18 months!

Wow, time flies! I can't believe Ayla is so quickly approaching toddler-hood. She is 29 lbs, 34 inches tall (yep thats 95% and 98% respectively). Growing like a weed and so much fun! She is becoming quite the talker, saying tons - among the most clear are: "mommy, daddy, bubbles, papa" (thats her grandpa!), "hi, bye, apples, elmo", and of course "no" and "mine". Recently when we ask her a question she can answer "ya", she used to this goofy giggle smile thing to signify yes.
When Brett first started this blog it was him doing all the updates and pics of our pregnancy. Then I took over and it became an updated daily blog about Ayla and my new life as a stay at home mom. Now it is a periodic blog about Ayla and our adventures with her. I am back to work full time this semester. After two weeks in, I have already decided that next year I want to go completely part time. Teach only in the mornings and be home by 1 or so! Possibly even give up coaching. Amazing how priorities change huh? I miss Ayla daily and want to be more present in her daily life. We just had a great midwinter break and I am already looking forward to spring break :) I start coaching in a week and am worried about even less time with her. Brett is an amazing father and she is becoming quite the daddy's girl - even pushing me away when Brett and I hug or kiss, ha! So I know she is in good hands, plus I am hoping the weather cooperates and Ayla and Brett can visit me a lot at practice.
Parenthood is challenging but getting easier, Ayla has so much energy and personality it is hard to complain about anything. We are approaching those terrible twos. She is becoming much more particular, especially with her clothes, food, and activities. Her socks have to be perfect, she will only feed herself, and constantly wants to be do bubbles out on the patio, going down her slide, and playing with balls. I am proud to say that everytime we see a basketball hoop she says "ba-ball"! She just moved up to the beasts group at Little Gym and is doing awesome, so close to attempting a forward roll all by herself! She is very social, studying adults and other kids, loves giving hugs and kisses. I would describe her as active, independent, strong willed, yet very loving and caring. Here are some pics of 18 month old Ayla Christina Thompson.

A quick visit from aunty Scooby. Another fave of Ayla's is starfall.com. She can click on letters to make the sounds, with fun illustrations, music and activities. It is hard to tear her away so when my sister came through the front door I was sure Ayla would smile a bit and then go back to her game. However, she got up ran to my sister and held her arms out for Christina to pick Ayla up. They have a ton of fun together. Here they are snacking on some dried apples:

A much needed visit from Justin, Jeni, and Abby - their 7 month old! A beautiful morning called for a trip to the park which included Abby's first time on a swing. It was ridiculous how many pics we took. Getting the girls to look at the camera, let alone smile at the same time was pretty much impossible - but the mommy's and daddy's managed

Ayla loves when we pile pillows on top of her then pretend to look for her. She will pop up and start to giggle. Oh ya and we can't really keep clothes on the girl...

One of her many favorite activities. Notice again...no clothes. I think she enjoys climbing up the stairs on the slide more than actually sliding down. Brave girl!

Dancing...wow, what'd ya know, no clothes!

If the weather is remotely nice, Ayla begs to go outside. We have an amazing park that we can walk to in 5 minutes. We also have a big toy right behind our complex for the more cloudy/rainy days. It is so great that Ayla is getting big enough to climb and play on the the jungle gyms, swing, and slide down the slides. Patience, as with most toddlers is hard for Ayla. We are workign on it. Hurry up daddy!
Hurry up mom, stop taking pictures, lets go OUTSIDE

Her furreal puppy. When you pull the rope in his mouth he pants, growls, barks. Sorry Ayla but this is as close to a pet as you're gonna get until we have a yard and soem space for him/her :(

Building with her mega bloks is another fave. She first dumps the whole box, then picks the ones she wants. I love to build, anything really. Furniture, contraptions, shelves. It is in my blood. So I get excited to see Ayla's talents, her grandpa would be so proud!

Dancing again, this time she managed to keep her clothes on.