Another try ..

Welp, I had all but given up this blog, but then I was looking back on some friends' blogs and realized what a good way it is to keep track of the years. Since this first year of Lyla's life has simply FLOWN and I no longer have to write each month in her baby book, I figured I 'd give this blogging thing another shot. I'll try to care less if anyone reads it or leaves me comments .. though that never hurts!

Lyla Suzanne is 1. When did that happen? My sweet baby becomes more and more of a little girl every day and while I LOVE seeing her little personality emerge, I sure do miss those days. She had a wonderful first birthday party with lots of friends, family, food, gifts, and of course PUPPIES. That girl loves her doggies! On that note .. here are some more things our Subie likes/dislikes..

Likes:

• Walking (She took her time letting go and taking that first step, but it seems it's all she wants to do now, and she is so good at it, not to mention so stinkin' cute waddling around!)
• Dancing (She loves it when Daddy puts on some good dancin' tunes!)
• Climbing the stairs (Watch out, if that gate is down, she is upstairs in a matter of seconds!)
• Eating/Begging for food (The girl is a bottomless pit!)
• Talking (Can now say Mommy, Daddy, Bye(and wave), What's that?, Puppy, Woof, Night Night, Eyes, No No, Rock, Done, Whee, Baby .. and all kinds of other conversational gibberish.)
• Reading books (I have given up trying to stack her books on the shelf.)
• Playing the piano (Ever since she could pull up, her little fingers have found their way around.)
• Binky (Yeah .. haven't had the heart to take it away yet.)
• Animals (Especially dogs - she has learned how to bark too!)
• Bathtime (She's wild!)
• Her silly cousins (They are like brothers to her :) )
• Socks (She's unbelievably happy to find two random socks and march around with them! Lil sock bandit!)
• Songs (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old McDonald (E-I-E-I-O), The Birdie Song, This Little Piggy)
• So much more!!

Dislikes:

• Clips, bows, anything in her hair besides a tiny band
• Mommy brushing her teeth
• Waiting for food (She must get this from her Aunt Krystal ;) )
• Staying still
• The church/ymca nursery .. other kids crying or yelling .. she is a sensitive girl!
• Not a whole lot .. she is such a sweetheart!

Lyla's Birthday

I guess since it's been over two months since Lyla's birth, I should update this! It's crazy how I can be home all day with her and still get nothing accomplished. Only one week of maternity leave left, so I plan on fully enjoying it!! So Lyla's due date was nearing and I was starting to get a little impatient and concerned about if/when to induce. On Saturday night (January 22nd), we went and walked around Walmart, got some Taco Bell, and I came home to bounce on the exercise ball. Later that night, I thought maybe my water was broken/leaking .. though I'd thought that before so didn't want to jump the gun. Well, we ended up going to the ER just to be safe, and turns out it WAS broken! I was super excited and then scared! I was only 1 cm and contracting but not progressing, so they started me on Pitocin. It did intensify my contractions, but once they tried to up it, it only made them closer together rather than stronger. So, we played that game for a while, but I didn't get any farther than 4cm. The doctors started to get concerned since it had been 24 hours, and suggested that maybe she was in an odd position (which I'd suspected), and that c-section was a possibility (which scared me, but by that point, I was just worried about Lyla). Well, then another doctor checked me and found that there was still some water that hadn't broken. Once she broke that, I started progressing much faster (1 cm/hour). I was finally ready to push by around 2 am. I was so eager to push but it was really difficult for me. My epidural was great at first but then either wore off or was kind of patchy (possibly due to her position). I definitely felt a lot of my contractions and TONS of pressure and pain, plus I was exhausted from the hours of labor. I guess it took about 1.5 hours for her to come. All I remember is they kept saying, she's right there, she's right there, one more good push .. liars. But she finally came and was absolutely perfect, thank God. My first thought when I saw her was that she looked just like her daddy! I got to hold her and nurse her for a few minutes. We were so exhausted (I could barely move, let alone hold her), we sent her to the nursery so we could rest. The rest of our time in the hospital is a blur of visitors, short naps, doctors, nursing frustration, and finally the scary trip home. I was pretty nervous to have her all to ourselves even though we'd had plenty of experience with babies. It was all different now that we were fully responsible for her!! I'm pretty sure the first night I was up the whole time just watching her breathe! We had some struggles in the beginning with jaundice and breastfeeding, but now we are old pros and Lyla is growing like a weed! I haven't quite found a way yet to put into words my love for this little girl .. but when I look at her little face, I'm overwhelmed by her beauty, the fact that she is OUR daughter, and the amazing responsibility we've been given in her ... God is good.

Patiently waiting ...

Well, we are 5 days away from little Lyla's due date and still no baby!! I think she decided it's too cold out here to come!! As of yesterday, I was 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Dr also says she is very low. So we scheduled induction for the day after (Tues the 25th), but we're really hoping she decides to come before that! We are so ready to see her little face and for this dream to become reality!! Please keep us in your prayers as we get close to her birthday :)

39 weeks

38 weeks

New bathroom, Christmas, & Almost Time!!

Just wanted to share a few pics .. here are some of our upstairs bathroom remodel .. I should post some "before" pictures, but just know that it was a very gross/ugly, carpeted, small oak vanitied bathroom. It's now absolutely gorgeous thanks to lots of work from my hubby & our dads. I think Lyla will like it much better. I know her mommy does!! We also now have a hall closet set up, so the towels and everything can go in there. It's so nice living like regular people!!




Here's some Christmas .. the trash bags are bean bag chairs for our nephews. We also have Bryan looking just like last year's pic, me with a big belly, and Rusty with the most enormous bone we've ever seen!! It was a very nice Christmas and now we are focused on the homestretch .. baby girl will be here any day now & we are so excited!!

37 Weeks

36 Weeks

35 Weeks

Getting ready!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! We've been so busy trying to get everything ready for baby girl and for Christmas too!! At this point, I can proudly say all of my Christmas shopping is done and wrapped, our hospital bags are mostly packed, Lyla's room is done, we are moved upstairs, and our bathroom is half renovated!! Oh AND I am caught up on all of our laundry (if you know me, you know this is a HUGE accomplishment). We've been busy growing too! My belly is stretching like crazy and her movements have changed to happy little kicks to shifts and stretches. It's hard to believe she'll be here in about a month, but we cannot wait to meet her and see her little face!!!

Here are a few pics of her BEAUTIFUL room and some new belly shots ...

34 Weeks

33 Weeks

32 Weeks

So blessed :)

Over the past 2 weekends, 2 showers were thrown for Baby Lyla (yep, we finally decided on her name)! They were both so nice, and we are so grateful for everything people have done to help us get ready to welcome this little girl into the world!! Here are a few pics & then a few updated belly shots :)

Canton

Erie

30 Weeks

29 Weeks

3rd Trimester!!

Just wanted to share a few pictures .. now that I have my hubby back from football (and thanks to Aunt Shirley's painting skills), we have started to make some progress on baby girl's room!! Here are a couple of pics of the pink walls, the crib my step sister gave to us, and the new dresser from my dad & Ann!! You can also see the bedding in the pictures. Lots of work to go yet, but it's getting exciting around here. I've already put things in the dresser (they're sure to move again), and can hardly believe we have less than 3 months to go!! I've been feeling pretty well, and love feeling my squirmy baby roll and kick and punch (unless it's on my bladder)! It still blows my mind when I think about her and how soon she will be here, looking like us, and just being ours!! This Saturday is my Canton shower & I can't wait to see everyone and play with all the fun new baby things :)

28 Weeks

27 Weeks