Layton is 1 year old!

We had Layton's party on Friday night. We had around 40 of our family members and close friends to come. It was so nice and I think everyone had a lovely time. Dave grilled hamburgers and we had chips and fruit. After the presents were open we had cake and ice cream. Layton was in the best mood, she played and was so pleasant all evening. I think she enjoyed all the attention. She received lots of fun toys and cute clothes. We were so thankful to everyone that came to spend their Friday night with us. I say it all the time but I don't know what we would do without our family. I love having such a close family.

This is what we got her. She loved it. Dave gave it to her earlier that day and she really didn't know what to do when he put her in it. She just smiled and keep staring at him.





Of course after a few minutes she realized she could stand up in it, that made it more fun!







I think she was trying to show some of her "skills" but was being shy at the same time!


Miss Darlene & Layton



She loves fruit!



Nannie & Layton





Present Time!

























Miss Darlene made her cakes! I thought they were so cute. They were strawberry flavor and very yummy.





I really meant to get a family picture BEFORE the party when everyone was all neat and clean but oh well!



An end to a terrific day!

T I R E D

This is how we have been at our house this week.

Layton 12 months

My baby girl turned one on Friday. We had a fun party for her with lots of family and a few friends attending, more details & pictures to come later.

Here are some things to note about her this month:

*At her 12 mth checkup she weighed 21 pounds and was 29 1/2 inches tall.

*She is on cow's milk all the time now.

*She only has 2 teeth, one showing and one still coming in.

*She eats & drinks anything we give her. If anyone around has food, they'd better be willing to share!!

*She has started saying bye-bye and bot-bot. She will say ma-ma but only when she is fussy and tired.

*With strangers she is very shy and serious. She doesn't smile at them much.

*She recognizes when we walk in the nursery at church now because she clinges to my arm, poor baby. She cries at first but she stops shortly after we leave her.

*She is VERY close to walking.

*She still sleeps very good, from about 830 to 7.

*I would say her favorite toys are babies and a jumprope! She rocks & kisses her babies, it is so sweet. And she carries a jumprope around all the time.



Look, no hands!



Uhhhhhh!





She has the crazy thing where she puts her head back like this and then falls back onto the bed. She thinks it's hilarious. She does it over and over.



She continues to be a very happy baby. These days she is so busy discovering new things. It is amazing how much they grow in a year. I am so grateful to have her in my life. I can't imagine what we would do without her. I love you Layton!

My baby is turning one.

My baby will be one year old tomorrow. I can’t believe a year is already over. I prayed for so long that God would allow our family to have another babe, and he did, and I am so thankful. She has made our family whole. She has such a calm personality. She has the sweetest, happiest little spirit. This time last year we were anxiously awaiting her arrival. She arrived so quickly, I often can’t remember life without her. As an infant she was always content and quiet. Over the last 6 months, she has grown curious and is a busy little girl. She is very determined at whatever she does. She is full of personality and smiles. Most of the time she looks very serious but she is also very playful. She is everything I imagined and more. I know all mothers think this but I didn’t know I could love another person so much. We are having her a party tomorrow night. She will love all the attention. And I know she will enjoy her some cake and ice cream. Happy Birthday to my Lay bug, I love you more than you will ever know.

