Hello Mobile Max!

oh.my.gosh. this is exciting news!

my seven month [& four weeks] little ball of baby is officially crawling!

I knew he was only days away from achieving this milestone.

 I can already sense the tension rising as Max is now much more 

efficient to invade Lyla's bubble & put her toys in his mouth.

I'm proud of my main squeeze & moments like these are

 a true reminder of why I'm so grateful to stay at home with my babies.

Narcoleptic Afternoon

Monday was the weirdest day ever.

First, Lyla ate eleven [yes, eleven] miniature pancakes.

That was funny weird. But later on something crazy weird happened.

She settled in for her nap & awoke after a short hour.

With the way naps have been going lately, I was actually satisfied with that duration.

She woke up crying and snuggled up next to me on the couch,

then suddenly she was back to catching zzz's.

[Isn't she so adorable & scrumptious?]

  
My initial thought was wow! That is incredible.

This kid never falls back asleep after an already one hour nap.

Eventually Max woke up from his nap and I got up from the couch and ventured
up the stairs to retrieve him. Lyla has eyes in the back of her head, so of course she 

shot right up and followed me up the stairs in a half-asleep & fully delusional meltdown.

By the time I returned she was out cold, crouched over like so...

This was cute and hilarious for at least 45 minutes. 

Then she awoke for what I assumed would be the final time.

We hugged & I even changed her diaper in my bedroom.

Within minutes she looked like this....

Yes. Asleep once again. I could not believe it.

All together this nap phenomenon lasted nearly three hours.

She woke up for the last time sweet as a peach.

A very bizarre afternoon nonetheless!

2014 Resolutions

I'm typically not one to make New Year's Resolutions. 

I think personal growth is important all year long, 

but this year I was just feeling the resolution thing.

I have high hopes for 2014. Plus it's the first year in three I won't be a pregnant person.

My body did its time and now I can put all my energy into this wonderful family we created. 

My 2014 resolutions are...

1. Do better at remembering birthdays. 

I want to remind the people I love how special they are to me.

 Especially now that I'm 1700 miles from home.

2. Be a little greener.

I want my little's to be kind to the earth, effortlessly.

 I want recycling to be the norm. 
Who knows. Maybe we'll plant a tree.

3. Use social media less. 

Facebook can be a sea of comparison.

Pinterest can create feelings of inadequacy.

Blog stalking can cause mommy doubt.

Nobody needs any of that.
 I want to learn to trust myself more and as such, I will be cutting back.

On a separate note, my first accomplishment of the year is as follows:

I discovered a way to get Lyla to smile for pictures again.

Hold her down & tickle her of course. 

And my strong little buddy. Soon to be a crawler!!!

A Fresh Week

We had an extra fun weekend and so far, I'm feeling good about the week.
I'm slowly regaining my control and at the very least, I'm not 
wanting to crawl under my covers and scream.

There is still this new unfamiliar toddler person living inside Lyla.

I'm getting to know that person and working on figuring out works best to tame that fiery rage.

But for the most part her sassy level is back to a cute and tolerable level

 rather than the scary and irrational one like last week.

She has made some big strides with potty training this week.
I will leave out graphic details just in case her future boyfriend finds this blog in 16 years.
We are moving at a gradual pace, but moving along nonetheless.

The newest problem around here has been bedtime.

Lyla has never given us any grief at bedtime. She has always made it so easy & simple.

Staying asleep for her is a whole different story---but the initial 

bedtime phase has always been a breeze.

Until now, that is. 

We are many moons late on this one, but the time has come to say goodbye to the bottle.

As a result, she has replaced that source of comfort by having mommy or daddy 

lay next to her in bed until she is sound asleep. Leaving the room is not an option.

A handful of books and forty minutes later, we attempt to sneak out of the room as
she shoots up in a sleepy blur  and shouts "no mommy, lay down." 

It usually takes 2-3 attempts before a successful exit is achieved. 

The only problem I have with this new time consuming 
bedtime routine is that it cuts into my hang time with Kirk. 

The other problem is she insists on this nonsense at nap time now too.

This would be a completely enjoyable part of my day if she were an only child. 

But she isn't. Max is here too and if I didn't have other people in the house

to help me out right now I literally have no idea what I would do. 

On the flip side, Max has relaxed compared to last week as well.
I think I may have been right about our return from Idaho sending everyone on the fritz.
It would only make sense that it would take longer for the little's to readjust.

I nearly have Max's nap schedule back on track.

They remain shorter than I would prefer, but we are taking it one step at a time.

Secretly, I often reminisce about the three hour long siestas of the past
 and I am keeping my fingers crossed they find their way back to us.

Mobile-Max is on the way! He is so so so close to crawling.

His hand coordination isn't quite there yet and face plants multiple times a day.

One "step" closer to keeping up with his sister Lyla. 

