Fourteen Months Old

Things are definitely starting to get a little more interesting around the Hughes household! Ok, so I'm not officially a "Hughes" yet but we're getting there. It's hard to believe that in just four short months I'll officially be someone's wife. I don't think I'll ever fully get used to calling myself that but it's definitely going to be an honor to carry that last name!

Ready For Church With Mommy and Daddy!

Now for Miss Lyla Jane....what has she been up to?? EVERYTHING! I can already tell that these next few months are going to be so much fun. She's no longer a baby who just sits around or wants to be held all of the time, she is Miss Independent, with a capital "I"! Don't get me wrong, she still loves cuddle time with mommy or daddy but for the most part, it is GO! GO! GO!

If you're eating something, she wants to eat the same thing, no baby food please. If you're washing dishes, she wants to see whats going on and get in on the action. If you're outside picking weeds, she's right behind you. The majority of the time, walking won't get her there fast enough, so she'll plop down  and scoot across to wherever she needs to be! The happiness of her day consists of how many games of peek-a-boo were played. Seriously....that kid loves playing peek-a-boo and will laugh and smile every single time.

First Ponytail

Brushing Those gummies

Her daddy is so proud because in just a matter of days, he taught her how to high five and how to give kisses. Of course as any proud papa would, he gets a little jealous when people (meaning ME) try to steal his tricks for their own selfish pleasure :) But how can anyone resist slobbery, open mouth toddler kisses? I absolutely cannot wait until she's able to run up to me and give me the biggest hug. It has got to be the best feeling in the world to have your precious baby wrap her arms around your neck and squeeze tight. Sometimes when she's napping on my chest, she'll wiggle around trying to get comfortable and then, without knowing it, she'll wrap both of her little arms and little hands around my waist. I smile in that moment thinking, "she really loves her mommy."



One major step that we have achieved in the last few weeks is that she is back in her own bed. Hipppp Hippppp Horray!!! Just kidding. Kind of. I miss seeing her cute little face next to me when I roll over at night, but it sure has been nice getting some decent sleep lately. We kept putting off the transition because we thought it was going to be a pure nightmare for at least two weeks but we were wrong! I'm not for the "crying it out" method so I thought this would never work. We put her in her own room the first night, she cried for about 3 minutes and then went to sleep. She woke up about 1:00 am, cried for about a minute and went back to sleep. That little stinker didn't wake up until almost 8am! I couldn't believe it and it has been like that ever since. She'll wake up a few times in the middle of the night, probably to see if we're coming to bring her to our bed, and then she slowly put herself back to sleep.

Watching Cartoons Under The Coffee Table

LJ's Fun Facts

SIX TEETH!!

Size Three Diapers

9m - 12m Clothing

Favorite Foods Are Sweet Potatoes, 

Nilla Wafers, Cheese Grits, and Teddy Grahams

Still on Baby Formula to Gain Weight

Suggested by Pediatrician

Favorite Toys are her Penny The Pig Stuffed Animal and a little Tea Pot

First Birthday Party

Lyla's first birthday party was a success and now it's time to rest for a few days! I'm so thankful we have so many people that love our little family. She received so many wonderful gifts but just having everyone there to celebrate our tiny miracle's first birthday was more than enough.

Before I even started the planning process I was given a lot of good advice that I wish I had followed. Things like keep it simple, don't invite tons of people, stay calm and stress free....but mainly to not go overboard and just enjoy every moment. Well, if you know me, then you know all that went straight out the window. I was literally on Etsy two months before the party, ordering decorations and planning every detail.

I logged about 45 hours on Pinterest those next few weeks and our spare bedroom was consumed with tissue paper, ribbon, string, balloons, mason jars, flowers, food trays....well you get the idea. I told myself time and time again that I WAS NOT going to get stressed out about this party and let it completely take over. Well, I admittedly had a few pitty parties and crying sessions but for the most part everything came together perfectly. (With a HUGE thanks to Josh's parents and family for helping us!) My only regret was that the party seemed to pass by way too fast. I wish I could have paused time for a little while so I could have sat down and enjoyed everyone's company.

