More Pics

We decided Layla needed a water table, but we didn't want to buy one. So we improvised with her wagon and a large tupperware container that we already had. Bonus: emptying the container forced us to discard/organize its contents.


Layla finally keeps her Sox hat on. Daddy's not so excited that it's pink, but I think it's cute!


This is what a dinner full of green beans does to Layla...or maybe it's the Alice in Chains.

Ultrasound

We went in for another ultrasound today. At the 18 week appointment the tech suspected that I may have a low-lying placenta and suggested we re-check it at 28 weeks. The doc today said that everything looked perfectly fine, and there was no indication of placenta previa. The baby looks great, but he was camera shy today. He had both hands in front of his face, which meant we didn't get any pics :(. Right now his head is down, him little bottom is to the left of my belly button and his legs and arms are on my right side. Based on the measurements they took today, he is currently an estimated 3 lb 5 oz, which puts him above the 90th percentile for his gestational age. The doc says that you can't extrapolate and assume that it will be a large baby at delivery, but I think it's good support for the C-section decision.

In other baby news, we have had the name picked out for a while now but haven't announced it yet on here. Baby Boy Farnham shall henceforth be referred to as Joshua Chamberlain. For the Mainiacs (or Civil War buffs) in the crowd, that name probably rings a bell. Here's why. We had talked about this name long before Layla was born and we are finally going to use it! Chris has a lot of pride for the state of Maine, and Joshua Chamberlain is a part of that history. Plus, there's always the fact that he is also a beer.

So....71 days until Joshua's anticipated arrival! Can't wait!

Full Day

Daddy was out the door at 4:45 this morning to get to a meeting in VA. And now his flight home has been delayed by 2 hours :(.

In his absence, Layla and I had a full day. We started with a morning at the reservoir. Here's our surfer girl sporting her new suit.

Then after a looong nap, we went to the mall in order to escape the heat and the storm. Layla had a ton of fun in the play space.

Happy Father's Day!

Recipe for a great Father's Day weekend:

1) Take your daughter swimming at a beach for the first time. Be cautious, though, because she seems to have no fear of the water.


2) Hire a friend to babysit (who won't accept payment) and take your wife on a date to Lowe's to pick out a toilet, tub, and fixtures for the upcoming bathroom redo. Follow that up with dinner at a fabulous restaurant like Masa. The suburbs need more places like this!

3) Give your daughter a new toy that makes her so, so, so happy (Masa is next to Toys R Us...we couldn't resist!).


4) Get up early to golf while baby and Mommy play at the park.


5) Watch the US Open.

6) Grill a delicious dinner.


7) Watch more of the US Open.

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!

Summer is Here!

We've had two days of summer vacation and I've already lost track of what day of the week it is!

Day 1: was awesome. Usually Layla has moments when she really turns on the charm and the cuteness, but this was an entire day like that. What a way to start vacation!

Day 2: was not so awesome. Layla's good mood continued for the most part. Mommy's did not. We took the car in to have a tire fixed (the local guy didn't do the patch job properly so we ended up at the dealer). Long story short....9 hours and a lot of money later, we had a new tire AND we had our axle something or others repaired (apparently this is VERY important!). It was close to 90 degrees and Layla and I spent the day wandering around Belmont in search of entertainment. Not exactly fun while 6 months pregnant. By the end of it, when we were the only ones still left at the dealer, Layla decided to have some fun tossing a rubber ball around the show room. I tried hard to contain her to a hallway. On a related note, I do not recommend walking barefoot around Cityside Subaru; Layla's feet were BLACK!

By 5:30 we were finally home and an order for takeout was placed soon there after!

Amusing Typo

I don't know if I'm the only one who has ever done this, but I accidentally typed in laylaf.blogpot.com yesterday. Apparently the 's' in blogspot is crucial.

On another note, we are less than 3 months from baby Farnham's due date! CRAZY!

Hi, Doggies!

We picked up this table from Freecycle today. I can already tell it's going to be a hit. While we were out playing with the table, Layla heard the doggies next door. She asked to see them so I lifted her up above the fence. "Hi, doggy! Hi, doggy!" Jennifer and James were nice enough to bring two of the dogs over for a visit and Layla was in heaven. The dogs were very patient while Layla pet them and said hello right in their faces.

48 Hours with Daddy

Layla and I spent our last afternoon of the week without Chris at Aunt Tricia's house. Layla had a lot of fun playing in the yard and hanging out with cousins Sarah and Ryan. Layla and Sarah ate their dinner together:


Despite the rain on Sunday we went to Rock'n Ribfest at the Anheuser Busch brewery in Merrimack, NH. I'm pretty sure we traumatized Layla for life when we tried to put her into one of the kids' bouncy activities. But when she was calmer she enjoyed eating her pizza and watermelon (Mom and Dad had ribs, of course!) and visiting with the clydesdales. She wasn't sure what to think about the huge creatures but she eventually warmed up to them.


In the afternoon we hung out and watched the USA vs England World Cup game (I wouldn't want to be that goalkeeper!). Layla made sure that we knew there was a ball involved in the game; she must have said "Ball! Ball!" about 5 million times.

During a lull in the game, Layla decided that her baby doll needed to have a nebulizer treatment.


Sunday afternoon Chris departs for another fun week in Rome, NY. Luckily, my summer begins on Thursday, so hopefully Layla and I will have an easy week alone. Though, I will admit, I am already looking forward to Chris's return on Friday night!

Duet!

Today Layla and I visited the kids I babysat while in grad school. Layla was right at home at their place, chasing both the dog and the boys around. Here she is playing a duet with Jonah (who, by the way, was younger than Layla is now when I started babysitting him.....and now he's finishing 2nd grade!).

Bookworm!

Wally Lamb is one of Layla's favorite authors. Here she is reading I Know This Much is True.


Apparently it's a good book!


But it's even better once you get comfy!

Freeport, ME

We spent the weekend in Freeport, ME. I will be the first to admit that I was afraid the entire weekend would be a disaster. There was lots of rain predicted and I was uncertain how Layla would do sleeping in a hotel, eating out, and being totally off of her regular routine. While sleep didn't do quite as smoothly as we would have hoped (first night we didn't get in until 8...an hour past her bedtime....she didn't fall asleep until 9:30, after 15 minutes of blood curdling screaming.....though once she was down she slept through till 7:00.), I would score the weekend a huge success.

On Saturday we hunkered down at the hotel in the morning during the crazy thunderstorms. Layla has decided that she loves elevators. She beeps when they beep and requests to go "Up!" Later in the morning once it had cleared, we met Grampa and Charley at LL Bean. Layla was in heaven at the kids' section where she could write on the chalkboards, play in a tent, and run through a large, wooden tree house. She also enjoyed showing Grampa all the duck decoys and bringing stuffed dog after stuffed dog to him to hold. When I asked her if I could have one, she clearly stated NO! It was like she knew how Grampa feels about doggies!

Playing in the tent.

Layla and Daddy exploring the trout tank! No, Granddaddy, she didn't cast a line in there!

One fish even decided to give Layla a kiss:


We spent the day strolling and shopping. Layla was an angel at lunch and she even ate well. Then she devoured her chocolate ice cream :). Eventually she fell asleep and took a nice snooze while we walked.


Stopping to smell the flowers with Grampa.

Listening to some live music with Daddy at the end of the day.


By the end of the day it was hot and sunny and I was proved completely wrong!