Update

I had a complaint today that I haven't updated our blog in a while. Oops. Sorry! I'd like to say it's because I've been so busy, but that's not the case. I just don't have a ton to write about. Anyways, here's what each of us have been up to:

• Mitch recently went to Huntington Beach, Cali and Albuquerque, New Mexico for work. He has also been on two scout camps with the 11 year old scouts. He had a technical paper he wrote published in a conference journal. As soon as the PONI site puts his paper up, I will put a link to it on our blog. He's also put his mechanic skills to use and fixed my car this weekend after it started overheating. Such a handyman!

Sometimes while Mitch is at work or out of town, I will text or email him pics of Layla, like this one. It makes him smile.

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• I had strep throat for the second time in three months. I had a temperature of 102! I felt like poop and it happened to be while Mitch was in Cali, so my mommy had to come spend an evening with me and Layla. Thanks again, Mom! I've been editing for an online company and I really enjoy it. My Grandma Ruth is helping me make new covers for the throw pillows for our new couches (pics to come) and we plan on making Layla's Halloween costume next. I'm also getting things ready for Layla's baby blessing next week. I'm really just hoping she won't cry during the blessing ...
• She turned 3 months old a few weeks ago. She's getting so big!
• Layla has found her feet and loves to grab them and try to eat them. It's pretty cute. She has not rolled over since the 4th of July, but she still likes tummy time. She giggles now. But only when she's in the mood. She's ticklish in her armpits. She loves to kick her legs in the bath now. She also got really good at grabbing her toys and playing with them. She still talks all the time and she makes some pretty hilarious sounds. She's so loud that the other night we had to pause the movie we were watching because we couldn't hear it over her loud, incessant babbling. She's going to be a talker! She outgrew her swaddle me. Our solution? A sleep sack! I think she looks hilarious in it!

Her sleep sack.

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This is still her favorite sleeping position. It makes me laugh the way she looks so relaxed.


• Harvey caught a bird, and seriously injured it, but did not completely kill it. I went outside for something and noticed feathers all over. I looked around the yard and finally found the poor bird, gasping for air and suffering. I felt so bad! I couldn't bring myself to finish it off, even though I probably should have because the poor thing suffered until it finally died. For the first time I wished I'd had a BB gun.

Happy Birthday, USA!

I think we wore The Bug out this weekend. Mitch had a four day weekend, which was awesome, and we stayed busy the whole time. Layla Bug was exhausted from all the festivities and slept most of the day on Tuesday. Too much partying for a 3 month old, I guess. :)

I love how her hair bow becomes a bow tie in the car seat. And look at those chunky thighs! Don't you want to just squeeze them?

We went to the West Jordan Stampede Rodeo one night. I love rodeos. Mitch does not. But, he's a good sport and tags along with my fam anyways. We've been going to this rodeo for as long as I can remember. It's a good time. We worried about it being too loud for Layla, but she didn't seem to mind. (I did call the pediatrician and asked if they had any suggestions to curb the noise; they suggested cotton balls in her ears. That only lasted so long before we got sick of putting them back in every time they fell out. I ended up just keeping my hands over her little ears. She actually fell asleep for awhile.)

Family pic at the rodeo. I love how Layla looks slightly confused.

We also had dinner at the Bott's to celebrate Grandma Jory's birthday. It was a fun time and a nice day to eat outside. We hope she had a Happy Birthday!

We had Brock and Natalie over to roast mallows. I'm pretty sure they were more excited about holding Layla than eating the s'mores, but either way we're glad they came! (And I'm really glad they love their niece so much!)

We went to a BBQ at our neighbor's house. It's always fun when we get together with the neighborhood clan. We lit some fireworks. The little kids loved it. Layla watched the entire fireworks show. She also let my friend Kassi rock her to sleep in her porch swing. So sweet.

