My new assistant

I'm happy to report that my photography has really taken off this year. I'm so proud of myself! I'm not bragging...it's just that I was so hesitant to start a photography business because I wasn't sure I was "good enough". I've learned so much over the last year from finding my photography "style" to business resources to the dreaded tax return. I'm so happy things are going well and I have seriously had the BEST group of clients I could ever ask for.

This weekend I had two sessions. I've done one (an adorable little 6 month old boy) and I just finished getting ready for a newborn that I'm shooting today.

Layla has really started to take to the camera. She generally like to have her picture taken, loves to take pictures of the dogs with our iphone cameras and will try to play with my camera (it is way too heavy and expensive though LOL). I know most people think their children are geniuses but Layla has a serious eye for this stuff. Maybe it is in our blood? She has taken some pretty amazing pictures and I think in a few months I'm going to get her her first camera. Can we say SPOILED?!

I really want to encourage her to be creative and have fun. We haven't really found Layla "niche" yet and I know it is early, but I think photography is really fun and exciting to her. Plus it is a fun thing to do with Mommy! :)

Layla helped me set up for my shoot today by helping me lint roll my backdrops and fluff the bean bag. She also helps me meter my lighting by letting me take some pictures. I can't get over how stinkin' beautiful she is...I just LOVE this kid!

I did VERY little editing on this picture...look how RED her hair is!!!! We've been spending lots of time out in the sun so it is just getting redder and redder each day. 

I told her to "act like a baby here". LOL

Our St. Patrick's Day

What a fun filled St. Patrick's day! I feel like we crammed an entire weeks worth of activities in one day today and I am EXHAUSTED. I started out the day tired so I'm going to bed by 9:30 tonight. LOL.

Our St. Patty's Day celebrations actually started yesterday with the making of our leprechaun trap. I'll be posed a blog about that at Naptime Tales so stay tuned for that. Here are a few pictures of Layla with her trap right after we made it:

Last night we set our trap in the foyer hoping to catch a leprechaun. Here is Layla setting the trap right before bed:

This morning we all rushed to the trap to see if we were successful. We were! Except the leprechaun chewed a hold through the trap and got out. But he accidentally left a few goodies behind:

She was SO excited. :)

We quickly got ready and headed out to Chippewa Nature Center for their maple syrup day. They have the most AMAZING...and I'm talking AMAZING pancake breakfast and some fun activities. Here's a picture of Daddy and Layla waiting in line:

I need this guy to come cook breakfast for us. He was an expert pancake maker! 

Mommy loves syrup...the only thing that would make this breakfast better is bacon. LOL

After eating breakfast (L even ate 1/2 her pancake!!!) we took a walk though the woods.

And then we discovered the preschool. This is where I would REALLY like L to go...too bad the cut off is Dec 1st or she could start next year. Dang! We spend the rest of our time just exploring the playground and checking out the inside...she even got to see one of her friend's lockers!

The rest of our day was spent at Home Depot (where else?) and shopping for warmer clothes! Layla didn't have anything for warm weather and it was 80 today! I think I like global warming (just kidding...but I do love the warm weather).

The truth behind Layla's name

With a name like "Ashley" (literally meaning "ash tree"), I thought a lot about Layla's name. I didn't want her to be disappointed in the story or meaning behind it. Not that I'm disappointed Mom! Being named after a character on a soap opera is okay too. LOL

I get two reactions when I tell people what Layla's name is...#1- What a pretty name, I've never heard of a "Layla"! (really?!) and #2- Oh, like the song?. My answer to #2 was almost always "no no...we just liked the name", but now I have a confession. I'm just going to go ahead, 2 years later, and confess that yes, Layla is named after "the song". Bryan and I really love music and for as long as I can remember, Eric Clapton's Layla has ALWAYS been on a mix CD, playlist and now Iphones.

