Firsts...

Isla has had a lot of firsts lately and she has been over the moon excited about all of them.

Swimming lessons - she started swimming lessons in October. She is one of two in her class. I've been so proud of her excitement, confidence and her sweetness. The other little girl she is in the class with has been terrified of the teacher and being away from her mom. Instead of Isla getting upset
about the little girl screaming, she's been trying to calm her down. She tells her its going to be okay, shares the pool toys and smiles at her. I've been so proud to see her light shining and also proud of all her new swimming skills!

Dentist - she had her first dentist appointment this week. She was not hesitant at all to climb up in the chair and when they asked her how many teeth she thought she had, she opened her mouth and counted them one by one until she got to twenty. I was amazed at how well she did! She was super excited to get to pick out a toy from the treasure box at the end too.

Home with mommy - This is our first week of being home more. We've cut her preschool hours to just three mornings a week versus all week and she is doing school with me at home on Mondays and Fridays. Our first Monday was awesome! I had to be a little more flexible than I had planned, but overall it went well, she was excited to learn and we had fun together. This is a great trial for us to continue to explore homeschooling for the years to come.

She's growing up so fast that it often makes my chest ache. She no longer likes kisses on the mouth, she tells me - "on the cheek mom."
She calls me mom most days and if I'm super lucky, I get a mama, but hardly ever does she call me mommy.
She wants to do it all herself these days. She used to like for me to show her the way first, but now, she wants to do the first try herself too.

All these things are great and I love to see her growing smarter, stronger and more confident every day... but some days I just want time to stand still. I want to take a mental snapshot and remember her and Laylin in their thermal pajamas smiling at me before bedtime. I want to remember her silky skin and how she asks for tickles on her back over and over again. I want to remember how brushing her hair is a fight, but she jumps at the opportunity to brush mine. I want to remember her eyes lighting up when I tell her I'm going to put her to bed tonight, or snuggle with her for a little while.

I hope I remember all these things and more forever.

She can...

Laylin has really started showing more signs of being a true toddler. Recently, she has started signing more than just, more. All the work and videos have started to pay off because she is communicating with us through sign language!

She can now sign:

• More
• Eat
• All done
• Milk
• Drink
• Dog
• Sleep
• Diaper

Isla has gotten into signing again too. Signing is helping her communicate with us and reducing some frustrations, but I've also noticed that it is encouraging her to talk to us. She's starting to say more words now too. 

She can say:

• Bye bye
• All done
• Mama
• Dada
• Isla
• Bella
• Night-night

She's also taken a new interest in reading...and it's literally all she wants to do during playtime!

She brings me a book, sits down on my lap and listens to the whole story without moving... except to point at the pictures. Once the book is done, if I put it down, she will pick it up and hand it to me again. It's so cute how she has favorite books that she wants to read over and over again. Her favorite little story is about making toast with jelly. For some reason she LOVES this one. She will want to read it 10 times before she moves on to the next book. 

She's growing and changing everyday and becoming the sweetest little girl. Can't wait to see what she can do next. 

Laylin Milestones

Wow, Laylin has hit a lot of milestones since my last post and these milestones have been keeping me busy!

• For starters, she turned ONE!
• She hit her biggest milestone - WALKING! She is now up to 15 steps. She's getting more and more confident every day. She took her first steps on September 21st! 
• Now, she's not only a walker, but also a dancer! She loves banging her head to the beat of...well, anything. The TV tunes, music, sounds from a toy... it really doesn't matter. This girl just loves to dance! 
• She's still holding strong at just 4 teeth, but she's a great eater. 
• Still weighing in at a whooping 17lbs, but healthy. 
• Her personality has really started to shine recently. She's giggly, goofy, playful and feisty! 

We love our little Lay-LION!

A note to my girls...

Isla,

You're three years old and SO.MUCH.FUN! I love everything about you... you are strong willed, full of personality, incredibly sweet and sympathetic. Every day, you wake up bursting with energy, ready to take on the day! You are adventurous, brave and determined. You love to read, learn new things and do it yourself. You're so sweet and such a great big sister. I love to see your love for your sister growing and your special bond with her growing. Laylin lights up when she sees you and I can tell the two of you will have a lasting bond. 

