Birthday Visitors

Laila's birthday conveniently falls on Easter weekend and my family's spring break. (And spring training games final weekend)  So my family came on down and it was so nice to have them for awhile.  Why does family time never seem long enough?
My dad and Will came down on Wednesday and we enjoyed some spring training games.  Laila loved our seats and got her first baseball. We could either get Will looking at the camera or Laila. Typical.

My mom and Mel got here Thursday night.  Friday was Laila's big day so we got the party ready in the morning, enjoyed her all afternoon and played together as a family that night.  I need to figure out how to upload movies on here, because Melanie made Laila (and me) a very special movie of her first year.  SO cute! 

I need to get better at taking pictures of our whole family.  But my picture taking was not happening much this weekend because my phone was out of memory. :(  Camille was getting upset that I don't send her pictures when the rest of the family is in town. Sorry, sister!

We did enjoy a wonderful Easter Sunday.  Mom made an amazing ham dinner.  Laila liked her Easter basket, her own little chair that her grandma gave her, and her Easter bunny that her great-grandma gave her.  

She also liked her bubble machine.  I like bubbles.

We love trips to the park...

 ...even Aunt Mel Mel. She wouldn't (couldn't) get off the merry go round. haha!

While my family was still here we enjoyed some shopping.  Laila got her traditional bouncy ball. I love her excitement and recognition.

Mason & Laila enjoyed the fountains at Tio Rosa's while we really enjoyed the food.

Miss you already, family! See you soon!

Spring Break 2013

Although I only teach two or three days a week, Spring Break was still welcomed with open arms!  Last year, I was super duper pregnant and nesting.  Therefore, I was extremely grateful that this years break had WAY better plans.  Grandma & Grandpa Shields came down with cousin Liam and Katie & Tony!
Laila was soooo excited for them to come, she decided to be awake from midnight to four AM.  Then she decided to get up at 8 like everything was normal.  The morning was hilarious because she could not open her eyes.  She looked like she was having a baby hang over.  And I felt like a zombie.

After a good nap, she looked way better. :)

The Shields had driven through the night so they were feeling pretty tired so we all just relaxed that first day.

Thursday morning we went and picked some grapefruit and oranges at a sweet lady's house in our ward.  Laila rocked her pajamas with shoes look...

Then we went home, put babies down for naps, ate, got ready and headed out to find the Mystery Castle!  I had no idea it existed until Michael's cousin came to visit a few weeks ago.  You'll have to Google it, but basically a dad built a real life "sand castle" for his daughter in the 20s with lots of knick knacks etc.  It was fun and borderline the original hoarders. (It was built during the depression so hoarding was legit- I guess)

From one castle to another... We also head out to the Mesa Temple to walk around the beautiful grounds and visitor center.  Wish they had stayed long enough to see the Easter Pageant!

 (Family pic looking into the sun = fail)

It took us a LONG time to get home that night due to awful traffic.  Needless to say, it made me grateful for our upcoming move so my husband does not have to deal with that anymore!

The next morning we went hiking up Squaw Peak it was about a 2 mile hike each way, but it was pretty steep! I feel so out of shape when I'm hiking, but the view and company was worth it!

After the hike, we enjoyed lunch near Michael's work and showed the fam our new house! I'm glad they got to see it.  The weather was warm and beautiful!

 Yummy cheesesteaks! And cousin time.

After that, we enjoyed some time in ice cold pool water.  We went with Jen & Mason and Jen, Katie and I could barely put our feet in.  Mason & Liam splashed around in the water like it was no big deal.  As soon as I tried to put Laila in the water she recoiled and freaked out.  I guess it was a girl thing! haha!

We enjoyed a nice barbeque dinner that night and then the Shields were headed home.  Way too short of a trip, but we are grateful for any time that we get to spend with family.

"ONE" upon a time...

...We celebrated our little girl's very first birthday on March 29, 2013!

We went to the playground by our house.  We had cupcakes, balloons and some fairytale foods. (Teddy grahams= Goldilocks, Reese's eggs= Humpty Dumpty, Mini Corn Dogs= 3 Little Pigs, Apples= Snow White, and Jellybeans= Jack & the Beanstock)

Laila at least made it look like she was blowing out the candle and that she wanted her cupcake.  Although, in reality, her mouth was full of apples and she didn't even touch the cupcake. (I guess a mother can't complain if her daughter prefers apples over cupcakes...But where did she come from?)

Laila had lots of family (both sets of great grandparents from mom's side, Grandma & Grandpa Ostler, mom's Uncle Jeff, Uncle Will & Aunt Mel Mel) and lots of friends.  She was spoiled by everyone with lots of gifts. She didn't mind pulling out the tissue paper and looking inside.  Thank heavens because it's always awkward when mommy has to open your gifts.

She loved her balloons! This was her balloon face.  She kept saying "oh! oh!" And pointing at them.

 (She really did like the balloons even if her face doesn't look ecstatic.) 

We tied one to her shirt and she loved just walking around all day and having it follow her.

  

I can hardly believe that I am a mom of a one year old!  As a 1 year old:
- She walks/runs around everywhere!
- She is extremely methodical and thoughtful as she goes about her business.  When you look at her, you can almost SEE exactly what she is thinking.
- She has some words that she says, but "Uh oh" is her favorite this month. And she knows what that means.
- She still nurses. She won't take a bottle but she takes sippy cups.  She loves water. We are working on her developing her mom's love of milk.
- She loves string cheese, noodles, yogurt, crackers, cheerios, green beans, pears, apples, bananas, peaches, oranges (even though they give her a sore bum) and tortillas.  We are working on getting her to eat meat and more veggies. (At least TRY them, stubborn girl)
-She weighs 19.7 pounds
-She's 29" tall.
- And- you guessed it- her head is in the 99th percentile! haha! You go girl!
- She still wakes up usually once a night to eat and then goes right back to sleep.
-She loves stuffed animals.  She gives hers sweet hugs and she reminds me of the darling book, "Knuffle Bunny"
-She loves playing/being outside
-Her laugh is contagious.
-She is wonderful.

The world is a better place with our little Adelaide and we are so happy to have her in our lives.  Everyday brings a new adventure and I'm grateful to be her mommy.