Must needed update.

Alright so I totally do not get on the computer that much lately except for a minute here and a minute there. I have been lacking on the blog I know. So here is what I have missed.

EASTER

This was Brian's first Easter home with us in a LONG TIME. He always seems to have to work. This year he was yet again working but found a guy to trade with so he could spend the day with us. Plus his job this year does not allow him to watch Conference while he works like the cozy days at Pick-a-flic family video.

Saturday we went out on our adventure in Kansas City to Legends so see the easter bunny.

I will have to do a post later with the pictures the girls took. And from now on I think once a week i will do a "through the eyes of babes" post with pictures the girls take on their camera.

The Petting Zoo with Farm animals, big hit!

We weren't so sure about the pig but we loved the NICE ducks!

Isa adored the bunnies!

And the ducks adored Layla!

The East bunny and our free picture... gotta love the bring your own camera places!

The Easter bunny... I always thought of it as a boy but this kinds looks girly!

The girls thought it was HILARIOUS that the bunny had shoes on.

Me and Layla so excited to be waiting in line!

Can you tell that Isa is not so thrilled. Plus this is the look on her face all the time lately when dealing with Dad. Who knows why but she is PMSing lately.

Just as a side note that seems to go so well with this photo. Since easter Isa really has been PMSing and there is an attitude that i am not sure what to do with. I think the closer every year it gets to her birthday the more attitude she gives us. And then after she has moved onto the next age she is great. It is like a wonderful goodbye to the phrase that we will NOT miss. Three years old seems to be the bossy age. She simply tells me what we are going to do as if she is in charge. And coupled with it comes attitude when i correct her. NO NEVER and YOU JUST WANT ME TO DIE seem to be common phrases lately. But after a dozen fights this week with this little cutie I think she is realizing I am not going to yell and I sure as heck and not going to cave. "I AM THE MOMMY NOT MY THREE YEAR OLD!" and if it takes we a month she is going to learn that too. But I mean really how do you fight with such a darling little girl... oh yeah she has a dark side saved just for us!

Spring is here

Gotta love spring and outdoor tea parties here we are.

Blogging via phone

So I thought I would check out my new app that lets me blog from my phone. Not that I need any other reason to blog but hey this means that i can blog while I sit in the living room cozy on my couch laying down and I can vent about my day to all my gals out there. Any really isn't that why we blog. To have a moment with our friends or family now and then. For me I blog like I am chatting it up with friends. Sometmes that makes sense and sometimes it is just to feel like I am heard in my world of drama.

My new addition....

As most of you know I really want a baby. And one day I might get my wish but for now I get my fill with this little cutie.

Meet Miss Shannon

The girls and I just adore her. She keeps us smiling all day long. I am so glad that I get to watch her because it gives me my much needed baby fill and guarantees that we will be good buddies. Today we sat and rocked in our glider as she drank her bottle just gazing at each other. It really isn't good for the baby wanting but you know I won't trade it. She is so great and so much fun. Anyways I just wanted to share what I am keeping myself busy with!

Blogging to blog

You ever get tired of talking to tiny people who don't seem to want to talk about anything that is interesting to you? That is my day today! I figured I would then just talk to the blogging world for a minute to fulfill my adult conversation for the morning. The Pest Man came in and out in about 2 minutes so that thrilling conversation just didn't meet my fill!

Anyways my kids seem to think that yelling at me that I am wrong is the best way to get me to cave into their demands. This week that is the struggle I must attempt to fix. However it tries my patience more than anything else... of aside from the demands that are just told to me. For instance this is what I just heard from Layla,

"I want your phone to play the puzzle game. I want to play the game so where is your phone."

"No Layla you are not having my phone today."

"Then I will play on the computer, so move over now."

"Layla you have to wait until I am finished."

"You done yet?"

I just sign and keep typing, fun sounding isn't it. Now she is currently having her stuffed animal tap my hands while I am typing hoping to annoy me enough that I cave. Little does she know that I am fired up and not backing down today.

This week my motto is "I am the Mama so don't even try it!"

