Jigga

Today Ayla rocked her Rocawear shoes for the first time.  :)

We love Jay-Z.

The After Math.

One thing that I love about Easter is the hard boiled eggs.  I don't like to eat them plain.  I don't especially care for them on a sandwich.  But I do love them like this:

Deviled with blue spots that somehow made it through the egg shell! (You can tell by the picture that I made the filling a tad too creamy this year.  Oh well.  There's always next year.)

YUM!

Our Lively Place...

Recently Kelle Hampton asked the question, "Where does life occur in your home?"  I've thought this over a lot.  Where is our lively place?

It came to me this morning.  I was making faces at my girl.  She was giggling her sweet giggles back at me.  She was laying on her changing pad, contently nibbling her toes.  The changing pad that is no longer on her changing table.  The changing pad that moves around the house -what ever room we happen to be in- because that's where our girl is happiest.  I learned very quickly with our little monster that if I wanted to calm her down, I needed to lay her on her changing pad.

The changing pad is her comfort zone.  The changing pad is where she loves to smile at me, her daddy, her kitty.  Where she talks and sings the most.  Where she can most comfortably see everything going on above and around her.  The pretty pink changing pad that so compliments her light skin and dark hair.  The changing pad where Tiny is learning some of life's most important lessons.

The changing pad is our ever-moving lively place!

This is the day when Ayla learned about her new special place.  And how much she loved it.

Where she learned that lounging in an over-sized robe after a warm bath is one of the best feelings!

This is where she fell in love with her kitty, Malky.

And where she learned that even if you love someone, it's sometimes hard to share your special place...

So naturally Malky learned that this is also HER favorite place.

It's where Tiny learned to wave at the camera.

And where we all learned that sometimes none of us know what we're doing and the best solution is to just cry about it.

Where Ayla learned that the right amount of charm can melt daddy's heart like butter on a hot biscuit!

This is where Ayla learned that her mommy is the funniest gal around.  :)

And she learned that watching cartoons in our jammies is the best.

It's where she learned that no matter how much money you spend on toys... the best things in life are free.  And are toes.

She learned that it's where we like to play dress up.  And un-dress up.

Yup, mommy's still funny.

It's where she is learning to LOVE holidays!

And most of all....

It's where I learned that no matter how much I love her today, I will love her so much more tomorrow.

Easter!

This was Ayla's first Easter.

She was my little flower.

We also gave our babe some tummy time.  Something she hates.  We love watching her scoot around her blanket.  It's crazy to think about how soon she'll be crawling!

And that night, after Tiny was put to sleep, Joseph Brandon and I colored Easter eggs!  Next year I will be prepared with vinegar and coloring crayons.  Our eggs were not very vibrant, unfortunately.  And I had to write on them with a marker and not a crayon.  :)

Happy Easter!

Ayla and her Bumbo

She LOVES it!

My Little Love

"Start now to be the kind of mother you always wanted to be. Don't wait until she's eighteen... Keep in mind that all she wants to be doing--for the greatest part of her young life--is what you're doing."

Quote courtesy of Kelle Hampton, the very inspiring blogger.

Today I Love...

• Procrastinating.  We are moving in just over two weeks and I have yet to pack a single thing!
• Bumbo Seats and Bumbo Trays.
• Eyelash curlers.
• Little breathy "haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhs".
• Bath time with rubber duckies and big splashes
• Wailing cries that turn to grins and giggles when I pick her up.
• Vanilla lattes from Juice and Java.
• Self-soothing.
• RAIN!
• Colorful clothing.
• Crinkly/Teething/Rattling Lion.
• Cadbury Mini Eggs.
• Sleeping kitty and her 5 cuddly kittens.
• Tax returns.
• Unexpected comission checks.
• Heated leather car seats.
• Baby Bjorn.
• Target.
• Baby hugs.  (she has mastered the hug and I am loving it!)
• "Keeeeesses!!!"
• My favorite blog.
• Researching St. Louis and making big summer plans!
• Working half-days to ease out of my obsession with work.
• Cell phone cameras.

Napping peacefully

 Clinging to her tub because she did not want me to get her out...

 Tummy time with Malky!

 Bare feet sure are sweet!

California in our Hearts

On March 19th, 2010 Joseph, Ayla, and I hopped in the car and headed for the coast!  San Jose, CA, to be specific.  We left around 10 p.m. knowing that this was around Ayla's bedtime in hopes that she would sleep through the night.  And being the angel that she is, she did!  Joseph and I struggled with staying awake and pulled over to have a nap ourselves somewhere in Nevada.  Around 11 a.m. we arrived at our destination.  We checked in to our awesome hotel, bathed Tiny, and freshened up.  From there we went exploring!  (This wasn't exploring at all for Joseph, this is where he grew up!)

I fell in love with San Jose and I realize why Joseph misses it so badly.  The color, the food, the shopping, the people, the fast driving!  It's all so very exciting and so very different from our current home.  I had such a great time visiting with his friends and family in the area, they are wonderful people!  I loved meeting people that I haven't met before but have heard so much about.  I especially loved being in the Bradley's home eating Michelle's delicious pesto chicken sandwiches and her yummy double chocolate chip cookies!

On Sunday we went to San Francisco for the day.  We went down to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square where we had ice cream as we walked along the pier.  Ayla loved all the commotion and the seagulls!  We headed to our hotel to check in and let Ayla take a nap.  From there we headed out to explore.  We drove around and around seeing all that there is to see in that beautiful city!  We went to a huge mall where we had dinner and browsed before heading back to the hotel.  We ended the evening with desert and a visit with my aunt Lisa who I haven't seen in years!

The next morning we made one last stop at some outlets before leaving the state.  Joseph bought me the purse that matches my wallet from Fossil.  He spoils me.  :)

Heading back to Utah was really hard for us.  We so loved being in the real world again.  (You can say it until you are the blue in the face, but Utah is NOT the real world.)  I loved the salty fresh air and the vibrant colors!  When we hit Nevada and everything was brown, our spirits definitely went down.  We have a great life together in Utah, but we definitely see it as a temporary residence, not a home.  We are so excited to be heading out to Saint Louis for the summer... but that is a completely separate blog entry!

Here are some pictures from California... ENJOY!