West Coast for a Weekend

We headed out west on the weekend for a wedding.
On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Granville Island.  There was so much to see and do, Ayla didn't even notice that she skipped her afternoon nap.

Taking grandpa for a walk.

Waiting in line for fish and chips.

Listening to some music.

Grandpa gave her some money to give a musician, which she happily gave at first, but then later decided that she wanted to take it back. It was really funny.

But definitely the 'activity du jour' was chasing pigeons with grandma and grandpa.

(Just to clarify, Ayla was chasing the pigeons, not grandma and grandpa. They were supervising and photographing the activity. :)

A fun filled day for sure!!

...It's OK...

...to wonder what your child is doing when the house suddenly gets very quiet (almost certainly it's something that they're not supposed to be doing) but before going to check on them right away, just enjoying the peace and quiet for a few extra moments.

...to feed your baby a piece of chocolate zucchini loaf and count it as a serving of vegetables.

...to wish that this came in your size.

...to give your baby your iPhone to play with, just to keep her happily distracted for a few extra minutes at the grocery store  (actually, this one is not OK, because if you give your baby your iPhone, your baby will break your iPhone. I should know. This happened to me).


...to take 25 minutes to walk 1/2 a block to the mailboxes when you are holding the hand of a toddling 1 year old.

...to think your baby is so beautiful that it's not fair to all the other babies.

Berry Delicious

PsOTW

On Wednesday I took Ayla to get some professional 1 year portraits taken.
When I picked them up yesterday, the photographer asked if I would be willing to sign a release so that they could put the pictures of Ayla up in their studio as a sample, because they turned out so well and she is just so cute. (I obliged).

Take a look for yourself. :)

The quality of these pictures is a little poor because I took a picture of the original pictures. 

Ayla *hearts* Walter - take 2

Remember this post?

Well, here's an updated version. Because Ayla really does love her puppy so much.

12 months (aka - 1 year)

That's right. Ayla is 1 year old today.

Pretty unbelievable.


Some of the things I love about our 1 year old darling:

• The way she screams, at the top of her lungs, when she hears me come home from work (happy, excited screams)
• The way she hugs me tight around the neck when she is hurt or scared or tired or happy to see me.
• The way she gives out juicy, mouth open, tongue out kisses like they are going out of style (auntie Carli can attest to this first hand)
• The way she points, with strong determination, at what she wants.
• The way she loves baths but hates getting water in her face.
• The pure, unadulterated joy that she gets from swinging, and the way that she could swing for hours and hours....if I let her.
• The way she walks around the house with her iPhone/the camera/a TV remote up to her ear.
• The way she, very thoughtfully, throws her avocado & peas on the floor for Walter, but somehow her cheese, strawberries, and cookies never make it there.
• The way she loves to snuggle, burrow, and play in our bed while we try to 'sleep in' on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
• The way she smiles at almost everything.
• The way she is ours.

We love you Ayla!
Happy, HAPPY Birthday precious girl.

Party Time

Greg and I aren't 'hoopla' people. We have never really been the kind to throw big parties (be it weddings, baby showers, or birthday parties). So, keeping in typical Bruins fashion, we threw a very lovely, very understated, and very small birthday party for Ayla yesterday.

It was a party fit for a 1 year old girl, complete with a giant cupcake cake,

cake pops,

balloons

and lots of people who love our little peachy.

It was perfect.

Cake time!

Present time!

Party time!!