I love the 4th of July. I love America. I've lived in and traveled to a few other countries and I can honestly say that we are so blessed. I told Layla, on her first 4th of July, that she is so blessed to be born in America. (I know, she has no idea what I'm saying yet. That's not the point.) I hope she takes the opportunity to visit another country (via mission, study abroad, or whatever) and see how the rest of the world lives and understand how blessed we are as Americans. I am so thankful to be an American. Even in the toughest of times, we are still so blessed.

What an adorable little American Girl!

She got a little scared the first time the camera flashed and this was her defensive pose.

She's so spoiled, she had two 4th of July outfits this year! The dress was a last minute purchase- I couldn't pass it up, too cute. (Apparently my friend Kim thought so too; Layla and Hadley were twinners at church. Ha,ha.) And thanks again, Kathy, for the patriotic outfit. It looks so cute on her.

Layla also rolled over for her first time last weekend! She rolled over twice all by herself, but she hasn't done it since. Maybe she figures that was good enough. We sure were proud of her though! We're totally those first time parents who get so excited over every little thing. We both clapped and cheered when she rolled over. She just looked at us like, "what's the big deal?" So funny.

Tummy Time!!!

I took advantage of Mitch being home Friday and Monday mornings and went running while he stayed home with The Bug. I ran 4 miles one day and 5 miles the other day. Wow, it felt so good! I haven't ran 5 consecutive miles in almost one year. I'm still slower than I was this time last year. I'm getting there though. Slowly but surely, right?

Hi Mom.

And this one is just for me. I love to watch Layla sleep. She's so peaceful and sweet. I always put her to bed with her arms wrapped up in her swaddle me. But she always wiggles at least one hand free to suck on it until she falls asleep ... and then I sneak in and take her picture. Hee, hee.

Minor Surgery

About this time last year I had a benign cyst removed off my right shoulder. The doctor said he was able to remove all of it. Well, it came back. At first I thought it was scar tissue from having it removed last year, but it kept getting bigger. I finally went back to the doctor and asked him about it. Sure enough, the cyst had made its return. This time I had to schedule a "minor surgery" to have it cut out. The whole thing lasted about one hour. I stopped counting after the fifth layer of stitches. I don't know how many stitches I have, but it's a lot. Three of them are permanent and the rest will dissolve in about one month. It hurt pretty bad the first few days, but it doesn't bug me too much anymore (it's been almost one week). Hopefully the cyst won't grow back anymore! This pic is kind of gross, but I wanted a pic of it so I can remember how I got a scar on my shoulder in ten years from now (pretty sure it will leave a scar).

Don't worry, the rest of the pictures in this post are much cuter.

Mitch and I spent about 30 minutes the other night trying to capture Layla's huge, goofy grin on camera. We never quite got it, but here are the best attempts:

Man, is she cute or what? Mitch is so so so excited for Layla to jump in her Johnny Jumper thing that hangs from the doorway. He put her in it the other day to try it out ... guess he'll have to wait a little longer, it's still way too big for her! Ha,ha. You can't quite tell in the picture, but her feet don't even touch the ground. Mitch said she just stared at him with that look on her face. Hilarious.
And here's The Little Princess in another cute skirt that Aunt Natalie gave her.

Positivity

I came across this video today. It made me laugh so hard.

I can do anything good.

So funny. But really, I love that!

I hope Layla believes that she can do anything good. I want to instill that in her. I want her to be able to find the positive things about every situation she finds herself in, good or bad. I want her to grow up seeing the beauty in the world and people around her. And I think it's up to Mitch and I to teach her that. To only say positive things around her. To only focus on the good. I don't want her to be shy, scared, boring, or naive . I want her to have a zest for life, a love for learning, a healthy self-confidence, a love for people, an appreciation for her many blessings, and most of all, a love for Heavenly Father.

And I think those things are learned. Whether she learns to be shy/social or positive/negative those are things that Mitch and I will teach her by our example. If we're shy or negative, she'll most likely be shy or negative too. If she sees us being social and positive, she'll most likely be social and positive as well. (I understand this isn't true 100% of the time, but I believe that for the most part it is.) So as parents, Mitch and I need to be the type of people we want our kids to be, as they will most likely end up like us - but hopefully better.

