Spring Fever

At the first sign of spring, we headed out to the park in our subdivision.  Of course we took a million pictures of Lyla on the swings for the first time.   I'll spare you and just share a few.



wind in her hair.

She did like it, though she's not giving that away here.

Mommy probably had more fun.

But her favorite part was riding down the slide with daddy.  Smiles all around!

Delayed

So we went in for a regular 15 month check and to get some shots.  First of all, shots have become a battle.  She's old enough to know what they are and starts screaming the second I attempt to lay her down.  I've been able to hold in my own tears...so far.  

Second of all, when I walk in the door, the receptionist hands me a clipboard with three forms to fill out; general 15 month questions about speech, activity, eating, coordination, etc.   How the hell am I supposed to fill out this form while this child runs laps around the office and is in the face of a new baby seated next to us.  I finally managed to wrangle her on my lap and then the fight over the pen began.  Needless to say, the forms not only had my answers and her scribbles, but my sweat!!! Even my back hurt after that battle! haha. 

Anyhow, when we finally got called in to see the doctor, she brought in the wet scribbles and proceeded to tell me that, based on my answers, Lyla was on the verge of having a speech delay.  WHAT?  She said she was good, even advanced (music to a mothers ears) in some areas but we'd have to keep an eye on her speech.  She said that if she hasn't improved by her 18 month check, we'd have to consider therapy.  Therapy for a 15 month old seemed early.   At first I was pissed.  I mean, Lyla says plenty of words, what does she expect from a 15 month old? Then I started questioning my answers.  I mean, I was distracted, I probably just circled "sometimes" when I should have circled "most of the time".   However, by the time I made it to the car, I decided to blow the whole thing off.  My doctor tends to be a little on the strict side already so I wasn't going to worry about it.  She'd be fine.   I told Eric about it and he was even more irritated.   He didn't want to hear anything negative about his girl. 

As much as I said I wasn't going to worry about it, I started hanging on her every "sound".  Was that a word?   Then I started writing them down.  I was sure she'd be saying 20 words by that 18 month mark.    I've been paying much more attention to other kids her age and how they communicate.  So far, I think I have nothing to worry about (well, on that front at least).  I guess we'll know in three months.

Little Leprechaun

After taking a break from parades for about, oh, 20 years, we jumped back in for Saint Patty's Day.  We had beautiful March weather so we headed out to two parades.  We hit the Oak Forest parade with Grandma Laxton, Aunt Becky and the kids and the Tinley Park parade with Daddy, Mimi and Grandpa Mac the next day.

Go Irish!

Look at those toofers.

Playing with Emily.

The both have the same look on their faces!



Happy Girl

Checking out the new CNG truck!

She Walks!

I have to be honest that I don't even really know when it happened.  Lyla had been taking a few steps here and there for about two months and suddenly one day, when she was about 13 months, we realized that she was off and running.  We didn't have one of those moments where we knew we were witnessing her first steps and went running for the camera.  It just sort of happened.  It didn't last that long either.  She went from walking to full speed running within days.  And then it was over.  This child does not sit.  She runs.  And runs.   Luckily we have small house so I don't have to chase too much but whenever we go out I dress like it is summer because I know I'll be sweating.  I swear I should be 98 pounds by now.  Who needs a treadmill when you have a Lyla!

12 Month Stats

At 12 months, our little Lyla:

• Weighs in at 20 pounds, 4 ounces and is 29 inches long.
• Talking a lot of Chinese.  We can understand mama, dada, ball, uh-oh and coo (cooper)
• Bye Bye Bottle.   A few weeks before her first birthday she was down to two bottles a day and the rest sippy cups.   Within a week of turning one, the bottle was totally gone.  Yes, I'll give myself a little pat on the back for that.
• Walking?  Not quite.  She's OH so close.  She may take one or two steps on occasion but that's about it.  I am definitely in no rush. 
• We have made the switch to solid foods (non-baby) for the most part.  My goal is to get rid of the baby food completely in a month or two. 
• Has all of her hair back!
• Still sleeps like a trooper, 7:30pm - 6:30am!  Yahoo!

Party Time

The party planner in me kicked it into high gear when Lyla was about 3 months old.  I decided on a theme (Ladybugs) and went bonkers from there.  I'll admit, I went a little overboard for a party that she'll never remember, but we decided we wouldn't have a birthday party every year for her so this was my one and only chance.  We rented out the park district building in Frankfort and invited about 80 of our "closest friends" (see why we are only having one party?!).  Unfortunately, when our computer crashed, we lost all video footage from the party, but I was able to save some pictures. 

The really expensive cake....hindsight...

Paul, Kiyah, and Jen coloring!

Cousie's!

Not happy to be trapped in her chair.

So not sure about this.

Um.

Finally getting into it.

It didn't last.

Who knew a spoon would make this kid happy. She's just not into messes.  Wonder where she got that from?

Kids helping her out (kinda glad I didn't know this was happening at the time)

Cousin Coty keeping a watchful eye out.

The girls!

I think Gram was grabbing my fat. 

Checking out her new ride.

Even after a busy day, she still stayed up to play with her new toys.

Happy Birthday, Girl.

It blows my mind that our girl is already a year old.  On her birthday, both Eric and I were off of work.  We greeted her in the morning by bursting into her room with a video camera and shouting happy birthday.  She didn't have a clue what we were doing.  The three of us went shopping for her birthday gift, which included mega blocks, her first cabbage patch kid and a new outfit.  Mimi and Grandpa Mac came over to sing Happy Birthday and share in her first bite of cake.

Stink eye

Caaaake!

Opening gifts from mom and dad.

 

A few days later, we celebrated at Beebah's house!

Cheese.