On the beach in Boston!

Sadly the layout is having issues tonight and I am just too tired to make it look good (= We got back on Wednesday after a HARD day of travel. Ick. We had a great time in Boston and Layla got some great beach time in, even if it was too cold to swim! We also had our first donuts there! Couldn't pass up the Dunkin Donuts the entire time we were there - they are on EVERY street corner. We finally succumbed and Layla loves them, of course (=

Daddy Date

Layla turns two next week and Tom and I thought it was time for her to have her first date with her daddy. She knows that mama and daddy go out on dates together (one of the pluses of living with parents!!) and it was fun to see her get the concept of a date with daddy Ice cream, playground and puppies.....Way to go Dad.

Cuddly

Layla has been so affectionate and cuddly lately. She has also started sucking her thumb which we don't really understand. We thought she was teething, but who knows. Anyway, we are enjoying the cuddles whe we can get them (=

My Birthday - belated shots

Mama's Birthday! We went to a park to grill
just for a change (we grill a lot at home because
Dad has a LOVELY grill!).
Friend Sue and Cousin David came along.
Layla was on the swing most of the time (=
She likes to go SO HIGH!

Almost a Diva

Layla's Nana (tom's mom) gave her this exquisite pink fluffy cape to wear and it is the source of great fun for Layla and the various animals that wear it. Today she was walking around in her styling pink sunglasses and her cape matched with a lovely diaper. The flash on my silly camera is too slow so I missed the lovely pose... What you see is just the aftermath (=

Pooh butt

Jen sent another fabulous package for Layla. So full of things that I haven't given it all to her yet! I loved these little pants. It was too cute with the lamb butt as well (= I should have taken off her big but we were eating outside and she was running everywhere (= The top right photo reminds me of photos of myself trying to find an appropriate smile. Gotta love the chub legs still (= She is just too much fun. Every night we all look at each other and say "she can't be real!!" What a blessing to have a child with such a sweet demeanor!

Tonight Tom and I were headed out for my birthday and she was getting a little clingy in order to avoid her bath. So Tom and I were kneeling down with her taking her clothes off and I said "Daddy and Mommy are going on a date." She knows what these means - sort of and immeadiately put her arms around me to hug me and do a little pat pat on my shoulders and then leaned over to Tom and did the same. Then she took off running to the bath. Somehow knowing we were going on a date made a difference! funny child.

Geeky Happy Baby....

Something about these photos makes her look so geeky in such a sweet way (= She was clapping away to a song, not sure which. She is wearing her new black shoes from my Uncle Harold (=
This afternoon in the car I was praying outloud and heard Layla starting to sing the words to Jesus Loves Me using the few words of each line that she knows. It was SOOOO precious!

7th Anniversary Part Two

Dessert is the best of course, so here is our white and dark chocolate fondue! Tom surprised me with this on Sunday night but he also had dessert plans elsewhere, so this was part of the SECOND night we celebrated. SOOO yummy!!

Tom and I had a LOVELY anniversary on August 3rd and 7th (= We did fondue and dessert on the 3rd and then a great dinner on the 7th with food so beautiful we had to photograph it. Thanks Tina!

Mine was this lovely pork chop will all sorts of fanciness (= Tom had the seafood medley pictured above AND two appetizers! Since I'm not a big seafood fan we thought it was a good time for him to just order whatever he wanted without having to worry about sharing with me.... It was a great place.

First Haircut

It was finally time to cut Layla's hair (= She had a long chunk in the back that just didn't blend in anywhere. I just didn't know how to deal with that and then all her curly parts in the back so I went to Great Clips and had them do it! I was surprised at how well she sat on my lap. I think she was really fascinated by being able to watch everything in the mirror. I saved a little bit of hair so we can remember how red her hair is if it changes color soon. We don't think it will change since her eyebrows are the same color.... I had no idea how much attention redheads get, by the way! I don't know where the saying about blondes having more fun came from, because Layla ALWAYS gets comments on the hair color.

Old Friends Play Musical Chairs

We knew Mike and Ginger back in Minneapolis and Ginger was a LIFESAVER the week before we left for the US. She came over and helped mom and I pack for ages, it seemed. She also gave me some great shoes (= Finn, her oldest had somehow increased her shoe size with his arrival (= My favorite shoes when I was pregnant were from Ginger.

Anyway, true to our life stage, we met at the food court in the mall and then took our food down to the kiddie play area. We pulled a table and chairs near the thing so we felt close enough to be responsible but far enough to eat and talk. Delicate balance. Then the closed the play area for cleaning so we dragged our table and chairs to the nearby play area and kept talking. Then they re-opened the original play area and we dragged everything back over......You do what you can to have a complete conversation during these years (=

It was lovely. We wish them all the best with what they are doing and where they are serving.