Happy Spring!!

My good friend Martina told me that she read that when a baby is working up to a developmental milestone she's a bit cranky and fussy beforehand. That would definitely describe our little girl over the last few days. She hasn't quite been herself - she's been a little frustrated and much quieter. We also suspect that she's teething - she loves cold teething toys and immediately sticks them in her mouth (along with anything else she can grab).

Today she was a little more herself, thankfully. We had a good day. She is really working on rolling over and this is how I found her in her crib this morning:

We're waiting for it - she's going to be on the move soon.

Later today, we went for a family walk down to the shops in East Hyde Park. Lyla seemed to enjoy "riding" along with Daddy, but she is still a bit frustrated by the sun.
















So, when we got home I dug out the sunglasses Auntie Tevan bought her. They're just perfect. We're all really looking forward to the warmer weather.

















Happy Spring!

Look What I found!!

Last night, at about 3 a.m., Lyla Q. made a wonderful re-discovery: her feet! We haven't seen her play with them since her last ultrasound! She's still delighted with them this morning!


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Sweet 17 Weeks

Seventeen weeks is proving to be a really fun time in the life of Lyla Q. Her personality is emerging more and more each day. Tummy time is less grueling - she no longer cries when we plop her on her belly. Now she looks around, smiles and moves her feet. I don't think it will be long before she's taking off on her own. Lance says we'll never be able to stop her once she starts moving!

In other developmental news, Lyla is grabbing anything she can get her little hands on - she particularly loves her mommy and daddy's noses and mouths. She's so excited that she can hold a rattler and continually make noise with it. Sadly, she continues to lose her sweet baby hair, but there is a cute little layer growing up beneath her comb-over. We're wondering if it's going to be curly....

She also seems to be quite the social butterfly. She went to the gym with me today, and when I picked her up from the nursery I saw her little pink feet moving around in her carseat before I saw her. She was surrounded by the older kids. Apparently, the other kids spent their morning entertaining Lyla Q., who was in heaven. She was laughing and talking the whole time, and I think the kids were disappointed when I took her home.

Lyla's New Easy Chair

Lyla was most excited last week when her new chair arrived in the mail. She loves playing in it with her toys and new found grasping/grabbing skills. She can entertain herself for longer and longer these days.

A Walk Outside - Spring is Here!!

Today we took our first walk down to East Hyde Park with Auntie Leah. It was so nice to pull the stroller out and to get out in the sunshine with Lyla. Mercifully, Spring has finally arrived!!

Our dear cousin and good friend Leah accompanied us for the walk. Lyla absolutely adores Leah and is transfixed by her when she tells us one of her many entertaining stories. She hates napping when Auntie Leah is around - I think she's afraid she'll miss something.

Of course, our walk included the local Starbucks for the new cherry mocha on ice and we checked out one of Cincinnati's best consignment shops, the Snooty Fox. Lyla fell asleep somewhere between the house and Starbucks. She loved the ride!

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?