The Napier News

Fall 2008

2008-12-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy couple of months. It's been almost 3 since I last posted something, but I'll have to admit that part of the reason is due to my new-found addiction with facebook. ;+} Not that I haven't been busy, but it's definitely taken up some of my computer time. Okay, this update may be a bit longer since it's been so long, but I'll try to keep it as short as I can, only including through Thanksgiving. Remember, I'm also using this as a way to document our life's progression, so be patient... or just skip to the pictures! :+}

The rest of October flew by. Ayla was a cowgirl for Halloween, and Jackson was a cowboy. They were pretty darn cute if I do say so myself, but you'll see for yourself in the photos. :+} November was busy. Ayla and I took advantage of my having a week off of school, and we drove to Texas. My dad went with us to go and see his parents (and family) for the week. We drove directly into Waco, where they recently moved, and Ayla and I stayed the evening and night, and we left the following afternoon to drive into Plano. This stay Ayla and I divided up our stay between Brett's parents and his sister's family. It was nice getting to spend more time with them, and both Jaycee and Garrett love Ayla, but Jaycee was the one that couldn't get enough of her. Right away Ayla was able to say "Jaycee." In fact, weeks after we got home she'd be playing and out of the blue I'd hear her say, "Where'd Jaycee go?" Garrett is a little tougher to say, but we'll keep working on it. Jaycee is amazingly good with Ayla and knows just what to do to entertain her. Pam and Jeff might have to "rent" her out to me in a few more years. I might be able to use a summer nanny. :+] The day before Thanksgiving Ayla and I got up very early to drive to Waco, we had breakfast and visited for a bit, and then the 3 of us were on the road. Having the van certainly makes the trip much more comfortable for adults traveling, but it's the DVD player that makes it pleasant for Ayla... and in turn for us. She rotates between Little Einsteins & Praise Baby, but her ultimate favorite is Little Einsteins. Her O'ma got her the Little Einstein dolls (Leo, June, Annie, & Quincy) that each say their own little "key" phrases. She really loves them! I think that particular traveling day, with the extended trip from Plano to Waco, Ayla had had enough riding in the car because when we were about 2 hours from home, and it was almost 10 PM, Ayla was not wanting to be in her car seat anymore. The poor thing was uncomfortable, tired, hungry (she doesn't eat well in the car), and she was just ready to be out. My dad felt so bad for her that he insisted we stop at a rest stop and let her stretch her legs and walk. Immediately, she lit up and was happy to walk around picking up acorns with Pa'pa. :+] We finally made it home, and the next day we spent Thanksgiving at my parent's house with Justin, Sarah, and Jackson.

Okay, now for a "few" pictures. :+}

The above and below 3 pictures were taken the night we too the Downtown Milton Ghost Walk Tour. It was a lot of fun, and it got just cold enough to put us in the fall mood. We plan to do it each year it's offered. However, on a sad note, last night (1/6) many of the old buildings in downtown Milton caught fire and suffered a lot of damage them. Milton has a beautiful downtown area, and many historic buildings that date back 100 years. I'm very anxious to learn of the extent of the damage :+/

Each year our church has a "Trunk-or-Treat" on Saturday in October. The kids had a lot of fun this year collecting candy. Ayla went as a cowgirl, and Jackson was her cowboy side-kick. :+] The cute, little pumpkin is Luke Farley. You'll notice in the coming pictures that both Ayla and Jackson have suckers in their hand/mouth. Well, the only way we could get them to stay in the wagon and take pictures was to let them have those suckers. You'll notice that they are most definitely enjoying them, and they could care less about what everyone around them is doing. They were very sticky in the end, but it was a great "bribe"... I mean motivator to get them to do what we wanted. Yes, I advocate bribery... especially when it's for the sake of a good pictures. ;+)

I took the above and below six pictures later in the day after the "Trunk-or-Treat." I had to include this series of pictures because I was trying to get Ayla to cooperate and let me take her picture, but she just wasn't having it. Before you go any further, please know that no child was harmed in the taking of these pictures. I just kept snapping away trying to get one good picture, and I laughed when I saw that what I was actually able to document was irritation with me. She didn't want to sit still for the pictures, and she did not want that hat on her head. You see her getting more and more upset, but in the end, as you'll see, she was again content (when she wasn't being directed by the paparazzi). Hmmmm... might this mean she actually has a mind of her own!?!? :+]

Halloween night we went over to Justin and Sarah's to have seafood. The kids didn't trick or treat, but Sarah had "treat bags" for them. :+} In the above picture Jackson is eagerly showing me his candy.

For some reason, I'm not able to go in between the pictures to narrate, so I'll do that here. The pictures to follow Halloween night were taken at random times during the month of November. The two of Ayla in her PJ were taken one Saturday morning. I just had to get Ayla's crazy morning hair. She's got a lot of hair, and it gets wild. The two following the ones in her PJs were taken one Saturday when Brett and I had planned to clean out our garage, that looks like a band of Gypsies live in it. So, Ayla played on the driveway with her baby and stroller, as well as eating a few acorns. The next two show Ayla's faciniation with clothes. If I have a basket of clothes, or more irritating a stack of folded clothes, keeping her away from them is like keeping a kid out of a candy store. She loves to go through them, scatter them about, and as you see, crawl into the basket or luggage WITH them. The one after those is just a random picture I took of her on the fireplace in a cute, fall outfit. The last two I took one afternoon. I'd driven home from school to find my mom pulling the kids in the wagon. It was a cool day, and my brother didn't leave a jacket for Jackson when he dropped him off that morning, and Jackson is wearing one of Ayla's pink jackets, and Ayla is wearing one of the sweatshirts my mom had for Jackson. I just thought they looked so cute in the wagon, and they could care less that they are wearing each others clothes.

Whitfield Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

We wanted to get some pictures of the kids with pumpkins, so we dressed them up in cute, matching Halloween outfits, loaded up, and headed out to Whitfield Farms, which is about 20 miles north of where we live. We had a good time, and each of us got a few pumpkins to take home. We'll definitely return next year!
Brett has been out of town since Thursday, so it was all of us, minus him. He went to Dallas for the Neil Diamond concert. That was his birthday present from his parents. Today, he went to the Stars game. Except for the fact that he hasn't been with Ayla and me, it's sounding like it was a great birthday weekend for him!
Since placing these tiny pumpkins out, Ayla continually goes over and takes them all out of the basket that's on the floor. The other one is higher than she can reach. Another day or two of this and the existing one that's on the floor may be too high to reach, too. :+} She tries to say pumpkin, but it sounds more like "umpin."

They had horses, a donkey, geese, goats, and a variety of other animals. The horses were close enough for the kids to touch.

The long road beside Whitfield Farms. Obviously, not a heavily traveled road or else we would not have allowed our children to wander aimlessly down it. :+]

Jackson was sweet and wanted to hold Ayla's hand!

One of the few pictures we have that both of them are actually almost looking at the camera. Gone are the days when we could place them some where, and then just make funny faces to get them to smile for the camera. They now have a mind of their own, and they are able to get up anytime they are "over" our photo session, which happens quite frequently I'm afraid! :+}

Picture #2 where they are both looking at the camera. :+}

After the pumpkin patch, we had dinner at a recently opened cafe in downtown Milton. As you can tell, the kids had their dinner in their strollers. Don't mind Ayla with her leg propped up... she's going to be comfortable while she eats her grill cheese sandwich!

They were having a "Music in the Park" night off the boardwalk that fronts the river. We headed down there for a little while, but it was much cooler than we anticipated and the kids were pooped, and so were the adults!

Ayla is trying to "figure out" her glow stick!

Here she is "rockin" with Uncle Justin, who decided tonight that he was going to be the one to take her to her first concert! :+)

Ayla's 1 Year Pictures

2008-10-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

These are the 1-Year pictures we had taken of Ayla when we were in Texas this summer for our visit. It was a week before Ayla turned 1. We just love the photographer, and we try to schedule an appointment when we're back for visits. Ayla wasn't in the best "picture" mood this day, but Terri was patient and able to get some really cute shots. As I've said before, this past year has flown by, and it's so hard to believe she's already a year old and growing more and more independent by the day!

http://www.clarinesmith.com/

The above was the face we were getting most of the morning.
She was being a little toot!

One Sunday Afternoon

2008-10-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ayla, almost 13 months old, and Jackson, a little over 21 months

Sarah and Justin recently bought and moved into a house. It's a few miles from us, and it sits on 2 acres. There are a few pictures that I happened to take while we were taking a walk on this particular day. The house sits in a small neighborhood, and most of the houses are water front. It'll be a great neighborhood for kids, taking walks, and riding bikes. It also feeds into the same schools that our house does, which thrills me. I am bound and determined that Sarah and I both need alternate "ears" when the kids are in school. Ayla may not tell me things, but by golly, Jackson's going to. :+}
Their house is a great, open floor plan, with plenty of room for their family to grow, not that it's growing at the moment, but when that time comes. ;+} Baylie's favorite part of their house is the pond in the front of their house. It's stocked, and I'm sure the fish are quite annoyed by the two brown monsters that occasionally take a dip. :+} Another great feature of their property is the great backyard that includes a really cute playhouse. It's the perfect size for the two of them to play in, and although they don't show much interest in it now, I am sure as they get bigger it'll become more and more exciting to them. In the meantime, we sat them on the playhouse porch for a few pictures, not to mention the fact that they happened to be matching quite well this particular Sunday. I would've loved to have had a playhouse like this when I was little!

Here Ayla is walking. She is still so wobbly.

She's even cute from behind. :+} I just love those little rolls on her legs!

I guess she was a bit hot after being outside for a while. Okay, so we're working on the "lady-like" tendencies, but at what other time in life is this type of behavior not only going to be acceptable, but so stinkin' adorable, too?!
After all, she's wearing a diaper cover! ;+]

This is the view looking down their street, that leeds to the houses that sit on the water. Justin and Sarah's turn in is just past the mail box you see in the photo. They've got a long, nice driveway, and their house sits way off the road. It's got really good curb appeal.
These two picturs were taken from the front yard of the vacant house next door. We were over there looking through the windows. It's a fairly new, really nice house, and I think Sarah is still trying to convince her mom or grandmother to buy it so Jackson can have his nana and gigi nearby.
You can see Brett's truck and my van in the drive way. They've got a two car garage, and that's a detached garage/work area. This isn't the best photo, but it does show how large their property is. The fence you see in the foreground begins their property line on this side of the house. Their property is just about completely fenced in on all sides.

