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

Girly Girl

It is fun for Adam and I to dream about what Lyla will be like when she is older and what things she will what to be involved in. Of course we are in no way wishing away this time, I LOVE each and every stage and this one is no different. I love learning new things about her each and every day and am so thankful for each moment I am blessed to have her. She is so full of life and is so smart. I know every parent thinks their child is smart and I am no different. Lyla is smart. Everyday she is doing new things and she can actually follow simple directions now, which is so fun to see. I think I can actually consider her a walker now and will have to post a video. She still chooses to crawl when we aren't at home, but when we are here, she walks everywhere. She is growing up so quickly.

So back to us loving trying to figure out what kind of girl she will be. Adam said the other day that he thinks she will be a good mix, that is between a girly girl and tom-boy. He is secretly....well no secret actually....hoping that she will be a soccer star someday, which I am fine with. She loves playing with any kind of ball, loves to play outside, and is not afraid to get dirty. She is also ALL girl though. She likes to wear skirts and tights, she loves shoes (her's, mom's, dad's...any kind of shoe), she loves her baby doll and playing with her kitchen, and most recently she loves to wear jewelry. This is so hilariously cute to us. It started with her wanting to try on daddy's wedding ring. She put it on her thumb and kept it there. Then she has a couple of bracelets that she can put on herself and she makes sure we take notice of how beautiful she looks with it on. (We will begin working on being humble....) Then, she took notice to how most days I put on a necklace with my outfit. Well, she thought, if mommy has a necklace on, I need one too. So, I let her pick one out and put it on her. I thought it would be short lived and she would take it off or chew on it, but no. She loved it! She kept it on all day and never bothered it. And thus started her obsession with wearing a necklace. It doesn't matter if she is dressed for the day or if she is still in her pj's. She wants to have a necklace on. So cute! She won't keep her bow in her hair, but she will keep her necklace on :) She will be our soccer star, with the bedazzled cleats, wearing the necklace....and I cannot wait!

For Thanksgiving Day, she thought it appropriate to wear mommy's pearls.

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for. So much of the time, I find myself complaining about all of the things I do not have but think I need. The hard (or easy depending on how you look at it) truth of the matter is, I am SO BLESSED. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ who has saved me from DEATH. Nothing I have done to deserve that, yet He chose me to be a daughter of the King. I have a wonderful husband who loves me more everyday. He is such a servant and loves and does for me so un-selfishly. He works so hard so that I can stay at home with our beautiful child. I have a healthy, thriving little girl. I never knew my life was missing her, until she came into our lives just over a year ago. I love her more than words can ever express and my life is so much fuller with her in it. I have wonderful parents and sisters who are always there for me. They make me laugh and listen to me when I need an ear. I have wonderful in-laws and now several brothers who have filled my life with joy. Our extended family keeps growing and we are expecting our first nephew in February and could not be more excited to meet him. We have a wonderful community of friends that love us so well. We have a roof over our heads and food is always on the table. We have warm clothes and heat that we can turn on when it gets cold. We have two cars that get us safely where we need to go. We are healthy. The list really could go on forever. What is sad is that I am so quick to forget.
Why is it so easy to forget? After I am finished with my complaining about what I don't have, I immediately feel guilty. I have so much more than most people in the world. Why then am I so quick to come up with all the things I "need" but have yet to have? I am not entitled. Thank goodness for GRACE! Thank goodness that the Lord is in control of the big picture and can see all, and He in His goodness only allows me to see the here and now. What a mess I would make of things with my greedy heart. I do not want to be a complainer. I want Christ to take those thoughts captive and in place give me a grateful heart. I want to be constantly reminded of what I do have and be grateful for it all.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We started last Sunday night at my parents with Allison, Dan, and Nana for a yummy meal. Then, Wednesday after Adam got off work, we headed up to North Carolina to Adam's parents house. His grandmother, Aunt Beth and Uncle Dave with their two boys, and Kara and Jonathan all joined. We of course missed Adam's other brother David, who could not be there. It was such a wonderful time of being together and relaxing. The food was wonderful and of course we hit up the shopping after. Lyla found herself a little buddy. Beth and Dave's youngest son is three years old and they HIT IT OFF. They were inseparable which we all found so cute. They played together from sun up to sun down. Nathan wanted to do everything with Lyla, including bath time. I love this because it will be such a great memory. I remember taking baths with my cousins and we had such great times! He called her baby Lyla all weekend and did not understand why she had to take naps or why she did not wake up as early as he did. I was a little worried that the boys would be too old for her, but she             L-O-V-E-D them. They played together so well and the boys were so sweet to her. It just melted my heart. I cannot wait for them to get together again. It was nice being with family and having time off from work. We now can enjoy everything the Christmas season has to offer!

Lyla checking out Charles' video game.

Clapping.

PawPaw on the floor with all the kids.

MawMaw (Adam's grandmother) with her great-granddaughter

Donna preparing a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Sisters with Lyla.

Scouting out the deals.

Parents to be (can't wait for Dalton to get here!!)

So thankful for my family.

The boys played with Lyla's toys :)

The yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

Let's eat!

Lyla loves her juice and I love that tummy!

Nathan and Lyla

Such a ham.

Nathan sharing his toys.

Nathan, I mean Buzz Lightyear. This boy LOVES to dress up! Spiderman, Batman, Buzz....

More playing.

BathTime!

He loved pouring water on her head.

Lyla and MawMaw.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tub Fun

Adam and I switch off every night who does the bedtime routine with Lyla. Whoever gives the bath and gets her ready for bed, the other actually puts her to sleep. This way we both get special time with her each night. I am loving this time with her. Last night, it was Adam's turn to give the bath. Lyla LOVES the bath and would play in it all night if we let her. He called me in there and this is what I found....

Daddy put letters all over her head! She also has her bracelet on, which she can put on all by herself.

Too funny!

She thought it was funny too.

She loves sucking on the washcloth. She can also take the letters and stick them on the wall all by herself!

I love watching the relationship between Adam and her. It is such a special relationship and he is such a wonderful dad. She is one lucky little girl to have him as her daddy!!