March 2013-Almost 18 mos old!

Time goes so quickly! I’m so glad I get to share a lot of it with you.  One of the things so special to me about keeping you on a regular schedule while your mom works is that I never leave you without knowing when I will see you again. What a treat. There are times it is as long as a week between times I see you. When that happens I can clearly see changes in what you know and what you can do. Recently I’ve had opportunities to observe you with other children at story time at the library & a music session at Gymboree. You are thrilled when other children engage with you. When the teacher at Gymboree said the class was going to be ABBA music, my first thought was your Dad, rather than a Swedish “pop” group. You loved dancing to the music. Your mother always loved music and it seems you will too. On Feb 26 as I was putting you down “post bottle” for a nap you spontaneously wrapped your arms around my neck and kissed me. It was a first for me & made my eyes tear up. There was one day with you I described as a “Perfect Day”. I must admit your 3 hour nap contributed to the perfection, but we went to a bookstore & you picked out new books, you spoke to almost everyone & sat at a table with me to share a pretzel snack. We shopped at Toys R Us and because the weather was good we played outside post nap. You love to look at Elmo videos on my laptop. We’re also introducing you to Mickey Mouse characters since we’re going on a Disney Cruise in June. So I find the videos using Google. You love saying the word & surprised your parents by recognizing it later. You are so smart! The last day I was with you had diaper rash. It broke my heart when it made you cry with pain. The nurse said the best thing to do was keep you “diaperless” as much as possible. It made me stay with you constantly to prevent an accident. I spent a lot of time pulling you around the house while you sat on a big towel. You loved it! It made me realize simple things like a bath towel could be as much fun as an expensive toy. Your squeals of delight stay in my ears and make me smile when I remember our time together.  Recently there have been some stressful things going on at my work. What an oasis of pleasure it is to spend time with you. You will be 18 months old March 17.

You change every week!



Lyla Bear!



Sheep riding



Tree Hugging at University Oaks 



Visiting Great Grandmother Hastie

Helping Granny



Bitty Baby with new Potty

Visiting Granny's Office



Watching geese with favorite dog!



One change I noticed is your increased independence. For the first time when we went to the Chace Lake Swings you took off on your own, heading toward the street & the parking lot. When we went to Buy Buy Baby you darted off to another aisle before I knew it. I realize I must be  hyper-vigilant to keep such an independent curious girl safe. You are very alert to sounds. From inside the house you can hear an overhead plane or helicopter (which you pronounce an adorable way I can’t spell) and if possible we hurry outside to see it. When we’re outside you love to watch the birds & the geese fly overhead. The talented geese can walk, swim or fly and always travel in pairs.  Your vocabulary is expanding every day. Like your Sesame Street friend Abby Cababby, you love words. You are bilingual which is so special. I can’t “wrap my tongue” around Hebrew words the way you do but I am able to recognize the Hebrew words for “juice” and “water” and “trees” which is a start. You have started to color with crayons in an Elmo coloring book. We have started watching Elmo together on TV and on-line. And you are grieving the loss of our favorite Hebrew song on You Tube. Your Dad thinks it’s a copyright issue. At least you have it on CD in the car! Although I spent New Year’s Eve and the night of Feb 2 at your house I didn’t spend the night at your house at all in January. But we did spend a lot of time together. Your mother and I took you to Mobile to visit Great Grandmother. You delighted the residents of University Oaks where she lives. You were happy & sweet & funny & well-behaved. There was snow on Jan 17 and tornado conditions on Jan 30. You came to breakfast at University Hospital Jan 31 and one day we had lunch at Newk’s followed by a visit to my office in Jefferson Towers.  President Barack Obama was inaugurated for his 2^nd term, we visited your 2 month old cousin Micah at Brookwood where he has continued to grow and improve. Maybe we'll visit him at home soon. Your father made wonderful pictures of precious “Lyla Bear” on the prowl! And you came to breakfast at UH with your mom. Alabama football team won another national championship & you used the potty for the 1st time! Just a few things in  January 2013--a busy month. I’m so glad I got to share so much of it with you.  

Happy New Year 2013 with Lyla

Sheep Riding

Lylabear!



