9

I am way behind on Lyla's 9 month update! At her 9 month check up, she weighed 16.9 lbs and is still in the 10th percentile for her weight but has boosted into the 25th percentile for her height. She is still in size 2 diapers and 6-9 month clothes. She has 4 bottles a day and 3 meals a day!

Lyla has been up to so much this month including being a flower girl in her Aunt Goo's wedding, enjoying her first Easter, and of course starting to crawl! Yes, she is EVERYWHERE! She can get up on all fours, but figures she can get around faster by army crawling. 

This month, Lyla has gotten in her first 2 teeth (both at the bottom) which means she is chomping on anything and everything! 

Since she finally has teeth, we have started feeding her more from the table. I am still making her food and she still loves her fruits and veggies. We have started giving her eggs (which she LOVES!), mac and cheese, beans, and rice. She has gotten much better about feeding herself!

Another new change this month has been SHOES! Lyla has never kept socks and shoes on very well, but we keep trying non the less. We have started putting shoes on her more now that she is getting around.

Lyla has mastered clapping, saying mama, and tries to say Diggs. However, her favorite word is DADA. Everything and everyone is Dada. Strangers are Dada, I am Dada, her toys are Dada... And she doesn't just say it, she SCREAMS it. (Jeff thinks it's hysterical unless we are out in public) She is definitely learning her voice. 

She is such a joy to us and has the sweetest personality. She is definitely keeping us on our toes, but we are loving every minute of it. 

Happy 9 months (a little late) sweet baby Lyla. We love you!!!

Art in the Park- the Easter edition

On Saturday, Quitman had it's first annual art in the park complete with an easter egg hunt and the Easter bunny himself! As soon as I heard mention of this, I made sure the Graves' family schedule was clear. We weren't going to miss this! You see, since we don't live near our families and since Jeff is on staff at a church, we are never with our families for Easter (with the exception of last year because Easter fell the day before my birthday so my parents came out to surprise us!) But usually, it's just us. We both grew up having HUGE (and I mean HUGE) lunches with our entire families and then hunted eggs with all of our cousins. I love and cherrish those memories and wanted Lyla to have that too-even though she will probably never remember that day-we will remember it! So, we went. Here are some pictures from the day!

Lyla INSISTED on wearing her bunny ears made for her by the school district!

She also INSISTED that daddy wear them -he's such a good sport!

We found the Easter bunny!She would not stop petting him-I think he reminded her of Diggs:)

Finally got her to look at the camera. This was the best we could do-at this point I was literally dancing around trying to get her to look at us!

Then we headed to the Easter egg hunt, where we found....NO EGGS! ha. The big kids beat us to all the eggs!  At least we have our pretend picture!

A friend felt bad for us and gave us one of her eggs! Thanks Breckin!

 What a fun day!!!!

 Even though we came out with only one egg (again, thanks Breckin!), we still had a blast! We got Lyla's feet  and hand prints done in pottery (Thanks to Mamaw Slay), bought Lyla a few Easter surpirses, had a funnel cake (and fried pies) and got to visit with many many dear friends! 

In like a lion

March has definitely come in like a lion! We have been NON. STOP. I wanted to share a few high lights from the month because it has been a month of much fun and many firsts.


March 10-

I got to see my best friend and little sister marry the man of her dreams. Jeff and I were both in the wedding party and Lyla was the flower girl. Such a beautiful wedding-we are so happy for Goo and Dave!

March 17-
Lyla's first St. Patrick's day! We had a picnic in the park with Aunt Meg, then headed off to dinner with daddy at Applebee's. Of course we were both sporting our green! Lyla looks like she had a little TOO much fun!

March 20-

We got to have our first REAL play day with Charlotte and Sally. The girls had a lot of fun together. (and by girls I mean me and Sally! hehe) Charlotte and Lyla have really hit it off. I know they are going to be the best of friends:) My child is such a goof ball in these pictures though-yes, that is her underneath the blanket. She does that to herself-loves to play peek a boo!

March 23- 

We went back to Georgia and got to visit with Mawmaw and Grandad which is always a treat because we don't get to see them very often. Lyla kept trying to grab grandad's nose. They both shared a lot of smiles that day!

March 24-

Gammie and Papa surprised Lyla with her first Easter basket filled with a book, a new outfit, an easter bunny and several eggs stuffed with dollar bills (since she can't have candy yet!) Such a fun surprise! 

