My Sister-My Best Friend

Pappy got the girls a little picnic table and they love it! They just hang out together and "talk" at the table. Seeing the two of them interact with one another just warms my heart. They absolutely adore one another.

Little Miss Mommy making sure that Layne drinks her apple juice-gotta smile for the camera though!

We fried (yikes!) a turkey the other night. I seasoned it the day before and it tasted pretty amazing.

It only took 45 minutes for a 15 pound turkey!

There she is nice and crispy...

One More Look....

I turned some off the pictures into black and white so I wanted to post them. It's nice to look back at were I was just a short week ago!!

I love this one, except for the random lady walking on the beach in the background. She's not as noticeable in black and white though. She was wearing a bright red shirt!

Can't wait for next year's trip!!

1 Year Check Up...

We got in today for Layne's 1 year check up. Let me back up a little here. The day began with an eye appointment for myself. The doctor dilated my pupils, so I was sporting my sunglasses everywhere I went. Thank goodness they let me wear my own sunglasses instead of those box around the face shades that they used to give you! After my appointment I sped home, picked up Layne, and we were off to her appointment. It was scheduled with the new doctor in the office. Well, tiny Layner is continuing to drop on the growth curve for weight. She is now off of the curve and is in the less than 3rd percentile (16 pounds 12 ounces)! This doctor was very worried about that and said that it's a lack of calories. She wants us to come back in a month for a weigh in! I was instructed to give her vitamins, table food (which I do), and pediasure. I mean, I knew she was skinny but is it really that big of a deal!? She seems happy and healthy and active. Ok, onto the height- 28 3/4 inches (25th percentile). She got two shots but did well. Everything other than the weight is good with the little Layner.

Fancy Hayden

Last night I read Hayden the Fancy Nancy book that Pappy got the girls. Fancy Nancy and her friend Bree are in an exploration club. One of the things that they do is make a pine cone bird feeder. I told Hayden that we would make one in the morning so that the birds could eat their breakfast. So, this morning Hayden dressed up like Fancy Nancy and we got to work.....

She didn't want to wear a crown, but she was still quite fancy!

She couldn't really walk down steps or down the driveway with her heals, but they sure looked fancy!

Once we picked pine cones we came back up to the house and spread peanut butter all over them. She learned how to butter bread while we were in Florida, so that skill came in handy today. No more fancy stuff-she had to strip down and get to work.

Then we rolled the pine cones in bird seed. She wanted to clean her hands in between rolling each pine cone! She didn't enjoy getting her fingers all messy.

Finally, she tried to tie the last pine cone on the hook. She needed a little help from mommy though.

Fancy Nancy would be proud!!

Annual Family Beach Photo Shoot

We went with the khaki and whites again this year. We are thinking about doing black and white for next year though. The siblings bein cool with the shades.

The Ross family. Hayden was a little moody so she is giving her sultry look. Layne is just clearing the way for her grand entrance!

Walking on the beach-check out Johnny aka Joe cool.....

I saw some beach pictures that my friend's family took and I just loved this pose. Thanks Aultman's!!

The gang

Mom and the kids.

The lovebirds

The tan beauties

This was what happened on our last beach day! Tropical storm blew in!!

The wind picked up, the dark clouds covered the sky, the temperature dropped, and it poured. The people scattered-it was pretty funny to see how quickly people can move, even in the sand, when there's a bad storm coming.

Uncle Mark and Aunt Cindy

We took a trip to Long Boat Key in order to visit my uncle and aunt. They rented a boat and took us out on the sea!

By the end of the trip Layner was sound asleep in Johnny's arms....just like Hayden was 2 years ago on the boat!

Uncle Johnny put sand all over Layne's legs while we were at the beach one day.

Talking to Jerm on Sunday-checking to see when he was arriving at the beach!

Johnny-always under that umbrella...or in the ocean.

More of the boat.

After the boat ride we went back to Uncle Mark and Aunt Cindy's house and went swimming.

Weeeeeee

Kung Foo!

Hanging out with daddy.

Smiley girl-right before she fell asleep.

Getting very sleepy.

Flying Hayden!

Dolphin watching.

Nice hair girl!

Our favorite place to go after dinner. It's like a mix between a snow cone and italian ice. Delicious!!

Fun at the Park

Pappy and I took the girls to the park near his house this afternoon.

There wasn't much for Layner to do, so she sat quietly (for once) in her stroller and observed...

Pappy slowly learned that Hayden is quite independent and she will tell you about it!

She really liked the slide.

The other night we all went over to Pappy's and had dinner and went for a swim in the pool. It was a little chilly but we had fun.

Both girls are little water babies....

Still a little cold....

Layne eating some bananas by the pool.

"Swimming" with Pappy.