Leiyah

Today was my last day on spring break and all I want to do is go back to work tomorrow refreshed, accomplished, and knowing that I spent quality time with Leiyah. I can say that I did more than I expected. I am mentally refreshed to go back to work. Physically refreshed is annother story. Over the break I have brought Leiyah to get tubes, of course with Owen. We played outside, went for walks, painted stuff, and got pictures taken. So I did accomplish some things. Oh, and I cooked an Italian Easter dinner, brought my winter coat to the dry cleaners and got the dog licenses.

Ok, so this post is called pictures for a reason. Here is the story. I made the appointment for 10:30 am so we could get up, get ready and go but have enough time to not stress. So that is what happened. We got up, I washed her hair and fixed pig tails to control the curls, ate breakfast (played with Daddy), took care of the dogs, packed bags and left. She was cranky in the car since she didn’t eat most of her breakfast. I gave her a clean snack and hoped for the best.

We got there right on time so my stress level went down. I got Leiyah dressed in the cutest dress. It is while and has little sewn on polka dots of pastel colors and a pink bow. She wore a little pink sweater and white patten-leather shoes with pink bows in her hair. She was a vision. It was a little hard to get her to smile and not run to me while the wonderful lady at JCPenney Portraits was taking pictures. She kept running out of the room, I had to catch her and start all over again. We rolled eggs, wore ears, blew bubbles, the list goes on. Then we changed into our “cool” outfit. It was a cute layered short denim skirt with a jacket to match with a satin looking shirt underneath. Cute pattern, colorful. Oh, and cute brown shoes with ladybugs on them. The photographer ended up playing peek-a-boo to get her to laugh/smile. I have to say that the pictures are adorable, but I guess I am biased. Anyway, they will be posted as soon as we get them back next week. Oh, I am so excited.

The best part is that I had an awesome coupon, so I didn’t hold back!! Now I just have to go out and get some matching frames. Oh, I just love being a mother. I just realized that I really need to brainstorm before I write one of these again. So after the pictures, we went to the food court and ate chick-fil-a and ice cream. Such a nice day together. So there, I definitely did spend quality time with Leiyah over the break too! Now the countdown begins to the summer!

You never miss something until it’s gone!

Well I mean what did you expect.. she’s only one.. and at least she is interested!

Mommy lion sneak attack!!

So tonight was funny.  Leiyah ate dinner and then we went upstairs to take a bath and get ready for bed.  As always I let her stand at the edge of the tub while the water runs and I take off her clothes.  So I took off her diaper as she walked over to my vanity bench.  I turned to throw the diaper away and yes, she was peeing on the floor.  She did not react in the slight bit, but I couldn’t help but smile.  It was funny.  Of course, seconds after the diaper comes off she pees on the bathroom floor.  Not in the toilet or the tub, but on the floor.  Oh the memories we are making.

Leiyah is one smart cookie!  Today I gave her a snack on her little rug in the kitchen.  She had a small bowl of cheese and milk.  Well, I stepped out of the kitchen and guess what she decided to do… feed the dog.  She held out a piece of cheese and smiled while he licked it out of her hand.  Later she found her cheerios.  I let her have a few and she decided to share with Maximus again!!  At least she knows how to share.  She will even some times hold out food from her highchair for the dogs.  Silly baby!  It is hard to say know when she is just so cute!  She definitely has me wrapped around her finger.

I have to say that my little angel has been a perfect little baby since thew day she was conceived.  She never really cried and if she did, it was for a reason (hungry, tired, wet diaper, gas, or lonely)  I have put her to bed every night with a few exceptions.  We began our routine by breastfeeding and falling asleep during the process.  Then I moved on to feeding her and then rocking her to sleep.  After some reading I figured it was best for her to learn to self soothe and learn to fall asleep on her own.  She learned how to do that very quickly.  I was very impressed and proud.  

Now, I feed her dinner, change her into pajamas, read her a story or two, sing her a couple songs and put her down in her crib.  Almost every night she will roll over and cuddle with her teddy bear and fall asleep for the night.  On the rare occassion she will cry for a little bit and then fall asleep.  On the super rare occasion she will cry and cry until I go in and calm her down and solve the mystery of the crying baby.  I have decided that she probably cries these times due to a tooth coming in.  

Tonight, she fell asleep with about 10 seconds of crying.  She then woke up about 1.5 hours later crying with real tears.  I of course calmed her down and her daddy made her smile while I changed her wet diaper.  I then went to get her to sleep again and it was impossible.  She was fine when I held her and rocked her.  She even played her binky game with me and was laughing.  Then I calmed her and she had her head down.  I put her down, she cried.  I eventually tried to pretend to go to sleep next to her crib, thinking this would give her the hint.  No, she thought it was hilarious.  She laughed and began dropping binkies on my face.  I couldn’t help but laugh.  She is so adorable.  

Long story short (not so much), she is sleeping now.  I sit her finally feeling peace.  I just can’t relax when she is not sleeping peacefully.  I just know her teeth are bothering her and she just needed time for the motrin to work.  I really have to remember to give that to her when I put her to bed at 6.  Anyway, I am going to relax now before I go to bed.  Bed time is still one of my favorite times of the day.  Always has been and always will be!  It is such a nice time to relax, bind, and reflect on the day and look forward to the day to come.  Good night.

It is so wonderful being able to stay home and enjoy watching my baby grow up.  She does something new each and every day.  Within two days of her first birthday she began feeding herself finger foods, walking, playing more independently, brushing her hair, and drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup!  

Today is a little different because she is taking 2 naps.  She woke up early from her first nap because Maximus wanted to scare off the mailwoman.  Silly dog.  So I just put her back up to nap again after our trip to Acme to get milk.  

That bring me to another point.  Organics.  I know I can not afford to give her strictly organic food.  It is unrealistic.  I am in the understanding that organic foods do not have hormones and antibiotics in them and will benefit my baby later in life.  I have decided to buy her organic milk.  I thought that she drinks milk more than she intakes anything else.  This would make the most impact at an affordable price.  

Talking about foods, she does not eat vegetables or fruits now.  When she was eating baby food, it was not a problem.  Now that she is determined to eat finger foods, I cannot get her to eat fruits and veggies.  I have tried sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, potatoes, bananas, apples, strawberries and peaches.  I just cant get her to eat them, once they are in her mouth she takes them out, looks at them and drops them on her tray.  I just don’t know what to do.  I guess just keep trying.

Well, I better clean out my car while she is still sleeping.

• Wake up at 6:30, Mommy feeds me cereal and mommy milk
• Go back to play in my crib
• Play downstairs from 8:30-11
• Eat brunch at 10
• Nap at 11 for about 2 hours
• eat lunch at 1
• play from 1:30-5:30 (and bath)
• dinner at 5:30
• bedtime at 6

Foods:  I love to eat yogurt, cheese, ravioli, meat sticks, ice cream, cheerios, and other snacks.

Play:  I love my push toys, talking to the dogs, dancing, and practicing my walking.

Bedtime: I sit with Mommy and listens to a book or two before my song and cuddling with my teddy bear.