Timothy & Lyla

Little miss Lyla Mae - walking at 14 months 5 days!

2011-09-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the little shimmy in the middle!

My sweet babies

2011-07-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Timothy still loves posing for pictures with Lyla - he woke up from a nap the other day and said, "Mommy, get your camera. I'll hold sistuh and you take our picture!" These are the moments that get me through, well, the other moments. Heehee!

And... they're done!

Dancing Queen

2011-07-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

Lyla loooooooooves to dance! It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. :)

Lyla's birthday luau

2011-07-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

We had a little party to celebrate Lyla's birthday on Saturday. I was kicking around different theme ideas (cupcakes, owls, hello kitty), but I happened across a box full of luau decorations (my old roommate, Kelly, and I used to throw luaus all the time), so I figured that'd be perfect! We had quite a few people here, and boy, does this house lend itself to parties! Everyone enjoyed the pool, and we had cake and hot dogs and fruit. A fun time was had by all!

Our obligatory post birthday party self-portrait.

Lyla's birthday

2011-07-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Since Lyla's birthday was on a Wednesday, we just had a little family celebration that day. We went to Bento Box for dinner (Timothy's choice), and then Lyla got her very first cupcake from Icing on the Cupcake. Yum!

Happy birthday, babydoll!

Lyla Mae is 1!!!!!

2011-07-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, wow - I just can't believe my tiny little girl is already 1! It truly does feel like just yesterday that she was itty bitty. This year has just flown by! Here are her 1-year stats:

Weight: 17lbs 10ozs
Length: 28"

She continues to be vocal and opinionated (obviously, she gets this from Billy!), and is getting closer to walking. She can stand without holding onto something for a few seconds, but she doesn't appear to be interested in taking steps yet. Her two front teeth have finally erupted, too, after many nights of restlessness and discomfort, poor kid. She's been grinding the top and bottom teeth, though, which is just not a pleasant sound!!

Timothy is still her absolute favorite person, and she greatly enjoys getting into (and destroying) anything and everything he's playing with. Seeing the two of them standing side by side at the play kitchen is one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

(And I have a new-found respect for my friend Becky - trying to photograph a wiggly toddler is HARD!)

Lyla Mae, 11 months old

2011-06-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

With all the excitement (read: chaos) of the move, I've been neglecting this poor blog! Better late than never, though, right? So, here's my sweet little girl at 11 months:

She's super mobile and verbal these days. She can crawl pretty fast, and she's also learned to pull herself up to standing and cruise the furniture. She is very vocal and has learned quite a few signs with which to communicate. She's also curious as all get-out, and is driving her brother a bit batty, since she can now get into his stuff. He's still very sweet with her, for the most part, though - he's such a good big brother!

I just can't believe 1 is right around the corner. *sigh*

First time in a swing!

2011-05-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Lyla was 10 months old before we put her in a swing! She wasn't quite sure what to make of it...

Easter fun

2011-05-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Coloring eggs

Happy to sit and watch as long as the snacks keep coming :)

"See?"

"Mommy dropped my egg!"

Only had red and green dye, so we ended up with some oddly-colored eggs. :)

My cuties in their Easter best.

A-hunting we will go!

Found another one!

Papa's girl!

Pretty girl playing at Grandpa and Grandma's.

Lyla Mae, 10 months old

2011-05-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

This month has been developmentally HUGE for Miss Lyla! She learned to get up into a sitting position by herself, though she didn't do it like most kids - instead of plopping over from a crawling position, she started laying on her tummy and pushed up with her arms, doing the splits, until she was all the way up. She's now doing it the conventional way, but it was a sight to see for a while! :)

She also said her first words! About a week after she turned 9 months, she started saying "Buh-bye" at the appropriate times, and about a week after that she said "papa!" She also says something that sounds like "no more" or "all done" when she's done eating, and sometimes she'll say "up" when she wants to be picked up.

And last, but not least, she started crawling the week before turning 10 months! It was mostly an army crawl at first, but it's full-on, hands-and-knees crawling now! Go, Lyla, go! Of course, the fact that she's super mobile now made for an interesting little photo shoot. Below are the best shots I was able to get before she tried to launch herself off the chair, head-first!

Oh, and I forgot to mention - she now has enough hair for a little clippie! (Yes, I've been waiting for that for a while! hehe)

Lyla Mae, 9 months old!

2011-04-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Love these little piggies!

Two weekends in a row

2011-03-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

We got to see Gwampah Bwisto Mingas two weekends in a row, which means that Lyla remembered him and was actually excited to see him!! We went down to his house to see my aunt Joy and uncle Ron, who were visiting from PA, and Lyla had a grand ol' time playing with Gwampah. So cute!!

Lyla Mae, 36 weeks old

2011-03-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Little Miss now has 2, count 'em, 2 teeth!! And she's all about playing. And vocalizing. A lot.

Timothy's birthday, observed

2011-03-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Timothy's birthday on Sunday! He chose a Thomas the Tank Engine theme (much to my surprise - I was expecting him to pick Toy Story. Go figure!), and despite not having napped, he was as good a little host as a 3 year old can be. He was oh-so-very excited about presents this year, so we actually let him open them during the party (he even opened the one from his friend Jack as soon as he walked through the door! hehe).


"I can't see under this hat!"

"Look, papa!!"

Instead of a cake this year, we had some AMAZING cupcakes from Icing on the Cupcake. They were SOOOOOO good (and yes, I had one of the few left-over ones for breakfast this morning. And no, I'm not ashamed! ;))

And what's a party without some funny (and cute) faces??

And our annual post-birthday bash self-portrait:

Happy birthday again, sweet boy! We love you lots and lots!

Lyla has a tooth!!