This is a picture of part of the pond that sits in their front yard. There is a lit fountain that is really pretty at night when it's lit up and running. The pond is a nice feature and even with the pond taking up all that area, the grassed part of their front yard is still really large. Jackson loves feeding the fish. When you drive up the driveway or walk up to the pond, you can see all the fish swimming in your direction, so I guess that means they're trained fish! :+}

Luke & Ayla... bathtime again!

2008-10-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

Just another one of those pictures we'll use against them some day!

We were over there one night for dinner several Saturday's ago, and we threw them in the tub together. :+]

Jackson Helping Ayla Walk September 7th

2008-10-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

One of the first days Ayla really started walking on her own was the day we were over at Justin and Sarah's new house, before their stuff was in. We were there painting and trying to get things ready. Since then, they've moved in and are pretty well settled. I don't know that you can ever be completely settled, but their house looks great. Sarah did a super job picking out fun colors. Justin wasn't sure at first, but I think he's sold now. :+] Notice the green walls in their living room. The kitchen and breakfast nook is painted a really pretty tangerine color, and their bedroom is a chocolate brown. Everything looks great!!!

So, the day we were over there painting, my dad was watching both kids in the living room. Ayla began practicing her walking. I think it was easy for her because of the tile. I guess she felt much more stable. It was cute, too, because Jackson would hold her hand and help her up; however, as you might be able to see, she's giving him a "look" that says, "Okay, I got it!"
We've got some pretty cute video of it. Not long after this picture was taken, she began to take off more and more on her own. Because of the way my camera records video, I've not been able to upload the videos to the site. I've got to first have my dad convert them. I've got so many cute ones!

Hangin' Out on a Saturday Morning

2008-10-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

This was one Saturday in early September. We generally hang out in our PJs until we no longer have to. :+} If we don't have to do anything at all, we just might stay in them all day. Those are the very best Saturdays.

Here she is with her baby and making a pretty funny face. She is quite expressive. I have no idea where she gets that. ;+]

Here she is giving her baby a big, open-mouthed, wet kiss!

August 2008

2008-10-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I started school the day after Ayla's birthday party, so things have been busy than they were over the summer. Let's see... the biggest "new" thing is that Ayla is now walking. She still teeters and totters, but she's moving pretty good. We've been a bit concerned about our fireplace hearth. I could just imagine a really bad fall one of these days, but we just installed (two nights ago) a guard that goes around it. It's much safer, and it really doesn't look bad at all. It's black and blends in quite well. In fact, last night when everyone was over here for Sarah's birthday dinner, noone even noticed it. The other newer things are the words Ayla's been saying. It's aweful that I get confused with what she's been saying and just started saying. She gets better and better at saying things and repeating after us. One funny thing she sometimes does is walk around the room calling herself, and sometimes when she comes to something that we say "no no" about we'll hear her say, "Ayla, no no!"

August is a big birthday month around our house. It's both Ayla's and my birthday month, and it's also Justin's birthday. The pictures in this blog are a bit out of order, but for some reason the blog site wouldn't let me rearange like I'm normally able to do. So, I guess they'll just have to be a bit out of order.

This first picture of the three of us was taken at my birthday lunch, after church the Sunday close to my birthday. Ayla is always worn out by the time we get out of church, in fact, both kids are. It's always well past their nap times.

Same location as the above picture, and I think it was one of the first times though that both of them were asleep. Jackson was fast asleep in Papa's arms.

Here's where the pictures are out of order. This one actually happened shortly after Ayla turned a year old. My dad was over watching some sporting event on TV with Brett, and I went to go take a shower. While I was away, they said that one minute she was babbling away, and the next minute she was fast asleep in mid "babble." :+}

In both the above and below picture Ayla is lieing on the floor with her baby. She loves her baby and would lie like this in our bedroom floor watching television with her bottle and baby as soon as she would wake up. Meantime, we are getting ready for work. Since Brett introduced her to Curious George, she's been wanting to lie there with the rubber, meant for the bathtub, Curious George doll she has.

This was a week after Ayla turned a year old. This is the stroller she got for her birthday from the Tennison's. She sat there very curiously while Brett put it together. In a few of the pictures it looks almost like she might be thinking, "Dad, are you sure you got this?"

The stroller is up and running! At this time she wasn't walking yet, but she sure was close. It's funny, this stroller is way too little for the doll Jaycee and Garrett gave her, but she'll try to shover her into it, and she gets a bit annoyed when she can't get her in very well.

Here she is in the tub, enjoying her new bathtime bubble machine she got for her birthday from Mommy and Daddy. Luke got one just like it!

I just love the above picture. Sometimes she'll put her hand on her chin and say something like, "Oh, no!" It looks so Scarlet O'hara like! :+} However, I think her voice is going to be a bit raspier than Scarlet's.

She loves looking at herself in the mirror. What kid doesn't?

Ayla's First Year

2008-08-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Happy 31st Birthday to Uncle Justin!!!

2008-08-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

This posting is a bit out of order, but I'm not sure how to re-order my postings. Ayla's birthday posting should come after this one.
Justin's birthday is August 4th, so we had dinner and cake and ice cream at Sarah and Justin's house. When Justin and I were kids, Justin use to make me so mad when he would have his birthday and he'd say, "Now you are only a year older than I am." I would try to tell him that I was still almost 2 years older, but he'd still say, "Nope, I'm 8 and you're 9." Now that we are adults, I'm perfectly fine with just being a year older... even if it is only for 21 days. ;+)

Ayla was perfectly content to help Uncle Justin celebrate by sharing his cake and ice cream.

Grandma reading Ayla a book.

This is the stroller Sarah got Ayla for her birthday. However, she made the mistake of bringing it in their house, and Jackson fell in love with it. She kept telling him it was Ayla's stroller, but he wasn't convinced. When she brought it over the night before Ayla's party, she still had to convince him that it was Ayla's and that he had to share with her. He did, but he wasn't happy about it!!!

Here she is explaining the "ownership" of the stroller AND doll to Jackson!

Ayla gets a turn and Jackson impatiently waits to dive in and take over. :+}
It was pretty funny to watch!

Justin and Mom, playin' the Wii! This was a birthday (and Christmas, and everything else) ;+} gift from Oma. It's a gift that gives to many! :+)

Jackson, the stroller, and the Wii hat!

Ayla and her Wii hat! I'll have to wait until she gets a bit older to put her Wii shirt on her that her Aunt Kim got her. It's really cute, but it's still a bit too big. I don't think it will be too long though. :+}

Ayla's 1st Birthday Party

2008-08-17T20:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it was a hot August Saturday, but Ayla turned one, and it was a special celebration. It started at 3, so it wasn't the hottest time of the day. We put up a few sun shades, which gave some relief, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. Of course, 1st birthdays aren't just for the honorary kid. Prior to being blessed with Ayla Grace, I kind of thought it was silly to have 1st birthday parties, but now that I have a child, I don't care what anyone says, having your baby turn one is as much of a celebration for you as it is for them. After all, I was the one who actually went through the pain to get her here a little over a year ago, so each birthday really will be a celebration for her, and a "silent" celebration for me, too!

We had all our family (Florida family) and friends there, Brett grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, Sarah made several fruit bowls, and we had cake and ice cream. Ayla got lots of thoughtful gifts, but mostly, we appreciate everyone who came over to help us celebrate our babies 1st birthday. I truly have enjoyed each and every day with her, and in a strange way, although it's gone by fast, I feel like it's all been in slow motion because I've tried to treasure each stage and phase.

Currently, Ayla's new word is "No no no!" She'll say it to random objects, like the hymnal at church this morning, but she really likes to say it to Baylie. I think it started while we were in Texas, and she'd say it to George (Oma's dog) when he'd get near. So... now she says it to a lot of things and at various times. She does know what a question sounds like... because we can ask her something and she'll politely say, "No." However, it's "No" to anything we ask from, "Do you want your diaper changed?... to Do you want a million dollars?" Brett has got her saying "Yes" a little too, but it's not as pronounced. She's also started repeating things we say. She started saying "Oh, no!" with my mom, and tonight on the floor she was saying, "Oh, no!" when she'd drop something. She sure is becoming expressive, and she can give some looks that have attitude written all over them. I have no idea where she gets that!?!? :+}

Aunt Sarah got her this cake cutter set. It's got her birth date engraved on it, and the plan is for Ayla to use it at every birthday... and then at her wedding. It was such a thoughtful gift, and Aunt Sarah is very good at trying to think of the sentimental part of things.

Ayla's cake table... we had 30 more cupcakes for everyone, decorated with butterflies, flowers, and bubble bees.

She is NOT a fan of shoes, and right here she's telling the shoes "No...No!"

What a ham!

Sarah and Liberty Jayne!

Ayla and Luke. Luke turned 1 two days after Ayla did. We sat them on the ground to get their picture, and we couldn't believe how still they were. They just sat there. Neither one of them tried to crawl away or fussed. It was almost weird. So, we took advantage of the moment and took about 40 pictures of them. I would have liked to include all of them, but only Aimee and I would probably really appreciate that slide show. :+}

Here Luke is grabbing Ayla's hand. He did it so sweet and calmly. Again, it was almost strange how content they were being.

How sweet! This will most definitely appear in a video later on in their lives!

Wesleigh Shell!

Sweet Libby!

Taylor Dodd... I think Taylor and Jordan's (Taylor's younger sister) favorite part of the party was playing with Baylie. We're going to keep trying to talk their daddy into letting them get a dog. Every kid needs a childhood dog!

Justin, Jackson, and Sarah

Gettin' ready for cake time!

Jackson in the Bumbo! I'd gotten it out for Ayla to sit in, but Jackson loves this seat. We actually borrowed it from them when he got too big for it, but he loves sittin' in it still... unless of course we want him to sit (and stay) there, and then it's another story! :+}

Braylon and Jackson... they both helped blow out Ayla's candle. It's funny to watch little ones at other kids birthdays. They just can't understand why it's not all for them. Oh to be a kid again. The world truly does revolve around you...and why shouldn't it!

Ayla was not sure what to make of this pink and white pile of stuff in fron to her.

Not that Jackson did either, but well prompted, he obliged and decided to assist his cousin!

Once she got good and busy, I slipped her birthday crown on her that I made. I knew she wouldn't even notice it was there.

Jackson had a good glob of pink and white icing on his finger, and he turned around and got it right on my mom's nose. He thought it was pretty funny. He just kept saying, "Ma ma," which is what he calls my mom. Yes, he calls Sarah that, too, but although it sounds bizarre, both have two different intonations. We can tell the difference. :+} Currently, I am "Anny!"... and it's one of the sweetest words I am blessed to hear.

