Sunday, November 15, 2015

Our Lives A Year Later

Late last night, after climbing back in bed from taking care of Rylee, I laid awake for almost 2 hours my mind just running. And I realized that it has been well over a year since I have posted a blog. I have started many, trust me. But, with a very active little girl, I haven't been able to finish one. So I thought I'd try again and see if I could actually finish this one. And I figured what better to write about than how my life has changed since having Rylee a year ago.

Rylee is now 1 and is so active that I have a very hard time keeping up with her. She goes from one thing to the next so fast. I try very hard to keep a clean house. But, by the time I get one mess picked up Rylee has made about 20 more. There are some days that I just don't care, and after she goes to bed I then pick things up.

Speaking of bed. We have such a fun bedtime routine. For a long time I would let Rylee fall asleep on the couch or me, and then mover her to her own bed. But, recently we changed things up. Rylee was having a hard time sleeping through the night and would wake up and wouldn't fall back asleep until I was in her room where she could see me. That didn't fly so well with me cause I wasn't getting much sleep. So we decided to have her fall asleep in her bed. So now, around 8pm we start our routine. First we get all the toys and house picked up. Then we get Rylee in her PJs. Having the house picked up helps her realize that play time is over and helps her calm down. We then read our scriptures as a family. I know that Rylee doesn't understand what is being said and we only read a few verses. But, when she gets older, I want her to be able to look back and say that her parents tried to have scripture study. I know that it will also help her as she grows. After scripture we have family prayer. Rylee even folds her arms and says amen. (It's very cute!) At this point we generally will just sit around and talk or watch a show, while Rylee sits on my lap and drinks her milk. She sits here until she either begins to doze off or points to her room. I then will ask her if she's ready for bed. If she is, she climbs down off my lap takes out her binky (if she has one in) and goes and gives her dad a kiss. This is probably my favorite part of the night. It melts my heart to watch. We then go into her room where she gives me a hug and kiss as I put her in her bed. She points to her monitor wanting me to turn on her lullabies. And with in a few minutes she's asleep. It may seem like a long routine, but her sleep has improved so much since we have started doing all these things. She will, most of the time, sleep through the night and wakes up around 7am. I really can't complain about that.

Another cute thing she has started doing is chasing the dog. I'm not exactly sure if Bow likes it, but Rylee sure does. Just the other day I was sitting on the couch while Rylee chased after her, the whole time just laughing her head off. Every once and a while she'd come over to me and give me the biggest smile. She just loves her dog.
She climbs on EVERYTHING! I am so worried that one of these days she is going to fall off and get really hurt. I try so hard to keep her off of things. But more often then not, I will come out of a room or turn around and find her up on something. Just yesterday I looked up and found her on top of the dog's kennel. I have no idea  how she got up there. I am just grateful that we  have carpet most everywhere in our house.

Things really have changed from last year. A year ago Rylee would sleep most of the day. Now she sleeps for about an hour (or more) a day, and the rest just wants to play. We've gone from being able to go to the restroom and come back and Rylee be in the same spot, to Rylee coming into the restroom with me. We've gone from feedings every 3 hours, to eating and snacking like a big girl. Everything is just totally different.

Rylee truly is my biggest blessing. Don't get me wrong, there are days I call Ethan and tell him that I need a break. But for the most part I find myself saying, on a daily basis, that I have the best job in the world. I love taking care of my little girl. I love the fact that she wants me more than anyone else. She puts a smile on my face everyday with some new thing she has learned to do. It amazes me how quickly she learns. A year ago, the thought of being where we are now seemed like an eternity anyway.  Time really does fly when you are having this much fun.


No comments:

Post a Comment