I can’t believe it’s taken me over a month to post about lyla girl’s first birthday. But, the sun has been shining, and sitting at the computer has taken a back seat, i suppose.

Her actual birthday fell on a saturday this year, so it worked out perfectly to have a small party to celebrate her first year of life. The weather was beautiful, she loved opening her gifts, and she devoured her whip cream & strawberry cake-success all around!

lyla was a pretty mellow baby, but as she neared one this crazy little personality started to emerge-or maybe explode.

it seemed like it happened overnight. she got real loud, and real mobile quick.

from the moment she learned to walk, she has been running, climbing, and getting herself into all sorts of precarious situations.

she is fearless, and i often find her perched on top of something, teetering near the edge, with a proud smile on her face.

she’s had countless bloody lips, bumps, and bruises. in fact, probably more than both her sisters put together.

she is very verbal, and already has lots of words.

{mama, dada, doggie, juice, all done, baby, uh oh, bye, night-night, binkie, and nana-for banana}

she loves to cart around her baby doll, color, and play outside.

she loves to play in the dirt, whether it be the garden or a mole hill. i really do love watching her play outside, but i do not enjoy giving her multiple baths a day.

{she really loved her card from finley}

she is extremely affectionate. she loves to be held, and freely gives out hugs and kisses. it’s quite adorable watching her show love to my friends or the women who take care of her at church.

she’s not quite 20 lbs yet, which makes her our smallest baby (hooray!!!). a funny fact: adalaide weighed 20 lbs at 6 months. isn’t that crazy?!

another funny fact: when adalaide was this old (13 months) i popped out lyla. can you believe that?! i most definitely cannot imagine having another baby right now.

lyla sleeps from 7 or 7:30 until 8, and takes two naps. this blessed sleep schedule came much later than it should have, but it’s here now. and i feel like a million bucks now that i’m finally well rested.

this year really flew by. i know we all say that as every year comes to a close, but this one seemed to fly by faster than normal. i have really struggled in the past, watching how fast our babies grow. feeling such joy in each new stage, but also saddness that time was going too fast for me. I still really wish that we could keep our little ones little for longer, but i’m focusing much more on the joy part. living in the moment, and being thankful for the time God has given us. it’s a good, freeing feeling and I’m thankful God’s been working on my heart.

Lyla came into our family when we were least expecting it. but, God’s timing and plan for our family has been more perfect than anything I could have orchestrated. She is a gift from God, and we are so blessed to be her parents.

and now i’m crying.

speaking of crying, here is the video of her birth. i cry every time i watch it, remembering how excited we were to meet her and hold her, and remembering how instantly my heart grew with love for our new daughter.

lyla, you are one very loved and adored little girl. happy first birthday!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZcPVASPr-k?rel=0]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz82N2OQlcU]

just a few days after turning 6 months old lyla took off crawling.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo3AXrdaY2M]

when finley and adalaide learned to crawl i had some time to get around to baby proofing our house. not so with this girl. she figured out how to get where she wanted, and she hasn’t sat still since.  

my lyla girl,
 these six months with you have flown by. i try not to get sad about how fast you’re growing, but of course i can’t entirely help it.

this is my favorite thing to do. kiss your neck. the harder i do it, the harder you laugh.

your squishy thighs are a big hit around here.

it’s actually a bit funny how often people comment on your juicy little legs.

your one dimple is still the cutest thing i have ever seen. ever!

your 5th month was an exciting one:  you had your first taste of real food, your first round of ‘crying it out’, and your first cold.

you ate like a champ from the very first bite. so far you’ve had rice cereal, avocado, banana, and yort {homemade yogurt}. you love it all, but i’m going to have to modify things as you’ve joined the constipation club, just like your big sisters.

you are nearly crawling. i’m guessing any day now you’ll be doing it full-blown. right now you are able to make your way all around a room by rolling and army crawling. you are unbelievably strong-in my biased opinion

people tell me that you have your own look, but i actually think you are a perfect mix of finley and adalaide.

you love to play in your exersaucer and your favorite toy is sophie la girafe.

you also love your muslin blankies, and you need to have them tucked by your cheek while you sleep.

i love watching you interact with your sisters. you watch them all day long and love when they stop to play with you. they make you laugh so easily-it’s adorable.

lyla scott, you are such a blessing to our family. we love you.

happy half birthday!

 our family has had lots of fun stuff going on. the weather has actually been somewhat summery so we’ve been outside every waking moment. besides the normal summertime fun {park, swimming, picnics, etc…} we’ve been:

-dying at how cute adalaide looks in pigtails-

-pickin’ berries-

-playing with cousins-

-and wondering how in the heck  this sweet thing is 4 months old already-

lyla started rolling like crazy around 12 weeks. she rolls and rolls and before you know it she’s under a coffee table.

she loves standing in the exersaucer and is starting to play with the toys.

she has, or i should say “had” a tooth. it poked through the skin and then the next day it went back down. how cruel is that? {finley still holds the title for earliest tooth at 3 1/2 months}

sleep has not been so great this week

she babbles a lot. and she is really, really loud.

she might have restless leg syndrome. not really, but she shuffles her feet in a sort of jig while she’s sleeping. it’s funny and actually quite loud.

and she laughs, especially when you blow raspberries on her tummy.

lyla has been smiling since mother’s day {isn’t that a sweet gift!} but it’s been quite challenging to engage her and snap a picture at the same time. i finally got some!