Letters to Lyla and Lottie

Lottie Lou! {as Lyla affectionately calls you}, you’re 5 months my baby!!!  I still think often about how amazing your presence in our home is.  Your presence has taught me so much about the divine plan, serendipity, and fate.  I feel like our creator knew that Miss Lyla needed a lovable playmate and that I needed to have you in my life, so he sent you to us.  The other day Lyla got you giggling during our diaper changing assembly line and I couldn’t help but think I am the happiest I have ever been.  I am right where I belong.  You make be feel so blessed.  I was just thinking I love this stage soooo very much, and then read that I said the same thing in Lyla’s book when she was turning 5 months old.  You’re just so lovely! You still snuggle and let me hold you like a baby, but you also smile, light up when you see people you love, giggle and interact in the most sweetest way.  You are still generally the sweetest and mild little thing.  I relish early morning feedings when you stay in bed with me and sleep so contently snuggled to my side.  You have a jag here and there in which you miss sleeping for a few nights in a row, and cry a bunch in the day.  Just when I think, on no, she’s getting her collic back or something, you go back to that easy sweet baby who sleeps well, eats at long intervals (like up to 3 hours) and entertains yourself here and there.  You are definitely more strong and physically advanced than Lyla was.  Your movements are so skilled.  Your fine motor skills are amazing! You are still mommy mousey for sure.  I feel like you got stranger danger WAY WAY early.  I try to only work while you sleep but if you wake when I’m gone, you cry until I get home.  I’m so sad every time I get home and your face is tear stained and red.  AHH my heart hurts even putting words to it.  But honestly you’re never without me for more than 2 hours.  I tell myself that even moms who don’t work shower, shop, work-out and do other things kid free from time to time.  I love you so much sweet baby of mine.  Please oh please remember this.  I think daily about how to make sure you know this.  There’s days when I think I did good..I used every opportunity to help you attach, was patient at every challenge, kept your sister from hurting you, and relished in all your sweetness.  Then there’s other days in which I fail miserably.  Gosh I hope you forgive me for these days.  Please never feel like I love your sister more than you.  I love you to the moon and back.  You are so beautiful  Your eyes sparkle like the sun and when you smile, your whole face smiles including your ears.  It’s remarkable.  Other things about you…

-You LOVE to jump.   If it be on someone’s lap or in the jumperoo.  You are so strong and bouncy like crazy!!! Maybe this is because we starting jumping on the trampoline when you were literally days old

-You giggle when I tickle your back.  It’s the cutest thing ever

-Like I said, your hand eye coordination is amazing!!! You can grab and manipulate the smallest of items.  Everything goes in your mouth!!!

-You were completely sitting up at 4 1/2 months!  You are so strong!!! You got it over night and almost never tip over.  Unless your sis helps you :/  Sorry about that.

-You are soooo grabby.  I can forget about texting when I’m holding you.  Or doing anything really.  I used to have many tasks mastered like pouring Lyla’s milk while holding you.  I can forget about that!

-I am certain that your physical developments are in part due to watching your big sis.  I literally see you lurch on all fours and swing forward when Lyla’s is running around.  I just know you’re dying to run around with her!  In due time my sweet one.

-You look more like Lyla every day.  Except in your eyes.  They continue to perplex all of us.  One day they’re brown, the next they’re hazel…but always beautiful 

-When you’re ticked off, you kick your left foot violently.  It’s kinda funny

-You tried rice cereal at 4 months (08.17).  You didn’t love it but didn’t hate it.  I think you just needed to get used to the texture.  But you have a lazy mom who likes to breastfeed.  So you haven’t had it since

-You hate your carseat at first and are so strong that you can sit up in it

-You have the old man hair pattern going on…mostly bald everywhere but in the back

-Every now and again, you will wake in the morning and I will hear you chatting to yourself contently.  Lyla NEVER did that!

-You smile at Lyla and giggle at her now.  It’s the sweetest thing.  One night you two were giggling with each other and it occurred to me that I must be the luckiest woman on the planet

-You smile at yourself in the mirror!  It’s so adorable.

