Snoring

I.HATE.SNORING.

So now that we're clear. I've never done well with sleeping next to a snorer. Traveling with my parents...always interesting. I'm not going to sell out the snorer (they know who they are). Then I married. I married a wonderful man. I married a snorer. Great. Andy's snoring has meant that I have slept in our guest bedroom many nights. Then our guest bedroom turned into the nursery. So the couch and I became friends. I've even kicked Andy out of bed. And before you judge or offer suggestions let me know say I've tried it all. Pillows over my head, ear plugs, I even have a white noise machine in the bedroom. Andy has tried the nose strips. Let me just say I believe those open up the nasal passages for louder snoring. It can become very frustrating. And as I watch the clock tick by I become even more angry at the situation.

So why you might ask, am I up at 5:46 on a Saturday morning writing a blog about snoring. Well, let me tell you. Andy had a gig tonight in Boerne. They were awesome. Andy's family was in town so everyone came over and the guys (Acoustic Soul) continued to sing for us. Well at midnight we decided it was too late for the three to drive back to Austin (over a two hour drive). So they all crashed on various couches and chairs/ottomans. At about 4:00 I awoke to my sweet husband's "night singing" (makes it sound more appealing doesn't it?) After 30 minutes of tossing and turning I gave up and decided to make a palate on the floor in Lyla's room and go back to sleep. Let me remind you that we have tile in every room. Not the most comfortable, but I figured some sleep was better than none. Well, wouldn't you know that even my sweet little girl had some heavy breathing. No fear, I'll just put a little pillow over my head and finally an hour later I'm asleep. But no more than 20 minutes later what do I awake to? Someone in the living room (one wall away) sawing some very serious logs.

Sometimes a girl can't win. So here I am, back in my bed, next to my snoring husband. Hoping at some point pure exhaustion will put me to sleep. I'm also thinking he gets to wake up with the baby in a few hours. I think I've earned that. I mean, I haven't put a pillow over his head.

Catch up

I have been very behind on my blogging, so there are several posts after this one. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

Lyla's first Thanksgiving was one to remember. We started out as usual at my parent's house. My Aunt Renee and her clan, Aunt Robin and her clan, and Grandma and Papa all came over for the afternoon feast. Lyla did so good sitting in her high chair and eating her snacks while the rest enjoyed their meal. It was so nice to visit with family and enjoy their company. The women spent a long time afterward discussing the Twilight saga (I had just seen New Moon the day before) and all of the other Hollywood hunks. It was great. (I didn't get many pictures. If I get more from my parents I will update later.)

The 4 generations.

Papa and his girls.

Stopping by to say hi to Great-Papa.


Our next stop was down the street at Andy's mom's house. We hardly ever get together with them on Thanksgiving, so it was a very nice treat. Cousin JJ and Aunt Lisa were also there. Later Cousin Micheal and Lisa came in from Burleson. Lyla had a great time visiting with family and crawling all over everything. Again, I did not do a great job at taking pictures.
Lyla and Grandpa Adam.

Naked Girl

After our Christmas photo shoot with Yvonne, I was changing Lyla back into her regular clothes when Yvonne started snapping some pictures. Lyla rolled away from me and was totally hamming it up for the camera. Next thing I know, she has peed on Yvonne's black drape. I was so embarrassed, but Yvonne said not to worry. So here are some of those bare butt photos that are too cute not to post.


If you look closely you can see her puddle.

Halloween

So I was told by my grandmother (who is an avid Lyla Blog reader) that I never posted Lyla's first Halloween pictures. That was such a crazy day and following week, so it completely slipped my mind. Lyla's first Halloween was some what unusual. I had a football game that night, so we decided that Lyla would go to the game in costume. Being only 6 months at the time we didn't really see the need for her to go trick-or-treating, and we figured that more people would get to see her in her cute little costume at the game than going to a few doors.

Just a little history on the costume before I unveil the pictures. Last year in early November my mom and I went to Burlington Coat Factory to look at furniture for Lyla's room. While shopping we found a rack of Halloween costumes on sale. At that time I didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl, so we knew we had to buy something unisex, but I couldn't pass up a $7 costume.

So here she is. The cutest giraffe ever! (I had some great ones from Yvonne, but I can't find the cd).

7 months

Yesterday Lyla turned 7 months old. That still blows me away. It's hard to believe that in 5 short months she will be celebrating one year of life. Where does the time go? My sweet girl is truly the joy of Andy's and my life. We love watching her explore. Andy said it best..."that little girl warms my heart every day."

Some thing I want to remember:
- She now has 4 teeth. One on top and three on bottom (the latest two made their break through on November 9th).
- Lyla hasn't said words yet, but it seems she is working on her M. We think mama might come out soon.
- She loves to squeal. I think listening to her own voice is her favorite thing.
- Lyla is a expert crawler even though she still uses her left foot and right knee.
- She loves to stand and is working on her balance.
- She can now navigate the coffee table and couch. We think walking is going to come soon.
- Last weekend Lyla crawled up on my parents couch. She also loves to crawl up on the fireplace. She feels so accomplished once she is on top of whatever she is trying to conquer.
- Lyla holds her own bottle and can take it in and out of her mouth. Sometimes this leads to playing, but it also allows her to control when she needs a break.
- Lyla has started in on the Gerber puffs and yogurt drops. She also like tortillas and soft crackers.
- She sat in a restaurant high chair just this past weekend. She was very content to sit like a Big Girl.

And for your viewing pleasure, some pictures from our Christmas photo shoot.

Never a dull moment

You know that phrase, "never a dull moment." I use to hate dull moments. I loved being busy, on task, multitasking even, but lately I would kill for a dull moment. Work has been so crazy lately. Last week was an amazingly tough week. Filled was some hard conversations with superiors, long nights, and some parent issues. This week has also been a long week. Today (Wednesday) was the first day that I got home before 9PM. You can only imagine what it's like to not see your daughter for two days. Ugh!

Anyways, so I would love a dull moment. Just one. I would love to have one day without someone having a crisis that needs to be solved, or something to be angry at me with. I would love to not be pulled out at twenty different directions. Don't get me wrong, I still love my job and all that it involves, but it has been a hard year.

What has made it even harder is the illness of my principal, Larry Martin. He is fighting cancer again. He has been out for several weeks now. I breaks my heart to think about him not being at O'Connor any longer (if that's where this ends). He was the one that hired me. He has been the biggest supporter of my program and me. He is encouraging, uplifting and smart. We definitely feel the void all over campus.

Currently, I'm counting down the days until Thanksgiving Break. That would be 7 schools day. And I'm hoping that a week off will help me recharge! I think I need it.