Laylin,

My sweet one year old baby... you are oh so cute, and oh so feisty! I love how observant you are. You carefully study and watch everyone you encounter... taking it all in before you flash your toothy smile. You are playful and vibrant. I can see your curiosity increasing as you are eager to get into everything and explore. You are getting more confident with standing and I think those first little steps will happen any day now. I love how loving you are. You are such a cuddle bug. 

My heart grows bigger every day I spend with you girls. I'm amazed with how much love and joy you two have brought to my life. 

Laylin Jane - What I think about your first year...

As you are just 9 days shy of turning one. I hold you and think about you growing inside me. I think about the miracle of my pregnancy. I think about your little body intertwined in mine. I think about our first ultrasound. I think about how perfect God make you. I think about the pain I felt during labor. I think about the indescribable joy I felt holding your tiny body for the first time. I think about your first breaths. I think about what I thought was your last breaths. I think about how beautiful you were the first time I saw you. I think about those first few months. I think about the long naps and how content you were. I think about what a good baby you are. I think about the night I almost lost you. I think about the miracle of waking up that night to find you not breathing. I think about your little grey lifeless body laying on the floor. I think about that faint cry you gave that reassured me you were still breathing and broke my heart all at the same time. I think about how strong you are. I think about the hospital stays, doctors appointments, worry and fear. I think about the miracle of your life. I think about the alarm sounding from your monitor and the panic we used to feel. I think about the sleepless nights. I think about all the time we spent together in the dark. I think about how you love to be held. I think about how loving you are. I think about you growing and thriving. I think about your sweet voice saying mama for the first time. I think about how petite you are and how much you love to eat. I think about your feistiness and independence. I think about your strong-will. I think about how determined you are. I think about seeing you crawl for the first time. I think about you standing tall. I think about you clapping and waving bye backwards. I think about your sweet grin and your one and only tooth that's only a fourth of the way in. I think about the joy you have brought to my life. I think about you lighting up every time you see your sissy. I think about God's plan for your life. I think about the blessing that you are. I think about how much God must love me to bless me with you.

Onederful Laylin Jane

Our sweet girl is almost one! I can hardly believe in just two short weeks she will be turning one. In a way, it feels like a year has gone by, but at the same time when I look at her - I can't believe she is one. She still feels so much more like an infant to me rather than a toddler. I know part of that is me not wanting to let go of each stage, but part of it is because she is still such a peanut.

She is so incredibly smart. Absorbing everything we say and do. This week she started putting words together and said (and signed) "All done" at dinner time. She's also saying, mama, bye-bye and Isla.

She is signing all done, nurse and I think she is starting to sign sleep. Isla loves doing baby signs with her and Laylin is really starting to catch on.

She is standing up all by herself and in to everything!

I thank God everyday for such an incredibly sweet blessing. She is just the sweetest!

Special times with Isla

I've been trying to do extra special outings from time to time with Isla to give her some attention outside of our normal day to day. It seems as if I have much more one on one time with Laylin as I feed her before nap time and at nights and while Isla is at school.

Isla has become such a big vibrant girl. She is full of life with the greatest imagination. This week, we took her to her very first movie. She called it "the movie station." She did so well. We watched it in 3D and she wore her glasses the whole time. She was so cute whispering little comments about the movie and looking to us to know when to laugh at the jokes. I hope it will be a special memory for her because I know it will be for me.

Yesterday I got a pedicure for the first time since before Laylin was born... I guess you can say I've been busy with other things :) I took Isla with me for a special outing of just her and me. She called the nail salon "the paint store" - makes sense right?! She got to get her toenails and finger nails painted. She did her toes red, white and silver - all with glitter. For her finger nails she wanted white - surprised me! She did white with silver glitter on top. She was so excited to have them painted special!

She is such a loving sweet girl. I just adore our one on one time together.