2011-03-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Lyla's first tooth erupted sometime yesterday (we think it was while she was chewing on Billy's hat during Timothy's birthday party, hehe)! It's the same one that Timothy first cut - the lower right central incisor (#10 on the chart below) - but she's about a month older than he was at the time. All this time I've been thinking that he didn't have any teeth until much later, but in looking back through my old blog posts, I see that he was just past 7 months old when I blogged about his first tooth. I guess I was just thinking there was less lag-time between the bottom and top teeth, since he only had about 1.5 of the top ones when he turned one. :)

Anyway, back to Lyla... we noticed that she had two little lumps on her bottom gums a couple of weeks ago, but other than waking up earlier in the morning, she hasn't been terribly fussy or drooly, so we didn't think the teeth would actually come through. Then yesterday during the party, she grabbed my hand and started gnawing on my finger, and - holy moly! - there it was! I guess it's just par for the course with this amazingly easy-going little girl! I've decided to just enjoy her, instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop. If/when she hits a tough phase, we'll just deal with it then!

Lyla Mae, 8 months old

2011-03-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

Lyla has been doing all kinds of new stuff in the last month!! She's finally rolling around for locomotion, and she's also scooting a lot more. She now will set her sights on something and make a concerted effort to get to it, whether it's nearby or across the room. :) We knew this day would come, of course, but being wiser 2nd-time parents, were happy that it didn't come quite as early as it did with Timothy.

She's also started reaching her arms out to us when she wants to be picked up, and a couple of days after she did that she started waving! The wave started out as just one arm going up and down, but she's added an open-close of the hand now, too. It's so freakin' cute! And of course this means that we're now working on some baby signs with her. So fun!

She's also become quite adept at the pincer grasp. She's very coordinated, and was able to master this fine motor skill almost as soon as she started working on it. She especially likes picking up, and sometimes eating, Joe's O's (Trader Joe's version of Cheeri-O's).

She also cut her first tooth today! Thankfully, other than a lot of chewing on pretty much anything she can get in her mouth, the teething doesn't really seem to be bothering her too much.

She continues to enjoy blowing raspberries and sticking out that cute little tongue, and she's also babbling a lot. And loudly, at that! I think this quiet little girl is finally finding her voice. Heehee!

And lastly, she started clapping this week!!

Timothy is 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-03-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to our sweet, handsome, smart, hilarious, loving, stubborn, inquisitive, adventurous, outgoing, and all-around adorable little boy!

Mommy and papa love you more than you'll ever know! And sister thinks you're the bees' knees!

Hi!

2011-02-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

The amazing Becky comes through again!

2011-02-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

We had Lyla's 6 month session with Becky (who has now been photographing us for 2 years!) yesterday, and she posted a little teaser shot for us after she got home. That she is a great photographer goes without saying, as her work speaks for itself. What is truly amazing to me, though, is how she's able to work with cantankerous toddlers (Timothy) and stranger-anxious infants (Lyla) to phenomenal results.

All that, and she's a great friend, too!

"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

2011-02-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

"BOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" These are frequent refrains heard at our house - or wherever Timothy happens to be - these days. And the more mamas I talk to, the more I'm gathering that 3 is infinitely more challenging than 2. "Terrible twos," my heiny. "Tyrannical threes" is more like it! Crying, whining, yelling, demanding... but we do get rewarded with spontaneous hugs, kisses and cuddles (more often than not just in the nick of time to save our sanity), so I believe there's hope yet!

Here's hoping that he stays true to form and moves onto the next phase as early as he started this one. Cheers!

My handsome little man

2011-02-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe he's going to be 3 in just a couple of days!! It seems like just yesterday - but also like eons ago! - that he was an itty bitty little baby. Le sigh.

A rose by any other name...

2011-02-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

would taste as sweet?

Lyla seems to think so!

Lyla Mae, 33 weeks old

2011-02-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Lyla Mae, 32 weeks old

2011-02-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Grandpa "Bwuisto" provides quite the sensory experience!

Little thief

2011-02-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

Timothy really likes feeding his dinosaur bank. We used to wonder where he got the seemingly-endless supply of coins to feed him, though. Not anymore. Behold!

Yup, we caught him standing in a basket of clean laundry, taking coins from Billy's valet. Gotta admire his resourcefulness. Heehee!

Lyla Mae, 31 weeks old

2011-02-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

Just love this picture SO much!

2011-02-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

It had to have its own post. :)

Lyla Mae, 7 months old!

2011-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Yup. 7 months old. I can barely believe it! She's such a sweet little babydoll. She's turned into quite the little flirt, flashing gummy smiles at people and batting those lovely lashes. If you're the recipient of one of those grins, though, you should consider yourself quite lucky, since she's in the midst of a stranger/separation anxiety phase, and only those in her "circle of trust" routinely get to see the uber-cuteness.

In the last week, she's started reaching her arms out to us when she wants to be picked up (which just melts a mama's heart!). She's apparently also rolling from back to front (finally), though I've yet to see it. She can also sit up like a big girl!! It's so cute to see her sitting, playing with a toy or her toes if her socks happen to be off (like right now).

She's working on her pincer grasp, and she's very much into exploring textures. Some of her favorite things to explore are Billy's unshaven face and Timothy's hair (much to the joy of the former and chagrin of the latter). Of course, anything and everything that she can get to her mouth invariably ends up there - except for peas. She's not a big fan of those...

Ahhhhh, the cuteness!

"Take a pick-chuh of us, mommy!"

2011-02-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

At least a couple of times a week, I hear the following from Timothy, "I want to hold sistuh, mommy!" and invariably, the moment she's securely in his arms, "Take a pick-chuh of us, mommy!!" And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm an absolute sucker when it comes to capturing their filial love on film, and yes, this tactic has been known to delay quiet- or bedtime on occasion. Here are a few fun ones from the last month:

ouch!

This one, though, is my absolute favorite photo of them, to date!

Patience pays off!

2011-02-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Lyla has always taken a little while to warm up and get comfortable in social situations, especially when it comes to people she's never met or hasn't seen in a while. (Now more than ever, since she's hit a stranger/separation anxiety stage and is transitioning to full time daycare.)

