She's a daddy's girl!

There was a time when Pat was so worried....because truth be told, Lola didn't like him very much. She was pretty attached to me, and no one else.

There's no doubt about it now :) She looooves her Daddy!

We've gotten tons of comments from various people saying how much she looks like Pat. So Liam looks like Pat, Lola looks like Pat...but Liam and Lola don't really look like each other. Apparently I was just the cooking vessel.

I'm starting to see the resemblance between Lola and Pat more and more lately. Especially her smile. She does this little smirk that always reminds me of this photograph Pat's mom sent me to fix for her a few years ago. I finally got around to searching for it so I could do a comparison. Yup. Sure enough.....same sweet little smirk, and a carbon copy little nose :) She even has a sweet little dimple on the same side (although you can't see it here - I flipped the photo to compare from similar vantage points...so Lola is actually a mirror of her actual self!).

I think Pat was closer to 18 months in this photo (Lola was 6 months), but you can definitely see a resmblance!

Tough Day.....

Occasionally, Liam will have these days where he's constantly whining, crying, and battling me at every corner. Instead of getting upset, I try to just give him a hug and say "I'm sorry you're having a tough day". Somehow it seems to comfort him, even if only for a little bit.

I had a tough day today......nothing major, but everything together warranted a stop at Dairy Queen for a Oreo CheeseQuake Blizzard. Which was delicious by the way ;)

1) My sister left....she came for a whirl wind visit and took the train back to Michigan today. I love having her around - she's great with the kids, helps me out and in general is lovely to have around :) It makes me sad when she goes away.

2) We're not moving to Michigan....not shocking, I know :) Pat applied for a new job within his company. He had an interview last week, and he was notified today that he wasn't a final candidate. We knew when he applied it was a longshot, but it was impossible to keep my mind from running away with all the possibilities of moving back. I love Chicago....and I love my family, friends and network here. But if given the chance to move to Michigan to be closer to my immediate family I would take it in a heartbeat. I love Michigan. I have a very romantic relationship with the state. The Pure Michigan advertisements make me cry damn near EVERY time I hear or see them. I'm pretty sure they are advertising directly to me.

He prepared all he possibly could, he did his best, and I couldn't be more proud. Rejection sucks in any form - but Pat, I love you so much! And I'm proud of you regardless ;)

Now I have to re-train my brain to let go of living in Michigan again after that faint glimmer of hope.....I did it the first time shortly after Liam was born. Hopefully the process isn't quite as painful this time around.

3) I had an MRI....I've been having this ear thing for the past year and a half (I can't hear out of my right ear very well), and the doctor wants to make sure (in the words of the Governator) its Not a TU-Mah. The MRI itself wasn't awful. It was an hour of uninterrupted time - no kids, no tv, no husband, no internet....just me and the radio and the loud banging and whirring. The part I wasn't prepared for was that I had to have an IV so they could inject Gadolinium (Gd)......which leads me to my next point

4) Today was my last day breastfeeding Lola. We've been slowly weaning over the past few weeks, and this week left us with only one feeding a day, in the morning. Because of the injection of the contrast, I can't feed her for 48 hours....so instead of delaying the inevitable I decided that it would be best just to stop. I wasn't expecting it to be today, I'm not sure I'm emotionally prepared, but not much I can do now. She's more than ready....I'm just going to make sure to get my snuggles some other way. It's like I have to let go that she's not my itty bitty anymore, and just embrace the fact that she's a chunky monkey.....

So, lots of downs today....but at least things are more concrete than they were yesterday and we can continue moving on. I pray that God gives me the strength to pick myself back up, dust off, and forge ahead stronger than ever....and I have no doubt that I will.