Happy 1st Birthday, Lyla!

On Lyla's birthday, March 19, Mommy and Daddy took her to the zoo! The zoo was "a zoo," as they say... meaning it was super crowded. We found out from a zoo dude that the previous day was a record-setter. I can't imagine it being any more crowded than it was when we were there Thursday. Lyla did really well despite the heat, crowd and being confined to her stroller most of the time. Her favorite part was the aviary - she got to hold a popsicle stick with some seeds on it to feed the smaller birds (parakeets, love birds, doves). It took a little time for some hungry birds to find us, but when they did, our girl was delighted. She was so intent watching the colorful birdies and held perfectly still (mostly) while they ate off her stick.

We also got to see an orangutan showing off to try to win over another zoo patron's orange. She stretched out her open hand as if to say, "Please toss your orange this way." When the lady did not oblige, the orangutan feigned utter sadness by burying her head in her arms and hanging her head sadly. We were cracking up. Lyla stared the whole time... I think she was a little confused by the humanish animalish creature.

When we got home (Lyla crashed in the stroller before we even got to the parking lot), we rested awhile, then helped her open presents from Mommy and Daddy. She caught on pretty quickly, but wanted to play with each gift rather than open them all. We encouraged her to get through them, though, so we could get it on tape... then we taped some playing. She got another Karen Katz flap book, a set of Sesame mini-books, an Elmo puppet, a mailbox shape-sorter, a bubble-blowing hippo and a summer outfit. We went outside to play with the bubbles, which Lyla really enjoyed. She loves to be outside!


The next day was party prep for Mommy, Grandma and Aunt Donna. Lyla had a flower/garden theme. We had to get food ready, decorate cakes, and set up tables/party supplies. Lyla also had her 1-year checkup with Dr. Dickey. Here is the low-down:
She weighed in at a healthy 24 lbs (89%), measured 30.5 inches (88%), and her head was 47.5 cm around (96%).... meaning, she is about the height/weight of a 22-month old and her head is the size of a 3 year old's. It's because her brain is so giant and full of intelligence already!

Saturday, we had all our closest friends and family over to celebrate our daughter's first year. We had a wonderful day - the weather was perfect (although poor Luke couldn't tolerate it for long due to his allergies), the kids had fun painting flower pots, planting daisies in them and breaking (decapitating) the butterfly pinata. They took turns pulling Lyla in the new red wagon Grandma and Grandpap got her. Overall, a good time was had by all and although the big "1" was slightly bittersweet, we made a huge deal out of it and it was totally worth it. Next year, though, Mommy will definitely be scaling down!

See the rest of our birthday pictures at Picasa!

My Milkshake...

Mommy and Daddy have started a diet that allows one cheat day a week. Lyla is a fan of cheat day and she participated today. It turns out, she really likes milkshakes. Are we surprised, though? Not really.




Yesterday, we took our 1-year pictures with Kristina (Visual Empathy). She made a precious little red-velvet cake for Lyla's "cake shots" - we can't wait to see them! We also got some other shots of her playing, reading, laying on the background paper (tee hee) and being her regular, happy lil' self. She did a great job and didn't put up much fuss at all, especially when it was cake time. We stripped her down to diaper only so she could go to town. All in all, she wasn't too messy. At one point, after we knocked the strawberry off the top of the cake, Lyla put it back on top. That must be the Pearson half of her.
We will be sure to post the link to the pictures when they are ready to view.

She has been talking more and more, and recently started to actually use the words she has previously mimicked. For example, today she told our boxer-mix, Maya, "No," when her tail kept wacking her (gently, of course, otherwise Mommy would have intervened). The other day, she picked up my cell phone and held it to her ear while walking around Grandma and Grandpap's house and said, "Heddo?" with the sweetest inflection at the end. I was cracking up!

We have lots of planning to do, still, before her big day this week. Thursday is the real deal, but the big bash won't be until Saturday.