Wonderful people who make this blog worth updating

Friday, November 21, 2008

Walking take 2

Here is another of Layla walking. She actually takes 3 steps in this one.

Little walker

Layla is just really starting to walk. She can usually take about 3-5 steps without falling now. She also learned to go down the stairs on her butt. I tried to load these videos earlier, so hopefully they'll work now.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Layla's Birthday







I haven't been posting regularly, so we have a lot to catch up on. Layla is now over 1 year old! Its so hard to believe. She enjoyed her birthday and the party. Since the husband and I had cheesecake for our wedding, we decided that this is our family tradition. I made mini cheesecakes, regular cheesecakes, pumpkin, cherry, and apple pies. Layla was so cute when she was eating the cheesecake. She also got some nice presents.






Saturday, October 11, 2008

Angelina Jolie Poses Breastfeeding

While I am not an avid follower of celebrity culture, I am a big supporter of breastfeeding, whether in public or private. So when I read that Angelina Jolie would be on the cover of W Magazine posing while breastfeeding, I thought it was great.

Link to full article:

"Jolie appears on the cover of the W's November issue in a sleeveless top, which has been opened to reveal part of her left breast and a tiny hand ostensibly belonging to one of her twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in July.
The black-and-white photo shows Jolie smiling, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder. The cover headline promises exclusive "private photos" of the 33-year-old actress by her partner Brad Pitt."

I can't wait to see how the cover was done when it comes out.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The flowers are blooming!




Check these out:

The most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. They were sent to me by the one I love most in the whole world. I hope they last awhile.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

My little carnivore



My dad's new favorite thing to do with Layla? He likes to give her a big piece of steak and just let her chew on it for awhile. The funny thing is, she really likes it. Sometimes it keeps her busy for a half hour or so. She is also starting to get her canine teeth now, so that might be another reason that chewing brings her so much joy.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I have the sweetest husband ever!






This morning just as I was getting Layla out of the bath, I noticed a Fed Ex truck near the house. I didn't think anything of it, because I hadn't ordered anything recently. Then the doorbell rang.
Upon seeing the box, I realized that someone (my sweetheart) had sent me flowers. They're the coolest flowers too. The blooms come fresh and unopened, so you get to see them open up in the next few days.
With the flowers there was a note, and a cute cuddly teddy bear (maybe for Layla).

I am feeling really loved today. He must have sent them for our "other" anniversary. It has been 5 years since I met the wonderful man who is Layla's dad and my husband. I am so glad I gave him that first chance.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Stairs!





Walking isn't too far off for my little one. She has been trying to learn how to climb the stairs for months. For some reason she just couldn't figure out how to pick up her knee to the next step. She finally figured it out this last week. Once she got to the top once, it didn't take her long to figure out how to do it fast. We'll see if she gets to walking before her birthday on Oct. 14th.
Yes, she is actually falling in one of these pics.



Somehow I managed to get the shot and then catch her at the bottom, although she did bump her head on my leg. You can see a slight red spot in the last pic.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Layla clicking her tongue

Layla is getting to the stage where she likes to copy people. She knows how to clap and wave, but I never thought she would be able to imtate people clicking their tongue. She does it, and you can actually hear it. She was doing it in the car today on our way to the mall.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Tainted Chinese Formula!

Don't freak out just yet...This formula was not widely imported into the U.S., however it just demonstrates yet again how formula feeding will never be as safe and nutritious as breastfeeding is. Here is the link from CNN.
The formula was tainted with Melamine. This is the same chemical in the pet food that was recalled last year. I am so glad that I never had to even remotely consider feeding formula to Layla. Formula ingredients are specifically chosen so that the formulation can as closely resemble human milk as our knowledge allows. However, new compounds are being discovered in human milk all the time. Plus, formula is a processed food make in a factory in massive quantities. Thus, it can never be the same as human milk, which changes from day to day in response to a baby's own nutritional needs. After researching the topic extensively, I would only feed formula as a truly last resort.

New shoes!



Its hard to believe that fall is here already. The temperature and weather changed rather abruptly and I got in the mood to get ready for winter. Layla got some new boots by Robeez. They are soft and stretchy, and she doesn't pull them off her feet. These boots are better than stiff ones because they don't hinder natural development of the foot bones as a baby learns to walk. She also got a snowsuit with a bear on the front, keeping with her moniker, Layla bear.

I also found a sweatsuit with a little bear on the front embroidered with the word, bear. I'll try to get a picture of her wearing that one later.

Today we are going to see my grandparents and get some tomatoes from the garden. At the rate things are going, we might see frost in the next couple weeks. I am planning to make a homemade pasta sauce with all the tomatoes.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Lava Lamp nightlight

My dad had the greatest idea ever. Layla seems to be developing a fear of the dark, but the night light I tried was too bright and just encouraged her to wake up more. Since we have a couple lava lamps in the house, he suggested to use one of those as it would give her something to look at.
It really seems to work!