The only bad part of the day was that the birthday girl was cutting another tooth and was feeling rotten. I felt so sorry for her because I wanted her to be able to enjoy everyone that came and to play her little heart out. For the most part she was attached to my hip but halfway through the party, when she got her hands in the birthday cake, she started feeling a little better. She enjoyed helping her daddy open gifts, even though she was way more interested playing with the tissue paper than she was with any actual toys :)

Last, but certainly not least. Two of our very best friends, Penny (Lyla's fairy godmother) and Daniel, gave Lyla one of the sweetest birthday gifts. A burlap pillow with Lyla's name on the front. It was meant as a keepsake so that everyone from the party could write a little something for the birthday girl. After the party was over, Daniel sat silently in the living room and wrote one of the sweetest poems on the back of the pillow. He came up with this off the top of his head, which makes it even more special. "A Birthday Sonnet: We can't believe you're one year grown! Soon you'll walk and run on your own. On this day you had four teeth, and lemonade cake for us to eat. Before you know it, you'll be two and oh the things that you will do! From two to three and three to four, we'll be there through many more.Keep God and family first above all. They'll help you up if ever you fall. Keep love in your heart and to yourself stay true. Because there's no one else as special as you! We still can't believe you're one year grown and we will always love you as if you were our own."

Now if that isn't the sweetest thing and doesn't bring tears to your eyes, then I don't know what will. This was one of the most thoughtful gifts and we are so lucky to have these two in our lives. What a wonderful keepsake to remember our baby girl's first birthday!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LYLA JANE!!!

Twelve Months Old

I can't believe it has been an ENTIRE YEAR since our tiny 2lb 4oz baby made her arrival. This has definitely been an eventful year, to say the least. We've been though so much as a family that it has only made our bond with one another so much stronger than I could have ever imagined. I have realized what it truly means to face some sort of adversity and to come out of the situation better and stronger. A year ago, I couldn't even imagine what our baby girl's first birthday would be like. It seemed like such a huge stretch of the imagination. From two months in the NNICU, to being on a heart monitor for several months, to having a seizure, to having a milk allergy, to having severe reflux, along with alllllllll of the 100's of other things that come along with being a mother and caring for your new baby girl. We would never have been able to make it through all of these things without one another and believe it or not, Josh and I would have never been as strong of a couple as we are now, if we would have never had to face these things together.

Lyla had her second developmental checkup in Macon. We always worry because since she was so early, we are aware of all the possible setbacks and problems she could have along the way. It's always in the back of our minds and probably will be for a very long time. Developmentally she is only 9 months old so the doctor was checking to make sure she was doing all of the things that a healthy 9 month old should be doing. She passed all of her checks and was even at the 12 months level in some areas, which is absolutely fantastic! They informed us that her weight is still a little lower than they would like it to be, but she's just a small baby and it's perfectly normal. Once again, they told us that by two years old, she should be completely caught up on a developmental level. I think it is such a blessing that her daddy works in Neurology so he knows all of the milestones and developmental checks so he works with her how to make sure she's where she needs to be!

I almost forgot to mention the new addition....her BIG GIRL front facing carseat!!! I've been ready for this for months now and I know she has too! She's always been so active and so interested in everything around her. I've felt terrible riding around with her in the car and knowing she's bored to death just staring at the back seat. Not able to see out the window or anything that's going on around her. Now she is as happy as can be. When I'm driving, I can see her sweet face through the rear view mirror, which may not be such a good thing, but I'm loving every second of it. We'll make eye contact and she'll smile so big! 

Since it has gotten so warm outside, I've been trying to get outside more on my days off. Lyla is hilarious when you put her down in the grass. She doesn't know what to think of the texture so she'll bear crawl (crawling on her hands and feet, no knees involved) all through the yard. I can't help but laugh every time. I've also been letting her play in her new Minnie Mouse pool but she prefers to sit outside, instead of inside the pool, and splash around with her hands. This little girl loves playing outside.

LJ'S FUN FACTS

Four Teeth!

Size 3 Diapers

9m-12m Clothes

Loves Everything Your Eating

Says maaaa maaaa, daaa daaaa

and baaa baaa

Loves Peek-a-Boo

Nine Months Old