One little monkey jumping on the bed...

She threw all of this stuff--blankets, pillows, dolls, stuffed animals, etc.--into her crib and insisted on climbing in herself to roll around in it. After that got boring, she tossed it all back out to form this mini-Mt.Everest. She looks so innocent, doesn't she?
She then started jumping around in there...she was having such a blast with her hair flopping all over the place and that awesome little giggle filling the room. Love it. It's so great how the simplest little things can make her so happy.
I ordered this new bag for Ayla last week from www.embroideryandmore.org and it already came in the mail today. I love it. The bag we're currently using is stained and ripped, so I figured it was time for a new one. To top it off, this new one is machine washable. Nice. My friend, Nicole, has them for both of her kids and she said they've held up really well. It's made by Stephen Joseph...check 'em out.

Cousins

Ayla's cousins, Haylee and Bennett, came over for a few hours today. After playing inside for just a little bit, we decided to head outside and play with sidewalk chalk and bubbles.
This picture is so typical of the three of them: Ayla's looking at anything but the camera, Haylee is smiling, and Bennett looks worried. :)
We ate lunch outside on the deck...usually Ayla eats really well with Hay and B, but today she was just too busy. We only got a few bites in.

After lunch, we went downstairs and played Wii for a little while...we were all pretty terrible at Mario Kart! I think we were driving the wrong way most of the time, but it was still fun. While Ayla was down for a nap, we worked on some sand projects:
Before we knew it, my brother was here to pick them up. It was a really fun day--everyone was happy and very well-behaved. I think Ping was worried because he called after only 30 minutes to make sure they were doing okay and then he followed with a few text messages as well. It helped break up my and Ayla's day and make it go quicker...always a bonus. Dean finally comes home tonight...we miss him!

YAY!

I know I already posted today, but this calls for an additional post:

Ayla. Ate. So. Well. Today.

Because I have never been able to say that without a little bit of hesitation, I'm going to say it again without an ounce of hesitation--Ayla ate soooooo well today! For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, you've all heard me freaking out about how she simply does not eat well, so this is the best day ever. Seriously. I am a happy mommy right now.

I try to mentally prepare myself for the fact that when I set her food down, she will most likely not even give it a second glance. Most of the time, this is true...but today, she ate everything I gave her. I just sat and stared at her completely dumbfounded. She ate like a different child. The amount of food she ate today was probably the same amount she normally eats in three days. No joke.

Because I know this may not happen again tomorrow...or for a long time, for that matter, I wanted to document it so when I am on the brink of having a meltdown on one of those days where she literally has not had a single thing to eat, I can look back on this post and know that she will eat. Sometimes. :)

05.24.10

Dean was in Chicago over the weekend (and he leaves for Baltimore this afternoon)...it's kind of hard to find things to do all day long when he's gone. I tried taking Ayla for a walk yesterday morning--I packed up snacks, juice for her, water for me, and dug out my seldom-worn sneakers but when I attempted to put her in the stroller, she threw a tantrum loud enough to wake up all of our neighbors. I tried the wagon...same reaction. *SIGH* No walk was taken. We'll try again another day. Complete change of subject, but yesterday she took her longest nap ever--3 hours and 15 minutes! She woke up a couple times for a few minutes each but was able to fall asleep again. I couldn't believe it. Her naps are normally an hour and half, give or take 15 minutes. I started to get paranoid and checked on her a couple times!

She loves having pockets on her outfits.

05.21.10

Holy buckets.

I baby-sat my adorable little 5-week old niece, Makayla overnight last night. See the picture above? She was the complete opposite of that for approximately the first six hours I had her. :) Marla came over to help for a little while and I (semi) joked that God must erase our memories of the first several weeks of having a new baby because, I kid you not, I felt like I had absolutely no recollection of what Ayla was like at this age and how I dealt with it. I remember it was hard. Really hard. But I have no details.

Grandma and Grandpa took Ayla last night and I am so very thankful for that. I don't know what I would have done with a screaming baby and a screaming Ayla clutching to my legs. What in the world am I going to do when we have another baby someday? I thought I was ready, but I'm kind of twitching at the thought.

Between my brother and Surina, they have five children. How they can get minimal sleep overnight by caring for Makayla and still have the energy the next day to care for four others blows my mind. They are amazing.

Despite the rough beginning, it is fun to hold a little tiny baby again...but maybe next time I volunteer to take her, I'll be sure that Dean is home so I have back-up. :)

Potty chair

After reading a gazillion potty chair reviews online and asking Erika for advice, I settled on this simple, two-piece potty made by Baby Bjorn. It was hard to resist the "fun" ones that were colorful and played what would become very annoying music, but I really rely on these reviews from real-life moms. Judging by their opinions, this one is the one to get. I also had to resist getting the hot pink one...if we have a son someday, he doesn't need to be peeing in a pink potty.

I, more or less, wanted to get one because Ayla has been showing interest in it--she sees me sitting on the toilet, she watches Elmo go potty on T.V., and she often will tell me when she's going "poo-poo". I wasn't sure if I wanted to dive into this 100% since I think she may be a little young for it. I figured I'd just get one and let her give it a try...especially since I'll be home with her for the next few weeks.

I put her on it when we got home from Target. Nothing. Ten minutes later, I took her in again and after a minute or two, she peed! I was so excited...she looked at me all wide-eyed like I was completely nuts. Before Dean gave her a bath, he plopped her on it and she went again. It could just be luck that she has gone in it...but still exciting, nonetheless. :)

Stay-at-home-mommy time again!

Today is day one of three weeks home with Ayla! We have big plans for these few weeks...weather-permitting, we're going to go on a walk everyday; we're going to introduce a potty chair; and we're going to try and learn some colors and numbers. Oh...and I have a truckload of laundry to do. And that's just a slight exaggeration.

It's time for some Aunt Marla love...these pictures are from a couple evenings ago. Lee, Barb, and Marla came over to grill out and enjoy the amazing weather.

For 19 months, we've been trying to get a picture where both of them are looking. Finally!

The more you mess with Ayla, the more fun she has...she loves being upside-down.

She calls Grandpa, "Ba-Pa" now...it's so cute.

Reading bedtime books...

Nolan

Here are a few of my favorites of Nolan from Saturday afternoon...'lil cutie pie. For not liking pictures, he did great!