Happy 1 Month Birthday!

Hi Everyone,

We're switching from weekly posts to monthly now that Ayla has reached her 1 month birthday! This is  not by her choice - she loves the attention - but simply suits my available time a bit better. It will also mean that you can see real changes in her from month to month. Maybe by the Month 2 update there will be a few more pictures of her awake. For now the sleeping pictures are pretty cute...

(sorry for spacing issues - i don't have the patience at the moment to fix it all...)

For now we're very pleased that she tends to sleep a little longer at a time and is also awake a little longer between naps. This gives us the chance to play with her a bit more - we've introduced her to a rattle at diaper changing time. So far she can accidentally grip it and manages to get it close enough to try to put in her mouth.

She loves taking naps on Dad...and he enjoys having an excuse to chill out.























She also manages to get her thumbs into her mouth when she's hungry - this is mostly by chance but once one of those little thumbs gets stuck in she puts a lot of effort into getting milk out of it. We're hoping that thumb sucking doesn't become a habit...but there are worse habits to have.







We also enjoyed meeting Aden Mayne, who weighed in at 10lbs when he was born on July 28th. At a week old he still weighed nearly 2 lbs more than Ayla at 4 weeks.
















Ayla is not short of cuddles from everyone she meets - especially little girls. Libby and Emily both loved cuddling Ayla, as does her Grampy at every chance he gets. Poor Timmy does get a little jealous when Grampy gives his attention to Ayla.

We have also battled diaper rash and won! Thanks to the miracle product Metanium - which is a really stinky clay-like substance. Whatever works though...her little bum is back to its pre-rash perfection.

Here you can see that she never stops moving when we try to change her...she is usually wiggling her chubby little legs too.

Timmy is getting more and more attached to Ayla. Proof is in the slipper - he likes to bring slippers as gifts to people he likes. You can see my slipper in her car seat in the background of the picture below. He also spends more and more time laying by her or just watching her when we are holding her. Occasionally he sneaks a quick lick of her ear despite all our efforts reminding him that he's only allowed to lick her feet and hands. He'll figure it out someday.

She also reacts to the sound of our voices by looking towards us or turning her head in our direction when we speak. Clever girl! It seems that she has a strong neck and back for her age. Her Uncle Stewart suggested that she become an Olympic Headlifter....and we have no doubt she'd get the gold!








This week has been slightly less busy than the last - with only a few outings. We enjoyed her first Angle Regatta, although this year we drove instead of sailing, and had much less cider than normal. It was still a lovely time. Angle is a tiny village directly across the Haven from Milford Haven. The Regatta is a great annual sailing event that Shifty usually participates in. Next year...next year...

We're also continuing to take daily walks...this one at sunset.

She's not always so cute...

Thanks Grandma Charlotte for more burp cloths!