2nd Birthday!

How is it possible that we now have a 2 year old!?! It's been two weeks since the big day, but I still don't believe it!
We had such a great time celebrating this big milestone! On her official birthday we took her out to eat and play at Whole Foods. Afterwards, we went home and Lyla opened a few presents and enjoyed a sweet treat. She was pretty wiped out from the fun day...but not too tired to scarf down her birthday cupcake!


Lyla sitting next to the Desert willow tree we planted for her birthday.

On the Saturday after her birthday we had our families and a few close friends over to join us in celebrating Lyla's special day. Somehow we dropped the ball on taking lots of pictures, but I am just glad I caught a decent one of the birthday girl before she was covered in green and blue icing.

Yummy yummy butterfly and ladybug cupcakes...

We have a lot of family birthdays that follow Lyla's so we have been singing the birthday song a lot lately. It has steadily become on of her favorite songs. However, she hasn't been too keen on the idea that it is no longer HER birthday and when singing it, often firmly adds in..."no, it's my birthday!"

Happy Birthday Lyla! We love you so very much!

Spoon

We always strive to teach Lyla lots of useful and important things...

L-Y-L-A !

Bluebonnets

The wildflowers are unbelievably beautiful this year! I honestly can't remember the last time they have been this plentiful. Bluebonnets, phlox, Engleman daisy, Texas star, Indian paintbrush, and Prairie verbena (to name just a few) have painted the fields and highways every color of the rainbow!

My friend Sarah and her son Jack joined Lyla and I on a trip out to the Wildflower Center so we could snap some pix of the kids in the bluebonnets. We had such an awesome time and took some great photos. Here are a few of my favorites!

I thought this one was too funny!



For fun, I thought I would post one of last year's bluebonnet pictures. I can't believe how much she has grown in a year! Can you believe the big 2 year birthday is just a few weeks away?!

Playroom

I have been working on Lyla's playroom since we first moved in and it has finally come together.
Here are some pics!

I found this chest in my parents storage room and covered it with some a fabric that Lyla picked out. Next to that is a pot lid rack that we no longer needed...now it makes a perfect book rack.


My mom came up last weekend and repainted my old table from when I was a child. The chairs were pretty beat up so we decided to buy some new ones from Ikea that matched perfectly. This picture also shows the clothesline I added for all of Lyla's artwork.



On the back wall I painted a large chalkboard and framed it with pieces of quarter round moulding I spray painted red.



I also built an extra shelf in the closet to take advantage of the storage space.



Now, with all of this wonderful play space and easy access to her favorite toys, what does Lyla decide to play with?

Weekend fun

We have been having lots of fun around here lately! Ever since spring hit and the cold weather has disappeared (thank goodness!) we have been spending every second we can outdoors! Lyla got to hang out with both her cousins, Grandma, and Aunt Mel last Friday. They had a blast running all around the backyard getting into all kinds of messes. Then on Saturday we spent the morning at the zoo with cousin Bliss and Aunt Chan. After nap time we checked out a new frozen yogurt place which was quite a treat, and finally on Sunday we went to a free kids show at a local coffee shop. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend!




Checking how her height compares to some of her bear friends.



Feeding the goats at the zoo.



Loving the frozen yogurt!



Lyla is really into pirates right now and calls this her pirate shirt. Then she added a sparkly tutu skirt and said she was a pirate princess. She picked the outfit out herself and was extremely proud of it!

Feeling much better now

Phew! I am so glad the past two weeks are now over! Our family has been to the doctor's office a total of 4 times over the past 14 days. Lyla got a cold virus (which she shared with me), after the cold set in for a few days she got pink eye in both eyes (which she shared with me). Later both of our colds turned into nasty sinus infections which thankfully are treatable leaving us feeling much better these days.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this (of course, on a day when Lyla was actually feeling pretty good) our little Junebug got a "nursemaid's elbow". Lyla thinks it is hilarious to drop to the ground when we are holding her hand. This time her little game turned into quite a traumatic experience. A "nursmaid's elbow" is a partial dislocation of the elbow and is apparently pretty common in toddlers. Typically, after the doctor reduces the subluxation the child is supposed to be able to bend and move their arm immediately. Lyla's doc felt a little pop when he was fixing her arm but afterwards she continued to wail and refused to use or move her arm. We then did the treatment again, still nothing...She wouldn't let anyone touch her arm and would not move it even an inch. We tried enticing her with fancy stickers, bribing her, being silly, playing games and singing songs...nothing. She just held her arm tight to her and cried tears of pain. The doctor was concerned there might be something else wrong so he ordered a bunch of x-rays. They showed nothing but beautiful healthy bones. We decided to to the arm treatment one more time but afterwards she still refused to use her arm and cried when anyone touched it. We were sent home with the orders to keep an eye on her and come back if it didn't get better. While we were walking to the car, Lyla cried in her most pathetic voice ever "I want to drive the car." So we opened the car door, and she jumped in the front seat and grabbed the wheel with both hands and started laughing. She was totally fine. We are now pretty sure the doctor fixed her arm the very first time when he felt her elbow pop. Had we just taken her out to the car we would have avoided a lot of tears...not to mention the while x-ray experience!

So now, we just have to be extra careful with her arm as it can happen again very easily now.



Lyla is now back to her old self...which means taking big naps, sleeping through the night, and a healthier appetite. This makes for very happy mommies!

We had to get very creative with things to do around the house on our sick days...You can't tell from the picture, but we are racing around the house "sledding" on our blanket.