Trick or Treat

Lyla's first Halloween (cont)...she was one sleepy elephant after handing out some candy.

Happy Halloween!

We went ahead and dressed Lyla up last night so you wouldn't have to wait for pictures. She wasn't fussy but did have this "what are you doing to me?" look on her face. Maybe we can get a smile out of her tonight. I can't wait for the neighbors to see her as she helps us hand out candy. A friend suggested she hand out peanuts which would have been really cute but I forgot to get some.

First Sleepover

Lyla spent the night with her Granny and Papa Saturday night and she did really well. She was also a big hit at their church Sunday morning. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said, "look at all that hair!" So many people expected it to have fallen out or thinned out by now but it's actually growing longer instead. Jamie wanted to have a sleepover with Lyla Claire (as she calls her) so Granny & Papa had all their girls! They make a beautiful picture, don't they?

Granny, Maisie, Jamie & Lyla

I thought you might like to see a picture from the Halloween party Seth and I attended (the reason Lyla had her sleepover). Thanks to Seth hamming it up, we won the prize for Most Comical. With my mask, no one could understand a word I said but Seth was hilarious. He played a mean game of pool in that mask and dress. No one expected it from him.

Shawn, Rachel, Ashley & Seth

Two Milestones

It has been one rough week for all of us but we have survived. This was the week we committed to breaking Lyla of being swaddled when she sleeps. She fought it kicking and screaming...literally. But as you can see, she has finally figured it out. She did wake herself up once around 3 or so but with her pacifier and little stroke of the forehead, she calmed right down. This is how we found her when we woke up this morning. So, have you figured out the second milestone yet? Well, WE didn't put her on her side to sleep--she rolled over. I know she hasn't rolled all the way over yet but I consider this to be a good start, don't you? It's really time for her medicine but I hate to disturb her. She just looks so peaceful. By the way, we suspect another milestone is just around the corner...teeth. She has been running a fever the past two nights and we think we feel something on her bottom gums. Will keep you posted.

More Bumbo Fun

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I saw the recent warning about putting Bumbos on elevated surfaces. That being said, please ignore that Lyla is on the counter watching Daddy fix dinner. She will be firmly on the floor from now on. She sure was having a good time, though, wasn't she?

First trip to GA (Part One)

Lyla survived her first long road trip...possibly more importantly, Seth and I survived. She cried about a third of the trip down and toppped off the 7 hour trip with a poopy diaper while sitting in rush hour on 285. Once we arrived at Mimi and DDaddy's house, she was ready to be out of the dirty diaper and was so exhausted she didn't want to be held by anyone but Mommy or Daddy. Luckily this was not the case the rest of the weekend. Lyla was happy to be passed around by all of her aunts, uncles and cousins. Seth and I enjoyed a nice date-night Friday and came home to Lyla sound asleep in bed. She slept great in her new surroundings which was such a blessing for everyone. The trip home was much easier as she slept almost the entire trip. It was truly a beautiful thing. Below are some pictures from the trip including some taken of her first meetings with her Aunt Andrea & Uncle Ken and her Aunt Alison Joy and Uncle Ken(dall). Uncle Kendall is convinced her first words will be Uncle Ken since she has two of them...of course, she also has two Aunt Alisons so we'll see. Part Two of this entry will be all about the reason for our visit--my (Ashley's) cousin, Brady's beautiful wedding to his lovely bride, Emily. I actually took ZERO pictures with my camera (shocking, isn't it) but will post pictures that Alison Joy took once I get a cd of them. Til then...

lounging in her new Bumbo

with Aunt Andrea & Uncle Ken

with Aunt Alison Joy & Uncle Ken(dall)

the peaceful ride home

More Squeals

My parents say they watch that other little clip over and over again so I thought I would put another one out there. Enjoy!

Jumpster

As much as Lyla loves to stand and kick, we decided to see what she thought of her Jumpster. She wasn't quite sure about it at first but then she started moving one leg a little bit. She may be just a little young...she definitely has plenty of room to grow into it, though.

