Boo hoo, Layla's almost 2!

This picture was taken exactly 2 years ago today:

I can't believe that in a few weeks, we will have a 2 year old! Our little baby girl is getting so big. I truly understand what people mean when they say "don't blink". Two years ago I was eating eggplant, bouncing on a yoga ball and monitoring my blood pressure. Layla was kicking my ribs, hiccuping constantly and preparing to lock down and stay in my belly forever. In her baby book we wrote that we thought she'd be a perfect combination of both of us...with dark hair and dark eyes. Boy were we wrong! ;o)

Because we are going to be so busy with Christmas and her upcoming birthday celebrations, I wanted to post a blog of Layla fun facts. Things that we absolutely, positively love and cherish about her. So here we go!

1. If given the option she would live off of chocolate, ice cream and crackers
2. Her favorite book is "Where the Wild Things Are"
3. She likes to dance in the living room to Lady Gaga
4. She must have 18 things in her crib to sleep with every night
5. Blowing her own nose and brushing her teeth make her so proud
6. She can identify the letters a, e, i, o, s and loves to count 1, 2, 3 GO!
7. Will not hold hands in public
8. Talks in her crib until 10:30 pm...no matter what. Wakes up at 9 am...and is not a morning person
9. Playdoh is her favorite toy/activity
10. Likes to run around with a hat over her eyes and run into furniture.
11. She sings a song she made up about Oscar and Moose in her Dora microphone
12. Gives her fish, Hook, kisses almost every day by kissing her finger and putting it to his bowl
13. Loves the acoustics in the bathroom
14. She doesn't care that her hair is always in her eyes
15. Screams "get down NOW!" when anything is out of place
16. "Show me your teeth" means smile at the camera
17. She's an 80 year old women trapped in a 2 year old's body...loves to bird watch and feed squirrels
18. Thinks it is hilarious to tickle herself under her arms
19. The way she stands up when she's supposed to be in timeout and then slams her booty on the bench when we walk by
20. She talks with a Southern accent
21. The answer to "What do you say, Layla?" is always "More" (with the Southern accent)
22. Every night she insists on running circles around our house and us scaring the pants off her
23. Her favorite holiday was Halloween
24. She loves to help put away laundry
25. Putting jewels on Moose is a form of doggie torture
26. Prefers Eskimo kisses to "kisses on the lips"
27. Will only give an unprompted kiss and hug after a long timout
28. The concern she has when Daddy is away but the demanding tone of voice she uses to yell "MA!!" when I walk out of a room
29. Her eyes are gorgeously blue...with a spec of brown in the left
30. She sucks in all the air she can before we go out in the cold
31. Her hair is so long when it is wet, and so short when dry
32. Row row row your boat and ma ma mommy is a bumble bee are her favorite songs
33. Her biggest concern in life are the socks she threw behind her bed after nap (and I hope it stays that way forever)

We love you hippo. We'll eat you up we love you so!

Santa house visit

Oh boy...this was an adventure today. Last year the Santa House was a piece of cake. We didn't wait in line long and Layla was really digging the scenery. Here is a great family photo from last year:

And here we are in the sleigh this year. Don't be fooled...that's not a smile, she's grinding her teeth. Layla was not feeling the holiday spirit this year.

She really didn't do too bad but we were in line for almost 40 minutes. At one point Santa decided to stretch his legs and came over to say "hi". She was a little shy but totally cool about it. I was SO excited! She did great until there was only one person ahead of us...then this happened:

So we tried calming her down by putting her name on Santa's "Good" list. Daddy put his on there too...apparently Mommy didn't make the list this year. 

Then it was finally time to sit on Santa's lap! The moment we've all been waiting for! Aaaaaaaand...she kicked him out of his seat. Again. For those of you that remember, this is exactly what happened last year. Today:

And here is her picture in 2011:

We did get this quality family photo. It is so good I'm sure they'll want to advertise with it next year.

She warmed up a bit to Santa on our way "bye bye" (she kept screaming this over and over). Here she is getting a piece of candy.