She thought it was funny to feed her daddy the cake off her hands, and I think he actually got more cake in his mouth than Ayla did.
She wasn't really wanting to eat it... just explore in it.

Daddy, Ayla, and Mommy!

Baylie licking up Ayla's "exploration," which DID NOT turn out to be such a great idea. Let's put it this way... the cake DID NOT agree with Baylie's system. :+/

I figured this was the best way to get her clean, so she got a "Grandpa Jack" shower as Sarah would say... and did say on video. :+}
Present time!

This was the "Happy Birthday" book Luke got Ayla. :+} It's to place a photo for each birthday, which will be so special to have in years to come!!! Mommy really liked this one, and I bet Luke's mommy helped him pick it out!

Ayla loves books, and that's what Jordan and Taylor got her.

Ayla's new found love of baby dolls made this gift perfect for her. It's still not all the way together, but it will be in the next few days. Now Ayla and Jackson won't have to fight over the stroller Aunt Sarah got Ayla. :+} That boy needs a stroller of his own, but I'm not goin' there just yet. ;+)

The card Kari made for her. The Lewis' gift was a bunch of bath toys, which have been a big hit. Ayla especially likes the light up toys she got. We haven't tried the bath crayons yet, but we will soon. Kari has 4 kids of her own, so she's a pro at picking out good bath toys.

The sign from Aunt Sarah, Justin, and Jackson!

The blocks Olivia and Makayla got Ayla. She loves taking them all out of the bag one by one. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of putting them all back, but hopefully that will come.

This is a doll my mom got her. It's is one of the cutes things I've ever seen. She's a farm girl, and there is a button for each animal, and they say something related to being on a farm. It really is adorable.

My mom has missed her calling. All of these pictures were taken by her while she was keeping Ayla this past semester. They are pictures I'd never seen before. This was truly a precious gift. Not only did my mom make it, but the pictures about take my breath away looking at them. It was a great reminder of how much she's changed in just the past 6 months.

These last two were taken while we were all trying to clean up. I know the first one looks like Ayla is about to strangle Jackson, but I'm almost sure it's really a hug she's about to give him. However, attempts to strangle one another may come in our future. They both have pretty defined, strong personalities. It should be a joy to break up their future fights! :+}

Our Summer Trip to Texas

2008-08-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Nothin' says Texas like a good ol' cowgirl hat!

Our summer trip to Texas was a little different this year. Ayla was a few days away from turning one, and her Texas family threw her a Texas sized birthday party. Most of Brett's family was there, including his Uncles, Phillip and Eddie, his Aunt Chris, his great Aunt Rosemand, and his second cousin Tracy. We haven't seen most of them since the fall after we got married, so it was a very nice occasion to get together again. Through the week we took it pretty easy at Brett's parent's house,we got to swim at Pam and Jeff's, and we had good visiting time with family. We'd seen Hollie and Stephen the week before, but we did get to see them one of the days we were there. I met Hollie and Shelley for breakfast one morning, and I ended up spending the day at Hollie's. All in all... it was a nice trip back to Brett's "homeland" or "God's Country" as he calls it. Even though we don't live there anymore, I know Texas will always hold a special place in Brett's heart and in our lives. We're also going to make sure Ayla feels it too! :+]

This is the cowboy/girl hat Oma got for Ayla. Notice I'm holding her hands... had I let go, that hat would have been off in a second.

On our way... we detoured and stopped to see the Norwoods, who live in East Texas. We've not seen them in two years, so it was nice to stop for the short visit. Here Natalie and Ayla are taking a bath together. Natalie is full of energy and talks a mile a minute. She was so cute with Ayla. She is at that age where she asks "why" all the time. It's funny to imagine Ayla at that stage, but hard to believe it will be here before I know it.

Here is the picture I sent for her first birthday party in Florida, the one we had on the day of her actual birthday. I took her outside the following morning in hopes that she'd do just what she's doing, pointing to something, which looks like she's holding up the number 1. The sun was in her eyes, and she's squinting, but it was the best shot of her doing this that I could get. You can see Danny and Laurel's beautiful property back behind Ayla. They have a beautiful house with LOTS of gorgeous acreage.

She wasn't so sure about that grass she was sitting on. It was still a bit damp, and she'd give me these faces. She's pretty expressive.

Here one of those faces!

Here we are at Oma and G'pa's. We got there that evening, and although they wanted to grab Ayla and give her lots of hugs, they let her get use to them and their house. :+}

Here's the "O" face she gives. It's a combination of concerned and surprised.

Ayla and Mommy... I didn't necessarily plano on matching her so well this day, but we did.

She loves those books! I hope this continues to be a trait of hers!

Ayla and Jaycee ray. We went swimming at Pam and Jeff's house one day.

Ayla was pretty interested in the goggles Jaycee and Garrett had on the edge of the pool. I tried to show her what they were for, and I think she enjoyed the way they changed the way things looked to her. It didn't last long though... notice I'm holding her hand, which is keeping her from pulling it off her head. Oh the things parents do for the sake of a picture!

Ayla enjoyed this floaty. Pam and Jeff had this already, and Ayla liked it so much that they got her one for her birthday! We really appreciate that, and it will get lots of good use in our pool here!

This is Pebbles, Pam's dog, the surfing dog! She's pretty good I think. :+}

Ayla, drinking a Capri Sun!

Jaycee and Pam, Brett's sister.

Ayla and her Miss Texas onsy. Aimee Farley got this for her, and it was so cute on her, especially with those adorable blue jean shorts!
One day we went to see Oma at work. There are these beautiful marble steps leading up to her office area, so we stopped for a picture.

Ayla and Daddy

Mommy, Ayla, and Daddy

Ayla and Maddy

Ayla, sitting in front of her birthday presents. I'm not sure she knew what to think.

Ayla getting her birthday baby doll from Pam, Jeff, Garrett, and Jaycee. She loves this baby, and it has been a hit since the moment she got it in her hands. We call her "baby," but my dad calls her "baby Suzie". :+} The other morning she was on the floor and I looked down and the babies mouth and eyes were filled with milk from Ayla trying to feed her bottle to the baby. She is very nurturing and loves to hug and rock her baby. Sometimes she'll hold her and say "Ahhhhh," which is exactly what I say. It's pretty cute!

I think this shirt about wraps it up, however, I think it should read, "Lots of people in Texas love me" because that's the truth!!!

The Baldridges Come to Florida!!!

2008-08-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the Baldridges finally made it to Florida to visit us. While living in Texas, we spent countless hours with Hollie and Stephen... we took weekend trips, we had numerous sleep-overs where we'd stay up late watching movies and then we'd sleep in the next day until we felt like moving about. Then we'd get up, Hollie would make breakfast (she's the cook), and we'd "veg" out some more. It was great! My how our lives have changed! Now, there are little ones, and our time together, although still great, has certainly become more complicated. :+) Having children changes your life in so many ways, but for all the differences they bring, none of us would trade what we have for anything in this world. Our children have now become the center of our lives, they don't run our lives, but we certainly do have different priorities then we did just a few years ago!

We appreciate them taking the time to come and visit us. It means so much to us! Thank you for coming, and we look forward to the next visit we have with you guys. We hope you'll come back for another visit in the future, and maybe our beaches can redeem themselves! :+} We love you!

Ayla and Hobson, enjoying a sucker in front of the television. No fear... the only way I'd let them eat a messy sucker in my living room is if they are contained. Ayla is in the Bumbo, and Hobson is in the "sucker" chair. It's where I sometimes have Jackson sit when he wants a sucker at my house. :+}

Penn, sitting in the Bumbo seat! He has such a big smile, and he looks just like his mommy when he smiles! Those eyes just disappear!!! :+}

Ayla and Hobson in the bath together!

Hollie snapped this one of Ayla!

Our day at the beach didn't exactly go like I'd envisioned. Our beaches are so beautiful here, but certain conditions ruined that image on this particular day. We drove a bit farther down the coast to Navarre Beach. As Brett was heading back from making one or two trips, with all the stuff we had, he told me the seaweed was really bad and so were the jelly fish. I've never seen it like that here before, so I honestly thought he was exagerating. Once I got out there and saw how bad it was, we decided to pack up and head down the coast (closer to home), hoping the conditions would be better on Pensacola Beach. Once settled there, they were a little better, but not much. In my 7 years of enjoying the Panhandle's beaches, I've never seen the jelly fish as bad as they've been this summer. It's almost made it to where you can't enjoy going to the beach. It's too hot to stay out of the water, but you go in at your own risk.
So, not only was the water cloudy from the seeweed the day we went, but there were so many jelly fish that you could hardly get in the water. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in our marine life. So much for my description of our beautiful Emerald Coast Beaches!
We went just the other day, and the water was clear as pool water, but those dang jelly fish were all over. I was stung three times. I think that's the first time in 20 something years that I've been stung.

Ayla and Hobson had fun playing in the sand!

Penn, hanging out. He probably had the best seat in the house!

Bath time again! Notice their bottoms are red from the waist down. Both Hollie and I like our water (showers and baths) very hot, and I guess we are both set on getting our kids use to the same. :+}

I really like these black and whites! The one below really looks like they're working hard!

Ayla has really loved all the babies she's been around, but I think it was with Penn's visit that she became facinated with them. She loved to get right beside him and pat him, sometimes a bit too hard, hug him, kiss him, and just stare at him. She couldn't get enough!

The second to the last day they were here we went to MacGuire's, which is a famous place in Pensacola. One of the things they are famous for is there 3/4th pound hamburgers and the signed, 1 million dollar bills stapled all over the walls. It's almost hard to believe that there are so many. Just about every where you look there's dollar bills (except the bathrooms). There are many bills from famous people, there's even one from John McCain, but his is framed, not stapled. In all the times we've been there, while living here, we've never signed a dollar and stapled it to the wall. So, that's just what we did on this day. We each did one for our kids.

Jackson, holding tight to his dollar!

Notice I'm the only mother (of-the-year) that put her daughter's full name. I think it was Sarah that said, "Why don't you go ahead an put her birth date, social, and address while you're at it!" Leave it to my sister-in-law to tell me like it is! ;+}

Red, White, and Snooze!