-You’ve become a social eater these days which isn’t my favorite.  You will whip your head around as if the nips aren’t attached.  OUCH!

-You started sleeping in your own room at 4 months.  Gosh I feel guilty about it because Lyla stayed in the there MUCH longer but one night you feel asleep on the way home and I left you in your carseat in the living room.  You slept SOO much better that night that I couldn’t avoid the reality that you sleep way better alone.  You are a light sleeper I’m afraid.

-You watch me from across the room and often whine at me. 

-You also smile when I walk back into the room.  I feel so special!

-You can roll any which way and can get all over the place!

-You have a bad habit of kicking off me or the couch when you’re eating.  It drives me batty!!!

-You are laughing a lot more and love raspberries and when I eat your tummy and toes

-You are enjoying baby Einstein!

-When you sleep well, you go down around 11 and sleep until 5 or 6am.  Heaven!

My Lyla Girl.  You’re two.  Two whole years have come and gone since you made me a mom.  I used to think time was a cruel crook, but now I think he’s a craftsmen in which he masterfully unfolds each beautiful development. You develop and evolve so seamlessly and impressively.   You’re a beautiful tiny human.  You are the smartest, cutest, funnies, lovable little fire cracker on the planet.  Oh my goodness!!!! As I choke back the tears, I feel so overwhelmed at the task of capturing your essence because you are literally the cutest and most hilarious little sweetie on the planet.  What a pleasure it has been to be a part of these two years.  I can’t think of anything I would’ve rather done more.  You are my little buddy and best friend.  We play, talk and do every little task together every day.  I could fill a hundred days just talking about the adorable little things you do all day.  Like wear deodorant like mom.  I look forward to every amazing year and the joy that you will bring into our lives.  So often I find myself thinking I couldn’t possibly be this lucky.  The other day my mom and I were talking about what we want/wanted for our children.  She said she always raised us to feel like we were the best, brightest, prettiest.  I got thinking what I want for you.  I think what I want for you is to know is that being the most beautiful/smartest/ambitious isn’t important.  Really truly.  Go off of mom’s experience.  The best isn’t the best.  It leaves you wanting more and consistently feeling like a failure.  I want you to know what you are isn’t likely the best of anything, but being you is so very good enough, and it’s the best for me.  Oh you’re good enough.  You’re good enough. 

Other lovable notes:

-You’re obsessed with the 10 little Monkeys Song!  As soon as I end the song….you say “monk!” with an adorable little begging smile face so of course I end of singing it time and time again.

-You have become such a problem solver and climber.  No territory is left undiscovered now that you’re so smart and have figured out that all sorts of things can serve as a ladder or step-stool.  Thanks for portable filing cabinets, your play table, little chairs, the nightstand drawer and a billion other things, you can get EVERYWHERE.  The bed, the table, the bar, the crib, etc. etc.  It’s a challenge keeping Lottie safe these days.

-When you are ready to go somewhere or when you want me to take you somewhere, you say, “Ready, set go!”

-You are into play dough these days.  We’ve even made it a few times.  You love making SNAKES out of play dough and will bring me pieces an say “nake!”

-We are working on your colors.  Currently, every color is BLUE!

-You’ve gotten past saying no to everything and now say YAH like an old cowboy might and nod your head in the affirmative.  It’s so adorable

-You do the sign for Caterpillar…one finger crawling up the arm.  SO cute

-You’ve rekindled a love for books and now even read to me!  I love it

-You are the grubbiest child alive I swear.  I have friends who only bathe their kids every other day but I just cannot imagine that!  You get SOOO dirty everyday.  Every ounce of your clothing gets stain treated.  You get this black layer of grime under your neck that has to be scrubbed every day.  Now, you’ll even raise your head and say “neck!” when I start washing you..and sometimes you’ll even wash yourself

-You’ve starting enjoying sandwiches.  It’s quite the ordeal.  You want everything lined up perfectly and get all sorts of disturbed when the meat slides out of alignment.  You say ahh and help me! I spend all meal aligning your sandwich

-You always want Lottie to lay by you.  You always want her in your bed.  It’s cute. 

