Christmas 2012

As always, we were very spoiled this Christmas. Mitch and I got a new house and Layla got a whole plethora of toys to help fill up the house. We spent all the Christmas cash our padres gave us on stuff for the house, a new pair of dress/work shoes for Mitch, and a memory card for the camera for me. Best of all, we got to spend time with family without having to drive all over on Christmas Day. We spent Christmas Eve with Mitch's fam where we had a yummy dinner and opened a lot of gifts. Layla was really excited about it all:

She LOVED the "sick baby" she got from Mammie and Grandpa Bott and has lots of fun playing doctor. Aunt Katie gave her a stuffed animal doggy that is sick and she plays veterinarian, which she also loves. And of course they all gave her lots of other cute clothes, etc. My favorite was a faux-fur, leopard print vest because when we asked Layla to model it she put it on, got down on all fours, crawled around the room super fast and said, "I run so fast like a leopard!" Oh wow, I was crying from laughing so hard. It was awesome; I love how her little 2 year old mind works. 

On Christmas morning Layla woke up at her usual time of 7:30 am and came in our room. We all cuddled in bed for a bit then went to see what Santa left. He brought Layla some stickers, which is what she asked for all season long, a chalkboard, some stuffed animals, the Hungry, Hungry Animals game, a mini whiteboard (perfect to play with at church!), and a year pass to the Gateway Discovery Museum. One spoiled girl if I don't say so myself.

After that we headed to Christmas brunch at my grandma's, which was delicious! We opened a lot more presents and Layla got a lot of really great ones, perfect for her at this age. She especially loved the doll bed/ high chair combo and double stroller that her Mammie and Grandpa Miles gave her. She puts the "sick baby" in the bed and pushes her around in the stroller. I love when she uses the stroller because she says she is "going for a run" and runs around in circles while pushing her baby dolls in the stroller; apparently all my running while pushing her in the stroller has left an impression on her. (I totally slacked the rest of the holidays on taking pics, sorry!)

She has already drawn some masterpieces on her chalkboard. My aunt and uncle (my mom's siblings) are both artists, so if Layla got their genes and grows up to be an artist then the following picture will be worth something someday. That drawing is a picture of me that Layla drew at age 2.5 years. Aren't I beautiful?

Mitch always has Christmas Eve through New Year's off, which I love. We were all sick during part of his vacation, but managed to find time to play in the snow. Actually, just Mitch and Layla played in the snow and I took a couple pics the first day, but Mitch is the good sport who went out with her multiple times; I hate the cold. And next  year we need to invest in a good snow suit for Buggy.

Now Mitch is back to work and Layla and I are keeping ourselves busy with various toddler activities. We went to the book reading at the library yesterday and I got a glimpse of the type of student Layla will be: one who is too busy talking to everyone around her to pay attention to the teacher. Seriously, I had to tell her to stop talking to whomever sat next to her and listen to the book ... multiple times! I love that she is SO social, but I hope it doesn't hinder her progress in school. We'll have to work on it, but Mitch and I are already preparing ourselves for low citizenship grades and the mark for "talks too much during class" on her report card. Ha, ha.

The Sunday after Christmas we had a party with Mitch's extended family. It's always great to see them. We played the candy bar game and Layla won and ate an entire candy necklace in one sitting. I normally wouldn't let her do that, but she was being really good that night so we decided to let her live a little. Apparently we kept that attitude for the next night, New Year's Eve, and let her stay up until past midnight to ring in the new year with our friends and their kiddos. She had SO much fun playing with the 4 other little girls who were here and we have been hearing about them all ever since. :)

I love the Christmas season and what it represents. This year was a little off since we moved and were getting settled during the middle of it all, but I hope to teach our children about the true meaning of Christmas and what the Savior's birth means for each and every one of us. We are so blessed.

December

This month we've managed to do a few Christmas related activities.

We went to see the lights at Temple Square with our friends. Layla loves anytime she can hang out with Oakley. (Sorry, Iphone pics aren't the best...)

 We had fun despite the crazy crowds and cold temps.

We celebrated my birthday with our fams and Mitch and I went to a Jazz game and to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, one of my favs. And we closed on our house on my birthday. And my body gave me the gift of strep throat for a present. Ha, ha. Layla is sick right now with a pretty nasty head cold, so between her sickness and me growing a baby boy, we've been doing a lot of this:

I pretty much NEVER let her sleep in our bed or with us because I don't want to start that habit, but yesterday she was really, really sick and this was the only way I could get her to sleep. She wanted to hold my hand have have me sleep by her. Melt my heart. How do you say no to that? 