2008-08-14T20:09:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted something new, but it's been a busy summer. I thoroughly enjoyed my days off with Ayla, and I got a lot accomplished. With help, I finished painting two rooms, did some organizing, Hollie and Stephen came to visit, we took a trip to Texas, and I took advantage of lazy mornings and days with Ayla. I can't believe it's already time for me to go back to school. I say it ever summer, but two months can fly by!
For this past 4th of July, we hung out by the pool, cooked out, and then loaded up to head to downtown Milton to watch the fireworks. I was excited to see how Ayla would react to her very first fireworks. It's one of my favorite things about the 4th of July. There are several in my family that could "take it or leave it," but I appreciate them being good sports on my account. This year instead of going early we decided to wait until almost dark. That wasn't such a good idea, because by the time we got downtown, there was little room for parking, and it was a bit hectic finding some place to watch that didn't look too busy or crazy. We finally found a spot, parked, and we were ready. HOWEVER, both kids were fast asleep and missed the entire display. Sarah and I couldn't believe that with all the loud "cracking" that neither one of them stirred. I guess they were worn out from there long day of celebrating our nation's birthday! :+} It was a good day, and I hope Ayla can stay away for next year's show!!

Jackson has gotten so good in the pool. He has absolutely no fear, and he jumps in whether someone is there or not. It's kind of scary sometimes! :+]

Pa-pa... lounging in the pool!

Ayla and Grandma! Ayla loves to "Splash, Splash, Splash!"

This is such a good one of Justin and Jackson. Lately, we are amazed if Jackson will sit still long enough for a picture. He is always on the go, but he is the sweetest little boy I've ever known!

We were in our 4th of July attire and ready for the fireworks!

Ayla and Jackson... Don't they look sweet and innocent! :+}

It's getting harder and harder to get shots of them together. They each have a mind of their own now, and sometimes they refuse to sit still or smile for that matter!

I guess she was in a photogenic mood at this moment!

I always have to get a shot of that curly, blond, hair!

Ayla and mommy! This time last year I felt like I was about ready to pop.

Sarah and her little man!

The girls and Jackson! I think both kids were asleep within 30 minutes of this photo.

I had to put this one in. It was take about a week before the 4th. Jackson LOVES putting on peoples shoes. On this occasion we were going somewhere (the girls and Jackson), but we weren't quite ready. Well, as you can see, Jackson was!!! He had my mom's shoes on with his backpack on his back, and he kept saying, "Go!?"
After getting our van, the kids were quite fascinated with the fact that they could now watch Little Einsteins while driving down the road in their car seats. I call this 1st class accommodations. They have no idea how good the have it!

Bath time is always fun! They both stay content for quite some time while in the tub.

One evening, after we all had dinner at our house, the girls and Jackson were in Ayla's bedroom playing with her hats, headbands, and bows. Since Ayla arrived, Jackson has enjoyed trying on her many hats. He could care less that many of them are pink, frilly, and fluffy! :+} Oh, and I also have to mention that one of his favorite things in Ayla's room are her pink sun glasses, which he either props perfectly on his face or on his head (just like his mom does)! He knows right where they are, and that's one of the first things he goes and gets when he comes over.

Okay, on to the next posting.

Ayla and Daddy

2008-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a sweet moment. I took these pictures last night. I had bunco last night, and although Ayla was asleep when I got home, she woke (as usual) around 10. Brett was bouncing her on his knee while I got ready for bed. I guess between the soothing motion and the television, it was was too much for her because as you can see... she gave it up. However, it was sweet because she calmly sat there in Brett's lap even before falling asleep, just enjoying the bouncing and watching the cartoon on the television. She looked so soothed.

Fun in a box...

2008-06-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, while I had a yucky stomach virus, I had Brett grab a cool mist humidifier while he was out running errands to help with Ayla's cold. It's kept her stopped up, not sleeping or eating well, and eventually caused another ear infection. I had the humidifier box next to the trash, and she kept heading there to play with it, so I drug it into the living room. She's really starting to explore more and more....however, after about 10 minutes, if she doesn't see me, she kind of lets out a sigh, as to say, "Where are you, Mom?"

I know I've said it before, but it amazes me at the things babies will want to play with. She's got a basket full of interesting toys, but that box won out. I sat her in it, and she thought that was pretty funny... until she had trouble getting out, and then she wasn't as amused when I let her try and figure out an escape route. Oh, and now, one of her eye teeth came in this past week. I actually got a pretty good shot of it in one of these pictures. I cropped it to make it bigger. :+]

If you'll look real close... you can see the right eye tooth there poking through. Her look is really going to start changing once more teeth come in. It makes me a little sad. :+(

These are some pajamas I got her that I think look so cute on her...
if I do say so myself! :+]

Luke and Ayla, waiting their turn on the edge of the pool at swim lessons. I'm not sure either one of them knew they were waiting. I think they thought it was all over. Little did they know...
For some reason... I was unable to continue uploading pictures into the "Swimming Lesson" posting, so I placed these here.

This one looks like Luke has just told a good joke, and Ayla's laughin' at it. It's fun to see them develop together. Luke has a mouth full of teeth and his walking, and Ayla is still crawling with only a few teeth. :+}

Swim Lessons

2008-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Ayla started swim lessons this week. She's taking them at the Farley's on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays this week and next with Luke and three other kids. Aimee warned me that the first week would be pretty brutal for me especially because Ayla would probably cry the entire time. Monday was day 1, and we started off the lesson slowly by simply counting to three, blowing in their face, and then placing them under water. I was surprised because she actually didn't cry until almost the end of the lesson when Mary (the instructor) took her from me to count and then put her under water to swim to me. Tuesday, with Sarah and Jackson, we went over to my parent's house to practice what we'd learned, but she wasn't in a very good mood. I later learned why when I took her in for her re-check appointment for her ears. She again had two inner ear infections (unrelated to water in the ear). :+( She hasn't been sleeping well lately, and she's had a bad cold, so I suspected that the ear infections were back. Aunt Sarah pushed me to go ahead and take her in, and I'm glad I did.

So, Mondays lesson went well, but Wednesday's was a whole other story. I think her memory was better than I thought it was because she cried as soon as I got in the pool with her. She cried the entire lesson, and she'd clench her fist in anger while Mary held her and counted. It was very hard as her mom to sit there with a smile on my face (trying to look happy and encouraging), and to see the look on her face. I'm the mom that refuses to stay in the room while she gets her shots, and I know the crying for that will just last a moment. SO... having to sit there while she has to do this time and time again was pretty tough. I found myself saying, "You only have 4 more times... now 3 more... now 2 more..." Although quite distraught, each time she would stop crying long enough to take a breath before being placed under water to swim to me, and she even kicked her legs. Not once did she take in water. I was quite surprised that even with her crying so hard she still could hold her breath under water. Once she knew the lesson was over and we were getting out of the pool, she did seem to perk up a bit. I was very proud of her, and Aimee said she thought I did rather well for being a first time mom going through swim lessons. :+] She was sweet to even call me later to tell me again!

Jackson was funny on Tuesday when Sarah and I took the kids to my parent's pool. She tried the "1...2...3...blow... and under water" thing with Jackson, and he did really well and held his breath every time. However, the funny part came when, as we normally do, he'd be sitting or standing on the side of the pool, and we'd count for him to jump to us, and I guess because we'd done the "1...2...3" with the under water part, he didn't want to do anything associated with counting. :+} As soon as we'd start saying "1...2...3" he wave his hands to let us know he didn't want to do whatever it was that came after. :=]

Here she is swimming to me.

Aimee's Birthday

2008-06-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Sarah, Aimee, Me, Judy, and Terri

June 3rd was Aimee's birthday, so us girls celebrated by enjoying an evening out at the Global Grill in downtown Pensacola. They've got dozens of different tapas, which we all ordered one of and shared, along with great salads.
As we were leaving and getting in the car, we stopped a couple walking by and asked if they'd take our picture. After the gal took it we thought it was funny when she asked, "Where are y'all from?"...as if we were tourist. We just laughed and said, "From here. We just don't get out much." ;+] We enjoy our "girl" time together that we don't get enough of, but we enjoy it when we do!

Beach Babies

2008-06-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

My parent's anniversary was June 2nd, and we took dinner to the beach to celebrate. It was a beautiful day, and the water was just right. It's been unusually warm here (for this time of year), which makes us all fear what our summer is going to be like. It also creates an uneasy feeling for the upcoming hurricane season, which has already begun. However, we've all got our fingers crossed and are hoping for yet another "hurricane free" summer!

I thought this picture of Ayla and Jackson was so cute. Notice the way Jackson has his hand on Ayla's foot. I think that was the same foot he bit just two days earlier. ;+] It wasn't out of aggression. He'd leaned over to give her one of his "signature" hugs (with his head in her lap), and I guess her chubby leg looked too inviting because he decided to take a bite. She immediately started to cry, and he got a very worried look on his face, like he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I tried to talk to him to tell him that "we shouldn't bite," but I don't think he ever knew what I was saying. I think Ayla's completely forgotten all about it, and there was no scaring, so all is okay. :+]The last time we were at the beach was Ayla's first time crawling around in the sand. This time she acted like a real pro. Neither one of the kids were at all afraid of the water coming up on the shore, and both would go at the waves like there was nothing to fear. It was like one big playground for them, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We'll be spending a lot of time there over the years.

Look it all that hair. It is especially "wild" in the humid, salty beach air!

She's so serious at times. She studies the most detailed things.

She loved the sand dollars. She liked putting them in her mouth. I think she liked the saltiness.

Here she is crawling towards the waves. Once, one of them even spun her around, and it didn't phase her a bit.

Here she is focusing on one of those small details. :+] We had to watch her because she'd find the smallest of shells, and they'd be in her mouth.
At one point, I had her in the water, and I'd throw her up and let her splash in the waves and she loved it. She'd laugh, and she wasn't afraid at all. I hope she continues being unafraid of the ocean. The beach is one of my favorite places to be, and I hope that's one thing we can share together for many years to come.

Ayla update: She now has two bottom teeth, and it looks like her right eye tooth is coming in. She's been extra clingy the past few days.

Old Christ Church

2008-06-03T06:46:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, Judy's sister, Cara was married at Old Christ Church in Historic Downtown Pensacola Village. Old Christ Church dates back to 1832. It's a beautiful building, and makes for a very romantic backdrop for a wedding. While sitting there, I couldn't help but think that maybe Ayla could be married there one day. That alone brought tears to my eyes.

The reception was held at a nearby park the fronts the water. It was within walking distance.

Aimee, Sarah, Me, and Terri, at the reception afterwards. It was a little warm, but still a very pretty day. Because the park was adjacent to the water, there was a nice breeze.