Overall...Layla believes Santa is highly over rated. Now, if this was a haunted house...she'd be all over it! I don't think we'll get to make another trip out for a "re-do", but that's okay. I think it is hilarious that we literally had the only child screaming to go "bye bye" in the entire line. L just knows what she wants...and sitting on this guy's lap isn't one of them. I can't wait to see what she does next year. Probably just tell Santa to "get down NOW" from his chair so she can get her picture taken solo again. ;o)

Christmas tree oh Christmas tree!

Layla decided she wanted her picture in front of the Xmas tree a few days ago. As soon as I grabbed the camera she started acting like a goof ball so I didn't really get any great ones...but these pretty much capture her personality at the moment.

For example, here is take 1- She decided to sit on one of the presents (sorry Addelyn!). As a side note, she does have more clothes than just this outfit. It seems like every time I take the camera out she is wearing this SAME outfit. Also, I am fully aware that her socks do not match, but these are the ones she picked out. Haha.

And take two...this picture is priceless. Not only is it completely crooked but you can see that we haven't mastered drinking out of a cup here. That is water ALL over her shirt. And the facial expression...that's just typical Layla. :)

And now for a throw back. This picture was taken almost exactly a year ago. Look how sweet she looks! Smiling...wearing a hair bow...wearing a size 3 shoe...oh how things have changed this last year. Haha

I took this picture after Layla's session so she could "help" me. I asked her what she wanted me to take a picture of and she said "Ager"...aka, Oscar. So we snapped this one and I can't believe how gray he looks! Maybe it is because I don't pay much attention to him anymore but I just can't believe how old he looks in this picture! Poor old man...I think he got most of his "greys" after Layla was born.

And now another goofy picture of Layla, just because! I just can't get over how grown up she is getting. I would just kiss those little sweet cheeks all day if she'd let me!

House update and sneak peek!

Since buying this house I have done nothing but try to save money on improvements. So far we've saved a ton by using coupons and rebates on the exterior paint job and gutter supplies. We did the painting ourselves, Grandpa did the gutters (talk about cheap labor...that just cost us a root beer float) and Bryan and I have torn out all our landscaping. We've made a huge impact on the outside but it now that it's cold...it's time to move the renovations indoors!

Our first indoor project was tearing out the drop ceiling and carpet in the basement bedroom. Free demo- check! And now it is time to move on to Layla's bedroom. I can't even describe how tickled with myself I am about my latest savings. Layla's room will, again, be done with lots of love (aka...hours of sewing) from her Grandmas. Her bedding, pillows, window treatments and most likely lampshades will all be custom made just for her. All at the cost of just materials, Layla gets away with paying her wonderful Grandma's in kisses and hugs. Can someone say spoiled?!I wonder if that will work for me when I need curtains in the office... ;o)

I have ideas for all of those things and the fabric has been purchases...but I hit a rough patch this week when it comes to her artwork. I have been searching Pinterest, Etsy, Google...everything for ideas on how to fill her walls. After finding a ton of inspiration, I created these:

 

Pretty cool huh? I used all free fonts I found from the web, the flower template was free via theinknest.com and put my own twist on borders and colors. I'll print them as 11x14s and 8x10s (haven't decided size or placement yet) on fine art paper, pop them into a mounted frame, stick those babies on the walls and bask in the glory that is DIY. Total cost savings should be almost $100 depending on what size I decide to print them.

I'd like to do one more to use as a smaller print but I need to find some inspiration. ;o) Sounds like a nap time project for next week!

This is how the Barton's do bath

We are pretty lucky that despite all the sensory issues Layla has had, she loves bath time. We always have so much fun giving her baths too. She loves to color, play with her cups, read her bath time book and help wash her belly. Now that Layla's hair is out of control, we use shampoo AND conditioner...and she doesn't mind getting water dumped on her head a thousand times to get all the suds out.

I haven't taken pictures during bath time in awhile so I busted out the camera tonight. She was in rare form...in fact, she's been a wild woman ALL DAY.

