Happy Easter

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with our little girl. She was able to really get excited this year.

Prepare for lots of pictures!!

We started with opening her Easter basket, which consisted of a ball, side walk chalk, bath toys, washable markers and mini M&M's.

 Then we went outside for a little egg hunt. It only took a second for her to figure out what she needed to do, and then she was off. She had so much fun.

 We ended with a little slide show Daniel put together explaining the meaning of Easter. It was a great presentation even though it lasted only 7 minutes. Just long enough to keep Lyla's attention.

This is Lyla's easter dress I made. I was really nervous, because it was only the second dress I had ever sewed. The first was her blessing dress, and that was really hard. Since I am more of a quilter, I'm not used to following a pattern. But this dress was a lot easier then her blessing dress, and I had so much fun making it. I also sewed the little jacket to go with it. I LOVE the way it turned out.

Yay For Sun!!

Yes, you are gonna see a lot of pics of us at the park. . . . . . . 

That's just what we do these days now that it's getting warmer. This little girl loves being outside, so we are so happy it's warm enough that we can actually stay out longer then 10 minutes. 

She found a tiny little mud patch that fascinated her.

Popsicle to cool us down.

Morning At The Park

I am loving this spring weather. We have loved spending time outside. 

This morning we went to the park, and had a blast. 

 She loved watching the ducks from the dock,

. . . Running as far as she wanted, 

 . . . And sitting on this bench.

 She also discovered her sweater had pockets.

 Thank you spring for coming back!!

Hair Cut

About a week ago I got my hair cut. Usually I go to one of those walk-in places that don't cost very much. And I had no problem with that. But this last time I decided to fork over a bit more and get a really good hair cut. And it was worth every penny.

Most people don't know this, but I have terrible hair. It's really really frizzy, and hard to manage. I usually just put it in a pony, because that's the easiest. But if I want to actually do my hair, it takes over an hour. Like I said, my hair is terrible. Which is what I told the hair stylist when I first sat in her chair. I could tell she didn't believe me at first,  but the more she worked with my hair, the more she believed me. And she didn't hold back when she told me how terrible my hair was. No, not damaged, or anything I did wrong . . . . just the way my hair is. Frizzy and hard to manage.

And then she changed my hair life forever. She introduced me to . . .

the round brush. Who knew such a simple thing could make such a difference?

I am so glad I spent the extra money to go to someone who was willing to spend the time to help me. I am in love with my new round brush. Yay for awesome hair!!

Sunday Outfit

My little girl is getting way too big. I just love my sweet Lyla.

Just Between Friends

This past weekend we went to Spokane for their JBF Sale. Think . . . . ginormous garage sale. These sales are held in many locations all over the US, and we are so excited that there was one near us. Let me show you what I mean  . . .

We have BOOKS and PUZZLES

TOYS

CLOTHES GALORE (imagine 10 more racks)

SHOES

And SOOOOO much more!!

The deals that you get are so good, you'll never want to shop in a store again. I recommend seeing if you can find one in your area. You wont be sorry!! (JBF Sale)

Meow...

Our neighbors have two cats that love coming into our yard. And since Lyla has a small obsession with cats, we don't mind at all.

And here she is trying to give the cat a kiss.

Random Photo's

While cleaning out my craft/sewing draws, I found an envelope of old photo's. I showed them to Lyla, and she sat and looked at them for almost an hour. She was so excited. This girl LOVES pictures, especially if she knows the people in them.

I Pray When . . .

Each night, I pray that I can be a good mother to Lyla. I pray that I can be patient, and understanding to her needs. I pray that I can know how to best help her to learn and grow to be a good person to others. 

Yesterday, on our way back from the gym, Lyla started to get a little whiny. My plan was, once we got home, we would go on a 2 mile walk then have lunch and take a nap. But once we got home, she just seemed really upset. Lyla absolutely loves to go on walks, and loves being outside, so I figured, as soon as we started our walk she would calm down. But instead of telling her to calm down and then distract her by going outside (like I sometimes do), I decided to ask her to show me what was wrong. 

Lyla walked into her room and pointed to her bed. I picked her up and asked if she wanted to go night night. She then reached for her crib, and again I asked her if she wanted to go night night. It was an hour and a half earlier then she normally takes a nap, so I was a little surprised. But I put her in, gave her her monkey and blanket, and she rolled over and went straight to sleep. 

It' seems small, but I'm so grateful that I was blessed at that moment to listen to Lyla's needs. She was completely exhausted and desperately needed to sleep. I'm glad I asked her what she needed instead of going on that walk. I feel blessed that I have the Lord on my side to help me raise my little girl, because I could sure use the help. 

18 Months

It's amazing how much this little girl has changed our lives. She brings us so much incredible joy. I love seeing her little personality come out, the older she gets. 

She understands so much. . . probably more then we realize. 

She LOVES:

~ Being outside. Whenever the weather is nice outside, we try to go out. And when it's time to come back in, she cries. 

~ Stuffed animals. We purposely don't have very many, because I don't want to have to wash 20 of them every week. But when we are in the store and we pass them, she just starts squealing with excitement. 

~ Coloring and painting.

~ Eating. She is a great eater, and I love how she is willing to try new things.

~ Her favorite animal sound is ' Quack, Quack'. 

~ Dancing. If music is playing, this little girl is dancing. Even during sacrament meeting while singing the hymns.

~ Bath time. When she hears the water running, she gets excited. She loves to splash, and thinks it's really funny to get us totally soaked.

~ Books. She has always loved them, but loves them even more now that she understands a little more. We probably read her 15-20 books every day. 

It's sad she's getting so big, but also exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 6 months will bring!

Lyla wanted to dress up, and this is how it turned out.

We recently got Lyla a new car seat. She loves it, and so do we. Yay for safety!

I am LOVED

Last night Daniel brought these home for me. No reason at all.........just because. 

Art Project

Every now and then I want to do something creative with Lyla, but my mind goes completely blank. That's when the internet comes in handy. Yay for Google! Anyway, I came across this super easy art project, and since I already had everything I needed, we jumped right in. 

You'll need:

It took only a second for me to show Lyla how to stick the paper pieces on the Contact Paper, and then she was in her own little world. She had so much fun, and was very proud of the art she created. 

Then we stuck it on the window for all to see.