Thanks Aunt Bleu!

Lyla was happy with the new outfit her Aunt Bleu (aka Aunt Crystal) brought her back from a recent trip to San Francisco. We love the hat - it's so cute! And the owls are Lyla's favorite!!

...And We Really Have a Bedtime!

Lance returned to work tonight after two weeks off to study for Boards. I told him today that he accomplished many things while he was off - studying for and taking Boards, a dentist appointment, an eye appointment and successfully assigning Lyla a bedtime.

Lyla's bedtime doesn't seem to be a fluke. She actually gets very upset if she is not in bed by 9:00.

Bliss.

Girl Time & Happy St. Patrick's!

I am learning new things about Lyla all the time.

She loves to talk in the morning when she wakes up. She loves to talk in her car seat. And, she absolutely, positively loves "Girl-Time". My cousin Leah and Aunt Donna came to visit Cincy today to do a little shopping, and Lyla was in heaven. She wore her green St. Patrick's day shirt and socks and refused to nap for most of the day, preferring to take everything in at the Mall. She didn't want to miss a thing!

Unfortunately, this lack of sleep caught up with us that evening at our celebratory dinner for Daddy who completed Boards today. Dinner erupted into a full-fledged breakdown from "Miss Q".

All in all, Lyla's first St. Patrick's Day was a good one, though. The lack of sleep during the day was all worth it in the end and it made for a great night of slumber - for Lyla and Mommy and Daddy!

Lyla & Zoe

Lyla met her good friend Zoe this week. Zoe's mommy, Martina, is one of my best friends so it was very special for us to finally be together. We had slumber party, complete with our favorite Thai and tons of chocolate. We shopped, bought baby dresses and stayed up all night. We think it's particularly funny that the girls are more than 3 months apart (Zoe is almost 7 months), and they wear the same size! Lyla is a very healthy little girl.

We can't wait to do it again!

On the development front, Lyla has decided that she likes her crib. She gets very mad at Mommy & Daddy around 9 every evening if she is not promptly deposited in her new favorite spot with her blanket and beloved sound effects: the simultaneous flow of a waterfall and a simulation of her mommy's heart beat.

Meanwhile, we're scratching our heads trying to remember what we did before we weren't wooing a baby to sleep each night.

Don't worry, it won't take us long.

Hottman Family Update

So this family blog thing isn't going as well as I'd hoped - there just isn't time for anything anymore. Sleep is still a luxury, but we are trying to get more organized so that we are doing a better job of chronicling Lyla's first year.

A brief update: life is going very, very well. Our lives have been completely transformed. Our home is a little dustier, phone calls are harder and harder to return and I'm not as organized as I used to be...but Lyla is the light of my days. I wake up and feel completely blessed with joy that I get to spend the entire day with her.

She is now 3 1/2 months, and I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by. She is a completely different baby than the one who was born back in November. She smiles at everything, is losing her hair, and sleeps unreliably at night. She coos on a regular basis now and seems to have a lot she wants to say - some of my favorite moments are listening to her and her daddy cooing to each other - they have their own little conversations. :)

I'm going to try and do a better job of updating the blog, but I have to find the time somewhere. We'll see how that goes. Who knew how much time a little baby could take in a mommy's life?

Another Sunday Post

I'm trying to post a few things as I come out of my newborn, sleep deprived haze. Every day is a little easier for all 3 of us as we're working on some semblance of a routine.

Today, Lyla suddenly discovered the toy Daddy put in her crib a week ago. I continue to be amazed at how quickly she is growing and changing! We love every single minute!


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Starting to Smile

This is one of the first smiles we managed to capture - New Year's Eve. We're all so excited about the wonders awaiting us as Lyla Q. continues to grow and develop. Happy New Year!!






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