Her birth story… (Just for us!)
August 19, 2010 was a Thursday. I worked all day, came home prepared dinner, cleaned the kitchen, washed clothes and cleaned around the house a little. I felt really good considering I was 30 pounds heavier and had a BIG belly! I hadn’t dilated any so I was afraid that I would have to be induced. We went to bed at our normal time. Around 3:00 am my water broke. At first I thought I may have peed on myself but then realized what had happened. I woke Dave and told him my water had broken. Of course he was in a stage of panic! He jumped straight out of bed and started getting clothes on. I couldn’t move much because water kept coming out. We called my mother in law to come and get Lydia. She was sound asleep. I hated to wake her with such big news. I was very calm about my being in labor but felt so heartbroken when I had to leave my (at that time) baby. She looked so lost when we pulled out of the garage. I knew that would be the last time we would be a family of 3.
We raced, literally, to the hospital. Of course we didn’t see any cops and being 3 am traffic wasn’t bad!! We got to the hospital and Dave asked me if we needed to go into the ER door. I hate to be the center of attention so I told him no, that I could walk in by myself. So he parked in the parking lot and when I stood up I realized that I would NO T be able to walk because of the water leaking. So he went and got a wheelchair. He was still in a stage of panic so once I got in the wheelchair he wheeled me across the parking lot like NASCAR driver, over speed bumps and all. (Maybe he helped her “come down”) When the doctor checked me, I was 3 cm dilated. So we thought it would be a long process. Around 6 Dave started calling other family members, telling them I was in labor but to just take their time because I would probably be in labor all day. It started to storm outside right at daybreak so we sat in our room watching the wind blow and rain. My doctor came in around 6 and I was around 4/5. I knew that Lydia would be down soon, so I opted to go ahead and get an epidural. I didn’t want her to see me in pain. Once I got the epidural I couldn’t feel my legs at all. I remember my leg kept falling off the side of the bed and Dave would have to get up and put it back on the bed. I never experienced much pain at all. My doctor came in around 730 or so and checked me. I hadn’t changed much at all so he said he would probably see me later in the day. The anesthesiologist had to re-adjust my epidural and after that I progress really fast. Around 8 they had to call my doctor back in. After 3 rounds of pushing I had a beautiful, 7 pound, 10 ounce baby girl at 832 am. Once I heard her cry I knew everything was okay. She looked a lot like Lydia did when she was born. Dave cried more than he did with Lydia. At the same time as I had started to push, my mother in law and Lydia knocked on the door. Shortly after Layton’s birth, Dave went and got Lydia and brought her in by herself to meet her little sister for the first time. She was so excited and very quiet. She crawled into the bed with me and met Layton. I know that at the moment Lydia fell in love with her just like Dave and I had. Layton’s fingers were a deep purple color. Lydia asked me who had painted her fingernails! After Layton met Lydia, she met my mother in law, my mom and my Mimi. Later on that day we had lots of visitors. She stayed in the room with us all day and night. The next day at noon, I was released. We were home by 2 that afternoon. She slept, nursed and pooped like clockwork. Everything was perfect about her!

Lydia meets Layton!

"Stuck like glue"

Lydia's sign, she worked so hard on! And I worked hard the next day getting glitter out of my backseat. I love glitter!






Such a good dad! He held her up for at least an hour!






By the end of the night, my people were NUTS over Sugarland!


This past weekend we took Lydia to her first concert. We went to go see Sugarland. She has been so excited about it for months. She made a sign before we left. We were hoping that we might get a signature but no luck! It was outside at the Snowden Grove Amphitheatre. It was only 100 degrees outside, ugh! We definitely were sweaty but we had a great time. There were 2 bands that played before Sugarland so Lydia was tired by the time Sugarland started. Once they started she came alive again! She danced and sang along with the songs. On the way home she asked who we were going to see next!

My Kindergardener!

Tuesday, August 10th was Lydia’s first day of kindergarden. She was so excited. The night before I told her that we needed to go ahead and lay her clothes out to prepare for the next morning. She told me that she didn’t want to wear anything normal. So, she wore a “teenager” shirt, a cut-off blue jean skirt, pink leggings under the skirt and her twinkle toe shoes. In her words, she looked like a rock star. Even though I would not have picked it out, I do have to admit she looked so cute. Neither she nor I were emotional about her first day. I still can’t believe that my Lydia is in school EVERY day but I know she is learning new things and having a blast so that helps me when I might want to get a little emotional! She was really excited to tell me about her day when I picked her up that afternoon. I think she thought it was neat that she knew lots of other kids and adults that were there. She was tired and hungry that afternoon. Needless to say she didn’t have any problems going to sleep that night!!
Her second day was Thursday, August 12th. She enjoyed that day as well. Her favorite part of that day was art class. She made something special for us. That afternoon she told me that she wished I would have forgotten to pack her lunch. I asked why and she said that the school had fish sticks and she wanted them. I thought that was funny.
She started full time today. She will go everyday now. This morning I dropped her off at the door instead of walking in with her. She was anxious about what all they would do today and she will meet everyone in her class today. I can’t wait to hear her stories today.

Flower-Girl Lydia

This past weekend Lydia was the flower girl in Annie’s wedding. She has been so excited for months now. I am not really sure what she expected but it was definitely more than walking down the aisle! After the wedding I told her she did a great job and she said, “All I had to do was walk down the aisle; that was not fun at all!” She did enjoy all the wedding festivities and she had a blast at the reception, where she made her singing debue . She sang Taylor Swift’s song, Love Story, all by herself, on the dance floor, with a microphone. She danced around the entire time. She wasn’t shy at all. I loved every minute of it. It brought tears to my eyes. I hope she has the same level of confidence throughout her life. All throughout the night I would see her on the stage talking to the dj. When I asked her what she was doing, she would say that she had asked to sing again but the lady wouldn’t let her. She is a little social-bug just like her daddy! Around 10:30 Dave and I noticed her sitting in a chair all alone yawning so we decided it was time to go home. The minute she got in the car, she laid down and it was 5 minutes later and she was fast asleep. I am so proud for Annie and Daniel. The are a sweet couple and I wish the years of happiness. Welcome to the family Dan-o!