Happy Birthday to our Baby!

I just can't believe it. Exactly one year ago today, at this time, I was being put on Pitocin. It was such a long day, but at 7:36PM, when we saw our beautiful, healthy baby girl, it made it all worth it. This past year has been the most amazing year of our lives. Layla has been the greatest joy in our lives and we feel so blessed to be her parents. Watching her grow and learn each day has made us so proud. We've learned so much from her and continue to thank our Heavenly Father for such a beautiful blessing.

We love you baby Layla. Happy First Birthday!

Layla @ 1 year old:

• she started walking full throttle on Dec. 23rd
• she's had her first real bo-bo. yesterday she fell and split her lip open. so sad.
• the week of the 14th she cut 6 new teeth...
• ..and she's still cutting them.
• she has a favorite Baby Einstein and knows when we put it in.
• did not enjoy her 5th plane ride and neither did we!
• loves the itsy-bitsy spider and does all the actions to it.
• loves table food but is becoming more picky :(
• loves her sippy.
• instead of hitting you when she's mad, she'll clap her hands in front of your face.
• becoming more indepentent.
• doesn't gives loves as often as she used too. another :(
• likes to be in the middle of all her cousins. (she thinks she big)
• she weighs 21 pounds and is about 26 inches long.
• likes to brush her teeth.
• knows where her nose, hair, ears and teeth are. we're working on the belly button.
• stranger danger really set in from out of no where.
• loves little babies and kids
• has the best cuddles.
• if she pinches of hits you, she'll imediately give you loves right after.
• loves to crawl up stairs. she can crawl down one or two and just goes right back up. makes me a bit nervous.
• Yells for her "Daaaa" everywhere she goes.
• Brings the most joy to me and her daddys lives. We just can't get enough of her.

(stay tuned for a lot of "firsts." we surprised our Utah family for Christmas and are having the time of our lives.)

Confession..

So, I have a bit of a confession to make. For those of you who know, I got a wonderful new camera for my birthday. After playing with it for a week, and learning what I could, I wasn't happy with the results of my pictures. Not that they were bad, but the lighting was a bit orange, and sometimes they'd be out of focus. And when you have an 11 month old, you need your camera to be able to keep up with her. Anyway, last weekend, Lance and I were at Sam's Club and I just happened to pick up the Nikon D3000. I played around with it for a bit and was amazed at the quality of pictures. I instantly fell in love (and I think Lance did too). So I decided, if I'm going to get a new camera I might as well do it right the first time. I sold my newest camera to my brother-in-law, Brad, and the next day I picked up this one...

Isn't it wonderful?

So yeah, any spare time I get, guess what I'm doing? Learning and snapping, learning and snapping. Here's a few pics.

Lance got his Christmas present a few days early this year. It's a Kimber 1911. He is so proud of this gun. I'm a firm believer of receiving your presents on Christmas, but this just isn't something I can pick out, and if he doesn't like it, he can return it.

My poor Layla. Last week she cut 4 new teeth. This week she's dealing with a horrible cold. We're doing everything to get her well before Christmas. Who wants to be sick on their first Christmas?

She's telling me a very intense story right here...

Even though she's sick, she's still got her appetite!

She loves playing, "Where's Layla?"

Her poor little nose is so raw and every once in a while you'll see little tears come out of her watery eyes.

Her first time trying Mustard Greens. She loved them! Grandma Shellie will be proud.

Priceless moments...

Santa..

I really didn't do this to torture her. She loves everyone, so I didn't think it would be any different with Santa. I thought wrong..

(the picture quality is horrible, sorry)

Love Her Lips

The first thing I noticed when I had Layla was her lips. I just remember saying to Lance, "Oh my gosh! Look at her beautiful lips!"

While driving to Gulfport on Saturday, she fell asleep and when I looked back to check on her, that's the first thing I noticed.. her lips. I just wanted to give them the biggest sugars! She can thank her daddy for that feature.

Can't Get Enough

Don't know what it was she put in her mouth, but it made for a cute pic!

Such a Sweet Daddy..

Layla..

..and her daddy..

...watching..

..The Baby Einstein Marathon.

Lance is so sweet. He'll make Layla a comfortable little spot on the floor and endure all the Baby Einstein goodness.

Gingerbread Cookies w/ the Cusaks!

Last Tuesday we had the Cusaks over for a yummy dinner. Afterwards we baked and decorated gingerbread cookies. I think Gwen enjoyed it the most!

{little Gwennie hard at work}

{so precise}

{the one cookie I decorated}

{Layla enjoying every bit of her cookie!}

notice her top tooth finally making an entrance!

My Birthday

I feel completely selfish doing a post on "my birthday," but really I'm doing it to show my appreciation to my wonderful husband and family. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life. In fact, of all 23 birthdays I think this one will be remembered the most. Not that I've had a "bad birthday" or anything, this one was just extremely special. Thank you so much for making this day so enjoyable and relaxing!

{Cute hats and jewelery from Greg and Amanda}

{Love this watch from my mom and dad, it has interchangeable bands}

{jackets from my hubby, he has great taste}

{ah, my mom and Lance know exactly what hits the spot! Can't wait to start more baking!}

This camera was a total SURPRISE! Hence the ridiculous look on my face. My husband is so wonderful. I had been complaining about my 5 year old camera for awhile because of the horrible delay and the 20 flashes, but didn't want to fork out the money for a new one. Oh the pictures I can take with this puppy! I can't wait! Sorry Sony, I gotta love my Nikon!

Playing with the new camera in the rest!

{I love love Him}

{Scratching Layla's back while watching Baby Einstein}

{Best sugars in the world!}

{Funny Face}

{Just love her}

Just Because..

These photos have no particular theme to them, they're literally

"just because."

I honestly don't know what we did for entertainment before Layla was born. And yes, this whole post is all about her. What's new?

To Begin, Layla loves this little Christmas puppy. It plays all kinds of Christmas music and dances. She's lights up when she sees it every morning. Thanks Susie!

Just when I finally think I have this whole house child proofed...
This is what she did when I found her.
Her all time favorite guy.

She reminds us both of a little bird. Here's why:

Lance is known for always having a big glass of ice water with him. Layla LOVES the ice. So he'll chew it up a bit and feed it to her. She'll sit on his lap and just wait patiently, with her mouth wide open.

This little cart keeps her busy for the most part of her days.

Can you guess what she's watching right here?

Still enjoys her baths.

Sportin Mama's boots.

First time trying eggs with toast. By the look of her face it doesn't seem she's enjoying it, but I promise, she loved it.

On a crafty note:

My friend, Jennifer and I made an attempt to learn how to make korker bows and it worked! I'm so glad we did it. Now I know why bows can be so expensive! It took us a few hours to make one little bow. But I think it was well worth it.