Anniversary!!

Yesterday Nate and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary together! We had a lovely day. For lunch, we decided to splurge and try the new Five Guys Burgers and Fries place in Midvale. The burgers were sooooo yummy, and the fries were to die for! It is definitely reminiscent of In n' Out Burger, and I think we will definitely go again! On Saturday night, Nate's parents came over to sit with Lyla while we went to Cafe Trio for dinner. It was nice to get out alone, even though the restaurant was totally dead! The food was GREAT, and it was even better that I just put Lyla to bed before we left so I didn't have to worry---or be so paranoid about getting home to nurse!

A note to my Nathan--Happy Anniversary again, and I love you so much!

Our new goal for year 4 of marriage--have TONS of fun with Lyla, and go out twice per month ALONE!!!

Fun in the Sun!

This afternoon Lyla and I went for a little dip in the pool before her afternoon nap. It was so relaxing, and Lyla was being so sweet in her little buggy. I have to work really hard to keep her out of the sun...she's fair like her mama!

Sleep Update!

Well, the last 3 nights haven't been bad at all! Lyla went down last night after less than 30 seconds of whining/crying. I couldn't believe it. She slept completely through the night without a peep, and woke up happy at 7 a.m.--which is still really early for her. Yesterday Nate and I tried laying her down awake for a nap. She alternated between playing and whining for an hour and a half, but then slept for 2 hours. I was so proud! When she got too rowdy we had to go into her room and say "Lyla, it's night night time. I love you, now go to sleep!" I figured napping would be harder since I can't make her room very dark, and she's considerably less tired than at night.

Today I knew she'd be ready for a nap earlier than normal, so I nursed her at about 9:15, and she went down without a peep and slept until 11:30. It was awesome, but I knew she was really tired, and it was pretty easy to lay her down. The real test came when I knew she needed another nap at 2. She wasn't as tired, but was dozing off while she nursed, so I laid her in the crib. As expected, she alternated between crying and playing for an hour, and eventually fell asleep at 3. The good news is she woke up at 5:15!!! I am so happy that I have finally buckled down and tried to get her into some better sleep habits! Tonight we are watching Dallin at Andy and Ashley's, so I hope she does okay in a Pack n' Play. Now if only I could get her to bed by 8---not a chance tonight since she slept until 5:15. Oh well! Most of this is probably boring, but I figure it will be good to look back and read about all this when she is a bit older, or when I have another baby.

My brothers and sisters visited from Wyoming yesterday, and it was great to see them. I will post pictures later, but they are HUGE! I hate living so far away from them, but I cherish them even more when they are here.

Lots to Say!

It's 6:30 in the morning, and I just got Lyla back down to sleep. The last 2 nights Nate and I have tried letting her "cry it out" to go to sleep. Lyla has started waking up 2-3 times per night since about 9 1/2 months, and the doctor told us she would probably continue to do so if we let her. I have been dreading this moment for so long, because I could never stand to make my baby cry! So on Friday night, I nursed Lyla, and she of course fell asleep. I decided that if she woke up, I would not pick her up. About 30 minutes after I put her down, she was crying, so I went into her room and told her I loved her, gave her the blanket and walked out. She was so mad, and ended up crying for 50 minutes!!! I was so sad! I had to shower and basically lock myself in my room so I couldn't hear her! When Nate came in and told me she was sleeping I had to go check on her--and when I did I realized she had pooped her pants!! I couldn't let her sleep like that all night, so I did my best to sneak in and change her diaper. Luckily she went right back down!!

Last night I nursed Lyla and tried not to let her fall asleep--a very hard task for a baby who loves to nurse at night. She did end up falling asleep, but I woke her before laying her in her crib. Boy, she didn't like that. I was really nervous about how long she would cry, but she only cried for SEVEN MINUTES! I thought it was a total fluke--we went swimming yesterday, and she was really tired and a little sunburned! She slept through the night again, and woke at 6:15. I thought she might be pretty hungry, so I just nursed her and laid her back down. I hope my good luck continues tonight, and then we can move on to naps!! In a way, I wish I had done this months ago, but in all honesty, I am so glad I have had the time to hold Lyla and rock her to sleep. I know I will never have that again, and I have truly loved it.

On another note, Lyla had her 10 month checkup on Thursday. Here are the stats:

Weight: 20 lb. 4 oz. and 70th percentile for weight
--I was concerned that she dropped a percentile, but the doctor said that is totally normal since she has been crawling/standing since about 8 months. She's still a big girl!

Height: about 30 inches and about 90-93rd percentile for height
--they had a really hard time getting her height because she would NOT hold still! My baby is one tall chica!

I am weird because I totally love to go to the doctor. I am always wondering if she's gaining enough weight, if I am feeding her enough, etc. I am definitely too paranoid, and the doctor reassures me for a little while!

Finally, I want to say Happy Fathers Day to my lovely husband. He is such a great dad and husband. No one has more laughs than we do, and Lyla just adores you. Thank you for giving me such a sweet and beautiful daughter! Enjoy your day! I love you!

Mom's gettin' crafty, sort of.

Since my child decided to only nap for 30 minutes today...I got a crazy idea! She has started to chew on her crib rail, and I have been so afraid she is going to ruin her beautiful crib!! I have searched countless websites and Babies R Us, but no one seems to make a crib rail guard for a convertible crib---yet all the new cribs ARE convertible. Anyway, I sort of rigged her crib with some ribbon and receiving blankets she has long outgrown. I haven't tried it out yet, but hopefully it works!! Lyla is pretty crafty, but maybe she won't mess with this too much.

On Saturday, we went to the zoo for a special night time zoo event. Ashley got us tickets to the Hogle Zoo "Dream Night," so we got some free food and a chance to ride the train (so lame, in case you were wondering). Lyla LOVED the train, and jabbered and waved the whole time. Here are some cute pics from the evening!

This is Lyla on the train...mid-sentence

Lyla and dad...he's SO HOT!

Lyla with a lazy eye...but still so cute

Lyla has also developed a talent for destroying the house. Her new hobby entails taking every book off of my book shelf and throwing them around. She does the same thing with laundry, magazines, and picture frames. Insane!

Sometimes Sepia

After a fairly mellow weekend, I decided I should put up a bunch of really cute pictures. This will probably end up being one of my longest posts, but at least I won't be rambling. Enjoy! I'll explain as I go:

She's just plain cute here---bed head!

Nathan is so crazy, but that's precisely why I married him!


Doing what we do best....acting totally weird.

Lyla's new face...she thinks it's funny, and so do I!

Perhaps one of my favorites. Lyla got up before 7 a.m Friday morning, so I decided to have a photo shoot. We both have bed head in this one!

Lyla HATES the grass, can you tell? :)

Her eyes have stayed blue! I love them!

Lyla loves all books...she turns the pages really fast! I will let you know how this one turns out--I am reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer...such a guilty pleasure!

Just a cute smile...she's my favorite moo.

My favorite nephew, who loves to give me back rubs! His favorite new phrase is "hey hottie!" He must be talking about his fine self....love that kid!