Layla's Blessing

We had Layla's Baby Blessing a week ago. It was beautiful and so was sweet little Layla. Having a lot of our family here reminded me of how blessed I am to have the family I have. We have all come a long way and although it may not be the ideal family situation for most I am very pleased with how things have worked out. I feel honered to be able to raise my children with such wonderful Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. I feel the same way about both my family and my inlaws.
I loved finding this dress. I wasn't set on all white but when I saw this dress I LOVED it. Layla smiles all the time and has started the cute baby belly laugh I love so much. I can't imagine our life with out her. I love you so much Layla. Thanks Josh for the beautiful blessing.

Bitter Sweet

The Young Daisy and Marcie :) (7 years ago)






As many of you know, we gave Daisy away to Josh’s sister’s family this weekend. I am so happy she went to such a wonderful family. I know this sounds weird, but Daisy was such a unique dog. I honestly feel like she was put into my life for a reason. She far exceeded the loyal companion stereotype dogs have. She brought me joy and comfort through some very difficult times in my life. Honestly, if it weren’t for her I wouldn't be where I was today. Daisy played a large role in me deciding to move to Utah and change my life around. She was the reason I moved where I did which is the place I met Josh. When I was lonely she would cuddle me, when I was happy she would be happy with me. I would take her everywhere. She was so well trained and patient with young children. People who didn't like dogs like Daisy. Even Josh ended up falling in love with her and being the main one who took care of her once we started to have kids (for those of you who know Josh he was far from an animal person). Daisy had that influence on people. As time went on my life started to change, I had children our place was getting crowed and our sweet Layla started to develop an allergy to Daisy. I couldn't give her the love she deserved and I was always trying to keep her away from Layla. I felt very comforted in knowing that it was time for Daisy to go to a new home. I knew just the people to ask and honestly the only people I would be willing to give her to. Colette’s children LOVE Daisy and are at the perfect age for a pet. Her time with me was through and she is now blessing a wonderful family who we love so dearly. I get chocked up writing this not because I am sad but because I am so grateful for what a great influence she was in my life. I have such gratitude that she will be in a home where she will be held often, taken for walks, and there to cuddle whoever needs to be cuddled. We love you Daisy and are happy for you!

I Bet You Will Smile!

How cute is this? Our friends Rhett and Tiffani got Layla the dress and flower. I had to put it on tonight and take pictures. She enjoyed playing dress up as you can tell by the gummy grin. She will be wearing this to church for sure! We painted her nails for the occasion. I am so happy it fits now.

Family Update

"Mommy, wach me go so fast!"







I can't believe how quickly January has gone by! I thought things were supposed to slow down after the Holidays. Liam had his two year check up at the beginning of this month. He weighed in at slightly over 33Ibs and is 3 feet tall. Still in the 90% for his weight and height. He was talking up a storm at the appointment. The Dr said his vocabulary was at the level of a 3 year old. What a smarty pants. Let me share some thoughts of our two year old:
"Mommy, is Pooh Bear Fat?"
After sharing with his baby sister, "Mommy, that makes Santa sooooo happy!" (We hear this throughout the day)
After flushing something down the toilet, which didn't belong there, "Is Santa sad, Mommy?"
"Sit and relax Mommy!" He didn't want me to go get his crying sister.
Anytime he wants to disagree, "Actually that’s (fill in the blank)"
"You are so tute (cute) Mommy!"
"Ohh, I crash and burn!" any time he falls
He is such a joy and loves to make us laugh. He is so sweet and VERY active. Here are some pictures of our outing this afternoon. He was not happy about coming in. He did use his pedals for the first time however!
Layla still is so sweet and smiles all the time. Any time she makes eye contact she lets out a gummy grin. She did her first belly laugh for her Daddy and wouldn't stop doing it. It was so CUTE!!! She weighed in at 11 Ibs 2 oz and is 22 inches. She has been doing a 5-hour stretch at night but loves to be awake when Liam is sleeping so she can get attention (I understand sweet girl). We love her sweet spirit, which fills our home.