-You whisper when we do.

-You are such a Beiber fan it is ridiculous.  On one song a rapper raps in the middle.  Every time he starts you say “no MAMA!” and wig until I fast forward.  LOL  Beiber purist. 

-You are a nazi about music in the car too.  You want Beiber only and even get mad when it’s not turned up loud enough. 

-You are quite protective of your chair and get ticked if we put something on it like a blanket or whatever.

-You are still napping for about 1.5 hours a day

-The other day you put two play cans in your shirt like it were boobs.  You would shake them around and pat them.  HAHAAH!

-You’re getting pretty good about time out.  You don’t fight it too much and say sorry when you get out.  You mostly only go for hurting Lottie.  It's no good sweet pea.  You have gotten a lot better though.  Most the time I think you’re doing it for attention and less that you want to hurt her.  You are so concerned for her all the time.  You also love sitting by her and making her smile and giggle.  You can get Lottie to giggle better than anyone

-You are such a milk girl still.  You get into a zone and slurp that business down.

-You have a flavor for the Latin guys!  You have a boyfriend at the library who is Hispanic and also make friends with the Latin boys at the park! 

-You’re really into elephants and do the sign all the time.  You get so excited when you see one in a book.  It cracks me up!

-You love a good snuggle and say “LAY!” for blanket when you want one

-You say NUMMY! When you see a treat you want

-You are so polite it makes me so proud.  Every time I give you something you want you say “jew!” and you almost always say “pease” when you ask for something

-You are way into dip and ask for it all the time.  If there’s something I want you to eat, I usually just give you a big ole pile of ketchup or ranch and you’ll eat it!

-You say “whoa whoa” for dogs.  You get so excited when you hear one barking and say “whoa whoa!”

-You have some old keys dad gave you to play with.  You will put your purse on and grab your keys and say “bye!”

-You love these Dano mini yogurts!  You can pound like three of them in a minute

-You like this pop song I can’t remember the title of but you sing the part, “tonight, tonight”

-You now say “don’t like!!” when you don’t want something be it food or a tv show.  It’s hilarious

-You are such my big helper and want to be involved in everything I do.  I give you a light grocery bag to bring in and you get so excited and feel so proud carting it inside.  It’s so stinking cute

-You are such an outdoorsy girl and say “side!” all the time to go play outside

-You want to bring your baby everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  She’s your little baby like Lottie is my baby. 

-You occasionally take off your diaper and go crazy.  The other day you did and then pooped on your pony while you were rocking.  That was not your finest moment

-We bought you this little tunnel from IKEA that you can’t get enough of.  Lottie and I will sit at one end and you die laughing while trying to crawl through it to get to us

-You just love bathing with Lottie and always want her to join you.  You even scoot to the back and move all the toys so she can get in.  Such a sweetie pie

-You’ve been a scardey cat lately.  Things that never scared you before and now scary and you say “scare me!”.  Like when dogs bark or when we throw you in the air

-You chocked on a chunk of fruit roll up when we were at a store in Prove and I had to give you the hemlick.  It was the scariest moment of my life maybe.  You were turning blue.  I flipped you upside down and did a few compressions and out it came.  Then I bear hugged you for probably an hour because it scared me so bad. 

-You borrowed Care Bear movie from Addie that you just LOVE…it’s so weird

-You say “beep beep!” when something’s in your way

-When dad does something you like you give him serious attitude and say “no dad!”

-You also say “stop it!” when we do something you don’t approve of

-You insist on kissing Lottie goodnight.  SO sweet  You also insist on a battery of stuffed animals sleeping with you each night

-You say thank you like “jew”! And it is the cutest thing ever

-You, like mom, have to have your shoes off the minute you get home

-Sometimes Lottie will flail about and you think she hits you so you say “hey!”.  I think it’s a peek into the future :/

2 Year STATS

Weight:  21.5 lbs……1%

Height: 2’6”……………1%

HeadL 181/4………….20%

-