Changes Are a Comin' - A Hodge Podge Post

My baby girl is officially on the move. No...she's not crawling. She has become the newest member of the Roller Girl club...Laila is log rolling all over the house! And man...she can MOVE! She gets her sights set on something she wants, starts rolling, stops, re-evaluates her angle, pivots, and keeps rolling to her destination. So stinking funny. She's so efficient, she's never going to crawl now! This morning she ended up under the recliner.

Which brings me to my next topic of baby-proofing. I'm so overwhelmed by the fact that I can't leave her even for a minute now, that I don't even know where to start with the baby proofing. What did you mamas do? One room at a time? Set up the baby-jail pack n' play for when you need to leave the room for a minute? I need some tips pronto, please and thank you ;)

My big girl is also mastering drinking from a sippy cup. I'm still giving her bottles of course, but she's doing really well at getting the hang of it. I think she just loves the apple juice reward when she gets it right ;)

Which brings me to my next topic. I am absolutely terrified giving Laila finger foods. She got a puff stuck on the back of her tongue on Mother's Day and it scared the crap outta me. Now I'm convinced anything solid I give her is going to choke her. Is this normal? I obviously know she needs her solids, and she normally does really well, but at the rate I'm going...she's going to be eating mashed peas on her 16th birthday! We're doing really well with toast, avocado, mashed potatoes etc but it literally gives me a heart attack at meal time. Any of you mamas experience this and have words of advice? Does it get better with time? Everything I give her is cut up in teeny tiny little pieces, but still...OOF.
This is the face I get at meal time when I give her something she loves...

My girl loves to eat.

 

I recently bought a nail polish that I'm OBSESSED with. I normally go for Essie polish, but I splurged a couple of weeks ago and purchased a bottle of Butter London polish in the color Molly Coddled. Love.

We were all set to take Laila to the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo tomorrow for the first time, but my poor husband is really really sick :( So we're not going, and probably try again next week.

 

I know I teased a couple of weeks ago about huge happenings here at the Raymor house, and I promise to spill it soon :)

 

Have a wonderful rest of your week!!!!!

Water Baby

Today marked our first day swimming in the neighborhood pool! It is about 80 degrees outside and they keep the pool super warm because there's a lot of little ones in the neighborhood. Laila and I made a speedy trip to Target this morning and bought the coolest pool floaty EVER! We raced home, broke out the sunscreen for the first time, grabbed Daddy and headed to the pool! As soon as we got there and she saw the water, she started fussing and trying to wiggle out of my arms because she wanted to get in RIGHT NOW! We thought this might happen since she loves her baths so much.

Seeing her chubby little legs kicking in the water was one of the cutest things ever! I see about 10 Kagillion trips to the pool in our future, which is fine with me! I just need to get her used to her baby sunglasses because it's so bright down there...even with the shade on her floaty.

 

The weather has been absolutely beautiful! We are soaking up as much sun as possible over these couple of days, because it's back to low 60s and rain this weekend :(

Hope it's sunny and beautiful wherever you are!

Mother's Day Weekend Recap

I've dreamed of celebrating Mother's Day for many years now, and I felt like the most blessed mama in the world to get to celebrate being a mother to my little Laila bug on Sunday.

Chris's mom and brother came up for the weekend. Saturday was filled with lots of visiting, playing, and a trip to the park! Laila loves to swing, and I think she would've been content swinging all day if we would've let her! She loves it so much, I'm on the hunt for a good baby swing for the house. Any suggestions?

Sunday we went out for a yummy lunch, played some more, and sadly said goodbye :(

Chris made the trek to Seattle Sunday afternoon to pick up our car that was stolen. (Read about that fiasco HERE). So while he did that, Laila and I drove down to Anacortes to spend a couple of hours with my mom :)
It was such a busy, fun weekend! Today we're just catching up around the house, going to get some work done, and maybe go for a walk this afternoon because it's so beautiful in the Pacific NW this week! Mid 70s in early May??? Practically unheard of!
Hope all you mamas had a wonderful Mother's Day!

5 On Friday-Mother's Day Edition

I'm going to call this my Mother's Day Edition of 5 on Friday.

1. My Mom
I have the most amazing mother a daughter could ever dream of. She is the most kind hearted, funny, smart, encouraging, caring, warm, wonderful person. If I'm a fraction of the mom to Laila that she is to me, then I'm doing something very right. Nothing makes me happier, than to see Laila's face light up when she sees her Nana, because I know Laila is getting the most wonderful gift of knowing someone so special :)  I love you so much mom. I look up to you and admire you more than I could ever say :) I love you!

My beautiful mama and Laila :)

2. My Mom's Mom
My "Grandma Anderson" was one special lady who taught me so much about how to be kind, fun, and loving. She unfortunately passed away too young, but I cherish the memories I have of her. She is a large part of why my mom is so special, because she takes after her in so many ways. I wish so much she could've met Laila, but I know she's watching my goofy little girl from above.

My Grandma and me :)

3. Mommy Movies
I'm a huge fan of chick flicks and those funny "Mommy Movies" are my fav!
Top 3
1. Father of the Bride part II
2. The Back-Up Plan
3. Juno
I could go on and on, but you get the point ;)

4. Things I didn't Expect About Motherhood
There are so many things that people tell you when you're pregnant but you really just can't know what you're in for until you're in the trenches.