It’s 2013! Maybe I should not have included 2011 in the title of my blog? However, since that’s the year you were born, maybe it is a good idea. Because your Dad was off during the holidays I have not spent a lot of time with you recently. But you came to our house Christmas Day and I got to spend New Year’s Eve with you. Your parents “tweet” pictures & videos which keep me updated with your progress.  At your doctor’s visit yesterday you were 22 lbs (50^th percentile) and 33” tall (95^th percentile). You are such a busy, happy, smart (and tall) little girl! One of my favorite pictures is Lylabear”; but they all make me smile.  Starting next week I will be back on my routine “Lyla schedule”. Because I have been at the same job for almost 23 years I have a lot of vacation as well as the opportunity to work remote while you are sleeping which gives me the flexibility to be a regular part of your life and still be employed full time. I have plans to be retired this time next year and work only part time so I hope to remain a regular part of your life...and your future sibling(s)! On Christmas Day the Green grandchildren were also at our house. You had a lot of fun with Jacob (11) and Abigail (8) and Jackson (5). Abigail enjoyed pulling you around the house in the new wagon from Great Grandmother Hastie. It will be fun to play with your new toys the next time I’m at your house. During the holidays I’ve been organizing old pictures. I made an album of the dogs I’ve had in the past; from Jacques in 1968 to Frankie who is now 12 years old. Dogs have been a big part of my life. You really enjoy Sunday the dog who is so good at cleaning up whatever you drop on the floor. When I spent the night with you New Year’s Eve you let me read a lot of books to you and you let me hold you and rock you after your bottle before you went to bed. That was special. I am so glad you love books! You still love the 1^st book I ever read to you—Snuggle Puppy. But you have many books you like. You also enjoy finding moons in your books. You are a very smart girl!

In Birmingham, 2013 is going to be a year of commemorating several civil rights events which occurred 50 years ago in 1963. Although I was only 11 years old I clearly remember the events including Martin Luther King’s (MLK) April 16 “Letter from Birmingham Jail” & use of fire hoses & police dogs by “Bull Connor” during Birmingham protests in May & Medgar Evans murder in Jackson, Mississippi in June &  MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech at Lincoln Memorial August 28 & September 15 Bombing at Sixteenth Ave Baptist Church in Birmingham which killed four young girls Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins. I would like to participate in some of the 2013 events in Birmingham. Maybe you can participate in the 2063 events when you are 52 years old! In the meantime I’m looking forward to all of our time together in 2013!

PS I’m having trouble up-loading pictures to the Blog so I’ll have to try again later!



One Month Later: December 2012

Holding the leash while you walk the dog

Beautiful smile!

Crawling is a thing of the past

My Dog Sunday

Bears at Hoover Library!

Swinging at Chace Lake

My Bed in My Room

Sunset (or is it sunrise?) at the Beach



Things have been busy & I haven’t found the time to update my blog recently. As I’m posting this morning I’ve thought about why I have a blog about you. I don’t think it is supposed to be a log of what happens in your life. Rather I think it is a way to share my unique perspective of thoughts about and experiences with you. This time I chose pictures to try to illustrate a few of them. It is a long post…but I’ll justify it since it’s been a long time since I posted. First, whenever go out with Sunday, you want to hold the leash. It made me laugh to see you doing the same thing with your Dad. Even though it’s not really helping, you want to have some responsibility for the dog. Eventually you’re going to be big enough to really help walk the dog (and lots of other things!) and I think it’s important to not tell you “no” when you want to hold the leash. I also like this picture because I think it’s wonderful you ride on your Dad's back! Your Mom & Dad take you camping & to the beach & on hikes. You are going to have a connection to “the great outdoors” that I never had.  How awesome!

For a long time, because you were so good at crawling quickly whereever you needed to go, you weren’t too interested in walking. I think your official “first step” was Oct 28, but now you’re confidently and consistently walking! Although you have more mobility progress ahead (tricycle, bicycle, roller skates etc.) becoming biped is clearly the most significant and monumental. You are now officially a “toddler”!

I chose the picture of your beautiful smile while sitting in your “food chair” not only to show how beautiful you are, but how happy you are. Almost all of the time you laugh & play & hug & smile and really enjoy life. It is contagious. Happy times with you are the best part of my life! You see joy in little things which adds so much joy to my life.

You & I have gone to the Hoover Library several times. But the first time we went we discovered your big bear who lives at your Dad’s mother’s house has a “secret life” and a buddy at the library. You were so amazed! As we mature we become aware the world exists when we’re not observing it. (There is a specific term for that but I can’t remember it now). The next time we went to the library the bears were busy holding decorations and couldn’t play with you. You were very disappointed but adjusted pretty quickly. Maybe they can play next time! The Hoover Library is a great place to visit. Although it doesn’t have a “merry-go-round” like the mall, neither does it have the many distractions of the mall! And it has books & puzzles & puppets & a great outdoor play area and other children. You really really like other children! What a joy to watch you interact and play with other children!

