Let's talk about January

Oh boy. I'd like to say that we've been busy this month but the truth is we've been stuck in the house with NOOOOOOOOOTHING to do. It's been cold. Real cold. And although L loves winter and snow...we can't be outside in the negative temps, especially with J. So we've been spending a lot of time getting creative inside-

We've also been encouraging bath time together this month. L still insists on taking separate baths and we haven't pushed it because J is still very wobbly in the tub...it's like he has no idea what to do in the water. LOL. So in an effort to not have a child with a concussion, we've done separate bath times.

J really LOVES baths with sissy when he can get them. She was in the tub here but did not want her picture taken.

We've been eating really well this month! L is doing SO much better and has even been *gasp* quicker at eating. By quicker I mean 30-45 minutes but that is a serious improvement.

It takes Jack 4.6 seconds to eat his entire meal and then starts eyeing Layla's. It's a problem. He eats more than her at every meal. So we have to get creative while we wait for sis to eat.

Layla had a sweet friend, Larkin, over yesterday. These two are so sweet. They enjoyed doing a craft and having hot chocolate!

One more day of January and we are on to February. Can I dream of warmer weather yet??

Layla's Yellow Shirt Pictures

The bigger she gets, the happier I am we started doing these yellow shirt pictures. It is so amazing to see her grow in the same shirt, and she's getting really into it too! Her shirt hangs up in her closet and she asks about it all the time. She was SUPER excited to do her yellow shirt pictures today. :) Here she was at 18 months, 2 years and 3 years...

She had a hard time sitting still for the pictures today. Then Daddy promised her 4 Hershey Kisses and all was good-

What a silly girl. It is so hard to believe she's 4. That seems like such a big number for such a small girl. Layla is SO SO SO smart. I know everyone thinks their own child is a genius but she really is. She's also super silly and still loves to make us laugh with her goofy faces and "jokes" (mostly about underwear and poop ugh).

Last year I made a list a few years ago of all of her little quirks. Last year I just updated the list but this year I'll just highlight some of her favorite things and some changes to her ongoing list of quirks. :)

- Layla's favorite food continues to be anything covered in chocolate. She would eat her weight in chocolate if we'd let her. Sometimes she'll tell me her stomach hurts because she needs more candy. Ha!

- She still loves to have dance parties. Her new favorite singer is Katy Perry. She likes "Roar" and "ET".

- L still sleeps with 10,000 stuffed animals. Her bedtime routine consists of lots of books, a story acted out by her dollhouse people and she must have a flashlight. The only thing she absolutely can not sleep without is taggie.

- Her new talents include whistling! It is pretty amazing...she's getting REALLY good and can actually carry a tune. She whistles better than I do. She still makes up LOTS of songs and even rhymes now.

- She still has a bit of a temper but her attitude is what is getting her in trouble lately. She loves to tell us "NO!!" and/or "NEVER!!!". It is hard not to laugh because she gets very serious. She is very emotional and still very sensitive so we are working on not yelling and talking it out.

- L has always had a strange southern accent when she says certain words ("more") and now she has a New York accent when she says things like "parking lot". No clue where she got it but I LOVE it!

- She is the most helpful kid you will EVER meet. Even her teachers tell me how great she is to have in the classroom and help. She helps me do laundry, dishes, dusting...and her absolute favorite thing to do is scrub the toilets. What a weirdo! But anytime I need help I know I can ask her. God love her.

- She's had 2 haircuts this year and we are getting ready for another. Her hair seems to get curlier and curlier! When straight it is way past the middle of her back. I would love to see what it would look like dry and straight but she won't let me do it...she likes her curls. :)

- Her favorite books are "find" books (think I Spy) and her favorite movie is Tangled. Her favorite colors are "green and blue"...she will not pick just one. This makes things very complicated.

- She is beginning to show interest in playing with her little brother (finally). She gets very upset if/when he gets hurt and very curious when he gets in trouble. Nosey Rosie. Right now she likes to chase him around the house and "carry" (drag) him.

This kid. She's so awesome. Words just can't even describe how lucky we are to have her. She keeps us laughing all day long and has really grown into such a sweet/helpful little lady. We love you Layla!