Quite the actress

Lyla had several visitors this week. Her Granny and Papa came by for dinner Monday night and her Aunt Kristie and cousin Jamie came by for lunch Wednesday. Lyla is surrounded by so many people that love her and we are so thankful. One other thing you should know about Lyla--she is quite the actress when it comes to guests at the house. As those of you who have visited have seen, she wouldn't dare fuss or cry while people are here. Nope, she shows everyone but Mommy & Daddy her angelic side...I think she wants to instill doubt in your mind of the accuracy of all our stories of hissy fits. But you have to believe me that not long before this very picture was taken, she was being her usual vocal self. Yep, that innocent face is Oscar-worthy.

New Friend

Lyla has found a "new friend" in the mirror. I took her over to the mirror in the kitchen to try to calm her one day. it worked--she started talking up a storm to herself. Here she is mid-sentence, so to speak. I guess this is just another way she is like her mom--doesn't care who she talks to as long as she can talk! Am I right?

In other news, Lyla sure has a mind of her own. She has always been very vocal when she is hungry, tired, wet, you name it. However, she has now learned how to express her displeasure without any noise at all. I suppose she felt like we let her fuss a little too long yesterday because when Seth picked her up, she refused to look at him. No matter how he turned her, she kept a very serious look on her face while looking anywhere BUT at him. She did the same thing to me earlier today. It is scary how smart she is at such a young age. We are really going to have our hands full as she continues to grow and learn. Oh, yeah, she has also learned, as babies quickly do, that arching her back and stiffening her legs makes it difficult for Mom and Dad to put her in the dreaded carseat. See what I mean? Way too smart...

Beware of Bobblehead

Like mother, like daughter. I now see how I broke my mother's nose as an infant. Yep--I apparently head-butted her in an innocent game of "peekaboo." Lyla packs quite a punch herself. I am usually able to dodge her unsteady wobbles while she's up on my shoulder looking around...until last night. I was trying to burp her when BAM! she hit my mouth so hard! Poor thing cried out probably out of a combination of the pain and also a little fear from my yelling "ow!" so close to her little ear. She is fine of course and luckily none of my teeth were broken or knocked loose. She's still young so I know this is just the beginning but I do hope we are able to avoid my parents' ER experience. I would hate for the nurses to glare suspiciously at Seth the way they glared at my dad many years ago. "Yeah, right. The BABY broke your tooth, Mrs. Martin."

3 Months?

It's hard to know how old babies are...counting by weeks, she is 12 weeks so that would be 3 months but since she was born on the 10th, do we wait til Oct 10th to say she is 3 months? Who knows? Oh, well. I guess it doesn't really matter. Lyla is doing very well, though. She usually takes a good long nap in the mornings which gives me time to get some things done around the house and shower which is nice. As I said yesterday, scream-filled car rides seem to be a thing of the past. Whew! She loves to sit up and look around. If you try to cradle her like a baby, she fusses and squirms. We are already seeing her little personality and let me tell you--it is fiesty. When you take her bottle out to burp her, she has a panic attack and carries on as though you have taken away her only friend and will never return it to her. Maybe I can capture that on video for you soon...you can't help but smile at her when she acts this way. Whether she is 3 months today or next Wednesday, she is growing and changing every day and we feel so blessed to have her.

Is she a happy baby or what?

Yeah right, Mom

As I have mentioned, Lyla LOVES being swaddled up really tight when she sleeps. For those of you who don't know (as I didn't before), some babies are so active that if their arms aren't "bound" tightly, their movements overstimulate them preventing them from sleeping or staying asleep. The swaddler helped her adjust to riding in the car which thankfully only lasted a month and now she can ride in the car just fine! We have gradually been trying to break her of being swaddled by leaving one arm out at a time during naps. Sometimes she'll sleep, other times not. Well, I thought today MIGHT have been THE day but I was wrong. She was sound asleep so I snapped a picture thinking this was a milestone to be remembered. Then I decided to get ready for an appt at 1. I kept watching her (Seth rigged a camera so we can watch her from the bedroom) on the tv. I watched her wake up, spit out her pacifier and insert her fist. Then I watched her twirl her hair. "This is it," I thought, "she loves twirling her hair when she is sleepy." Umm...not sleepy enough. It was just about time to head out of the house so I went in to ger her and snapped another picture of her which I think says, "Yeah right, Mom." So, Lyla wins this one and we will continue to swaddle her for now.

TO BE CONTINUED...