Christmas Round 3!

Christmas at the Nelsons was a blast as always! Kurt and Bev had a man from their church come dressed as Santa! It was a total hoot! I got the whole thing on video :) We took a ton of pictures and these are just a few. Layna got an ELMO that does the Hookey Pokey and a babydoll set. Layna insisted that her cousin Olivia try out the 'pack n play'. TOO FUNNY!

Christmas Round 2!!

Christmas at the Zimmerman's was great fun!! Layna received magnetic block, a tickle-me- elmo, and DIAPERS!! My mom made a wonderful dinner and these amazing sugar cookies loaded with frosting and sprinkles. Overall- it was a great Christmas celebration.

Christmas Round 1

Well Santa came to our house this morning! Its a little early but this week is going to be crazy- Christmas with the Zim's tomorrow and then headed to Chicago on Tuesday. Layna had a great time unwrapping her presents. Her baby bed and baby highchair were a hit being that anything to do with pretending/babies can keep her busy for quite some time! After she put her baby in the highchair...she started praying!!! SOO CUTE!! She also got a toy camera that says 'Cheese' When Layna opened it, I asked her what is was..and she said 'CHEESE'..I responded with 'Yep honey..its a CHEESE' This age is so fun!

We then attempted a family tradition of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon..well TURKEY bacon. In an attempt to be healthy..we bought Turkey Bacon..Well to say the least IT WAS GROSS! The pancakes where wheat and dairy free..and quite discusting as well. Ohh well..maybe next year! Enjoy the first of MANY Christmas Pictures to come!

Dress up!

So every now and then..(ok actually quite often) I find things for Layna and then put them away for a time that we are bored or just need something exciting to do. Well today I remembered about these 'dress up' clothes I found on the dollar rack at Target. Yes..I dressed me daughter up as a Princess and Yes..she loved it!! I had to beg her to take the tutu off before her nap. I actually recorded a video also that I am going to try and figure out how to put on this thing!

Cookie Decorating

My friend Megan from church had Layna and I over to do cookie decorating. We both made all 'milk free' recipes and it was a sucess! You can see Layna likes the sprinkles..I wonder who she gets that from??!

My Wonderful Husband!

I was totally surprised last night by Karl. Earlier in the week he told me that my parents had offered to watch Layna so that we could wrap Christmas presents Friday night. He even mentioned that they said she could spend the night. Well we took Layna over around 5pm, ate some pizza with my mom and dad and then headed back home..or so I thought. As soon as we got in the car, Karl hands me the camera and says 'You're going to need this to take pictures!' Confused..I asked 'Why?' He then said that we were going to see CARRIE UNDERWOOD!! WOO HOO I was soo excited. I knew she was coming to St. Louis but totally forgot that it was tonight. Anyway- we had awesome seats..about 9 rows up to the right/center of the stage. It was a great concert..she sounds even better LIVE! Thanks K..you are the best!!

Visit to Peoria!

When I got a call Tuesday morning at 6:15am saying that school was cancelled because of no power...I began to wonder what I would do with my day off. As I remembered it was Dec 2nd (Natalee's birthday) I thought to myself...Maybe I should take a roadtrip to Peoria! Within 20 minutes I had packed our bags, called Leeann, and was on the road! **FYI**Leeann is my friend who watched Layna all last year** Well I arrived around lunch time and we went to Applebees to celebrate Natalee's 2nd birthday. Leeann made tacos for dinner and made special 'milk free' cupcakes for the girls to decorate and eat. On Wen. morning we went up to the mall and had the girls picture taken with Santa and also rode the train. It was so great to see Leeann and Natalee again!! Layna did great on the drive so we will be planning the next trip very soon!

Thanksgiving!

Here are some Thanksgiving Pictures! I couldnt get her to look at the camera in her pretty dress but you get the idea. The third picture is Layna with Mary- her wonderful, grandma-like babysitter who comes to our house three days a week! We love you Mary!

We had a great time this past weekend when the Nelson's were in town for Olivia's dedication. Sheila, Ryne and Sophie even made the trip! The first picture is Layna snuggling with her cousins. She LOVED hanging out with the big kids, followed them everywhere and tried to laugh when they were laughing! Christmas is going to be SOO FUN! The second picture is Layna snuggling with Grandpa Nelson. As soon as G and G Nelson walked in the door she was calling them 'Maama and Papa'. The last picture Layna kissing her ELMO balloon...our neighbors brought it over for her! The next post should be of Thanksgiving...Have a good one!

Presents from MICHIGAN!

Layna was sent TWO packages from our family in Michigan this week. The first was a musical gingerbread house from G G Fry! She loves to push the button and dance to the music. The second was an ELMO shirt and ELMO book from great aunt Laura. Elmo is alway a hit at our house! THANK YOU and WE MISS YOU!

It turns out that I really didnt need a 'night time' costume because it was 70 degrees here until around 8pm. We had a blast with our neighbors at our annual Halloween party. Layna even went trick or treating. I've decided that Halloween is the perfect excuse for us parents to subject our children to these ridiculous costumes purely for our own enjoyment/picture taking! Can't wait 'till next year!

Halloween- Part 1

Here are the photos of Layna's 'daytime' costume. I found it at a consignment shop and its something along the lines of a cheerleader/iceskater. Ohh well...She looks adorable in it so who cares! We had a great time spinning and dancing around the house. Every time I got the camera out she would pose and say 'CHEESE'. We went and visited Grandma Z at work and that was fun.

SICKO

Sad to report that Layna-bug is sick with a cold. So being that I was home with her today I decided it would be fun to just stay in our Jammies all day. My hope was that she would take a killer nap because she was so *comfy*...well my hopes faded when she woke up after 45 minutes. Its been a rough day! Needless to say when I broke out the camera tonight she started grinning and shouting 'CHEESE'. WOW!! Do I even say 'CHEESE'?? After snapping a few pictures she looks up at me and says 'Mommy..MORE' I guess I take a lot of pictures :) Still pretty cute for a SICKO huh??