Weeks 42 & 43: Big Firsts

Weeks 42 & 43: 06/03/13 - 06/16/13

Ahhh. 

Summertime.

I was just sure things would slow down.

I pictured a leisurely summer with lots of tanning.

Eating ice cream.

Catching up on the books that have collected dust on my bedside table.

And frolicking through lilac fields while learning photography.

But we've been go-go-going since the last day of school bell rang. 

And it's taken me 10 months to accept the fact that nothing goes as planned with a baby.

And things take longer than expected.

A lot longer. 

But. We have enjoyed every single moment of our busy summer. 

And are so very thankful for the sweet memories we're creating. 

Lots of girl time.

Besties. 

And the past two weeks have been quite exciting.
Eating lots of new foods.
Rolling all over the place.
Scooting backwards.
No crawling.
Still scooting.

And chock-full of exciting firsts. 

First time in the pool.

We started a water baby class at the Y.
*Mostly so I had an excuse to put you in a bathing suit.*

I was actually more nervous than you were. 

But you loved the water immediately.

We started off by just getting you used to the water.

Blowing bubbles.

Reaching for toys.

Kicking.

All the other babies kick their little legs fast and furious.
You on the other hand do what I call "The Lyla Kick".  

Just a few dainty leg lifts here and there. 

No surprise there. 

And then, without warning, the instructor said, "Ok. Now it's time to dunk."

Come again?

And without time to get nervous or make excuses, we said a little nursery rhyme, and I dunked you. 

Underwater. 

You were a little shocked.

And sputtered a little.

Then we did it again.

Over and over. 

And you couldn't get enough!

Now, we look forward to our pool time every Tuesday morning.

*You did not enjoy your first trip to the neighborhood pool. 

This one was not heated like the Y pool.

You preferred sunbathing instead.*

First Girls' Trip.

Mama and her teammates needed to get some things to prepare for next year.

So we organized a girls' road trip.

This was my first time traveling without Daddy.

You did much better than I expected.

We got completely off schedule.

And I'm pretty sure you didn't nap for two days straight. 

But you hung in there like a champ.

And you even let Mom go out with her friends. 

You slept back at the house without a peep. 

Now if only we could just master napping in our stroller.

Or in the car.
Either way, we had some good girl time.

First overnight without Mom and Dad. 

Mom and Dad had their first weekend trip without you.

Two and a half days.

That's a long time to be without any Chunkin-Chunkin Time.
Saying goodbye was emotional for a brief moment.
For Mom, at least.

But it was a great thing for Dad and I. 

We were both in a wedding.

And had a blast with friends. 

We had some much-needed adult time.

And luckily Gigi and Pops texted plenty of pictures.
They even captured your feisty scrunchie face.
My fave.

You did amazingly well.
Such a good babe.

First Word. 

You've been jabbering for a while now. 

Making ma-pa-ba sounds.

But you officially said your first word the day we returned from our trip.

This is one date I won't forget.

June 16, 2013.

You looked right at me and said "Mama". 

I couldn't believe.

In fact, I thought I was hearing things.

Luckily Daddy, Gigi, and Pops were all standing there to witness it.
One of the most touching moments...ever.

Big week.
With lots of big girl things.