July

Our July has been moving by quickly.  Too quickly!  We have managed to fit in some celebrating and summer fun among the packing and house prep.

Ryan and I celebrated our 7th anniversary and enjoyed a mini vacation in Lake Geneva. 

We celebrated two years with our sweet nephew, Liam.

We celebrated Ryan's birthday too!

Notice the lack of lit candles?  We unfortunately had packed all flame producing products prior to Ryan's birthday!

We also have been doing quite a bit of packing!  We are moving soon.  We are renting the house we hope to buy.  Not exactly the way we would have liked things to go, but that is the life of trying to buy a short sale.   Cross your fingers for us that we get some answers on the house soon.

Grady is such a good helper with the packing....or maybe not!  At least he is keeping us entertained :)

Howie is not feeling the boxes.  He is out of sorts these days.

Happy July!  I hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the summer!

4th of July- 2012

There is one word that can perfectly describe this 4th of July.  HOT!!  It was 100+ degrees and as my dad likes to say, "It was a scorcher!" 

I love our 4th of July.  We always have a busy but very fun day.  Parade, swimming, a family party, BBQ, fireworks...we like to do it all.  We had to get creative this year with the heat.  Grady slept for 5+ hours for naps on the 4th.  The heat just wears him out.  I took the morning nap duty and Ryan took the afternoon nap and we both got to enjoy a bit of the day with Layla.

Pictures below! 

Ryan and Layla at the parade.  Layla was a bit like a celebrity.  She had her own umbrella assistant.

Grandma Cathy and Layla

This is Ryan's Aunt Sally and Uncle Rick.  I really liked this picture of them.
Layla and I headed to their house for a 4th of July party in the afternoon. 

A Grady appearance! 

Grady and Grandma Barb.  Grady loves his Grandma Barb.

Layla's first sparkler.  Pinterest suggested using a cup to shield the sparks.  I don't think Layla would have touched the stick without the cup attached.

Late night play session!  Shea was cracking me up with his glow stick bling.

Fireworks!  Thanks for sharing the headphones Kris!

Fun with friends!  Shea, Layla and Mason (Ryker was there too but isn't in this picture) are having fun with glow sticks.

You can see Grady sleeping on the video monitor while the fireworks went off. 

Late night picture!  We were SO excited Joan was able to join us for dinner and fireworks!! 
Thanks for making the night drive, Joan!

We hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!!!

Look Who's Walking!

 

 

Ryan is on summer break and he was very excited that he was home to witness this big walking milestone!!  Ryan really, really wanted me to delete his voice from the video :)  We think Grady will be a gradual walker, slowly easing his way into using his two feet to get around.  We are so excited for him (and for trips to the park and pool!).

Layla at 4

Loves:

minatures, princesses, M&M's on her ice cream, spending time with grandparents, jumping into big pools, making Grady laugh, time with cousins, baby animals, being a leader when she is in a very comfortable setting, holidays, being read to, playing pretend school, house, restaurant and library, long drives with the DVD player on, chocolate milk, surprises, vitamins, songs and music and zoos

Not so fond of:

arriving at unfamiliar places, Grady taking her toys, napping during naptime, any type of suspense in movies and t.v. shows

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Layla still is a pretty good eater.  She loves to snack and could graze all day long if we let her.  She still sleeps pretty well too.  Occasionally, she will wake up in the middle of the night but on a typical night she sleeps 12 hours (8-8).  She takes a quiet time each day (reading and playing in her room) and sometimes naps too.  She really does not like to sleep "when it is light outside" but sometimes she "just doesn't have the energy to play or read" so she ends up napping.  The quotes are very common phrases from Layla. 

Layla has had numerous doctor's appointments lately.  Unfortunately, some abnormalities were found on her last EEG (administered in June) and the neurologist is concerned that her seizures are back.  We go in for more thourough testing soon and find out what is going on with our little Layla.  We are sad by the new findings and the fact that Layla still needs to be medicated for seizures.  We hope we receive answers soon.

Layla started soccer this summer.  She likes it and has proudly mastered the skill of trapping :)  She is very fond of water breaks.  Grady loves yelling for her while we watch from the sidelines.  Layla is also getting into the Olympics trials.  She is especially enamored with the gymnastics.  Good thing, because we love the Olympics in this house!  It is hard to believe that the last time we watched the summer Olympics she was a teeny baby.   

 

Practicing her dribbling

Layla after her EEG, doesn't she look happy to have it over?

She likes the park pool...

and the backyard pool too.  Sprinklers she could do without :)

Grady- 13 Months

Grady loves....

graham crackers
getting up once a night but sleeping a bit later in the morning (waking between 8-9) 
taking a bottle (I love giving a bottle to Grady too. It is the only time that he is still in my arms now. On occasion, he still lets me rock him to sleep too).
waving bye bye
dancing
his lovie
"jumping" into the swimming pool 
signing more
opening and closing doors
taking two naps a day
signing all done
raising both hands in the air when you ask him "Raise your hand if..."
taking baths
climbing up stairs
spoons, forks and plates
walks in the stroller
pulling bows out of Layla's hair
playing in the toy kitchen
exploring

Grady doesn't love....

eggs
sitting in our laps when he could be on the ground
teething (9 teeth in...1 more close to breaking through)
sitting still for stories
to walk quite yet...

Spoon practice!

Our solution for a squirmy Grady during stories?  Layla and I read books to him during breakfast and lunch.  His very favorite book is Peek a Hoo by Nina Laden.  He will even sit for that one!

Our little pool boy!

13 months...he might be busy but he is such a sweet boy. 

Grandma

Last week, we lost my grandma (my mom's mom).  She lived a good 89 years but she will be so greatly missed.  She was a fun grandma, quirky and always sure to say something that would bring a quick chuckle and smile to your face. 

I am so grateful that my grandma got to meet and hold and get to know my kids.  When she met Layla, she was shocked by her tiny size.  As she watched Grady grow this year, she loved to talk about what a big boy he was.  And I will always smile when I think of my grandma offering up her bed for naps for the kids. 

With my grandma passing, it really is the end of an era.  She was the last member of her family to pass away and she was the very last living grandparent for both Ryan and me.  We love our grandparents so fiercely as we grow up, it is tough to say good-bye.

I will always be extremely thankful for my grandma's generosity.  My grandma was a major part of me being able to stay home with Layla.  My grandma helped Ryan and I get through the first year of me becoming a stay at home mom.  I will always be grateful for this and I hope that I am able to help family out in a similar way in the future.

Layla has definitely felt the loss.  She understands so much more now.  She has asked so many questions. 

"Who will take care of the pets?" 
(This was her very first question....Layla definitely has my mom's animal lover family in her!)

"Can I still visit Joan?"
"Why did she go to heaven?"
"Will I see her again?"
"When will I go to heaven?"
"Can she walk again?"
"Can she run again?"
"Can I send her a thank you note for making it to heaven?"
"How can I get a thank you note to grandma in heaven?"
 "Why does grandma not have a mommy anymore?"
"When grandma goes outside in heaven, does she put on wings?"

So many good questions Layla has.  She mostly loves for me to tell her over and over and over again that grandma can run again. 

I am pretty sure she can run again.  At least my hope is that my grandma is in heaven running hand in hand with my grandpa who passed away almost 30 years ago.  I just hope they remember to put on their wings before they step outside.

Happy Father's Day!