She prefers to observe for a while from the safety of mom or dad's arms, and then she decides on her own terms when she's ready to visit with someone. We don't push her by playing "pass the baby" when she's not ready. And we don't apologize for our parenting choices. But we do understand that it can be difficult for people who love her and want to revel in her squishy-ness, and we really appreciate everyone's patience and understanding.

I like to think that it's especially rewarding when someone is blessed by a little Lyla-love - like Grandpa Jay was at the end of a lovely Sunday visit a couple of weeks ago. She even gave him quite a few giggles!

Bye-bye, snort!

2011-02-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Timothy has always been a fitful sleeper. From the very beginning he cat-napped instead of "sleeping like a baby", and when he did sleep deeply, it usually wasn't for long. Somewhere along the way he started snoring. He snored so much and so loudly that sometimes I couldn't tell if it was him or Billy! While we were home together during my maternity leave last year I started noticing that he was snorting a lot during the day, too, like he was trying to clear something from the back of his throat. He was also mouth-breathing a lot, so the point where he would wake up with a very dry mouth and a swollen upper lip most mornings. So we finally decided to take him to the doctor.

Our pediatrician immediately referred us to the ENT, telling us that his history was "compelling," and that he would likely need to have his tonsils and adenoids out. Now, most of you who know me well know that I am not a particular fan of interventionist and invasive medicine (or doctors in general, for that matter), but everything I'd read about Timothy's symptoms seemed to lead to the same conclusion - tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Sheesh. So to the ENT we went. And it only took him a few seconds looking in Timothy's mouth to determine that his tonsils were GINORMOUS (not terribly surprising, given the fact that mine are, too), and needed to come out. So we scheduled the surgery.

January 27th was a really rough day for Billy and me as parents. I don't really know how to describe the abject terror that gripped me as I watched Timothy walk hand-in-hand with the nurse into the OR. Yes, I know that the "procedure" is a "simple" one and that he was in very capable hands, but he was to be put under general anesthesia, which doesn't come without risks, and everything that was about to happen in that room was completely out of our control. Simply put, it was awful.

In the waiting room, blissfully unaware

The surgery was at the Mercy outpatient surgery center, and Billy's mom used to work with many of the nurses there, so she was confident that everything would go fine. It was a good thing she was there with us, because she kept us grounded for the hour or so that we were in the waiting room.

Waiting to go to the OR

They finally came to get us, and the walk to the recovery area was surreal. We had been warned repeatedly that children are more often than not inconsolable and disoriented when coming out of anesthesia, but the screaming and crying I could hear as we walked back there didn't sound like him at all. It was only as we got closer that I realized that it really was him. :( They assured us that he wasn't really awake and he wouldn't remember any of what was happening, but it was still heart-wrenching. They put him on Billy's lap (I was wearing a sleeping Lyla), and he started thrashing around trying to get his IV and heart-rate monitor off. Billy held him close and he finally calmed down and fell asleep for another hour or more. And that was really the worst part of his recovery, I would say.

He was super-hungry when we got home, and powered through five or six popsicles in the first hour or so. He also had a bite of a turkey sandwich (weird!). He had a prescription for hydrocodone (vicodin), which apparently tastes horrible, because he had to have it in a bit of juice every time (and he's never been difficult about taking medicine before). It also had an opposite effect on him - instead of making him drowsy, it turned him into an absolute maniac. Bizarre and annoying, since we were cautioned to keep him calm (rising blood pressure could cause a hemorrhage), but it managed his pain reasonably well, so we dealt with it.

It's now been 10 days since the surgery, and I'd say he's been back to his normal, perky self since at least Wednesday. And - he's not snoring or snorting anymore!! Huzzah!!

Lyla Mae, 30 weeks old

2011-02-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

I have some serious updating to do, but for now, her sweet li'l face will have to do.

Lyla Mae, 29 weeks old

2011-01-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

Lyla Mae, 28 weeks old!

2011-01-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

More papa-love

2011-01-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

"Look how cute I am! How can he still be reading the newspaper?? I know..."

"I'll pinch his lips and try to rip his nose off! Then he'll have to pay attention to me! Muhahaha!"

"Sweet Puh-tay-tah?! Sweet Puh-tay-tah?! Who're you callin' Sweet Puh-tay-tah?!"*

2011-01-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

She's taking famously to solids. I, however, am not a huge fan of the - ahem - aftermath. Hence, we're taking it veeeerrrryyyy slooooooowwwwwwwlllllllyyyyyy.

*5 points to whomever gets that reference first (not you, Billy). hehe!

Lyla Mae, 27 weeks old!

2011-01-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

Lyla Mae, 6 months old!

2011-01-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here are her current stats:
Weight - 15lbs (25th percentile)
Length - 25.5" (50th percentile)
Head circ - 17" (75th percentile)

Little Miss Lyla is now rolling front to back, and can almost go back to front (she makes it about 3/4 of the way over and then hangs out like that). She can sit up unsupported for a few seconds, but is not yet getting into that position on her own. She likes to stick out her tongue and talks a lot, and no one is immune to her super-cute flirting these days (she tilts her head sideways and flashes a BIG grin!). She is a sweet, happy baby (other than the daycare thing, but that's a whole other post...).

Lyla Mae, 26 weeks old

2011-01-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

This series of photos pretty much sums her up these days. She is an absolute joy. And she knows it. ;)

Lyla Mae, 25 weeks old - Big day!!

2010-12-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Lyla finally rolled from tummy to back! I was truly beginning to wonder if she'd ever show interest in locomotion... Okay, not really, but the thought crossed my mind, considering Timothy was crawling by this age. As you can see, she is very deliberate in her movements. My cautious little girl. :)

In other news, Lyla got to try bananas for the first time! She was VERY interested, and promptly took the spoon away from me to feed herself. I must say, she did very well!

