Almost three...months

It just occurred to me yesterday that Layla will be 3 months this week. I get so excited about her new experiences. Rolling over. Grasping toys. Saying new sounds (baba and gaga....sometimes). She has such a great personality and seems to be ahead of the game developmentally. She LOVES standing up. Every time I help her stand up, she gets this really excited look on her face that is simply adorable, and then she lets out a little squeal. She will sit up with a bit of help. She scoots and scoots. Part of me feels like I should discourage this exceptional behavior simply for the fact that I don't want her walking already and not wanting to be held anymore. At the same time, I love that she is discovering new things and is anxious to do so.

She has been sleeping quite well! I realized the other night that just because she wakes up in the middle of the night, that doesn't mean she is hungry. If I heard the smallest whimper, I'd stumble into her room at 2 am and carry her back into my room and feed her. Twenty minutes later, I'd take her back to her bed and she'd fall asleep. Well, the past two nights, as a test, when she woke up, I'd go in just to make sure she doesn't start screaming, and she'd go back to sleep. Both nights, she slept from 10 pm to 6 am. B-e-a-utiful. Simply beautiful.

I just wanted to do an update since I haven't posted in a while. Hopefully things will get a lot more consistent once I'm in Killeen and a little bit more settled. :-)

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...

Then followed that beautiful season...Summer..Filled was the air with a dream and magical light; and the landscapes lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We finally took Layla swimming. Because she enjoys bath time so much, I knew she *needed* to go swimming. I recently gave her a bath in a big tub. Because it was so big, I decided it'd be best if I put my swimsuit on and joined her in the tub. It was just safer that way. (and maybe I wanted some water time too!) I would lay her down in the tub, and she'd get frustrated because she wanted to stand (seems like that's all she wants to do these days). I'd then stand her up and she'd get mad because it was so cold. (she despises being cold!) After this bath time experience, I knew it was time for her to enjoy the water under the glorious heated sun.

Zach got home, and I very excitedly got Chunky Monkey ready in her new swimsuit and hat from Honey. If I said she didn't look cute in this get up, I would just flat out be lying.

It's almost as though she's a natural.

Anyhow. After we were all ready, we headed to a fabulous pool on Fort Hood. Aside from the very enticing deep end fully equipped with two diving boards just waiting for a back dive, it had a shallow end (3 ft) aaaand a baby pool that had two depths ( 6 INCHES and 1 foot) It was just adorable. We, of course, headed straight to the baby pool considering it was completely empty. The only downfall (for our sweet Layla) is that it is shaded, and, therefore, not nearly as warm as she would like it. Once she got used to it, she was fine with standing in it and even sitting in it, but it's no exaggeration when I say she enjoyed the "real" pool much more. Zach and I both enjoyed carrying her through the water with her huge diaper (we've no Little Swimmers, so we just put a regular diaper on her). We weren't there for long, but we all really enjoyed ourselves. I swear when I took her diaper off that it weighed just as much as she did!! It was a nice relaxing day and just in time before our crazy weekend starts.

Tomorrow as soon as Aunt Abi gets here, we will embark on the 6 hour journey to Lamesa for....(brace yourselves!) my sister's bridal shower, my grandfather's 80th birthday, to take my sister's engagement photos, to register for our wedding, to scope out both the reception and ceremony venues, and to meet with Lisa Meadows for our cakes. :-) It's going to be a busy but fun weekend, and hopefully there will be a lot of pictures to follow!

Chunky Monkey

Layla is growing like a weed! She is 10.5 weeks old today, and I just cannot believe how much she has developed both physically and mentally!

She weighed 12 lbs 15 oz at her 2 month check up. She was not a fan of the shots, but I've heard her cry worst for other reasons.

She is 22 inches long.

She was smiling by the time she was a week old. I'm not kidding when I say this, and I know, and my family knows, that it was most definitely NOT because of gas. :-)

Her first bath was April 4th, and she was not a fan. Now, however, she is quite fond of them!!!

Her first giggle was on May 12th in reaction to her daddy's goofiness.

She was holding her head up pretty well by the time she was around 3/4 weeks old.

She first rolled over on May 25th when she was exactly two months old.

Her leg muscles are so strong that she can stand as long as someone helps her keep her balance.

She smiles a LOT while sleeping which really makes me wonder what she dreams about.

She talks so much and loves when we talk to her. She has just started making the "ga" sound, which is adorable.

She is wonderful. She is everything I could have imagined a daughter would be and MORE. Sometimes I'll look at her and get misty eyed just because she's mine. My daughter. :-)
She's mostly smiles these days, and Zach and I are pretty sure she's spoiling us with how easy going she is.

Oh....speaking of Zach, we are officially engaged!!! I'm so excited about this new chapter in my life. It's as though all of my dreams are really coming true, and I honestly could not be more blessed! We're getting married September 17th, 2011. We'll save all those details for another blog. :-) Hopefully I can get a little more consistent in my blogging. I really just wanted to start a blog so I can remember everything (even the not so good things) about being a mother. So far, aside from the sleepless nights, everything is wonderful! And Layla is even getting better at sleeping. She's been sleeping from around 10 pm to 5 am. :-)

All right...that's all for now!