Well. A little ranting. A little update. I think that's all for now.
These changes are challenging but there is no place else I'd rather be. 

At the end of the day, I hope my babies know I love them

 more than anything in existence. 

Lyla: 2 Year Old Check Up

Weight: 26 lbs 5 oz, 57th percentile

Height: 34.5 inches, 62nd percentile

Head: 19.5 inches, 95th percentile

Well. All the bragging I've previously done about

 how well Lyla does at the doctor office finally backfired.

She was not nice to the doctor. not one bit. 
She is emerging into this two year old role very quickly!

I had to physically hold her down for the shot in her leg,

which I'm sure will traumatize her for years to come.

Yeah. It was chaos. I'm glad that appointment is over with.

I'm pretty positive the shot was not an actual vaccine they
 injected into her tiny body, but a terrible two inducing serum.
 I'm convinced the world of pediatrics is playing a cruel trick on parents nationwide.

This is not a joke. This week has been killer. 
I'm feeling defeated. I've temporarily lost my mommy mojo.
It has topped the charts for one the most challenging of motherhood thus far.

At first I thought all this was in my head. 
I thought Lyla's extra sassy attitude and refusal to nap was just my imagination playing games.
 I'm still hoping [praying/crossing my fingers/crossing my legs/wishing on stars]
we are still readjusting after our two week runner in Idaho. 

Regardless, there are a lot of changes happening in that little two year old body. 
It seems she is experiencing so many emotions. I am trying to be patient. calm. understanding. 
For the moment we are struggling, but I know we will make it out alive. 

Kirk says she is going through two-berty.
Which is probably a lot less scary than actual puberty.

Lyla: Birthday Bash

My sweet little girl turned two.

I think this next statement will make me sound like I'm 80,

but I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.
Why is time going by so fast!!!

Now she is a little person with her own ideas and opinions about things.

I was getting pretty good at keeping that pre-toddler person tamed, 

I don't think I'm ready to face the challenges of toddlerhood.

But ready or not. There's a two year old brewing inside that little body.

I think I'll be getting my vodka water fountain installed very soon.

I love you Lyla. We'll get through this together. ;)

The night before Lyla's birthday we decorated the kitchen 

and filled her bedroom with helium balloons.

Kirk was the first to greet her in the morning and he said 

as soon as he walked into her room she was wide eyed and 

pointing all around saying, "balloons daddy..."

This is good since we figured it was a 50/50 shot that she would either be
 excited or freaked about being surrounded by balloons first thing in the morning. 

She was equally surprised when she saw the bright decor downstairs.

I proceeded to make her a birthday breakfast.

A tradition I hope she will appreciate more once she

ditches her bird-like eating habits. 

Then Kirk took her on a special trip to Target where he let 

her pick any toy she desired. She came back with a pooping baby and a movie.

After a long morning nap, we all headed to the zoo.

This was Lyla's third visit to the Houston Zoo and I must say

she seems to enjoy it more each time we go.

She insisted we visited the monkeys the instant we arrived. 

Afterwards, we came home to enjoy some pizza. cake & ice cream.

I baked my first cake from scratch. Every single item was from scratch minus the candle. 

This was kind of a big deal for me because I also want a

 mom baked cake to be a birthday tradition for my babies. 

It turned out pretty decent. But by the time Lyla is seven it will be spectacular!

And lastly, present time. 

After the Christmas overload I'm sure Lyla thinks this is now the norm.

I am already struggling to find a new home for all of our Christmas loot.

As such, I wanted to keep the birthday gift thing to a minimum. 

Like...here's some diapers. yay.

But then Kirk made a good point. 

She shouldn't get ripped off on her birthday just because it's close to Christmas.

 If her birthday was in June she would be getting hooked up.

Yes. True. Nice one Kirk. 

Thankfully I was able to hold Kirk off from buying a power wheel car 

this year by reminding him that she is only two. phew!

Happy Birthday Lyla! We love you so much!

Christmas Madness

Christmas in Idaho was wonderful.

We were able to catch up with all the people we love & miss.
The babies [Lyla] got spoiled past a point I didn't know could exist.
I am forever grateful for the big hearts of people we get to call our family.

To my surprise, Lyla had more difficulty adapting to 
 the new surroundings and faces than Max did. 

She warmed up to everyone of course, but I saw a 'shy' side of her I've never seen before.

Can't blame her. It was overwhelming even for me.

We had a full agenda the entire duration of our visit.
Talk about exhausting. I expected a relaxing vacation...ha!

After everything, I must admit I'm happy to be back home.

Although the babies were troopers and did well on both flights, 

travelling with little ones is not my favorite thing.

And lastly, Maxwell getting his obligatory introduction to "choo choo the big train..." 
at grandma's house. 

Better get used to it Max. many many more train rides to come!