HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

LAYLA WANTS TO WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

And Layla LOVES hearing from you when you comment on the blog!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING 2009 SUCH A YEAR FULL OF MIRACLES.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE...

It wouldn't be Christmas without the nativity scene. The kids were confused because they thought Layla should be the angel instead of baby Jesus because she's always called our "angel baby."

All the cousins in matching PJ's before heading to bed. Everyone argued over who got to hold Layla of coarse. So we had to take a million pictures so every cousin could have a chance to hold her.

A little reindeer dust was sprinkled on the front porch so santa can see the house from the sky.

A treat made by the kids.... looks appetizing doesn't it?

Then it was off to bed, slumber party at Grammy's house. Layla is sound asleep in her crib upstairs and Kevin and I are just soaking up every minute of our first Christmas with her.

We hope you all have a beautiful day with your families tomorrow and remember Christ's humble beginning and loving sacrifice. We love you all.

Merry Christmas.

SWEET DREAMS OF SUGAR PLUM FAIRY'S

Layla was anxious to awake to a white Christmas Eve this morning and top her advent calendar with the angel.

We've been busy hustling and bustling about trying to get ready for tonight. We are now at Grammy's house, presents under the tree and getting the kids into their PJ's after a wonderful dinner.

Pics to follow soon!

WISHING YOU ALL A HOLIDAY SEASON AS HAPPY AS LAYLA!

giggling from Kevin Day on Vimeo.

TURTLE TONGUE.... SOOOOO CUTE!

WE ARE LOVING LAYLA'S NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND HER LITTLE VOICE AND SOUNDS CHANGE EVERY DAY. SHE'S SO MUCH FUN TO TALK TO!

5 MONTHS

Layla at 5 months =

Likes:

+ sitting up in her high chair

+ grabbing our noses and hair

+ the Christmas tree light on her miniature tree in her room decorated with lollipops and jingle bells

+ prefers to look at children instead of adults

+ to eat about 32 oz of lactose free formula per day

+ wants to start eating solids soon because she is always eyeing all of our food

+ love to smile, smile, smile

+ always grabbing her feet and playing with them

+ loves sucking her thumb and pointer finger at the same time

+ laughs at the dog and cat more than us

Dislikes:

- having her shirts pulled over her head

- hates when we wipe her nose

- her car seat

- men with scruffy beards

- the little music playing card someone gave her that plays the song from "dumbo" she puckers up and cries every time we turn it on

*Layla rolled over!!!!! Shannon put her on her tummy for tummy time in her crib and walked away to put a load of laundry in the wash. When she came back Layla was on her back smiling up at her! Shannon got so excited and cheered for her and pleaded with her to do it again on film and for 4 days we've been trying to capture it on film, to no avail. Layla seemed very proud of herself! She's so close to rolling over but usually gets so mad about being on her tummy that she can't calm down long enough to try to roll. Silly Lady bug:)

*We'll be starting solid foods soon. Starting with veggies, then fruits, then cereal. At 6 months, all according to the MD and American Pediatrics studies.

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LAYLA AND THE GIANT TREE

Yesterday Kevin spent the morning introducing Layla to her first big snow storm. He sat her by our front window and she loved watching the gentle flakes fall slowly to the ground outside. We bundled her up and headed the Robinsons Tree Farm in Kaysville and picked out the fattest, most perfect tree we could find that fit into our budget. I'm staring at it right now and it's the most beautiful tree we've ever had. Layla slept though most of it but smiled when she saw the tree strapped to the top of our little car. She loves being outside and seemed to enjoy the cold snowy air on her nose.

Kevin and I have stayed up late at night talking about how much it means to us to share our traditions with Layla now and how much more meaningful the holidays are now that we are parents. We love Layla more than anything on this Earth and we feel SO blessed and privileged to be the family we are today. We know that she is too young to understand Christmas now, but we look foreword to teaching her about Christ's birth and reason behind the season of Christmas. Not a day goes by that we don't think of and pray of our gratitude for God and Layla's birth-families. We hope you are all well and finding joy in this Christmas season.

Wow!

Hook-em-Horns. Need we say more.

THIS VIDEO MAKES US SMILE

Layla loves to help out with the warm batch of laundry each morning! We LOVE her so much our hearts feel like they are going to explode sometimes!!!!! Have a WONDERFUL WINTER FRIDAY! *do something fun this weekend! We'll be picking out Layla's first christmas tree :)

CHRISTMAS LETTERS and LONGHORNS

We are gearing up for this weekends football game and the Christmas holiday. We hope it's OK that the update letters we usually send out on the 6th of each month will be arriving a little late for December. But don't worry, we'll make it worth the wait. As for saturday, GO LONGHORNS!

And here's a few pics to tide you over till your letters come! Happy Holidays :)

More Thanksgiving!

Layla enjoyed her first meal of solids! No better time than Thanksgiving I guess.



Actually, she won't be starting solids until next month and they won't look much like the Thanksgiving feast.

Tonight we headed to the local city light parade with some of our friends. It's been great weekend so far and we have much to be thankful for.

Bike rides and cousins

Layla's first bike ride was a success! She put in just over 50 miles today and loved every bit of it. She slept nearly the entire time except for the last eight miles where she sat propped up and enjoyed the scenery. It was some good daddy daughter time to start the day.



Now all the Thanksgiving festivities are well underway and Lady is under the watchful eye of the entire family.



Happy Thanksgiving to all or our family out there. We hope you're having a very nice day and do well.

A DAY FULL OF GRATITUDE

Good morning and happy Thanksgiving from the Day family. It's a beautiful morning here in Utah and we're looking forward to a day full of fun activities. We will do our best to keep the updates coming throughout the day.

