Terrible Two's

Well, we're there. The terrible two's. They are upon us in full fury and we're loving it (please note sarcasm). You can see the "Devil" in her eyes in this picture, can't you?? Can't you?? Here, we were doing some artwork at the kitchen table and I so rudely interrupted her by asking her to please smile for the camera. Yikes! ;)

Layla's latest: waking up at 4:30 a.m. to talk, yell, play, have a tantrum, then when it's finally time to leave the house 3 hours later she says she's tired. Lately, I've felt like a terrible mommy because all I want to do is yell, "Pleeeeease!!! For the love of God child, BE QUIET!!!!!! Stop wining!!! Stop crying!!! Stop throwing things!!!" Not long ago, I taught Layla what "patience" means. Now, whenever I say, "Do you know what it means to be patient?" she says, "Wait?" and I say yes. BUT, that has backfired because I'm trying to teach her all kinds of words now like "manners", "do not whine", "be polite", etc. Whenever I say things like, "Do you know what it means to be polite?" she'll say, "Wait?" Pretty funny but frustrating at the same time.

Jake's been really busy lately with school so Layla and I are often left to "fend for ourselves" and / or amuse ourselves. This weekend I chased her around for a bit with the camera to try to capture some of her sassy and chatty moments. Here's what I got... Nothing spectacular but stay tuned. There's never a shortage of sass in our house, that's for sure.

In this video, you'll probably sense the exhaustion in my voice when she walks away from her book and tries to take the camera from me. Then you'll note that I've fallen off my rocker by teaching Layla to "shake her booty". Great values, mom.

Real Photo Shoot

Whoa. It's been a while since our last post. Where did September go? Oh, that's right - bow hunting started. Which means when we're not working, Jake's off in the woods somewhere (mostly out of town) and mommy is chasing Layla or off gallivanting with friends. So, the last thing I've wanted to do in my "down" time is log on to the computer - even if it is for a good cause (as I sit here logged on to two computers at once, trying to blog and get work done for a project deadline that crept up on me, and, I'm sitting on the phone with our useless IT group, trying to get logged on remotely. Yes, I said it - USELESS. They're useless and I cannot wait until we can this horrific VPN provider that calls themselves iPass. Yep. I said it. Go ahead, sue me).

So, I suppose that sums up the past few weeks in a nut shell. We've been moving at warp speed and we're pooped. Work's killing us both, Layla is in "never stops talking" phase and the "ShermBurger" wedding is coming up on us at an alarming rate!

Jake's fall softball team is doing "so-so"... I dunno, I think maybe they're at 2-1 right now?? I stopped listening before summer ball ended. ;) Absolutely notta going on with me. Just trying to enjoy the time I have with Layla at night and on the weekends. I swear, ever day she blasts at us with more energy than the day before! She's really starting to come in to her own, that's for sure.

Today, we had our annual family photo shoot - Jake, Layla, Mommy and Hudson (of course). It went really well and we managed to get all the outside shots in before the rain started (I see now that the sun is coming out but oh well, I think we got some pretty sweet shots in). Layla got some by herself in the studio as well. I think they're all going to turn out great, as our photographer shared a few of the pictures with us straight off her camera. Even Hudson had a self portrait done!! :) Amy (photographer) was impressed with how well Layla did and said that she's not used to 2 year olds doing that well for photo shoots (hmmm... imagine that, Layla enjoying her moment in the spotlight). She recommended that I send some of Layla's pics (ones that we had taken today or ones we take ourselves) to Kohl's for their ads. I guess they do all the photo shoots for their catalogues / circulars in Milwaukee - wouldn't that be fun!?

As soon as we have some of the shots from today's shoot, I'll post them for you. No seriously, I will. For now, I'm signing off... I have a crick in my neck from typing and waiting on hold with the world's LOUDEST, most ANNOYING hold music ever. Grrrrr.