She screams when I first put her down, but then calms herself down right away. I think she must look at the lamp, then just zone out and go to sleep.
At this rate she'll be sleeping through the night any day. (I can hope right?)

In other news, the wisdom teeth are healing nicely, I can eat some normal food just as long as its not crunchy or has sharp edges. I am also only taking ibuprofen at night. During the day it's easy to keep myself distracted from the dull ache in my mouth.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Layla is bored


Layla is bored because her mommy had her wisdom teeth taken out today. I am good for nothing other than lying on the floor and playing with a few toys. I'm not in the mood to talk, and I'm surely not in the mood for crying. Good thing my little princess has actually been a princess today. I took some old clothes upstairs today and came across the bear suit. I miss her little cuddly bear days.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Door to door salesman


So Layla and I were sitting outside after just getting back from a short walk when I noticed a strange car very slowly driving down the block. There was a young man driving this older model light blue Corolla. I watched as he came back up the street and parked in front of my neighbor's house, all while I was on the phone with Amanda. My neighbor had just been outside with her two grandkids, but wisely decided to go back inside as this guy slowly made his way back up the street.

He walked up to their house with some sort of book in hand, but alas, they did not open the door. I rightly figured that I would be his next prey. Quite humorously, he moved his car less than the length of one house so it is closer to my driveway. Next this guy walkd up as I'm on the phone, and just as he was about to speak I interrupted him, "So are you trying to sell me something?" He sort of mumbled no, introduced himself as a university student Jack (pronounced Yaak) from Estonia, which is also embroidered on his shirt. He says in a very generic European accent ( I think it was fake) that he has been meeting all the "cool kids and cool parents in the neighborhood" and proceeds to even drop some names, asking me if I know the people. I reply that I don't know them because I don't actually live here, I'm just visiting with my parents. So anyway, he continued and said that he would like to introduce me to some educational materials that he is marketing. I cut him off and say "It was nice to meet you Yaak, but I need to get back to my phone call, so maybe you can tell me another time." He walked off without another word.


I am not a fan of people marketing products door to door. They try to unfarily take advantage of people home with young children. They will talk to you for half an hour, then you will buy something out of guilt for wasting their time. Don't take the bait! If these people have any intelligence, they are paid by the hour anyway.


By the way, Layla is also feeling better today. She only had to take her Tylenol 2x all day!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

She's sick...


So it wasn't just teething after all. Layla's fever got higher yesterday afternoon, so I decided to take her in and have it checked out. She just has a sore throat, and one of her ears looked a little red inside. As much as I'm not a fan of antibiotics, she is on Amoxacillin as well as Motrin and Tylenol. Whenever the medicine wears off, her fever spikes again. The highest she's gotten was 102.4. We're just taking it easy today, trying to get her to sleep as much as possible. We'll also work on getting her back to normal with a probiotic once she finished the antibiotics course. She even wanted so sleep laying on my chest last night, which she hasn't done in months.

Pray for our sick Layla.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Teething again


Layla has had 6 teeth now since she was 6 mos. old. Now she seems to be getting ready to pop some more. She is chewing on everything she can get her hands on, suddenly has less interest in eating, and has had a low fever for the last day. We've just been taking it easy today because I can tell she doesn't feel the greatest. I'm just focusing on making sure she gets enough sleep and fluids. I just hope that she doesn't get 6 teeth at once like she did last time.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A small step

Today I must have done something right. Layla took a nap without hardly crying. I nursed her, laid her down in the crib half asleep and walked away. From distance I observed her as she got up, stood up in the crib, fussed a little bit, then was quiet. A few minutes later I walked over and noticed that she was asleep on the opposite end of the crib from where I had laid her. She slept a little over an hour and woke up in a fairly good mood. Maybe I'm on to something.

Worst sleeper award


So I'm sitting here feeling drowsy yet again. I thought that a baby's sleep is supposed to get more consistent over time, but I've been proven wrong.
When Layla was little, she would sleep on her tummy. It worked best if I would lay her down, and immediately walk away. She slept more easily if she couldn't see anyone near her.

More recently, she liked to sleep on her back, but I would have to stay with her until she was completely asleep. It took awhile some days and was very frustrating.

Now she has changed again. She used to almost never fall asleep nursing. Now she has to fall asleep nursing and lay on her back. She also wakes up way too easily.

What's a mother to do?

Monday, August 4, 2008

Adventures in little sleep...

Are there any other moms out there with older babies who won't sleep well? Layla has never slept through the night yet and she is 9 mos old. I have tried multiple methods. Filling her up with cereal or other food doesn't work. Staying with her until she is sound asleep doesn't work. Putting her down when she is just drowsy doesn't work. Putting her to bed later definitely doesn't work.
I am basically out of options and glad that I don't have to work at this point in time.
Living with a difficult baby is difficult, but I try to love every minute of it.