We made chocolate chip cookies today for Santa Claus. Did you know that Santa also likes chocolate chip cookies with no chocolate chips? We made a few of those too. Also, I love my convection oven! Totally worth it!

Layla loves to wear the apron my Grandma Ruth made her for Christmas (an early gift). She looks adorable in it and for whatever reason she's more willing to help me make dinner or set the table when she's wearing it.  I still need to get a pic of the coordinating dress my grandma also made her. Oh, and Layla keeps making this face. Not her cutest, but possibly her funniest?

I attended the family party for the extended family on my dad's side. Mitch and Layla stayed home because Layla is sick. I was sorry they missed it, but I did bring Mitch home some delicious food including my aunt's eggnog cake with rum sauce that I really need the recipe for. I also brought Layla home a pretty awesome gift ... a blow up unicorn horn.  I told her to put her fist in the air to show her enthusiasm about the awesomeness of the gift and this is the resulting pic. It makes me smile.

Also during this month we had another ultrasound, found out we're having a boy, and took my first "belly shot." I feel a little guilty that I haven't been keeping track of this pregnancy nearly as well as I did with Layla. Sorry, Baby. But here's my baby belly at 17.5 weeks. Definitely WAY bigger than I was at this stage with Layla. I hear that's normal, and at least my weight gain is right on track, so I don't feel too bad, it's just kind of weird. Anyways, Layla decided to show her belly too; I'm guessing she's about 7 months along? Ha, ha. I think I'll have to include her in all my belly shots for this pregnancy because it cracks me up. Oh, and in this pic Layla is wearing her Nike jumpsuit, but she refers to the Nike sign as "a outer space J." She thought of that all by herself.

When we moved out of our last house, we took our Christmas tree to the DI since our cat had broken some of the branches and it was pretty trashed. We didn't get a new one yet and thought we'd forgo it since it was already mid-December. Well, every time we went somewhere with Christmas decor, Layla would say, "It's Christmas at (whatever location we were at); it's not Christmas at our house." After hearing that a few times we felt guilty and thankfully Katie saved Christmas and let us borrow her little tree. Of course, once we finally started decorating it Layla couldn't have cared less and doesn't even seem that into it. But at least it is "Christmas at our house" and we feel like good parents. We also put a little mini tree we have in Layla's room. She does love that and she gives it hugs and kisses.

Now we're off to start some more Christmas celebrations. My brother and sister-in-law, uncle, and grandpa are all in town so it should be one big party. Merry Christmas!

Layla

Funny things Layla has said lately:

" I don't want a baby brudder, I only want a baby sister!"

Kind of gross, but funny: "I have farts in my bum bum!"

Pretending to be a dog: ""Hi Mamma Doggy! Hold up your chin so I can lick it!" And then she tackled me and we had a giggling fit. Watch out, when she's in dog mode she really does lick you.

While Mitch was setting up the crib he asked her to hold something for him. She said, "No, I'm too little to help. You're big. You can do it all by yourself."

If you say something she doesn't want to hear, like "it's nap time" she'll grunt, "Huh?" and act like she didn't hear you.

If you tell her no about something she really, really wants she'll say, "I want you to say yes. Say yes!"

She likes to act out scenes from the movie Bambi, particularly the scene where Bambi and his mother get separated in the meadow. She makes us both crawl around on all fours, circling the couch, while she yells, "Mudder!" (Mother) and I yell, "Bambi!" until we find each other and hug. Sometimes she'll keep calling me "Mudder" for the rest of the night and it always makes me laugh. She says is with so much enthusiam: "Okay, Mudder!"

She quotes my dad a lot after living at their house for so long. She'll say, "Grandpa Doug says, 'go on the big potty!'" Or while eating a sucker, "Grandpa Doug says, 'don't bite it, only lick it.'" And she lowers her voice when she's quoting him to sound more like him. It's pretty awesome.

I made the mistake of ONE TIME mentioning after a run that I was stinky and needed to take a shower. Mostly just making a joke. Now anytime someone mentions that they need to take a shower she asks, "Are you stinky?" The best was when my dad came home from work and told her he was going to take a shower. She asked, "Are you stinky, Grandpa?" in the most innocent voice.