Anyways I am off now to do some spring cleaning in my home which seems cleaner then it actually is. Yesterday I tacked my side table and now it is Brian's turn, wish me luck sorting through what he feels is keepable! (not sure if that is a word but spell check didn't reject it so i think I am good!)

Anyways I am off seeing I can hear in my ear.... "how long is this going to take, you need your phone right, you get to say that I don't use it right, I want to play a game puzzle on your phone, where is dad's phone, I don't want to play a game puzzle on the computer because it is like the hardest thing ever, mom can i use your phone for a game puzzle right now.... "and it keeps going and now there or tears! Ahh the joys of dramatic girls!

my new addition

well I am happy to report that my first morning with three girlies is going well. I am taking care of my best friends little girl a couple days a week now. currently she is passed out in my arms while my two are curled up in my lap. if only every day started like this. anyways I will post pictures of our part time munchkin later.

The things kids pick up

The girls have lots of things they say over the course of the day that have me thinking I should watch what I say or I will have two mini mes walking around and I am not sure that is a good thing. Here are some new phrases or funny quotes we hear around here everyday.

"WHAT THE HECK?" this is said anytime something does not go as planned or if they find something surprising. Good thing we DO NOT swear or this one would be dangerous!

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" This is said everyday because it always follows something spilling and unfortunately things spill EVERY DANG DAY! BLAH!

"FOR REAL?" Layla uses this one a lot. Anytime you tell her something she just thinks we made up which I swear I don't do very often, this comes out!

"OUT OF MY BUBBLE!" I taught the girls about personal space last week. They tend to be so close to me that I feel their breath while they speak and it makes me CRAZY! So I put my arms out and say when they came to talk to me they must stay out of the bubble or I miss half of what they say. Now Layla uses it against Isa. It is funny though. The other day Layla was running around the house saying "you are in my bubble get out get out, get out of my bubble" while Isa ran after her giggling trying to "pop" her bubble with her finger. I know I shouldn't laugh but it is SO FUNNY!

"THIS HAS GOT AN ISSUE" My mom is to blame for this one. Every time something isn't working especially electronic equipment my mom says that it has an issue. Layla says this ALL THE TIME.... while Isa carries around the remotes. She has become a remote crazy kid. She is totally in charge of the TV at all times and LOVES to skip chapters so she can watch her favorite part over and over and over again until you want to scream. But it is so stinking hard to yell at that adorable child so, we hide the remote at about 11 and don't seem to find it until 7 pm!

"Truth" Layla tells me this when she is making up wild stories. She can see the look in my eyes like I am on to her and she just blurts it out. It goes like this,

Layla: "dad says that we can have 2 cookies now that he is home."

Mom: "wait until he gets out of the shower so I can ask him."

Layla:"He said we need to finish them before he get done.... TRUTH! For real mom he said it, Truth!"

At this point I just sit there until she gets the point that I am not falling for it to which she yells another key phrase,

"YOU HURT MY FEELINGS" This is yelled anytime the girls do not get their way. And they ALWAYS yell it when they get a punishment. We get yelled at everyday for putting our foot down and not allowing the children to run our home. Go Figure right!

"YOU ARE MAKING ME CRAZY" I say this a lot and now I hear it about every hour. The girls just seem to follow each other round annoying the crap out of each other all day long. And they tell each other this right before they get seriously upset. At least they have learned that you say this before you actually get upset and yell or put someone in time out, or better yet hide in the bathroom crying for a few minutes. (p.s. they don't do the last one that is just me!) Anyways we thought they might like time apart to stop bugging each other but that if just followed by my personal favorite....

THE LOOK! Does any other parent get "the Look" from their kids. You know that you are SO DUMB MOM look. I get it a lot and really don't know why I truly think I am being helpful or smart. But as I have learned over the last month. I know nothing, my children are so much smarter then me, I should really just let them be the adults and I will watch tv and play all day right!

I hope to capture these of film soon for your viewing pleasure. So for now imagine me hiding behind corners with camera in hand trying not to laugh as to make the video shake! See I made you smile just thinking of it!

Sundays are for sleeping

We all sat down as a family this afternoon to watch the best movie ever, The Emperor's New Groove. Mom and Isa fell asleep and spent a good two hours cuddled on the couch. I couldn't resist capturing the moment. Here's to Sunday afternoons hanging out with the kids.

