Little Lyla

I know I said I was going to blog every day but it didn't happen.  Fail.  Here is my next attempt to catch up on our lives.

Lyla started preschool again.  Yay!  She is her father's daughter and absolutely loves school!  She had been talking about it almost every day since the middle of the summer and was so excited to finally start.  

First Day of School, September 2012!

This is her excited pose.  Love the undie shot here!  This shirt is a size 24m... way too short for my tall girl! 

 And as if the excitement of preschool isn't enough, each girl had their own day to be "spotlighted".  We made a poster of all of Lyla's favorite things, as well as pictures of her growing up.  She even got to wear a crown when we presented her poster.  Since then, she tells me every day that she "... is so excited (pronounced exKited) for when she can be spotlighted again".  This girl loves when it's all about her!  She still asks to have a birthday party where friends bring her presents and we can make a big cake for her.  I don't know how to break it to her that we probably won't do a "present" party this year.  :-/  Moving on...  Notice her side pony tail.  She used to HATE me doing her hair but now she is asking me to do her hair in a side ponytail every single time we do her hair.

Lyla with her "About Me" poster.

 These are Lyla's classmates.  So cute, huh?

Lyla, Julia, Izzy, and Adeline

She was so excited about this!

I feel like I haven't written much about Lyla lately, and I really just have so much to say.  So I'll write some of my favorite things about her.

• Lyla went her first night without going "pee pee" in her pull ups last night.  This is a big deal in our house because she is such a heavy sleeper, she never wakes herself up to go potty.  As a reward, she was able to go to the store to pick out a toy.  She picked out a toy beauty bag (hair dryer, straightener, brush, curling iron, lipstick, perfume, etc.)  We told her she could pick out a big and little item from the bag each time she wakes up with a dry diaper.  She was very understanding and didn't even throw a fit that we couldn't give her the whole bag at once because it was too expensive. She's great.  
• Last night (or this morning) she woke up a little after 1am to go potty on the toilet.  This was HUGE!  She has never woken herself up for this purpose and I was so proud.  She was really tired but when I was quietly cheering for her as she was on the potty, she got the cutest, most proud little look on her face.  It. was. awesome!  Unfortunately, she didn't last through the night and she was so disappointed, but we made sure to give her a treat for waking herself up earlier. 
• Lyla is my responsible one.  She is always making sure that everyone is following the rules and if someone isn't, she tells me or another mommy about it.  She doesn't do it to be mean, it's really more of an informative thing and she does it so no one gets hurt or in trouble.  It's kind of funny.
• She gets really shy with some people.  Sometimes she even acts shy with people she knows.  Not sure why this is, but it's probably just a phase. 
• Sometimes she gets so excited and shy at the same time that she does this face that is a mix of someone really surprised and Blue Steel.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.  I'll try to get a picture of it.
• Lyla loves being a big sister to Ruby.  She tells me she will calm Ruby down if she cries when they go to bed, she loves giggling for sometimes an hour after bedtime with Rube, she gets so proud when she shares with Ruby, yelling, "MOM!  I SHARED WITH RUBY"! Ruby loves following Lyla around and doing (most) whatever Lyla asks her to do.  The other day while they were playing, I heard the following conversation:

L: Ruby, do you want to push that cart?  Say 'Yes'.
R: Yes.
L: Ok!  Ruby, do you want to trade books with me?  Say 'Yes'.
R: Yes
L: Ok!

• Today, Lyla was pretending she had a baby that just came out of her tummy.  She was so excited to have a little girl baby.  Then she said, "Oh no, my baby is crying, I'll have to put her back in my tummy now".  After a few seconds her baby came right back out because she was not crying anymore.  :)  I'm excited to see what she'll be like when she has another sibling.  
• Lyla is going to be the best babysitter ever.  She is so responsible, loves babies, and likes being in charge.  
• While Ly was at preschool today, I took a shower.  After I picked her up and brought her home, we were reading a book on the couch when she leans over to me, sniffs my arm and says thoughtfully, "You smell really good, mom".  
• She's an awesome helper in the kitchen.
• She has been so great about my shots and I think has almost overcome her fear of needles.  We'll see when she gets her next shot.  But she doesn't freak out anymore, which is huge for her!  See this post for an idea of how much she hates needles.
• She'll often hug me or snuggle with me and just say things like, "I love you, mom" or "You're really beautiful"! She melts my heart!
• She ADORES her dad.  

Gosh, there really are so many things I love about this girl.  She is so good and so honest and brightens my day every single day.  I am so lucky to have her.  I really wish I could remember all the things she says that just crack me up but I can't think of them right now.

To sum it all up, I absolutely love my little Lyla girl and I am one proud momma!