Yucky!

I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but this story cannot go unrecorded. Yesterday we decided to go out and buy Lila a little potty. I know she's not ready for potty training yet and she won't be for a while, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to have one around for the while before we start trying just so she can get used to it, etc. Lila loves her little potty and keeps opening and closing it, but she clearly has no idea what it's for. It has a removable cushiony seat and she loves taking it out and carrying it around the house and trying to wear it as a hat. I'll have to get a picture of that.

Apparently I got a little overexcited about the new potty because this morning when I noticed Lila making her pooping face (if you're a mother, you know what I'm talking about), I decided to take her diaper off and to set her on the potty to finish. Why not, right? Then maybe she'll know what it's for (that's what I was thinking at the time). Well, she was NOT happy about me trying to sit her down while she was doing her business. Needless to say, having a baby flail around without a diaper while they're in the middle of pooping is NOT a good situation and the mess that was left was not very much fun either: Some poop in her diaper, some on the floor, some on the rug, some on the real toilet seat, and yes, some on the bottom of my foot and my jeans. As I said to Lila: Yucky! Oh the things we moms suffer through. That's what I get for trying to get a 14 month old to poop on the potty! Don't ask me what I was thinking.

When I called Byron to tell him about our first potty adventure (or should I say nightmare?), he asked if I took pictures. Are you kidding me? Yes, I left poop all over the baby, me, and the bathroom, grabbed the camera, got Lila to pose and started snapping away precious memories. Ha!

P.S.--I haven't been blogging because (a) I'm lazy, (b) Lila needs entertaining every waking hour, and (c) we can't fit any more pictures on our computer (we need to buy an external hard drive and haven't gotten around to it yet) and posts without pics just don't seem quite the same, and (d) it's overwhelming to start again when you get so far behind!

Lots to catch up on, but before I get to that...

We found out what we're having! As Byron would say, he is no longer outnumbered.

Yes, it's a boy!

So for all of you who kept guessing it was a girl, sorry, your prediction powers have unfortunately been proven wrong. I think pretty much every one who ventured to guess guessed it would be a girl except for Byron's sister Laura. It's about time my family produce some male blood! We are really excited (especially Byron) and it was so fun to watch our little boy kick and wiggle around on his first big screen debut yesterday. Byron already has big plans for his professional sports career so we were happy to see he seems active and healthy.

Lila was also there for the big reveal but she didn't seem too concerned whether she was going to have a brother or a sister as long as the baby is healthy. I know she'll be a great big sister.

Here he is waving hello to everyone. I turns out what I thought was the ear on the side of the head is actually part of the brain...oops!

I hope no one finds this image offensive. I seem to remember my dad calling it pornographic, but can it really count when the baby's not out of the womb yet? It's just so funny how when it's a boy, there's really no doubt about it! Do they really need the arrow there? He wasn't spread eagle the whole time. The ultrasound tech actually had to work at it for a while to get him to uncross his legs.

Now the search for a name begins...

Thanks Alexia!

My friend Alexia took pictures of Lila the week before her birthday and they turned out sooooo good! She is incredibly talented (as you can tell by these awesome pics) and I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone in the area. Go check out her website tybebe.com and you can see some of her other amazing photo shoots. Here are just a few of some of the many fabulous pictures she got:

I can't believe she's such a big girl now!

She BARELY fit in this tub

Nothing in the world compares to that smile!

She sure loves her daddy : )

Notice the birthday candle bow handmade by moi.

Alexia had this on her blog with the appropriate title, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

Profile is never my favorite shot of myself, but how could I not post the mommy & daddy kissy pose? Look how much Lila enjoyed it!

One word: A-DOR-A-BLE

Gotta love the daisy bow! My friend Kristi let me borrow some super cute accessories: bows, fairy wings, shoes, etc. Thanks Kristi!

Nothing makes me happier than being together as a family!

Happy Birthday Lila!

I can't believe our little baby is well on her way to being a toddler. She turned one today! Her party was yesterday... pictures to come : )

A few tricks up her sleeve

Lila is becoming quite talented, so I thought in honor of her almost first birthday, I'd tell you all about some of her many tricks:

• She loves dancing and has some pretty good moves, including her famous head bob.
• She can make smooching sounds with her lips (like a kiss) and click her tongue. She does it all the time just to make us laugh.
• She loves clapping.
• She's pretty good at waving whenever we ask her to or just when we say "bye bye."
• She sometimes kisses her baby doll (well I'm not sure if she's tasting it or kissing it, but I like to think the latter).
• I mentioned it in the last post, but she cruises ALL around the house. She doesn't even need furniture anymore, she'll just lean on a wall and then start walking from room to room through doorways and around corners holding on to the wall.
• She has quite a sense of humor and makes the funniest "jokes" (like making weird noises and then laughing hysterically with us repeated over and over again).
• She can throw and sometimes "catch" a ball.
• Her first word is "duck," not dada or mama. She loves birds and especially ducks. You should see how crazy she goes over seagulls at the beach. She practically goes into convulsions and hyperventilation with excitement!
• I think there are more...I'm going to ask Byron what I missed when he gets home from work : )

Finally!