We happened upon Santa at the mall a few weeks ago. Totally wasn't planned and Layla barely knows who Santa is because we haven't talked about him much (partly because we've been preoccupied with moving and partly because I don't feel he needs to be a huge focus at Christmas time). However, we have told her that he brings presents. So, I told her to go sit on his lap, expecting her to hesitate, but I should have known better. Not my Layla. She strolled right up there, climbed on his lap and said, "I want stickers." Yep, all she wants from Santa this year are some stickers. I wish we'd known that before we spent money on stuffed animals, a chalkboard, and games. I did go get her some stickers too after I learned that's all she really wants. Ha, ha.

When my grandpa was in town, Layla loved to scare him. His name is Kermit (he was born and raised in Panama, hence the odd first name), so she would yell, "Grandpa Kermit!" and "scare" him. She has told practically everyone about this. She even told Santa. Now she "scares" lots of people by yelling their name at them. Thankfully everyone is good at pretending they're scared. Ha, ha.

Layla is super sweet. She is really good at sharing and if she has a snack, toys, whatever she will usually offer to share with whomever is around. Without being asked to share. If someone seems sad she will ask what's wrong and offer a hug and a kiss. She definitely has her moments as a two year old, but overall she is very sweet and loving. I love her guts. She will be the best big sister.

Baby Boy

So, I was wrong and we are indeed having a boy. We are excited! Well, most of us. Mitch is so happy he's getting a son, I am so happy we'll have one of each, and Layla, well, she's upset that she's not getting a sister.

We took Layla to the ultrasound with us and she seemed pretty excited. Afterwards I asked her if she was excited for her baby brother to which she responded with, "No, I don't want a baby bwudder! I only want a baby sister!" Ohhhh no.

Thankfully she has warmed up to the idea after we reminded her that her friend Oakley has a baby brother. Only now Layla keeps insisting that we name our baby Dexter just like Oakley's brother is named Dexter. Ha, ha. I like that name but the two boys are bound to be good friends so the same name would get confusing ... I think we'll probably stick with Marcus.

And I guess it's only right we're having a boy so I can empathize with Layla about having a little brother. I had two younger bros so I'll totally feel her pain. Ha, ha. I swear growing up they drove me nuts most of the time (always breaking my stuff, scaring me, etc.), but now I think they are hilarious and of course I love them to pieces. I know Layla will love her brother too even if he does bug her at times. Hey, that's what brothers are for, right?

Most of all I am glad that our baby boy is doing well in there, all snug and warm while I am freezing. (I should have known it was a boy because with Layla I was always hot and with this baby I am always so cold.) So thankful we can go to the doctor and have ultrasounds and make sure all is well. Pregnancy and childbirth really is a miracle and I am thankful for the blessing of being able to do this even if it is uncomfortable at times.

So here's to Marcus Boy, and all his bug loving, dirt playing, sports playing days. I hope he is as sweet as his sister and as smart as his daddy. . 

The Castle My Prince Built Me

Okay, so the title of this blog post is super cheesy, but it's extra funny because our home builder is called Castle Creek, therefore Mitch and I often refer to our house as "our castle" so it kind of makes sense.

Here are some pics of the exterior. Pay no attention to the ghetto cardboard window coverings in the front window ... we are getting wood shutters in the next few weeks so this is our temporary solution.

Obviously we have some major yard work to do this spring, including burying those rain gutter pipes ...

This pic below shows the beautiful door knocker our friends gave us (I did edit our house number out of the pic, hence the weird white address block.) I should have got a more close up shot; the door knocker has our last name engraved on it. I love it. Such good friends ... we miss them. 

I will post pics of the interior as it gets more put together. We are expecting our cabinet hardware any day now in the mail so once that's on I'll post some pics of the kitchen. It's coming along though and we absolutely love it. 

We moved in on December 8th, my baby bro's birthday. We closed on my birthday, which sounds more awesome than it was because I woke up that morning with strep throat and after spending over one hour waiting for the doctor to tell me the results of my strep test (stupid insta-care!), I had to leave the dr.'s office without knowing the results to go to closing. I was super sick, had a fever, couldn't stop crying (pregnancy hormones), and was late to closing. Thankfully they were understanding and still let me sign my life away along with Mitch, so now we're in this for 30 years together. After closing we stopped by our new house and it felt so weird that it was actually ours. Then I went back to the dr. and found my strep test was actually negative, but since I had three of the four main symptoms (fever, swollen tonsils, white spots on the tonsils, but no swollen glands) they gave me some antibiotics and I was on my way.

