Almost 11 months and already walking!

Yes you saw it right, Lyla is walking! She was taking 1-2 steps at a time a couple weeks ago but on Valentine's Day, she started walking 5+ steps at a time. Grandma Knox was there to witness her first steps on her own but Grandma and Grandpa Brown also saw her a little later. Now I think bumps and bruises will be around for a while!

Grandma Knox came to visit last weekend! My parents are winter birds and travel to Arizona Jan-March. My mom couldn't go without seeing Lyla for 3 months so she got good plane tickets to make this one of her stops. We were happy to see her (and got some shopping done too)!

Grandma Knox and Lyla on Valentine's Day


Lyla continues to be a curious little girl and such a joy.

• Last week I was vacuuming the first floor and she followed right behind me with her shopping cart. I couldn't turn around without running into her. I truly think she thought she was helping me vacuum. It was so cute! I laughed the whole time!



• I always put one of her pacifiers in her car seat along with her blanket, bunny and jacket. She just figured out that her pacifier is always in there and continues to take everything out of the car seat to get it.



• When she hears any music she likes, she will start dancing. She will just start smiling, bob her head and start dancing. I will have to get this on video!

I love my giraffe!
I finally took pictures of the house! Sorry for the long delay.

Front of our house


Backyard...if you look really closely you can see a deer. It's funny that it stays in the same spot!

We do actually have deer that come right to the house every night! Lyla likes to babble to them and Ella barks. We thought we had it good that we could see them at the other house but now we see them more. You know that makes Matt happy.

Living Room looking from the kitchen

Kitchen

Foyer

Looking in from the foyer

Basement

Grandma Knox's OR Auntie Kristi's bedroom (it depends who is here for the weekend)

The upstairs is not easy to take pictures of but we have 3 bedrooms and the office. You will just have to come and see for yourself!

Matt and I just found a dining room table and china cabinet this weekend. It's supposed to come in the beginning of March but we will see. We just hope it's in by Lyla's 1st birthday party! Invites are getting sent out soon (as long as Lyla allows me some time).

Have a great week!

We Survived!

We survived being away from Lyla for 5 days! Can you believe it? Matt and I went to Cancun for 5 days and we did okay being away from her for the first time. I hit my numbers again last year at work and we were able to go again. You are pampered all week so it's hard not to go! I've only had one overnight away from her since she was born so you can see how nervous I was to be away from her. She was in great hand with Grandma and Grandpa Brown though and they had a great time playing with her all week. We called her everyday so I could hear her jabbering to make myself feel like she wasn't so far away!

Lyla is now 10 1/2 months old! She is creeping closer and closer to her 1 year birthday! She continues to improve on standing up on her own but no walking yet. I know I keep saying she will walk any day but I think when she does figure it out, she will probably be running! Look out! She still has no teeth but we think she may be teething now. We will have to wait and see!

Below are some of her recent pictures.

Looking cute in my hat

Lyla texting her friends

I love my shopping cart!

Laying on Ella

Lyla went sledding for the first time this weekend. Uncle Mike and Aunt Nikki got her a sled for Christmas and we finally got her out. She loved it!

Wearing my pretty snow pants

I don't like my winter gear!

Outside with dad and getting ready to go sledding

Out for a sled ride

Lyla had a little play date this weekend as well with her friend Jonathan. They starred at each other for a while but finally started to warm up and play.

Hanging on the chair with my friend Jonathan

Sharing my toys

Hope you enjoy the videos!

Lyla sledding

Lyla climbing stairs

Lyla's Milestones

Lyla has been changing a lot for the last couple of months. Since I didn't update you on her latest milestones, here is a snapshot on what a curious little girl has been doing lately.

The end of November, Lyla waved bye-bye to momma when I dropped her off at daycare

Walks around while holding onto furniture

On Dec 4th, she stood up on her own for a few seconds

At her 9 month appointment she was 17 lbs and 13 oz and 26 1/2 inches long

She is starting to eat 3rd Foods that have more chunks in them than 2nd Foods. She definitely doesn't like the meat ones yet. She is fine with the veggies as long as they don't have anything else in them like cheese. Yes i said Cheese! She will be born and raised in WI so we will have to make sure she likes cheese at some point!

She continues to "talk"

She dances to music! I will have to get this on video someday!

As of today, she still has no teeth!

We feel Lyla will be walking any day now. She continues to stand up on her own! The other day she wobbled around and stood up for 20+ seconds! She walks around with her shopping cart that Grandma Brown gave her so this will help speed up the process!

I was told I needed to put this video on the blog since a few family members have seen it. It's a treat!

Here are a few picture of Lyla!

