Happy 6 month birthday!!!

Dearest Little Lyla,

Happy 6 month birthday big girl!!!!

You're 6 months old today!!

I can't believe how big you've gotten and how fast these first six months went by. I've been having so much fun with you this summer. Of course, the time is flying by. You are such a good baby. You smile a lot, you don't cry very often, and you are so much fun to be around! I look back at the pictures from the first week of your life and am in awe of your growth in such a short time.

You had your 6 month check up today:
28.25 inches = off the charts
19 pounds, 2 ounces = 90% percentile

In the last two weeks you've mastered sitting up.

In the last few weeks it seems like you've turned into a little person! You went from only being able to lay on your blanket and roll over, to being able to sit up on your own and scoot all around. (Almost crawling!!) I think you will be fully crawling within two weeks. Your personality seems to be that of a very independent person. You like to figure things out (today you were exploring the wipes container and started pulling wipes out...and trying to eat them.) I think you will be kind, a little bit shy, but very happy. Your little personality is really shining and I love it!!

Here you are at yoga class this month with your friend Amelia.

Most days after yoga we walk around the lake with Amelia and her mommy, Angie. You are such a good girl at yoga class. You love watching the other babies. Lately, you and Amelia like to crawl to each other's blankets and play together, like in the picture above.

More yoga fun!

To celebrate your 6 month birthday, we went to yoga like usual today (since it's Wednesday). By the looks of it, you had lots of fun. This week you made the first progress toward crawling. You've been propping up on all fours for about a week and a half, and now you move your legs and sometimes your arms. At yoga today you proved that you're really good at crawling on people already!!

Here you are with your bestie, Mila, each month since you were both born!!!

We hang out with our besties every week and it has been so much fun to see you both grow. This week we met Sarah and Mila for breakfast, went shopping, and then went to their house. You loved playing with Mila and her kitty. You pulled on his hair and kept smiling. Sometimes Miss Mila makes high pitched noises and you used to cry when she would do it, but you've gotten used to it now! We love our besties!!!

Here you are attacking Daddy's face. 

You love playing with Daddy when he gets home from work or school. (He's getting his MBA from The University of Minnesota right now, so he's at class two nights a week.) Daddy can always get you to laugh and smile. Everyone says that you look a lot like your daddy. You love Daddy and he loves you!

We've been adding to the foods that you've tried:

Green Beans-Not.A.Fan. You gag each time I have you eat them. You will eat them, but you make faces and gagging sounds with every bite! Talk about dramatic, but cute!!

Peaches-You tried peaches this week and you really like them. I buy them off a truck that comes up straight from Georgia. Yum! We went with our besties to pick them up last week. It was a fun little adventure.

Peach/Avocado blend--tonight I blended these two foods together and it was a hit! You LOVED it. You kept opening your mouth as Daddy fed you. You ate all of it and wanted more. 

Things we (Daddy & I)  love about you, our sweet Little Lyla:

We love the face you make when we say, "kick your feet, kick your feet" when you're in your bouncy chair...and then you respond by grinning and kicking your feet.

We love that you figured out how to jump up and down in your jumperoo. You get so excited!

We love when you attack your lovey, Monkey, especially in your crib.

We love when you grab Daddy's nose. (Mommy probably loves this more!)

We love when you smile when you see us across the room.

We love that you still love the "kikiki" sound. It makes you grin!!

Love you forever baby girl,

Mommy

5 Months Old & 4th of July

Dearest Little Lyla,

Happy Belated 5 Month Birthday and 4th of July!!

On the weekend of your 5th month birthday, you also got to eat real food for the first time. You'd been showing all of the signs that you were ready for "real food!" I was hoping to wait until you turned six months old, but you had other plans. You started with organic brown rice cereal a few times and then we moved straight to the real food. The first time we fed you the cereal you grabbed the spoon and pulled it toward your mouth! Your first "real food" was avocado. You loved it!!

Here you are after eating the avocado for the first time. YUMMMM! 

Since the avocado you've also had:

Homemade applesauce/apples: You really liked the apples and applesauce I made for you.

Sweet potatoes: These were a huge hit with you, you smiled when you had them for the first time and ate lots each time I gave them to you.

Banana: You just had bananas the other morning with breakfast. Your first bite seemed like you weren't going to like them, but you continued eating them. I wouldn't say that you LOVE them, but you definitely keep eating them, so they must be tolerable.

I'm looking forward to making as much of your food as I can keep up with. (I'd love to make all of it, if possible. I know it will be harder when I have to go back to school in the fall.)

 I'm currently writing this post from Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Tom's cabin in the U.P. We made the trek up here to spend some time with the family for the 4th of July. Instead of making the 8 hour drive from home, we first drove to Neenah and spent the night there and then drove up.

You had your first swimming experience here! We were blessed with beautiful weather and plenty of sunshine for swimming in the lake.

 Mommy & Lyla =)

Playing with Daddy...you're not sure if you like this!

Hmmm....I'll just sit here in my swimsuit and look around. You didn't splash and play like you do in your bathtub!

The second time around you seemed to enjoy the water more!

So cute in your big girl swimsuit. (I had to get you an 18 month suit...it was the only one that would fit because you're so tall!)

Your cousin Elayna loved swimming with you! She just turned 3 years old.

Cousin Ry-Ry loved to hold you, even though it seems like you're almost the same size! 

Cousin Gracyn loved to hold you and help feed you bottles. 

While we were up here we also stopped by Mommy's family reunion. It was for Grandpa Steve's side of the family. They have a reunion every year during the 4th of July time. We didn't tell your Great Grandma Levine that we were coming, so we got to surprise her. She was so excited to see you and to have all of her relatives meet you!

Here you are surprising Great Grandma--You loved her sparkly 4th of July vest and earrings!

Mommy's Aunts/Uncles, Cousins, and your Great Grandma Levine.

You're growing up so fast little girl!! I've had so much fun being home for summer break. We've spent our time: going to yoga on Wednesdays, spending time with our besties, taking walks everyday around the lake, and of course, playing! 

Things I love about you:

I love the way you kick your arms and legs when we bring you a bottle and you're really hungry!

I love the little "hmm" sound you make when you're content.

I love the big smile you get when you see Daddy or Mommy walk by.

I love the way you smile when we read Snuggle Puppy. 

I love the sound of your little giggle, especially when Daddy is pretending to eat your hands.

I love the way you kick really fast when we put you in your bathtub.

I love you forever baby girl,

Mommy