Winter is in the air

True, yesterday was 75 degrees (in November!?), but today it was only 35 and so we finally got to pull out some warm clothes! And very cute clothes in Myla's case. She's been looking so big lately - something about growing I think. She's doing it fast too - moving everywhere she can, whether crawling or walking around the furniture. She gets really mad at herself when she falters a little bit while standing too. Its so cute, you can't help but laugh, and she doesn't like that so much either.

Tonight, we tried some little ravioli's for Myla to pick up and feed herself. She seems to have a preference for that lately. She'll take a few spoonfuls of food from us and then the hands will break free and go in her mouth. So, she usually ends with cheerios or puffs. But tonight we thought something more substantial - yeah, right. Some ended up on her shirt, some on the floor (much to the dog's eternal happiness) and some smooshed all over the tray. I think she did get a taste of it, but then got too frustrated that they were so slippery and so she, yet again, finished with cheerios. As long as she's eating, right?

She fell asleep tonight holding tight to my finger as we were rocking. I've been waking up in the middle of the night lately with this weird feeling that I couldn't figure out until her little hand squeezed my finger. Its the feeling I had last year, when she was in the hospital. We had just gotten to hold her not too long before and it was around this time that she moved off the ventilator and onto high flow oxygen. That's what that feeling is, the same feeling of not being near her. That's why I can go back to sleep after I check on her, because there she is, sleeping in the next room with her diaper-butt up in the air, having little baby dreams. And not anywhere else. I hope that all the babies in all the hospital and all their moms can someday too feel that peace that comes with a happy baby in the next room.

Picture Tag

Our framily, the Tessems, tagged us for picture tag. The way I understand it, its the fourth picture from the fourth folder in your picture file. So, I went into our picture files and here is the specified picture -
Kind of ironic that its a picture of their kids from our Christmas celebration in 2006...

In the spirit of the game, I now tag Mindy and Andrea and Stephanie - and hey, anyone else that wants to share random pictures from their computers!

Cute stories to share

Saturday, I put Myla down for a nap before some friends came over. She played most of the time while she was in her crib, and when I was sure that she was obviously not going to go to sleep, I peeked my head in to see what she was doing. And then I had to go get Johnny. Together, as we stood outside her room and opened her door, there was Myla, standing up at the end of her crib, looking at the door - with her pants off! Yep, whether she crawled out of them or stepped on them till they came off while pulling herself up, I don't know, but we all thought it was pretty funny.

Myla has really taken to the crawling part of life and now likes to go after the dog if there is a run-by sniffing. She will crawl up close to Haley's chair and Haley will have to get out of it (for some unknown dog reason) and they will go after each other until Myla is away from the chair and Haley can lay down. I don't know - some kind of game they play. Myla loves to look out the window and Haley does too, so its something they can do together. Unlike the cat, who still tries not to go near Myla if she can help it, which is getting harder to do.

The baby dolls have found a temporary home sitting in our big chair until they can be pulled off. We decided to plop Myla up there too, to take a picture of all the baby dolls. There is one that has a rattle in it and I decided to play peek-a-boo with it for Myla. The baby would come up from the floor and say boo! and Myla would laugh and laugh and laugh! Then the baby would go back down and Myla would look over the edge of the chair to see her and the minute she did would laugh and laugh and laugh! She thought that baby was so funny, and it made us laugh so hard we had tears in our eyes. Thank goodness for video!

Dirty knees

Just as we posted that Myla was only thinking about crawling and trying so hard, she went and did it! She crawled like 10 feet! Now we can't keep her still, not that we want to, but it's a whole new ballgame now that she's mobile. If we move into another room she loves to follow us and pull herself up by our legs. And, we've also found just how dirty our floors really can be.... all on her knees and feet. She is so much fun!

