Lyla James-20 Months Old

While I am still slightly in shock about being pregnant with #2, I am even more in shock that I have a 20 month old! There's a theme here....20 weeks pregnant with a 20 month old. People told me that the days are long, but the years are short and that phrase couldn't be more true. It just keeps going faster and faster. So before she is heading off to college, I want to do a better job of documenting what she is up to during these growing years. 

Lyla James is our champion sleeper and has been since she was about 12 weeks old. I don't know if she was born that way or if I just did everything right when sleep training her. Of course I like to think that I am a baby sleep genius, but I can't give myself that much credit. I was so strict with her schedule and I think that had a lot to do with it, but I think she just learned very early on how to sleep. Naps were a struggle, but she finally got those down and even naps for 2 hours at school. I was shocked when they told me she actually slept on a mat with other kids in the room. Now I find her laying out blankets on the floor at home and laying down when she is tired. It's truly incredible! But my favorite has to be when we put her to bed at night and she yells 'Night night mama' as many times as I will respond back to her. Then she lays her head down and sucks her thumb with her lovey until she drifts off to sleep. I find myself just staring at the monitor because it's so cute!

She recently learned the phrase 'I love you' and my heart literally could have exploded. I'm pretty sure it was after an extremely tough day and I was stretching bath time as long as possible to make it to our 7:30 bedtime. She was sitting on the sink and we were brushing teeth when I asked her to say 'I love you' and out of nowhere she said it back to me. It's only every now and then that she says it back, but when she does we all melt. She has also learned that she can say 'No' to basically everything and this has become her favorite word. This has recently come with shaking her head back and forth. We are trying to figure out how to navigate this as it's a new challenge, but really I can't blame her. She hears me saying 'no' all day long as she attempts to climb on everything and pull the dogs tail. Hopefully it's just a phase so we are treating it that way for now. I am open to suggestions from others who have been in this place! 

Lyla's other favorite and frequently used phrases include 'Mama doin' for what are you doing? Then she loves to yell at you to 'Come on!' My dad gets a full dose of this when he is here or on FaceTime. It truly amazes me at what she picks up on just from hearing us talk on a daily basis. She is quickly turning into this little person who has a strong personality and while it is sometimes frustrating to me, I love her independent spirit. 

She is a fish and a true Cape Cod beach girl. The curls in the back of her hair are amazing and I am going to wait as long as possible to cut them because she will probably have my stick straight hair. It's awesome to see how much she loves the sand and salt water. I won't be surprised if she ends up as a lifeguard on our beach because that is truly her happy place. 

Food and eating have been a real challenge lately. She went from eating anything I put in front of her to pushing the plate away immediately. Chris says he can't really blame her because I am the pickiest eater around. We keep offering her what we are having for dinner in hopes that she will gobble it down, but that hasn't happened much recently. The doctor says that when she is hungry she will eat, but this makes me think she won't sleep if she doesn't eat. So far it hasn't been an issue. She still drinks her milk and will snack a little so she is getting something and as of now it hasn't interrupted her sleep. Her little belly is amazing so clearly she is getting the nutrition she needs to thrive. I'm just a nervous nelly mother and it makes me nuts so I am really trying to loosen up. She does tend to surprise me every now and again. Last night she ate an entire bowl of frozen peas so I considered that a win! She didn't eat the yummy dinner we prepared following that, but I got some green vegetables in her! Smoothies have been a big hit this summer and I can sneak the good stuff in there. Just taking it one day at a time! 

It's not always a perfect day, and I find myself really struggling with her more recently as she is fully in the toddler phase. But when I write about the adorable fun stuff, it reminds me that I need to relax and enjoy this time more. I have to remind myself that all parents experience these challenges and they are all temporary. Time is truly flying by and I don't want to miss these moments because I am worried about what she is eating or just how many minutes she slept. This is the challenge to myself.....stress less and enjoy more. Who wants to join me?!?!