Layla's Story.. So Far..

{Layla's First Birthday}

We celebrated Layla's first birthday Saturday, one day early. We wanted to do something fun that everyone would enjoy. Paul came up with the genius idea to go sledding, so we did! I think everyone enjoyed it. Unfortunately, there were are few crashes with other sledders, but all was well. After sledding we all headed back to Grandma and Grandpa Blanchard's house for chili and taco soup and some yummy cupcakes. I have to add that I made the cupcake frosting all by myself...and it was goooooooood. After all the yummy food we went down stairs and opened presents and watch Layla dive into her very own giant cupcake!! (thank you Vera) I think Layla had a pretty awesome day. My highlight was a video that Aunt Cyndi put together of all of her photos from the year. It was a wonderful gift. Thank you to all that attended and for all the presents!

Crawling over the cake
Diggin' in!

Oooh Cake!

Layla LOVES cellphones
The Birthday Cake

My first snow angel

Flying

Uncle Brian and Lincoln

Dave, Cyndi, Paul

Kelcy and Kylie

Layla and Dad

Mom and Layla

My first Snowsuit

{MMM...SUCKERS}

Are we bad parents because we gave an 11 month old a sucker? I hope not...

All I can say is Layla just loved that sucker. I won't be giving her another one anytime soon, because it is soooo messy and requires a bath afterwards. It was sure fun watching her go"mmm" and then smack her lips. It wasn't so fun trying to pry it out of her death gripped fingers. I wish we could have gotten a picture of how mad she was when we took it away. It was priceless.

Squirrly Face

This is the face you get when you smile at Layla.

Halloween

Happy Be-lated Halloween!

Layla Fun

I wanted to post this video of Layla laughing. We are finding more and more "ticklish" spots everyday. In this video she was just laughing so much with no help. I would just raise my hand and she would start laughing. She is getting so big.
Little Update:
She has been taking more and more steps everyday. She loves to scream randomly, and can say Dada and Mama.

Bath Time

Layla's hair is finally getting some length. When we dry her hair after her bath this is what it usually looks like. These are probably some of my favorite pictures of her.

Meal Time Gone Wrong

This is what happens when Daddy lets a 9 month old feed herself.

P.F. Changs....Homemade

Paul and I love to eat at P.F. Chang's. The food is always so good, but you can't eat there all the time because it is not cheap. So I searched and found two recipes one for ham fried rice and our favorite, Chang's spicy chicken. Monday night we made an attempt on it....and WOW it was delicious! I am surprised at how close it is to the real thing. Next time we will do a little tweaking...add a little extra of everything. But I surely recommend making this at home....you will be pleasantly surprised!

{Becoming Betty}

I am trying to expand my culinary expertise. So today I made rolls from scratch! They don't look very good, but they do taste good.I didn't do any kneading at all. The recipe didn't call for any such work.
I must say I have never heard of a bread recipe that you didn't kneed the dough...
Maybe thats why mine were so flat? Or it could be because my yeast was expired by a few months?? haha, now that I think about it, it could have very well have been the yeast.
Let me know your opinions....

{Busy baby}

This child is sooo busy! She is getting in to everything. Today it was hard to cook, because she was weaving in out and around my feet. She managed to get the stove drawer open and a jelly roll pan out! I grabbed the camera when she hopped in the drawer. It was too cute to not take a picture.

{Off To Lehi We Go}

Last week Layla and I headed to Lehi to see Kelli and Kelcy. Kelcy was so excited to see Layla and I. We Hadn't seen them since Ricky's wedding. So it had been awhile. Kelcy was so cute and met us at the end of her road on her skateboard thing. Unfortunately, she biffed it hard on her way back to the house and had a nice gouge in her hand. We played outside until Kelli got home and then we had dinner....my favorite Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches! After dinner Kelli did some lady's glitter toes and Kelcy and I were making delicious home made oreo cookies. After the gals toes Kelli did mine! They are so cute.Layla had a gross blowout. Luckily it only somehow made it on her shirt? So Kelcy gave her a bath. After all that fun we headed home at about ten o'clock. Can't wait to do it again!

New Camera!

Paul surprised me with a new camera when I got home from work. I love it! It is so much better than the last one. Here are a few new photos from the new camera!

Yummy Treat!

*I only have a Belgian waffle iron, so my cookies were thicker. I cooked them for about a minute each. I didn't let the cookie get crusty like a normal waffle. I also used an ice cream scoop to scoop up the dough. It was the cleanest and easiest way for me. oh and I doubled the recipe*

R.I.P

Our camera was just found dead in the diaper bag. This is so unfortunate. I will not be able to post any photos for a bit. But in light of this sad news...we shall be getting a much better camera!!!