Our Day

We really enjoyed our busy day today.

We started our day at Firestone. After dropping off the car, we went for a walk to Starbucks. Lyla loves the new found sound of her voice, particularly a high pitched squeal accompanied by a big smile and her new found toy, her tongue.

Later we walked to the grocery in our new stroller. It went really well, other than the sun beating down on Lyla. I made her wear her sun bonnet, which she was not terribly happy about, although she's always a good sport about taking a picture or two.

We ended the day with a little rice cereal. Lyla ate more of it than she ever has before and she seemed really happy to do so. I'm interested to see if she sleeps a little longer tonight...

I Love Daddy

We've taken to calling Lyla Lance's "mini me". It's amazing how sometimes I look at her and see a tiny Lance looking back at me.

She lights up the minute he walks into the room. She absolutely loves her daddy:

Let the Packing Begin!

We're busy beginning preparations for our move from Lyla's first home in East Hyde Park, scheduled for May 21, back to the Ville. Mom and Aunt Nancy came today to help us start packing - we've realized that we have a lot more to pack than we originally came here with:

















They also helped with a little babysitting while they were here so that Lance & I could make it to the gym. When we came home, Mom helped with another helping of rice cereal for Lyla Q. Slowly but surely, she's starting to like the stuff! Carrots will be next for Lyla in about two weeks.

Meeting Paula

Today, Lyla and I ventured up to the Outlet Mall between Cincy and Columbus to meet up with my dear friend Paula from my old job in Columbus. We had a great time together shopping and catching up, and Paula was thrilled to get to meet Lyla.

It was a meeting that was a long time coming. :)

Lyla's New Friends

Lyla was excited to meet two new friends last week....she may have been a little too excited, actually. We're learning that she thinks everyone should be able to play, smile, and do a raspberry or two, no matter how small they are.

First, she met her new cousin, Blaire Grace. She is evidently very anxious to begin their friendship and can't understand why her new friend is so sleepy:

For more pictures of Lyla's first meeting with Blaire (and a firsthand account of what she was thinking during these photos), check out Blaire's blog.

And, next, she met her new friend Liam. She's been waiting for Liam for many months. She insisted on hanging out with him on New Year's Eve, even when he was still in his Mom's belly:


















After checking Liam out, she was ready to start playing. Unfortunately, Liam still needs a little time to adjust to the world and isn't quite ready for a playdate with Lyla Quinn. The meeting ultimately resulted in a crying jag from Liam, and he had to be comforted by his Mom.

We are all very excited about Lyla's new buddies. It won't be long until 5 months of difference in age will be nothing at all!

Lyla's New Toy

When I went to get Lyla out of bed this morning, she showed me a new trick she must have learned in the night: sticking out her tongue. There's nothing she enjoys more now that a nice raspberry with lots and lots of bubbles.

And, fortunately, she doesn't discriminate as to who benefits from her latest discovery. At the grocery store today the people in line behind us were highly entertained by her new toy as I worked on unloading groceries. She's such a funny girl!

















Other new developments: Lyla now "dances" when we hold her up to stand on her legs. She especially likes it if Mommy sings a song or two as she performs. :)

A Weekend with the Pokabla's

We're home tonight after a great weekend at the Pokabla's in Pittsburgh. Lyla loved spending time with the girls, and she couldn't take her eyes off Ellie and Zoe - she was mesermized by their every move. In fact, I think tonight she's wondering where they are now that we're home. She had a great time showing off her new hand skills to Zoe, and Ellie enjoyed picking out her PJs each night.

Martina and I were able to get away for a few minutes while the daddy's did some babysitting. Everyone was having a great time when we returned. They were all contentedly watching "W":

Later in the day on Saturday we visited one of the Pittsburgh Inclines and got an amazing view of the city. It was a very chilly day, but it was well worth the effort - we had a great time. Lance & I were really impressed with Pittsburgh - it was much prettier than we ever imagined.

Other big news from the weekend was that Rice Cereal - Attempt #3 was a SUCCESS!! With a little coaching from Aunt Martina and a new spoon, Lyla seemed to actually enjoy it this time and didn't get that look of sheer dread. She kicked her little feet and moved her hands and even talked a little as she ate her cereal this morning. I can hardly wait to do it again tomorrow!

We had a great weekend, and it definitely wore all of us out, even little Lyla who couldn't get enough of Ellie and Zoe. It took her awhile to decide to wake up this morning to join Ellie for her dance party in the Pokabla kitchen. She wanted to hang out a little longer with Daddy:
















I was really sad to leave Martina this morning, but we're all very excited that the Pokabla's are moving to Urbana, Illinois in June, so they'll be closer to us in Louisvlle. In fact, we're already planning trips to meet in the middle in Indianapolis as soon as everyone gets moved and settled.

Thanks for an amazing weekend, Mike, Martina, Ellie & Zoe. We're still full from all the great food! :)

We love you all very, very much and we can't wait to see you all again very soon!!!!

First Family Road Trip

We're off to Pittsburgh today to see our good friends, the Pokabla's. Lyla is especially excited about catching up with Zoe to show her all the new skills she's learned since her visit with Zoe a couple of months ago.

So far, so good. Only one stop since leaving Cincy, and I'm in charge of baby entertainment in the back seat. Our little girl does not just sleep back there!



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Welcome to the World!

Today we welcomed Baby Liam to the world!! We are so excited about his arrival. We are going to Louisville tomorrow to meet him, and we couldn't be more excited that Lyla will be growing up with such a sweet little boy!!