Jackson Eli turns 18 months old

2008-06-03T05:46:00.001-07:00

As Sarah said in her email yesterday, it is really hard to believe that Jackson is already 18 months old. :+] He's got such a cute personality, and quite the strong will. He loves all of us so much, and sometimes can't decide who he wants more and plays "musical relatives." He is an absolute joy to have in our lives, and I get just as excited to see him on the days my mom keeps him as I do to see Ayla Grace. I am very glad Ayla and Jackson have one another. As Ayla's personality evolves, and we see more and more "strong will" from her, I predict the future is going to be very lively! :+] Through the ups and downs, this is what life is all about!

Thank you, Sarah and Justin, for sharing him with us this past year and a half. We love him dearly, as we do you two, and we're thankful we get to spend the time we do with you three!

Nothin' Says Summer Like...

2008-05-31T18:27:00.001-07:00

Nothin' says summer like walks in the stroller, sun hats, sun glasses, bare feet, boats, bathing suits, water hoses, swimming pools, modest baby bikinis, and who could forget puppy dog kisses! ;+)

Is this cool or what?!?!

Grandpa Jack and Jackson! Notice those Texas Crocs. Uncle Brett really loves those! Hopefully Ayla will get to wear them after Jackson grows out of them. ;+]

This is my dad's new/used fishin' boat! My dad and Justin had just gone to pick it up the day before, and they are cleaning it here. They've already been out a number of times. However, I must say... we haven't had any fish fries, so I'm not convinced they are working very hard at the fishin' part!
Notice Baylie and Hazel keeping supervising closely!

Brett is trying to keep Baylie from... (see next picture)

mauling Ayla with kisses!! Baylie just can't resist. Can you blame her???

Two Saturdays ago when I kept Jackson, I took both the kids outside to play in the water. It was a nice, sunny day, but it wasn't too hot. They had fun!!

I took a dozen things out there for them to play in the water with, but the one thing Ayla found fascinating was the blades of grass that ended up on her legs. Go figure!!!

This was bath time after playing in the water outside!
That waterproof sunscreen sure is a chore to get off!

I just couldn't leave this one out. Sorry, Justin and Sarah! :+} Okay, I'm not that sorry! After getting them out of the bath, which was quite tricky doing it alone, I managed to get Ayla diapered, but hadn't gotten to Jackson yet. I left them in Ayla's room for a minute or two (literally) to grab something from the kitchen, and I rounded the corner and found him walking down the hall towards me with Ayla quickly crawling right behind him. He looked just like this, with Ayla's sunglasses upside down on his head. I of course immediately grabbed my camera, and as I pressed the button he covered him self like he's doing in the picture. I know it was completely ironic, but it almost looks as though I told him to do it. I'm very glad I captured this cute moment. He'll hate it when I show this to future girlfriends, and believe me, Aunt Amy will!! :+]

This was taken Memorial Day at my parent's house!
We all went over the to cook out and get in the pool.

Ayla in her very modest, baby bikini! Don't those rolls look so cute. They do now, but she won't think so when she has them in her post-baby bathing suit!

My mom and dad got this little pool for the kids to use. It worked out perfectly. They could play in the little pool while we played in the big pool. :+}

As you can see... she LOVED it!

She looks so big sitting on the side of the pool like this!

Jackson is showing us his muscles in this one! It's so cute the way he stresses to show us!

The last few are some random pictures I've taken over the past few weeks.

Thanks to her Grandpa Jack, Ayla now knows how to take hats off. She is no longer the naive hat wearer she once was! :+} If she gets on eye level with my dad, and he's wearing a hat, she goes right for it. She's pretty good about taking it off his head, and when placed on hers, she's knows exactly how to get that "thing" off her head. We really did fee her this night. She just loves bananas so much... she couldn't resist! :+]
We actually thought she was just going to "gum" the banana, since she was cutting a tooth, but we quickly noticed that her little sharp tooth had made it's way past the skin and into the banana. Her second tooth has also poked through next to the one on the bottom. It came in much quicker than the first.
If you look closely at this one, you can see her tooth.
This is the Saturday "routine" Ayla and I share. She usually wakes around 7:15. I turn Disney on for us to watch Tigger and Pooh, Playhouse Disney, and Little Einsteins, I fix myself a cup of coffee (or two or three), Ayla eats puffs, Cheerios, or Craisins, has a bottle, has some water, plays with some toys, and then Sleeping Beauty (AKA: Brett) joins the party around 8:30ish. ;+]
It's pretty funny how in just a few weeks her attention span has increased quite a bit. It's cute how certain songs the character's will sing or things they'll say will get her attention. Her newest thing is "sharing" what she's eating or playing with. She'll nicely hand you a cracker to nibble on or hand you the car she's found. This morning, while watching Playhouse Disney and eating Cheerios, she raised a Cheerio up as if she wanted to share it with Mickey. It was pretty funny! I didn't have the heart to tell her that Mickey wasn't really there to share a Cheerio with. ;+]

There's that "O" face. It looks like an "O" and she says "Ohhhhhh" when she does it. I'm not quite sure where she learned this, but it sure is funny. She does it at the most random times. I've tried to do it and see if she'll copy me, but she usually won't. Then 10 minutes later she'll do it. ???

I love her sleepy, morning face!
This is the face where she scrunches her nose and mouth and breaths in and out! I have no idea where she got this one either!

There's nothing cuter than baby feet! That second toe of hers just kills me. I just hope she's able to wear flip flops one day. She won't survive in Florida if she can't. ;+] I won't ever tell her what her Aunt Sarah calls her little toe.

That's all for now!!

Pictures Perfect

2008-05-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

While in Dallas over Spring Break, we decided to have the photographer we've used take pictures of Ayla and all her cousins on Brett's side of the family. We also planned it as a Mother's Day gift to his mom, who hadn't had all the grandkids in a professional photo, so this was extra special. The pictures were a surprise for her, so I couldn't post them until after Mother's Day. It was funny because after having them taken we all met for dinner, and even though all the kids were wearing jeans and white shirts, she didn't suspect a thing. :+}
It was also close to Ayla being 6 months old, so I took the opportunity to have these shots taken of her. I'd seen babies dressed like this on our photographer's website, and I knew I wanted to have Ayla's done the same way when she got old enough. We took them in Frisco at a park that is right in the center of all the shopping there. We never knew this park was even there, but it was a nice back drop. :+}

Ayla & her curls

Jaycee rae and Ayla

All the cousins (& 2nd cousins), from left to right: Jaycee, Stephanie (back), Garrett, Ayla, Jasmine (back), Madison, and Liam

Even though they aren't looking at the camera, I think this one is my favorite of the group. Garrett has recently gotten braces, and Ayla was quite interested in them, so the photographer used the opportunity and told everyone to look at Ayla.

A Sandy First Mother's Day

2008-05-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, we drove out to Pensacola Beach after church on Sunday. We ate lunch at Peg Leg Pete's and then headed across the street to the beach. As usual, the beach was sparsely populated, and we hope it's always that way. Although this wasn't Ayla's first time at the beach, this time she was able to get down and crawl around, which she really enjoyed. I think she was a bit skeptical at first about the loud sounds the waves were making, but after a while, she was okay with it all. I first tried to get her use to the water, and she enjoyed kicking her legs, but would then look up at me like, "Okay, Mom, pick me up now!" We stayed for about two hours and had a really nice time!

Ayla was full of sand, but we got her washed off and changed, and she was very sleepy. I don't know what it is, but there's something about the beach and salt air that makes you tired. She took a really good nap with me when we got home, and later that evening, we all went to Quizno's for dinner and opened our Mother's Day gifts. I opened mine from Ayla & Brett later that night, and I was delighted to find that I'd been given a pendant with Ayla's birthstone, which is also mine, and I got a charm for my charm bracelet of a mother and child intertwinded into the shape of a heart. :+]

New things: She does this new "fish face," she's much more balanced when pulling up, and most recently, my mom taught her how to say "hot," which sounds a lot like the way Jackson says it. He'll put his hand up to anything that we've told him is dangerous and say, "Ha!"

That cute little foot, in the sand!

Here she is playing with my mom! That's Brett in the background. He's shell hunting! BTW: Notice the lack of people on the beach. It's GREAT!!
Tossing sand in the air!

Here she is about to eat some sand, and below with it going in her mouth. I thought she'd cry or at least act irritated, but she wasn't bothered a bit by it! My mom assured me that when I was little I injested plenty of sand, and although some might argue, I believe I turned out okay!

Below are a few rhandom pictures I've taken since my last posting!
BTW: This is the "new" face she's been making. I didn't quite catch it well enough, but that's what she was doing. It's a "fish" face! :+}

Here she is last Friday, the afternoon of her 9 month well-baby visit. She was 9 months old this day! We learned she was 28 inches long and weighed 18.4 lbs., which put her in the 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight. She had a runny nose that day, but wasn't running fever.

A World of Wonder

2008-04-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

It seems these days that Ayla does something new each day, it may be her mannerisms, a new expression, a smile, a sound, or she finds something new to get in to. It really is a world of wonder at this age and stage, and I know that this is just the beginning for all the "new" things she'll be doing. I'm sure that I'll look back in a year from now and will realize how "naive" I was. :+}

She'll sit pretty still right now while someone turns the pages of a book and talks about it. It's cute the way she'll make certain expressions at the faces and things in the books. There's this monkey that a friend at church gave us, and when you give it a squeeze it sounds like a "mini" Darth Vader. When my dad and I first showed it to her she didn't like it and pushed it away. However, now she'll sit on the floor with it in front of her and talk to it. I'll place it in front of her and say "hello Ayla" in my best "monkey" voice and she'll coo at it with excitement, which reminds me that I need to get it on video. Now that it's getting a lot warmer, my mom has been putting her in the pool. I haven't seen it yet, but she says she really likes it. The other day when she was sitting on the floor at my mom's house my mom said, "splash splash, Ayla," and she did her hands like she was splashing in the pool. After being in the pool that one day she's become a lot more active in the bath tub. She's going to take swim lessons with Luke & Jackson this summer at the Farley's house, which should be lots of fun. Brett and I finished our walkway this evening when he got home. We placed flagstones down with gravel in between. It looks pretty good. I'll have to get a picture of our front and post it to the site. Little by little... we are getting things done around the house. Our next venture is to get a driveway poured in the next few weeks. Once that happens we'll tackle cleaning out the garage and bonus room so maybe it won't look like a band of Gypsies live in them any more. I've only got about a month or so more of school, and I'm looking forward to my 9 weeks off.
Last, but certainly not least important, our good friends Hollie and Stephen had their second son, Penn, on April 24th at exactly 8 PM. He weighed 9 lbs. 14.5 oz. We can't wait to meet him! They've posted pictures on their blog, and Stephen has yet again written a super sweet and emotional (unlike the way Stephen normally is) ;+) birth story that is worth reading whether you know them well or not. ;+] I've included two pictures of Hobs and Penn at the bottom of this post.
Okay, here are some of the pictures I've taken since getting back from Texas.

