Slacking on taking pictures!

It is funny how the first year of Layla's life is pretty well documented through pictures. Once that 1st birthday was over it was like my camera disappeared! So I am trying to get back into taking some pictures. She has been 14 months for almost 14 days and these are the 1st pics we have of a 14 month old! If this is a sign at all of how much a slacker I will be with number 2 then we are in trouble!

These are just a couple of pics from around the house. I have been introducing utensils to Layla and she still needs a lot of assistance getting the food on them but once it is there, she knows exactly where it goes! The other pics are out on our front porch. We spend about an hour out there every afternoon, listening to music, blowing bubbles, and waving to the people walking by the house.

The Music Class

Layla participated in her first music class today at The Music Class. It is just like Kindermusik but only a different company. I chose the Music Class over Kindermusik for no other reason than I liked the time of day it was offered better. Through November, every Tuesday at 10:30 we will be found at The Music Class. I would love to say that Layla jumped right down and started busting her moves, but if you know my child at all she is an observer and studier. She wants to make sure everything is safe before she leaves my side. I think she thought everyone was CRAZY dancing around the room! I kinda did too, but oh the things we will do for our children. The class is 45 minutes and on the last song Layla finally let go of my finger and was walking around the room acting more like herself. I think the more routine it becomes the more independent she will become. It is going to be a fun 10 weeks at Music Class and I am yet again reminded how thankful I am to spend these special moments with Layla!

www.themusicclass.com

Visiting Churches in Atlanta

I decided that I was going to document our church visiting experiences because when we were trying to find a church in Memphis it was very interesting! As you can imagine the are many diverse churches in the Atlanta area. I do most of my searching via the internet, so if you have a lame wesite I am probably not going to visit your church... Harsh I know, but I have to weed them out some how. So I find a church, look over their beliefs and then try to listen to a sermon online before I actually visit. As I have been looking at churches online and scan through their beliefs, I have come across one problem that wasn't an issue in Memphis. Everything will look real good and then there will be a line that says "we are a gay affirming church". Now don't get me wrong, homosexuals need to be in a church body like all of us sinners. I have no issue with that, but I am not "signing up" or raising my kid in a church that says it is okay to be homosexual. That is like saying, we are a church that affirms the sin of murder, stealing, alcoholism or beating your kids. (BTW definition of word affirm is: to assert as valid, or express dedication too)

Anyways, that is another way in which I narrow down my church search here in Atlanta. So after prayer and google I have come across only a couple of churches that are visit worthy for what our family is looking for in a church body. The first one I visited was Passion City Church. This one caught my interest because of the leaders. Louie Giglio is the pastor and Chris Tomlin is the worship leader. If you have been in the christian bubble for anytime at all both of the names probably ring a bell to you. My thoughts were "how could a church with these leaders be anything but amazing?". So last night, along with 2,749 other people, I went to visit. I knew going into it that no childcare was provided because of the temporary location that they are meeting at. So I packed a bag full of goodies for Layla and headed to church. There were a ton of people there! I was one row from the top in a large arena. Chris came on to lead worship, which was great, just hard to get involved because he looked like an ant on the stage from where I was sitting. Too many distractions! We didn't stay for preaching for 3 reasons.

1. Layla could not have sat still any longer.
2. I had heard Louie online and could listen to this sermon online as well.
3. And I didn't want to sit in traffic of all the people when it was time to leave :)

So I am glad I went so now I know. But when I think of a church home for our family, I am looking for something with a little less production and maybe a little smaller so I might run into atleast one or two familiar faces every week. I might try PCC again once they are in their permanent meeting place, have childcare, and have more than 1 service so there are not so many people.

I have just continued my prayer that we would feel a peace at a new church home like we did when we found our church in Memphis. I did not feel that peace this Sunday so I will continue my search this coming Sunday. I know God has a home for us in this huge city. Just might take a minute to find it.

Next on my list is Grace Midtown. Their website is very appealing. I was able to listen to sermons and download some of their music on itunes. Their meeting place is blocks from Georgia Tech so I am sure there are a lot of people my age there. I am looking forward to it!

Tough Love

Disciplining is hard but I am afraid that if can't be avoided much longer. I bought my first swatting tool this week and have already put it to use. Before you get your panties all in a wad about me "spanking" my baby, let me explain.

Let me start by saying that Layla is a lot like me in the sense that it doesn't take much to hurt her little heart. If I say a firm no and remove her hand from what ever it is, she has a melt down, crocodile tears and all. She has been pretty good at responding to that up to this point but now she is beginning to test the waters a bit. I tell her "Layla, no touch" and she looks me straight in the eye and deliberately continues to try and touch. I had been delaying any farther action other than just removing her from the situation that I am telling her no because I thought well maybe she doesn't quite understand yet. Well, now there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she does understand.

Other than just little things here and there, my biggest battle has been the changing table. EVERYTIME I would lie her down for a clothing change or diaper change there would be kicking and throwing her body all over the place. It was becoming quite miserable for the both of us. I would restrain her legs from the kicking and tell her no, but then she would fight and kick even harder. I know what you are thinking, not that precious little angel....Right. Lucas and I had decided a while back that we didn't want to use our hands for swatting. I never want my child to fear any part of me. Momma and daddy's hands are for hugging, back rubbing, and high fives.