 It drives me crazy that she likes to suck on her wash rag. Gross!

To get Layla to smile right now...we have to say "Show me your teeth". Sometimes it turns out like this...

aaaaaaaand sometimes it looks like this. 

Blowing bubbles in the water

You wouldn't believe how long her hair is until you see it in the tub. It is so curly it just sticks to her head but when it is wet, it goes down her back. I tried to get a picture but you still can't tell very well...

Dripping wet!

 She is discovering the acoustics in the bathroom are fun. And then this happens:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had another great Thanksgiving this year. Not only did my Mom and Bob come up again, but Grandpa and Grandpa "Lucky" came up too! We did miss all our family back home (and in NYC haha) though.

This year we have a lot to be thankful for. I couldn't possibly list everything but I think most of all we are thankful for our spunky little Layla, our amazing families and friends and a new one this year...our house! It was so nice to host our first holiday in our new home. ;o)

I tried to get pictures of all the festivities but I'm sure I miss some things. Here are a few pictures of our fun Thanksgiving:

Layla helping Grandma and Grandpa with the stuffing. She really doesn't care to help...she just wanted to sit on the counter. 

Grandpa carving the 14 pound turkey that Bryan bought. 

 Layla didn't take a nap the day we were preparing all the food so she decided to crawl into Grandma and Grandpa's bed and cover herself up (all by herself). Here she is "nite nite". She can't close her eyes without opening her mouth LOL. 

 We have always wanted to put up Christmas lights and this year, we CAN! We were so excited to decorate the house...turns out this is going to be a lot easier next year when we have actual bushes to hang stuff on.

 This is basically ALL we did the entire weekend. Play Play-Doh. Every time we turned around Layla was calling "Paw Paw" or "Maw Maw" to play. 

 Here are a list of bad things Layla Grandparents taught her this weekend: #1- how to jump on beds, #2- how to stand on the back of grocery carts, #3- how to go down her slide on her belly...and I'm sure there are a few more I'm missing. She actually dropped the "f-bomb" during Thanksgiving dinner. Bryan asked "who taught her that?!" and without skipping a beat she said "Paw Paw". Now, I know non of her Paw Paws have ever used that word around me...let alone around her. But I do know that she LOVES to put the blame on others (she blamed Oscar for the TP incident a few blogs back) and I also know that it was so hard not to laugh.

 This girl had her finger in her nose ALL weekend as well. Funny that now everyone is gone she's stopped that...maybe this should be #4 on the above list?

 I loved to be tickled when I was little. I used to sit on my Grandpa's lap and count to ten while he tickled me just to torture myself. Now Layla does it and it is so cute to see!

This my friends...is part of our family Xmas gift from my Grandparents. They also got us a bird feeder but I didn't get a picture of it. We have a TON of squirrels in our backyard and Layla loves to watch them. It is so cute! So Maw Maw and Paw Paw decided to get us a feeder and look what we got a few days later!

 Needless to say it took 2 days and that corn is GONE. 

 Getting ready to do the tree...and picking her nose!

 Grandma helping out. 

Mommy and Layla decorating the tree. I'll have to post some new pictures now that all the presents are wrapped! 

Weekend with Gma and Gpa Barton

We had so much fun with Gma and Gpa Barton (and Anne) this weekend. On Friday I told Layla that they were coming and she walked around the whole house saying "Paw Paw!? Paw Paw?!" and she was SO excited to wake up from nap to them being here. She jumped right into playing school with Grandma:

Aaaaand those are all the pics I took of our weekend. LOL. We went to a museum and I forgot my camera at home! :( But I will share a funny story! They had a King Tut exhibit there with a ton of replicas from the tomb. I took my eyes off L for two seconds and sure enough, she's climbing over the barrier and going for the jewels. Only my child ;o)  

Gma and Gpa left Sunday morning and we hosted our church group Sunday night. We are lucky to have such a great group with a ton of kids and Layla LOVES to play with them. L didn't take a nap Sunday (ugh) and so she was pretty grumpy about the whole thing. We left the kids in the play room with our wonderful babysitters for 45 minutes and when we went to get them we found Layla like this:

I seriously could not believe it. She has NEVER fallen asleep on the floor like this. The kids were SO noisy and runny around like wild things and here is Layla dead asleep. I though about checking her pulse but I thought that might be a little over the top. HAHA. So here was our sleeping beauty taking her afternoon nap at 6:00 at night. Oh boy did we pay for that at bedtime. Two hours of crying...fun!