Photo Shoot

My sis took these pics back on Bean's bday, after her party. We were all just goofing around and taking fun pictures. It was then that we discovered what a total ham bone Layla is for the camera! You'll notice that she was pretty much digging being the center of attention for these pics. They turned out great... I think I'll have the one below framed (sorry it's not facing the right way). Yeah, I'm cute. I know.

This one just makes me laugh really hard. Linds told her to smile really big and that's just what she did - as well as lean into the camera lens super close and look a little scary!

Autie Linds, Layla and Mummy.

Nonnie, Layla and Mummy. Layla looks like she's about to play the remote like it's a clarinet!

Cheeeeeeeese!!!

I work too.

As our little Layla grows, she's becoming quite the little chatter box. A few funny moments with our little girl recapped from the past few days:

During the Packer game on Sunday, Layla stood in front of the t.v. after the Packers missed a catch that should've been easy...
Layla: Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Daddy: Layla, say, "Dangit."
Layla: Dangit. Dangit. Dangit. Dangit.

Last night Jake was reading Layla's daycare report from the day to us. One of the comments was, "We had to remind Layla today that we don't hit our friends."
Mommy: Layla, did you hit one of your friends today?
Layla: Yep.
Daddy: Layla, why did you hit your friend.
Layla: Sofia hit me!
Daddy: Hmm. Okay then.

This morning before I took her to daycare...
Mommy: Layla, let's get moving. Mommy's got to go to work and you have to go to school.
Layla: Mommy, I work too.

Year Two... Continued

As promised... Here are a ton of pictures from Layla's Birthday. We had a great time with the family who endured a day of everything "Bee Movie" and everything Layla. :) Once again, Layla was spoiled to death with awesome gifts and lots of love. It was a fabulous day and we feel blessed to have had such great weather and great company!!

The pictures are actually backwards, starting with the end of the Birthday party at the top, and the beginning of Layla's gift opening extravaganza (before the party even started) on the bottom... Blogspot just isn't super pic uploader friendly and I don't feel like reorganizing the snaps.

I have lots of video too, but I'll save that for the next post!!!


Uncle Ray and Auntie Lindsey with super smiley Layla Bean.
Snuggling with G'ma D after lots of cake and present opening. She was sleeepy.
Uncle Ray helping Layla pick a sticker.
Happy Birthday to you!! Happy Birthday to you!!! She dug her hand right in, to grab a candle but did NOT like the fact that there was frosting on her fingers as a result.
This is Bean when we were singing Happy Birthday. You would never guess it, but when ALL of the attention is on her, she gets really bashful... so, she was sort of shying away from everyone and closing her eyes.

Lindsey got Layla stickers for her Bday... kidding. She, Ray and Nonnie chipped in to get her a portable DVD player which hasn't arrived yet. :)
Layla on the wiggle racer with her dolphin balloon.
Bean got this sweet wiggle racer from G'ma and G'pa Sherman ... the the thing is so fun... It holds up to 250lbs, so we can fly around on this bad cat too!! She loves it!
Look, I'm doin' it!
Grampa Rog got Layla her very 1st Red Wagon!! She loved it... and the balloon that came with it!
Thanks "Gampa"!

MMMmmmm .... Ice Cream Cake!! Layla actually ate some this year!! She wouldn't get it on her hands, but she ate it!
What's up? Bet ya didn't know I'm 2 now!? Suckas!
Family chatting pre-present time... This makes me laugh cuz I'm not sure if Ray was yawning or cheering about something.
Geeze, yeah, I know I'm 2 now G'ma, but really? You want me to figure out this maze? Alright!
G'ma D and Layla coloring in the sun.
Pre-Bee Party set-up!
"Black and Yellow! Hello!"
Bean getting ready to open Brian and Theresa's gift before the party... a cabbage patch doll with her very own car seat. I have video of this that I'll post later.
Dad n' Bean, chillin pre-party.
Baby "Ana" (Layla named her that). From Mommy and Daddy. She really goes potty!
Layla in her new shirt from Rachel, Kevin and Finley! I think it's one of her (an my) favorites now!
She wanted to pose by her car in her new outfit from the Ping's.
Rachel also sent a Bee from Bee Movie for Bean. This is her, cuddling Barry Bee while watching Bee Movie! Hey Guys! Did you know I'm 2 now? Yeah, I am! I'm 2!
Her friends made this hat for her at school last week! Awe!

