A fun week

After giving into peer pressure I bought Layla her first nice pair of shoes. I had read that babies learn to walk best in bare feet. That shoes are not needed so I was going with that. Every time we were home I took off her socks and she seemed to be doing well. Well Aunt Kuanda and Grammie seemed to think this was terrible and that she needed shoes. Jameson has been wearing shoes for months and they felt Layla needed a good pair of shoes as well. So off to stride right I went and bought her the cutest little shoes. She is a size 3.5 wide which is funny since all of the other shoes I have bought have been average 3, so I guess that is why they are tight. She has been wearing them every day so lets see if it helps her learn to walk.

Layla is done with baby food as of this week. I have been giving her finger food for her meals and she is doing very well. Mandarin oranges are her new favorite as well as cheese. It can get messy which drives me crazy but I am trying to relax and lets her figure it out on her own. I can't feed her forever.

The weather was so nice this weekend so Layla and I headed to the park. She went down the slide and on the swing. She seemed unimpressed with it, because watching the older children was all she wanted to do.

When Mommy and Daddy are away.....

When Granddaddy sends pictures to Mommy of what they have done, he should look at them first...I see all of "Mommy's rules" that are being broken!
I don't remember sending mac and cheese for lunch and Layla isn't to sleep with blankets!!

No pacifier

When Jatovi and I work Layla spends the day with Grannie and Granddaddy. I will never be able to express how thank full I am that they help us. It is nice to be able to leave Layla with someone who loves her so much making me able to relax knowing she is safe.

They seem to have a lot of fun together, however Layla likes to take advantage of their love. She cons them into holding and playing with her all day so she don't have to sleep by herself. I think it is funny that even at this young age she knows who she can get away with things with.

Thank you so much Grannie and Granddaddy for loving our girl so much!

Gram and Grandpa come for a visit

Gram and Grandpa came for the weekend. Since Christmas plans didn't work out they flew down for the weekend. That meant presents, fun and shopping. I just love watching my parents with her, it is a side I don't remember of them. My Mom in down on the ground playing all the time and my Dad loves putting her to bed. It is going to be a couple of months before we see them again, I miss them already!

9 months

Layla is 9 months old today, I just can't believe it. She is growing so fast! This month has been fun and crazy all at the same time. She now longer sits around playing she is on the go...constantly! Layla loves crawling and being independent. Feeding herself, crawling, standing and walking around furniture...she loves it! I couldn't wait for her to crawl but wow it keeps me busy. We have had to take down a lot of Uncle Jeff's glass art, move my book self, and rearrange the sitting room. All just to keep sweet girl safe.

Layla seems to be transitioning away from baby food. She loves feeding herself. I finished the baby food this week I had made and we have some jar food from Gram left. Once the jar food is gone I am not sure she will need it anymore. She is able to pick up all of her own food and most of the time gets it in her mouth! She would prefer to use a spoon as well but that makes for a messy meal.

9 months and 22lbs 93%, 283/4 inches 73% long. The doctor had no concerns over her development and thank fully at 9 months there are no needles!

What I want to remember from this month is what it was like to have a baby that you leave sitting playing and come back later and she is still there!! I am already forgetting how wonderful that was!

Still NO teeth!

What a difference a day can make

Layla woke up ready to take on the world today!

Layla has been crawling for a couple of weeks now...but only about 3-5 steps and then she belly flops down and stops. I am sure this is our fault, she is always in the play area so her toys are right beside her, so she has had no reason too need to move. This morning I was using the spot carpet cleaner across the room from her and that was all it took. She crawled over to it and hasn't stopped! I guess she just need to be curious enough about something to want to move.

After crawling all over the place it was time for her morning nap. She went down as usual, and I went about my routine of starting laundry. I could hear her talking to herself which is common, but she was getting louder and louder. After a few minutes I decided to check on her and she was standing up in her crib! Oh the look on her face, was priceless the biggest smile ever. Layla was been pulling up on everything for awhile now but I guess it had never accrued to her to do it in her crib. Also for the most part she is such a good sleeper (now) that she really just goes to sleep. Well that meant no nap for her, I would lie her down and she would stand right back up. She had so much fun she skipped her morning nap, got up and started to crawl all over again. I guess she was having to much fun with her new skills to bother to sleep. Daddy came home at lunch and lower the bed again....fun over:( It's so low now just her head is above it.

Ok now for the weird part! I had a nightmare last night(which happens all the time). At 0530 I woke up Jatovi and made him check on Layla. I had had a dream that every time I went to get Layla she had stood up in her crib and fell out. One time she broke her arm, another her leg, she had cuts on her head and then finally her neck.

Thankfully she did not fall out but weird I would have that dream and then she starts standing up that day.

Happy New Year!

Just when I thought 2011 couldn't beat 2010....Layla warmed my heart 100times over .

To start with she decided it was time to feed herself. The desire has been there, however the technique was not. But as of today she is able to pick tiny pieces of food up with her thumb and pointer finger( I have only seen her use her left hand so far) and feed herself.

She said "Dada" and "Baba" over and over. So I am sure she doesn't know what she is saying but it is fun to hear. But at bedtime Jatovi walked into her room with her bottle and she reached out for it and said "baba". We both cheered and she looked very confused. So I am sure it was a coincidence, but exciting now the less.

Maybe 2011 will be even better!!

We took Layla to one of her favorite places...the play area (AKA the "Petri Dish") at the mall. She just loves watching other kids, and it is fun to watch her.