It's All a Matter of Perspective

Becoming a parent has given me a new perspective on a lot of things! Here are some recent examples:

-While the Salvation Army people in front of grocery stores are sweet, smiley and doing a good deed, I want to yell at them to stop ringing their darn bells 'cause they're waking up my baby!

-Fast food is suddenly an acceptable choice due to the fact that I don't have to get Lila out and I find myself wondering why places like Panera don't have drive thrus. How dare they make me lug the car seat inside just to get a sandwich!

-Going to the grocery store can always wait another day.

-Dressing Lila is 100 times better than dressing myself.

-Red lights are the devil! Not because they make me later than I already am, but because every time I stop at one, Lila screams. Every. Time. unless she is in a very, very deep sleep. I then get to drive while stretching my arm to its limit to locate the spit out binkey and feel around her face until I get slobbered on and stick the binkey into her mouth. Over and over.

-Do sidewalks really need to have such deep dividing crease things? And so often? When I take Lila on walks we have to go on the street because her cheeks shake and her body jolts every 3 seconds (I timed it) when we go over the crease parts of the sidewalk.

-Lila is usually a very good and regular pooper but gets constipated once in awhile. On one such occasion she hadn't gone in a day and a half (loooong for her) and she was screaming in frustration and maybe pain while trying to poop. As her face turned a deep shade of red and she grunted like no one's business, she pooped! I threw my hands in the air and yelled, "Yay Lila, you pooped! Yaaaay!" I distinctly remember thinking that I never would have dreamed those words would come out of my mouth.

-Being late is no longer a faux pas. It is just normal and expected.

-It is acceptable to put an extra baby blanket in my diaper bag. One for Lila and one for me.

-A baby pooping is one of the funniest things to watch! She is so serious about it.

-11 am is still early.

-I have begun to catagorize people as naughty or nice by if they hold the door open for my stroller or me with all my bags and car seat.

-I find myself scowling at people who cough, laugh, drop something or rustle a package near me while Lila is asleep at the grocery store or some other place that is not ideal for soothing a crying baby. Lila can sleep for 4 hours at the mall on black Friday but gets woken up by a crackling wrapper. Go figure.

-Picking a bugger out of Lila's nose with my finger nail does not gross me out but instead has me wondering how such a big bugger can fit in such a little nose.

-Her quivering lower lip makes my heart break way more than I thought it could, yet not enough for me to stop letting her cry it out when she wakes up 10 minutes after putting her to sleep. I don't get enough sleep for that.

-The video monitor is the coolest thing ever and I can't believe I considered not buying it. By far better than I thought it would be. I have been entertained by Lila staring at her end of the video monitor because it has a green light on it. She smiles and coos at it like it's her best friend.

I'm sure there are many more that I will think of later, but I just think it is funny how these are all things I wouldn't have noticed and that won't matter once again once all my kids are out of the baby stage but seem such a big deal now. I am happy though that the important things I said I would or wouldn't do once I had kids I have stuck to thus far. I know it's early, but you have to start somewhere, right?

As you now know, it is impossible to have a post without pictures of Lila, so here you go:

Lila at 3 months old

Lila has become the squirmiest thing ever! She rolls from tummy to back and almost from back to tummy. This is what she does in her bouncy now. I guess I'm finding out why the straps are necessary...

Don't worry, I was right there!

This is how much Lila liked being strapped in. I guess she figured she would get out from the top.

Chris had to work in Boca Raton so we stayed with our friends, the Grays, and had tons of fun. Jenna is pregnant with twins!!!! Hopefully being around Lila made her more excited and not scared.

The first time I put Lila in a bumbo seat I thought she looked hilarious!

Chris and I have been taking walks at night and were worried Lila would get cold while being strolled around. This is the result. She has socks on under the footed pants and long sleeves under the sweatshirt. This blanket is super warm. Not to mention she has an extra lining in her car seat in case of blow outs. Hopefully she wasn't sweating because we do live in Florida, not Nebraska.

Lila has become a pro at knocking her hair bows in her eyes. Most of the time she doesn't even cry right away but moves her head all around, trying to see. It is actually quite funny. Chris told me we needed to just take them off for awhile. My response was that she will learn not to do it. The bows stay!

Thanksgiving 2010 at Chris's parent's house.

Lila vs. the bouncy again. This is her trying to roll over, getting too tired and falling asleep. She knocked both boots off and I had to pull back the bow from her eyes. Who sleeps like this? She is one determined girl!

Lila shopping with mom.

She doesn't realize she is cuddling with her giraffe but it sure looks like it's on purpose. And no, I didn't put it there. She grabbed it, it slid and landed there. Perfect picture opportunity.

That's what we have been up to lately. She is the cutest little girl ever and Chris and I are having a ball raising her.