Twenty Three Months...

Oh Lyla, what a couple of months it's been!

Poor Lyla has been through a lot of changes lately with the move, a new school, new "home" schedules, etc., but she has been a trooper!  Her terrible twos are still surfacing, especially as she continues to become even more verbal, but all the sweet times with her make up for those rough moments.

- Lyla loves playing with the dogs.  Look at the picture below...she invited Avery to play in the hamper with her!  Too bad the dogs aren't quite as into her, haha.

- "I need tea party" is a common phrase at our house.  Lyla loves, loves, loves tea parties.  Her favorite part is pouring and saying "here mama, drink" when she hands me the cup.  Most tea parties cannot occur without a hat.

WARNING:

 BARE BELLY PICTURE BELOW.  

VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 - Lyla is becoming quite the big sister and like to "take care" of Lucy.  She likes to cover her up, kiss her, and feed her.  Unfortunately, she's a little vigorous with the feeding...my belly button is sore!

- Lyla has been working on her smile with the word "cheese" lately.  Show her a camera, including the phone, and she'll say "cheese" and flash a good smile at you.  It's funny stuff.

Other things Lyla is doing this month:
- She has replaced mama with mommy.

- Using bigger sentences...up to 5-6 words at times.  Super fun to hear and to have conversations.  She's also asking more questions, especially "you see that?" and "you hear that mommy?"

- Lyla loves jumping.  Unfortunately she also likes to pull her legs in and land on her bottom when jumping.  Ouch if it's not the right surface.  Ouch, ouch, ouch.

- Current food obsessions: peanut butter, yogurt, and pickles.  (She is my child.)  She usually talks or sings herself to sleep and one night on the monitor I heard her repeat "peanut butter, peanut butter" over and over.  The next morning when I got her out of bed the first thing she said was "I need peanut butter." Hahaha!  A few nights ago I asked her what she wanted for dinner and she said "I need a macaroni sandwich."  Um, no honey, that is not a choice at our house!

- Favorite game: the "lay down" game.  She points to a spot and says "lay down," then expects us to literally lay down (slouching or slumping is not accepted) so that she can cover us up and pat us.  This game usually goes on for a good 30 minutes each night.  She sometimes adds "close your eyes" to her expectations as well.

We love you sweet Lyla!