*Todays thought brought to you by Brian and Layla, partners in candid photography.

Trying to make a difference....

Most of you already know that both my daughters were born premature. But for those who I have never shared their story with this post is for you. And incase you have any questions as to why I think your couple bucks might make a difference to me let me share my story.

My wonderful husband and I had only been married for 4 months when we found out we were expecting our first daughter. It was a shock and joy to dive into the world of parenthood. We did everything a first time parent does to prepare for a new addition. We registered, had a shower, went to every doctor appointment together with a list of questions. And until 31 weeks everything seems to be going perfect. After just a week of troubles I found myself probably double the size I was at 24 weeks. And I do not mean the belly. I mean I added about 65 pounds in 1 week. I was scared and worried. The doctor assured us that bed rest should reduce the swelling and keep our daughter safe. Just a couple days later my husband found me curled up in sevear pain in the middle of the night. We rushed to the hospital.

The doctors were confused at what could be causing the pain. After an hour of debating between bed rest at the hospital, ultrasounds, or advanced tests they felt it was best to do a c-section. They were not sure what the cause of my complications because I really had no other symptoms but thankfully my doctors were religious and felt the same prompting I felt from my loving father in heaven... "something is really wrong!" After rushing into an emergency c-section what felt like just a moment after arriving they opened my up to find the shocking answer to my problem. I had a very rare placental abruption. Rare not only because it was a complete seperation of my placenta from my uterine wall that happened all at once, but also because I had no bleeding which almost always is the first sign of trouble. In these cases the child only has 12 hours after the abruption before they most likely will have little to no chance of survival. As wellt he mother only has a few hours past that due to sevear blood loss and risk of seizers.

Layla in her first real home... we brought her lots of clothes and blankets so she would know how much we care and that we were always with her even when we couldn't stay at the hospital.

My beautiful daughter Layla was born right at 11 hours and 30 minutes after I first felt the pain. It is truely a miracle that the two of us survived. Layla spent the next 5 weeks growing and developing in the NICU. Thank fully she was at our local hospital we were able to visit her several times a day. However nothing can describe the joy and pain we felt in our first meeting. Layla was so fragile and was so unstable when I first met her that we were not allowed to hold her. We could only touch her small feet. They were as tiny as half my index finger. I could not even rub her little foot but merely hold in between my fingers. As I lay there in my own bed holding onto her tiny foot I sobbed. I loved this tiny weak child more than I thought humanly possible. I would have given anything for her to make it through. She was tiny but beautiful and she was all mine. As many of you parents know that first time with your baby is precious. For most you have the joy of holding them in your arms and looking into their eyes. After a week we were finally blessed with those precious moments but what a long and scary week that was for us all.

Our tiny little girl a few days before she came home. She finally learned to eat from a bottle and got to remove the g-tube from her noise... so much cuter without it!

After 4 weeks she was growing so much, or at least in our eyes!

Layla in her preemie outfit at home. This is a typical preemie size which is suppose to fit up to 5 pounds. As you can see it swallows her. She was so tiny but such a fighter.

This is Layla at 4 months. She finally is fitting into size 0-3 months. Next to her is the only outfits that remotely fit her when she came home. It is preemie outfit that hung off her tiny 4 pound body. Layla was born 3 pound 11 ounces. At her smallest she was a mere 2 pounds 15 ounces and she came home a gigantic 4 pounds 5 ounces.

After a year with Layla we found out we were expecting our second daughter. We wanted to really be prepared this time around so we saw a specialist and set up a plan that insure a full term pregnancy. We met with the doctor twice a month and I kept my body in shape. I did moderate exercise to help my heart and body as healthy as I could. And I ate better than I ever have in my life. Yet at 30 weeks I found myself short of breath and gaining weight like crazy. The doctor put me on strict bed rest 23 1/2 hours a day. I could use my half hour in 2 minute increments to go to the bathroom, shower, or move from one bed in the house to the next. This lasted for a week and a half. At that point I was not showing any signs of improvement so they moved me to my cozy hospital room. I sat there for 4 days alone while my husband made plans for our daughter. He called in all reinforcements because the doctors felt I would remain in the hospital the duration of my pregnancy still 8 weeks.

