Jimmy Eat World! {I am SO lucky}

TOMORROW!

Tomorrow I am getting to cash is my Mother's Day gift from Kyle.

We get to see Jimmy Eat World!

Some of you faithful blog followers may remember a post that I wrote a couple of years ago about my experience seeing Jimmy Eat World in SLC.  My boss at the time gave me tickets and then I was able to see them a week later in Seattle when I was home visiting my family.  Both shows were amazing.  I wrote about my experience here.

It's interesting to read back to a time in my life when I was so unhappy.  I was a single mommy and I was feeling very lost and scared and unsure.  Luckily, Kyle was about to swoop in and save me and my girl from that scary place.

It's funny reading about my connection to music... These days I hear sad songs about broken hearts and I think to myself, I won't relate to this ever again.  I don't relate to sad songs or angry songs or songs for the lost souls.  I am so delighted to say that I've got Kyle forever and I've got Ayla and I just cannot relate.  I am not lost or scared or unsure.  I am here and I am happy and I am secure.

I AM SO LUCKY.

And I get to see Jimmy Eat World again tomorrow night because my amazing husband knew just what to get me for Mother's Day.

LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY!

A letter to Ayla this Father's Day. {The longest post ever.}

{Because we're going to be out of town for Father's Day.}

Dear Ayla,

I have thought a lot about what I would write on this  blog about your daddy.  I had so many great ideas.  I could brag about how handsome he is and how funny he is and how great of a daddy he is to you and how great of a husband he is to me.  But that's not something that I need to tell you.  I know that you can feel it.

You are a very lucky little girl.  You have what a lot of kids don't have and that is a daddy who stays home with you.  You get to wake up and eat cereal with your daddy everyday.  Your daddy watches the Disney channel with you every day.  Your daddy takes the time to put your crazy hair into a pony tail {which you destroy} every day.  Your daddy makes sure that you get snacks and mac-n-cheese or noodles and milk whenever you're hungry.  He plays games with you.  He laughs with you.  He is always there for you.

Do you want to know why you're extra, extra lucky?  You are an extra lucky little girl because your daddy chose to love you.  See, your daddy met mommy when you were just a baby.  You could hardly even talk!  Mommy was worried about introducing the two of you because I wanted to be sure that he was a good one.  I didn't want to introduce you, decide that he wasn't right for our family {or have him decide we weren't right for him!}, and then have him be gone.  It's a tricky situation being a single lady with a baby.  Dating isn't just casual anymore.  Not only did someone that I was going to date need to be good for me, but they needed to be good for you.  I knew from the beginning that he was a good guy, but he turned out to be the best guy.  For me and for you.

Your daddy and I fell in love.  I was head-over-heels.  And Ayla, you were too.  You have loved Kyle from the beginning.  You started calling him Tyle {You couldn't make the K sound} and then Ty-ty, then Ky-ky, then Kylo, and finally you could say Kyle.  He eventually became "Daddy Ky-ky" and after we were married, you called him daddy.  I let you go at your own pace with him.  I didn't force a relationship.  Your daddy Ky-ky just swept in and loved you from the start.  He chose me and he chose you.  Someday when you are grown you will understand how huge that decision was.  You will understand that loving a child that isn't yours is not always easy.  For your daddy, it was easy.  He has never once made me feel bad about having a child or been sorry that we have never had the normal child-less dating or married phase.  You know, doing whatever we want, whenever we want.  He chose you to be his daughter and he has never looked back.  You are such a lucky girl.

Your daddy and I were to be married on September 8th, 2012.  We we going to be sealed for time and all eternity.  I only had one issue.  I couldn't bear the thought of not being sealed to you.  I just couldn't think about that.  With a lot of prayer and fasting on my part and your extended families part, we got the blessing to have you sealed to us.  Your biological daddy wrote a letter giving us his permission.  He loves you very much and he gave you an amazing gift that I will always be grateful for.  Your daddy Joseph gave us his blessing to be sealed as a family.

On September 8th, 2012 you came to the Temple with daddy and I.  We were sealed as a family.  I will never forget your sweet little face, you seemed so nervous about all eyes on you.  And your beautiful white dress.  I will never forget that the first thing you said to us was that you were hungry.  I love that you remember that day too.  You remember almost every detail from the Temple.  I love to ask you about it and have you show me how we had our hands together and hear you say, "We were sealed as a family, mom!"

We are so lucky to be sealed to the best daddy in the world.  He really is the best.  But I don't have to tell you that.  Like I said, I know that you can feel it.  As a mommy, nothing could ever make my heart happier than the love between you and your daddy.  The daddy that chose you.

Love, Your Mommy

**********

Last Sunday Ayla's Sunday school teacher asked Ayla questions about Kyle.  They wrote down her answers.  This is so awesome because these ladies don't even know Kyle.  The answers came straight from Ayla.  She sure knows him well! {Reading this makes me cry.  Her daddy makes her heart feel real happy!}

Pictures say a thousand words right?  Now look at these pictures {SO. MANY. PICTURES.} and tell me that they don't have the sweetest relationship you've ever seen!  These two make my heart feel real happy.

This is Ayla approx. two months before she met Kyle.  She was just a tiny thing.

March 2011

 

06/12/2013

Can't you just feel the love from these pictures?  Best.  Daddy.  Ever.

Happy Father's Day Kyle!

{I can't wait to make more babies with you!}

And as a bonus... He's a video of baby Ayla coming home and asking to see Kyle.  :)  That little voice!  November 2nd, 2011.

A Thoughtful Girl.

Ayla is a thoughtful girl.

{For those who don't know:  Her name is pronounced "EYE-LUH"}

She is so intelligent.  It is very clear to me that she thinks things over.  A lot.  I love that about her.