Hello terrible twos

All I can say is "wow". Nothing has prepared me for this. All of a sudden my sweet little cuddle bunny has turned into a toddler and I'm starting to understand what the "terrible twos" are all about. We've been pretty lucky with L so far but we are totally paying for it now! Haha. Today she decided that she didn't want to work on her ABCs and 123s anymore so I let her just walk into the other room. I THOUGHT she went into the living room or was rolling around in the foyer.

This is the real story:

What a wonderful week!

This week has been full of ups and downs at the Barton household. I'll start with the bad- Layla's sleeping habits are becoming a nightmare. She went 4 days this week without a nap...and two days on 15 minute naps. Gone are the days of editing pictures or surfing Pinterest for a few hours for this Momma. :( BOOOOOOOOOOO!!

But other than some horrible nights and naps...we've had a great week! This picture was actually take last week but I couldn't help but share. Layla was not napping great last week either and I finally went in there to get her after 2 hours of crying, screaming and "OH NOOOOOOO"s. I walked in to Layla sitting in her crib with no shirt. Or so I thought. I picked her up and realized she decided to wear her shirt as a dress. Nice. So I put her down and told her to "stand right there!" while I ran to get the camera. When I went back into her room she apparently had walked a few feet and realized I was back and RAN back to the exact spot I told her to stand it (while looking at her feet and moving ever so slightly a few inches when I asked her if that was the right spot LOL):

Now to this week. First we went to the library for the first time in awhile. I've never let L check out books for some reason...just never really thought about it. Lately she's really been into reading and LOVES to point out items and "read" books. So we took a trip to the library and she LOVED it. I let her carry in a little bag for books and she went right up to the children's books and started loading it up. It was like free shopping! Our library actually has an amazing kids section so I let her pick out 6 books and we brought them home and started reading to the dogs:

And a video of Layla trying to read to Oscar and Oscar not really appreciating it. I swear these dogs bark every waking minute of the day.

Yesterday we decided to go to Chippewa Nature Center to hang out for a bit. It was somewhat nice when we left but when we walked outside to go home it was SNOWING!! I couldn't believe it! Layla hated it of course. She hates the cold and when we walk outside she acts like she can't breath. LOL. Her teeth were chattering and she kept kicking my sides and holding her breath. SO dramatic. Anyway, when we got home I decided to snap this pic of the snow. And yes, that is all our CRAP out by the street. A result of us taking down the drop ceiling in the downstairs bedroom and me organizing our storage stuff. Hopefully it will be picked up next week...nothing like soggy cardboard. Yum.

And now for a Layla eating update! I still haven't heard back from her therapist but I am 99.9% sure that she's going to give us the "all clear". That's right folks...Layla is considered a decent eater! WOOOO HOOOOO! I honestly thought this day would never come. I know this is a topic I go on and on about but it has consumed our lives for the last year and I'm so thankful that we have seen amazing results with her. We still have to really focus on pudding and mushy stuff and veggies...but she actually gets a pretty good variety now.

For the most part eating isn't as stressful anymore. We have some trouble when we are anywhere other than home and we are still told to not discipline her at the table which I'll be honest, I don't follow all the time. I can't have her throwing food for the dogs or just plain not sitting when we are in public but...we pick our battles VERY closely.

A smile at meal time used to be SO rare. I really get teary when I look at these pics now because it has taken SO much work to get to this point. But here is Layla eating lunch today. Smiling, being silling, carrying on a "conversation" with me (haha) and eating a banana and chocolate covered cherries. ;o)