By Saturday morning, Moving Day, I was feeling SO much better. I'm thinking I really did have strep. (I've heard those tests are only 60% accurate.) After I have this baby I need to go see an ENT and seriously consider getting my tonsils out. Never had a problem as a kid, but ever since I had Layla I have a reoccurring case of strep throat.

But I digress. I wasn't allowed to help much on Moving Day because of my pregnant/strep throat condition, so I felt bad, plus we didn't have very many helpers (everyone had very valid reasons, I'm not blaming anyone, just saying). But we were SO thankful for the helpers we did have: Mitch, my mom, my dad, my father-in-law, and our friend Kevin. One of our neighbors stopped by and helped for a bit, which was nice. It took most of the day, but finally we had it all in. Mitch and I spent that first night in our house and Layla spent that weekend at Mitch's parents' house, which was nice because our house was a disaster.

We got things put away much, much faster than I had anticipated. We are still sifting through the boxes strewn all over the basement, but we are getting there. Mitch put together our new entertainment center/book shelf and I LOVE it. Why do I have such an obsession over books? I love seeing them all displayed and I have spent way too long agonizing over how to organize them. I should have been a librarian. Ha, ha.

We still need to do a few things: backsplash in the kitchen, wood paneling in the entry way, cabinets in the laundry room, crown molding trim on the entertainment center, etc. but they will all be done over time. For now we are just enjoying it (we love it!) and trying to decide where to hang our wall decor.

I would like to thank my wonderful husband for working so hard every day to buy us this beautiful home. I know he loves his job, he is very dedicated, and his company is lucky to have such a talented worker in my opinion. He puts in long hours some days and his job can be stressful, but I appreciate his motivation and ability to succeed. I am excited to raise our family here. There are a million little kids in this neighborhood and I know Layla and Baby #2 will grow up with some great friends. Everyone has been so kind. Church was extra fun because the adults are outnumbered by little kids at least 3 to 1, which makes things entertaining. I am excited for our future here: the friends we will make, the awesome school our kids can walk to without even crossing the street, and all the memories we will create in our home.

Stinky Face

Before I tell you about Layla's stinky face, do you want to know what's really stinky??? We still haven't moved! Ahhh! And that sure is stinky! Long story short, there were a few things the builder hadn't finished yet, some big some small, and so we refused to close. We did offer to close if they would sign something saying that they will have those items completed in 30 days, but they refused to do that. Hmmmm, think that tells us something? Well, I'm glad we stood our ground, because that was yesterday and we got a phone call this morning saying that most of the things (in particular the big things) had been completed today! Wow, look what threatening not to close will do! It gets work done! Ha, ha. So, were hoping to close Monday and move in next weekend.

So onto something else stinky, only this is cute. This is a picture of Layla's "stinky face." You should click on the picture and make it larger to get the full effect.

She makes this face not only when she thinks something is stinky, but also when she is smelling something, or when she doesn't like something. Or just to make us laugh. I keep telling her she better stop making that face before she enters junior high or else she won't have any friends. Ha, ha. I also love this picture because it shows her kitty, whom she LOVES, she takes him everywhere, sleeps with him every night and at nap time, and treats him like he's a real person by feeding him, talking to him, etc. It's hilarious. And we can get her to do anything by making the kitty "talk" to her and asking her to do whatever it is we want her to do. She always obeys the kitty. We love him as a result. Notice how he's wearing a bib? Ya, everything Layla does he does. He's become part of our family. The problem is he's getting really dirty and I need to wash him but she rarely leaves him alone so I'm having a hard time finding the time to wash him. Oh, and the other sweet thing was when I asked her, "Is the kitty your best friend?" and she said, "No, you are!" Oh.my.goodness.

We asked her to smile and show us her teeth and this is what we got.

We were playing Uno with her ... or at least she thought we were playing. Really we'd just lay the cards down in numerical order, but she was really into it. It was cute.

We raked a lot of leaves this fall between my parents' house and my grandma's house. 

This pic is old, but cute. I think she looks like she could be part of the Men In Black team.

Lately Layla will wake up and ask me, "What are we doing today, Mom?" Oh geez, most days nothing, so then I feel like I have to make up some fun agenda for us. Ha, ha. Poor girl. I can't wait until we move in our new house with all the little kids around so she has lots of friends to play with.