She is often concerned for my feelings or for her daddy's feelings.  She is often asking about family members {near and far} and when she can see them, how they are doing, etc.  She doesn't forget anyone.  Or anything.  And I mean REALLY.  This girl's memory is like nothing I have ever experienced.  She remembers every little detail about every little encounter.  So if you've met Ayla and have had a conversation with her, trust me when I say that you are important to her and she thinks of you often.

I know that she is smart.  And I know that she is thoughtful.  And sweet.  And kind.  But sometimes she throws me off with just how sweet, thoughtful, and kind she is.

Yesterday our family was out running errands and we decided to have dinner at In-N-Out.  After we were done eating I took Ayla to the bathroom.  I knew she had to go but wouldn't admit it so I said, "I have to go potty, can you come with me?"  Of course her answer was, "Ummm, SURE!"

I took her hand and we headed off to the bathroom.

She looked up at me and said, "Mom, you're my best friend."
I said, "Ayla, you're my best friend, too!"
She said, "Uh huh.  And thank you for helping me do my sticker puzzle before I ate my food.  I really loved that."

Ayla and I at In-N-Out.

I really love that she thought to thank me for something as simple as putting together an In-N-Out sticker puzzle with her.

After we had left and we were on out way to Walmart she said, "Hey mom?  Thank you for taking me to Walmart with you in your car."
I said, "You're welcome, Ayla.  I love having you in my car."
She said, "Yup.  Can you turn the music down so I can talk to you?  I just can't hear ANYTHING!"

This was the first time she has asked me to turn the music DOWN instead of asking me to turn it up.  She proceeded to talk to me about all kinds of things.  Her dinner, her toys, her clothes, her daddy, Walmart, grandma... You name it.  She was talking my ear off.  And I loved every minute of it.

I love her emotion and the way that she shares that with me.  Even though I don't understand her over-dramatic reactions, I love that she is willing to talk to me about it.  "Mom, you hurt my feelings when you said that I couldn't have that toy and it made me really, really sad!"  I hope that she always feels that she can be open with me and tell me what's "in her heart", as she calls it.  {I may regret saying this when she's 16 and talking my ear off about her feelings.  She's a drama queen, I tell ya.  So not like me and so hard for me to handle!}

I love my super smart, super thoughtful, super silly, super cute little girl.  She is totally 3 going on 30 and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dating my daughter.

On Saturday night Kyle had the rare opportunity to go out with his friends.  This left Ayla and I alone.  I didn't want to stay in and we hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I asked Ayla where she wanted to eat.

She chose Sonic.  I was more than fine with that because I was already craving my second "dirty diet coke" of the day.  What is a dirty diet coke?  It's just a little sip o' heaven that my cousin Bevany introduced me to.  {Diet coke with coconut syrup and a lime.  Try it.}

Alya declared that this little trip to Sonic was a DATE.

I decided to go through the drive-thru rather than park and order, but once we had our food I asked Ayla if she wanted to eat at their picnic-style tables outside.  She was ecstatic.  She ran to the table and when we got there said, "This table is wonderful, mom!  Don't you love this table?"  {She commented on how awesome the table was numerous times throughout the evening.}  This here was another opportunity to see things through my little girl's eyes.  I can see how a red table in the middle of a parking lot could be wonderful.  We were enjoying the sunshine with a slight breeze and a beautiful view of the mountains.  And we were together.  Wonderful.

Ayla ate a grilled cheese sandwhich and french fries.  She also requested a watermelon slush.  {Her reason for choosing Sonic.}  I got a cheeseburger, but I neglected that cheeseburger terribly because of the awesome dirty diet coke I was enjoying.

As we were eating our food Ayla put her little hand on my arm and said, "How is your great date, mom?"  {When she asks you about your day, she always asks how your "great day" was.  I love that she assumes it was great and she just wants you to elaborate on the greatness.}  "My great date is awesome!  How is yours, Lolli?"  She responds with, "Great!  I love our date!"  I asked her what she would like to talk about.  I know she has a lot to say, and some times it's important to sit down and listen.  She told me all about her toy.  It's an orange plastic hamster.  However, today she was pretending that it was a lizard and it's name is Ziggy.  It didn't like the grilled cheese sandwich and she was wondering if we could offer him fruit snacks when we got home.  She also wanted to make sure that I would help her tuck him in at home because he was tired and had had a long day.

While we sat on the table at Sonic we were staring directly at Macey's.  You know what that means, right?  That means cheap soft-serve ice cream.  Ayla said, "Mom, can we PLEASE walk to Macey's and get ice cream and eat it at our table at Sonic?"  That's exactly what we did.

She chose vanilla dipped in cherry.  YUM!

Walking all the way back to our table from Macey's seemed to be a challenge for Ayla.  She didn't consider the fact that the ice cream cone would be as big as her face.  I also didn't consider the fact that Ayla wouldn't eat the cherry shell.  She just licked it like you would ice cream, causing all of the soft-serve ice cream to quickly melt on the inside.  Oh, the mess.

 

When we finally tossed the ice cream because the mess became greater than the yummy taste, we took a short walk to see some sprinklers that were watering the nearby grass.  {This was also Ayla's request.}  It's funny how something like watching water spray onto some grass is so thrilling to her.  She squealed and jumped up and down just watching the sprinkler!  I love her.

She's growing up so quickly and there's nothing that I can do to stop it.  I just have to hold her hand {as long as she'll let me} and guide her the best that I can.  We may holler at each other a lot, but I sure do love the chances that I have to sit with my girl and talk and laugh, even if it is happening in a Sonic parking lot.  I couldn't have asked for a better date.

Three summers.  It's true, time flies when you're having fun.  Or when you're a mommy.