8 years together!

This is so crazy! I dug through my old scanned pictures I had saved on discs. Back when Jason and I met I didn't have a digital camera yet. Got one shortly after, but even then didn't use it as much as I use mine now. Look at how much we have changed. ha! Jason had his blonde tips and I was platinum. What were we thinking!? I think back through the years of all the things we have done together. Many trips, movie dates, dinners and yes, fights. We have come a long way. It's still hard to believe its been that long. Brings back great memories.

Something new everyday.

Oh my...Miss Laila is growing up too fast! Another month gone by. Tomorrow, our little mooshka will be 19 months. We are almost out of the teens and heading to those terrible twos!? Well we may be in them already. Our daughter is a little miss independent sassy pants. You never know what mood she is going to be in. You know the normal whining when she doesn't get what she wants. We definantly get tested by her throughout the day. No complaints though...this stage is actually pretty humerous. I think it's funny when people say in newborn stage is the hardest. No way...this is the hardest stage, but also the most fun. Hard to explain really, but those mothers out there should understand.

It's a new surprise everyday. New words and actions that come from Laila. She is even putting together tiny sentences. Some things it's hard to understand, but other's it shocks me at how well she pronounces them. She counts to 3 and even hums the alphabet song. Every drink is "water". Every second of the day it's "minnie". Every store we go into it's "ball". Every time we leave the house it's "shoes". She repeats a lot of what we say now. I can tell her to say something and she tries so hard to repeat it, some things she does and some no. The newest thing is "money" ha! She is her mother's daughter.

When it's tv time Laila only wants on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She is obsessed! She wants it on the tv, car dvd player, iphone, computer...anything that has a screen she is asking for "minnie or daisy". She laughs at what they do and repeats what they say "ohhhhh tooooodles!" It just seemed to stick with her after watching it on playhouse disney.

No more high chair. Laila sits in the big girl chairs now. She hates being confined. When we go out to eat it's easier for us to have booths. Does she run the household or what? ha! She helps mommy clean with her own little broom and now wants to help me do all my crafts. She goes in our closet and puts on my shoes, grabs my clothes and holds them up to her. She loves going into stores and rummaging through the racks.

What more can I say...LG is her own little lady.

Some Summer!

It has been an boiling summer! You can't step outside for a minute without dripping sweat. For the most part we tried to stay indoors, but when we got the chance to get out we had some fun.


After the summer started off really crazy, with my grandpa's passing and then our girl's trip up to NY, things started to settle down. The month of June was chaos. We honored my Grandpa by going to the Korean War Anniversary down at Freedom Park. I can't begin to tell you how proud I was of him. He is missed everyday but feel so greatful to know that he fulfilled a life of happiness and great memories.

As summer was passing by, the heat got more unbearable. But there was no way you were keeping us inside the entire summer. Our dear friends Brittany and Christian had a BBQ for Brittany's birthday, and also to celebrate them finally getting preggo! We hung by the pool and enjoyed friends until finally a storm was rolling through. We started getting used to these afternoon storms the entire summer.

In July, Laila and I spent a day at BG with my sister and The Little's. It was so flippin' humid, we were already drenched of sweat the first hour we were there. We went to any place the kids could play in water, and then headed to Sesame Street Land before we left. Laila got to meet Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Abby. At this point in the day she was hot and tired so not many smiles were coming from her pretty little face. We also got to see the new kangaroo exhibit! Sooo much fun! Can't beat the all year pass!

Jason and I are used to taking about 3 trips a year, but since we have had Laila is gets a little hard. After realizing how fast this year has flown by already we decided to take a road trip to Orlando for 4 days and stayed at the Omni hotel. Last time we stayed there Laila was a little bean in my belly. It was days of pure relaxation. We walked around DTD, hung out in the room, relaxed poolside, and took Laila to Magic Kingdom for the first time. (Note to self: next trip to Disney we will make sure the weather is cool!) Laila got to meet her favorite characters, Mickey, Minnie, and Daisy. Her reaction was amazement! I think Laila found her first obsession. She can't get enough of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We went through Minnie and Mickey's house in Toon Town. It is the cutest thing! I'm looking forward to the obsession of the Princess stage that most little girls go through. I can't wait to take her back again.

We didn't do much of the beach this summer. Even the beach water was too warm to even be able to cool down. We bared the heat one day and went to Honeymoon Island with my sister, grandma, and mom. We made it a good hour before heading back to GiGi's pool to cool down.

I absolutely love the summer, but I think this one has been a little TOO hot. I'm looking forward to the cool fall breeze, jackets, boots, and jeans!

Burp...