This is Lyla in her 12 month onesie that auntie Kristi gave her. I needed to take pictures of her at 3-6-9-12 months and this is her 9 month picture. It's still a little big! Right now Lyla is wearing between 9 and 12 month clothes.

I love my frog towel!

This is Lyla's war wound on her nose.

We still haven't gotten Lyla's 9 month pictures taken and she will be 10 months in just over 1 week. Every time we want to get them taken, she has some type of war wound! What parents we are! This weekend we were going to get them taken but she came down with a really bad cold. Her eyes are pink and swollen and her nose is either plugged up or running. I feel terrible for a little girl! I hope she gets over this soon!

That's it from us! Have a wonderful weekend!

What have the Brown's been up to?

A. Have they been relaxing on a white sand beach by the ocean?
B. Have they been snoozing on the couch?
C. Have they been hiding?
D. Have they been trying to unpack their new house, get ready for all the holidays and watch over a curious little girl?

All of those sound appealing but if you picked D, you are correct! Your grand prize is reading a brand new blog for 2010!

Since there has been a lot going on and a couple months since I last posted, I will have to break this up in categories to keep my sanity (and so I don't forget anything). Sorry if this is long!

We moved!
We officially closed on our house on November 9th and started moving everything from our garage into the house. Luckily we were able to get everything into the garage the week and weekend before with big help from Matt's dad. Matt's uncle and cousin even came and helped for a day as well. With me trying to take care of a little girl, Matt needed all the help he could get!
Here is Lyla playing at the old house. How did I get under my activity center?

Since I have so many new pictures to share in this blog, I will update with pictures of the new house soon.

My parents came up a couple days ago to help paint Lyla's room. I have projects I want to get done and with them leaving until the end of March, I thought that would be great time for them to help. Here are before and after pictures of Lyla's new room. You can't really tell from the pictures but her room was blue with hand painted pictures all around. We wanted to keep the tree in the corner and with guidance from my aunt Phyllis, we were able to keep it!

Before:


After:


The house is pretty well put together and our next project is to get the garage straighten out. I may need a couple weekends break before I help Matt tackle that project!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving at grandma Brown's. Lyla is definitely the entertainment of the day. Here she is getting pushed across the room in a cardboard box from Aunt Marge.

Lyla and Great Grandma Brown

Grandma and Grandpa Brown

No blog is complete without a closeup of Lyla!

Hanging out with my bearded dad

Mom I'm missing my sock!

Lyla and I drove down to my parents house on Thursday night so we could get up bright and early to go shopping on black Friday. Do you think having a 8 month old would slow my mom and me down? Nope! We decided to go shopping even earlier than before (4:00 a.m. mind you) so we could get great deals! Lyla did great and I think we have a new shopper in the family!

Happy Birthday Dad! Here is Lyla celebrating with her dad's 28th birthday!

Merry Christmas!
We celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents house with my dad's side of the family. My cousin Jaime and her family came from MI and my other cousin Jody and her family came from MA so it was great seeing everyone!

Here is Lyla helping to unwrap her presents. At least she liked the bows!

Here is Lyla and her cousin Anne (my cousin Jody's daughter). What great buds!

Here is Lyla and her cousin Reagan (my cousin Jaime's daugther). Reagan is the oldest of the grandkids and a great helper already! She will be the leader of the pack!

Cute picture of Lyla and her cousin Anne in the background

Here is great grandma Knox and all the great grandkids! From Left: Anne, Reagan, great grandma Knox, Lyla and Bryce (Jaime's son). We will be adding 2 more to the family next year with my brother's son due beginning of March and my cousin Jaime's baby due end of May. I love our growing family!

Lyla sitting with daddy saying "hi momma"

Family picture

Family picture with grandma and grandpa Knox

Smile big with momma

Ready for bed with PJ's on with cousin Anne! Anne why are you leaning on me?

On Christmas day, we traveled to my aunt Phyllis's house with my mom's side of the family. Lyla got to play with her cousin Keira (my cousin Nick's daughter). They are expecting their 2nd baby in April so we will have lots of new baby's in 2010!

Lyla's auntie Kristi came to spoil her before we headed up to WI for the Brown X-mas. Lyla loves her new toy!

Brown's X-mas:

Since we celebrated in IL this year for X-mas, we had our Brown x-mas a day later. Lyla got a lot of presents and again was the center of attention.

Here is uncle Mike and aunt Nikki showing Lyla her new toy. Mike we will get you back someday!

Our blog is definitely not complete without a picture of Ella. Here is Ella with her new baby. It only lasted 10 minutes before Ella decided to tear it up!

I think that's all I can write today! I hope you enjoyed the new updates and pictures!