So far so good for Myla and Mommy. Daddy got a really bad cold this past weekend that turned into an ear infection. Really! Are you kidding me?! Anyway, I'm no longer contagious if what we're told about antibiotics is true and I can hopefully go back to work and back to being Myla's Daddy. I tried to not touch her if I could help it and it was no fun but I think we'll all be okay. Poor Mommy had to do the late night duties with baby so Daddy could rest and get better but now that he's fed up with being sick she can sleep.

Ladybugs, pumpkins and cookies - oh my!

Myla went to a pumpkin party on Sunday at her cousin Reagan's house. She went as a ladybug - so cute! She got to decorate cookies and had lots of fun playing with the toy kitchen and watching dad carve her pumpkin. There were lots of things to watch and take in - particularly the other kids as they ran around and played. Mom and Dad got to visit and eat some yummy soups and snacks. It was a great time.

Myla went to the doctor on Monday - much to dad's dismay. She did have to get four shots (one was her flu shot) and he really doesn't like to see that happen. But she settled down almost immediately after she got back in his arms. Myla now weighs 15 pounds and 11 ounces and is 25 3/4 inches tall. Not bad huh? The doctor thought she was doing just great and was very happy to see her progressing so well. She also has been cleared to go anywhere in the mountains that she wants, which is kind of nice. I was thinking about the ice sculptures in Breckenridge come January....

She is really working on the crawling thing and has become a master at getting from a sitting position over her feet and on to her tummy. However, she is still stuck in reverse and only inches forward some of the time. But she's getting it - you can tell she gets really frustrated about going backwards. Johnny says that she got the army crawl going for a little bit today. She's so big!

Its a party!

When else in one's life can a birthday be cause for so much celebration? The very first birthday. The one you're not likely to remember at all but to most of those who were there, it will be one for the scrap books. I don't know if Myla had any fun or not...who am I kidding, she had too much fun! She was so tired before the party was over. The stimulation of all the people there to see her, the bright, fancy wrappings and don't forget the textures, like birthday cake and tissue paper. Flashing lights on toys and noises accompanying them... it's a lot to take in when you're little.


We would like to thank everyone who came and helped make Myla's day so special. It's wonderful to know so many people care about you and looking back, I know she will see it. And for all the family and Framily that are out of town, we know your wishes for Myla on her special day were felt. It's amazing how much fun we had celebrating our little girl! It really brought back the mystique and joy of not just birthdays but all new and exciting things that Myla is experiencing, we're re-living them all over again through her beautiful blue eyes.

Myla, on Saturday, decided to be more independent...or rather Dad was not paying close enough attention.... I was changing her diaper and left her on the changing pad on top of her dresser to kneel down and un-clog the diaper genie when out of the corner of my eye something was coming towards me really fast. I pivoted and stuck out my arms and there was Myla! Very surprised of course, and so was I. I still don't know how I caught her but I dare not try for a repeat event. Our life is about to become much more interesting. Myla can inch forward on her hands and knees now and she loves to walk if someone holds her hands. It's more like a march, but she's got the basics down. It won't be long and we'll have to really keep a sharp eye out for a wobbly little mover. Look out Cat!

Happy 1st Birthday Myla!

Happy Birthday to Myla! Happy Birthday to Myla! I guess you know how the rest of the song goes huh? Myla is officially one year old today and loving every minute of it. Today, we took her out for a celebratory breakfast and after a necessity trip to Target and a nap, Myla took her first trip to the Butterfly Pavilion.

Once she saw that things were flying around her head, she was pretty intrigued. She watched them on the leaves and on the flowers and even watched one land on mom's back. She tried to grab them - of course - but they were pretty fast. She also had a good time watching the kids that were there on school field trips and the few birds they have inside. Then we took the dog on a walk - its a gorgeous 60 degree October day in Denver - and she had fun watching the dog chase, well, just about anything.

I think she had a pretty good day and we are having a great time being with her. She's very happy today too and smiles all the way through the happy birthday song. She's been working on crawling and went forward for a little bit today before she flattened out for a toy. She's so big and she'll be on the move in no time. Thank you to everyone who's giving their best wishes to Myla this past year. We all appreciate it more than you will ever know.