Jules is TWO!!

 Looking back at this blog, I realize how much I have been slacking at updating. Life has been so busy this past year - sports, sicknesses, Jules starting school, PTA and work obligations, neighbor playdates at the house (mostly unplanned- second grade boys love to show up on their bikes and scooters), family fun and stressors, etc. Through it all, Jules has proven to be quite the trooper- the amount of sports events (practices, games) she has attended is very, very impressive. Even more impressive - she usually mantains a happy attitude throughout! She loves snacks and she loves to sit so that helps. :)

We celebrated Jules' second birthday with family yesterday, in addition to singing her happy birthday before school with a homemade green, chocolate chip muffin. Jules then went to school and enjoyed mini blueberry muffins with her friends. In the evening, we hosted the family party- the only ones missing from our cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents were Scotty, Gage, and Aaron. Aaron was recovering from suspected food poisoning, and Scotty and Gage were not in town. Scotty and Gage are coming to town this weekend though! Anyway, we had a wonderful, Bluey-themed party, complete with bubbles, heart sunglasses, mini drawing boards, a new party dress, pizza, fruit, salad, Publix cake, icecream, and lots of love, noise, and just a little chaos (of course). Jules seemed to relish being the center of attention and especially loved opening presents surrounded by her doting cousins and siblings. When everyone left for the evenings, she excitedly followed them outside waving and saying bye and I love you and singing Happy Birthday. We feel so fortunate to be surrounded by the family we have- and that our children will reap those huge benefits. I digress...

Jules is a treasure (name seems fitting with that statement), and the best addition to our little Layden crew. She is mostly laid back and self sufficient (as much as a toddler can safely be, anyway), but she is not afraid to speak her mind and lose it if she doesn't get her way or we don't understand her communication efforts. But, truly, she doesn't tantrum frequently (at least not yet!), and she deals pretty well with transitions, which is important because we spend a lot of our time getting in and out of our cars and exploring different places due toevents for the big kids. She has been watching a lot of Bluey with her older siblings, but she also loves Cocomelon, Ms. Rachel, and Elmo. She recently watched Paw Patrol and may become a big pup fan like her Adeline used to be. She also loves snacks and, unfortunately, has gotten into a questionable habit of helping herself to the pantry snack basket. Some favorite include seaweed, cheesy snacks of all kind, peanut butter pretzels, apples, strawberries, cuties, and berries. In addition to snacks, we may need to load up on our Fancy Nancy collection because Jules seems to love anything fancy- bracelets, pretend high heels, fancy dresses, headbands, etc. She has started to communicate with us in the morning about what she wants to wear, and she is currently hooked on cowboy boots and dresses- the frillier the better it seems! We will see if this stage lasts - it is certainly cute! She also loves to sing and dance, and we will often hear her singing in her crib before going to bed and after waking up. Favorite songs include Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, and recently, Happy Birthday. Her vocabulary is impressive and continues to grow by the day. And, thankfully, I took her to her 2 year appointment today and everything looks great. 

Both Andy and I feel so blessed to have Jules as a daughter, and there are few things we love more than watching the bond between Jules and her siblings grow. As far as favorites go, I think Adeline and Reid are Jules' number one favorites (and vice versa). She will run to them excitedly when she sees them walking home from school, run around the house with them- squealing with happiness, and cuddle up next to them on the couch. Like I said - we are blessed! I hope and pray for many, many more years with all three of the Little Laydens!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY JULIETTE!!! LOVE, MOMMY 

All about Jules - One Year Old!

 Wow - I can't believe a year (+) has gone by already! Baby Juliette "Jules" Diana Layden is one! We celebrated with a donut themed party at Maitland Community Park. We had donuts and bagels and coffee and fruit for all! We mostly invited family but did include the Geremias, Chapmans, Rabitailles, McLeods, Gonzalez Fam, Wittmans, and Beers on the invite list (family members from all but the last two came). For family, we had all cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and Laura and Brett join us to celebrate our big girl. Aunt Joann was invited but wasn't feeling well so couldn't join, and Ghada came as a last minute invite via my mom. Anyway, on to the birthday girl...

