Santa comes to Greenwood

And I wont lie. I think he may have been the real thing :) He was an awesome Santa. Real beard, real hair, real glasses, real belly. Oh man it was magical. I think I was even more excited than Lyla.

I just wanted to post a picture of her sitting on his lap. She didn't cry, which was awesome, but we couldn't get her to smile either. Maybe next year?!

Anyways, I hope you all get your kids out to meet Saint Nick before this Christmas, especially all the new babies of this year.

Also, as promised, here are a few pictures of Lyla's first bites of rice cereal. No, she is not 6 months yet, but it was the right time for us. First one I believe she is saying (to quote Britney Spears) "Gimme gimmie more".

And this one, with a little more class "Please sir, I want some more"

Anyways, there are plenty more of Lyla and her time here in Greenwood, so check them out on facebook.

In other news, Josh finally got released from his Stake YM calling. Now he just has the YM President one here. I don't know that I like this one any more than the last, but I am his wife, and I support him haha.

I just got called to RS Secretary today. Not a hard calling by the sounds of it, but they ask a lot less of that calling down here compared to Halifax. Maybe I'll offer to take on a bit more (since I hace the extra time!)

Well, Christmas is nearing, and we put up our "christmas tree", a la last year, can you rememeber what it looked like? Look it up. I would love to go on about more of our going on's but Lyla desires some prunes, so I am off. See many of you soon :)

Long time

It's been such a long time since I posted. And so much has happened. I don't know where to begin, and it stresses me out! I know you all know where I am coming from.

Anyways, all I can do is recap what I remember, and hope I get all the good stuff. I am also behind in Lyla's baby book and I have lists all over the house of dates and times of important things, but I am too lazy to work on that now.

So, as many of you know, I just got back to the valley after 2 weeks in the city. It was so nice to see friends and do stuff, but you know what it's like when you feel your welcome is warn out at your parents place and you just want to get back to your own bed? That was us.

We did a lot of things while in town, I can't even rememeber where to start. I guess the first thing important to blog about is that I read Twilight, and the other 3 books. In a week and 2 days. That's pretty darn gross. I couldn't help myself though. I wanted to keep reading, while feeding Lyla, when I should have been sleeping, while eating, anytime I could. It was annoying when I had to put my book down for something else. I really liked the books. I look back now, after reading the 4, plus the 1/2 one online, and there are things I would have like to have seen differently, but as Beckey reminded me, this was Stephanie Meyer's story, not mine. I found while I was reading, that I would be annoyed with the way the story was going, and I'd have to take a step back and breathe. Now I look over it all and say, "you know what, it was nice, but a little overly unrealistic". I think the thing that kept me going was the love story. I tried to take that away from the "experience" more than all the bogus things that were going on, and I am satisfied. I also saw the movie twice. It was pretty ok. I went into the movie not expecting much, and making myself not compare the screenplay to the book, so it wasn't a dissappointment (like it was for poor Nancy). That Rob Pattison and Kristen Whats-her-face...not the best actors, or the best chemistry I have ever seen, but it's all good. Again, I was satisfied.

Enough about that darn book though. I have more of a life than that (tho Josh disagrees!) Lyla went in for her 4 month check up and needles. She did awesome, and only cried for like 2 seconds for each prick. She weighed in at 14 lbs 10 oz, and was 25.5 inches long. 75th percentile. We know she must get her height from her daddy!

She is doing so many things now, that I feel she is no longer a baby, but a little person. She is rolling all over the place, talking like its her job, and eating like it's going out of style. In fact, we started her on rice cereal the other day. It was so fun! I have pictures of it, but Josh has yet to load them. I promise to post them when we get them up.

I do have a fun picture from the other day when we went to dinner at the Wentzell's. Lyla is the best baby. She finds a way to sleep anywhere, and their place was no exception. To make Nancy feel better (no, it wasn't your bad hosting skills that put her to sleep) she fell alseep in her exersaucer the other day while I was reading her a book.I wish I could get away with sleeping anywhere.

What else is going on. Not too much. I am feeling alittle overwhelmed these days with the holiday's coming. It's always a big ordeal to make sure both of our families are included in the festivities. Also, shopping isn't as easy now that we're not near a mall, and I have a baby to tag along with me. I think next year I may consider all online shopping!

I am also a little concerned with our future. See, since Josh and I have been married, we have always had a plan. We always knew we'd be in Halifax, until school in the valley. We had planned for the move here. Now, after school is over, we have no clue where we're going to be. It really takes a toll on my head. I cannot plan for anything, because I don't know what the future holds for us. Oh man, thinking about it now makes my heart pallipitate. Let's talk about something else.

