14 Months Old

Mylah is our precious petite little girl. We talk all the time about how small she is, and how we forget her age. Because we forget her age, we are always so amazed when she accomplishes something! It's the little things right?!

Today Mylah is 14 months old. Seriously?! 14 months?! I am so sad our baby girl is growing up, but at the same time, I am so proud of her and the many milestones she has reached.

Here's a little about our sweet girl at 14 months:

♥ She weighs 19 pounds 4 oz.

♥ She is 29 inches long.

♥ She wears size 3 diapers still, but we may switch soon. We've had some leaky incidents.

♥ She took her first steps this past week, but still prefers crawling.

♥ She screams ALL THE TIME. It's her way of asking for things, and as much as I push signing and telling her what things are, she still chooses to scream. It's deafening and highly annoying. Hopefully we can get her to talk more soon!
(Yes, she is screaming in this pic.)

♥ She points a lot and says Wow!

♥ She can say Hi (it's her word of choice), Da-da, Ma-Ma, Bawk-Bawk, and No.

♥ She can eat with a fork AND a spoon.

♥ She loves to drink water and milk.

♥ She's kind of a picky eater, but will eat fresh fruit anytime.

♥ She loves her blankie and diligently sucks her thumb.

♥ She has two bottom front teeth. two molars on top and one top front tooth coming in. (What child gets molars before their two front teeth?!!)

♥ She still loves animals.

♥ She is a busy little thing and is constantly into something. I am always cleaning up Mylah Messes, as I so lovingly call them.



 ♥ She can climb now and climbs onto anything she can swing her tiny leg up onto!


♥ Her hair is super duper long and I LOVE doing it different ways! She's actually patient and will watch a movie while I style it!

♥ She thinks picking her nose is hilarious (thanks to her brother!)


She continues to be healthy and is growing as she should. We are so proud of her. I still can't believe it's been 14 months since she came into this world. She has changed each of us in different ways, and every single moment with her is amazing. I love you Mylah Lei!

-Lara

An Understanding

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have a testimony and firmly believe in our Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation. We were sent to this Earth to be tried and tested. To endure unfathomable hardships, live through them, learn from them, and become better. After our time here on Earth, if we lived true, and were faithful to promises made to our Heavenly Father, we can return to live with Him forever. Because of his wonderful plan, we can also be with our loved ones forever. 

With the trials our family has endured over the last year, we have learned so much. We have been givien the chance to change, to become better and to find our faith in our struggles. Each of us came out of Mylah's heart diagnosis and surgeries, a different person. Me especially. I am not sure if it's because I carried her for 9 months and feel solely responsible for heart problems, or if it's because I am a deeper more emotional person than I care to admit. Through it all I tried to look for the good, to learn something, and to be molded into a better woman.

I now live with sympathy for those Momma's who's children are medically fragile. I understand their stress, pain, and heartache. I know of their longing for a cure, and total anguish at the thought that they cannot heal their precious child. I live with empathy for them and the many questions that arise when they endure days of hospital stays and are trying to understand the medical lingo that has become their second language. I understand what it means to feel broken and hopeless.

I also now live with the knowledge that these things happen for a reason, that no matter the outcome, we are meant to learn from our trials and to grow. I know we are each given what we can handle. We are each given only what Heavenly Father sees fit for us. We can become better through our struggles and help those in need. I like to believe that I have been better at searching for those in need and reaching out to help anyway I can.

I know of someone who is in need now, someone who is enduring an unimaginable trial. She is a fellow Heart Mom and is currently pregnant with her second child. After loosing her first child, a little boy named Bridger, to a heart defect, she just found out her precious unborn baby girl may share the same fate. Her daughter has HLHS, a very severe Congenital Heart Defect. HLHS babies have to endure numerous procedures and surgeries, but can live a healthy life. It's just a long hard road to get there. They are medically fragile their entire lives.

Upon finding out about her baby's diagnosis, I was sick, and my heart ached for her. I didn't understand how a loving Heavenly Father could do this to her?! She wanted to just have a healthy normal pregnancy and to carry a precious baby full term and enjoy a beautiful life with her. I questioned how he could ask her and her husband to go through this again!

Then I was reading another Mom's blog. Ani lost her little Ruby Jane to a rare liver disease. It has been a little over a year since her daugther's passing, but she continues to create awareness and carries on her legacy. She inspires me and stated something on her blog that helped me feel so much better. Speaking of enduring one heartbreak after another, she wrote:

 "Having been through the worse days of my life, I know all the pain, and suffering, and torture that comes. It is horrible to know that all those mama's and daddy's hearts will feel like mine did, and still does. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, in fact, since I know my heart and soul proved they could survive the torture, I wish I could just take it for them.

Last night I visited the temple. I was consumed in thoughts about Ruby, and these other precious babies. Tried to make sense of my year, and why I have been stripped of my child, and soon after the remnants of a normal life. I tried to make sense of it all. I asked for understanding. I asked for guidance. And I kept just thinking that it just did not make sense. I could not understand His plan.

