A Magic Moment

I had a magic moment yesterday.
Ayla gave me a magic moment of remembering.

As I picked up my sleeping baby girl out of her car seat, she did the 'newborn scrunch'. You know, where they tilt their chin up, pull their knees up to their chest, and stick their bum out.

It used to be one of my favourite things. And that's when I realized that I hadn't even realized that she hadn't done that for several months. I didn't cry, but I felt a tear tug at my heart.

These days are passing so quickly - phases are ending and beginning without me even having time to notice.

How did we go so quickly from this....

....to this?

Slow down time. Slow down.

Brilliant Inventions

baby leg warmers - makes diaper changes such a snap




The Jolly Jumper - great way to occupy baby while you are in the shower


The Baby Safe Feeder - feels good on sore gums AND tastes yummy.



Starbucks drive-thru - BRILLIANT!



The Bumbo - no more bulky high chairs cluttering up the eating area



miracle blanket - genius! (although the same result, we discovered, can be achieved by using 2 recieving blankets)



The Mommy Hook - like having an extra hand when you need it most

Monkey See. Monkey Do.

She comes by it honestly. :)

PsOTW

I took Ayla to get some professional portraits taken this week.
These are the 3 poses that I ordered.

Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Mom

Bleach turns breast milk yellow in the wash.

But the sun can bleach out any (yes, any, stain).

Despite all the promises and claims that you make while you are pregnant, you will occasionally bore people talking about your baby.

A bowl of Cheerios & a handful of peanut M&Ms is a perfectly respectable lunch.

Sometimes "getting ready" consists of applying a second layer of deodorant and putting on clean socks.

It does not matter if you put your daughter in a pink hat, wrap her in a pink blanket, stick her in a pink flowered stroller, and write “GIRL” on her forehead with felt marker — a stranger will still come up and say, “He is so cute.”

You know the amount of diapers you anticipate changing every day?  Double that number.  Then put a zero at the end. That's slightly more accurate.

You can never take too many pictures.

When moms talk to each other about what a great sleeper their baby is/how young their baby was when they started sleeping through the night, we are always lying (or at least embellishing). 

Babies don't need toys. They much prefer granola bar wrappers, sunglasses, Tupperware containers, and old receipts you leave lying around.

On those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, some fresh air and Starbucks has the inexplicable ability to make everything OK.

Messy Face Baby

This is what happens when we let Ayla feed herself.

Sleeping Baby

This is how Ayla now spends her nights & her naps - unswaddled and free as a bird.

Musings

In no particular order, here are some musings from the past week.

We have weaned Ayla off her swaddle. It was easier than I thought it was going to be, but also made for 2 of the most sleepless nights of the past 6 months. She is now a tummy sleeper, and loves it!

I went in to school for the morning yesterday while my mom watched Ayla. When I walked in the door, Ayla's face lit up so bright, she started giggling, and when I picked her up she wrapped her little arms around me so tight. Talk about making my day!!

I was in Starbucks yesterday with Ayla. She was wearing a purple hat with a flower on it and a pink sweater with hearts on it. A lady looked at her and then asked "Is it a girl?" Really??

If Ayla dirties her diaper during her nap, it is immediately apparent upon entering her room. Ahh - gone are the days of odorless newborn diapers.

I never want to forget the way Ayla leans in to give me juicy smooches. All I have to do is make kissing noises at her and she plants a big, wet one right on my lips. They're the best kisses.

Ayla's personality is starting to show through more and more each day. She is a determined (and sometimes stubborn) little girl. We love when she lets us see a little bit of the person that she is going to become.

One of my favourite parts of the day is our pre-nap snuggle time. Right before I put her down for a nap, she gets really snugly and cuddly. She nuzzles her head into the crook of my neck while she reaches up and strokes my cheek or plays with my hair. She's so warm and comfy, that it's hard for me to put her down in her crib (but I eventually do).

I have started using the 'big girl' attachment for the stroller (instead of her car seat) when we go for walks. She loves being in an upright position and watching the world go by.

POTW

Watch out! Naked baby on the loose!

Glamour Shots

I took some glamour shots of Ayla this afternoon after we got home from our walk.

So beautiful.

I'm Golden

I know that I've made mention of it on here before, but I would be lying if I didn't openly admit that Starbucks is a fairly major part of my life right now. (Hey-it's not my fault that we have 3 within walking distance of our house.)