Lyla Mae, 24 weeks old

2010-12-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

On the Polar Express

Wassup, yo?

Really, mom? Enough with the pictures!

Lyla Mae, 23 weeks old

2010-12-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

I love that my babies love each other so much!!

Lyla Mae, 22 weeks old

2010-12-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

More smiles... and brother cuddles.

Lyla Mae, 5 months old

2010-12-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Whatcha doing, mommy?

Ahhhh, yes, she's getting so big! And so very fun! In the past month, she's become more and more aware of her surroundings, and has developed clear preferences for and opinions about different people, places and things. She finds Billy and Timothy infinitely amusing, while only mommy will do when she's tired or upset. She also loves - and I mean LOVES! - our bed, and will be instantly cheered (in most cases) when we put her down on it.

She's still not rolling, but she's been working on her fine motor skills, and is very adept at passing objects from one hand to the other, getting it to her mouth, and is very determined when she wants to get something. Interestingly enough, she can sit up with very little support, which Timothy did long after he crawled, so it looks like they're not going to be following the same developmental path. She's also quick to grab anything that is within her reach, so ladies - and gentlemen not of the Harrigan clan ;) - watch your hair!

All in all, she's still delightful, and getting more so every day. And little girl, we're in no hurry for you to grow up. You take all the time you need.

Girl Power!

2010-12-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

When I met Billy, he already had 3 nephews and 2 nieces.

Circa Christmas 2005

Fast forward a couple of years to Timothy's arrival, and the girls were outnumbered 2-1.

Summer 2008

So, when we found out that we were having a girl this time around, the girls had one thing to say: Girl Power!!

Thanksgiving 2010

And while the age difference is 6.5 and 7.5 years or so, I have high hopes for them being close. Lyla was very happy to sit with them at Thanksgiving, even though she had refused everyone else except for me that entire day.

Also, I have a cousin, Martha, who is about 10 years older than I am, and I've adored her from day one. Growing up, I thought she was the most beautiful, intelligent, amazing person I'd ever met (still do!), and even though I was probably more than a little annoying at times, she always made time for me and let me tag along and hang out with her. She, her hubby & 2 boys even came up from Mexico for our wedding!

With Marthita & her hubby Rafael

So, yes, I'm excited that the girls aren't so greatly outnumbered anymore, but mostly I'm excited that Lyla has such awesome cousins to show her the ropes of girlhood!

Lyla Mae, 21 weeks old

2010-11-30T06:10:00.000-08:00

That's right, I'm smilin'!

Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus!

2010-11-29T19:43:00.000-08:00

Lyla Mae, 20 weeks old

2010-11-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

Still not rolling, but scooting around pretty well, anyway!

Another fun Tilden Park visit

2010-11-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

We took Gwapah Bisto Mingass to the steam train ride at Tilden Park on Sunday. It was really fun, and amazingly for the middle of November, it was about 80 degrees! Timothy and Gwapah got to ride twice, and Lyla had her first Tilden ex-utero experience.

Thanks for playing with us, Gwapah!

Cabbage Patch Kid, Part II

2010-11-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it's a universal baby thing, or a just my babies' thing, but I can't get enough of this face they make! You can see Timothy's in this post. Lyla likes to kind of spit/raspberry when she does it. Heehee!

Nap-avoidance, Timothy style

2010-11-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Timothy: I don't wanna have quiet time, mommy!

Me: Well, buddy, mommy needs some quiet time, so that's what we're going to do now.

Timothy: I want to cuddle sistuh for a minute.

Me (feeling all warm and fuzzy): Okay, just for a minute, buddy.

Timothy: Take a picture of us, mommy!

Me: Okay!!

Yes, I know, I know. Don't judge me. You'd fall for that one too!

Ever wonder why there are so few smiling pictures of Lyla?

2010-11-17T17:47:00.001-08:00

Unaware that the camera is out and rolling:

And now she notices it:

So yes, I promise you she's a very smiley, very happy little girl - she just happens to be a bit camera-shy at the moment! She must get this from me, because - ask Peggy - apparently Billy was quite the ham as a little one. ;)

Tandem bath time!

2010-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

Lyla has officially outgrown her little sink bathtub, so we've had to change things up a bit when it comes to bath time. We have another small bathtub that fits inside the tub that we used to use for Timothy, but he always wants to take a bath whenever we give her a bath, so that doesn't work so well. Oftentimes we just bring her into the shower with one of us, but she tends to sleep in a bit, so she's not usually up when Billy showers in the morning, and it can be a bit tricky for me to shower with her alone because there's no one to hand her to when we're done.

So, I decided to try giving Timothy and Lyla a bath together, and aside from being a little hard on my back, it's great! They both really seem to enjoy it. I think things would be much easier if we had a bath ring/seat for Lyla, as she's quite slippery and wiggly, but not too shabby. The photos are from the second time we did this, (obviously with Billy's help this time).

Snug as a bug in a rug

No two ways about it...

2010-11-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

this one was blog-worthy!

Timothy woke up quite refreshed from a much-needed nap this afternoon, and the following conversation ensued:

Me: Hey Timothy, what do you want to do this afternoon?

Timothy: I want to go to Kwissmass!!!

Me (chuckling): You want to go to Christmas?

Timothy (with wonder and excitement in his voice): Yeah!!

Me (laughing heartily): You're awesome, buddy!

Timothy: Yeah, I'm a weawwy awesome boy!

These are the moments that I live for day to day.

Lyla Mae, 19 weeks old

2010-11-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

That's what I call multi-tasking!

4-month stats

2010-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Weight: 13lbs 8ozs = 50th percentile
Length: 24" = 50th percentile
Head Circ: 15.5" = 75th percentile

So, she doesn't weigh as much as I thought she did, but she's still considerably bigger than Timothy was. My little baby Squish!