This morning as I was vacuuming, it occurred to me that we are not suppose to understand His plan for us. We are suppose to have faith and trust and hope in Him, and that he has a divine plan for us. How could we possibly make sense of a plan that is so perfectly tailored for each of us. We have been given exactly the trials that Heavenly Father has sent our way. I think that I am slowly, being molded and refined with each trial that comes, into the woman that my Father wants me to be. He knows what I can handle. He knows the worth of my divine nature, and he knows how far I need to be stretched to become the person He knows I am, the daughter He created and loves. It doesn't lessen the pain, but what that knowledge allows moments of peace between the anguish.

As I vacuumed my way down the hall, I thought, "Who am I to tell Him, 'enough is enough'!?"  I am working on my faith. I am working on my trust. And I am working on my HOPE. Because that is all we can really do when nothing seems to be making any sense.

Understanding the reason for our trials will most likely not come in this life time. But I am confident that our Father in Heaven will make up for losses, and bless us with more than we can imagine."

She put into words what I often cannot and what I hope and wish to say to my fellow Heart Mama. Our Heavenly Father, the God of this Earth, a loving and caring personage knows us. He knows what we can endure. He will make up for our losses and bring us more joy than we can imagine. Thank you Ani for reminding me of this. Thank you for helping me to see that as much as I ache for Staci, and wish that she didn't have to go through this all again, that there is hope, and that there is happiness after trials. Heavenly Father is in control, he changes and molds us and we are better because of all we endure. 

Staci, if you read this, know that I think of you everyday, that I wish there were words to tell you how sorry I am for all you are going through. Know that no matter what God loves you. Though it doesn't feel like it right now, He loves you so much! I am praying for you, for your precious little Finleigh, and that she fights with all she has. I pray that you find the answers you seek and feel comfort in the decisions you make for your little family. Heart Hugs Mama! 

-Lara  

Busy Little Bee

It is safe to say that I can't keep up with Mylah anymore! We like to call her our busy little bee!   

On September 5th she decided to start standing. We were outside and she crawled over to the edge of the yard and stood up! 

She then proceeded to try to climb over the railroad tie. She didn't make it then, but now this girls a master climber overer. (word?)

That same day she was busy playing with Dad's surround sound and ripped the knob off his receiver.

During bathtime each night you can find her standing in the tub. She's fallen in the water a few times, but doesn't quit trying to stand!

She loves to push things while she is crawling. It's one of the cutest things I've seen. I just love seeing these small milestones. It helps me to remember that she's our precious miracle!

Mylah also loves being outside on the porch. She loves to watch Dallin and Rylee play. Soon enough I am sure she will attempt to escape, but for now she stays put.

(She wears that gray onesie a lot...I promise she has tons of clothes!)

I snapped this picture a few days after her birthday. She loved playing with her balloons!

And lastly, pretty much everyday I clean up a Mylah mess. Here she somehow got the wipes and ripped them all out of the container! As I was taking her picture she started to sneak away!

Even though she's busy, and we may have another Rylee on our hands, this girl is super sweet and rarely fussy. She's a good sleeper, happy baby, and such a blessing to our home!

First Surgiversary

Today is Mylah's first surgery surgiversary. Our days were filled with fear, dread, heartache, tears and pain as we learned of Mylah's emergency surgery diagnosis. 

I remember feeling lost and helpless. How could our daughter, who was fine hours before, now need a life saving surgery?! We learned quickly that everything was up to Mylah and that her spirit was strong and her body could endure more than we imagined.

As I reflect on what an amazing year we've had with our sweet heart baby, I am costantly reminded that our Heavenly Father loves us and that everything in our lives is according to His plan. He taught us in those moments, that nothing else mattered, that Mylah, our other two children and our eternal family were the most imporant. He taught us to be humble, to seek Him, to recongnize His hand in our trial.

On this day, exactly a year later, we have so much to be thankful for. Mylah is healthy, happy, and growing into an adorable toddler. She is an example of strength and a survivor!

Read the original post from last year HERE.

1 year old

Today is Mylah's 1st Birthday! She's had a pretty good day, other than waking up with a nasty cold. Poor girl. It's hard to believe it's been a year since she was born! We are so blessed to have her in our family and are grateful to our Heavenly Father for keeping her here. We have learned from her to love, endure, and gained a greater testimony of our Heavenly Father's plan for our family. She was meant to be here, meant to have a heart defect, and has taught us so much!

Words cannot describe how special Mylah is to me. Pretty early on in my pregnancy I knew that I would have a special connection with her, and I have. She loves her Mommy! There is something unique about her and I am pretty sure my Father in Heaven was trying to teach me patience, to slow down, to take in the daily moments and to cherish all I'm given. She's smart, energetic, indepedent, determined, loving, sweet, beautiful and silly. We are lucky to have her!

Here are her 12 month/1 year stats:

♥ She weighs 19 pounds.

♥ She is 28 inches long.

♥ She wears 9-12 month clothes, some 6-9 month still depending on the brand.

♥ She wears size 3 diapers still.

♥ Tooth count = 0. She's our first to turn one with no teeth!

♥ She is finally weaned and officially on whole milk!

♥ She loves to eat anything and everything.

♥ She still sucks her thumb and loves her silky blanket!

