Month 6!!

How did our baby girl get to be a half a year old? She is growing up way too fast!! This past month has been an exciting and difficult time for us. Difficult because I had to go back to work on July 19th. It has been really tough leaving her everyday. It's definitely been a huge adjustment for me. Life is VERY busy now!! The great news is that Lyla is doing wonderfully with her babysitters (Patty and my dad). It sure makes it easier being at work knowing that she is happy and in good hands.

There has been a lot of excitements this past month because we've done a lot of fun things. We went to a Rivercats game with Nana and Papa. We celebrated Lyla's first 4th of July. We went out of town for the first time and Lyla stayed in her first hotel room. We went to Los Gatos for my half marathon. We've gone swimming and gone to the park quite a bit. We went to the Courtland Pair Fair. We went to a Mommy, Daddy, and Me playdate with my Mommy and Me friends and their families. It was so much fun, because all the dads got to meet. There were 12 babies there!! Lyla had her first taste of solid food a few days ago. We are feeding her Organic Brown Rice Cereal once a day now. She LOVES it! She is such a great eater. She acts like she's been doing it for a long time. She's already a pro.

Lyla is rolling over regularly now. Most of the time she rolls from her tummy to her back. She laughs out loud and talks to us all the time. She is thanfully sleeping through the night every night. Otherwise, I don't know how I would survive. Her next Dr.'s appt is Sept. 3rd. We will find out how much she weighs at that appt. We just adore our Sweet Pea. We definitely treasure every moment we get to spend with her. XOXOXO

Month 5!

Sorry, I'm a little behind on the blog. Lyla turned 5 months old on July 2nd. This past month has been so much fun. Lyla is now laughing out loud, rolling over (periodically), and holding her feet with her hands. I have enjoyed every minute with her, especially since I've known that going back to work was in the near future. I go back on Monday, July 19th. I am so not ready to leave Lyla. It is going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. She is going to be in good hands though while we are at work. I am very grateful that I've had the past 5.5 months with her. And I really do have an ideal job for a family. We had to say goodbye to all of our Mommy and Me friends today. We will miss them very much.

Lyla continues to grow like a weed. She is close to 16 pounds now. She is very alert and happy. Her favorite thing to do is play in her excersaucer. She loves her dolly too! She is pretty much sleeping through the night (11 hours) every night now! Which has been wonderful for me. We just adore her and look forward to all of the new and fun phases ahead. XOXOXO

1st Father's Day!

We celebrated Brett's 1st Father's Day yesterday! We had a great day. It started with a yummy breakfast at The Hungry Hollow restaurant. Then we came home and relaxed and played with Lyla for awhile. Then daddy went on a bike ride while Lyla and I went to Baskin Robbins to buy an ice cream cake for dessert. We went on a walk to the park in the afternoon and threw the ball around a little and Sweet Pea swung in the swing for the first time. In the evening, my parents came over for a BBQ to celebrate my dad too. We had burgers, my mom's delicious potato salad, and corn on the cob. And of course the ice cream cake for dessert. We gave daddy some new summer clothes, Rivercats tickets, and a framed picture of us for his office at work. I think he felt pretty special on his first Father's Day.

Month 4!!

What an awesome month it has been for Baby Lyla! On her 3 month birthday we decided to put her on a sleeping schedule and boy is she thriving on it! She started sleeping in her crib (not in mommy and daddy's room anymore)and going to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 PM. She is napping 3-4 times per day and nursing every 3 hours instead of every 2. What a difference it is been for her and us. She is such a happy baby now and hardly ever fusses. I can get stuff done around the house while she's napping and I don't feel like I'm feeding all day long anymore. After we put her in her room at night, she went from waking 2 times during the night to just one. And just in this past week, she has slept through the night 5 nights out of 6. I am so thrilled.

She is getting so big, so fast. She is weighing around 14 pounds now. I have been feeding her breastmilk out of a bottle once a day to get her used to taking bottles. She will be starting daycare in one month when I go back to work. Boohooo! She loves to suck on her fist now and she is holding toys. She also loves to look at her reflection in the mirror. She is now playing in her excersaucer. It is so stinkin cute!!

In the past month, she went for her first swim in our pool. It was a little cold for her, but we still think she is going to be a little fish because she LOVES her bathtime. We still go to our Mommy and Me group every Wednesday. We have made friends with several of the mommies and babies. We go out to lunch with them after our group. She went to her first Tolson Family Reunion. Everyone fell in love with her. Grandma Becky is staying with us every Tuesday night now. She is working in Sacramento and drives back and forth from Turlock everyday. This way, she can drive one less day and spend time with Lyla. Nana is babysitting Lyla every Saturday morning while Brett and I do our long runs. We are training for a half marathon in July.

We just adore our baby girl. She is such a blessing. We are so grateful for our little family. We couldn't be happier!!

1st Mother's Day!

We had a very busy Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday we drove down to Hanford (near Fresno) to visit Grandma Faruzzi and the rest of the Faruzzi clan that lives down there. It was Grandma Faruzzi's first time meeting Baby Lyla. Of course she fell in love with her instantly. We had a nice dinner and visit with them. That night we drove back up North to Turlock where we stayed the night at Brett's mom's house. It was our first overnighter with the baby. We had a delicious homemade breakfast at her house the next morning. We got to visit with Uncle Austin, Aunt Jenny, Great Grandma Lister, and Papa Mark as well. Brett and Lyla surprised me with a beautiful Tiffany's sterling silver necklace that has Lyla's first initial on it. I absolutely LOVE it. It was a great start to a wonderful Mother's Day. We drove home mid day and had my parents over for dessert when we got home. My mom made my first Mother's Day very special too (even though I am not her mother) by framing some beautiful pictures she had taken of Lyla. That night Brett made me a fabulous dinner and we relaxed for a couple of hours on the couch. Baby Girl was a sweetheart all day too. I couldn't have asked for a more special day.

Month 3

Wow!! Where has the time gone. Lyla turned 3 months on May 2nd. She is getting so big already. She looks like a baby now, not a newborn anymore. She is already 12 1/2 pounds. She is such a good little eater. She is smiling and cooing like crazy now. Especially when she is on her changing table. She is also batting at her toys when she is on her playtime mat. She is at a really cute stage right now. Over the past month we have definitely kept ourselves busy. We've gone to our Mommy and Me group at Kaiser every Wednesday and my postpartum sculpt class every Friday. We have also had weekly playdates with Luke and Sarah and Lucas and Amy. We've gone to the pizza and wine night at Bella Bru every Tuesday night with our friend Damo. We've also gone on many walks and runs around the neighborhood and hung out at my parent's house quite a bit. It's hard to believe that I will be returning to work in 2 months. I am really struggling with the thought of that. I am trying to enjoy every moment I have right now with my baby girl. We just love her SOOOO much!!!

Races

As you all know, Brett and I are into running and like to run races. I hadn't ran a race since last May (right before I got pregnant). We've ran 2 races since Lyla has been born. We ran the Zoo Zoom on April 11th. It took place in Land Park. Brett ran the 10K and I ran the 5K. Our 2nd race was on May 2nd (Lyla's 3 month birthday). It was the Fair Oaks Sun Run 5 miler. It is the toughest 5 mile race around. There are 5 MAJOR hills on the course. I somehow managed to place 2nd in my age group. Lyla hung out with my parents while we ran this one. We had a great time!!! We are thinking about running a half marathon next. Maybe sometime this summer.