Ayla & Daddy in their Dallas Stars attire!

That big smile for mommy!

Here she is with a book in front of her. She gets pretty into those books!

Shortly after conquering crawling, she mastered pulling up.

Every now and again she'll get this look on her face that says, "Look what I did!"

Okay, I'm a little embarrassed to even post this picture, but obviously not enough to keep it off the blog. I won't be getting "Mom of the Year Award" for this one. In this picture I'm at the computer, actually working on the blog, and I'm allowing her to play with the blind cords to keep her busy. Yes, I know I am probably going to regret this in a few months. However, what I told myself is that if I didn't let her do it again she wouldn't remember that I actually allowed this to take place. :+] Oh, and another bad thing I started was allowing her to play with cords (that aren't in use). It's amazing how there can be 14 light up toys in the room, and she'll gravitate to the cords each and every time.

I thought the light coming through the window on this one was really pretty. By the way, in this one please note the missing blind cords. By this time I'd come to my senses and removed them from her reach! :+}

She's watching Brett and my dad in this one. They were out in the front cutting the path for our walk way.

This was taken last Sunday afternoon after church at my parent's house. Both kids like pounding away at the piano. One does it a bit harder than the other. Can you guess which one?? :+}

They really look like serious musicians!! :+}

Sweet babies! This was one evening after Justin, Sarah, and Jackson came over for dinner. We'd given the kids a bath after dinner, and I opened a new package of "unisex" onsies to put on the kids. They looked so cute and clean!!

Not that Ayla's isn't, but if that's not the sweetest look on Jackson's face... I don't know what is!

Sweet boy, who loves giving hugs and kisses, likes to laugh, enjoys running from you when you tell him to "come on," and finds ways to get into just about anything he wants. :+] He's our precious boy!

Ayla with another book!

I'm not sure what was up with that face, but I'm glad I got it! She makes me laugh!

Being silly with mommy. I really enjoy these moments.
She likes to crawl all over me, and I load her down with lots of kisses! :+]

Here she is playing hide and seek with me in the living room. I'd call her name from around the chair, and she'd crawl, then peek around to find me. I'd then say "boo" and she'd laugh or smile really big at me. This look is so adorable!

Those big, blue eyes!!

Last Saturday, I took her outside while I cleaned off the porch. I put this hat on her to keep the sun off her face, and I thought it looked so cute on her. She looks so much like I did when I was this age, especially with the hat on. While we were out there, my dad came and got her and took her to see my mom. While he was heading back I caught a glimpse of her from a distance and really noticed the resemblance. It was like I was looking at the pictures I'd grown up seeing of myself. :+}

Just playin' on the floor!

She's talking to me in this one, and it's a very good story! ;+]

Here's what I let her do when I'm trying to get something done in the kitchen. This night I was attempting to unload and load the dishwasher. She generally stays pretty content long enough to allow me time to get it done. I would let Jackson play with these when he was about Ayla's age, and now that he's older and stronger, these have become "weapons" and dangerous instruments in those little hands of his. He loves to bang things and make noise! :+}

Penn McCasland Baldridge

The Baldridge Boys, Hobson Neil & Penn McCasland!

And... that's all for now!

Our Spring Break Trip to Texas

2008-04-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

Over my Spring Break the three of us made a trip to Texas. While there, we were able to see both family and friends. I even got to see Peggy and Debby, two friends of mine I hadn't seen in a long time who will be moving to Florida very soon. They also got to meet Ayla! We hadn't made a long trip since we went for Thanksgiving, and on that trip Ayla slept just about the entire way there and back, so I was a bit anxious to see how this one would go. Since we left mid-day, in between playing with toys, she took an afternoon nap, and got a bit fussy once it got dark, but she watched about 20 minutes of Praise Baby DVDs and fell asleep to them. She was out until we pulled up to Brett's parent's house a little after 11 PM. Since we left earlier in the day to go back, although not terrible, the ride back wasn't quite as smooth.

Brett's parent's hadn't seen Ayla (in person) since Thanksgiving, and now that she's a little more aware of her surroundings, it was interesting to see her "look them over" before warming up. The following day Jaycee and Pam came over, and us girls went and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Jaycee was so good with Ayla, and Ayla was also "taken" by Jaycee and her vivid expressions. :+]

We got to see and stay with Stephen, Hollie, and Hobson for a night, and that is always enjoyable for us. Hollie was 8+ months pregnant and looked great! Hobson looks and acts very much like the big brother he's about to be. We hope we get to see picture of Penn very soon, and it shouldn't be much longer. ;+]

Before leaving for Texas, Ayla was well on her way to learning how to crawl. She practiced while we were there, and a few days after we got back she took her first actually crawl. One thing she did do while there in Texas was say and wave "bye bye" for the first time...it was the evening of April 2nd, after eating dinner at El Fenix, and she was saying/waving goodbye to her Aunt Kim. :+)

Since Brett's mom had to work each day, Ayla stayed up pretty late every night until either Ayla was worn out or until Oma was. Each night Ayla's Oma gave her a bath, and Ayla really enjoyed herself while also helping Oma get a head start on mopping her kitchen floor. ;+]

Updates: Ayla is now crawling and getting around quite well, and her first tooth barely poked through just yesterday (4-22-08). She's been a bit fussy during the night, and I'd wondered if that might be the reason. I just had to pause and go rock her for a moment, and although I don't get the sleep I once got, those are sweet moments for me! I've recently started changing up her "going to bed" routine. I've been rocking her and she's handled the transition quite well. She says a few words pretty well, and although I know she knows who I am, I haven't heard "ma ma" yet. I'm patiently waiting.
Okay, it's almost 2 AM, and I need to head to bed! Enjoy the pictures and captions!

The evening before we were leaving, Ayla curiously inspected the bags of "stuff" I was packing.

Ayla and her cousin Jaycee the first day we were there.

I love both this picture... and this "thing" Ayla was doing at that point (she's no longer doing it as much). :+( I just happened to catch Jaycee imitating Ayla and told her to look my way.

This is a sweet picture. Ayla happened to look at me, and I caught the moment!

Brett's sister Pam, Jaycee holding Ayla, and Brett's mom, attempting to hide behind the foliage!
While we were waiting to be seating for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. BTW: The 5 of us (yes, Ayla included) shared an enormous piece of chocolate, caramel cheesecake that Jaycee picked out.

Brett, outside his parent's house, before heading over to Hollie and Stephen's.

Ayla loves other kids. She gets so excited when she sees them and especially loves touching their faces. I caught her excitement the morning after we were there.

Hobson, lovin' on Ayla! :+}

Hobson was so good with her. Here he is helping her with her drink. :+]

Hobson, winking at me! :+}

Cute picture of Ayla's 2nd counsins, Madison and Liam. Both are about to turn 5 and will be going off to kindergarten in the fall.

Being a Dallas STARS fan sure is tiring!!

Dinner at El Fenix, and Ayla is trying a lemon. I love the look on her face. I'm not sure she can decide whether she likes it or not. This was our last evening in Texas.

Ayla and Garrett. :+} BTW: The toys in the background are NOT toys for Ayla. Those happen to be George's toys, Oma's 5th and most favorite child.

Garrett, Ayla, and Jaycee, in the excersaucer Ayla's Oma bought for her to use while we were there. Everyone came over to see us one last time before we left.

Ayla, Stephanie, and Jaycee.

Here Ayla is taking a bath our last night there. Boy, did she get to splashin'! :+} I also got video of this, which turned out pretty cute.

Here we are heading back, and Ayla is enjoying a very small chocolate chip cookie. However, you can't tell that by the mess on her face. I'm certainly not that mom who "sticks to the rule book" when it comes to what you are and are not supposed to do. ;+} I want Ayla to have rules, but I also want her to enjoy life!

It was worth every single drip of chocolate on her cute little face (not to mention on her bib, hands, in her hair, and on her car seat)! ;+]

Here she is watching Praise Baby. It was cute the way she'd curl her toes and twist her ankles as she watched. At this point she was on the verge of getting a bit more figity.

Past figity... and the melt down begins!

It's in full force here. She is not a happy passenger! She's sleepy, tired of being in that silly car seat, and wants to be held by her mommy!
This was the last picture I took of her before we got home.

This sweet picture was taken a day or so after we got back. It was a humid day, and her curls were really "blooming." :+}

Eggstra Special Sunday

2008-04-19T08:36:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was a really beautiful day! It was warm, but not too warm, and the sun was out and shinning! After church, we all met over at my parent's house for lunch and a "little" Easter egg hunt. Before we headed over, I took Ayla in our front yard to get a picture of her next to her Easter basket that she really cared nothing about, but I thought it was important to get her one for her 1st Easter. :+} However, not only did she get one from us, but there was more waiting for her at Grandma and Grandpa Davis's house. :+}

When we had her Easter pictures taken next to a real bunny, she wasn't so sure about that one, however, she was okay with this one. Maybe it was because it didn't move like the real one did.

Ayla and Jackson's Easter stuff at Grandma and Grandpa Davis's house.

The Easter pail that Grandma made for her. Jackson got one, too!

Spring is in the air...

2008-03-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

One can certainly tell by the way things are getting greener, and the fact that we're seeing fewer and fewer "chilly" days, that spring is here. These pictures were taken on March 15th. Many times I'd seen pictures of babies sitting in flower pots, and I knew that when I had a little girl, I wanted to do the same with her. I'd found the flower headband, and all I needed was the pot, which my mom was able to provide. At the time of the photo, Ayla was still at the stage where she wasn't quite sure what was on her head and that she even had the ability to remove it. Since then, she became quite interested first in the hats my parents would wear. My dad would let her take his hat off, and then he'd put it on her and she'd quickly remove it. Since then, she's become a lot less naive about the articles placed on her head. :+] Since it was also close to St. Patrick's Day (also Ayla's Grandpa Ken's birthday) and Easter, I'd also picked up a shamrock headband, and my mom and Sarah brought me the bunny ears one afternoon. The weather was relatively warm that "picture day," and she was quite patient with me. :+]

I think at this point she finally became curious as to what she was sitting in. :+]

This is a smile/smirk she does often. It looks so ornery to me.