Puzzles

2010-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the last month or so, Timothy has gone from needing very hands-on guidance to complete simple puzzles to being a jigsaw puzzle pro! Here he is, showing off his newest puzzle, a 46-piece, 3' high A Bug's Life masterpiece (notice the Vanna White hands, heehee!):

Raaaaawwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2010-11-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Timothy got to have his face painted for the very first time yesterday! Isn't he the cutest tiger you've ever seen? On our way home, he told me he was Winnie the Pooh. LOL!

Lyla's new BFF

2010-11-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Sophie the Giraffe. I finally caved and got one of these with a store credit I needed to use. And yes, I finally see what all the hype is about. The toy itself is basically a glorified squeaky dog toy, but Lyla LOVES it (and so does Timothy!). I mean, from the minute we got it out of the package, she's been enthralled with it! This is actually an item for which I may need to buy a back-up. Bizarre, but true.

Lyla and her papa

2010-11-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Papa loves me lots.

Hey, where'd he go?

My ears aren't that big!

Aren't they sweet? <3 <3

Lyla Mae, 4 months old

2010-11-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Lyla is a joy to be around, plain and simple. She is a very happy little girl most of the time - just don't mess with her beauty sleep! She continues to be a good little eater, though she's very distractible, especially if Timothy is around. She's reverse-cycling a bit because of this, which I think is good preparation for when I go back to work in a few weeks, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that we've hi the dreaded 4 month sleep regression. She's still sleeping well, she just nurses a few times while we both sleep. It's a win-win, if you ask me!

Developmentally, she's working on new skills all the time. She's vocalizing more and more (and more loudly!!), and she's discovered her hands and feet. She'll often be waiving her arm around, catch sight of her hand and just stop and gaze at it for a few moments. So cute! She's also becoming very determined when she sees something she wants to explore, so it's definitely time to clear off the changing table! Still no rolling, but I'm sure it'll happen soon enough.

Appearance-wise, she's growing a bit more hair, and believe it or not, it's coming in lighter. I've said it before: the day she wakes up blond, I'm buying a lotto ticket! :) I will have to post her stats on Tuesday after her well baby visit. I'm guessing 15+ lbs (For a bit of perspective, Timothy was 13lbs 9ozs at 7 months!)

All in all, this is going much too quickly. Timothy's infancy was over in a flash, but each day seemed like it dragged on forever. Not so, this time around!

Trick-or-Treat!

2010-11-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Curious George & the Man in the Yellow... Rain Suit?

Cheeeeeeeeeze!

The cuteness!!!

Pumpkin carving

2010-11-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 17 weeks old

2010-11-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

What do I do all day, you ask?

2010-11-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

I hope my child looks back on today
and remembers a mommy who had time to play.

There will be years for cleaning and cooking
But children grow up when we are not looking.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
'Cause babies grow fast, we learn to our sorrow.

So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm cuddling my baby, and babies don't keep.

Best big brother EVER!!

2010-10-26T15:50:00.000-07:00


"I yuh you, sistuh!"

Timothy really is a fantastic big brother. I was so worried about how he was going to behave towards Lyla when we brought her home, but he is nothing short of amazingly loving and sweet with her. He is totally protective and possessive of her, calling her "our baby" and "NOT your baby!" when he talks to people about her, and most mornings he comes over and gently strokes her head and says, "Aww, he's so cute!" (and yes, I meant to write "he's" hehe), or "I yike sistuh!" And, as evidenced above, he likes kissing her.

Seeing the sweet little bond forming between them makes my heart swell, and I think I love them a million times more than I ever thought possible before Lyla was born! And to any of you considering having a second baby, but are worried that you couldn't possibly love another the way you love your first, don't. Don't give it another thought, because you won't have to split the love you already feel between the two; no, instead, that love will grow to epic proportions and you will love each of them that much more. I promise.

Lyla Mae, 16 weeks old

2010-10-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Smiley girl

Boy, oh boy, has little Miss L been up to quite a lot in the last couple of weeks! She has discovered her tongue, which means that she is trying to taste anything and everything that comes in close proximity to her face, or that she can grab and pull into her mouth. She is also spitting and blowing raspberries quite a bit, which is decidedly cuter than when her brother does it! She will also often stick her little tongue out when she smiles, which is just adorable.

She still has not fully rolled over, but she almost has the mechanism of how to do it down. She crosses one leg over the other and pulls herself in that direction, but she hasn't figured out that she needs to get her arm out of the way to flip over. I don't think she's too motivated to do it, though, because she can pretty much scoot herself in every direction while on her back, so she's able to get at things that have captured her fancy in that manner. I also think that her very (adorable) bulky cloth diapers are probably hindering her mobility a bit, and she doesn't get to play on the floor quite as much as Timothy did at this stage because of flying blocks, balls, trains and cars - courtesy of the doting big brother, himself. Either way, I'm not concerned, and it's quite nice to be able to put her down for a minute or two to change laundry, or whatnot, and come back to find her in the same place.

She's also vocalizing a LOT more - even when she's supposed to be eating! She is making a "brrrrrrrr" sound a lot, but she's also moving on to making vowel sounds that are more controlled and sound more like words (i.e. "aaahhhhh, ooooohhh, etc.) than just random tests of the vocal chords.

One of my favorite things, though, these days is her extreme interest in Billy and Timothy. Although I absolutely love being her sun, moon, earth and stars, it is so sweet to see her watching her brother so intently, and being so overjoyed by silly little things he does. She's enjoying spending time with papa, as well, and since she's spacing out her feedings a bit, this is ever-more possible.

Ahh, such an accomplished little lady! (And yes, time is passing much too quickly for this mama!)

Halloween preview

2010-10-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Could we be any cuter??

