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!