Tiny Dancer

Patty and I had so much fun playing dress up with Lyla. She looked so adorable in this little outfit. You can see it's getting pretty tight on her. We are having to put her in a different outfit every day this month since she is growing so fast. Lyla's Nino took these pictures before she left. We loved having her here with us and we were all sad when she had to go back to Tennessee!

St. Patrick's Day Card

I try to send photo cards to our family each month. My aunt and uncle (from Shamrock, Tx) gave Lyla this outfit for the big holiday. It is so cute on her, especially with her strawberry hair! We tried to take some pictures outside but I think the sunlight was bother her eyes. So we set up the "Watson Studio" and took a few indoors. We had a hard time getting her to stop playing with the beads long enough to get a good shot. But I guess it turned out pretty well since the Walgreens Manajerk made me sign a photographer copyright release. I love the last shot - like she is waiting on us to hurry it up!

February 2009

Lyla is already four months old. It has gone by so fast! We made it past the first three months without any sickness!!! I was a nervous wreck about RSV and all of the other things little ones can catch. February was an exciting month for our family here in Louisiana. It was the first Mardi Gras for Lyla and me. TJ had been two years ago when he lived in LaPlace. We took her to three different parades and she was a bead magnet! She got some of the prettiest bead and lots of toys. But I think I had a lot more fun than her! I was so excited to see all of the floats and costumes. We mostly stayed clear of the craziness so it was really enjoyable. Patty (TJ's mom) came down to stay with us for a while so that Teej and I could go to some of the bigger parades. We had two dates while she was here. A first since Lyla was born! We still have not left her overnight but being gone all day was hard enough. Mommy will have to work up to the overnights.
Another exciting thing happend - Lyla finally rolled over. She went from her back to her front and then a few days later from her front to her back. She also started sleeping in her crib. She was getting way too big for her swing! I should have just put her in there to begin with but it was just easier to get a good nights sleep with her snug in her swing. Lazy mom! We also started feeding her a little rice cereal. She didn't care for it much at first but then we couldn't get it to her mouth fast enough! She tried to do it herself and would grab your finger to try to hurry you up. She also started making some funny sounds. Her exer-saucer has a lion and cow noise and so she started growling too. It's so funny! Then she started really squealing. Usually only her daddy elicited a squeal but now when she gets excited about other things a squeal will come out. We are having so much fun with her.

January 2009

Most of our fourth month was spent in Texas visiting family. Lyla got to meet her great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles and lots of cousins. She made the rounds at my mom's school and at the mall office. She got to play with her friend Bryn and her cousin Aubrey! She got to go to her first Borger Bulldog Basketball game. She loves sports already! Lyla started really laughing this month, which I love! She has the cutest little froggy laugh. She really is such a happy baby, just as long as she does not get too hungry or too sleepy. She started to a lot more with her hands, grabbing and manipulating anything she could get her hands on. She also started really drooling and trying to roll over. She would roll half way and then stop. Lyla scoots around on her back or will drag the blanket toward her to get what she wants so rolling over has not been a big priority for her. She is a pretty inventive and determined little girl. She is certainly independent and headstrong. I love that about her now but it might be interesting when she becomes a teenager! She missed her daddy a lot while we were gone. She would "talk" to him at night and get so excited to hear his voice. Once he got off the plane she would not let him get out of her sight. I think he missed her just as much. I love seeing them together. It makes the harder day totally worth it.

Christmas Pictures

I took Lyla once again to Portrait Innovation to have her pictures made for Christmas. It was my first solo photo session but it went ok. We had to wait so by the time they got to us Lyla was hungry so we had to feed her first. She is a bear when she gets hungry. Once we got her tummy full she was a great subject! She kept sticking her tongue out and was pretty stingy with the smiles but they were adorable anyway. The best were in the outfit my mom got her in Borger. She really like the feathers! She is the most expressive baby already. I love to see all of the different faces she makes! So much personality in such a little body!

December 2008

December was a busy month for our family. Christmas shopping was impossible with a newborn so it was not as bountiful as years past. This was also the first month I finally felt like I kind of had the hang of the motherhood thing. Lyla started sleeping and eating more on schedule and I got some sleep.

Lyla got to celebrate Christmas twice! She got a Baby Einstein jumper, some Cajun Christmas books, and some smaller toys from Santa. She got a bunch of neat clothes and some great handmade gifts from her Nino and Aunts Teri and Alicia. Her Nana and Grandpa got her a singing stage. That was her favorite gift. She loved looking at herself and at the lights. The songs are pretty catchy and I seem to sing them all of the time. She also got some Leap Frog musical instruments and an aquarium for her crib from the rest of my family. She had a great first Christmas and was very spoiled. We will have to work on that for next year but it was just too much fun to shop for her very first Christmas!

First Photos

Lyla's first photos went really well. She was exactly four weeks old. Mommy was a germ phobe so we mostly stayed away from places with lots of kiddos. I was not sure how she would do but she was a pro. She let us take a ton of pictures and of course I spent way too much. It was too hard to choose. Portrait Innovation in Baton Rouge was a great buy and we got some pretty shots.