We made it!

I boarded the plane for the first time in my life with anxiety, the fear of the uncontrollable, there was no turning back.... I had to get on the plane and hope that Lyla would not loose control mid air while sardine packed between people at all angles. I was all prepared with my diaper bag, aka mommy's lifesaving trinkets. My first job was to disinfect the seats with my wipes including all the tray tables. Shortly after this was done I had each toy prepped and ready for Lyla's pleasure. Her yellow duckies (yes, plural, she love them both), Peter the pelican, and the light up handheld radio were all waiting for her to play with. Next job, gourmet food ready for engulfing. On her menu was pureed pears and sweet potato puffs. Okay, so I sound pretty organized, right?? Still my stomach was turning. I'm not sure why but my inner fear was that of her screaming the entire plane ride and people wanting to kill me. Okay, so to put it bluntly I was scared of being judged. I think this fear came from my past times of flying and hearing the babies cry and feeling somewhat annoyed. The fact is, I am now on the other side. I'm the mom with the baby that doesn't like to sleep for hours, the baby that loves to talk, holler, and dance. She lets the world know she's alive and her name is Lyla!
Two and a half hours later I realized I was alive and we made it. It may be a blur but we made it!! She did great and she is an attention grabber. Don't get me wrong, she was not quiet, but she was my little Lyla and she did wonderfully. Now, time to prep for our Hawaii trip this summer. I don't know if I'll be able to make it four and a half hours without at least two of the mini trash white wines for sale... they're good for something!

The trip was a blast, we had so much fun with Jason's family just relaxing. The weather was perfect. Not too hot to make me sweat and worry about the radiation on my innocent baby and not too cold that we had to wear our jackets. We had delicious blackened fish tacos, ice cream, wine, Karin's home cooking (Jason's step-mom) and lots of laughs. We can't wait to go back for some Laguna Beach fun!

Maaammmmma

Last week I set down Lyla on the living room floor to go grab the laundry. She has a new technique of yelling that is quite loud and heart wrenching. She loves to make her voice known. Well, when I stepped away, there was no yelling (strange) but I heard a loud "Maaaaammmmmmma". Yes, that's right, she said mama! For the last few weeks she's been toying with da da da da and a few ma ma's here and there but no specific outcry. This was the best feeling. I had goosebumps and heart flutters, she made my day and my week. I'm so proud to say I'm the mama of little Lyla.

Life has been whizzing by between working and being a mom and a wife. It's pretty much like having three jobs.
Job #1: Wife, this entails taking care of my cute hubby with dinner, cleaning, loving, cuddling, and trying to look pretty for him (i.e. showering and applying makeup).
Job #2: Mom, this entails cleaning poopy diapers that look like the food digested that day such as orange, green or brown, bouncing, bathing and cleaning all creases that can collect odd things, laundry, bouncing, breastfeeding, bouncing, playing, laughing, bouncing... did I say bouncing?
Job #3: Lead Dermatology Physician Assistant this entails taking care of patients and all of their various dermatologic needs (i.e. skin checks for skin cancer, acne, warts, rashes, cosmetics,and lasers), maintaining lasers and office needs.

I enjoy all three of my jobs. Now, I just need to find a little time for myself. I guess that would be Job #4? Since the new year started I've tried to focus on working out, feeling better about myself and getting everything organized. I love being organized!

I always heard my patients tell me throughout the day that being a mom would make life fly by, but I didn't realize it until now! My jobs are taking over, but I LOVE IT! I'm a wife, mom, professional, daughter and friend to many.
I hope I can be the best at all of the above!
Hugs!

She's my Love

It's been a while since I have had time to sit down and write. Lyla and I stay busy playing, going for walking, laughing, babbling, and just being together. I'd much rather do that than anything else! I can't believe it's been 6 months. I'm still amazed at the joy she brings to my life. Even though she would be considered a "fussy" baby she makes every day pleasurable. She brings a smile to everyone's face that looks at her. She also opens up my eyes to the small things in life and makes me smile about the littlest things. Each day I can do something new and silly and she thinks it is hilarious! She is also the only one in the world that wants to be with me every second of the day, every day, all day, and never gets sick of me. For now, I'll cherish that as I know it won't last forever! She's my love.

The Secrets about Mommyland.....

The blessings that Lyla brings me far outweigh the sleepless nights and spit ups on my new clothes. I've found that I tend to talk about the hard nights, difficult times and the challenges that being a mom brings to my life. The problem is, the positive parts are so much better! So why don't I talk about those as much? I'm not sure. The secret about being a mom is that it's a feeling only a mom can describe. It's an intense feeling of loving someone but multiply that by a million. Some days I want to hold Lyla and never let go, I look at her and love her more than I ever knew I could. Each day it's more, each moment makes me melt... she's my lovely little girl.

In memory of Pops

I wanted to let you know the sad news that Popa (Jason's grandfather) passed away yesterday.

