My good friend Tabitha told me about a website for some fun (and free!) photo editing. Look what I did on my first try! So much fun...and easy too!

Here's the link if you are interested!
http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome

My calling at church is in Primary and I teach the 4 year-olds. I love how honest and completely random they can be. Last week a little boy after class came up to me and asked," Why is your tummy getting fat?" This week a little sunbeam girl came up to me and pointed at my belly and asked, "What's in there?"

Below are a few pictures of Jayla I took. She loves to get her picture taken but she smiles so big, closes her eyes and scrunches up her nose...cute but not that cute for a picture. So I have to try to get her to laugh or take a candid shot. I want to learn how to use my camera more, especially before the new baby comes. I also want to get some photo editing software. So I want to know if there are some recommendations! Easy to use and a good price are the most important to me.

We have been working at potty training Jayla for alittle over a week and it's going pretty good. We are taking a casual approach. When we are home she is wearing panties but when we go out I'm still keeping her a diaper. She's done really good. Today when she was out at the playground she told me she needed to go and she held it until we made it inside. And yesterday when we were at McDonald's she said she had to go and went in a "big" potty for the first time! She's doing good and we are very proud of her!

(Since she has been potty training she's been naked...ALOT!)

And for those of you who aren't here to witness my growing tummy here's a picture. It's really started to pop out lately! Our little girl is very active and she doesn't stop moving. Jayla got to feel her for the first time. When the baby kicked her hand she quickly pulled it off and looked at me with a puzzled look. I think she is starting to understand and she is getting excited for her baby sister to "come out!"

It's Potty Time!!!

I'm a big girl now!!

I kept telling Jayla that after Christmas she was going to wear panties. So I guess it's time to start the potty training!!! I've heard alot of stories from my friends about potty training, some good and some bad. So I'm trying to find out what works for us. So far we are doing a little bit at a time, she's going most of the afternoon without diapers. But I haven't tried to take her potty when we are out. She HATES adult bathrooms and covers her ears everytime she comes in with me. She has gone through a lot of panties and I'm happy that this carpet isn't ours! Let's hope that this is a good experience and that I don't decide to put her in diapers until she's 5!

P.S. Any suggestions are always welcomed!

Christmas Vacation...the good and the bad!

Warning...this is a long post!

It's hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone and we are entering into a new year. It's been a good Christmas break. It was nice having time to spend with the family, especially since Jordan has been out of school since he graduated. Jayla loves getting to spend time with her Daddy during breaks and it always takes her awhile to get used to him going back to school.
On Christmas eve the weather was wonderful! We went to the park and to the beach. It didn't help me get into the Christmas spirit but it was neat being able to be on the beach on Christmas eve. The water was freezing but Jayla still loved playing in it. We had to take her pants off because she was soaked. Her poor feet were bright red because it was so cold, but she loved every second of it! She is our little beach baby
Santa was good to our kids this year. Jordan got an mp3 player that he wanted (he only wants to listen to 2 songs over and over again!), a putting mat, football, and some movies. Jayla got a tinker bell tea party set, a doll house, mr. potato head, and a little puppy dog. Dad got an Ipod touch for graduation/christmas so I got him some accessories for that, some shirts, and movies. Jordan treated me good this year and got me a label maker, rice cooker, sheets and a cricut cutting machine.
After Christmas morning we tried to take a little nap and then packed up the car and headed to Ohio! The drive started out fine, the kids weren't sleeping as well as we thought they would but the weather was good...and then we hit a road closure due to a rock slide. So we had to travel back 25 miles to get a detour. The signs were very unclear so we followed our GPS, big mistake!! We ended up on these icy windy back roads in the Smokey mountains. It was horrible! And then to make things worse Jayla puked all over. So we had to clean her up on the side of the road. I held her in the back seat until she puked all over me and then it was Daddy's turn! After smelling vomit for a few hours and having a strong gag reflex thanks to being pregnant, I gave in and had to throw up. The drive ended up taking us an extra 3 hours. It is definitely going on my list of the worst experiences of my life! And just to top it off, today in the mail we got a ticket from some dinky town in Tennessee that took a picture of Jordan speeding at like 3:00 in the morning when we were lost and Jayla was sick!
But once we made it to Ohio we had a great time! Jayla is finally out of her attachment stage and she really loved playing with grandma, grandpa, her uncles and cousins. Jordan's family always does a big Christmas party, the kids all get presents and the grown-ups do a gift exchange. I got a brownie pan, not just any brownie pan, I got the one you see on TV that slices the brownies for you and I must say it's pretty cool! Jordan got a slider maker (little burgers) we haven't used it yet but we are very exited to give it a try! We ate a lot of food and watched a lot of football! I was also able to see my brother for an afternoon which was great!
I'm making a few goals for the new year. Potty train Jayla, snack healthier, have a baby and then lose the baby weight! I think these are obtainable.
We hope that everyone had a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Jayla and her only girl cousin Gabriella
Jordan's Mom, Vicki and 2 of his brothers, Jared and Justin
Ringing in the New Year!! Don't worry it's non-alcoholic!

Dear Santa

The kids got to see Santa this year. Jayla is starting to catch on to the idea of Santa but doesn't want to go near his lap. She has seen him twice and both times didn't like it. As you can see Dad was a good boy this year and got to sit on Santa's lap with Jayla! It helped calm her down alittle bit. When asked what he wanted for Chirstmas little Jordan said an Xbox 360. Santa descretly looked over at us, and we were shaking our heads no. Then Santa explained to little Jordan that a lot of kids are asking for that and the elves are working over time so don't be disapointed if he doesn't get one. What a nice Santa!

I just thought this picture was cute and silly!

Sadly this was the best picture I could get of the kids. Jordan couldn't keep his eyes open and Jayla was doing her goofy smile. I took over a dozen pictures and was late to church, thank goodness for digital!

We will be going to visit Jordan's Family in Ohio after Christmas until school starts again. We hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.

Jordan's Birthday

Jordan had a pretty good Birthday this year. It kind of sneaked up on us between Jordan's graduation and Christmas. Having a birthday around Christmas is kind of a bummer! This year I decided I didn't want to do a big party. Instead he invited 3 of his friends from church over for a slumber party. He had a blast and it only cost us 2 pizza's, a lot of patience, and a night of sleep!

Make a wish!

All of the boys slept out in the living room on a mattress, but they didn't do much sleeping!

This is what they did ALL night! Played video games. I can't wait to own a house so that we have more space.

Jayla got a little sad because it wasn't her birthday and the presents weren't for her.