1/2 A Year Old!!

Lyla Faith Morris..I can't believe you are already 6 months old!!!!

You have made our little family complete and we can't imagine life without you. What you are up to these days...

As you can see from all of these pictures you are a girl of MANY faces. You have SUCH a big personality and you let it shine at home..when we go out in public here lately you are VERY serious though. Also VERY clingy to me...you won't let anyone hold you (you get the saddest face with your bottom lip stuck out and huge alligator tears) except me and if you do let them hold you then they must have you facing me. At home though you are such a character.

• You are wearing size 2 diapers..I just bought you size three though because the 2's are getting kind of tight around that 17lb belly of yours.

• You are wearing 6-9 months clothes

• You LOVE to eat...I knew I couldn't keep up with you eating every 2 hours once I went back to work because you were acting like you were starving so you are now eating solids three times a day. Breakfast : Yogurt, Lunch : Fruit, Dinner: Fruit/Veggie and then you nurse or have a bottle at 6:30;9:30,12:303:30;6:30
• You are still waking up at least once during the middle of the night to nurse also
• We moved you to your big girl bed last week and you have done pretty good in there so far. I think it is harder on me walking across the house in the middle of the night to nurse you but I know you have more room in there and sleep much better.
• You are NOT the napper. You will take 4 -30 minute naps through out the day. I am hoping once daycare starts they can get you on a better morning/afternoon nap schedule.
• You go to bed at 7:00 every night and usually wake up around 6:00 in the morning

• You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your exersaucer..you have been able to bounce in it for a long time but now you bounce so high and you can turn yourself around intentionally to get to toys that are behind you.

• It is so funny when we pick you up and turn you away from the TV you look like an owl turning your head back around to find it again..LoL (you are your father's kid, TV junkie :)

• The baby einstein videos could entertain you all day if I let them..you love the water ones and just laugh at the little puppets on there.

• You for some reason in the last few weeks have started sucking your thumb...I wish you would do that in the middle of the night instead of having to get mad searching for your wubba paci..ha!
• You have started turning sideways on your changing table, which makes it difficult to put your diaper back on.
• If anything is behind you or on top of the changing table you grab it or knock it on the floor.

• You can't stand it when your daddy or I walk by and don't pick you up..you will start grunting at us and then get really mad if we don't get there quick enough.

• You love laying on your blanket with all of your toys we set out for you...you usually pick a few of your favorites to go for right when we lay you down. I usually lay you down on your back and turn around a few seconds later and you are on your belly.
• You are not crawling yet but you are so ready to...you look like you are swimming kicking your hands and feet!

(I am DONE with this bow and these pictures)

• You love sitting in your bumbo playing with your new block toy and piano
• You get so excited when we take a stroll to the mail box somedays but it is so hot out there we can only stay for a few minutes.

• Zeus is your buddy..you get so happy when he walks past you or walks past you. He is not sure what to think about it so he keeps his distance. He will probably be running from you once you get mobile :)

That is my bow Zeus :)

I will be bigger than you one day...

She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger...

I don't think I want you to touch me..ha!

You talk ALL the time..you say "dada" we swear you said dog the other day (ha) you grunt and growl (when going to the bathroom..lol) you say mmmm.... when you are eating or drinking (you like to eat)

You love playing with your sippy cup..you make a bigger mess than you do drinking your water

Think you are going to be a water baby..when you hear water running you immediately get excited thinking it is bath time. I bought you a little pool but we haven't had time or the weather has been so hot we haven't used it yet.

You love sitting in your new big girl high chair

This is the face of a DIVA!!

I have to go back to work in a few weeks and I am very worried about Lyla going back to daycare since she has been so clingy to me. I am PRAYING that she goes back with ease and all works out.

Your daddy and I love you to the moon and back!!! We are so thankful that you are a happy, healthy girl!!

Teeth, Schedule and Sleep

Right when we got back from New Boston Lyla started getting a really runny nose and was running a low grade fever. She really wasn't fussy but you could tell she was not herself for those few days. Well I soon realized why. Her first tooth cut through. I knew it would be any day until the next one came through. Well this morning, about two weeks later, I realized her nose had dried up and I just checked this morning and the one right beside it finally came through last night I guess. She now has her two bottom teeth :) She is growing SO fast!!

I think after 6 months of a sporadic schedule because she just could not figure out what she wanted when and her sleep pattern was completely off, not much better now, but I think we have somewhat of a schedule down. I have read all the books, taken all the advice and I have just come to the realization that my kid is NOT a good sleeper. She could be exhausted but like clock work she takes a 30 minute nap to the minute every single time. This usually ends up with her taking about three of them during the day; morning, mid-day, and afternoon. By 7:00 she is completely exhausted so she has set that as her bedtime every night now. It was rough when she was in our room because of the light sleeper she is I was having to tip-toe around our room and was taking baths in the other bathroom..ha! Running out of room in her co-sleeper and this I knew it was time for her to start sleeping in her bed.

