2 month visit...

Lyla had her two month doctor's appointment on Friday and all went well. She weighed 9lbs 8.5oz and is 22 inches long. All in all everything looks right on track. We talked with our doctor about vaccinations and have decided to spread them all out over the course of two years. We want her to be vaccinated, I am just not so sure about getting them all at once. After lots of reading and talking with our doctor I feel not vaccinating her would be irresponsible as parents in this day and age. We started off with just two this past visit and will do another in four weeks. I feel really good about this. It would devastate me if she contracted an illness that was preventable through vaccination and I hadn't done anything but this way also allows me to see how her little body handles the various vaccines over time. It seems to be a win win for us.

Lyla is quite the little sleeper these days. We usually feed her and rock her to sleep between eleven and midnight and then but her down in the bassinet which is still in our room. She sleeps until 7am almost every night which is wonderful. Continious sleep should never be taken for granted. She takes two to three naps during the day but she still in not on a schedule for that. It is pretty much whenever she wants. We are going to be moving her to her own room in the next week or so. Not sure how that is going to go considering she has only taken one nap in her crib. Who knows though, it may be an easier transition than we think. With her sleeping through the night though there really is no reason for her to be in our room other than it's nice to wake up and see her right away. It will seem a little weird to have her in her own room. It is literally right next door to our room- we share a wall but it seems miles away when I think about it. I don't want to be the limiting factor in her success of moving rooms though, so I will have to know that she will be fine and she can always come back for a visit every now and again.

A secret society?

I have noticed that people in general seem to be way nicer and more chatty with me now that I have a child. Same thing happened when I got married. Very interesting I think. When I got married people could now have "husband talk" with me... "Oh my husband does this and my husband does that", yah, yah, yah. It gave us a common ground I guess. No one wanted to hear what my boyfriend was doing but my husband on the other hand, HE was interesting. Same thing with Lyla. Everyone wants to know how I slept, what she weighs, how her diapers are... when I say everyone, I don't just mean the obvious like grandparents, I mean the checker at the grocery and the sample lady at Costco. It is kind of crazy and funny at the same time. I am starting to wonder if my membership card just got lost in the mail or something because I know for sure I just joined a new secret club of some kind.

Starting to blossom

Miss Lyla was seven weeks old this past Monday and she is really starting to become her own little lady. She smiles at anything and everything and seems super excited about the smallest things. Her little legs start kicking and her hands start waving and she starts jabbering a mile a minute. I think she is gonna have a lot of thoughts about a lot of things. We got her this great tummy time mat for the floor last week. We call it Farmtown. She will lay in there for quite some time and just smile and wave those arms. It is pretty fun that she is starting to play. Way more fun than before. I mean she was cute and all when she was 3 weeks old, but she didn't do much. Now the fun is beginning. I often find Matt practically in Farmtown with Lyla just playing and talking about what all the animals are doing.

Watching Lyla grow is pretty cool. It's fun to know that we are actually managing being parents. I didn't doubt that we could do it, but I just wasn't sure how it was all going to shake down. She seems to be a happy, healthy, growing baby and that's a good feeling. We still have a ways to go. Our outings with her still need a little work. It's kind of like your grandma giving you her most prized crystal vase that she received for her grandma and then you have to go grocery shopping with it... only way more stressful cause she might wake up. High alert all the time and the days of "lets just run in and have a look" are done for now. We go in, get what we want and leave. It has really hampered my need to shop for the best deal. Lyla isn't concerned about best deals right now, so I can't be either at this point. We will get better for sure but right now it is Matt, Lyla and I verses the world in every store we go in. It's game time every time we shop.

Alice Mae Martha Birds Ovenell

Born May 3, 2007 on a farm in George, Washington. Hence the middle name of Martha. She wanted to pay homage to her roots. Her puppy mama was only a year old. She is full blooded Great Dane, her parents were both farm dogs. I found her for free on the internet. We got her at 8 weeks old and I promptly fell in love with this sweet little girl. Some animals have the fast lane to your heart, and this one had me at hello. She is full of spirit but the kindest girl ever. She loves to be chased, but hates to chase. She acts as though she has far better things to do. She loves her Charlie brother far more than he loves her. She loves to snuggle but only on her terms. She hangs her head out the car window on drives with her giant ears flapping in the wind. The personification of this dog amuses me for hours. You see, if Alice COULD talk, she would be a talker with an answer for everything. She is a curious girl that watches everything as though it is the most interesting thing she has ever seen. She is not forward about it though. However, if she wants to be patted she will nudge your hand until to give in and then act as though it was your idea to begin with. She loves toys and often takes them to bed with her. She sleeps on the couch almost all day by choice. She never bites and has the fiercest bark, yet nothing to back it up with. She is scared of most things. On the fourth Tuesday of alternating months she will let you pat her ears. Alice approaches life with gusto- she is gentle and sweet and loves love. She has a huge heart that is full of excitement.