What a joy Jules is! How Andy describes Jules: "between spunky and silly - very vivacious. I love her squinty smile and she is always happy and active. I love the way she points at everything and loves Finns and balls and her brother and sister. She loves Reid and Addie so much - her face lights up when she sees them - even when she sees a picture of them. It is funny to me how much she knows them and loves them."

I agree with Andy's thoughts and add that Jules seems clever and fun and inquisitive and very cuddly and loving. She loves to give hugs (especially to her bro bro and sis) and put her head down to cuddle up against mama or dada. She crawls everywhere and has started to walk this week unassisted (took a five steps on the 30th- with the help of some yogurt drop urging- and increased on Friday!). She loves snacks (teething biscuits are her jam) and has been transitioning from nursing to the bottle to sippy cups and solids like a champ (full disclosure: she still gets a little of all). She says ba (for bottle and ball and baby - loves her baby dolls), boo for book, and mo (for more) and mama and dada and hiii and bro bro and, as of this morning, I believe she has added Addie to her vocabulary. She can clap and wave and dance (loves to do a circle arm dance with her siblings when they tell her to "dance it out"). She can also shake her head no with intention. We recently ventured to Maryland, Virginia, and DC for spring break and she was a trooper throughout. She sleeps well during the night (typically about 730 pm until about 7 am) and has been traditionally a great napper, although she seems off this week so may be transitioning from 2 to 1 nap a day soon. I really can't say enough about what a wonderful third (kid) addition she has been to our family. Her siblings love her so much and the feeling is mutual. And, of course, Andy and I are obsessed with her. I am so excited to watch my littlest Layden grow into the person she is meant to be. I hope and pray for the privilege of being present and able to watch her (and her siblings) do just that, alongside her daddy. Love you, baby Jules! Can't imagine life without you (and don't want to)!

Life Lately, November 2022

As we travel full throttle towards holiday-land, I want to take a few minutes to give a quick update on all THREE of the little Laydens while Jules (hopefully naps). Reid and Adeline are home from school today but out playing with Apa and Nee Nee (and Sloane) at a park somewhere.Anyway, here goes:

Reid: Reid turned 7 in October and is an incredible big brother. Although he teases Adeline more than I would like, he can be very loving and protective with her and they often play really well together. (It helps that she is a bit of a tomboy and enjoys wrestling and sword fighting and playing Floor is Lava, etc.) Reid is very athletic, active, funny, curious, quietly sensitive, kind, and many other things. And when it comes to baby Jules, he is smitten- the most caring and loving big brother I've ever seen. One of my favorite things about Reid right now is that he has really grown to love reading this school year. While he is steadfastly curious about many things (especially major historic events like war stories and the sinking of the Titanic), he really enjoys his graphic novels (Dog Man, Investigators) and R. Dahl books (The Twits, Charlie and the Glass Elevator). He has also been enjoying drawing more and still likes to play chess and, of course, Roblux and other games on his Ipad. His best friends right now are, according to him, Caleb and Grady, and he really likes his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Nasser. I am so excited to see how he continues to grow!

Adeline: Adeline turned 4 last April and is in VPK at All Saints (Ms. Nancy and Ms. Nichole). She seems to really love the school and has impressed us with how smoothly she transitioned to a new school. She loves to keep up with Reid and, although not super interested in sports, she really enjoyed going to her 1st soccer camp at XL yesterday. She loves to climb, enjoys gymnastics class, sings throughout the day (and often makes up songs about what she is doing), loves on her baby sister, and has shifted her passion from dinosaurs to horses. She told me yesterday she wants to be a horse vet that rides horses when she is older. She is funny, a bit quirky, talkative, sensitive, cuddly etc. Love my Addie girl!