The swing at Chace Lake is such a special place. Not only do you love to swing (so did your mother and so did I!) it is a place where we talk about birds & trees & leaves & airplanes etc. Recently we visit the decorations at the house across the street. Last year I carried you in my arms to see them (we now have an “annual tradition”!) There is a giant inflatable Santa & a snowman and your favorite…Snoopy on a mail box with Woodstock the yellow bird inside. I won’t even try to explain my life-long love of the Peanuts characters! The biggest driver of my desire to learn to read was to be able to read the newspaper cartoons to myself. When I was in college my mother mailed me the Peanuts cartoons so I could keep up with what was going on with Snoopy and the others. They’re still in a box in the attic! And I have MANY Peanuts books!

I love to watch your joy when you have a chance to be with your dog Sunday. You don’t realize Sunday doesn’t really like you very much. She is happy you drop so much food on the floor for her to eat. But otherwise she isn’t happy you joined the family. However, you don’t know that! Or if you do, you love her any way. We all have people in our lives who don’t really care about us. We have to “let go” of some of them, but just like you love Sunday, there are some we love any way & find joy in our imperfect relationship with them. And sometimes we are delightfully unaware they don’t really like us! I’m sure there are a lot of those people in my life but “ignorance is bliss” sometimes!

The amazingly beautiful picture of you at the beach was taken on a fall trip to the beach with your parents & another family. I grew up in Mobile and the beach was an important part of my life. My grandmother McMillan had a house at Dauphin Island and I had happy times there with my cousins and the grandmother we called “Bobo”. My family spent a wonderful week at Gulf Shores for many years. I always took one friend & I had a freedom there I didn’t have elsewhere. There is something wonderful about the place where the sky & water & beach come together.  I love the picture of you looking at the sunset (or is it sunrise; does it matter? Maybe I’ll get to go to the beach with you every summer! And one day take you & your friends? 

Finally the picture of you in your bed marks your height & illustrates how you wake up happy. I love to get you out of bed in the morning or after your nap because you are always so happy! Sleep is such a wonderful refreshing part of life. And greeting the day with joy is awesome. Because your parents have a monitor in your room we can hear and see you at times you think you’re alone! The night of Dec 5 one of your parents “tweeted” you said “Elmo” in your sleep. It delighted me to think you must have been dreaming about Elmo! Stuffed animals were a comforting and loving part of my childhood. I still have some of my favorites but when my parents moved from my childhood home they got rid of a lot of them! I am looking forward to sharing Sesame Street characters like precious Elmo with you. They didn’t exist when I was a child but I had Yogi Bear & Huckleberry Hound etc. I’ll still have a few of them! I hope you have wonderful dreams about your real & imaginary world. I loved my baby bed and had no desire to get out of it. It was a cozy place to be. Please don’t think this post is trying to affirm you are like me. You  are Lyla & have many many “Lyla-specific” traits. You may reject your crib next week! But my childhood memories and memories of mothering your mom help me connect to you. I realize you are making memories already which you may share one day with your grandchild! I hope you tell them about me!

It is such a joy to spend time with you at least one or two days a week. I love you & I’m looking forward to sharing many things with you in the future!

Baby Lyla with problems Breathing :(

Albuterol per Elephant Face Nebulizer

Still Enjoying Food however

You had a respiratory virus which inflammed your airways and caused coughing & wheezing. & difficulty breathing. Your Dad took a picture of you in your Mother's lap getting a respiratory treatment at home. I met you at the doctor one day & went with you and your Mom the next day. Although you didn't feel well you were still sweet and loving and had a pretty good appetite. You have a increased risk of developing asthma like your Mother has. Although I don't have the experience of having asthma, I do have the experience of being a mother watching her little girl have have difficulty breathing. I hope you don't develop asthma, but if you do, you will have the very best care from the very best parents. I spent Thursday and Friday afternoons at your house and stayed over night Friday. I got to hold you & rock you to extend your nap when you weren't feeling well. You don't often want to be held & rocked. We went on a walk by the lake and you learned your friends the geese who fly overhead are the same friends who swim in and walk by the lake. I could almost see you make the connection when we talked about it. You are now taking several steps actually walking. You slept all night Friday night and we had a fun outing at the swings Saturday morning. You seem to absorb information about the things you see like a sponge. Your Mom was the delivery nurse for her long time friend Natalie who delivered her baby Nash this morning (Saturday). Your Mom is a wonderful delivery nurse. Your Dad went hiking with you on his back this afternoon. On Tuesday this week President Barack Obama was elected for a second term. This has been a busy week and I've gotten to see you a lot! Hope you keep feeling better and better and don't have any more difficulty breathing for a very long time!