Awwww I love when I get time to do this. Whenever I have my spare moments, I take time to sit in front of my sewing machine and work on my crafts. My crafty thumb comes out when I have the time. I go through these phases. When I'm not crazy with myself chasing around Laila or working on my photography, I get the opportunity to enjoy being a crafty mama. I have so many friends who are pregnant or have little ones so I figured I would work on something fun and easy. And why not let the babies spit up on something fashionable. I have piles of cloth, fabric, and dye. It's so much fun. I want to start a crafty mama day one day a month where we can sit down and share ideas and teach eachother new things...without the babes running around distracting us...who's in?

Happy One and a Half!

Now I understand why parents always used to tell me enjoy it because they grow up way too fast. Laila is now officially 18 months old (a whole year and a half!) Life has been so much more complete with her. She brings me laughter everyday. It seems like just yesterday I was carrying her out of that hospital in my arms. New words come out of her mouth every passing minute and she is a total joy to be around. God has truly blessed us with a perfect little girl. Even in her crabby, dramatic tantrum moments. I can go on and on with stories of things she has done or said. Seeing how much she has grown makes me ready to keep our family growing. She is sweet as pie...and I love her to death! Happy year and a half little ham. Words can't express how much we adore your sweet face.

Independance Day Weekend!

We started our Fourth of July weekend at The Florida Aquarium. Jason and I wanted to enjoy a day with the three of us. We both figured we haven't been there since it practically opened. So much had changed there. We loved it! They had an outdoor area for kids to play while the parents sat at a tiki bar style area. Next time we will have to bring Lai's swimsuit. She was so amused by all the birds and fishies. She is so grown up now and it's so much fun taking her places where she recognizes and knows whats going on around her.

On the 4th it was pretty low key. Laila didn't sleep well the night before because we had friends over for the UFC fight. She decided to join in the party at 1 a.m. She was all refreshed and didn't want to go back to sleep. So, we woke up late and missed church on the 4th. We hung out around the house most of the day, then went to The Little's for some food. It was a rainy day so there weren't any fireworks. It was an overall relaxing, fun 4OJ weekend..just wish the weather cooperated a little better.

The Binky Monster.

He came and took Laila's binky away! He told her he would save it for when she has a brother or sister. She wasn't to happy with him at first, but as days progressed she got over it. She is now clean of the binky for good. I woke up one day and just decided it's time to get rid of the thing. She was barely even sucking on them and she would throw it out of her mouth a lot of the time. So that day we left the house without it and she was fine when she was preoccupied. But come naptime or nite nite, she screamed like I have never heard her scream before. It was insane! But she cried herself to sleep with her blankie and got over it pretty fast. Now she just goes right to sleep with no problems. It was a lot easier then I thought. It has always been pretty easy to get Laila off of things, the bottle was a piece of cake. Let's just hope this continues with future children. Thanks Binky Monster for saving the day! It's been a long journey. We have been through all different types of binkies. It was a great ride...farewell mr. bink!

17 months has flown by!

Laila has grown so much. Instead of writing a long book, i'm just making a list of the cutest things she does and some of her new milestones.

1. She is now climbing on everything she can. She finally figured out how to climb up on the couch. Then stands and runs across it. She doesn't seem to care when mommy yells at her to sit, she just looks and laughs. I can finally just leave her to sit and eat a snack or watch some of her fave shows (she does love her morning dose of playhouse disney) without sitting by her. She knows how to climb down the proper way without hurting herself. Good job baby girl!

2. Wow! Her vocabulary has become so much better. She constantly uses words like "bubble","water", "minnie", "uppy", "ball", "juice", "cheese", "down", "mommy", "daddy", "koda", "milk", "yes", "no"...just to name some off the top of my head. She "ruff ruffs" like a dog and makes an elephant sound. It's so much fun listening to her. There are times when she repeats full sentences that I say to her. You can say most words and she will try so hard to repeat them. She has got a lot better since the binky monster came (i'll make a seperate post for that). Most mornings when she wakes up and I slowly open the door, she smiles, looks at me and says "MaaaMaaa!" I say "yes baby...good morning?!" and she says, "Hi!" in the sweetest voice. Gives me a hug and a kiss and makes my entire day! oh! and her latest thing is copying me when I sneeze...she moves her head and goes "chooo" ha!

3. She loves to sing and be sung to. She knows the abc song and is pretty good at starting it out. And her new faves are "ring around the rosey" and "humpty dumpty". And she still loves to dance. She dances in circles.

4. She still loves her babies. She walks around with her stroller and pats baby stella on the back, and rocks her back and forth. Gives them their bottles and binkies. We definantly have a girly girl...dollhouses and dolls, princesses and ponies! Whenever it happens she is going to be a great big sister!

