There You Are Lyla

11 weeks of waiting like a 4 year old on Christmas morning at the top of the stairs. Or 77 days of asking if this was the date I could write down in the baby book. The crisp new pages were staring at me in the nursery, waiting to get some kind of event in it. I counted down 1848 hours for her first real milestone - the famous first smile. I felt like every morning when we "talked" at the diaper changing station, I was babbling to a wall with myself. I knew she was in there, but without any acknowledgement of my high pitched baby talk or reaction to my silly faces, it felt like Lyla was missing. Her social butterfly soul was deep inside somewhere behind those wandering eyes trying to focus on something. It was starting to get really hard as all of my dedicated work was constantly going unanswered. The situation was getting frustrating with my baby boom friends' kids beaming bright gummy smiles only 6 weeks in.

Here we go with the delayed milestones.
How long am I going to have to wait?

Is this ever going to happen???

It wasn't a typical morning on Sunday, June 27. We had spent the night at a dear friend of my husband's house with her family, a fellow 20-months into it mother that I've now become closer with than Troy thanks to Facebook ;o)

Lyla and I enjoyed our first morning feeding session in the comfy, worn in recliner of their cheerfully decorated pink & green nursery where their little girl enjoyed getting her milk as an infant just the year before. A sort of circle of life moment in our breastfeeding bubble we share since us girls had just gabbed the night before, over glorious crisp pinot grigio of course, about the ups and ups of nursing. So here Lyla & I are, fast asleep in now their chair, and I awake realizing we've done it once again. She's just too darn cuddly not to fall asleep with.

We groggingly rise to wander half-eyed down the hall to our guest bedroom where Daddy is passed out in a hangover sleep. Scotch and Troy are the bestest of friends. I place her little body in between us, knowing her eagerly wanting to stretch out arms and legs are going to push against Troy's back. If she wakes him up, he can't be mad at me hehe. He rolls over and we're both on our sides facing the cutest baby on earth. Could have been a perfect family photo. "Good morning Lyla" was all he had to say for her to stare right into his eyes and give the biggest wide-open smile you've ever seen. This wasn't gas, this wasn't a fluke. This was a little girl so happy to see her daddy and giving the biggest sign of I Love You one can give. "She smiled, she smiled!", he proudfully owned.

I have to admit, my first reaction was not excitement or pride. A jealous "Are you frickin kidding me?!" was more like it since I have dedicated my existance to this kid for the last 3 months and 10 months of elephant ankle-swelling pregnancy... and she gives it all to her father. But the true emotion of joy overtook as I realized she had done it. Her first real milestone that meant progress. The milestone that meant we could have 2-way conversations and not just 1. The milestone to say we're getting somewhere. The milestone where she could shine.

It only took until the next morning for me to get a smile sent my way. She is a total morning girl - a true sign she is her father's daughter. No wonder he got the first grin. I am never a pretty sight at 6am. But this new 6am was filled with multiple smiles!

There you are Lyla. I have been waiting to meet you.

Now we get smiles every day. All day. She'll smile at baby talk, fun new noises, and getting a new diaper. She'll smile at me, at Troy, and at anything else that has a face - including her new love for toy Panda. (I'm pretty sure they're dating as she's infactuated with his black and white fur.)

Love my little social butterfly. Love to think ahead to how many smiles she'll be flashing at random people on the street to make the world a little bit better place for all.