Lyla Mae, 15 weeks old

2010-10-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 14 weeks old

2010-10-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

My li'l cuties

2010-10-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 3 months old

2010-10-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little girl, 1/4 of a year old already!! So, what's new, you ask? Well, she's continuing to spend more time awake during the day, but amazingly, she's still a solid little sleeper at night. She's very active - she loves to play on her Gymini mat, and she scoots off the mat or turns herself all the way around when she's down there for a few minutes. She's also getting very good at grasping toys, and she seems to decide which one she wants and then moves towards it until she can reach it. No rolling yet, but she gets onto her side by using her legs as a lever, so it probably won't be too long. I have no idea how much she weighs, but she's got several rolls (something we never experienced with Timothy!) and she's a champion nurser, so I'm sure it's a lot. ;)

She's also vocalizing a lot more. She still does her sweet little owl baby sounds, but is also doing some funny gurgling sounds, a little bit of yelling, and she's also starting to laugh! I found a ticklish spot on her a couple of days ago, and I've been enjoying making her laugh. She's also mimicking us a lot more - she'll shake her head "no" if we do it to her, and she will also imitate sounds as if we were conversing. She's also starting to blow spit bubbles, but I'm not sure if that's on purpose yet.

All in all, she's the sweetest, happiest little baby I've ever met. I can't believe we ever thought Timothy was a mellow kid - compared to Lyla, he was a whirling dervish from the get-go! :)

More work time

2010-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Apparently Timothy is a Jack of all trades.

I'm wohkin' on the pewter

I'm goin wohk. I'll make dinnuh for you when I get home.

She's got The Look

2010-10-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

This one, I will take credit for. We call it The Look. (Cue dramatic music.)

Little thumb-sucker

2010-10-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

She's most definitely a thumb-sucker, and I have it on good authority that she didn't get this trait from my side. Let's just hope she stops before she's 8. ;)

Touristy Fun

2010-10-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to San Francisco for a thank you luncheon with the National Marrow Donor Program. The lunch was at Neptune's Palace on Pier 39, and they validated our parking for 3 hours, so we decided to do the tourist thing and just walk around the pier and then up to Ghiradelli Square. We couldn't have asked for a better day, weather-wise!

Self-portrait at Ghiradelli

View from Ghiradelli

Lyla, of course, was with us while Timothy had a blast playing with gwapa Bisto for the day. It was really fun! I think the last time that we went to the city together was in 2006, which means that Timothy has never been there. We'll definitely have to remedy that sometime, but since he's not quite as portable as he used to be (i.e. he wants to actually walk everywhere himself!) it's not as simple as bundling little Lyla up in her sling and going wherever we want to go. Maybe we'll stick to Tilden with him for the time being!

Lyla, pooped and taking a pacifier for the first time, on our way back to grandpa's

Lyla Mae, 12 weeks old

2010-09-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 11 weeks old

2010-09-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 10 weeks old

2010-09-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Can't get enough of...

2010-09-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

this little mouth!!!

Lyla loves her papa!

2010-09-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Lyla has gotten to spend some extra quality time with Billy in the last week, and she seems to be quite taken with him! Last Friday, I had a dentist's appointment, so Billy had both Lyla and Timothy all to himself for about an hour for the very first time. All went swimmingly! Then, over the weekend, Timothy and I got to do some more baking while Billy held Lyla, and she seemed quite content to just hang out with him. She's responding to him with smiles and coos more and more, and it is just SO cute! I mean, is there anything sweeter than a papa and his baby? I think not.

Lyla Mae, 2 months old

2010-09-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, my little girl is definitely more "baby" than "newborn" these days. Aside from having lost most of the "newborn" look, she is spending a lot more time awake and alert, checking out her surroundings, kicking her legs, and trying to roll from side to side. She is also vocalizing a lot more, and she's beginning to develop a little bit of a laugh, which sounds like a bit of a gurgle at the moment, and is oh-so cute! She no longer suffers from male pattern baldness ;) and her eyes are looking clearer, as well these days. It also appears that she is a thumb-sucker. After many attempts at stuffing her entire fist into her mouth, and much frustration when her little thumb was tucked neatly inside said fist, she's perfected the art of actually getting the thumb into her mouth and keeping it there. She continues to be a sweet, mellow little girl, and she is just a joy to be around, and so easy to love!

Here are her 2-month stats:
Weight: 10lbs 11ozs (75th percentile)
Length: 23" (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 15.5" (50th percentile)

Nakey Time!

2010-09-01T17:52:00.001-07:00

Lyla had a bit of diaper area irritation today, so I decided to let her go au naturale after bath time this afternoon. Timothy thought that sounded like great fun, so he followed suit. He ended up sitting on his potty for the better part of an hour, eating lunch and playing with his "babies" (his tools), at which point he got up, went out in the back yard, and peed out there. I'd say it must be a boy thing, but these two have an auntie who used to enjoy nature in that way as well. ;)

Miss Kickypants

2010-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

8 weeks and 2 and a HALF!

2010-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Stop growing, babies!!! That's all I have to say about that.

Little owl baby

2010-08-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Mama and baby

2010-08-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

I realize that there's rarely a photo of me on here. This is partly because I'm usually wielding the camera, and partly because I tend to hate most pictures of myself. Gabi took some good ones, though, while she was here, so I thought I'd share.

More visitors

2010-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice visit on Monday from my dad ("Gwapa Bisto Mingus") and one of my mom's dearest friends, Gabi. They took the train up from the East Bay, and we had a nice lunch (courtesy of my awesome chef of a hubby!) and an even nicer visit. It's been really great reconnecting with Gabi, because she's not afraid to talk about my mom, and she has so many wonderful memories to share. Thanks, Gabi!

Adventure!

2010-08-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Papa got a new toy for father's day, and he and Timothy put it to good use over the weekend. They rode all the way to Trader Joe's and back! Now we just need to get Billy a helmet, too, and I won't be so freaked out watching them ride off!

Top Chef - Toddlers

2010-08-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have to admit that I got this idea from a couple of friends, and I absolutely love it! Thanks, Ashleigh and Becky!

