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!