Now I don't always have the best attitude. I've been working on being positive. Trying to set a good example for Little Girl. Maybe I'll try pumping myself up in front of the mirror every morning while Layla watches. It ought to rub off on her eventually, right?

***I've been thinking about this a lot lately because Layla is going through a phase where she doesn't want to be held by other people besides Mitch and I. Hopefully it will pass soon. I do not want her to be a shy, anti-social person. It really worries me. But, I know this is pretty typical of babies so I shouldn't worry too much.***

Ode To A Busy Guy

Mitch is a busy guy, and last week was especially busy. But no matter how busy he is, he always takes time out for me and Layla. I love him for that. Last week Mitch had a work trip to Chicago, spent one night at work for a missile launch, spent two nights preparing for Scout camp, spent one night at Scout camp, and two days with our families celebrating Father's Day. At least this week there's not much on his agenda ...

Daddy and daughter in matching Pink Floyd shirts

I hope Mitch had a good Father's Day. He sure deserves it. He's such a great dad. Layla loves him sooooo much, you can tell. And he is always so willing and eager to help me with her and give me a break. He loves to spend time with Layla and that makes me happy.

So, for Father's Day I made Mitch breakfast (okay, I kind of cheated ... Toaster Strudels, fruit, and orange juice. Hey, I don't have much time anymore and Mitch loves Toaster Strudels!). I gave him an outdoor firepit for his gift. This firepit runs on a propane tank so there is no messing with firewood or smelling like campfire. Mitch hasn't had a spare minute to set it up yet and we've had it since Thursday, but hopefully tonight he'll have some time. I hope it works good, there's nothing better than a warm, gooey s'more!

Happy Father's Day, Mitch!!! We love you!

Little Girl fell asleep in her car seat after church

We were able to spend some quality time with both our fams for Father's Day. We did yard word for Kevin and they made us dinner. It was yummy. (Mitch and I missed most of the yard work and wish we could have done more.) My grandpa was in town so my fam got together for dinner. My mom and dad made some incredible shishkabobs with steak, chicken, shrimp, red and green peppers, onions, pineapple, and zucchini squash. They were amazing! It was nice to spend time with both of our families. We both have great dads. We sure love them.

Grandpa Miles wanted cash to buy a new anchor for his boat, so we rolled some bills up in a diaper. It was pretty funny.

What else? Layla is doing awesome. She slept for 11.5 hours last night! She might have slept longer, but I went in and woke her up since it had been 12 hours since she last ate. What an awesome little sleeper. She's been sleeping for at least 6 hours at a time, and fluctuating anywhere between 6 to 10 hours, but last night was the longest she's slept so far. I can't wait until she starts sleeping for 12 hours and wakes up at the same time every day ... right now it's a little sporadic. But I'll take what I can get!

Her two month appointment went pretty good. She screamed her head off after they gave her some shots. We had three immunizations done at this visit (instead of the recommend six) and we were able to work out a schedule with our pediatrician that spreads them out how we want. Here are her two month stats for memory's sake:

Length: 23.6 inches 95th percentile

Weight: 10.9 pounds 60th percentile

Head: 15 inches 50th percentile

She's growing very well. Except her feet. They're still really small. In fact, the only shoes that fit her are newborn size, when she should be wearing a size bigger (at least) by now. (Total bummer since I bought her some adorable sandals to wear this summer, but unless her feet start growing, they'll be too big!)

We're just hoping she doesn't inherit Uncle Dudin's gorilla hands. Ha, ha! Watch out Brock- Jordan seems to be winning the favorite uncle competition!

Layla is starting to be so much fun. She smiles, talks, and laughs a lot now. Mitch made her laugh so hard yesterday. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. We really need to get it on camera. She also thinks my dad is pretty funny and was laughing at him too. So cute. We sure love having her around! Now if I could only capture her smile on camera before she gets distracted by it ...

