Me and Ayla Jade

Pictures

2009-02-22T18:32:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Ayla's sitter, Rhonda. Ayla really loves it there. For those of you who know about our challenges with finding a good sitter, Rhonda is WONDERFUL and has been a great fit!!!

PAT's Will You Be My Valentine?

2009-02-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday Ayla and I went to the PAT Valentine Event. She had a really good time and got to do lots of fun activities. Our parent educator was there and Ayla had fun painting at her station. Some of the activities were; painting, flubber (which we took some home and Ayla has been enjoying playing with. At first she didn't want to even touch it), valentines, markers on coffee filters (after we sprayed it with water, Ayla enjoyed shredding it up, so we didn't get to turn it into a butterfly), beanbag toss, balloons, fishing, giant puzzles, dancing, dress up, and books. Ayla tried almost everything. Last time we went at Christmas Ayla was so into the playdough that she wouldn't leave to try anything else. She has definately grown up since then, because she wanted to try everything. We even left without a tantrum....YAY!

Will You Be My Valentine?

2009-02-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

Ayla made Valentine's last Sunday. We got out the paper and red paint and she went to town. She only tried to taste the paint twice (good thing it's non-toxic) and she made a terrible face each time..haha. I took the painted paper and cut out hearts to match the foam hearts I had cut out earlier. We glued them together and mailed them to family. It was really fun and I can't wait for Ayla to really get into crafts. For Valentine's Ayla got a new dress from Great Grandma Shelton (see in pix), and I got her a Valentine book, red elephant, and a new spoon/fork set. (I think Ayla pushed some buttons on the camera, 'cause the photos are a little blurry)

Antywan and I have our anniversary (4 years) and Valentine's in the same week, so we do a little bit each day. On Tuesday Ayla went to grandma Stacy's for the night and we went out to dinner and bowling (Thank you Grandma Denlinger for the bowling shoes and gift card). On Thursday I was surprised at work with a beautiful bouquet of multi-colored petite roses. Then, on V-Day, Antywan brought home breakfast from Bob Evans, then we made a big dinner of.... steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, salad, hot rolls with cinnamon butter, wine, and brownies...mmmmm. Ayla enjoyed the dinner too of course!

Spring is in the air!

2009-02-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Ayla and I enjoyed the warm weather on Saturday. It felt like spring! First we went to Zachary's Playground....which everyone else had the same idea. It was so crowded that there was no parking in the lot, and cars lined the streets. This was a little overwhelming for Ayla, and she mostly just watched from the bench. We did go down the slide a few times and went to watch the geese. Most of the pond was still frozen so it was neat to watch some swimming in the water and others hanging out on the ice. After nap Ayla and I took the wagon up the street to our neighborhood playground. She did a great job climbing the stairs by herself and holding onto the rails. Two little girls came over to play and Ayla enjoyed have some playmates.

It's Melting

2009-02-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

These were from last weekend. We had a couple of really warm days after all the snow. At first it seemed like the snow was going to stick around forever, but it started melting quickly with the elevated temps, so we went out for a bit to enjoy the last of it. The wagon did really well "off-roading" on a few snow mounds still left of the sidewalk. Only once did we almost capsize ;oP. Ayla LOVES to be outside and I know she is getting antsy for spring to get here.

sneaking in a quick bite

2009-01-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

Look what I found.....a Cheerio

Maybe mom won't see me if I lay down and look cute (see I don't even see the Cheerio laying in front of me)

Quick hands..... just watching tv. Nothing suspicious going on here.

All gone....hehe, got away with it.

[So funny how early they learn to sneak around and get away with things :oP]

Finally, some snow!

2009-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

I had been hoping for one good snow before winters end and we finally got it!!! I've had two days off of school and there's been plenty of snow for sledding. It was great to get the phone calls off of work the evening before instead of on my way to work the next morning (which has happend on many occasions). This was Ayla's first big snow that she has been old enough to enjoy. We had gotten her snowboots and a snowsuit for Christmas, so I'm glad she finally gets to use it. She has had a blast and gets mad when it's time to go inside. After the first round of snow Ayla was able to walk around outside, though she fell a lot! Now that the snow is pretty deep, she won't even try walk in it....so lots more work for me! She had fun sledding down the hill and being pulled around the yard. Next year she'll be a little more stable and we'll get to spend more time outside. I will say trying to dress a 16 month old for snow is exhausting, and it probably took more time to get her dressed than we actually spent outside at one time. I was tired before we even got outside. Her attire consisted of: leggings or tights, sweatpants, socks x2, onsie, long sleeve shirt, fleece jacket, snowpants, coat, gloves, mittens, hat, hood, and boots. Her attention span is pretty short, so sitting still while mommy is putting on this many layers did not happen. After the first layer I had to chase after her and try to get everything on while she played with toys and tried to run away from me. Luckily after the pants were on, she was not very mobile. VERY FUNNY to see her try to move with all this stuff. Reminds me of A Christmas Story where the little brother can't put his arms down and then gets knocked over and can't get up. Once this snow is gone, I'll be ready for Spring. Winter is usually my favorite season, but with a little one, we are going stir crazy and are ready to get outside!!!!!

Bundled up and ready for snow!

Blowing kisses (and licking snow)

"Mommy stop taking pictures and help me up!"

Sledding down the driveway

Sledding with Daddy

Sledding with Mommy

Making a snow angel

Ayla's snow angel (with help)

One of my favorite pictures

Playing in the snow

My other favorite picture

I've joined the world of blogging

2009-01-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally done it.....I'm now a blogger. Not that myspace and facebook aren't enough...haha, now I'm blogging too. I decided maybe I'd keep up with this better than Ayla's totsite, so I'm going to give it a try. Now I've just gotta jazz my page up a bit...when I have some free time that is ;oP