After Layla's morning nap, she's going for her first bike ride with dad in the Chariot bike trailer while mom stays busy making fresh apple pies. Then it's off the grandma and grandpa's house where the entire family will be gathering for the majority of the day. Games, movies, lots of food and much, much more.

We want to begin out thanks this day and sincerely tell our family from California, how grateful we are for you, your support and love. We're thinking about you all this day and are wishing you well.
Happy Thanksgiving!

She's getting her voice

Layla seems to be finding something new every week. Las week it was blowing bubbles and making lip noises, this week she's singing. So far her voice fits right in with mine and Shan's, but I'm guessing that over time she'll become much better. Either way it's an absolute riot to listen to. Listen real close at the 40 sec. mark. Just one of her many talents.

18 weeks

The look.... she's up to something!
Layla is sooooooo close to rolling over! We're hoping this week will pay off on all the tummy time we've been working on! She's babbling and blowing the cutest spit bubbles constantly now and we're going through about 4 bibs a day just to keep her shirts dry. She hasn't really like any of the binki's so we're trying to decide if we have the heart to just ween her off it. We're softies. For now she's switching between the MAM and the NUK.... depending on which outfit they match! Silly, we know!

BINKI BUDGET BUSTER!

Layla has never been a big fan of "sucking." And she hasn't ever really like to just suck on a binki, but she has grown accustom to having one in her mouth when she needs to fall asleep. This is our fault, we sort of encouraged her to always use a binki when sleeping because the nurses said it reduces the risk of SIDS. (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) So, we've tried really hard to get her to like one. But usually as soon as we put it in her mouth she spits it back out and then cries for us to put it back in.... our fault :) We know what you're thinking :)

So today while driving down I-15 and after about 45 minutes of top of the lung screaming (Layla, not us :).... Kevin and I decided to brake the bank and go to Super Target and buy every style and size of binki possible until we find one that she'll use to self sooth. $50 bucks later.... we'll let you know IF any of them work! Poor thing... she's probably wondering what took us so long!

THOSE EYES...

The moment we first saw baby girl, before she was even Layla.... those eyes melted our hearts. They still have that effect. Every single day, every single moment those eyes remind us of the purity in her spirit. She is an angel on earth.

4 Month Dr Appointment

On Monday Layla put on her big girl pants, her darling sweater and headed off to the Dr. for her check up and vaccinations. She loves to smile and flirt with the pediatrician and he said she still looks "absolutely perfect." He was happy to see that her weight had bumped up a little into the average percentiles and said she's a tall one too!

Her official stats are:

Weight: 14 lb 1 oz. = 57th percentile

Length: 26 " = 85th percentile

Head Circumference: 16.25" = 57th percentile

She had her shots and didn't like them particularly well. But as soon as she was distracted with a bottle and cuddles she was a happy camper. Her legs were tender yesterday but she's feeling great today. In fact, she helped with the dishes and laundry!

Mommy's little helper :)

4 months

November 6th Layla was officially 4 months old! Wow, how she's grown so fast. She is looking so grown up in her rocking chair.

SUNDAY DINNER:

Snuggles from dad

Snuggles from cousin Chloe.... who loves to help feed Layla and practices with her own dolly. Her mom said she's been wrapping her doll up the same way we wrap Layla and she says the same things we say when trying to sooth little Layla. It's so cute!

Tummy time with her cousin Austin.... Layla's best helper!

Sorry for the background noise... it's hard to find a quiet place on Sunday's. But here's Layla talking a little and trying to roll over. (Meet Grandma Marge- Layla's great grandmother who is 91 years old and lives alone while surviving a car accident that left her with only 1 arm over 20 years ago. She's amazing!)

NEVER TOO SOON FOR A TUTU

A detailed description of our wonderful Halloween with Layla is soon to come, but we're tired and all haunted out for the night. So we'll leave you with this little number :)

WHAT A DOLL! Layla was a ballerina this year for Halloween. Not very scary... but really cute!

The PERFECT Ballerina!

Even Kashi dressed up like a mail man!

I'm really diggin Kevin's sideburns

For Aunt Amy... from Kevin

Group shot Left to Right: (Austin) Werewolf, (Layla) Ballerina, (Skyler) Real SLC soccer player, (Cammeron) Harry potter, (Addy) Cheerleader, (Chloe) Cowgirl, and (Carter) Indiana Jones.

Ladybug was passed out tired by the end of the night.... I think she just wanted to wear her pumpkin PJ's.

Hope you all had a happy Halloween!

IT'S ONLY BEGUN!!!!

LAYLA AND A FEW OF HER COUSINS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE PUMPKIN DISPLAYPUMPKIN VERSION OF THE DAY FAMILY GOING FOR A DRIVE

THE SMILE THAT LAYLA BRINGS TO OUR FACES

THE TEARS OF JOY WE SHED WHEN THE PUMPKIN CARVING IS COMPLETED!

ALL THE DAY FAMILY GRANDKIDS

AS THE HALLOWEEN EXTRAVEGANZA EVENING CONTINUES.... SO WILL THE UPDATES! HOPE YOU ENJOY! LAYLA'S COSTUME IS FRESH OFF THE SEWING MACHINE AND READY FOR TRICK OR TREATING!

Carving away....

GRANDPA bustin out the drill for the SERIOUS pumpkin carving

The grandkids working away at their pumpkins
Layla's babysitters
Me taking a short brake... any excuse to hang out with Layla
Chloe feeding her favorite cousin
Sorry for the few posts... we're carving like crazy!