The house is warm...

This past Saturday we had a housewarming party. It was really nice for a couple of reasons. The mortgage company that we used threw the party for us and thus provided a caterer for the event. This is so not our style, but I am now sold. I love to cook and I would give away all the furniture in our living room to be able to make lovely appetizers and display them on fancy dishes. I am not even sure I would eat many of the treats, I would just mostly look at them in admiration. The time required for this however is through the roof and somehow seems to be diminishing quickly in my life. Having a caterer arrive and set the food out in a fancy manner seemed to satisfy my desire to have nice food at an event, thus I am sold. This little get together was also nice because it was really the first time we have been really social since Lyla was born. It was nice to have a glass of wine with friends and relax. Much needed. I do love that we now have a home to entertain in. I mean, we have always had a home, but I seem to open the door with a little more pride these days. This house signifies a lot of hard work for Matt and I and a shift in our life. We are proud of that. To be able to share that with friends and family is really rewarding. I've already got a fun summer party in the works that has me dreaming of warm summer nights, croquet tournaments, BBQ cook-offs and fires outside.

Our new babysitter...

A new school of thought...

Once I make my mind up to do something, I often commit fully and don't look back. This is a plus and a minus. I often don't let myself consider other options. Having a child is causing me to face this head on. No, not is major ways, but little ways that I feel are preparing me for bigger moments in life still to come. I never wanted to give my child a pacifier (Matt has renamed it a giblet). It seemed like a way to prevent a child from expressing themselves. I always saw it as a something parents gave their kids so that they didn't have to deal with the situation. Turns out babies have this crazy urge to suck and a giblet is a miracle in getting them to fall asleep. Also turns out that bad habits really can't be formed in the first few months. We just have to make sure it doesn't become a crutch for us. I am a convert. The giblet is with us everywhere we go... but only for another month or so. It's days are numbered.

Breastfeeding is something that I have always said I would do. I mean, I was always under the impression that it is the "right" thing to do. Everyone always says, "Your breastfeeding...right?", as though there were other options, but the devil himself had hatched the ideas. Make no mistake, breastfeeding is a lot of work. I can be very matter of fact and it was driving me crazy not knowing the exact amount of milk she was drinking. I spent more hours than I would like to admit wondering if she had enough or if I was starving the poor little darling. Every time she cried, I thought she was hungry- it was driving me mad. I have personally found a happy medium for myself. I am pumping all of my milk so that Matt can give bottles too. This also satisfies my desire to know exactly how much she is eating. I want her to have breast milk, I just never felt this deep connection when I was actually breastfeeding Lyla. It wasn't the beautiful experience I imagined in my head. We find many other ways to bond during the day. This option has also allowed Matt to play a very active role in her care as well as creating moments for them to bond. Lyla doesn't see me as just a meal option. This shift in thinking for me has been a bit of a struggle at times, but I am finally at peace with it because it works for us and Lyla is happy and thriving. I am QUICKLY learning that there is not a right or wrong way to do so many things in parenting. It can be a struggle though, there is a lot of advice and information out there that has me wondering if I am making the right decision sometimes. I am really trying to embrace the concept of doing what feels right for our family and not seeking advice on every topic. We are learning.

Speaking of learning, my current topic of study you ask? Vaccinations. Lyla has her two month check-up on January 29th (my half-birthday...I can't wait) and we will be faced with deciding what to do. The list of prescribed vaccines to give at this appointment is longer that most grocery shopping lists I have. It's a struggle. We have to make a decision that feels 100% right for us. I want to make an educated decision that I can fully stand behind- no "what if" moments and no "should have" moments. I constantly have to remind myself that I am only making a decision for Lyla, not the masses. Wow... I wish I could turn my brain off sometimes. Enough about this topic... we have until the 29th. I used to just flip a quarter to make decisions, it seems a little inappropriate anymore. I guess that's a good thing.