Um, I got to go to see Four Christmases last Wednesday with a bunch of girlfriends. It was a special Reel Babies event, with free goodie bags for all the moms. I love free stuff, so that was good. I also got to hang out with a few people here and there. It was just so nice to do stuff instead of sit at home with Lyla all day, bored. The valley is definitly not my idea of fun. So really, I should be happy knowing that even tho I don't know where we'll be after May, I do know it wont be here!

Well, my kid decided to wake up, so I have to go tend to her (it wont be long before she doesn't need me, I have to cherish the time she does).

Hope you all are well. I will post more pictures soon.

Ladybugs can swim

Well at least our little Lylabug can! Today Josh and I took Lyla for her first ever swim. We went to a parent/tot swim on the base. She got to wear her cute bathing suit I bought her back in the summer, and she totally rocked it.

I just had to post a picture of this special occasion. We have tons more, I will load them on Facebook one of these days. She did very well for her first time. No noises until we took her out and headed to the showers. We didn't want her getting too cold so we were only in the pool for about 20-30mins. She didn't really splash around like she does in the tub tho. She pretty much had this confused look plastered on her face for the whole time. It was so cute.

This past weekend we also took a trip to Yarmouth to visit Kelly and Rob. We hadn't seen them since, oh it must have been September sometime, so it was nice to hang out with them. We, along with Greg and Jocelyn, all went out for supper to Boston Pizza. It was so nice to get out with friends!

Josh also had today off, which explains how he was able to go swimming with us, and he of course has tomorrow off too. Four days of pure Josh-ness... HOLY COW! (Actually, as I write this he is at the lab at school, so we don't get his undivided attention all weekend, but at least we got a few extra hours.)

I hope you all had a nice weekend. And have a nice day off tomorrow too. Lyla and I are back in the city this weekend and we'll be around until the weekend after. Oh my, how I miss my city life. I love being there, if only for a week at a time :) Hope to see a bunch of you while I am around.

Lyla Ladybug

So this post is way overdue (Halloween was like a whole 5 days ago!) but I wanted to post a few pictures of Lyla in her costume. She was a ladybug, which is totally appropriate because that's what Daddy calls her. This one is compliments of Helene (mon ami extraordinaire). She a wonderful photographer and did an awesome job with Lyla. There are more pictures from the shoot on my facebook. Here's the link to it. I don't know how to make it so you can click and go to it. I am so not computer savvy. And I am lazy and care not to learn.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=177504&l=1458e&id=555360623

In other news, today Lyla rolled front to back. So now she's fully "rollable". Though she doesn't have the hang of it yet. After she does it she's like "so...um...what now?"

Not too much else is going on. I was thinking we were going to make it to the city this weekend since it's a long one, but Josh says maybe not so much. Perhaps some of you could come visit me instead?! The next time I'll be in town is the week of the 16th. I will be around all week and then Josh will come that weekend since it's my mum's b-day. I'd like to throw a random picture in now. This was taken by Grandpa before church on Sunday. He was impressed with his skills. Way to go dad! Oh, and that's the bumbo we're borrowing from J.J. Thanks friend. Lyla loves it.

We had a great time in Halifax last week. Lots of stuff going on. Thanks to my parents for housing us during our stay. I know we're a handfull but we love seeing you! Also I'd like to thank the Petersen's for having us over for Halloween. It was a lot of fun, and there was a ton of yummy food! I always come back to the valley feeling a little empty and lonely since Josh has school but this week so far he's been home early everyday. And he's come home for lunch hour which has been a nice treat.

I guess that's all I have to report on today. I am sure more has been going on, but I just woke up and forget all of my life's events!

Correction!

I told you all that Lyla showed no signs of rolling over... Wrong-o. She accomplished this awesome task on Sunday, rolling from her back to her front. My sister, mum and I got to witness. It was so amazing...and then I shed a little tear because she's growing up so fast. Gosh I love this little girl. Here's a picture of Lyla after she rolled. I think she's like..."so what now?"

In other news, we're in the city this week, visiting all we can before going back after the Hallowe'en festivities end (I have pictures of Lyla and a pumpkin but they are on my home computer, check them out on Facebook). I got to go to church on Sunday for an hour to see some friends, and then to a little potluck put on by my friends Leah and Dave. All the kiddies got to wear their costumes. Lyla gave hers about a 10 minute test drive before puking on it! Hopefully we have better luck on Friday. I will post pictures of her costume after Friday. I made a cheese ball spider and I think it looked pretty darn good. It's simple. Cream cheese, shredded cheese and roll in poppy seeds.Monday was a relaxing day with my mum, we just watched t.v and chatted, and picked my brother up at the airport late that night. Here are a few pictures to show how much fun Lyla is having with my mum. She fell asleep with her twice when mum wasn't even trying. This one shows that mum was going to lay her down to change her, but Lyla was asleep before she even hit the couch. And this one is when mum went to burp her...no dice.Oh, and I bought my first pair of jeans since having Lyla. It was not fun trying them all on, but I found a pair I liked (thank heavens) and now I just need to get them hemmed.