Gummy Grins of Layla

Getting Ready To Roll








Liam at this age


Here are some fun pictures of our sweet Layla. She is cooing and smiles all the time now. She can also roll over. I took the pictures as proof. Just from her stomach to back. She does it almost every belly time. A very strong little girl! She didn't get that from her Mom. I included some pictures of Liam around this age. Do you think they look alike? Who does Layla look like?

New Year's

We were able to spend New Years Eve and Day with my sisters and Mom. On New Years Eve we had a wonderful time having a fancy dinner with my Moms fabulous cooking, opening our Christmas presents and celebrating Taryn's 1st Birthday. Taryn is such a doll and reminds me so much of Liam with her personality. We were able to spend New Years Day with just the girls and went out to eat. I can't remember the last time I was able to have so much fun and just relax. I did miss my kids a ton however. We were only gone 2 hours :)

The Cabin

We were able to go up to Preston, ID to Leslie's Dad's cabin. It was so nice of her to invite us and we LOVED IT! It was in a beautiful setting where we were able to enjoy time with family, snowmobile, sled, play games and just relax. I can't begin to desribe how much fun we had. I was a little nervous going because we all had come down with colds. I was really worried about Layla. She did great however and I don't think she cried the whole trip, just a little fussing when she wanted to eat. Liam's line of the trip was "Actually, this is a house" we kept telling him it was a cabin and that is what he would respond with. He loved saying it because it made everyone laugh. He also used the line, "Actually this is a motorcycle" about the snowmobile. He is a crack up. Josh was a natural on the snowmobile as you can tell by the picture. I love that picture. Thank you Leslie for putting the trip together.

Christmas

We had so much fun this Christmas. We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Morning with my sister Tara and family. It was so much fun. Liam really grasped the whole idea of Santa. He is talked about quite often around here. I took him to the mall to see Santa and while we were waiting in line he looked so worried. I asked him if he wanted to sit on Santa's lap. He said, "No" as we were walking away he said in a quiet voice, "I love you Santa". Many of you know that Liam asked Santa for a Buzz Light Year. We made the mistake of having him open this present first. He was not interested in anything else. Whoops. We were able to talk him into opening other presents with Buzz's help. Now a big stuffed Curious George and Buzz Light Year have become part of the family. We went to my Dads that evening where we had a wonderful time eating, opening presents and spending time with family. It's nice have them so close! Liam LOVES going to their house. It is a blast. He loves playing "snows" with Daddy and Papa.
Layla was a perfect angel that day as usual. We love having her here. She is such a sweetheart. I saw a saying the other day that reminded me of her. It said, "The angels smiled when God created you." I really do feel that way about out sweet little breath of heaven. She is so tender and I love her gummy grin. I still haven't been able to catch it on camera yet. I will as soon as possible. What a perfect Christmas this year was.

Happy Birthday Liam!

Our sweet Liam turned two on the 21st of December. We had a Curious George party. Liam has been really into George. He was so excited for the party and understood more then I would have thought. For several days before his party he kept listing off names to see if they were coming to his party, "Is Bryce coming?" and always ended asking, "Is Santa coming?". Liam has been such a joy in our lives. He always has us laughing and he blows us away with everything he knows. He now knows all of his colors, how to count things up to seven (he does it accurately), shapes, how to put on his own shoes, and will occasioually use the big boy potty. We told him he gets a pet fish when he goes potty on the potty all the time. He was quiet for a bit and then said, " I want a pet fish and a shark!". Where do kids come up with these things? His favorite drink is "lemonegg" (aka lemonaid.) He weighed in at 3 feet even and 33 pounds at his two year check up. It does look like he may be dealing with some food allergies so no peanut butter and we get him tested for further allergies next week. We sure do love our little guy. He is always so happy and has really turned out to be such a sweet little guy. Sorry about the shortage of pictures. We took a ton of video but not many pictures. I will post some more later that my Dad took. Happy Birthday Liam. Thanks for giving us the best two years of our life. You truly are our "Bestest Friend" (Liam always tell's us that).