We also had a mini high school reunion at Heather and Andrew's baby shower. Lyla got to meet one of my best friend's little girl, Cambell. They were a mess together-just the way it should be:). It is so neat to see us all having babies:) 

March 29-

We finally finished making our witness dolls to send to other countries to help teach kids about Jesus. The extra special thing about this is that a shipment of our dolls went to Africa to my best friend Lindsey. I love that our ministries can overlap!!! The picture is of me and my newest friend Rhea who just moved here from the Phillipines. LOVE HER! Lyla even got to help test out the dolls. :)




March 31-
Quitman is hosting it's first ever art in the park complete with art, food, entertainment, the easter bunny and of course an egg hunt. This will be Lyla's first easter egg hunt and I. CAN'T. WAIT!!! Pictures sure to come!!

Graham Cracker

Today Lyla had her first REAL solid food- a graham cracker. 

Well, after all was said and done, she probably had about 5 small pieces of it. The rest of it went to me...and Diggs.

I was a little confused because she didn't really understand the concept of actually picking the cracker up and putting it in her mouth-everything else seems to end up in her mouth, why not food!? She will get the hang of it. As for today, she picked the food up and threw it on the floor. Diggs was a happy man. I hand fed her the pieces she actually ate.

(Notice the white fur in the corner lurking around for something-ANYTHING!)

She seemed to really like it-suggestions on what solids are okay to start trying with an 8 month old??

Teaching our kids about marriage

Since having Lyla, (and maybe many of you can relate to this) I have noticed that it takes a lot more work to put effort into our marriage. Thankfully, I have THE. BEST. HUSBAND. IN. THE. WORLD.  and he makes it so easy, but it is a lot different once you have children. Finding time to date or even just have a few minutes alone is few and far between.

I found this blog on pinterest today and wanted to share. I loved it because I think a lot of times people have kids and their marriages slip away from them-And not intentionally most of the time. It is so easy to get caught up in the everyday routine that you forget to pursue your spouse. I think this is a great article because it really shows you that biblically, you should put your spouse FIRST and that your children are watching! In a time where Satan is out to destroy families-starting with marriages-it's exciting to know that you can grow your children into the people you want them to become just by loving your husband or wife and showing them Christ's love in that.

It's a great read and a great reminder to me of how blessed I am to have such an incredible husband who DOES pursue me daily and what a great example he is to our little one in the way that he shows ME love. (sorry to be such a sap, but I think we should brag on our spouses more instead of tearing them down!-so there ya go!):)

10 actions that kids learn from their parent's marriage
 I hope you enjoy!

8 months

Last Tuesday, my sweet Lyla Rae was 8 months old. Since we have been in Georgia for my sister's wedding, I am just now getting to update on all of her accomplishments this month.


Lyla is definitely developing more of her personality. She is super social and loves getting attention. She hardly ever cries unless she is hungry or tired. Girl has to have her naps-she takes 2 naps a day and still manages to sleep through the night....most nights:)

She is moving more-still not crawling though. It's amazing how far she can get just by scooting or rolling. She loves to move. In fact, it's getting harder to hold her now, because she squirms so much and tries to get down. It makes me a little sad to think that those days of holding her are almost over, but it excites me to think that she is growing and learning.

Lyla is trying new foods every week. This month, we have added yogurt, squash, carrots, and pears to the list. We have discovered that she is no longer a fan of carrots unless we mash them up with some peas-even then, we get the sour face from her. At 8 months, she has 2 jars of baby food 3 times a day and 4 bottles a day.

We have also started letting her use a sippy cup for water. She will hold it, but is still learning that in order to drink, she has to tip it up. We have bought her one with a handle that helps this process a little more. She does better with that one for now.

Lyla is talking more and more. Of course, most of it is just baby babble. It is seriously the sweetest sound to hear her talking. Sometimes, I just lay in bed a little longer before getting her up, just so I can hear what she has to say. She is officially saying "Dada" and "Baba"-no clue what "Baba" is, but she says that A LOT! 

I guess everyone thinks that their child is smart, and I am no different. I think Lyla is super smart. I have noticed that she has really started watching people and will imitate what they do. She is very curious too, so she is always trying to touch things and move things. Oh and, she is also working on clapping. I swear, she's a genius! 

Lyla still does not have any teeth, but is still constantly chomping on those hands. She is in size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes. At her last doctor's visit, she weighed 15 lbs. She is now in the 10th percentile for her weight and height. She is a small girl, but is growing proportionately. 

Has it really been 8 months? Lyla, we love you. You are one beautiful little girl. Happy 8 months!

ps. we had a hard time taking 8 month pictures because she wouldn't stay still...here are a few that made the cut. The one above was seriously the BEST we could do.