One

Things have been crazy busy at our house lately! Mitch has been out of town for work, Layla and I tagged along with him to Cali, Layla turned one, we got the new carpet, we're planning a quick trip to Cali for my uncle's wedding, and today we're buying a new car.

So beware, this is a long post.

Our little bug turned one. I still can't believe it. She's 19.5 pounds (25th percentile) and 30.5 inches long (95th percentile). We had a zebra striped and pink birthday party with the fam. I had lots of fun making the decor. Layla was spoiled rotten by her fan club. She is so loved.

She also did a cake smash photo shoot, which was hilarious and so cute. (Thanks again, Amy, the pics are so so so cute! You did a great job!) Sorry for the picture overload, but there were so many cute ones, I couldn't decide!

My dad made her this toy box for her birthday. I think he should make them and sale them. He did an awesome job.

Layla is so sweet. I don't know what we did to get such a happy, sweet baby. She cruises quite a bit now and is trying to stand up from sitting. She can bark like a dog and whinny like a horse when you ask her what the dog/horse says (if she's in the right mood, I should add). She only says one real word, "kitty", only it sounds more like "eedee!" Sometimes she'll say, "uh oh," but usually it's "ah!". Very rarely does she add the "oh" on the end. Other than that she just babbles- a lot. I'm not breastfeeding her anymore. Strictly whole milk from a sippy cup. She seems fine with it and drinks so much milk! She's been averaging half a gallon in two days! I can't figure out how it even fits in her tiny tummy. Not to mention all the table food she eats. I cuddle with her while she drinks from her cup since I miss that part of breastfeeding. She knows the word "cookie" so now we have to spell it out loud or else she'll expect one. She can point to your nose and mouth if you ask. She's also obsessed with this book, 10 Little Ladybugs. I have it memorized and we read it at least 5 times a day. No lie.

What else? We spent a week with Mitch in Huntington Beach, Cali. So Layla took her first plane ride on her first birthday. She cried towards the end of the flight until she finally fell asleep. (But she did great on the flight home.)

It was during this trip that Layla officially became a Daddy's girl. It's to the point where if he's holding her and tries to give her to me, she'll cry. It makes me feel bad, but I guess I was her favorite person in the whole world for the first year of her life, so it's only fair that Mitch has a turn. Plus, most girls are daddy's girls, right? I do love seeing her and Mitch together though, it's adorable. Mitch is such a great dad!

Our hotel was amazing. We just crossed this bridge from our hotel to get to the beach.

We took Layla swimming, down the waterslide, and to the ocean. Can I just say that I love Cali, the ocean, and the sun? I told Mitch that I would move to Cali in a heartbeat and live in a smaller, crappier house just to be near the beach. I love it that much.

Anyways, we also met up with my uncle and his fiancée and went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was pretty cool. They had sharks and we got to touch a stingray. Although, I've decided that I want to see a great white shark in real life. Someday. It was great to see Kent and Laura ... they announced to us that they'll be getting married in a few weeks on the beach in Malibu! We're so excited for them and are now planning our trip to Cali for their wedding.

Thanks, Mitch, for letting us tag along. We had such a fun time! (Even though I had to call poison control for the first time since Layla ate some of my deodorant. She was okay though.)

We've been car shopping lately. We narrowed our search down to Hummer H3s. Last night we test drove another Hummer H3, loved it, and we're picking it up tonight! I am so, so, so excited! I'll post pics later.