I really love these close-up shots. :+]

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Because we've not taken many pictures of Ayla and Baylie together, we decided to pull Baylie over to see if we could capture a moment. This picture shows clearly why we try to keep Baylie at least a "tongue's distance" away from Ayla. Ayla has learned to anticipate the licks and gets prepared before Baylie's tongue even makes it to her. :+}

Brett was talking to both of them, which made for a great shot of both!

The Road Goes on Forever... and the Party Never Ends!

2008-03-17T17:40:00.001-07:00

Two Saturdays ago, Brett, Sarah, Justin, and I ventured to the quaint town of Brewton, Alabama to see Robert Earl Keen. He was actually head-lining for the Oakridge Boys, but Keen is the one we wanted to see. To the dismay of a few, we didn't even stay for the Oakridge Boys. It was a very fun day. We left around noon, to be sure we got good seats (it was first come first serve), and boy did we ever. When we got there, I don't think there was anyone under the age of 50 there (no offense to those half a century and older), but that just helps describe the crowd. We also weren't sure if any of them even knew who Robert Earl Keen was, and a few of you may be asking yourself the same thing, but once he started singing, Brett found and sang to the "lone" 50-something lady who knew of and loved Robert Keen. :+) Although Brett's kareoke style singing was entertaining, I actually think everyone in back of us was VERY ready for us to leave. ;+]

BTW: For those who don't know, Robert Earl Keen is a Texas songwriter who is very popular in Texas, and in many, mostly southern college towns!

Since he wasn't singing until 6, and were were there 5 hours early, Sarah and I took advantage of the beautiful day, and close proximity to the down-town area, and we made our way into a few of the shops. We really fell in love with the town. A friend of mine (who is from a town very close to Brewton) had said there was little there, so our expectations were very low. We were pleasantly surprised at what we found, and Sarah and I plan to take a "girls day" and make a trip back!

Brett, getting "set-up" and ready for an afternoon of waiting and listening to various head-liners. These ain't your parent's ol' lawn chairs!

Sarah, before we decided to head out and "explore" the town.Brett and Justin waiting for "the show" to begin. Although they don't look like it, they are having a great time! :+)

I think if Brett could have joined the Robert Earl Keen band that night, he would have!

Brett and Justin, enjoying the very chilly night air, while listening to, The road goes on forever and the party never ends! The look on Brett's face... tells it all!!

Ayla & Luke

2008-03-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night, while Brett and Bo were out of town for their regional meeting, Ayla and I went and stayed over at Aimee's house. So, technically, this was Ayla and Luke's first sleepover! Ayla and Luke were born two days apart.
Ayla was quite fascinated with my make-up bag!

We thought it would be fun giving them a bath together, and of course, the pictures would be priceless, especially when they hit the years when they don't think we're very cool! I'm thinking we'll be able to use a few of these for a little "innocent" blackmailing!

Because of Joshua, Luke has a lot more bath toys than Ayla does. Luke's bath time makes Ayla's look a bit on the "neglected" side! :+} Does anyone feel sorry for her?

Okay, we just couldn't resist this shot. I mean who doesn't love babies' bottoms???

In their PJ's, ready to play!

It's been a month...

2008-03-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

I realized today that it has been over a month since I've updated our blog. Ayla has changed so much this past month, and reading the last entry was a reminder. Her hair has grown quite a bit, she's now a pro at sitting up, she's starting to move around a lot more, she's eating many more solids (like chicken fried rice), and she's doing lots of babbling and squealing! Her favorite sounds at the moment are bababa, dadada, & mamama! She also does this little thing where she laughs like she just told herself a really good joke!! ;+}

Okay, here are pictures from this past month. I may go on tomorrow and add more captions because at the moment, Ayla is trying to crawl up my leg. Oops... she just fell over and is now crying. Gotta run!!!

The above two were of her sitting in our office/guest room. She's starting to be harder and harder to keep still. :+]

Yes, that would be a dill pickle!

She still loves bathtime, and I love taking pictures of her in the bath!

See...Look at all that hair!

Daddy feeding Ayla! She takes food much better from him.

Ayla loves puffs, airy, bite-sized pieces that melt in her mouth (literally)!

I LOVE this hat & this picture! I'm so glad it's a 6 to 12 month hat.

However, I love it so much...she may be wearing it until she's old enough to decide what's cool and what isn't..

More bath pictures! I just love the close up shots. I get the bath water pretty warm, and you can see that her little cheeks are flushed. Actually, both sets are, but you can only see the one. ;+]

Girl Time

2008-03-05T17:33:00.001-08:00

This past weekend we attended the Escambia Christian School charity dinner and auction. It was fun to get dressed up, and have a nice evening out with friends! Different tables are "dressed" by individuals who use their own personal china, and we were at Judy's table. Although we didn't buy anything, we had a great time!

Two weekends ago we had our church ladies' retreat at Fort Walton Beach, which is about 45 minutes down the coast from us. It's always a great time away from "life," and valuable time spent with Christian girlfriends. I was on the retreat committee last year, and this year it was Sarah's turn. It's definitely a whole other "retreat" when you've worked a year to plan it.
This was also Brett's first time over night ALONE with Ayla, and although he didn't want to act like it too much, he did a pretty good job. I also think he now feels more confident! He just has no idea how lucky we are to have a daughter who sleeps through the night and takes several 2+ hour naps a day! :+)
Just the other night our friends, Aimee and Bo, were telling Brett that we'd probably find out with our next one!

Sarah and I, on the balcony, off the meeting room where our retreat was held. The Emerald Coast sure is a beautiful place!

My roommates (me, Corina, Aimee, and Becca)
Each year the retreat committee rooms together, which is why Sarah wasn't with us. I also have to say that Corina is due at the end of April, and boy does she look so darn cute pregnant. She's having a little girl, and she's naming her Liberty Jayne. :+}

Judy and I... Judy was on the retreat committee this year with Sarah.
Sarah and her mom, who flew all the way from Dallas to attend the retreat. It was great seeing her and Sarah's Grandmother (Jackson and Ayla's GG)

Corina & Aimee
The theme for Friday night was a "Luau," so this was at the entrance.

Look Mom, No Hands!

2008-02-02T21:10:00.001-08:00

Well, Ayla is finally sitting up consistently without help...and without toppling over. The first few pictures here were taken on the 26th of January. She'd been doing it off and on for a few days, but this was the first day she'd done it with me for minutes at a time. She'd first teeter for a few moments and then would fall over. I was a bit surprised that she wouldn't cry when she topple over, but she'd just get this "whoa" look on her face, and I'd sit her up again. Each time she'd go longer and longer without falling over. In just a day or two, she was a semi-pro athlete. They learn so fast... and she amazes me daily at the things she'll start to do. The other night was the first night she sat up in the bath tub, and she did quite well. We are going to have to get her some more bath toys because right now other than the 4 items I bought her, the spoon and bowl are her favorite tub-toys.

After the success we had with rice cereal, we moved on to oatmeal, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, bananas, and peaches. Her least favorites have been the bananas and peaches, and I think her favorite thing so far are the sweet potatoes. I'm pretty happy about that becaues it's one of my favorite foods, too. She dribbles a lot while doing it, but she's learning to drink from a sippy-cup. I got her a handle that fits onto her bottles, and she's starting to figure out that she can hold both handles and drink. She still love "her original" source of food the best though, which is quite okay with me. I enjoy that time with her, and it tickles me how excited she gets when she knows it's coming. ;+}

Ayla's Aunt Sarah is visiting her family in Texas, and she made Ayla promise not to do anything too cute while she was gone. :+] So, Aunt Sarah, you better hurry back because she can't hold out much longer.

I've added quite a few pictures here because I not only am using this as a "scrapbook" for Ayla, but I also know that her Oma can't get enough! ;+]

Here she is sitting on the floor playing with a few of the toys she has. The phone sitting in front of her is one of her favorites. It lights up and plays music, and it (like everything else) goes straight to her mouth.

This is a look she's been giving when she gets frustrated. She also does this "blowing" thing with her mouth. It's pretty funny to see that even at this early age she sure can show us her emotions. :+]

We LOVE this hat on her, and it's a big hit any where we go! :+] It's cute when she turns her head sharply the balls on each side of the hat shake. This will definitely be one of those items I keep forever.

This is her new smile! It looks kind of like a "half-hearted" sort of smile, and she holds it much longer than she does her other "bigger" smile.

First time sitting up in the bath tub. She's studying the water pretty hard here.

I wanted to show how much hair she is getting. It's mainly on the sides and back of her head, and we think it's coming in blonde. Sometimes it looks like it's got a bit of a red tint to it, so we wonder whether she and her cousin Jaycee ray might have the same color hair.

I just love her smile. What parent doesn't love to see their baby smile!!!

I have a hard time catching her doing things on camera because she become more interested in the camera than she does in what she was doing before I grabbed it! Here she's trying to reach for it, which is something she does a lot!

We took this the other night before we went to go eat. You can see the bag of "dinner" I've got for her. :+]
I think this night the menu called for green beans and rice cereal.

Here she is in her "sock monkey" pajamas this morning. I can now sit her by the door as I'm getting stuff ready. It won't be long before she'll be able to move around and get away from me.
These pajamas are cute enough to wear out, and of course I'm going to have a bow on her that matches. :+] BTW: No one mistook her for a boy in this outfit.

Bath time tonight. She's got a bit of a cold, so I went and got her some vapor bubble bath. I'm not convinced that it helps with her congestion, but the bubbles actually last throughout the entire bath. I'm not sure that she really notices them, but she gets them all over her face and in her mouth.

This was towards the end of her bath. She only took one nap today, so she was pretty tired. Brett was watching her in the bath while I ironed his clothes for his trip tomorrow. Even when she's tired she still loves being in the bath tub. :+}

Yeah! Ayla likes rice cereal!!!

2008-01-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

We'd tried rice cereal last Saturday night when my parents came over for gumbo, but she got one little taste of it in her mouth and her lips stayed pursed. It's been about a week, so I thought I'd try it again. Much to my pleasure... she not only opened up her mouth, but she grabbed for the spoon and couldn't seem to get enough. Once the spoon got in her mouth, when I could get it past her hands that were reaching for it, she would suck on the spoon. I think most of it actually went down! The only thing I'll do differently tomorrow night is strip her down first because she sure was sticky when we finished. That stuff, combined with the breastmilk I mixed it with, was like glue when it dried. :+] Here are a few of the shots Brett took as I was feeding her. We also got video, but I've not quite learned how to add video yet to the blog. I can only handle so much "learning" at one time. BTW: She's in my favorite "hippo" pajamas, which she is about to outgrow. :+(

Sucking on the spoon

Reaching for more

Again... sucking on that spoon

"Every last drop!"
Here she is sucking on her hands... she wanted to make sure she got it all!

