My Mama's-Girl!

Hi all!

I do realize it's been even longer since my last post than any other posts on our old website... and that I promised I'd be better about it now that we have a blog instead of a site to keep up with. But... what can I say? Life happens. We are busy people. So busy, in fact, that we actually got house-cleaning quotes from a few different maid services. And we quickly decided it was okay for our house to be just a little dirty... even if it makes me more than just a little nutso.

Our little girl is almost a year old. She is going to hit 11 months this Thursday and we just can't believe how fast it has gone by. I find myself overcome with emotion thinking about it, and slightly anxious that I don't feel like I've kept up with stashing and preserving memorabilia quite as much as I'd like. It's very difficult to find time these days! When I look back at old photos or video clips, I get nostalgic, but also sad that I don't think I could have pulled those memories from my own brain bank without the assistance of the physical images. So I guess I should just be grateful for the time I have had to record so many wonderful moments from my daughter's first year.

Lyla has been walking like a pro for a while, now, but she has recently started to pick up some speed. She plays chase with Grandma around her kitchen island. They both sneak up on each other and yell, "Hachaaa!" with a growly little voice. She has turned into a little copy-cat; she will try to comb her hair if she sees me do it, same with brushing her teeth or patting her tummy. At times she mimicks noises we make or words we speak... which has brought about her actual first word: "Mama!"

It's funny that there is no distinctive moment in which your child says her first word. You don't hear her and then rejoice. No... there is a set of criteria. Or at least for me, there is. She has been able to babble "ma, ma, ma" for many months, but to have her repeat it on command AND know what it means... well THAT'S a first word. And how do I know that she understands the meaning? Well... if Daddy asks her where Mama is, she looks in my direction. Good 'nuff for me! In the same day, she blurted out Dada, though she typically just whispers his name, for some reason. And since that day, we have also heard "bye-bye," "no," "uh-oh," and something resembling "okay." Sometimes she will fill in an "ooo" to attempt "go" when you give her "ready, set... ___." We are just beside ourselves!


We have also been occupying a lot of our time lately with trying to "sleep train" Lyla. It's a ridiculous term, I agree, but basically it means we are trying to teach her to go to sleep on her own, without needing me to nurse her to sleep or needing to snuggle in our bed and be transferred to her crib, only to wake up confused a few hours later and need to come back to bed with us. You can see, certainly, why this has been a problem. Well, sleep training involves letting her cry quite a bit, so it's been a tough lesson for all three of us. We found that immediately, despite the means to get her to do it, if she falls asleep in her crib, she will pretty much sleep there all night with no complaints. So, the quality of her sleep would appear to be better. So that's good.

I'll be sure to keep you posted as we continue to zoom along... milestones around every corner!

--Emily