14 months...two days late.

I could blame my camera or our busy schedules, but I just hadn't gotten around to doing this quite yet. Normally I have Layla's monthly post ready to go and I just schedule it to post on the 6th of the month. It is funny how I am busier now during the summer than the school year. My life used to be just the opposite!

Anyway, fourteen months. I know I am always saying this, but Layla is such a busy girl. She zooms from room to room chasing animals, playing with toys, dancing, pulling down books and attempting to get the childproof caps out of the light sockets! Layla is such a happy, sweet little girl right now and we are loving this stage. Her happiness may have something to do with the fact that she has not popped one tooth this past month. It has been a nice reprieve from the eight popping out the month before.

Layla celebrates everything in life with a clap. Anytime she feels successful (putting a play coin in her play piggy bank for example) she claps and claps. It is so funny and I think she may be mimicking her mom and dad! Just to clarify we don't clap for ourselves, but we do for Layla :-)

Layla's favorite toys? It is still any kind of ball. She loves to throw a ball, roll a ball back and forth and chase a ball all around. I am becoming fearful that soccer will not be in her future with all of this ball handling and no kicking. Maybe she will be a goalie?

When thinking of careers down the line for Layla, we already have a few picked out for her. First thought, food critic. Although, I don't know where the actual critic would come into play because Layla loves just about all food. We are desperately trying to teach Layla the sign for "please" because she just yells (screams?) for food when she sees it. Taking her grocery shopping is slightly crazy these days because she just yells for food (Mom!! is the word she yells) the majority of the time we are shopping.

Second job thought, deejay. Layla will find a CD, take it to her CD player, put it in and shut the lid. No, the CDs she put in don't actually play yet and yes, there are always 2-3 CDs in her player but this is so funny to watch. Layla also loves music and busts a move like her daddy (her daddy would say her mommy!).

Third job thought, dog trainer. Layla is obsessed with dogs. The only sign she signs is "dog." Layla also tells barking dogs "no, no" with the wave of her arm. She loves dogs and I hope this continues as she grows older. Maybe, just maybe, she could help us get Howie in line!

Mobility-wise, Layla is walking more and more as the days continue. Ryan and I were chasing her around in Kohl's today as she made her way through the men's clothing department. It is crazy the progress she has made in one short week!

Well there it is, fourteen months in a (wordy) nutshell! Here is one last video of our little girl in action. And yes, Layla uses the caterpillar toy as a purse. And yes, Layla is showing off her crazy scoot. It is so funny!

A Wedding and The Big News Explanation

Yesterday was my friend Brianne and her new husband Aaron's wedding. Brianne was my first kindergarten co-worker in the school district where I worked. We had very similar personalities and teaching styles and ideas and we just hit it off right away. She is such a sweet girl and I am so happy for her and Aaron!!

Everything about the wedding was so beautiful but if I had to pick my favorite parts they would be the fan programs (it was an outdoor wedding and these were so fun and different), the matching tablerunners with the chaircovers (who knew you could do this?!?) and Brianne's dress. It was gorgeous!

Here is a picture of Brianne and me. Can you see the matching tablerunner and chair sashes to the left??

And now for the big news explanation. I am so sorry I have confused so many people. I never clarified that the big news was Layla walking. It was huge news around here, but maybe it wasn't as newsworthy as we thought :-) I know many of you thought we had sold the house or were expecting baby #2, but not quite yet on either. So sorry about the confusion again!!

Walking Girl

Here is a short video of Ms. Layla walking :-)

Walk this way!!!

I think we can officially say that our little Layla is WALKING!!! She took a few steps Friday night and then took off on Saturday.

***I had been waiting to post this so I could put a video up of Layla walking, but have had no such luck. We had such a busy weekend that Layla has been sleeping the day away today. All videos from the walking weekend are stuck on my phone and on my mom's video camera. I will post walking footage soon!!***

Even if Ms. Layla was making her mom and dad sweat a little, Layla of course walked the "Layla Way" in her own time. Well she kind of did it the "Layla Way", we (my sister and I) may have encouraged her a bit with miniature M&M's to walk on Saturday! This is only appropriate because I was encouraged successfully to crawl with a doughnut when I was a baby. Like mother, like daughter :-)

Anyway, Ryan and I are so proud of Ms. Layla and it is just so fun to see her moving around in the upright position. Videos/pictures to come soon!!!

