Lyla turns ONE!!!

I know that every mom says..."I can't believe my child is one (or any age for that fact)", but honestly I sometimes still can't believe I have two kids!  So, the fact that Lyla is ONE, just baffles me!  I wonder if I cherished every moment and all the wonderful milestones that she reached in her last year.  I also worry about the "second child syndrome".  I had been using some of Cade's leftover labels for cups and bottles on Lyla's stuff and realized the deserved her own!  There are many other hand me downs that she has used and will have to use the rest of her life, but at least her cups say her name on it and not Cade's.  It's the little things right??

Ryan and I try to have traditions on birthdays that aren't elaborate, but something fun we can do every year.  I'm sure we'll add or take away as they get older, but it's fun to start traditions.  Ryan's mom always made him homemade breakfast on his birthday (which BTW I still carry on) then his dad would take him around Austin to do fun things (movies, golf, etc.).  They try to still do that when time permits.  Ryan has great memories because of this so I we are going to try to keep the same up for our kids!

Since Lyla was only turning one and Ryan had to work on her birthday we didn't do a lot, but I did make a fun breakfast.

Here's some traditions that we have started:

-The Birthday wreath got hung during the month of August.  Cade somehow broke the wreath into 4 pieces a few weeks ago, so it will have to be fixed, but I have until February to figure it out!

-Both Ryan and I woke up Lyla and sang to her.

-We hung balloons outside her bedroom door.

-Special breakfast.  As they kids get older I'll let them pick what they want!  Can't wait for that.

Pumpkin Pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries!

 Time for Presents!!!

I made her a little Owl Purse since she always wants to play with mine.

We gave her a little tea set that sings and makes tea noises.  This is what my face looks like when I have a British accent.

Too much tea!

Cade asking Ryan if he'd like some tea!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!!!  You have such a personality and I can't wait to see what you become.  With your social skills it will be wonderful to see how many people's lives you touch.  

Lyla 9 Months

Lyla 9 Months!

You are such a joy!  I love how excited you get over the simplest things.  

You can sign the word "more" and you can clap your hands.  You stand up by yourself without pulling up on anything and you've started to use a walker to walk around.  Cade thinks that is so funny watching you walk around. He cheers you on!  You also like to shake your "booty" when you hear music.  You do alot of bear crawling around the house.  You are so quick....sometimes too quick and fall on your face.  Daddy likes to all you little bit and I call you squirmy wormy!  You are so quick.  Cade calls you Lyla (with his tongue handing out of his mouth)

You like to drink out of a sippy cup now..just like brother.

Such a big girl standing by yourself.

so pretty!!!

You can give your brother a run for his money when it comes to being messy!

Getting ready to swim!

Memorial day party!

I have got to get Ryan to take more pictures of me with my little ones!  These are precious.

Cade at 9 months!!

Lyla at 9 months!

You keep your tongue out of your mouth just like Cade did and still does.

Every month it becomes more of a challenge to get them to sit still!! But I love these "mischievous" pictures too!

Lyla 8 months

Even though Lyla's baby book is only a little bit filled out and Cade's is ridiculously thick, I have done better at capturing photos of the different stages.  Since the kids are exactly 18 months apart I wanted to take a picture of them together so I could look back and compare.  I started when Lyla was 1 month old and Cade was 19 months.  He cooperated much better back then.  It's so hard to get pictures because I'm worried about Lyla falling off and I can't keep Cade there...but it does make for some fun pictures.  (These pics are taken on my desk from when I was a kid.  It's turned on its side so it can be a bench)

I put Lyla there thinking she'd lure Cade into sitting by her.

Well he got close...notice the chalkboard is already out of the picture.

I put the chalkboard back real quick and then they were both trying to escape.

And, now they are both standing up.  Can't believe she was able to stand up and stay there.

Lyla loves to climb.  Here she is climbing on Cade's "new road".  She has also started climbing up the stairs.  I guess it's time to start closing our baby gate again.

All she wants to do is crawl.  She doesn't care where she is.  So, if we are outside she wants to play in the dirt, grass, sand, water, and mud.  And of course, eat it all.

I also take pictures every month of Lyla by herself in the nursery chair.  Boy has she grown.  She also loves her baby doll that she got for Christmas.  Notice her tongue.  She has started this weird tongue face...odd and cute.

And, the monkey picture.  I have a picture of Cade with the monkey as he was growing and I also have one with Lyla every month.  Most of them she looks like this...crying.

Here's a happy face.  She loves to laugh at Cade.

Lyla:  8 Months

I put everything in my mouth.

I can crawl super fast.

I like to bear crawl, too.

I eat table food and love it!

I had my second stomach bug and second ear infection this month.

I started shaking my head no and Cade likes to copy me.  Or maybe I'm copying Cade.

I sleep all night long and take 2 naps during the day.

I was dedicated at church this month.

I can stand for a few seconds at a time without holding on to anything.

I flew a kite.

I like music.  I bounce up and down and shake my "booty" as Cade calls it.

I like to take Cade's toys and put them in my mouth.

 

Watch me grow....

Easter Traditions

A lot of our traditions have either been carried on from our childhood or started this year because Cade is now old enough to do things.  

Traditions:

1.  Easter dress.  My mom used to make my Easter dresses when I was little and I haven't started that tradition, yet.  I loved going to pick out my fabric with her and then surprise...Easter morning there was a dress.  (She told me in high school that she would stay up all night before Easter to finish it.)  Sometimes there was a stuffed animal or doll that matched my dress, too.  Maybe one day I'll be good enough to make Lyla a dress and maybe Cade some matching shorts.  One day. At least this year I was able to find Lyla a great smocked dress.  Close enough.  In Sunday school they tucked it all in to her bloomers so she could crawl.  They finally just took it off, but an "Easter bubble" or "Easter pant suit" just aren't the same as an "Easter dress" for a little girl.

2.  Dye Easter Eggs.  Cade enjoyed this for a little while.  Once we started dropping the eggs in he really wanted to just stir really fast and splash around.  Not that great for our clothes.  Next year I will make my own colors out of washable things. 

 3.  Lamb of God.  My mom taught me pretty young that Easter was about Christ dieing and being raised from the dead.  He was the perfect sacrifice or the "perfect Lamb".  She started collect Lambs a year or so before she died and would put them in her classroom.  The Easter after she passed, Ryan bought me a lamb and the year after as well.  I love pulling the Lambs out at Easter time.  What a great explanation for kids.  

 

4. Egg Hunt.  I think that's a given, right?  When I was little I hunted with my good friends, Judith and Susan.  Our moms put our names on eggs and we would knew that there was one special egg out there that no one else could get.  I still remember Judith yelling across the yard that she had found my egg.  Cade's egg was stuff with every kind of candy and Lyla's egg had some little fruit puffs in them.  Cade opened Lyla's egg first and was disappointed. when it had her little puffs in them.  I was excited to see that Cade had an egg with his name on it and Ryan's mom and sister's house, too. :)

5.  Church.  Easter isn't the same with out an Easter Sunday service.  Some churches have sunrise services which I thought would be amazing (until now that I have kids, but some day we'll go to one).  Here's the kids in their Sunday School classes.  

Next year I hope to make Resurrection Rolls and a Resurrection Garden.  Cade will be older and will understand a little more.