5. She wants to help mommy clean. My mom even bought her her own little broom because she would always steal mine!

6. Those molars are coming through like hot cakes! She is very close to a full set of teeth. They are sharp and hurt!

7. On June 14, 2010, while we were in New York, she took her first poopy on the potty. She was constipated so I decided to take pressure off her belly and sit her on the toilet...all of a sudden I heard some plops. I screamed to Marisa and Jordan that she went poopy on the potty. They came running in. I was so excited I went to grab my camera for a photo op. Right as I was going getting ready to go grab my camera, Jordan flushed the toilet...it was so funny! And just the other day at GiGi's house the same thing happened. She seemed to be having a hard time pushing, so I tried it again. No wonder why she couldn't get it out, it was the longest turd I have ever seen! (Yea...Laila is going to be so mad at me for telling this to everyone when she gets older). I'm hoping potty training is easy for her. I'm not rushing it yet.

8. She goes into our closet and puts my shoes on! Just the flip flops and slippers, no high heals yet...I'm waiting for those days. My sister and I used to play shoe store with all my Grandma's 100's of shoes she had.

9. On Father's Day, Laila seemed to not be feeling too good. We brought her to Papou's office so he can check her out. She had a mild ear infection. Her first one. Luckily we caught it before it got worse. She has been on amoxicillin for the past 10 days. She has been so good considering.

10. Still holding off on this haircut thing. It's a hot mess, but I am nervous! Her hair just sprouted out so much in the past 5 months and I love it. Her hair goes down to her mid back when it's wet. She has the cutest curl and some layers. Maybe I'll just have them cut her some bangs so it's not hanging in her face. eeeek!

and lastly, the looks we get from the little sas is unreal. I told her no and the look I got was indescribable. She stared at me with these pouty eyes, I stared right back at her for a good 10 seconds, then she gave me the biggest smile. I had to turn away so she wouldn't see me laugh. I'm thinking maybe a future career as a comedian...but i'm sure Laila is thinking a princess.

I Love NY!

After an emotionally and mentally exhausting week from my Grandpa passing, we had a girls trip planned. It was much needed after going through the worst couple weeks of my life. We went to visit the new babies and our family up in Long Island, New York. We departed from TIA on Saturday morning. I was having a little anxiety of having Laila on the plane. The last time I flew with her Jason was with us and she was only 3 months old. This time I was nervous thinking she would want to run up and down the plane and not want to sit still, or scream like crazy because her ears were popping. Every nightmare scenerio ran through my head. To my surprise, she did perfectly! Maybe JetBlue helped out a little with their tv's, but she loved flying. She looked out the window, and was playing peek-a-boo in between the seats and making everyone around her laugh. But for the most part she slept most of the way. Thank goodness considering I knew how crazy our couple days in New York would be.





We arrived at JFK and then headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house. Laila got to hang out with Jordan. It was so much fun seeing them play. The last time they were together Laila wasn't walking so they took advantage. Laila grabbed Jordan's hand and headed for the trains. ha! It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Laila loved seeing the trains go by every 10 minutes, definantly a different atmosphere then she is used to here.

We went to Aunt Nancy's for dinner and to meet the babies that night. Babies everywhere! I loved it! We were all pretty tuckered out and jet lagged, so we decided to turn in early and get some rest.

The next day we went to The Johnson's for an all day BBQ. It rained most of the day, but it was so nice seeing all the cousins together. Not a moment of silence was in that house with all the kids running around. Laila was the youngest and got to play with all her boy cousins. She was having a blast up until we made her sit with all the boys to take a picture. ha! The Johnson side of my family has the male gene of making babies...I was the first to have a girl. It was such a good day filled with family, good food, and happy times.

It was so nice to get away. Being a stay at home mom can be rough. Sometimes your dying to see new things and get away from the every day ventures. We did miss daddy a lot though. As much as taking a trip is fun, it's nice to be home. I didn't get much sleep and either did Miss Laila. She was up most every morning at 5am and would go to bed pretty late. Not what we are used to when we are home. There were some of the nights she would wake up in her pack and play and freak out, so I just let her come cuddle in bed with me until she fell back asleep. And if you know me, I am not one to do that. She was sweet the last night we were there. I was trying to get her to bed. She was so tuckered out, she couldnt even keep her eyes open. So I put her down in her crib, she got up and cried. So I held her and told her to put her head down. She squirmed out of my arms and wanted me to put her down. I did...she ran right over to the bed, climbed up and closed her eyes and fell asleep. Soooo cute!

We shopped, snapped tons of pictures, ate good homeade meals, and hung outside enjoying the beautiful weather (NO humidity!) We even had Mister Softee the first night we were there...mmmmmm! Vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles! It was so nice meeting Isabella and Alexis. Laila loved the babies. She wanted to hold them. I know she will be so good when we add another addition onto our family.

So after five days of family fun, we headed back home. Laila loves the airplane rides. 17 months and it's her 2nd flight. It was a good time. Looking forward to more trips!