She's nice and shiny here... coated in rice cereal!

"Give me more!"
As you can see, she was ready for more!

All finished, but boy do my hands taste better than they normally do!!

"Bath time after rice cereal!"
She obviously liked the spoon. It may have to be her new bath toy!

How could anyone resist a face like this!!!

The following are a few "random" pics I have that I wanted to share.

These three were taken last Saturday night before grandpa and grandma Davis came over to eat dinner with us. Yes, they only live next door, but we still like to get dressed up for them! :+} Plus, she's got so many cute outfits that if I don't take advantage of putting her in them when someone other than me can see her, she'll out grow them.

I love this smile!! It almost looks onery... :+}

Here she is sitting next to Daddy on the couch. She loves her hands!

I don't normally (if ever) take Ayla out in pajamas, and if she's wearing something that doesn't scream "girl," I generally will find a bow to put on her cute little head. However, one night we went to go eat dinner after Brett got home from work, and since I already had her pajamas on her, she wore them. These were the pajamas she wore, and all night people kept saying things like, "He's so cute!"

I agree that the pajamas are probably supposed to be for a boy, and although I don't love it when people mistake her for a boy, it really bothered Brett. In fact, he requested that I never take her out in anything like this again. :+]

"Basket Time"

2008-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Last week was my first week back at work. Although I was very sad to go back, and my house is not as "picked up" as I would like for it to be, I'm handling it MUCH better than I thought I would. Instead of focusing on what needs to be put away, vacuumed, or washed, I focus on her when I get home. I know that in 30 years... she won't care about or remember the dishes that are currently in my sink, not to mention the other stuff that is "littering" the house.

My mom is keeping Ayla, which accounts for much of my being put at ease. I literally wake her up as I'm walking out the door to then drive her on my lap and down the gravel road to hand her off to my mom. Unless I have milk to bring along with me, I take nothing but Ayla with sleepy eyes, still in her pajamas. I know that if I were in any other situation, my anxiety level would be so much greater. I am very blessed to have the situation I do, and focusing on that has also helped me keep things in perspective. I know Ayla is with someone who loves her just as much as I do and that is invaluable. :+] Although I will never be able to express it enough, I dearly appreciate my mom!

I know it might sound trite, but one of my biggest concerns about going back to work was whether I'd be able to get dressed and out the door in the morning without being completely stressed. However, except for one morning where she didn't follow her normal routine, each morning she has either stayed asleep until I'm ready to walk out the door with her, or she's woken early enough for me to get her back to sleep so I could go and get ready. I also very fortunate that she's such a good sleeper! :+]

So... my mom's got Ayla each day and Jackson on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Needless to say, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are much more hectic days. Last Wednesday, when I went to pick Ayla up, my mom had both kids on the floor playing. Ayla isn't a good "tummy time" baby... she does not enjoy being on her tummy, and I think it's got something to do with what she isn't able to see from the vantage point. She much prefers to be sitting up (or in mommy's arms), however, she's not quite able to do that on her own. The Bumbo seat is great, but she can't get to toys that fall out of "Bumbo reach," and she then gets frustrated that she can't get to them. That day when I went to pick her up, my mom had them on the floor and Ayla sitting in a small clothes basket with toys in front of her. It was perfect for her because the sides and back gave her support, and she was able to have toys in front of her that were contained within the basket. Plus... her cousin could also still get to her to give her his many hugs, but the basket offered a little protection (he can be a rough hugger). ;+) It was a great idea... and much cheaper than a Bumbo! That same day, I went home and, after spending some time with her, I placed her in the small basket I had. She played in it for about 30 minutes, which was just enough time to get dinner started. So, here she is enjoy some "basket play time" on two different occasions.

Happy New Year!! What a year it was!!!

2008-01-03T01:06:00.001-08:00

Our first Christmas with Ayla!!

2008-01-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great 1st Christmas with Ayla Grace. Although she won't remember any of it, it was a special one for us, and we've got plenty of pictures to share with her! We spent Christmas Eve at our house, Christmas day at my parents, and New Year's Day at Justin and Sarah's new house. My camera's memory card had an error so I lost Christmas day pictures. ;+/ I'm going to have to get the pictures from Sarah and Justin's camera.
Instead of telling you about it here, I've simply added pictures with captions. The reason I always upload so many pictures is because I have a hard time making decisions... and we also take lots of photos, which makes it extra hard. So, I just figure...
"The more the merrier!" ;+]

Our 2007 Christmas card picture
Ayla and Daddy

Ayla and Mommy... she was talking to me
Our first Christmas tree in our house... It's so pretty that I hate to take it down. In fact, I asked Brett what he thought about leaving it up all year long. ;+]

Ayla in her "Santa" suit. We actually bought this for Jackson last year, but he was so little and it was huge on him. It fit Ayla perfectly this year so we borrowed it! I love this face she makes it like she's saying, "What are you doing to me?"

We went to Zoo Lights this year at the Gulf Breeze Zoo. We had so much fun... we think we're going to make it a tradition!

Ayla and Jackson... ready to go see all the lights!

Sarah, Mom (Grandma Sherry), and Amy

Jackson Eli... with his paci upside down. He obviously isn't bothered a bit! :+]

Brett & Amy

Ayla, as Sarah says, "Doing what she does best!"

I LOVE this picture of Jackson. He is always ready to go go go!!!

Ayla and Aunt Sarah... they match quite well! :+]

Ayla, Sarah, Amy, and Jackson

Ayla with Santa... He wasn't the best Santa, but as you can see... she is quite content with the "ol' guy!"

Grandpa and Grandma with Jackson

Ayla in the outfit she wore the Sunday before Christmas. Stephen, Hollie, and Hobson gave this adorable, "Mrs. Claus" outfit to her!

Jackson, Grandpa Jack, and me on Christmas Eve.
We've decided to make it a tradition to do a pajama breakfast on Christmas Eve. Everyone will wear their PJs, we'll eat a big breakfast, and then open gifts. The kids had matching/coordinated "sock monkey" pajamas, which we also want to make a tradition to get them matching PJs every year. We got Grandpa Jack "Santa" pajamas... since he loves Santa so much!! ;+]

Ayla and Jackson... Jackson has recently learned a few body parts (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair), and he's showing he knows where Ayla's eyes are in this pictures. He is so cute with Ayla... he likes to give her lots of hugs. It's precious and melts my heart!!! She's pretty enamored by him, too. Her face lights up when he comes near her, and she watches him very closely. :+}

Ayla Grace in her "sock monkey" pajamas

"The Gang" in our pajamas. It took quite a few to get everyone looking at the camera. I think Ayla is the only one not "cooperating" in this one, but at least she's looking in the right direction.

Although they may "kill" me for adding this one.
This picture shows how we all felt by the end of the night! :+]
Actually, truth be known... this shows how we are most of the time!!!! :+}

Jackson Eli turns 1!

2007-12-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

Although Jackson's 1st birthday was actually on December 2nd, this past Saturday we celebrated it. He had a "book party," which was such a good idea because he now has plenty of books in his library. We may also have to do the same for Ayla's 1st birthday party. :+] Here are a few pictures from his "big" day, with a few others thrown in. :+)

To go with the "book" theme, Ayla had on a "Thing 2" outfit, which is a Dr. Seuss character (for those who don't know). Jackson had a "Thing 1" t-shirt to match Ayla, but he didn't wear it until later in the day.

I'm sure one day Ayla is really going to "love" this picture, but this was the best part of her "Thing 2" outfit! :+} Aren't those rolls on her legs cute?! I think this might be the "feature" she inherited from her mommy (Ha ha).

Jackson is really digging in, with Ayla watching. In the second picture it actually looks like she's wondering what it is he's doing. Either that... or she'd really like for him to share a piece of his cake. :+]

Jackson and Makayla... Both Makayla and her sister Olivia were such great helpers. They are friends from church, and they both love playing and helping with Jackson and Ayla. They are going to be great babysitters! :+]

Jackson with Grandma Sherry

Grandma Sherry reading Jackson one of his new books

Jackson and Sarah... We got him 3 Dr. Seuss books, but we also got him this stocking, too! His daddy is a big Seminole fan, and when he says, "Gooooo Seminoles," Jackson raises both hands. Justin is very proud that he's taught him this. However, I will add that he'll also do it when I say, "Gooooo Gators." :+}

This is Jackson's "new" smile, which is absolutely adorable!!! It's a bit hard to catch him doing it because he first smiles, and then he'll quickly crinkle his nose.

Jackson reading his book. We'll have to teach him that he's got to turn them right side up!

Of course it's "the wrapping" that always gets their attention!

Ayla and "lil' Brett"

Jackson and Justin in our backyard making s'mores

Ayla on the floor in front of our Christmas tree
She is really drooling a lot more lately.

Jackson taking a bath in our tub... He loves playing in the water! We can't wait for Ayla to be big enough for them to take baths together. However, I told Sarah last night that we'll have to stop it by the time they are in middle school or else people might start "talking." ;+]

He's got his mom's big, beautiful eyes!

Who does she look like?

2007-12-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

Like all parents, we wondered what our baby would look like, but no matter how hard we tried, we simply could not imagine what she'd look like. As soon as I laid eyes on Ayla I thought she looked like Brett. Almost everyone who knows him that sees her says, "Boy, she looks like her daddy!" I know that dads want their children to look like them, but for moms, it's something altogether different. After all, we carried them for 9+ months, it was our bodies that morphed into something we no longer recognize so they could enter this world, and it is us who continue to lose sleep to nurture and nourish them.... so we'd really like for our children to come close to resembling us. I recently saw my Aunt Jackie and my cousin Russ (who was older when I was born), and both of them said, "She looks like you when you were a baby." They have no idea how great that made me feel. Well, depending on who you ask, some say Ayla looks like me... and some say she looks like Brett. One evening, Brett pulled up a few of our baby pictures, and we could see Ayla in both of us. I've posted a few of our baby pictures that follow a few of Ayla. We'd love to hear what you think. :+] Click on the comments link and let us know... :+]

Okay, these first four pictures are of Brett.

The next four pictures are of me, Amy.

Now, here's Ayla Grace! :+]