Beach Babes...

Heidi came over this afternoon to "swim" with Ayla in her froggy pool from Aunt Jamie! We've been anxious for the weather to be warm enough to test it out. We greased them up with sunscreen and headed outside. The girls each needed some time to warm up to it, but eventually they both seemed to be okay with it all. Every now and then, they'd remember that they didn't like it so much and let out a few whines.

It's a good thing we're in the digital age because the way I take pictures, I'd most likely go broke if I had to buy film. I took 30-some pictures in about five minutes today. In a month's time, I take anywhere from 100 to nearly 300 pictures...but then again, you all probably know that judging by the amount of pictures I post on here.

Anyways...on to the girls...

Ayla reaching for Heidi's binky..."Hey, I haven't seen one of those things in a while!"
This little get-up is also from Aunt Jamie...look at that belly!

Heidi with her sunscreened hair.

Cool chick...

She kept them on for about half a second...

First dip into the pool.

Heidi watching Ayla freaking out about sitting in the water.

Two happy girls!

So serious.

She started splashing around once she decided it wasn't so bad.

Umm...nevermind...she hates it again.

Sittin' in the shade.

I think this is one of the few pictures where they're both sitting in the pool and not upset!

Aren't they so cute? :)

After they "swam," we (Dean, Meghan, Chris, and I) all ate so much we didn't feel like doing much of anything. We had jalapeno poppers, macaroni salad, grilled asparagus, pototoes and onions, shrimp, and steak. There was enough food for several more people...I have issues with portion size. I'm always afraid that we won't have enough. Turns out, we almost always have plenty. Hmm...I should work on that. And a bonus--Heidi and Ayla entertained each other long enough for the four of us to actually sit down and eat our dinner with no interruptions and without inhaling our entire plate. It was great!

The next two pictures were taken by my dad yesterday...my mom is so good at making her smile. Her teeth are pretty visible in the top picture. She's learning how to use them...I've been feeding her Gerber cheddar puffs (basically Cheetos) and it's so funny to hear them crunch as she takes a bite.

Memorial Day Weekend

Why can't every weekend be a 3-day weekend? Because then I'd wish for 4-day weekends...can't ever be satisfied, can I?

For once, I was thrilled that the meteorologists got it all wrong yet again...they forecasted a drizzly, rainy, gloomy long weekend but we ended up with gorgeous sunshine instead. It couldn't have been more beautiful. We spent a lot of time outside with Ayla and she loved it! Dean had several projects to work on in the front yard, so we sat on our blanket and watched him work.

Trying to grab the camera

Saturday afternoon was a rough one for Ayla...we've been having such a hard time getting her to nap lately. It takes about ten minutes of holding, swaying, walking, and rocking to get her to fall asleep. That's only half the battle. Once she's finally asleep, putting her down without waking her up is the difficult part. I don't understand how she can be completely mouth-open-snoring-asleep and then wake up the instant her body touches her mattress. It's the most frustrating thing! After a couple tries, I'm completely discouraged. At bedtime, she goes down like a dream...how can naps be so different? So anyways, on Saturday, I could NOT put her down so she napped for a total of less than an hour. No good. She was so crabby and worn out. By 4:30ish, she was sooo miserable that she just cried hysterically. At that point, I mirrored her state of mind and cried right along with her. Nothing I did would calm her down...usually I can get her to relax after a few minutes but she was just beyond that. I held her upright and just hugged her and swayed until she finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion with her head perched on my shoulder. She has never done that during the day...she was so tired!

I decided that she couldn't and I couldn't go through another day like that so the past couple of days, we've let her cry herself to sleep for her naps. The first time was the hardest...she cried for 20 minutes before she fell asleep. Since then though, it's only taken about ten minutes or so and it's only been two days. It's definitely hard to hear her cry, but in the end, I think it's a good thing for her to learn how to do and as a result, she has slept better and longer. I know if I stick with it, it'll keep getting easier. I have to learn to push that mommy-guilt aside...when she wakes up each time, I don't think she remembers that I'm the mean one who left her in her crib to fend for herself. :( Besides the dried snot that's all over her nose, she seems just fine. I'm home with her the entire month of June (my parents are heading back to Taiwan) so I'll have plenty of time to keep working with her. I just hope that the next few days, my parents will be able to tough it out while I'm at work and continue with what I'm doing so this weekend's progress isn't thrown out the window...they hate hearing her cry more than I do.

Sunday evening, we had dinner at Dean's parents' house...my parents came over as well. Needless to say, we had enough food to feed about 20 people. It was all so good though! :) Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures...odd, I know. For the first time ever maybe, Ayla slept through our entire dinner. It was nice to be able to sit down and eat and not have to juggle a fussy baby...a rare thing these days. That morning, Dean and I discovered that we could eat a whole plate of food in four minutes flat. I'm not sure whether or not we should be proud of that.

This morning, Dean's parents came over and we sat outside on that patio and had Bloody Mary's and cinnamon rolls...weird combo, but each was great on its own. Dean had some flowers to plant in the front yard, so we all moved up there and hung out.

Playing with Grandma and Mommy

My two babies

Basking in the sun...or just blinking.

Trying so hard not to pluck those pretty flowers

In the afternoon, we went to a BBQ at Bill and Taylor's house (parents of twins, Paige and Paxton). It was fun to spend time with friends and to see all the babies together. My how quickly they all grow!

Daddy was on sunscreen duty...

Paxton, Paige, and Ayla

Karter joined the party after a little while.
Ayla in mid-fuss...the two little ladies took turns grunting and whining...must be a girl-thing because the two boys were as quiet as can be.
All in all, it was a great weekend!

Sunny Days

It was so beautiful and sunny today, so we decided to spend some time outside. I think Ayla is like her Daddy...she seems to love being outdoors.

Swinging in the morning at Yeh-Yeh and Nai-Nai's house...check out those huge feet!

After her dinner, we slapped on some sunscreen (eventhough we ended up sitting in the shade the whole time), grabbed some toys and a blanket and went outside to wait for Daddy to come home from work.

All kinds of toys and she opts for the bag of yogurt melts.

Kody, of course, came out with us. A person with two dogs walked by and he didn't even budge...good doggy.

I love this floppy hat on her, but just recently, she has figured out when something is on her head, she can take it off. I had to keep putting it back on in order to get a few pictures!

Daddy's home!

Two green thumbs?