Random pics & PT

Meeska Mouska Mickey Mouse! If you've got a toddler I'm sure you know this saying :) Our day cannot begin without Mickey!!


Helping mommy grill burgers on the porch!


Having quiet time - getting ready to go "nigh-nigh"!


Ella got into my makeup and put blush everywhere! It was on her leg, her face, and the chair! When I asked her what she was doing she told me "i put my make-up on mommy. i have to go to work!" She loves to get dressed up and "go to her office"!


Playing with daddy! Some of the best pics I've gotten in a while :)




I took Layla for her PT consultation today! I was so thrilled that she actually cooperated and smiled and laughed and was her sweet easy going self!! The physical therapist, Miss Sarah, did about an hour evaluation of Layla's cognitive skills, her fine motor skills, and her gross motor skills! At the end of it all, she said that Layla's cognitive and fine motor are exactly where they should be but her gross motor are those of a 10 month old! She said she cannot techinically label her as "delayed" until the 17 month mark but she was optimistic that because her other areas of development are normal - Layla just needs a bit more instruction and encouragment :) So we now have many ideas and excercises to get her up and moving with those legs!! I'll take her back in a month for another quick check-up and as long as she is making progress then she won't need any formal type of weekly therapy!

On another note . . Danny has all his credit hours finally taken care of and got in all his paperwork and now we are waiting on the "go ahead" for him to start testing for his liscence!! He's already began studying a bit and I think I am more excited than he is!! I know he's been working HARD for this for 5 years and it's finally about to pay off :)

Greenlake!

We went to Greenlake today and took the girls for a paddleboat ride!!It was quite a bit of fun! Afterwards we went to their wading pool and let the girls play around for a bit!









Drinking and steering the boat :)




Giving hugs as we were getting ready to leave :)

Tropical Storm Fay!

We have some family in Melbourne, Fl being pounded by "Fay" right now! Lucikly everyone is safe! My aunt sent me these funny pics of my cousin Mackenzie and my Uncle Robbie kayaking down their street! I guess if you're going to miss 3 days of school, you'd better have some fun while you're doing it!

Some pics from our day . .

Grayson & Layla holding hands in the back seat :)


We went to the library for a puppet show and Layla grabbed the best seat!


Being silly on the stairs!

Company Picnic

Danny's firm had their company picnic this afternoon at a park on Lake Washington! The weather was perfect and the girls had a blast running around!


This was too cute! Layla was sitting on the sidelines of a touch football game, cheering all the boys on!! That's my girl :)


We tried getting Ella to swim, but she only wanted Danny holding her and dipping her feet in occasionally! You can't tell tell, but Mt. Rainier is in the background! The veiws from the park were amazing!!


One of Danny's co-workers (who has 2 teenage daughters) was so sweet, wanting to play with Ella! I was a little shocked that she took to him pretty easily!! They had tons of fun playing soccer together!

15 months!

We had Layla's 15 mos check-up today! She is still a very tall girl at 33 1/2 inches long and her weight has finally caught back up to her at 24 1/2 pounds! (Ricky still has her beat, Kathy!!) Our pediatrician described her as "long and lean" and I guess I'll take that :) She didn't do so great with her shots but she seems to be a little better now! As far as language, understanding, social skills, etc . . she is doing great! I'm sure everything else is just coming in her own time, but because she is not "cruising" or walking (or even really trying either of the two) our pediatrician recomended getting a short PT evaluation at Children's Hospital. She isn't too concerned (and neither are Danny and I) but she thought it would just be something to look in to and definitely keep an eye on. I have learned that if by 17 mos, a child is not walking, they start PT or some kind of intervention, so we are hoping not to get to that point :)
The good news is our Children's Hopsital is ranked #8 in the country so atleast we know we are in good hands!! I truly mean it when I say that I believe there is not a single thing wrong with that sweet little baby, but a prayer her way couldn't hurt :)

Speaking of prayers, I wanted to ask all of you to keep my friend Elisabeth and her husband Jason in your prayers! He was diagnosed with Lymphoma last week and is starting chemotherapy next week! I know they would appreciate all your thoughts and prayers right now! They live in Denver - away from all their family and friends, probably why I'm a little touchy about it :) and prayers are all I got right now!!!

Journalism major, perhaps??

I'm not sure where this came from exactly but it made me laugh out loud for quite a while today! Layla and I were playing in their room, when Ella walked in with a pad of paper and a pen and said "So, mommy, can I ask you a question?" Then as I began talking to her she started scribbling something on the paper! This went on for a good part of the afternoon! I'd like to know what she was writing about me :)


(notice the hand on her hip! all my family got a kick out of this . . she does it ALL the time!)


Then she found her phone and called daddy to say "hello daddy, yes, I ask mommy a question!" Are they in on this together?!?!?!

Potty updates!

I was a little worried because Ella refused to use the potty while we were at my parent's house . . . but I was pleasantly surprised when we got home and she got right back into the swing of things! And it's going even better than before we left! She's having no accidents during the day, and at her request, she sleeps with just her underware on and she stays dry!! I'm afraid to say it out loud but my little Ella is almost potty trained :)


Now we just have to figure out how to make her sleep in her own bed, all night :)

I'm trying . .

to get back on track! We've been home almost a week and things just haven't settled back into the normal rountines like I would've wanted so of course the blog has been put on hold!!
Being back home for 2 weeks was simply fabulous! It was such a great feeling to walk off the plane and see Ella run to my mom saying "grandma, grandma!!" I'm sooo happy to know she's keeping those bonds with family even though we can't see them all the time! We celebrated my mom's 50th birthday - which included getting to see my ENTIRE family, including my big brother who haven't seen since Ella was born!!! So it was doubly exciting to get to introduce Layla to her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Beth :)

Between my cameras and all the others, I have over 200 photos from the 2 weeks so I decided just to put up a slideshow but not too worry - i'll not bore with all 200 of them! I think 95% of the people who look at this blog were there anyways :)

We got back late last Tuesday and by Thursday Ella came down with some sort of nasty stomach bug and of course Layla had it by Friday :( I began watching a friend's little boy the day after we got back so we are all adjusting to a few changes but I'm hopeful we'll make it :)

Danny had a great time in Denver! He got to drink and play golf with friends :) always the perfect combo for any vacation! He didn't take his camera so I have no pics - which I think was a cover-up so I never really know what happened :)