1. That I would be so head over heels in love with my baby that it's scary. It's really scary to love someone so much because you so fiercely want to protect them and nothing bad to ever ever happen to them. I knew I would love her, but it literally hurts I love that little girl so much! I would do anything for her without batting an eye, and that's a pretty amazing kind of love.

2. That at any given moment I would have spit up on my shirt, baby drool dried to my arms and face, and maybe a splatter of baby poop on my jeans and I couldn't care less! One of my "welcome to motherhood moments" I had after Laila was born was standing in line at the grocery store, realizing I hadn't washed my hair for like 4 days, wearing yoga pants with POOP on the thigh, no make-up, hair piled in a knot on top of my head, and smelling like spit up. I think I was just so happy to be out of the house, I didn't even stop to look in a mirror...well, that's obviously what happened!

3. That it really does go way too fast! I bet I had a hundred people tell me that when I was pregnant, but it couldn't be more true.

5. Dear Miss Laila Kate
I am the most blessed person on the face of the earth to get to call herself your mommy. You are one special, funny, sweet little girl who I love so much. You're growing up so fast, and I love watching you learn new things. Your smile kills me...you are my little ray of sunshine. I promise to continue to try to be the best mommy in the whole world to you, because that's what you deserve. I love you to the moon and back, boo boo!

 

Laila - 9 Months

I know I say it every month but I can not believe my baby girl is 9 months old already!

Laila Kate these Days:

Height: 29.5 inches
Weight: 21.06 lbs
Clothing Size: 12 - 24 months (except she wears size 2T shorts because of her bodacious booty ;)

Favorite Food: My girl has yet to not like a single food lately that she's tried! Her latest favorites are avocados, carrots, and any fuzz she can find from the carpet.

Milestones: Clapping, waving, says Dada and Nana, and we're working on blowing kisses. There's still no crawling, but she's started log rolling all over the place to get where she wants to go. We're making some progress on crawling, but she rarely gets her little hips off the ground. She has also started fake laughing and cheeseball smiling  (see below) which makes for endless entertainment for strangers  and her mama at the grocery store!

Favorite Toy: She still loves her wagon, especially since we started taking it outside.

Anything related to animals (especially cats), and the rubber duck that she has in her hand in the above picture. Her and Paisley fight over it -he wants it SO bad and I occasionally find him hiding in our bedroom with it in his mouth with that guilty look on his face. Such a thief.

Favorite Activity: Laila has started loving books, and being read to. She will literally snuggle in under a blanket for like 4 or 5 books. She has an Elmo pop-up book that she especially loves and cries when I finally have had enough Elmo and put it down.

Least Favorite Activity: Seeing someone she loves leave the room. Major fuss attack every time.

Those thighs are just delicious

5 Things I'm Loving on Cinco de Mayo!

I love getting great suggestions from blogs, and seeing what other people are loving at the moment. So, I thought I'd list 5 things that I'm LOVING right now...even if its something as mundane as a new cleaning product that I'm a little obsessed with ;)

1. My husband actually discovered the fantastic YouTube channel What's Up Moms?. It's funny, informative, and touching and I just love watching for their new videos...it's like blogging on steroids. Check it out...you won't be sorry :)

2. I've gotten really picky about the cleaning products I use since having a baby...especially in the kitchen. I'm a huge fan of The Honest Company, but I ran out of my kitchen spray, so I purchased Method brand All Purpose Natural Surface Cleaner in the cucumber scent...LOVE. It's non-toxic and plant based so if I drop Laila's spoon, or food on the counter after I clean it, it's not covered with anti-bacterial harsh chemicals. It smells awesome too.


3. I might have included this in another blog post, but I got a Victoria's Secret coupon for a free full size body mist (love their coupons!) So I high-tailed it to the mall and got the Coconut Passion scent - it's a mix of Coconut (duh) and Vanilla - it smells like a tropical vacation. I spritz it on right after I shower, and pretend I'm on the beach in Tahiti for approx 2.5 seconds.

4. We've been on the hunt for a great sippy cup for Laila, since we are starting to introduce her to those instead of her bottles. There's some clunky, pieces of you know what out there but we found one that she loves to "drink" out of (she doesn't get the concept yet...but she loves to fling them across the room!). It's the NUK Learner Cup. Perfect for little hands and mouths :)

5. Mother's Day. Many of you know my journey to becoming a mom wasn't easy. I cannot express how blessed I feel to be celebrating Mother's Day this coming weekend for the first time with my beautiful baby girl. I love being a mom a trillion times more than I could have ever imagined, and I'd go through it all over again a thousand times for just one day with my sweet girl.

So Happy Mother's Day in advance to all of you mamas. Hope this weekend is full of baby snuggling and feeling loved and appreciated by your family :)

Long time, No see!

I'm still here, I promise! Life has been turned upside down here at the Raymor house, which I promise to spill all the deets in the coming weeks ;) But ya know how when something CRAZY happens and its pretty much all you can think about??? That's what's happening here...and coming up with anything else to blog about has been pretty impossible. But believe me...I'll have plenty to say once I can share...ok....enough teasing ;)
This week is going to be chalked full of playdates, house projects, work, and Laila's 9 month appointment. I hate it so much when she gets her shots - saddest thing ever to see those big crocodile tears roll down her cheeks. I'll do her 9 month update after the appointment so we have accurate stats on height and weight...which I'm pretty sure our big girl will be off the charts!

We've deemed today "Family Fun Day" so we are off to do something as a fam...something that's rare these days since Chris is self-employed and works so much.

Sorry I've been gone for so long! Hope everyone has a wonderful end to their weekend!!!