her playmat!!

lola playing on her playmat

Lola turned two months old on Thursday!!! Then Friday she had her two month checkup which meant she got her first set of shots!!Mommy was definetly sad-I think she handled it better than me. Chris was right there with her and I sat just outside the doorway where I could see her. She cried for maybe 5 seconds then started laughing at Chris. She was a little grumpy the whole day after and a little on Saturday but now shes back to normal. She slept through the night on Thursday, but hasnt since then.
At her appointment we found out she was 22 1/2 inches long and just over 13 pounds!! We definetly know that she is eating enough and is a healthy baby!! The doctor said she developing wonderfully and everything is oikay. She is almost too big for her bassinet now, so hopefully she will start sleeping through the night more often so we can put her in her crib at night. She has been really good about putting herself to sleep at night lately so hopefully that continues also.
We did a little bit of sightseeing this weekend, but it seems that whenever we try to go somewhere its either closed,the weather is bad or traffic is ridiculous! Mack only has this week left so hopefully we will get to see a bit more.
Other than that we are just enjoying Mack and Pam and trying to make preparations to come home in April. I know everyone can't wait to see Lola and we cant wait to see you guys!

meemaw and lola napping

carolina baby!

already a carolina fan!!!

meemaw and lola

just hanging out
thought I would add some more pics. chris is taking off starting today so we are going to go do some sightseeing this week. We got Lola's passport paperwork started today-our first step in coming home!
thought you guys would enjoy the carolina outfit-well except Lori the Duke fan!! you know we have to get her started early supporting Carolina so she doesnt get confused!

Grandpa holding Lola before church!

~~First time MeeMaw saw Lola~~

Lola in her boa!

Lola holding herself up on her boppy

Again holding herself up tall on the boppy

happy strong baby!

Momma givin Lola kisses

Chris' parents arrived here safely on Saturday night after a long flight! And surprisingly they have adjusted to the time difference well. We just hungout on base Sunday and then today Chris took them out to show them some of Iwakuni. We will definetly be posting lots of pics during their stay.
For those of you that don't know,Chris is deploying to Iraq in August, so we will all be home during the month of April. Then Lola and I will come home for the Holidays. I will write more of an update later, Lola and I are going to meet Pam,Mack and Chris for dinner.

we are good at napping!!!
Lola in Daddy's hand-her hair isn't red, its just the pic
Lola is growing more and more everyday. She is holding her head up and able to hold upper body up when she is on her belly. She is beginning to be more and more active during the day. She loves loves loves playing with us and is starting to almost yell when she gets excited. She hasn't exactly laughed out loud yet but is pretty close to it. She is very very vocal-but hey look at her parents right?
I started online classes yesterday and its so hard for me to actually sit and make myself study b/c I just want to play with her all day, but she is good at entertaining herself, and she likes listening to me read to her. If nothing else, she will know her History, b/c I read my books to her! I know, not exactly what most people read to their babies!
Chris is forcing me to go out for a few hours with him this Friday while first sergeant and his wife watch Lola.They are pretty much the only people I would leave her with-except of course you Sarah!! I do have to admit that I am still nervous about leaving her, even though I know she is in great hands. I have a bad case of separation anxiety!! I'm trying my hardest not to be that crazy over protective Mom that I used to make fun of!And it's not even that I'm over protective, I just want to spend every waking moment with her!
I will post more pics this weekend-love and miss

Lola & chris w/my b-day cake
my birthday cake!

think she might be a bit confused

*~I love my baby~*
cute little feet!
No more pictures mommy!
sleepy Lola

I first of all want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! My birthday was the first day I've ever been homesick since being here....my birthday is usually the one time of year I'm around all the ones I love,whether it be the weekend or the day of. But with that being said I did have a good birthday. Above are some pics of the birthday cake Chris made me. It was really cute!
I have my 6 week checkup tomorrow (friday) so hopefully I can start really working out again, which I have been looking forward to for awhile now. Lola and I have been walking, but I am ready to get back in the gym. The only thing that I'm not really looking forward to, is that I have to go at 5:30 am to take the classes I want or to workout. We do not have a good daycare in the gym, so I have to go when Chris is home and can watch her. Which he really won't have to do anything b/c she is sleeping during that time.
I start classes my classes at the University again on the 29th, but this time doing online. Chris' schedule is so weird that I figured online is easier for us all. I am also looking forward to classes again, I feel like the busier I am the more I get done.
Other than that we are still enjoying Japan. Getting out pretty much every weekend to do something in town, and I started teaching English again last week! Only two more weeks and Mack and Pam will be here. We are excited as I know they are.
Thanks again for all the birthday wishes. Love and miss you all!

LOLA IS ONE MONTH OLD!!

she loves her daddy!
look at those long lashes!
our lazy dog!!

I can't believe my baby girl is one month old already! I know that's not that old-but to me it is! Of course I am excited to see the person she is going to become but I would love for her to stay my little baby forever! Anyways-----> We just got back from Sasebo (south of us) on Sunday. We had a wonderful weekend with Kevin,Andria and Shane! CONGRATULATIONS TO KEVIN AND ANDRIA-FINALLY!!! j/k (They got engaged for those of you who don't know.)
Sasebo was gorgeous! Shane has an amazing view of 99 islands and he has an amazing Japanese style house. We did some shopping down there, but mostly just went to hangout with friends since they are PCSing soon.
Lola is growing-our scale says she 11pounds now!!Not sure how accurate that is though. She is following objects with her eyes, and is smiling and making the funniest noises all the time. She is still such a happy baby! I feel so blessed with her. She is also staying awake a lot longer during the day. Two days last week she was awake from 9am-around 4pm! She did amazing on her first road trip this past weekend-everyone was amazed how happy she is and how great she is for an infant.
Other than that things are pretty quiet. Chris' parents come at the beginning of February so we will be getting ready for them in a few weeks and I start back classes on the 29th!I am taking online though so I dont have to worry about where Lola will stay etc. Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year so far!

HAPPY N EW YEAR!!!

my paparazzi shot!

the family at the Kintai

Thought this one was too cute

Lola and I Christmas day!!

Hope everyone rang in the New Year with a smile. We certainly did! We had two of our friends up from Sasebo for the weekend and had a great time. We all went and got massages Sunday up in Hiroshima-which was awesome! And then we came back here cooked and rang in the New Year with a glass of champagne and great friends and our beautiful daughter. We didn't go out, for obvious reasons, but it was probably the best New Years I've ever had. No stress, drama or worries........nothing but family and friends!
It was weird calling home at 2pm today to say Happy New Years, I felt like I had traveled in time. In case anyone doesn't know, our New Years started at 10am eastern time! The only thing we had to go by to tell us the proper time was a Japanese channel broadcasting from the Tokyo Dome. There was no ball drop or amazing countdown. 15 SECONDS before New Years they posted a small clock in the corner of the screen and did a countdown then continued with the concert they were showing. But as I said, we still had a great New Years.