Me in my cozy new home, hooked up to who knows what!

After 4 days the doctor told us that things were not improving and they couldn't wait any longer because of the risks for both Isabel and I. They were afraid the same complications I had with Layla might accur and already having preacclampsia and toxima my body couldn't take much more. The risk of seizers was greatly increasing so we sceduled my c-section for that day. Thankfully the medical field had been able to develop a steriod for the development of the lungs in infants that Isa was given the day before her delivery. It was a painful shot to say the least but it made such a huge difference.

This is Isa once we were allowed to come visit. It is always a bit heartbreaking seeing them struggle!

Isa was born yet again 8 weeks premature but was a huge 5 pounds 1 ounce. We thought she was a giant! Thankfully the steriods she was given took effect just as it should and she was only on oxygen for a few hours. This meant that we could hold her after just one day. The first day we were at least allowed to sit with her as long as we wished as long as she wasn't having tests run.

For those who don't know the tube in her nose is what I mentioned earlier as a g-tube. This tube travels all the way down to her stomach. This is how you have to feed babies who are too weak or who haven't learned to eat from a bottle. The girls used these up until 2 or 3 days before they came home.

After 10 days in the NICU Isa was allowed to come home with us. And it was such a blessing to have her home. We were amazing at how much the medical field had learned in just the 19 months between our two daughter were born. They did so many things different and made many changes that helped us bring our daughter home so much sooner and she was so much stronger as well.

There are so many advanced in medicine each year. And with the help from March of Dimes the advances in childhood care many more parents enjoy the blessings of healthy babies. Many one day we will too. The cost for the two girls is far more than we could calculate. When you think about donating to March of Dimes I hope you think of my two wonderful daughters. They are my little miracles. And though things haven't always been easy for us we are blessed just having them here on this earth teaching us everyday to be better parents. Children teach us so much about life. I am thankful that I have my children with me each day to remind me of how much I have been given. I hope to raise just a small amount of money to help even just one family. I know the heart ache they feel. I feel it everyday as I see the babies around me. One day we hope to have another child.

And I hope that maybe just maybe I might be one of those parents who have a healthy strong full term baby. I hope to be one of the parents I am fighting to support. I want to be that mother who gets to hold her baby just moments after her child is born. And I want that joy bringing that baby home healthy and strong. I am walking so that maybe I might one day get to be that mom. But if not maybe just maybe I might help someone else get to have that same dream. I hope this monster long post helps you understand why I am fighting for this cause. I am walking in honor of Layla and Isabel and all those who helped us bring them and keep them here.

Layla and Isa their first time together.

My girls now... still a little weaker than the average kid but they stick it out together!

Our little Family working together to build a better future for our family and other families around the world!

Randomness

I want to officially thank Kristi for this her amazing pie crust recipe. I put it to good use for the first time on this bad boy!

Doesn't he look good. I toyed around with a few ideas and came up with a wonderful recipe for a chicken pot pie. And with her crust it was perfect. I actually didn't have shortening so I used slightly less butter and it was amazing. Talk about enjoyable and pretty healthy! Anways I just had to post!

Also I finally figured out a way to put up my necklaces without them getting all mixed up.

See doesn't that just work nice. My sister gave me the idea and I LOVE IT!!! Not that I actually wear jewelry often because I don't do anything but stay home, work out, or grocery shop. But on the off chance I remember before running out the door on sunday morning or Brian and I go on a date the doesn't just involve a cosy movie on the couch i have them to wear all nice and laid out!

Last I told you this is random... my mom made us curtains! Here are some quiet horrible pictures of my wonderfully beautiful (however not photographed well) windows!

P.S. I now have long curtains to go on the side of my window but I haven't taken a photo of them yet so I will post our finished bedroom window again later!

My new toy!

After having a cell phone for about 12 years I have finally come into the cool crowd and got a fancy Nancy phone of my very own. After searching plans and services we decided to stick it out with T-mobile because really our plan is dirty cheap compared to the competitors. Actually compared to it's self. I will never get rid of the my faves plan! Anyways here is my new toy!