It's November 2012!

You had a great Halloween! Your friend Wilder came to trick-or-treat with you and both of you were skeltons! The weather was perfect & your neighborhood was packed with trick-or-treaters. There are two pictures of you at your cousin Thomas' 3rd birthday party; on your Dad's shoulders & smiling with a toy). One of your favorite toys is a xylophone Libby gave you for your birthday. You love the sounds it makes. You enjoy your Dad's guitar playing too...maybe you will be a musician? The video is evidence of your persistance in reaching a goal which is one of the most important traits in life which leads to  success! It got you on the sofa but also got you out of your "sleep sack" at nap time. I'm confident it will always help you with life's challenges. You are so beautiful and happy and smart. I had a 10 day gap in October without seeing you...and you clearly changed during the 10 days. You are so excited about life which is contagious when I'm with you. It is so heart-warming when you squeal with delight when I come to visit you. November 1 was a beautiful day I spent with you. We played outside for a long time. You love trees! You pat their trunks and touch their leaves. Although you've taken a few independent steps, you are so efficient at crawling it remains your favorite method of mobility. When we were outside you waved at all of the passing cars & said "hi" to anyone who walked by, even if they weren't close enough to hear you. You even waved at airplanes flying overhead. You recognize so many words! Your Dad speaks Hebrew to you so you are truly bilingual. What a special opportunity to further develop your brain!  It is such a treat to hold you while you drink your bottle before a nap or bedtime. Although that is one of those priceless moments that will pass as your grow older, I've learned every stage of life has it unique treasures. For example, clearly the best thing associated with being old is becoming a grandmother! This afternoon I'm going to your house while your parents go to the baby shower for a long time friend of your mother. I think I will get to give you a bath & your bedtime bottle. Thank you for letting me be a part of your exciting and special life.

A Week in October 2012

Cold early morning swing

Gymboree

Unhappy Skelton

Warm swing day (Phish shirt)

Pretty Skeleton w/ Dragon

I went to your house early Monday morning October 8. Your mom was at work and your Dad was getting ready for work. You had awakened early and we went out for an early cold am walk & swing in your  "bear suit" . The other picture is one your Dad took but it illustrates you love to swing. You & I went to the mall for lunch and “window shopping”. You are very social and love to interact with other people. About 2:00 am Tuesday morning  while your Mom was at work, you woke up screaming and crying. It was about 3:30 before you got back to sleep. This was very unusual event. You were very hard to comfort and your Dad and I weren’t sure what was going on. Maybe you had a bad dream? Finally after a dose of ibuprofen, a bottle and lots of cuddling, you went back to sleep. I wish you would never have a reason to cry. But since that is unlikely, I hope you always have people who love you around to comfort you when you cry. And I am confident that is very likely. You already engage with other people in such a kind way you will attract other kind people to you. And of course there are many of us in your who will “always love you no matter what you say or do”. Because Tuesday was a Jewish holiday your school was closed so we spent another whole day together. We played with your toys, went to Gymboree twice and did a lot of swinging with some neighbors. Again…you are quite social! You were ready to stop swinging until some neighbors arrived and you clearly wanted to stay as long a possible! Thursday morning you came to our house for breakfast before school. You enjoyed seeing your dog Sunday. Her date to return home to you was delayed for several weeks due to a flea problem at our house. But she is going home today! If you're not napping maybe I'll get to see you today too!  You were SO happy to see your teacher Stephanie when we got to JCC. I’m glad your parents have given you the opportunity to go to “mother’s day out” twice a week. All the more people who know and love you! The next two weeks I won’t be spending as much time with you as I did this week. I will be going to visit the Brown grandchildren in Clarksdale, Mississippi next weekend and then spending a long weekend with your great-grandmother in Mobile the next weekend. But I am looking forward to being at your house Halloween night! Your mom found you the most adorable costume…a very frilly skeleton!  You will be the cutest "trick or treater" in Chace Lake!

Columbus Day lunch at Mall!