Was I really like that???

So I was reading my resume today and doing some small updates to keep things current. I have to say I was SO impressed with the person that I hardly recognize as myself any more (= What a shocking departure to my life today. sigh. I've always heard that moms of young kids can feel like their identities have been submerged, and I totally get that now! I suppose I feel it a bit more than some since I had a good 15 years of work experience under my belt before having a baby.
Anyway, it made me happy to think about all the things I've done (= I'm loving what I'm doing now, too, by the way!!

Layla's latest

You know, I write so much about Layla on here because it is the easiest and most fun part of life at the moment. The rest of life isn't as fun or well-ordered. You may be laughing that I am calling a 19 month old "well-ordered". She really is:

I was giving her a snuggle and a bottle in the living room chair yesterday when she noticed the rubberband/cabinet door safety latch wasn't fixed properly. She crawled off my lap and tapped at it until I fixed it.

If the gate at the top of the stairs is ever left open, she points and grunts in a girly fashion.

She will spend a good 10-15 minutes trying to put a diaper on her little dolly. I sewed/cut a diaper triangle out of felt and attached some small velcro dots so she could open and close it. She LOVES to try and do this.

She loves to clean. We have a cleaning lady that she knows really well because she took care of Grandpa every day all day right towards the end. Anyway, Sherry has taught her how to go around with a little cloth and dust. She did all the shelves she could reach in the living room the other day.

Her latest exploits:
Tom took her to the park and was SO surprised when she started to climb the jungle gym all by herself and do the slides on her own! That is a lot of stairs and climbing! He was a proud papa.

She knows most all her letters now. I have no idea why she is learning them so early....we certainly aren't pushing her or anything. She even started to spell with mom the other day. Of course she doesn't know what she's really doing, but she wanted to copy grandma (=

She likes to put on her shoes - she can't quite get it to work yet, but she'll shove her toes in there as far as they will go. She also "opens" her socks for me to put on her feet. I'm trying to find every way she can start to help because she is getting so independent.

She plays hide and seek with just about everything - even Tom's stomach. She'll hide something and put her little hands up "where? where? over there? NO! over there? No!" Tada, she pulls it out. It is SO hysterical to watch her do this over and over and over again.

Anyway. That's all for now. I'm getting tired all of a sudden. must g o t o b e d

The Stink Eye

As much as Layla is a sweet and fun little girl, she can give out the "stink eye" as Mike puts it (= Here's a little sample...

Easter Egg Hunt - thanks Sue!

So I often feel badly that I don't get into all the little holiday traditions around here. I'm VERY grateful for friends who do (= Our family friend Sue arranged an Easter Egg Hunt for Layla today. It was inside as opposed to outside in the 5 inches of slushy snow.....

What a cutie! She tried some candy in an Egg early that morning and spat it out (= She was MUCH more excited about the raisins Sue put in the eggs!

Coaching Layla on how the game works. She already likes to hide things and holds her hands up like this to get us to say "where is it?"

Our little family.

This is Sue helping Layla realize that there are treats in the eggs. She did a great job!

Playing Guitar with Daddy!

Music time! Layla loves it when Tom plays the guitar...this is her first hands-on time (=

The Creative Zone

Tom found this great little plastic table and chair set at Goodwill and Layla has REALLY enjoyed having her own table! It is off the kitchen just a bit so she is still in the middle of the action. The pantry and laundry are in the room with her so there is lots of activity. She loves to draw and color and is working hard to stay on the paper. She has chosen to wear this little flowerd shirt multiple times which is really interesting. She specifically chose these shoes and is ALWAYS putting on her hats. I have her hats and sweaters all in a basket and she loves to pick through them and try stuff on (= We never know what she'll come out wearing!

Watch bears in our yard!

This is a little long, but it is worth it. I've never seen bears up this close and being SO active! They are crazy. They jumped in front of mom's office window and we all bounded out to the backyard to catch a glimpse. They were very accomodating and hung around for about 15 minutes.

5 Generations of Kids

I counted up yesterday that 5 generations of kids have played with these toys! They belonged to my Great-Grandpa on my Dad's side. Can you believe that!?! Some of them sure look old enough. This is one of the many cool things about living with my parents at the moment - all the old stuff around (= Layla's main toy "chest" is the dolly crib that my aunt played with when she was young.

Old School Toys

Here are some photos of Layla playing with the crib that Jen and I grew up with. We had all forgotten we even HAD the crib until Jen remembered yesterday. I tell people that the only reason Lj is so smart is because of her Aunt Jen....she is the one always finding and introducing the proper toys at the proper time! The side rail is broken on the crib and provides ENDLESS fun for Lj to keep pulling it up.