'Tis the Season...

For light displays, hot chocolate, hockey games, tree decorating, parties, baking and more. Aren't the holidays so much more fun with a little one around? We're loving it!

November in review...

So much happened in a month it's hard for me to keep up with this blog thing! Since the last post, we celebrated Ryan's birthday, went to the state fair, visited both of our families, played in a Turkey Bowl with friends on Thanksgiving morning, went to the BYU vs. Utah football game, reminisced at old Provo hotspots, survived the mall on Black Friday (with AMAZING deals), went to see New Moon at midnight and decorated our house for Christmas.


























Our little Layla is already 5 months old and she acts and looks more grown up every day. Her personality is definitely a strong one and we love that about her. Here are some fun things about our Layla girl:
-She absolutely loves Ryan. All he has to do is look at her and she's happy. Her favorite thing is to watch him "rock out" on his air guitar and sing his own rendition of his favorite rock songs.
-She's deathly afraid of the sound of toilets flushing. I think she's starting to grow out of this one, but for the last couple months I've had to get creative with changing diapers in public. If I do take her in the bathroom she gets SO scared and doesn't recover very easily.
-She started solids a couple weeks ago and is such a great eater. So far she's had oatmeal, green beans and carrots. Carrots are definitely her favorite so far, but she really just likes the idea of eating from a spoon.
-She's so close to scooting around on the floor. She likes being on her tummy and pulls her knees in and puts her bum up like she's ready to move. She just has to pull with her arms and she'll be on her way!
-She's happiest when she's sitting up or "standing" on her feet. Thank goodness for bumbo seats and exersaucers. She can sit by herself for a few seconds but sits really well with the help of some pillows.
-Poor girl is teething right now and let's just hope those teeth come through soon because we've had a few rough nights lately. She had a mild fever yesterday, is constantly chewing on her hands and has had dry, rosey cheeks the past few days as well. (I've heard those are signs?!)

Halloween and More

Layla's first Halloween was so much fun! We put her in her ladybug outfit and Ryan called her "Layla Bug" all day long. We went up to a pumpkin patch by our house but of course by 4 p.m. on Halloween they were completely out of pumpkins. So we snapped a couple pictures of her by the bails of hay and were cracking up at her hilarious faces. I could NOT get her to crack a smile even once while we were there. Maybe it was because I had in her a fleece hooded outfit in 85 degree weather. Poor girl was sweating like crazy. The night before Halloween we went to a costume party with some friends. This year we went as Hannah Montana and Billy Ray Cyrus (but ended up looking like random singer and white trash guy.) But the party was a blast and we survived our first real night of babysitting.

Tomorrow Ryan sets sail on a cruise to Mexico with his company. Layla and I are sad to stay behind, but apparently babies younger than 6 months aren't allowed on cruises and I'm definitely not ready to leave her for a week just yet. Ryan's b-day is on Thursday, so he'll be celebrating in Cabo with some friends and we can't wait to celebrate when he gets home. Last night we had a mini celebration and I gave him his present: tickets to BYU vs. Utah football game! He was so surprised and SO excited! He's been talking about going to this game for months but knew tickets are hard to find. Little did he know I did some early b-day planning this year and got these tickets a while ago :) It works out perfectly that we'll be in Utah for Thanksgiving and will be able to go to the game while we're there.


Billy Ray Cyrus dancing to "Achy Breaky Heart"

Hannah Montana

playing some fun games

some of the guys

some of the girls

Layla Bug. Ryan wedged her between two bails of hay. Doesn't it almost look like she's sitting by herself? :)

Riding on Ry's shoulders

Still not loving it

Birthday boy

Yay!

So excited. This man loves his football.

Laying in bed looking at his tickets. Haha I think he liked the gift :)

Always eating those hands!

Our favorite Sunday activity... laying in the backyard

Happy to be home

Our last week in Texas we got to spend with my mom! She had fall break at school and came down for a long weekend. We did so much in 4 days! We drove down to Corpus Christi and spent a day walking along the beach, ate some yummy Texas bbq on the Riverwalk, shopped at the outlet mall, went to the movies to see Fame, had lunch with my aunt and cousins and much more. It was a great way to finish off our stay in San Antonio.

Now we're back in AZ and so happy to be home! There were certainly some challenging times in TX trying to live in a teeny tiny hotel room with a baby who is the lightest sleeper ever. But it only took us a couple days to get back in the groove here at home. We've spent the last few days getting unpacked and seeing lots of friends we've missed the past couple months! Ryan is closing up shop in Texas and is driving home with a friend on Wednesday, so Sara and I have been roomies this week just like the good ole' college days. Lots of things to look forward to: Halloween, Ryan's 28th (yikes!) b-day and Layla's first holiday season!




Yes, she's flipping me off in this picture. Already a sassy little thing :)

Winding down in TX...

Only a week left here in San Antonio! I can't wait to get back to normal life, even though it's been fun to experience Texas with great friends and feel a bit of the fall weather lately! My mom's coming to visit this weekend, and then we have a day to pack it up and catch our flight next Wednesday!!!

Sundays

We really LOVE our Sundays lately because it's our one day to spend all day together! This last week we went up to the San Antonio temple and spent a lazy afternoon taking in the great views. Thanks to Jon & Eliza Fajen for Layla's cute little dress... definitely one of my faves!

Sights from San Antonio

We're already halfway through our long vacation here in Texas! (Though it's far from a vacation for Ryan with his 12-13 hour work days 6 days a week.) Layla and I have stayed busy with a couple of the other wives and kids of Ryan's co-workers and we've had some fun adventures! We've been to the Riverwalk, the Alamo, outlets mall in San Marcos and recently got to go back to AZ for a few days to help my sister move! Layla is so much fun and is smiling and cooing like crazy. She loves to be held facing out to see everything going on around her. Last week at her doc appointment she weighed in at 12 lbs 11 oz and is 24 inches long. It's hard to believe she's already 3 months old, but I also can hardly remember what life was like before!!! :)