Last week, Timothy and I baked together twice. On Tuesday we made a cake that was DE-lish, and on Friday we made a banana bread. I had tried baking with him a couple of months ago, but he was a bit scared of standing on the chair (I'd love to get him a learning tower, but that'll have to wait until Christmas or later) up at the counter. Not so this time around! Yay! Baking has always been a favorite pastime for me, so I'm very excited to share it with Timothy.

Cake:

Banana bread:

Lyla Mae, 7 weeks old

2010-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

New this week: Hmmm... more chub, more giggles, more cuteness (if that's possible). She's definitely getting more head control, which as Billy would say, means she's almost a one-hand baby (meaning we won't always have to have a second hand supporting her head). Oh, I'm loving that she wiggles her whole body when she's happy or excited. So cute!

Sleeping angel-baby

2010-08-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 6 weeks old

2010-08-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

New this week: the cooing, oh the cooing! Actually, she says "hooooo" in this incredibly girly, high-pitched little voice. She sounds like a little baby owl, and it melts my heart every single time! She's also getting oh-so-chubby, which many of you know Timothy never was, so I'm enjoying the squish. Of course, she continues to respond to us more and more with big, gummy smiles, and she's getting very good at tracking our movements with her eyes.

Timothy can swim!!

2010-08-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae, 5 weeks old

2010-08-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

She's just growing too fast. That's all there is to it! :) These days she's a lot smilier, but also quicker to let us know if something isn't to her liking. She's also gaining in the head-control department, and is liking to be held upright a bit more so she can look around. Her eyelashes are getting longer, and she's producing tears now when she cries (which is still not too often).

Lyla Mae, 1 month old

2010-08-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

Lyla Mae's Birth Story

2010-08-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fitting to share Lyla's birth story on her 1 month birthday. Disclaimer: This account is detailed and not edited for content, and some of the photos may be considered "graphic." Squeamish be warned.

40 weeks:
Our estimated due date was July 1, and as I had suspected, the day came and went without so much as a blip on the radar. On Saturday July 3, though, I was feeling quite crampy most of the day, so we wondered if things would get going that night. I went to sleep around 10pm, thinking that it wasn't time yet, but was awakened around 3am with contractions that were a bit erratic, but I couldn't sleep through them. I got up and walked around a bit and then settled in on the couch with my hypnobabies tracks on and got a couple of hours of sleep. Over the course of the morning on Sunday, July 4, everything slowed down and then completely died down by about 1pm. So we went about our day, and again I went to bed and was able to get to sleep, even though I was thinking that things would probably rev up again that night. We had our on-call people ready for Timothy in case things went faster than last time, but I figured we were safe letting him go to sleep here since nothing was really progressing yet.

I woke up at 1am Monday morning, and this time the contractions were much stronger. I tried to stay in bed and rest through them, but I was very uncomfortable, so I got my birthing ball and sat next to the bed so I could put my head down and concentrate when the contractions came. I did this until about 4am and then finally woke Billy up because I needed help focusing and staying relaxed. He timed the contractions and they were coming every 5-6 minutes and were about a minute long.

Around 8am, we called our doula, Rachel, to let her know what was going on. By that time, the contractions had really intensified, and I was vocalizing a bit through them. They weren't getting any closer together, but they also weren't dying down. We had also called Peggy to come pick Timothy up, because I was having a hard time focusing while worrying about him. My hope was that things would progress and Lyla would appear by that evening, or at worst sometime in the night, so that Timothy would only have to spend one night away from us. This was going to be his first night without either of us, which was a major source of stress for me.

Things finally picked up in the early afternoon, and the contractions were getting very intense, and were 4-5 minutes apart. We had Rachel come over around 4 or 5, I think. I was having a lot of pressure and pain in my back, so Billy and Rachel took turns applying counter-pressure, which was the only thing that helped. Around 7 or so, Billy made dinner for himself and Rachel, as I was not interested in eating at that point. I was doing okay with the food smells, and I thought I felt like laying down for a bit while they ate, but after one contraction in the bed, I had to get up and throw up. Of course, as dazed and uncomfortable as I was, in the back of my mind I thought maybe I was in transition. (I wasn't.)

After that, the contractions got much more intense and closer together, and it felt like I had no break in between, and the pain in my back was all but unbearable. I also felt like even after the contractions peaked, the lower part of my abdomen and back didn't really relax and I wasn't getting any reprieve. I got in the shower a couple of times, but the last time it didn't offer any relief. Right after I got out, which was 1am-ish, I knew it was time to go to the hospital. I had also decided that when we got there, if I wasn't 8+, I was going to ask for pain relief, because I just couldn't take it anymore.

The ride to the hospital was horrendous. The contractions didn't slow down at all, and it just felt like it took forever. When we finally got to our room, I let them check me, and the first nurse couldn't tell how far I was dilated because the bag of waters was bulging. A second nurse checked me, and she said I was complete!!! I couldn't believe it, and I also couldn't understand why, if I was complete, the contractions weren't changing to "pushy" ones. It was both encouraging and discouraging.

I did start to feel a little pushy after a while, but not like it was imperative that I push, but it felt good to bear down a bit through the contractions. At that point, though, they were double-peaking, and my back was hurting so much that I was starting to feel really out of control. I was on my hands and knees, and all of a sudden, my bag of waters just exploded - and I mean it literally exploded all over the lower half of the bed, like in the movies, seriously! And again, I didn't feel pushy. Very odd. The scary thing was that there was meconium in the fluid, so they wanted to keep me on the monitor (they had been monitoring intermittently up until then), which was fine with me, because the last thing I wanted was to get up at that point. I was so tired!!

So, they checked me again, and all of a sudden there was confusion. I heard someone say "five or six" and someone else said "eight or nine". I totally freaked out. I mean, I had been under the impression that I was complete, so what was happening??? So, I asked Billy to go get the nurse who had checked me so that she could explain what was going on. Apparently, the bag of waters had been bulging out so far that it seemed like I was complete, but when it burst, they found that I wasn't, and because I'd been bearing down through some of the contractions, a portion of the cervix was swollen and looking like a 5-6. So I asked for the epidural. I was so exhausted and in so much pain, and I was really starting to lose it through the contractions, and I just knew I had to get some relief.