♥ She is crawling everywhere and standing. She has also mastered standing next to objects that don't have anything to hold onto.

♥ She's not quite scaling the couch or coffee table yet, but she gets brave and tries to move from one to the other. 

♥ She can clap, wave Hi and Bye, sign More and Eat and we are working on Please

♥ She loves to watch Dora, Pocoyo, and Yo Gabba Gabba.

♥ She loves to play with her toys and especially loves stuffed animals. She hugs them and kisses them. It's the cutest!

♥ She loves to play peek-a-boo.

♥ She loves animals, especially dogs and cats. 

♥ She is waking once a night to have a bottle, we are trying to break this habit.

♥ She is a quick learner.

♥ She loves to take things out of my purse or the cupboard or the toy bin and then put them all back in one by one.

♥ She can say Mama, Hi, and Bath.

♥ She loves to dance and try to sing to music. She's got some good musical genes! :)

♥ She shakes her head no and is learning to give kisses.

We love you so much Mylah, Happy 1st Birthday sweet girl!

Mylah's First Birthday Party

This past Saturday we celebrated the most difficult, stressful, amazing, wonderful year with our sweet heart baby! Her birthday isn't until October first, but this was the only free weekend that we all had available. We were all so excited to celebrate Mylah's first birthday!

The party preparations began early this morning. I woke up and went right to work decorating and preparing everything for guests to arrive. As usual I went about it the frugal way and tried to spend as little money as I could, while still making her party special! We went with a Heart Party theme and used her color purple and added pink and red to the color scheme.

Before I got too far into decorating I took Mylah out on the lawn and took her one year photos. They are adorable and I may be biased, but we have one of the cutest babies around!  I made her hairbow, designed the onesie and ironed it on, made her tutu, I added pink heart leggings to finish the outfit! It was so much fun to do and dang cute!

Back to the decor. Pretty much everything I made  by hand, the backdrop out of streamers and ribbon, the matching tissue paper pom poms, and I used my Valentine wreath with a number one in the center for the main focal point. I loved how it turned out. My friend Kristan cut out hearts for me to use for Mylah's photo banner. It was amazing and I always love seeing how different she was from month to month. 

For the table I used purple and pink tablecloths, tall vases full of red and purple licorice and heart shaped candy bowls with pink, purple and red candy. Her cake was displayed in the middle of the table. We added the food slowly, but ended up with quite the spread. Deli sandwhiches, chips, hawaiian punch, chinese chicken salad, veggies and dip, and melon. It was delish! 

For dessert we enjoyed heart shaped sugar cookies with purple icing (using a new recipe I found on Pinterest and LOVED), cake bites, and cupcakes with heart cupcake toppers. Mylah's cake was a german chocolate cake with purple butter cream frosting (piped on oh-so-carefully, by yours truly, yet another Pinterest find). 

The rest of the yard was decorated with balloons, the table with a purple table cloth, and a stitched heart tiny heart banner. Mylah's highchair was adorned with balloons and the tree behind her was covered in strings of hearts.

 

 

As soon as everyone arrived we started with lunch and visited. Mylah enjoyed melon, some cheese and some celery. She looked super cute in her birthday outfit munching away at her lunch.

 

The guests who attend the party included, Grandma and Grandpa C. Grandma and Grandpa H. Aunt Meredith, Afton, Brody, Aunt Jenn and our dear friend Kristen. We had invited more, but some couldn't make it. We missed them!

Grandma and Papa H.

 Grandma and Grandpa C.

 Auntie Jenn

 

I totally forgot to get pictures with Aunt Meredith and her kids and Mylah and her siblings, but Neil and I were able to get a picture with her! But little sis refused to smile.

 

 After a few pictures it was time for Mylah to open her gifts! She was spoiled rotten, but rightly so, for our girl who has been through so much! She was given a new Minnie Mouse chair from Mommy and Daddy, it was purple with a heart shaped back and just her size! It's been a birthday tradition for us to gift those chairs. No each of our kids have one! She also received a learning ladybug from us, and a few new Fall outfits. Grandma and Grandpa C. gave her a new toy for the car, and bath toys. Grandma and Papa H. and Aunty Meredith gave her a new bath tow boat with cute animals and a new outfit. And Kristan gave her some books. She also received a really fun gift of a ginormous flower balloon from my dear friend Angela! She LOVED it. Thank you to everyone who showered our heart baby with gifts!

The final and most exciting part of the party was singing to Mylah and letting her eat her heart cake. At first she was a little bit timid and very lady-like while digging into her cake, then she just decided to go for it and grabbed handfuls to eat! It was the cutest!

After munching on cake for a few minutes we took it away and enjoyed a piece. It was such a wonderful afternoon, I am so thankful that we were able to celebrate a year with Mylah. There may have been a time when I thought this day would never happen. I am grateful to doctors, nurses, surgeons, and the wonderful Sunrise Hospital for caring for our girl with such expertise, that she was able to celebrate this year! I am also continually thankful to my Heavenly Father for her healthy heart, healing body and contiued growth! We are truly blessed! Happy First Birthday (party) Mylah Leilani!