Year Two

Dear Layla,

Happy Birthday my beautiful baby girl. Tonight, at 7:21 p.m., you turned 2 years old. Funny... I thought I'd be able to get through this post without tearing up. I didn't get past typing "7:21 p.m." without welling up. So, Internet, forgive any typos that may come. My eyes are full of mommy tears.

Every day we spend with you is one more day of love, satisfaction and amazement. You make the darkest days brighter and the happiest best of days even better. Last night, I laid and cried a bit (I know, how sappy, I just truly cannot believe that you've been with us for two whole years already) and thought about how much you've grown. It has gone by too fast. Everyone told us it would, but I never imagined it this way. I'm sad because I can't fully remember your "baby" years anymore. Oh sure, I remember when you were BRAND spankin new and mad at the world - how could we forget your screams?! But I am now realizing that I don,t fully remember the baby time. When you were a ball of pudge and happiness. Clapping and waving your hands incessantly at everything that moved. Thank God for this blog and the pictures... I need to spend some time going back and looking at the posts about your first tooth, when you learned to crawl, walk, your first word. Was it "mommy", "daddy", or "ball"?

When I put you to bed at night, I stare at you and thank God for sending you to me. I ask him to help me remember this moment. This very moment while I'm rocking you. How your face looks. How you smell. The shape of your nose, length of your eye lashes. I ask him to help me engrave the memories of the day with you into my brain. I just don't want to let any precious moments with you slip away.

Layla, Happy Birthday my little love bug. You have absolutely rocked my world. You're an awesome little diva, a super duper comedian, the biggest sweetheart I know and you make me love you like I never thought it was possible for a human to love. Thank you for letting me be your mommy. Please don't grow up too fast. Please know that your daddy and I love you so much, that we are ALWAYS here for you, that we will never leave you and that we live for you.

Pictures from the party to come tomorrow... my eyes are too full of tears to post pics now. And, I'm so pooped for the "Bee" Birthday Party I might just pass out - after I have a left over piece of ice cream cake!

We love you Layla!

Cash for Clunkers? More like, "Car for Bottles"

Well, we did it. Finally made the big step and enrolled Layla in the "Car for bottles" program last night. We asked her if she'd like to have her very own car and she smiled really big and said, "Yep." Then, we told her, "Okay, but you have to throw all of your bottles away and be a big girl from now on. No more bottles, only big girl cups and then you can have your very own car." She looked a little freaked at first, but then we got out the garbage bag and told her she could put all the bottles in the bag herself. That did it. She basically spiked every last one into the bag. Then we praised her and said, "Okay, say bye-bye to the bottles!" She said bye-bye, we wheeled in her car and she hasn't looked back. Sure, you might call this bribing or spoiling, but I really think the car served as a huge distraction from the fact that her bottles were gone.

She did great last night, didn't even ask for a bottle and not a peep about them this morning. NO MORE BOTTLES!!! Yeeeaahhhhh!!!! I'm so sick of washing those damn things!!! And luggin' them around! Really makes me realize she's a little girl now and not a baby, but it's part of life, right? Holy Crap! I am gonna drive the poop out of this thing!! Look at this! I'm pushing my very own car! In the living room!!

Let's go! Let's do this! Who needs bottles!? I have a car now!!

Vrrroooom! Vrooooom!!

And, on a separate note, here are a few pics that I thought were funny ... the first, Layla in daddy's old hunting jacket from when he was a baby (this is up at G'ma and G'pa's a few weekends ago)!! Thank goodness Heavy D saves everything! How cute is this?!

Bean in daddy's hunting jacket from when he was a little guy!

This one is from a while ago... Bean has discovered "boobies" (or, as she calls them, boobas). So, you can imagine her delight when she found my cami w/ a built in bra. She was pumped to have her own "boobas".