Rachel was amazing through all of this. Last time, with Timothy, after laboring for 50-something hours only to find out that I was only at a 2, my doula left when I asked for the epidural. This time, Rachel said, "birth is about surrender, and we never know what it is that we will have to surrender to in any particular labor until we get there." It meant so much to me that she wasn't judging me for what felt like failure on my part. I have no idea what time it was at that point - I think about 6am on Tuesday July 6.

So, I got the epi and felt much better, though it didn't take away all sensation. I was able to rest a little bit, too. So, around 8am, my OB came in to make sure I was progressing. She checked me and I was at a 9, and the swelling had gone down, but even though the contractions had not slowed down, they weren't very intense. She asked if I would be okay with them augmenting with pitocin at a very low level, and I said yes. Rachel and Billy talked and decided that it would be a good time for Billy to run and grab a bite to eat, and Rachel would go when he came back.

And then things got scary.

They lost Lyla on the monitor and couldn't find her. They kept moving the thing around, and the only heartbeat they could pick up was mine, or so they thought. So I agreed to an internal monitor. As soon as they got it in, they found that her heartbeat was really low, and they couldn't get it to pick up even by poking and prodding her and turning me from side to side, so the OB said that she needed to come out NOW. I totally lost it. The last thing I had wanted was a repeat c/s - I was so scared of trying to recover with a 2 year old to deal with. It was at that point that Billy came back to find me crying hysterically and the Dr. trying to snap me out of it to get consent. So, I finally calmed down enough to consent (of course) and off we went.

Billy was not supposed to be allowed in because it was truly an emergency, but our OB was awesome and she made someone go get him after I was prepped. The surgery went much better - in terms of how/what I felt during - than the last one; no referred pain in my shoulders, no horrible tugging and pulling. And then I looked over and Billy was crying hysterically, and I didn't know why. They were working on Lyla - I didn't even realize she was out because she hadn't cried yet and no one had said anything. The anesthesiologist was trying to reassure Billy that she was fine, and that she wasn't breathing because they didn't want her to until they could suck out the meconium and fluid she had swallowed (so that she wouldn't aspirate any of it).

And then we heard the most beautiful sound - her first very strong, loud cry. They had sucked out about 20cc's of nasty fluid/meconium, and then she was fine. They wrapped her up and handed her to Billy, and she was so beautiful! She looks so much like Timothy, only she has very dark hair, and it looks like dark brown eyes.

They let Billy take her out of the room as they got ready to take me back to my room to recover, and he and Rachel were able to bring her in about 10 minutes later. She was wide awake and latched on on her first try, and nursed for 40 minutes on one side and then after a minute or two, another 30 on the other side! I'm pretty sure she took some sort of nursing class through osmosis while in the womb - she is an absolute nursing pro!!

The really crazy thing is that when my OB came to talk to us in recovery, she said that my uterus had done something that she's only ever seen 2 other times. Apparently, the lower 1/4 or so of my uterus had formed a contraction band that was contracting constantly, and it was constricting Lyla's head, preventing it from moving down any further and also probably causing the horrible back pain I was experiencing, and the constant feeling that the contractions never fully let up. So, whether we'd gone complete and started pushing or not, this was going to be the outcome, so it was good that it was caught when it was.

We stayed at the hospital until Friday afternoon, and my recovery is going 100% better than the last time. I don't know if it's because my doctor this time is a better surgeon, or because I only labored about 1/2 the time as last time, or a combination, along with the fact that I'm feeling much better mentally/emotionally, because this was most definitely a necessary procedure, as opposed to last time.

Welcome to the world, Lyla Mae! You may not have arrived as planned, but you're here and you're safe and healthy, and mama wouldn't have it any other way.

Lyla Mae, 4 weeks old

2010-08-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Little Lyla is 4 weeks old?!! Amazing, but true. You know the old saying, "time flies when you're having fun?" Well, we're absolutely having fun! She is such a joy! She is a very mellow, sweet little baby. She still sleeps a lot of the time, but is having more and more quiet awake periods during the day. She, of course, likes to be held, but will actually let me put her down from time to time, so I haven't had to neglect my own needs quite as much this time around. And to be honest, it's very weird! :)

She's starting to smile in response to seeing my face (anyone who's a mother can tell you that this is the most amazing thing that you could ever experience), and she smiles and laughs a lot in her sleep, too. And boy, oh boy, I can already see how much she's going to idolize her brother. She loves looking at these pictures of him that are over our bed - she just stares and stares! And he just adores her. He takes every opportunity to give her kisses and he talks a lot about how cute and tiny she is. My heart just bursts when I think about the bond that they're forging.

I have no idea how much she weighs, but I know she's gaining well - she's already outgrowing her newborn stuff, and she hasn't even worn half of it! She'll have to model some of her cute little outfits for Grandma Ocean this weekend. :) In other news, she's going through the lovely baby acne and male pattern baldness phase... I sure hope it's short-lived, though she's still gorgeous in mama's eyes!

Visitors

2010-08-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

"Auntie" Kathi came to see Miss Lyla a couple of weeks ago. It was great to see her and hopefully we'll get to hang out again soon! It'll be fun to get her little one, O, together with Timothy sometime, too. :)

And yesterday, Auntie Angie and Uncle Ryan came to visit. We hadn't seen Angie since Lyla's first day in the outside world, and Ryan hadn't yet met her, so it was great that they were able to make the trip. AND, Miss Lyla decided to be SUPER-smiley for them! It was so cute! They each held her for a little bit, and she just kept smiling the whole time!

Random cuteness

2010-08-02T12:13:00.000-07:00