SO, I bought our "rod". After reading Joe McGhee's parenting book, God knows how to raise your kids even when you don't, I went to Lowes and bought one of the smallest dow rods that they had. Joe's book is one of the best on parenting that I have read and would definitely recommend it! One of the things he mentions is that no tool used for discipline is more biblical than an actual rod. Made sense to me, and because this is my first time at this whole parenting thing (poor Layla), I bought a rod! Now don't let me get all super spiritual, if I need to have a coming to Jesus meeting with Layla and I don't have our little rod I will use whatever else can be found.

This is how my first and only use (thus far) of the rod went. It was after bath time and I went into her room and placed her on the table. Just as I had anticipated the fighting began. Very calmly, I grabbed her legs and said "Layla No Kicking". The restraint made her even more angry. Even though it was way beyond her understanding for me to say this, I picked up the rod and said "Layla you are going to get a swat because you disobeyed and did not stop kicking". And then I tapped her, NO Exaggeration, on her thigh with the rod. Then she froze, her eyes got really big and the crocodile tears flowed. After about maybe 8 seconds she stopped crying and layed very still. Next thing I know she is grabbing the shirt of her pjs and initiating a game of peek a boo with me. She would cover her face and I blew on her stomach. By the time she was all lotioned up and dressed she was just a cackling. This just made my heart melt. I could not remember the last time we had shared laughs on the changing table! It has been almost two days, and the rod is still lying by the pad on the changing table but I have not had to use it again. Now don't get me wrong, I know not all discipline is going to have such positive outcomes so soon but it is so nice to know that sometimes a little tough love is what is best for everyone!

Layla's Life as a 14 month old!

I just uploaded a few pics over the last couple of months. She had her 1st birthday with the family and then she got her 1st haircut and celebrated her 2nd 4th of July!

As a 14 month old, Layla's routine looks a bit like this:

What she is eating: Her appetite has really slowed down over these last couple of months. She eats about 1 big meal per day with just mini meals at other times of the day. She is also showing signs of being a picky eater, but I am sure it is just a stage. Like any child her age she LOVES bread. A few of her other favorites are blueberries, yogurt, milk, water, & cheese. I am sure the heat has a lot to do with it, but Layla definitely meets her quota of milk each day. She loves to drink through a straw, so she has sippy cups where the straw flips up.

How she is sleeping: She gets her sleeping habits from me. She requires a lot and is cranky if she doesn't get it :) She sleeps about 12.5 hours a night. Usually from 8:30/9:00pm to about 9:30am. She then naps for about 2-2.5 hours about mid-day and then a little catnap around 4-5pm. I keep waiting for her to transition to one nap. They say it happens about 14 months, so we shall see. I am in no hurry for her it to happen! To go to sleep, she still wants her paci, along with her stuffed animals monkey and Minnie. We have limited the paci to pretty much long road trips ( when she doesn't throw it out of reach) and nap and bed time. If she is fussing any other time of the day, she is no longer satisfied by it.

How mobile is she: Layla is almost running. She does a feet shuffle that resembles running. She still has her tumbles that toddlers take. She does well stepping over things such as the door jam or up on the curb. Now that we have stairs in the house, I have really been surprised by her lack of interest in them. Occasionally, I have to tell her no or assist her up and down so that she can learn. She can almost get off the furniture without falling. She has learned to swing her feet around first but I still have to watch her closely.

Her favorite toys: She has finally taken an interest in her books. She will bring me book after book and say "up" to get in my lap and then sit there and flip through the pages with me. She likes to play with her toy that makes music when you put the ball in and any of her babies. She is also still our little dancing machine. Anytime she hears any kind of beat, she can't help to move. She even dances to the background music in stores when we are shopping. She will definitely start dance when she is 2. She still shows no interest in tv!

Words she is saying: daddy, momma, baby, Lilly (our dog), drink, up, hot, kitty, thank you, hi, bye. She hasn't learned any new signs because I have not been consistent. Still just drink, more, all done. She makes the animal noises of a dog, cat, and cow.

She is also giving kisses on the lips with her mouth open. Mostly only to her daddy. He gets them whenever he asks, I just get them when he is around because she wants to be fair. :)

She finally got her one year shots and handled them like a champ. Many prayers have been answered because Layla has been one healthy baby. The sickest she has been in her 14 months is a little runny nose that she gets every time she cuts teeth. So thankful for her health and pray that in continues. I am as equally thankful that I am able to be home full time and was able to breastfeed for the first her year. I know that these two things have contributed greatly to a healthy child. It will be interesting to see how this fall goes as I am planning a few more activities where she will have even more exposure to germs :)

Although as a mom at home I have my days where I feel like a need a day off, each day with Layla is a gift. She brings me so much joy and I thank God everyday that he chose me to be her momma. I am trying to enjoy each moment with only one child because I will never have an "only child" again!