I know it looks much better in the ad so here is what a great camera makes her look like! (and yes it is a girl and I refer to her as such... come on don't you do the same in in ad-omit objects!!!)

Anyways back to me rambling... My phone is fun. I have set up two notification sounds to let me know one, if i have a text which are usually notes from my sweet heart or two an email! Sometimes I get junk mail but 95 percent of the time it is a comment on a blog or facebook status. Of course it is easier to look at these online but that mean turning on the computer and that is a dangerous thing. I could spend hours sitting here browsing. Instead I just read and go about my day. It is like getting little love notes around the house. They make me happy! So for all those leaving comments of various kinds thank you, they make me smile all the day long.

And I have found a fun little game I play way too much called gem miner. For those with smart phones check it out it is addictive! Anyways this is why I haven't been online a lot I just am cutting down and enjoying the tid bits I get on my phone! (P.S. did I mention that I get unlimited data for 20 bucks! I LOVE IT!!!)

Working out

okay so I am lazy and I do not want to type two posts so I am putting up a detailed post about my love hate relationship with exercise on my other blog... just go here to read

A Place to Call My Own

Miss Isabel Tenay

I forgot to post this one earlier... isn't Isa's smile so stinking beautiful!

Where to start with Miss Isa. She is definitely a special little one. She keeps me on my toes and occasionally sends me into seclusion in the bathroom crying. I have decided that we have a hard time together because we are SO MUCH A LIKE. She is the sweetest child when she wants to be but is stubborn to boot. She never backs down. And even when she apologizes you are well aware that she doesn't mean that you are right. She also has a set of lungs on her that get constant use. She is one of those kids that only have two levels. Happy normal and kind of quiet and then ear piercingly loud! But even with her constant yelling at anyone who dares tell her what to do or rush her we still love her so so much.

I have decided that she is going to be the girl that is always keeping people waiting. She is going to be in the bathroom or room changing her clothes until the car is pulling out of the driveway. Yesterday is a perfect example of this. She had her clothes, socks, and shoes on. She even had her bag packed ready to go out the door and as we are waking out the door she decides that she needs sunglasses. So we tell her we are walking out the door and she needs to come get in her seat and..... SCREAMING!!!! After a ten minute fight to get her to stop yelling at the family for rushing her she calms down and as she walks out the door steals her sisters sunglasses. We kindly inform her that she has to give them back and then.... SCREAMING! So she lost all her toys she had packed and pushed her out of the doorway so we could close the door and get going since we are now leaving 15 minutes later... and suddenly she is quiet and happy. We turn around and see.....

A smiling happy Isa holding Layla's favorite stuffed animal and Layla giving her a hug to calm her down. I am glad that all it takes is just a little sisterly love to make everything better. of course I prefer not to have the screaming on the top of her lungs because she doesn't get her way. But patience is a quality we are learning thanks to Isa. Oh well what we can do but hang in there another week or two until this phase moves onto something else. Two weeks ago she didn't yell but instead would get out of bed and return the hoards of things she had stashed someone in her room to it's proper place OUTSIDE her room. This was a way she could get out of bed for at least an hour or two without us getting upset. We tried to crack down on her but she was just so stinking cute and super quiet that we just laughed and let her be. That phase passed and now she goes to bed in seconds after her head hits the pillow. I am sure that is because she is worn out from all the yelling. What can we do? really!

Isa is becoming a grown up more and more each day. She truly believes that she is just as big as Layla. She most of the time I think she really is. I wish that she was still my cute cuddly baby but she has grown up. She is also learning to spell and write her letters. Writing is still harder for her but the memorizing stuff seems easier. She and Layla both have their daddy's brain. They are smart little girls. It takes them one time to hear a song before they have all the words and tune down. And they know when you leave out a word or two in their books. Especially Isa. Usually she ends up finished the sentences in her books because I must read to slow for her.

One of her favorite things to do... climb in and hope someone will pull her around!

She also is a take charge kind of girl. She there isn't anything she can't do so don't tell her otherwise. And my favorite thing about her is that she is the queen of the obvious. Here are a few conversations that we have had that just make me laugh!

