The Koetter's: February Love

Well, it has been awhile. I feel like nothing major has gone on, but looking back since my last blog, a lot has! Lyla is growing and changing so much everyday. I want things to slow day because I am enjoying life so much!

Obviously, Lyla got the hang of the bottle taking....thanks Lauren! The vanilla trick worked, which made for happier days for Adam and my mom and dad. I went back to work after 12 weeks, which was not long enough. Going back to work I felt out of place. All my skills were still there, I could still handle the stressful situations and the craziness of the unit, and of course seeing everyone was great. But I felt like I was missing out on what Lyla was doing. Don't get me wrong, I knew she was totally fine with my mom and dad. They loved her being with them and she loves them so much! But the 12 hour shifts were such a long time to be away from her. I mean after all, she is only this little once! So, after much prayer, talking it over and going back and forth, Adam and I decided that it was a good idea for me to stay home.

This is my second week of my new "career" and I could not be happier! This is exactly where I am supposed to be. Yes, it is sad leaving great friends and co-workers, leaving what I am good at, and where I had my identity (which I never realized before). But no longer being a "Northside employee" surprisingly has been an easy transition. I know we made the right decision. But don't worry Mimi and Gramps, you will still get Lyla time! We thank you for being willing to take care of her!

Boy is Lyla growing fast....well she is still little in size, but she doesn't seem to know that :) She is always in to something! She is smiley all the time. She has a wonderful personality but definitely has a stubborn determined side. She no longer wants to be strapped in to her carseat. She wants to be sitting up like a big girl ALL the time. And she would rather be looking around at everything else that is going on. She loves her Bumbo. She can't sit up on her own yet, but the Bumbo is great because she can sit in it by herself and she thinks that is great. If she can't sit, she wants to be standing up. She talks ALL the time. She started this right at three months. She looks at you, makes sure you are paying attention and then proceeds to tell you whatever is on her mind. We love this! It is so cute and we can't help but laugh. She is a non-stop talker. She is smart. She will cough, look at me to make sure I am paying attention and then cough again. She does this with crying also. She will cry with her eyes closed, open them slightly to see if I am looking and then continue. I find this funny.
She can pretty consistently roll from her tummy to her back and a couple of times has rolled from her back to her tummy. But why roll around when mom and dad can take you where you want to go? She is a busy girl. We must be doing something at all times. No down time for her, except for her three hour nap in the afternoon. At night she sleeps from 8pm-4am and then until 10am. Works for her, works for me! We have also been enjoying the beautiful weather. It has made me even more ready for Spring! She enjoys walks in her big girl stroller.

She is the drool queen. Within a few hours her clothes are soaked, even with the bib. We go to the ped the first week on March and she will be four months. I am thinking we will start some rice cereal. I cannot believe we are entering that stage already. We went to Honey and Pawpaw's (Adam's parents) house for the first time this weekend. It was fun for them to have her there. And we enjoyed taking her there.

I am trying to learn how to work my camera and Adam is teaching me how to edit my own pictures, which is fun. So I will be sharing some of the better ones as I learn.