Stop Yelling At Me!

Layla yells at us. It's absolutely hilarious. Instead of just waking up and whimpering or crying, she yells. I guess she figures it's the quickest way to get our attention. And boy does it work! I'll lay her down for a nap, and an hour or so later I'll hear her yelling through the monitor. (Truth be told I sometimes let her yell at me for a little while because it makes me laugh. Don't worry, I don't ever let her get too upset.)

We were able to capture one of her yelling episodes on camera. Actually, this started out as a normal "diaper-change -conversation" between Mitch and Layla, which lasted for several minutes. However, by the time I got the camera out, she was getting fed up with it and started to yell at us that she wanted off the changing table. Oh, and don't make fun of Mitch or I for acting like dorks; we can't help it, she's our first and we're completely smitten. And, yes, I am a horrible cameraman. I have since figured out how to turn the camera light on. Anyways, we're hoping Layla doesn't yell at us when she's a teenager ... I can hear it already, "But Daddy, I LOVE Billy!" Ha,ha.

Nostalgic

I walked outside today to check the mail. The warm breeze hit me with the sound of a neighbor's lawnmower, the smell of fresh cut grass, and memories of Mitch and I during our blissful dating days. Springtime, warm weather, and sunny days always remind me of when Mitch and I dated before my mission. Ahhh, such happy memories full of sunshine and smiles.

I walked back inside and found our cat, Harvey, insistent on going outside so he could enjoy the sunshine as well. I wasn't going to let him- we just bathed him two nights ago and I didn't want him to get filthy dirty again from rolling on the cement. But he got his way. (More like he annoyed the crap out of me with his incessant meowing until I finally let him out.) Then I started thinking, "Why didn't we get a dog? I'm really more of a dog person anyways." I love dogs. If I could choose, I think I'd get a German Shepard. They're smart, loyal, protective, and cute. (But ask me tomorrow and I might have a different answer. I like almost all dogs.) Honestly, the only reason why we got a cat over a dog in the first place is because at the time we were both working full-time and going to school so we were never home to take care of a dog. Also, our yard is not fenced in and I don't want the dog to be inside all of the time. So, we got Harvey. Now I love him and all, but sometimes I still want a dog. Perhaps if our next house has a fence we can get an adorable German Shepherd puppy. Or a black lab. Because really, what's cuter than a puppy?

You don't have to answer that.

But I digress.

Back to my nostalgia. As I was thinking about summertime and how even Harvey loves the summer, my thoughts wandered to my favorite thing about summer: Lake Powell!!! What's better than an enormous lake with water so warm it feels like a bath, millions of stars that glitter and shoot across the sky, a houseboat full of people you love, and morning ski runs on sheets of glass? ... Nothing. That's the answer. Nothing is better than Lake Powell. I could vacation there every single year and be happy. This year my family decided to skip Powell since we're all going to Panama for a family reunion (it would be very expensive to do both). But I insist that we go next year! And I will finally learn how to wakeboard ... Here's an old pic of us at Rainbow Bridge. And yes, that's my dad with no shirt on. That's one of the great things about Powell: you don't have to get dressed, you can wear your swimming suit 24/7 if you want. Gotta love it.

Ahhhh, the joys of summer. My Grandpa Kermit and I used to spend a lot of time biking in the summer. I miss that. He moved to St. George. Plus, he's always traveling. He travels more than anyone I know. He was in Panama right after Layla was born (his dad, my great grandpa and Layla's great great grandpa, who lived in Panama, passed away the day after Layla was born) and he's going to Peru next week. So last week, in between his busy itinerary, he came to meet Layla for the first time. My aunt Michelle also met Layla for the first time. We decided on family picture time for those of us who were there. There you have it, four generations of Panamanians. Ha, ha.

Ahhh, summer. Dating Mitch, Lake Powell, biking with Grandpa (he could always outbike me, btw), and just the general sunnyness of it all. It makes me so happy.

And just a little nostalgic.