Layla and Ryker

Layla helped me babysit Mr. Ryker a couple times a week for the past couple weeks and she had lots of fun and was lots of help :-) She was only a little unsure when grandma was here and holding Ryker, but as you know a new nephew is on the way so it was good practice for her. Enjoy the pictures!

Layla and Ryker hanging out in Layla's room. Poor Ryker has never seen so much pink!!

Layla loves burp cloths and uses them as blankets. Ryker was a very good sport.

Layla was very busy being mommy.

Playing...so cute!

Layla and Ryker playing with a new ball game...Layla very matter of factly told Ryker all the colors of the balls...according to Layla they were all blue, yellow and purple :-)

Playing the drums

Nicole's mom had borrowed this bumbo from us and Nicole returned it the first day of babysitting because Ryker no longer needs it. Layla really wanted Ryker in there so we finally set him inside and Layla just loved Ryker in the bumbo. She rubbed his little feet and back and said, "What baby doing?" So funny!!

Layla dancing. Ryker thinking Layla's a little crazy, hee hee! I am almost positive Layla is dancing to "Mr. Sun" and she is the sun hiding behind the tree :-)



Thanks Ryker for fun days! You were such a good little boy :-)

Fun Day with the Bride-To-Be

Stephanie and Adam are getting married. Very soon! The bride-to-be Steph, Layla and I recently spent a very fun afternoon at a somewhat nearby children's museum. It was a good girls' day before the big wedding day (remember Layla is in the wedding too!). Enjoy the pictures below, thanks Steph for sending them my way :-)

Water table fun....I just love this place!

Mommy and Layla making some bubbles

Layla at the wood block station

Layla at the gigantic lite brite station. This one shows the true darkness.

And this one is lightened so you can see the fun lite brite.

Steph and Layla driving together

Layla and Stephanie in deep conversation about the meals at the wedding...Layla was trying to convince Steph that M&M's would be a perfect entree...hee hee, I have no idea what they were talking about!

Headed to Noodles to eat lunch, yum!! Erin, Steph's sister, sent this fun dog for Layla. Layla loves him and the bed, thanks Erin!! Blue also enjoys the tiny bed and tries to lay in it himself :-)

We headed into Noodles and met Katie and baby Zander there (I love the summer!!) and Layla "took" pictures with my phone, ha ha. This is a pretty good representation of how Layla is at restaurants these days...she will not sit down anymore...hello home-cooked meals :-)

Thanks Steph and Katie for a fun afternoon!!

Warrior Dash

On Sunday, Ryan and a bunch of our good friends ran in the Warrior Dash which is a 3 1/2 mile run and obstacle course. We signed up in February when cabin fever hit us all hard and we were dreaming of anything involving warmth and the outdoors. Well it turns out come June, I am still not a runner.....! I can elliptical and spin with the best of the them but running is so not my thing. I opted out of the race and hung with Nicole's parents and baby Ryker and played role of photographer/holder of Layla. I have to say I enjoyed myself thoroughly from the sidelines.

Here are a few pictures of the course:

There were haybales to climb up and down (Nicole is way up high, Kris is running down)

Ropes to climb up and down (this is Ryan)

Mud to crawl through

More mud to crawl through

and lots of friends to enjoy it with (click on the picture to see names above the heads). The group stuck together on the course and ran and obstacled together which made the whole event more fun for the eight of them and a tad easier for me to photograph!

Layla had fun with the warrior hat

Correction...Layla and Ryker had fun with the warrior hats :-)

Now I am feeling like I should go out for a run....or maybe not!

Happy Daddy Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the daddies out there but especially to Layla's beloved daddy and three grandpas (papa, papa and big papa!). She is one lucky girl to have all of those special men in her life!

Ryan, Layla and I started off the day at the warrior run...(more pictures to come!)

and then headed to visit Grandma and Grandpa Sloan's house for some fun in the sun.

Happy Father's Day, everyone!

Summer Lovin'

Favorites (sunglasses, purple hat, purple shoes)

Cousin fun

New nephew coming very soon!

New big brother coming soon

Baby Grace is adorable (mommy and daddy are Laura and Chad)

Did I mention Baby Grace is adorable?

One baby and two toddlers that did fabulous all afternoon at the pool!

Dirt & Dessert (Birthday Party Take 2)

On June 6, Layla and her two cousins all turned 2. Jessica (Ryan's cousin and the twins' mom) and I think it is so fun that they share the exact same birthday. It was pretty amazing that they all arrived on June 6th because Layla was due on June 23 and the twins were due on July 17th. After a couple of roller coaster pregnancies, (Jessie was in the hospital for months and kept those babies in until they were healthy enough to come out) all three girls arrived healthy and now celebrated their second birthdays walking and talking, how great is that?!?

The invites were simple and easy. We created them on Smilebox and you can just print them out as 4x6 prints to your local Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. We settled on a dessert and dirt theme, simple but very fun to put together!

Here are the three girls on party day!

Jessica saw these centerpieces in a magazine and then recreated them herself, so cute!!

For food, we had a cupcake and ice cream dessert bar with lots of toppings. As a bonus, Ryan's aunt made homemade fudge and it was delicious! Layla hung out by the cherry bowl for a good part of the day :-)

Here are some little details from the party. Ryan's cousin, Julie, made her cupcake and ice cream so cute that I just had to take a picture.

Layla started out the party with a little ice cream. She had to be woken up from a 3+ hour nap because the party had started and she needed some sugar...and needed it quick :-)

After the pouring rain stopped (what is it with me and parties and rain?) the kids thankfully got to participate in the "dirt" part of the day. All of the kids painted pots and planted flowers. Ryan's dad brought a huge tarp to lay down and the kids went to town painting and planting. It was fun and hectic and for a second I felt like I was teaching again :-) Layla got to paint to her heart's content and even found a couple plastic cups on the ground to decorate.

After the painting and potting, the kids washed up with the soapy water bucket and washcloths that I had set outside...and then the girls went to town cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. They were so cute and Layla's playhouse is gleaming now! Who would have thought that this would have been so fun?

Yes, Layla joined right in!

In fact, Layla just kind of ran with the pack of kids this year. Yes, that is her in the car with her purple (of course) feet sticking out. What a silly girl!

And here is the one picture that captured the three girls together. No, you cannot see their faces...but they are two and way too busy with some soapy water to look at the camera :-)

Happy birthday Lizzie, Lexie and Layla!

Zoo Memories

Layla and Shea were very sweet together at the zoo on Sunday. They are buddies and looked so cute together in the wagon. I have a feeling these could be pictures we might be pulling out in many, many years and saying, "Look how adorable you two were together!!"

Shea...always the gentleman.

Layla...possibly wanting a little of that granola bar.

Cousin love.

Layla...getting excited to see the dolphins, making sure Shea is coming with her!

Shea thinking Layla may have taken things a tad far :-)

I had to show you this picture! The new bear exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo is awesome. It just opened in May and the exhibits are huge and the animals seemed very happy and active on Sunday. The polar bear was chasing this bone all around and did flips in the water and even climbed up on the cliff and jumped down, so fun to see!!

P.S. Hi Mom and friends!! Hope you are having fun :-)