Well.... all those trips to get my java fix over the past 6 months have paid off! I have achieved 'gold level status' as a customer! And I even got my very own personalized, golden, Starbucks card in the mail to prove it!

Congratulations to me??

6 months

Yes, it's true. Yesterday was Ayla's 1/2 birthday!


At 6 months, Ayla:

• can roll from her back to her tummy (she did this for the first time in Mexico)
• can sit unassisted for about 10 seconds(ish)
• 's feet hang over the end of her car seat
• has hair long enough to braid
• weighs 16lbs 8ozs & is 26.5 inches long
• has finally outgrown the newborn diapers, forcing me to purchase some new ones in the next size up (by the way, if anyone is looking for a great place to get cloth diapers check out Gabby's. The diapers are terrific, the prices are good, and they are made in Calgary!)
• wakes up more times in the night than she did when she was 2 weeks old (due to some unresolved gas issues)
• 'scooches' herself along the floor
• delights her mommy & daddy to no end

Ayla posing (& smiling) for her 6 month photo

calendar scrapbook pages

a comparison shot of her 1 month footprint & her 6 month footprint

getting a birthday shoulder ride from daddy

"sleeping in" with daddy

good try Greg... but sleeping in is a thing of the past around here!

Thank You

Yesterday our blog had over 100 hits!

I can scarcely believe that there are that many people out there interested in what I have to say.
(Actually, I have a feeling that it's the pictures of our beautiful darling, not my witty repartee, that's keeps you coming back.)

Thank you, faithful blog readers, for continuing to be intersted and continuing to care. We appreciate it. :)

POTW

life, as we know it

I have been more absent than usual from my blog and, to my very loyal followers (you know who you are), I apologize. You see, I have this enchanting little dolly who is getting busier every day and demanding requiring more of my time. Thus, most days fly by and before I know it, it's 8 o'clock, the house is quiet, and I have a few precious moments of 'me' time to read/take a bath/blog before I also hit the hay. I guess lately reading and bath-taking have been winning out over blogging.

Here is my attempt to rectify that. A 'snapshot', if you will, of our life as we (currently) know it.

Ayla has started eating solid food twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. She is not an eager eater and she does not have a ferocious appetite. Actually, most of the time she has to be coaxed into eating (Greg does a mean airplane which gets her every time). She tends to be more interested in chewing on her bib than anything else. At times, it can take 20+ minutes to feed her 2 Tbsp of food - roughly half of which actually makes it into her tummy. At this point, I'm not pushing it. She still nurses like a champ, and one look at her thighs and it's obvious that she's not starving, so for now we just enjoy the show that she puts on for us. I've also started giving her a sippy cup with water during meal time. She LOVES this, and (if I let her) would happily drink and entire sippy cup full of water instead of eat her delicious pureed pears and mashed up avocado. Go figure.
I have been busily making all kinds of delicious things for her to try. So far I've made butternut squash, pears, carrots, and peas. She's also tried banana and avocado. The pears have been the most well-received, so from now on I plan to mix pears in with everything. Ah-the trickery begins. :)

Ayla can do a pretty good job of sitting up on her own... until she gets excited/reaches for something/hears a loud noise...then the system falls apart. She'll have that one figured out soon. And while she is not yet crawling, I discovered this afternoon that she is becoming mobile. I put her down (on her back) in the middle of her blanket to play. I went into the kitchen for less than 2 minutes and when I came back, I saw this.

Cheeky little monkey.
Guess I have to start being really careful what I leave lying around now. Oh- and we should probably start thinking about doing some baby proofing around here. Bookmark that.

And speaking of babies getting into things that they're not supposed to..... Ayla's favourite thing to play with lately is anything/everything that she's not supposed to. And the more expensive & easily damaged by baby drool, the better (iPhones, remote controls, cameras - you get the point). She's got expensive taste already, this one.

She is so lucky to have a daddy who loves to read her bedtime stories. She listens so nicely and looks so carefully at the colourful pictures. Every once in a while, Greg will sing the story to her. This is an extra special treat!! I love listening to Greg and Ayla having conversations during bathtime while I'm in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. It's one of my favourite things (as is listening to Greg's musical rendition of 'The Crunching, Munching Caterpillar').

There you have it.
Life, as we know it.