Ayla the Elf

Well it seems that the holidays come around earlier and earlier each year. I noticed this weekend that at the Supermall Santa has already arrived! So in this spirit I put on some striped leggings that I found for Ayla. She had a cute matching green onesie but decided to blow out her diaper - so mom threw on this little apple onesie. The green onesie was even more elf-like but I still couldn't resist snapping pics of my precious little one looking like the perfect elf!

Here is Ayla posing yet again for mommy

Ayla is also working on sitting up - here she is with a little help:

Now the little elf gets distracted by daddy:

Scared or Excited?

I was snapping pictures of Ayla the other day and I came across thes one. Ayla's expressions for being excited about something to being startled are one in the same. I couldn't resist posting this because they made me laugh so hard, so hopefully they have the same effect on all of you who visit our blog!

PS: I would like to point out that I am someone who went from hardly ever updating our blog, to someone who can't stay away from it. Thats what motherhood does to you, endless pride in getting to tell everyone the day to day happenings of her little one :)

PSS: Look at those chubby arms -they actually are starting to overlap her wrists! Wholy cow I can't resist the SQUEEZE (shout out to my scoobs)

Cousins!

My cousin Lisa (on my mom's side), who is only a year younger than me just had her baby - Kylie Marie Hatfield. Just a side note, my cousin Trena's baby (on my dad's side) is named Kyla. So now we have Kyla, Ayla, and Kylie - my mom is nervous about keeping all the names straight :) I am SO excited about her birth. I am starting to be surrounded by family and friends that have had or are expecting babies. So Ayla will have lots of friends and cousins to play with!
Lisa and I grew up playing Barbies, watching ridiculous eighties movies like Spaceballs and National Lampoon's Vacation and begging our moms to let us spend the night with each other (she leaved an hour away). So now we can start the cycle all over again with Ayla and Kylie - payback time I guess :) Here are pics of our sleepy little girls. Ayla has always been the tiny little one, until now - she was a big butterball compared to Lisa's precious little one...

GO Bears !!!

I am posting a shout out to my husband and his football team who after hard work and perseverance have made it to playoffs. The Tahoma Bears will play the Jackson Timber Wolves on Friday in Everett. If they win they proceed to the next round and will play Ferris High School in Spokane next week.

Much congrats to the players and especially the coaches who spend countless hours, anaylzing stats, constructing defensive and offensive schemes, scouting, and devoting time to making a difference in the lives of these young men. For Brett and the rest of the staff, it is about more than football, it is about character, competition, teamwork, and comraderie - life skills that will carry on past the glory days of high school football.

Go Bears !!

Ayla Rolls Over!!!

I shall set the scene:
My mom is sitting on the couch, I am on my knees on the floor and Ayla is having some tummy time. She is happily teetering on her tummy, some little grunts and cooes here and there. I am encouraging her to lift her head up and get up on her forearms. Then out of nowhere she lifts her left arm and then the left leg follows and she rolled over!!! I flipped out - totally brought tears to my eyer. My mom and I are cheering and laughing hysterically while poor little Ayla is lying wide eyed and startled. I quickly picked her up and smothered her with kisses. To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I put her on her tummy again and she proceeded to roll over. I quickly grabbed the video camera and prayed that she would do it again when daddy got home. Brett came home later and I give him the good news, bragging about our little girl who accomplished a physical feat that most babies can't do until 14 or 15 weeks (she is 11 weeks) and of course she did it again. Now we are working on rolling onto her left side.
As she lay in my arms or feeds at my breast I look at her I am overwhelmed with love for her simple little self. As the days continue I see her changing everyday and praise God for this gift that he has entrusted to me. Teaching was my passion - I loved my students and my colleagues. My job was very rewarding and I know God wanted me in the classroom. My decision to stay at home and not go back to work was a very tough one that at my weak moments I question. God has given me strength and assurance that this is where he has called me to be right now.
Motherhood is tiring and stressfull but Ayla brightens every moment with a coo, a little smile, a fart, or even a super stinky squirt and with each Ayla accomplishment I feel so encouraged. Her personality is starting to arise and she is SO active. She urges me to mix up our play time with lots of different activities. She is my little athlete :)
I hope someday soon to start posting videos, so stay tuned...