The song is actually a love song inspired by Eric Clapton's love for his friend, George Harrison's, wife. LOL. Nothing better than an an adulterous relationship to name our daughter after right? Obviously that's not what we had in mind...so I looked into it and the name he used, Layla, is derived from a Persian tale about two loves that couldn't be together. It is a sad story that doesn't end well. So again...why would we name our daughter after a dark and depressing story?

In the Persian version of the tale, Layla couldn't be with her love because her parents would not allow it. There marriage would go against tradition and her father would not have it. After thinking long and hard (because I couldn't get over the name Layla) I decided this:

Our job as a parent is to love and protect her, teach and inspire her, support her and catch her when she falls. Our Layla's story will be different. She will have so much love, joy and lightness in her life because I want her to have a happy ending.

So in typical fashion, we are setting a new trend and going against this tale's "mold". I hope the original "dark princess" is watching our little lighting bug and smiling.

Layla is supposed to be sleeping...

But this is what I'm hearing out of her monitor. I plan on recording her one sided conversations more often...this is cracking me up!

PS- You might have to turn your volume WAY up to actually hear this.

My newest adventure!

I am so excited to share with everyone my NEWEST adventure as a stay at home Mommy. Yes, on top of my personal blog, photography business and role as a SAHM I'm adding blogger to my resume. My sister-in-law Ashley W (yes, she's an Ashley too!) have decided to start a blog all about being a Mommy.

I promise this isn't your typical parenting blog. Our blog is meant for other Moms to laugh along with us and learn from our mistakes. While informative, our blog is more on the comical side of parenting. We are just laying it all out there (because we normally do anyway LOL).

The way it works: we'll feature two "Series" posts a week. Our series topics will change on an on going basis but our first series deals with pregnancy (the good, the bad and a whole lot of the ugly). In addition to the series posts, we'll write a weekly Funny Friday list. From "Top 10 Signs You Are Pregnant" to "Top 20 Reasons I Should Have Waited to Potty Train", we'll cover it all! We'll also be updating on home projects, crafts, good deals, fun actives for the kiddos and easy recipes...you know, all that fun Mom stuff.

We promise to keep you laughing so please do me a favor and follow our blog! You can also "Like" us on Facebook and "Follow" us on Twitter for blog updates and lots of hilarity.

Enjoy!

How can so much change in 1 year?!

I can't believe how fast Layla is growing up and how much she has changed in the last year. I love comparing pictures of her and watching her grow. I try not to stage too much but while we were at Dow Gardens I took the opportunity to have her climb the stairs because I knew we had done the same thing almost exactly a year ago. 

On the left is Layla at 15 months and right is Layla now. Layla ran by as I was working on this and she said "I'm BIG!". Yes L, yes you are...and now I'm going to go cry a river because I blinked and you went from a size 5 to a size 8 shoe overnight. Your hair is now long enough for pig tails and you can climb those stairs without being on all fours. But don't worry, Daddy was still right out of the shot waiting to catch you if you tripped and that's how I know that some things will NEVER change. ;o)

Uncle Chris and Aunt Melissa's Visit

We had SO much fun with Chris and Melissa this weekend. This was their first time visiting us in MI and we are so thankful that they made the long trip up here. Layla warmed right up to them and has been asking about them ever since they left, so you know she had a blast!

As usual...I forgot my camera for most of our events. UGH! We took Layla bowling for the first time on Saturday. She liked it but really just wanted to run around with the bowling shoes on (which looked ADORABLE on her by the way!).

Sunday was beautiful and we took the chance to go see the butterflies again at Dow Gardens. Here are lots of pictures (I was trying to make up for the fact that this was the only time I broke out the camera!):

Trying to get a butterfly to land on her: 

Then regretting that decision LOL

Chris, I just want you to know that I had to bust out some pretty extensive Photoshop skills because you were actually looking out the window in this picture! I could not, however, fix Layla's face. HAHAHA

We love having visitors and really hate when they leave. The house seems too quiet now but we are so thankful for a wonderful weekend!! See you guys soon!