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Family Day

My favorite days are when Lance is off and and the three of us get to spend the entire day together. Today was one of those days. I think Lyla is especially happy when she gets to spend so much time with her Daddy - she smiles the minute she sees him in the morning and looks for him everywhere we go together.

We slept in and then went to the mall together. Lyla loves getting out of her stroller to take in everything going on around her. She took a few small naps, she liked riding around in her sling with me. Today she was so enthralled by her surroundings that she refused to look at the camera when we took this picture of her:

Later in the day we went to the gym where she hung out with Ms. Janet in the nursery. Miss Janet really loves Lyla and enjoys getting her out of her carseat and playing with her while we work out. When we came back to pick Lyla up, she and Ms. Janet were playing with another little baby who was several months older than her. The baby actually started crying when we took Lyla away.

The big news of the day: Lyla's new friend Liam is scheduled to be born on Wednesday via C-section in Louisville. We can't wait to meet him!

When a Sun Bonnet Isn't Enough....

...a girl just needs her sunglasses. Lyla Q. and I went for a walk today and she was in misery with the sun until I put her in her sunbonnet and shades. After that, she smiled, relaxed and took a nap in her stroller. Later in the day, she wore her sunglasses to the grocery. I laughed all the way to Kroger - who wouldn't laugh when you looked in your rearview mirror and saw this:

We'll never leave home without them again.

Lyla's Laugh

Today brought an unexpected gift - the beautiful tinkle of Lyla's laugh. We were cuddling, and I kissed her cheeks and then I kissed her little neck and there it was...the sweet sound of her laugh.

I am amazed at how quickly she's changing, and each day brings something new and wonderful. Today is one of my favorites...I know I'll spend the rest of her first year trying to devise ways to elicit the sweetest sound I've ever heard.

By the way, word is that Jennifer is in labor today with Lyla's new cousin. We're all very excited!

Rolling over!!

Just when I thought I had completed today's post, Lyla Q. rolled over for the first time this afternoon!! She rolled from her back to her belly and seemed determined to make it happen. Here's a picture of her right after she did it:


I am so proud of her!

In other news of the day, we engaged in Rice Cereal Attempt #2 with no success. She cried and looked like she was eating something really bad through the whole thing. I think we're going to give it a couple of weeks and try again.

I think it's going to take some convincing for us both.

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Thankful

Today was another beautiful Spring Day with Lyla Q. I feel so thankful to be her mommy.

She wore her new sun bonnet on our walk this afternoon. Her friend Zoe has a matching bonnet, and Aunt Martina and I are looking forward to them wearing their new hats together in our upcoming road trip to Pittsburgh later this month.
















I think she really liked it:

















And, I learned how much Lyla Q. enjoys being barefoot. I think she gets that from me. :)

Lyla is also working on getting used to her exer-saucer. Today she managed to turn the music on several times all by herself and is getting better and better at it every day. Note that she has one foot on the floor - she's a little too short for it. She definitely gets that from me. :)

Guess who..

...slept 12 hours last night?? I woke up in a panic from an unfamiliar uninterrupted sleepy haze and ran up to check on our girl. She was sleeping away.

Was it the rice cereal? I guess only time will tell.


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Rice Cereal: Attempt #1

After an informative visit today with Lyla's pediatrician, Dr. Garvin, we decided to test the waters with rice cereal tonight. We're not sure how it went, really - in fact, we had to call Aunt Martina in the middle of our attempt because we weren't sure what to think of Lyla's reaction, which looked something like this:


















We're going to keep trying - next attempt will be tomorrow. We made ourselves take a little taste of the stuff ourselves. Suffice to say, we understand her troubled facial expression.

By the way, Lyla weighs 15.4 lbs currently and is in the 75th percentile for growth. She handled her shots today like a pro - a couple of whimpers and then she was fine.

Lyla's First Easter

Lyla's first Easter was a very special weekend for us because we are getting really excited about returning to Louisville.

We went to church with Nan and Grandpa Don, and Lyla got to wear her Easter dress and first pair of new shoes. We all thought she was a vision. :) Lyla spent most of Easter morning in the church nursery, and she was sleeping by the time we came back to get her. She woke up, though, so everyone at church was happy to get to meet her, especially David Emery, the minister who married us almost four years ago.

When we got home, we had a great afternoon with family. Nan and her sisters made an Easter cake for Lyla and Marmie brought her an Easter basket filled with lots of fun stuff including two new outfits! It was good to see everyone, especially a pregnant Jennifer who is three days past her due date with Lyla's next new cousin. We're all very excited!























Happy Easter!

On the Move Again...

Lyla hugs cousin Isabella

It's funny how life works out - Lance and I have been living in Cincinnati now for almost a year, and as we were contemplating what we were going to do about extending or terminating the one year lease on our rental house, a (rare) job opportunity arose for Lance in Louisville.

After not a lot of contemplation, really, we decided we are ready for Lyla to be closer to family and to be back home with many of our life-long friends whom we've missed dearly over the last few years. Lance hasn't lived in Louisville since before medical school, and it's been 5 years for me. Moving back will put us within 45 minutes of my family and in the same city with Lance's.

So, we're planning another move in just a couple of months. Lyla and I will move at the end of May, while Lance stays in Cincinnati to finish his contract with the ER group he's with currently.

I wouldn't trade living in Cincinnati and especially Columbus for the world. I've added to my "life-long friend list", and had amazing professional experiences. I have to admit, though, there's something about knowing that Lyla will really know her cousins and will grow up with our friends' kids that really draws us closer to home.

Interesting how your perspective changes when you have a baby. :)