Tuesday was a rainy day, and I wasn't feeling the best so we laid low again. I love visiting because I can just hang out all day long and not feel like a slob.

Today, along with Nancy, Leah and Jo, I went to the Reel Babies at the Empire Theatres in Dartmouth. They were showing HSM3. It was so cute, not a disappointment at all (how could it be with dreamy Zac Efron! Haha). Lyla was such a good baby the whole time, not making a peep. She loves t.v just as much as me. For those of you who can, you should go. They have change tables, wipes, diapers, toys, bottle warmers. It's all very cool, and you can win prizes too. I am going to try and do it once a month, just to get out (Bayer's Lake and Dartmouth are the only theatres that do it, boo New Minas). Let me know if you're interested and next time I'll let you know about it.

After the movie we ordered some pizza and went to Jo's for a photoshoot compliments of Helene. She's a little photographer in the making and I am so looking forward to seeing how the shots turned out. She was so good at giving direction and put up with my whiny baby too. Thanks friend!

I guess that's all that's gone on so far this week. Josh comes up on Friday for Hallows Eve, and Lyla and I miss him, so we're getting excited for that.

Hope you are all well. I'll post pictures from the shoot when I get them. Love.

Look who's 3 months today!

I can't believe it was July 22nd, 3 months from today, that Lyla joined our little family (in a less-than-ladylike way). I feel like it was yesterday, and at the same time it's like she's always been here. I just wanted to post a little list of what my baby genius can do (I just think she's so talented!) I am going to print this right off and put it in her baby book, so I don't have to do it twice. Oh, so smart.

Anywho here are my lists:

Can:

smile

laugh/giggle

babble up a storm

mimic Josh and I when making noises

entertain herself while I do housework

grab toys held in front of her

sleep 8-9 hours thru the night

blow bubbles with her spit

eat 7 oz bottles in one sitting

hold her own 4 oz bottle

soothe herself to sleep

lie on her tummy and prop herself up

respond when she hears noises around the room

sit in a bumbo

put everything in her mouth

hold her hands, fingers interlocked (very reverent eh?!)

give Josh and I a reason to smile everyday

learning:

to hold my fingers and pull herself up to sit

sit on her own (briefly before tipping over)

hit toys to make them sing (cause/effect)

support herself on her legs when holding her up (she would much rather not tho)

hold her head up straight instead of sideways, she loves a sideways world.

no sign of:

rolling over

stopping the spitting up of foodWe're so proud of our little one and can't wait for each day as she learns and accomplishes more. Happy 3 months Lyla!

Deux Ans

That's two years to all you non-french speaking readers! Josh and I have been hitched for two years today. We're pretty happy we made it this long, it was touch and go there for a while..haha. Joking!!!
To celebrate, we went to OPA in the city on Saturday for lunch and then got a hotel room for the night. The best part was that we were asleep by 10 pm. We are soooo old. My parents took Lyla for the night, so we thought we'd take advantage of the sleep time (yea, she does sleep thru the night, usually 11-8, but you know, it's not the same as getting away!)
I have a few pictures from our day, but I don't know how to crop and edit, so I'll just post one for now.
Also, Beckey was asking where I was for the past little bit. I went to New Brunswick this past week to show Lyla to her family on my Mum's side. It was nice to get up there, even if Josh couldn't come, but I was glad we went before winter comes. I have some pictures of that too, but I'll put them on facebook.
On Sunday on our way home from the city we went to Stake Conference in Kentville. Afterwards we got some family pictures outside. Too bad it wasn't nice and warm out, we only had time to take a few. Oh wearing a bow, but Josh hid it on us before pictures. Jerk! Lyla's over 12 lbs now, and is about 23 inches long. She can babble like no one's business and giggles (only when Josh isn't around!). She is doing well holding her head up, and before I mentioned that she was going to see a specialist about working on her neck muscles, but I don't think we'll need to once she is assessed (which she hasn't been yet...sigh). Like I said, she still sleeps thru the night, usually 8-9 hours at a time, with 2 naps during the day. She's just so good and I love her to death. I know I am bragging, but I am just so proud of her all the time.
I guess that's all that's going on here. This week I am going to be working on her Hallowe'en Costume. It's a surprise, and I am sewing it, so I hope it actually works out. We're going to be coming to the city for the festivities, so get your kiddies dressed up and come on out with us!