You Never Know Who is Watching

I want this blog to be a place where I can write those sweet memories of Lyla as she is growing up. Those memories that you beg your heart and mind to remember, but you find as the days turn in to weeks, it becomes harder to remember how your sweet newborn smelled, or when she first smiled at you, or what she sounded like when she said her first word, or when she snuggled in close to you as she fell asleep on your shoulder, or cried those big tears when she got her first boo-boo. I went to see a friend who just had her first baby almost two weeks ago now and boy is he precious!! He is as small as Lyla was when she was born and I can hardly remember her actually being that small! Uhhh, this is going WAAAAY too fast!! But I keep trying to soak up every moment with Lyla and try to remember to thank the Lord for each sweet moment as it comes. Here are a few cute things I would like to remember.

So the last few weeks, we have not been able to kick this winter cold going around. The sore throat, the coughing, the snot. Yes, we have had it all in our house and it is finally clearing up...I am sure only for it to return again in a few weeks since we sent Lyla back to the nursery last week at church. Anyway, this girl hates for us to wipe her snotty nose and personally I cannot blame her. How awful to just have to let it drip down your face and then have a mommy or daddy have to "sneak attack" you (as daddy calls it) to wipe it off. Her poor nose, I am sure, felt so chapped and raw. So the other day I was feeding her breakfast and needed to blow my nose. I did it while sitting in front of her and she thought it was pretty neat and wanted to try for herself. So I decided to make "blowing" her nose a positive experience and I made a big deal about her blowing her nose like mommy. I put the tissue up to her nose and she actually blew out of her mouth, like she was really blowing her nose!! So funny! So for the whole day, every time I blew my nose, she did it and boy did it make for a pleasant experience.

So Lyla is still as picky as ever when it comes to eating, but oh well. I am learning not to stress about it. She still says no to milk, but I started trying vanilla flavored almond milk and she seems to like it so far. I mean, she is at least drinking it and not spitting it out, so we will see. She has also decided that she would like to try out the spoon and feed herself. It makes for a longer feeding process and is a lot more messy, but such a wake up call that she is growing up SO fast. I love to see her develop and learn, so I can't hate watching her do it, but at the same time can't help but feel like she is not a baby. She will move the spoon around her tray and then actually put some food on it with her other hand. It does not always make it in her mouth, but she is still so proud and so am I!

Today, Lyla and I were picking up Adam and mine's room. I turned around at one point and she had gotten a scarf of mine. The last time she had done this, she just handed it to me and moved on. But today, unknown to her, I just watched what she did with it. She ACTUALLY put it on her. Around her neck and everything. I had no idea she even knew what to do with it. It was too cute not to snap a few pictures.

Ready to go somewhere with mom's phone

"I am tired of cleaning mom" 

So the other day Lyla was playing with her picnic basket that she got for her birthday from her best friend Eva. She decided that she needed to go somewhere else to actually have her picnic so she picked up her basket to go. She put it on her arm right in the crook of her elbow and started walking somewhere with it. To that, Adam said "I wonder where she got that from?". I guess maybe that is how mommy carries her purse??

Today, after Lyla's nap, we were walking out of her room and I asked her if she wanted to go get a snack. She looked up at me, walked over to me and reached up with her hand to grab my hand. We walked out of her room together hand in hand. Melt my heart. With her new to walking, she does not want our help with it. So this was a first. It was only for a moment, but it made an imprint on my heart.

Helping me wrap Christmas presents the other day.

She had a little fun with the ribbon!

Cannot express how much this girl L.O.V.E.S her juice.

Love this girl!

I guess she is watching me more than I realize. I so desire to be a wonderful role model for her. I know so often I will fall short, but thank goodness she is quick to forgive and love me regardless. She is making me such a better person and for that I am ever grateful to her!!

13 Months

I can hardly believe that I have a one year old. When people ask me how old she is, it is still hard to actually have the words come out of my mouth. This time last year my life looked so different. Trying to adjust to life with a newborn, no sleep, figuring out the breastfeeding thing, and wondering if I was cut out for this. Over a year later, I cannot imagine my life any differently. Celebrating the holiday season is so much sweeter with my sweet little one. As I often say, each day is better than the one before with her. She is so sweet and so easy. I love learning new things about her BIG personality. She is so much fun.
Currently:
~ Has mastered her waving. Nicole, just today, said her wave looks like that of a beauty queen. It does have a soft flow back and forth.
~ Loves playing peek-a-boo.
~ Loves climbing on furniture. If it is low enough, like our ottoman or her little chairs she can do it herself. If it is the couch, she needs a little boost. She loves climbing on and off and is so proud of herself. When she gets on the ottoman, she will stand on her head and wait for me to look at her face between her legs. She just laughs and laughs.
~ She L.O.V.E.S playing with the table and chairs that her PawPaw made her for her birthday. It is in her room by her kitchen set. She will first show me which chair is for me to sit in and then she will go to the other chair and get on it. She likes to set the table and she is getting very good at "making" food for us and pretending to eat it. Her imagination grows everyday. I love watching her and seeing her imagination in her eyes.
~ Loves books.
~ She has just recently starting "organizing". She likes to take everything out, like out of the toy basket, her grocery cart, her snack bowl, and she strategically places it on the ground where she wants it. A lot of thought goes into this, I can see her brain working. Then, she will put everything back. Just the way she wants it.
~ Still being a pick-ier eater. Don't get me wrong, this girl can eat, but only what she deems worthy. FRUIT is it right now. She loves her fruit. If she does not like what she puts in her mouth, she will spit it out or drop the next piece on the floor....very discreetly. We are working on this.
~ Always wants to be outside.
~ Says: Dada, Mama, jue (juice), no (can also shake her head "no"), go, more, gog (dog). Most of the time she does not use the words appropriately, but it is fun hearing her try more words. She talks all the time and is always making noise.
~ Will mostly walk when we are home, but still not confident to do it consistently when we are out.
~ Points at everything and is so friendly to others.
~ For the most part still takes two naps, sometimes can get away with one though. Still sleeps 12-13 hours at night.

I love this girl and am so thankful for her. I have learned so much through her about myself. I never thought about the legacy that parents pass on to their children. I am suddenly so aware of it. There are things about myself and character (my SIN, hello) that I do not want to pass on to her. I am so much more aware how much more I need, HAVE, to rely on Christ and how I need to pass that on to her. She is helping me grow and change my character, so that I can be a good role model for her. I know that I will not always be the perfect example and that I will lose my temper and she will hear me complain and see me not love others well. But that's where Christ can help me teach her forgiveness and compassion. I know that I will not always be the perfect mother and that I will not always love Lyla well, exactly how she needs to be loved, but through the work on the Cross, I know that I will get to try again. She is so forgiving and so loving. I pray daily that Christ would call her heart to Him and that she will know His love at an early age.

Here are a few fun pictures to end with. Her hair is really growing in now, so I decided to try some pig-tails. She surprisingly left them alone, and she looked so cute. She is such a little person now!! I love being able to do all the girly things with her that I loved to do as a little girl.

Getting on her chair

Sitting on her chair

Pig Tails

Finding things to put in her grocery cart