Time to child proof the drawers

Even though L is tall, kitchen drawers have never been an issue. She's just never really messed with them so we've never put locks on them. All that changed today:

Hide yo kids knives, hide yo wife clorox wipes, hide yo husband tin foil because Layla's grabin' everything in site.

It's Like Summer

That's right friends, it is 65 degrees outside and to the people of Michigan...that's summer weather! Haha. Layla and I wore our light jackets to gymnastics today, but there were plenty of people sporting shorts and tees.

Speaking of gymnastics, here's a quick update on Layla's progress: she's not a fan. All she really wants to do is work on her floor routine which consists of running around like a wild banshee while all the other kids use the equipment with the instructor. The only thing she really likes to do is the balance beam, I think she'd spend the whole 30 minutes on that if we'd let her. She also likes to strut her stuff on the long trampoline. That's right, while most kids run, jump and bounce around on the trampoline, my daughter uses it as her personal runway.

When we got home from the fashion show, we got to spend some time outside! It is gorgeous today and the snow is almost gone.

And I can't resist this black and white:

I got out a few of Layla outdoor toys (I didn't want to go crazy in case it gets cold again) but guess what Layla wanted to do? Shovel snow and sled:

Looks like we made the right decision to move to MI. I can't believe this kid loves snow so much!

Potty Training Chronicles

I've had so many people ask me for the links to our Potty Training posts so I decided to create a quick post for ALL the links to make my life easier. Enjoy!

Days 1 - 2

Days 2 - 3

Days 3 - 4

Days 4 - 5

Days 5 - 6 

1 week later

Bye Potty!!

1 month later

Gma and Gpa Mudd's visit

What a great visit we had this weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Mudd!! We were so happy to see them, they got to stay for 3 whole days this time! They were amazed at how much Layla is eating and talking...and got to witness how good she's doing with potty training.

On Thursday we went to the outlet in Birch Run so I could check out the deals at Pottery Barn and see if they had anything for Layla's big girl bed. We were in luck and picked up a pretty pink duvet cover for her bed. SCORE!!! It was kind of a long day and Layla hates shopping, so I didn't get any pictures.

On Friday we met our playgroup friends at Dow Gardens for story time and got to see the butterflies. I kept my cool and only freaked out once when this little boy tried to put a butterfly on my leg. I probably traumatized that poor child for life. Layla did great though! She didn't want to hold any of the butterflies but she did enjoy watching them. I can NOT believe I forgot my camera but here are a few pictures I took after we got back to our house:

These are the glitter tattoos that Grandma and Layla got. Layla got her's first but then started to freak out a bit so Grandma got one to make her feel better. LOL

Curly girl and Grandma.

And here is the $20 fake butterfly that Grandma bought for Layla. It actually looks very real from a small distance. It flutters away in its jar and Layla LOVES it! She named "her" Pink and it is the first thing she wants when she wakes up in the morning and after nap. 

Here she is admiring "Pink". 

Her face is hilarious in this pic.

Friday night we went to the mall (because that is the only thing to do). Layla got to ride the choo choo train. She was very excited at first and then got a little bit scared, but she did OK and has talked about it all weekend. I was excited because I got some one on one time with the "conductor" so I could ask a very important question that has been eating at me ever since we have discovered this mall train with no tracks...has he ever ran anyone over? The answer, in case this will keep you up at night, is no. But you can't tell me he doesn't channel his inner Blues Brother while he drives that thing.

On Saturday we ate breakfast at Cafe Zinc and I really wanted to get a nice shot of Layla with Grandma and Grandpa when we were done. As usual, that didn't happen. But I did get a couple of cute ones:

After breakfast we ran over to the Home Depot to get a few things for Bob to fix a huge hole in our bathroom ceiling that has been covered with masking tape for about 3 months. LOL. They had a workshop for the kids there that was AMAZING! I had no idea they did this and I'm so glad we stumbled upon it. Layla even got her own smock and pin for completing her project. I don't think she was into it as much as we were...in fact, she was really doubting my building abilities.

Grandma and Grandpa left this morning and we miss them already. We can't wait to go home and see everyone for Easter!!!