She has been taking all of her naps in her bed for probably the last month now. While mom was here though I moved her into her big girl bed at night too. I think and pray this is going to lead to a much better sleep schedule at night for her. The first night was pretty rough, more because I think it was harder for me to get up and get in there fast enough to get her right back to sleep when she would lose her paci, so she was up about four times that night. She also as said above was trying to get that second tooth through so I think that had a lot to do with it also because last night was MUCH better. She went down at 7:00 and slept until 1:00 when she woke up to nurse and then was back down until her usual wake up time of 5:30. So as of right now this is what our days look like.

5:00-5:30 - Lyla wakes up and we lay in the bed until about 6:30 (sometimes she goes back to sleep but most of the time we just snuggle and watch cartoons) - this will end when I have to go back to work in a few weeks :(

6:30 - we get up and she nurses

7:30 - we usually eat breakfast (yogurt)

8:00 - She is back down for a 30 minute nap

8:30 - 9:30 - we do our rotations of play

9:30 - nurse

10:00 - 12:00 - she sometimes takes a nap in here but usually we just play

12:00 - lunch (fruit)

12:30 - nurse

1:00 - 3:30- nap somewhere in here (depending on her mid morning nap) and we just play through our rotations again

3:30 - nurse

5:00 - dinner (fruit and veggie)

6:00 - bath and bedtime routine

6:30 - nurse

7:00 - bed

1:00-2:00 a.m. - usually wakes up to nurse

Then start all over again!

I am trying to keep her up longer so that maybe her naps just go to two long ones in the morning and later in the afternoon (instead of three 30 minute ones) but she is such an early riser that she starts rubbing her eyes and getting fussy early and just wants to be rocked! Then she only sleeps those 30 minutes so she is again tired before lunch and the vicious cycle continues..ha! You know they always say you have to do what works best for you and that is what we are doing. I know that as she gets older this will change but for now, it works :)

Momma Knows best...

It's amazing how a few years and new life experiences can change your thinking on everything in life. I think back to probably 9 years to do the day when I was counting down the days until I was out of my parents house and off to college. I was going to be able to do my own thing and live life as I thought was perfect for me. I was ready to not have to listen to the ways of my parents and do as they say and always asking me where I am and why!!!

We fast forward to this very day 9 years down the road and I am more thankful for those curfews, scoldings, and questionings more than ever. This post is dedicated to my mom who I know without a shadow of a doubt is the hardest working and loving mom I know!!! She has sacrificed and done so much for me, a lot of which I will never understand why or how. What I do know is that she did what she thought was best for me at any given time and even though I would argue or get angry I want her to know I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

I am so thankful that she will drop whatever she is doing when I call (even if it's a hundred times a day) to listen to what I have to say. She has always encouraged me that I can do anything I set my mind to which is one of the reasons she was here this week. She spent the week with us taking care of Lyla while I went to a class I needed to finish up my masters degree. She would take care of Lyla all day, tend to the dogs, pick up the house, cook dinner at night and then do work from her computer after that was all said and done. She truly is a "superwomen" to me! I know this little girl loved every minute of her Gigi being here because her eyes would light up each morning when she came in there to get her!! Thank you mom for coming to take care of all 5 of us really (Jason, Lyla, Zeus, Mason and myself..ha) We will miss you being here already...the left over dumplings were delicious :)

I hope and pray that I can be even a glimpse of what an amazing mom and Godly women that she is.

We Love you more than you will ever know Gigi :)

So far Behind....

We have been so busy that I have not blogged and it's sad because we have done so many fun things in the last few weeks. I have also started my last class of my masters and having to write a crazy long paper so my writing is just been targeted to that...I must do better!!!

We went and met the Smith's (Jason, Angie and Autumn for dinner one night)

Then Jason's cousin and her family came into town to visit us which we were very excited about. This is their second time to come down and visit and we have so much fun. The first night we all went to the Astros/Rangers game. It was so hot out there so I didn't really get any good pictures of us but I think Lyla enjoyed being out and with lots to look at.

The next day we went to the beach (after I settled down from getting stuck on the beach, in my car) we had a really great time!!

Toes in the sand!!

Cutest Beach Babe ever!

Hanging under the tent!

Sweet Lyla was so interested in everything Asher was doing while he was here!!!

How cute is Asher?!?!

Happy Fourth of July!!! This little girl is our WORLD!!! How cute is she?? :)

Lyla had been pretty fussy and had to get shots but she ended up acting okay and we decided to head home for my BFF Lindsey's baby shower for her second baby girl Annabel. It was a great weekend spent with family and friends. I think Lindsey got lots of great things. You don't get to just sit and watch anymore once you have kids, I learned real quickly...I wouldn't change it for the world though. I am so thankful that Lyla is SUCH a good little girl. We can take her anywhere and she will let you pass her around and just look around at whatever is going on. I pray she stays this way :)

I was in such a hurry I forgot my camera so I stole these from Lindsey

Now we are back home and just relaxing and waiting for a fun filled week with Gigi. I have to take a four day class and so mom is coming to Houston to watch Lyla for the week for me!! We are SO excited!!