Isa:"Mom will you make me some chocolate milk and then put it in the microwave for a second."

Mom: "okay Isa"

She now sits there looking at me trying to make small talk I guess and says

Isa: "I want hot chocolate and the microwave makes things warm."

Mom: "he he yes Isa it does."

Isa:"Mom will you turn on the dryer."

Mom: "Why do you need the dyer on?"

Isa: "oh I am cold and the dryer will warm my blanket up so I won't be cold anymore. You know a warm blanket will make you not cold."

Mom: "yes it does Isa... here let me turn it on."

Then we sit and stare at the dryer for a minute. then she opens the dryer door pulls out her blanket and runs off smiling!

I walk into the kitchen everyday now and find my rugs missing. The other day I turn to Isa and ask...

Mom: "Why are my rugs gone?"

Isa: "Oh we are Ice skating."

Mom: "Okay well put them back when you are done."

Isa: "You know mom when you put on socks and move the rugs you can slide on the floor in here."

Mom: "Thanks Isa I didn't know that!"

Isa: "mom where is the remote to your tv?"

Mom: "right here why?"

Isa: she takes it from me and then before running off out of the room she tells me "Mom I pushed the button with the two lines on it. That button pauses the movie you know."

Mom: "oh is that what that button does?"

Isa: "yeah mom it pauses the movie so I can go potty I will show you when i am done." and of course this is said has she is running around the corner with her booty showing because we do not wait to pull our pants down we do it when the thought occurs to us that we need to go to the bathroom.

Isa was so sweet and quiet when Layla got a cough... it wasn't until we got home from the doctors that we realized she was only quiet because she had lost her voice... now she is the sick one and enjoying her millionth time having croup. I have to say a 3 year old with no voice has to be the cutest but sad thing to listen to!

I love Isa. I could go on all day with the obvious things she tells me. I don't know if she is trying to show me how smart she is or if she just thinks I am really dumb! Either way it is one of the highlights of my day! Isa is still my cuddly child. Most mornings she is the first one up. She climbs into my bed with me (Brian leaves at 5 am and I sleep in!) then Isa sits and looks at me smiling until I open my eyes. She will wait forever. And if it takes me longer than 15 minutes she strokes my face. Then she smiles gives me a kiss and runs off. She goes potty and then gets out a stool. She puts it in front of the TV turns it on. Opens the dvd player and puts in a movie. She gets the remotes and puts them on my belly and sets her blankets all set. I wake up just enough to hit play on the movie and then we cuddle and watch her movie for at least an hour before layla gets up.

Just about every morning starts this way. It is lazy I know but it is so sweet and I love our time together just cuddling so much I can't get myself out of bed before she wakes me up. When she smiles she lights up a room! Isa is very much her sisters shadow but if that bothers her she will let you know. I do love that no matter how much they get on each other's nerves sometimes they must be together. Life would not be the same without their other half. And neither of them are complete with out another. And they talk to each other more than they want to talk to us a lot. When they get out of church we always try to see how their day was. And they give us two word replies. Then over the next ten minutes in the car ride home you will hear them tell each other about their days. It is so stinking cute!!!!

Lastly Isa gets embarrasses and if you happen to be the one to embarrasses her she will give you this glare that is mean but so so cute at the same time that you have to keep from laughing. (which I have learned only makes things worse!)

All in all she is a girl who loves to make others smile by the funny things she says and does.

Gotta love my Isa reading her book... also note that layla is hiding reading her chapter book up in the princess tower... they have found a new place to explore!

Miss Layla Michele

Oh where to start with my little Layla. First off she isn't little anymore. She is growing like a weed and is getting tall. Tall in our family is kind of a relative word seeing that we are a average/short family. However for now our children are growing much taller than we expected.

Miss Layla has entered into the wonderful phase of "WHY". No matter now many times I told myself that I would never utter the words, "because I said so" they seems to come out at leastonce a day. I love that she is curious about her world but at times I think why just mean "really mom, you have to be kidding me right?!" Whatever the reason it is a constant battle of the "WHY" all day long. Most of the time the trick is to stay calm until she answers herself.