Most of you know that Popa was an influential part of our lives, especially Jason's. He regarded him as a Father, mentor, loved one, friend and ultimately the one person that was there for him at all times, day or night. He would answer the phone in the middle of a meeting to talk to Jason, no matter where he was or what he was doing, he was there for us. Jason grew up going to his house every summer and striving to be so much like his Grandfather. When Jason would win an award at work or when he got a promotion he was quick to call Pops and let him know. So much of Jason's positive, ambitious, hard working and caring attitude is from his Grandfather. I can thank him for making such a wonderful man and husband. I am so lucky.

Popa looked at life with an optimistic attitude. The grass was always greener on HIS side and he was always happy to share that outlook with everyone that stepped into his life. His family came first in every situation, no matter what was going on. He wanted everyone to enjoy the finer things in life and the simple pleasures. He would say "don't worry about me... worry about yourself". "Eat slow... enjoy the moment." "Stop and smell the roses." He would always stop to smell the roses. Some of you may laugh when Jason does simple things like stop to smell the flowers or take a pause to let everyone know around him what a wonderful day it is and how we should cherish it, but that's what makes an amazing person. He got that from his Grandfather.

He was here for the biggest moments of our lives. On our wedding day, Jason walked to the song "unforgettable" as recommended by Popa. He took us to Maine as part of our Honeymoon and showed me where his loving memories were with his wife. We also went to Italy with him where he showed us a world we would have never experienced. We sipped wine in Tuscany with Pops on the lawn and spoke of our lifes ambitions and he encouraged us to always strive to be the best people we can. He came out here for my graduation day and always told me how proud he was of me. He made me a better woman and wife.

The strong marriage that Jason and I have has been blessed and influenced by Popa. He showed us that marriage is about love, support and it takes work to have a great marriage but in the end family is what makes the world turn. More recently he was here for our 5 year Anniversary. He celebrated it with us, while meeting his great-grandaughter, Lyla, for the first time. He said a speech at dinner and let us know how proud he was of Jason and I. The fact is, I am so proud that I could be a part of his life for 7 years.

He was a Father and Grandfather to Jason, a Grandfather to me, and Lyla's Great Popa.

Please say your prayers for him, and for Jason and his family.
We are all so blessed to have had such a loving, un-selfish, caring, amazing man in our lives.
Squeeze those you love today.
Much Love & God Bless,
Angela

Choo Choo!

Today was Lyla's first fall outing. We headed to Remlinger Farms with the Whitworths. What a wonderful day filled with fun!! Lyla's favorite ride was definitely the train... choo choo! It was the last ride of the day and she settled into her Dad's lap and just watched the scenery with glee. She was so content that I decided maybe we need a train in our house? Is that possible? My favorite picture is of Jason, Lyla and I in the school bus. It's just perfect. Angela smiling....Jason smiling....and Lyla letting us know that she was done posing for the camera in these ridiculous cut out prints.

The day started with Starbucks coffee and Grace took on the canoes right away. Shortly after we went to the petting zoo, not so scary haunted house (note to self, do not bring strollers through the not so scary house...) and then it was lunch. The afternoon ended with Grace's first roller coaster, Lyla's first ride in an Antique car then off on the train. We had so much fun and this is what family is about. Love, laughter, adventure, and memories. Choo choooo!

Kick Kick Kick

Kicking, Gooing and smiling are Lyla's favorite things to do these days. She's lost interest in sleep, she only likes to do that if she's extremely tired and she'll do whatever it takes to stay awake and have fun! I love watching all of her expressions. The gooing is my favorite but a hard one to catch on tape. Every time I bring out the camera... she just stares and stops her constant chatting. Might she be a bit camera shy? I think so!

I was just noticing the other day that she's growing so fast! Her head and fingers look so much bigger to me. Time is flying by and I want to make sure I am here for every new milestone. Lucky me, on Sunday night while sitting on the couch for a little "tummy time" she rolled over. She was calm and proud, and I thought maybe she only rolled because I was leaning on the couch and gave her a hill to roll down. I quickly turned her over and put her back in the original position. With her Auntie Diana there we cheered her on. "Go Lyla Go!" "Rolllll over, rooooolllll over!". Then she did it again! I screamed with glee and picked her up to go tell Jason. Well I think my scream may have startled her a bit because she hasn't rolled since and she was quite shocked by my outburst. At least I was there! Yipeeee!

I'm back at work and it's been quite nice to see all of my patients again. I enjoy my job and am lucky to have such a flexible workplace. I am even able to come home and breastfeed at lunch if I have time. I couldn't imagine a better situation. Lyla is always happy to see me (or maybe it's just the breastfeeding she's happy about).

Jason and I are getting ready for Fall and our pumpkin decorations are up. Lyla has her costume and she's really excited for Trick or Treating! Or so I'd like to think.

Much Love to all of you (anyone???) that reads this.
Angela