Layla makes music; Daddy makes beer

We had an exciting day in the kitchen today. Daddy is getting back into home brewing and had some friends over today to help with the initial batch. Layla was fascinated by the chaos and kept checking in on the guys in the kitchen to make sure everything was going ok. As I write this, the wort is outside cooling, waiting for Chris to add the yeast. Or something like that.

Earlier today, Daddy was able to visit Aunt Trish and Sarah, who were in the neighborhood due to power outages in NH. On his way back from seeing them, he stopped to pick up Layla a baby bottle for her dolly (she was trying to "feed" her baby a Thomas the Tank Engine train) and her very own guitar (it's actually a ukulele).


In Baby #2 news, we have a couple of big dates established. On April 12th we will have our 18 week ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. Then we start talking names :). Also, the official due date is September 13th. There's a good chance that we will have the baby at least a week early, either by C-section or early induction. Without going into detail, the doctor is hoping that I can avoid some of the problems/trauma on my body that occurred during Layla's birth. So it looks like I may make it into school for just a few days before beginning my leave. Because it will only be my first year with "professional status" (ie, it will be my 4th year there), I have to show up on the first day in order to get my 14 sick days. Hopefully this baby doesn't have another plan for me!

Back to the Doc

Layla has had this cold that just will not go away. Lots of eye gunk (that's the technical term), a cough, and now her nose is running again. Long story short, I took her to the doc again tonight. 5:30 doctor appointments, right at dinner time, are always fun! We walked out of there with a prescription for amoxicillin because the doctor said that Layla had an ear infection so bad that "she wishes there were a med student here to see it." Strangely enough, Layla has been in a great mood, laughing, playing and all the rest. Hopefully that continues. Doc says it could be a rough night.

On another note, for the second night in a row, while being put to bed, Layla has pointed to her crib mid-story. We put her down and she walked right over to her crib and reached up to be put in. We closed the door and that was it. Out like a light. The girl knows when she needs her sleep!

More Critters

Today we took Layla to the Commerford Kids' Fun Fair held at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington. Click here to see a video of the fair.

Layla was pretty frightened of the animals and held on tightly to Mom and Dad. Eventually she relaxed and started growling at all of the animals. Despite the exotic lemurs, camels, "unicow", and the "giant rat", I think her favorite were the ducks. Go figure! She also loooooved watching the bigger kids go on the carnival rides and she had a one-toddler-dance party to the music being played by one of the game booths. (Her shirt is all wet in the first pic because she is cutting some molars and has her fingers in her mouth alllll the time lately.)

Georgia on my mind....

We returned today from a vacation on St. Simon's Island, GA to visit Mimi and Bumpa. Despite Mommy and Daddy's worries, we managed the flights and travel without any major disasters. We laid low once we arrived, and Layla enjoyed a lot of special time with her grandparents. Here are some of the highlights....

We took a walk and visited some stables. The horses were curious, but were disappointed that we hadn't brought any food for them. Layla, of course, was enthralled.

We attempted to see some turtles at a local pond. Unfortunately, the cold temps and waning sun kept the turtles hidden. We did find lots of ducks and what we think might have been egrets...a TON of them hanging out in the trees.

The cheerios were supposed to be for the critters, but Layla couldn't help but munch on a few herself.

There were also a bunch of beautiful Merganser ducks on the pond.


We braved the cold temps (it only got to the very low 50s the whole time we were there....the coldest winter they've had in just about forever!) and walked the beach. The first pic is of Layla and Daddy chasing her stroller which would have blown all the way down the beach had they not caught it!


At the house, Layla enjoyed all sorts of fun. She played lots of peek-a-boo with Bumpa and she loved sitting on Mimi's lap while they looked at a slideshow of family pictures on Mimi's computer. Layla was in heaven because the neighbors have lots of animals, so almost any time Layla looked out the back windows there were kitties or even a pug strolling through the back yard. Layla even learned a new word...."kitty", but she says it with a crazy amount of spit. It's rather adorable! But one of the highlights was watching Layla and Daddy play with his old Matchbox cars. Anyone else remember playing with this service center as a kid?



We enjoyed some good burgers at Brogen's on the pier at St. Simon's. It was the perfect kind of place to take Layla for a meal...it was empty! Here she is with her grandparents after dinner.

What a cutie! Layla's hair really isn't long enough yet to do much with (she likes to sport a mullet), but I did manage a couple of cute pig tails the other day. Sadly, as soon as I put her sweater on, they came right out. But this is a preview of the cuteness to come!


And here's Layla getting ready for take off on the way home.

Thanks, Mimi and Bumpa, for a great vacation!

#2 On its Way!

If you haven't heard yet, we are expecting baby #2 in September! We're early in the process (only 9.5 weeks in), so there isn't a lot of news yet, but we're very excited. Layla, however, has no idea of what's in store for her!

Cousins!

Layla was thrilled to have her cousins visit yesterday.

She and Ryan played a bit while Sarah sipped some water.


And here's just a funny pic of Layla.

Date with Daddy

Prior to winter, Chris and Layla were having weekly Saturday morning dates at Starbucks around the corner. But the cold weather, and Layla's lack of desire to sit in one place, have put a brake on those outings. This weekend, though, Chris decided to head to the mall with Layla for the morning. Here she is making friends at the fun play space that they have at the food court. These people who build malls know what they're doing!