For instance here is one of our conversations yesterday.

Me: "Layla please don't tie things around your neck."

Layla: "Why"

Me: deep breath...

Layla: "oh because I could choke."

Me: "yes Layla exactly."

Me: "Layla please don't run in the hall when you are pretending not to be able to see."

Layla:"Why"

Me: long pause

Layla:"cause i am clumsy and will hurt myself."

Me:"yeah Layla you can't keep safe while running if your eyes are closed."

Layla:"oh" followed by running off with ONE eye open!

Can you tell she thinks she looks great?!?

Layla however has passed the crying at night when we put her to bed almost entirely. She has come up with something new to bide her some time before actually going to bed. She gets up and has to tell us sweet things and blow us kisses. Most nights go like this.

"good night Layla stay in your bed tonight okay." "okay mom and dad."

We sit down on the couch to rest after the long battle of getting kids to bed. Just as we are settling in we hear a rustle and see toes appear on the side of the bookcase followed by a tufted of hair and then....

" I love you mom and dad I just need to give you one more hug and kiss." "Okay thanks Layla now go back to bed now."

"Have fun watching your movie mom and dad... I love you.... good night.... sweet dreams... oh just one more hug and kiss.... good night... see you in the morning.... have fun watching your movie.... have a good time together." and then you hear the door close. It is so very sweet and funny. And if you pass by her door you will hear her yell out... "Good night mom have fun with daddy!" or visa versa if Brian wakes by. it is cute and something I know one day we will miss.

This can repeat over an hour about 8 times. And in the morning when you peek into her room you see the barbies all tucked into beds that she must have been working on in between her appearances in the living room. I am glad that we are still so very important to our children and that they love us so much. Layla has so much love to give too.

Taking care of Isa while she is sick!

Layla has several new interests this year. First off we are very big on ice skating right now. Layla is going to go to the olympics one day and is going to compete in figure skating and bobsledding. These were our favorite competitions this past year. And since we watched the Ice Princess she knows that it is never too late to become a skater... thank you disney!

She also has taken to listening to the radio. By this I mean she turns on CD's in small radio we have in their room. We got the classic disney cd's from the Library a couple weeks ago and now that is all they listen to. However their favorite song will surprise some...."Portobello Road". And now that is her favorite movie... Bed knobs and broom sticks. And thanks to some singing goats we got for christmas we watch Sound of Music at least once a week and reenact the puppet show with our puppets!

Other than all this Layla keep busy by playing/bossing around her best friend and little sister Isa. Most of the time they have a super secret super club that is little girls only. Which I do love. I don't know what they would do without each other. When we leave the house they hold hands every where they go and at church they take care of each other in primary. They are the best of friends. They also have begun to develop their own language. They don't really use full words a lot or finish their thoughts because it isn't needed. They get each other on a level most wouldn't understand. Layla is a wonderful little girl who has a giant heart. She wants everyone to be happy. And she makes friends with everyone. She gets really upset when she sees people be mean to others. She also is very tender to the spirit. She doesn't like anything remotely violent to be on the tv or movie. Even some disney movies like sleeping beauty were hard for her to watch because they were just mean.

I love her tender heart and her sensitivity to the spirit. I hope she always keeps that.... I think we might all survive the teenage years if she is able to hold tight to that gift!

Totally enjoying her breathing treatment... one day we will move past these right!!!

The last little note here is that SLOWLY she is learning to recognize her letters and read names. She LOVES to draw pictures for everyone she knows and write little notes on them. She has learned to write 23 names and words and is developing so fast. She is though, still a little girl at heart and doesn't seem to want to "grow up" and leave the kiddy things behind. I am thankful for this. I will keep my little girls little as long as I can! So thankfully we are still into barbie and disney and could careless about Hannah Montana, boys, and that sort of thing! She is in no hurry to come a big kid. She loves being little and we love it too!

She really is an amazing big sister!

Layla's story

Layla is really into telling stories and this has to be one of her most "interesting"!

My life!

This is my every day life. Not the mess... it is clean compared to normal. However it is fun to watch them make up stories and follow each other around all day!