05.16.10

It was nice to be busy with things to do this weekend after spending the last couple of weekends not feeling the best. Ayla seems to be completely over her cold and has been such a happy little girl the past few days.
On Friday night, we stayed in, which is pretty typical anymore, and watched The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. Great movie. And on Saturday morning, we headed downtown to participate in the Heart Walk to support the daughter of one of Dean's co-workers. It was a 3.5 mile walk...there was a great turn-out and the weather was perfect. Last year, Ayla was only 7-months old and slept through the entire thing. This year, she happily sat in her stroller and snacked away the whole time.
After the walk, we met Dean's parents for lunch but we, unfortunately, had to cut it short because we were right on the edge of naptime and Ayla had just had enough. She was so great all morning but it had been a long few hours for her.

I met our friends later in the afternoon to take 3-year pictures for their son, Nolan. (I will post pictures in a separate post). They warned me that he is not a fan of pictures and they would be surprised if we could get one good shot. Well. I took that as a challenge and was quite happy with the end result. It was a quick shoot, but I think we got a lot of great pictures in a very short amount of time. Hopefully they agree when they see them.

Our very good friends, Jim and Lisa, came over for dinner (they are the ones who got married last month)...we grilled out and were able to eat out on the deck before it became too chilly. After Ayla went to bed, we sat down, relaxed, and chatted over a couple bottles of wine. Perfect.

And tonight, we're meeting up with Jim and Lisa for dinner again (along with Jim's family and friends) to celebrate his 30th birthday...they were on their honeymoon on the beautiful island of Fiji on his actual birthday (rough, huh?) so Lisa wanted him to be able to officially celebrate with everyone here. It should be another fun night.

It's been a top ten weekend so far...
This next picture blows me away...doesn't she look so big? She really isn't a baby anymore...she looks like a 3-year old in this one! Her ability to speak continues to surprise us. When she wants to, she can totally communicate with us. She has recently started saying short sentences like, "Mama, sit down." "I want [enter item]." "Mama, wash it." Basically, she has figured out how to say someone's name before the action she wants them to do. That little brain of hers has to be churning like crazy. Her memory and listening skills are incredible...listening, as in hearing words and remembering them...not listening, as in obeying what we say. :) Hopefully that part will come with time. She is, in every sense, a toddler.