We've got a crawler! Yeah, I know you probably figured she'd been crawling for at least a few months now, but Lila just started crawling last Monday (Aug. 3rd...13 days before her first birthday). Finally! I'm actually not sure how long she's actually been crawling for because she's apparently been a closet crawler. Here's how the story goes:

Last Monday I was getting ready in the bathroom while Lila was sitting by our bed drinking her cup of milk. When I went to check on her, her little bum was sticking out of our walk-in closet. She had clearly crawled over there, although it wasn't much of a distance. I decided to watch her without letting her see me and I saw her crawl into the closet, all around it, and back out to get her milk again. What???!!! She can crawl??? I popped out and exclaimed with delight, "Lila, you can crawl!" That's when she fell to her stomach and started crying for me to help her move as if she was once again immobile. I think she was very disappointed that I had discovered her secret and she might have to start moving for herself once in a while.

I quickly grabbed a cracker from the kitchen and placed it several feet away from her to try to entice her to crawl a little more. "Lila, do you want to crawl again?" I asked her. She just whined a little and acted like she didn't know what to do. I left for the bathroom again and when I came back a minute later, there she was, eating the cracker in the exact spot where I had left it. Yep, a closet crawler. I think she probably knows how to break dance by now but only does it when we're not watching, maybe in her crib at night or something. Now that she knows the word is out, she's started crawling a lot more, but she definitely still prefers her personal chauffeur: moi.

I haven't mentioned it before, but Lila LOVES cruising. She's been doing that for the past few months and we have fun setting up little obstacle courses for her around the house with chairs, furniture, etc. so she can walk all around from item to item. I'll let you know when we have a walker on our hands, but it might be a few more months before she decides to reveal that ultimate trick to us. She does enjoy walking around holding onto our fingers and I think Byron and I might need chiropractic services pretty soon from walking around bent at the waist helping her.

Babies are so funny!

Anthony's

I've never like seafood. Byron loves seafood. Since marrying Byron, I've slowly started liking certain fish, shrimp, etc. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for branching out. I always feel bad for Byron though because I very, very rarely make any fish or seafood at home. I honestly don't really know how to prepare it since I never grew up eating it. I'm always happy when we go out to seafood restaurants so Byron can actually get something to fulfill his seafood taste buds.

On Saturday, we went to Anthony's Fish Grotto, a family-friendly restaurant right in the harbor. It turns out some people don't understand that babies are allowed at family restaurants, particularly at lunch. Some old guy commented loudly as he was passing our table that "babies have no sense of propriety." Can you help but laugh at that? I mean...seriously, no sense of "propriety"? And how can you say anything negative when confronted with this little face. The funniest part is that Lila was actually being really good and hardly making any noise at all other than the occasional squeal of delight.

The food was really yummy, the view was great, and the company couldn't be beat.
After lunch, we went for a walk around the harbor past all the ships that have been turned into museums.

I LOVE spending time as a family!

Beach Day

Last week we were lucky enough to head to the beach with these lovely ladies and cute kidlets. We didn't get to stay for long due to Lila's napping needs, but it was a lot of fun to hang out at the beach with friends for a little while. I love the girls in our ward...they are so much fun!
When Byron got home from work, he decided that he wanted to go to the beach too (he gets home around 3). Luckily I hadn't changed out of my suit yet and Lila's always up for a beach trip, so we headed out once again for the sea.

We had a really fun time until disaster struck. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it, but a rogue wave, I'll call it a mini-tsunami, put our fun afternoon at the beach to an abrupt end. I was sitting under our umbrella on the beach blanket watching Byron and Lila walk out of the water up towards me when I noticed a huge wave behind them, towering over Byron's head. Luckily I've got a sure-footed husband and he didn't fall down with Lila, but our "stuff" didn't fare so well. The swell from the mini-tsunami went about ten feet higher than any of the waves before it, soaking our blanket and towels, and washing all the sand toys and our sandals back into the ocean with it. Luckily some kind bystanders rushed to help us gather our lost belongings before they were sucked all the way out to sea.

Somehow in the chaos that followed, Lila's wet little body managed to land face-first in the sand. It did make for a cute picture though.

That's what happens when you park your stuff too close to the water. Make sure to give yourself at least a 12-foot buffer beyond where the typical waves are washing up in case you ever run into a rogue wave like we did.