Florida Pictures

My pictures have made it off the camera but only showed up on the Wal-Mart computers. We still have not figured out what is wrong with my camera or memory card. I'm hoping it is the memory card with the troubles!!!

Below is the alligator we spotted in the lake at our resort. The picture to the right is of Ryan and Layla running across the bridge over the lake. After spotting the alligator, Ryan would yell "Alligator Alley!" when crossing the bridge and Layla would laugh hysterically. So I started keeping a safe distance behind the alligator twosome and took some pictures :-)

Layla was actually very giggly for the entire trip...especially when tickled!!

Here she is with me at the "Shamu Rocks" night show and with Ryan on the swing at our resort. Do you think she enjoyed herself on the trip? We think she was meant to be a Florida baby she loves it so much.

The animals at SeaWorld were so fun. Among our favorites? The dolphins and the seals and sea lions. We also loved the Shamu shows.

Layla enjoyed some good Florida food while on vacation. She would make her way into the snack cabinet in our hotel room and find the rice cakes. Notice the organic puffs she just threw to the side?

Oh...and Layla did anything BUT walk on her own on this trip. She used everything as a walker. This was including, but not limited to the stroller and the tables at the pool :-)

And of course Layla loved the pool....and my bathing suit for some reason! See the little boy floating by Layla? He was one of many friends she attracted while on our vacation. Layla played "catch" with this little boy for awhile. He insisted that she throw the ball, not me. He was thrilled when she would throw it a short distance. Too funny!



And the plane rides, oh the plane rides. Layla did not cry or scream, but she did not sleep at all either. Oh, she was a busy, busy girl. Thank goodness for this miniature magna-doodle for the flight home and Aunt Joan's portable DVD player (even if the flight attendant wouldn't let me have the volume up!!).

Have a good start of your week, I will be updating again soon with some BIG news :-)

Picture-less

Hi everyone!

We are here and we are back from Florida. Ryan, Layla and I went on a family vacation to the Sunshine State and arrived back home on late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning. We had a wonderful time and have wonderful pictures to share....BUT they are stuck on my camera!! Ryan and I can see them on my camera, but when we go to transfer the pictures onto our computer, they are gone, except for a couple pictures from the airport before we left.

So...we swam and swam, played and played and played some more in the indoor playground, spotted an alligator at our resort, fed dolphins, became a little obsessed with Shamu and THIS is the picture I have to show of our trip. Although I do have to say, Layla eating in the picture is appropriate, because Layla did eat her way through Florida :-) I think she has to be going through a growth spurt because she is an eating machine these days.

Anyway, I am so glad we videotaped much of the trip also just in case these pictures are stuck forever in camera-land. I hope to be updating soon with LOTS of pictures!

Not this week...

but last was a really busy, but fun week. I hadn't posted pictures yet, so I thought I would do it in one picture-filled post.

Early in the week we met up with Cassie's college girlfriends Colleen and Shannon. We got to meet little Quinn, Colleen's daughter, for the first time and she was SO adorable. Sorry for the picture of the babies. We didn't take a group baby picture until the end of our visit :-)

The next day, Layla and I had lunch with my college girlfriends, Katie and Stephanie. Stephanie asked Katie and I to be bridesmaids (which I am SO excited about!!) in her upcoming wedding to Adam. She asked us with these really cute puzzles. One picture is from now, and the other is from us in college. I was really sporting quite the high ponytail!!

The next day, my mom, sister, the babies and I went to the zoo. We had a fun day, the babies enjoyed their first carousel ride, and Layla tried to jump into the monkey pit so she could pet the monkeys.

Wait, maybe she almost jumped into the monkey pit because Layla actually thinks she is a monkey. She climbs up, down, on everything these days!


On the way home from the zoo, Layla entertained Shea with peek-a-boo. You can see he was doing anything but looking at her :-)

Then, Layla converted from monkey to dog for a couple days.

On Friday, we celebrated Ryan's birthday with our good friends the Rissmans and Hamels.

And then we headed to Ryan's parents on Sunday to celebrate his birthday and his sisters' birthdays (all three have summer birthdays). Here is Ryan with baby Truan.

And here is Ryan's dad, Verlyn, trying hard to get Layla to walk. He did a great job with her, but she is still just standing in place or crawling/scooting around :-)