Jules: Juliette, our sweet little babe, is almost 9 months old. She has two bottom teeth and two top teeth coming in, enjoys eating solids and baby snacks (like teething biscuits and yogurt drops), drinks water out of a sippy cup, says "ma ma," "ba ba," "da da," and "pa pa," and just started really crawling last week. We have also caught her pulling up to stand a few times recently. She has loved her experience swinging at the park, shrieks and flaps her arms when she is really happy/excited, recently learned to clap, is very inteterested in Finn and cell phones, seems to enjoy facetime chats with her favorites (dad and grandparents, mostly), and is very enamored with her siblings. She sleeps most nights from around 7/730 to 6/630, although the recent daylight savings time took some adjusting. Although she occasionally wakes up in the nights, she often self soothes with the help of her beloved Frigg pacis! I'm so proud of how she has developed!

Although life is a bit chaotic and stressful at times with our three little loves depending on us for so many things (and all of life's other needs), I am always, always, always grateful, proud, and completely in love with my little babes! Now on to the holidays!

Long overdue update - Introducing Baby J!

 Life lately.. wow, where do I begin? Since the last post, the world has gone through an incredibly trying and (for many) life altering pandemic. Cue Covid-19 talk. In March 2020, the world went on pause- schools were closed, quarantine bubbles were formed, plans were cancelled, masks and lysol wipes were bought, and we all braced ourselves for two weeks of, basically, home confinement to "flatten the curve" and "stop the spread" of Covid-19/coronavirus. Two weeks turned in to one month, which turned in to two, which turned in to one year, etc. But that is news for another time because the biggest and best news of all since my last update is that we welcomed a new little love to our world on March 6, 2022: Juliette Diana Layden after a largely uneventful (although very exhausting) pregnancy. Juliette's due date was March 10th, but I was induced on March 6th because of excess amniotic fluid and a "failed" nonstress test.  We showed up to the hospital at 5 a.m. after very little sleep (I had a ton of anxiety the night before about something going wrong for me or Baby J) and pitocin was started around 11 a.m. (had to wait for a bed- they set us up in the ICU ward to wait and that put things in to perspective for me). I labored for a while and then got an epidural in the early evening and labored for a few more hours. Baby J was "sunnyside up" and had the cord wrapped around her neck so that was worrisome for a moment but everything went pretty well over all. Although I pushed longer with Baby J than Adeline, the experience felt well-managed and safe and calm. I almost tried childbirth sans an epidural but changed my mind after talking to Doctor Nguyen, Andy, and my mom (my support team) and realizing that an epidural may help speed things along (everything seemed to be stalled). Since Juliette was "sunnyside up," I would have gone through extremely painful back labor if I did not get the epidural. I did get the chance to experience some very painful contractions before going through with the epidural. Anyway, our beautiful brown-eyed, dark haired Juliette was born at 8:10 p.m., weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz, and measured 19 inches long. She cried a bunch when first born and latched on to nurse immediately. Two days later, after much debate and looking at a ton of names, we decided to name her Juliette Diana Layden. Then, on Tuesday afternoon (after a quick stop at the birth certificate office on the way home to declare her name and order her birth certificate because we waited so long to decide), our babiest girl was introduced to our two other babies. Andy arranged for a big "Welcome Baby Layden" sign in our front yard,  Nee Nee and Apa left us balloons and an orchid, Grandpa visited during his lunch break earlier in the day, and the big kids excitedly ran around the house with their new cameras (a gift from baby) snapping pics of the newest addition (and other random things). Juliette "Jules" Layden has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She seems to sit back and take the craziness in that surrounds her with a calm, happy demeanor. Although the sleepless nights were difficult to adjust to, as well as breastfeeding again and being on the baby's schedule, the adjustment to a family of 5 (+1 with Finn) has felt pretty natural and wonderful overall. Jules is now seven months old, scream laughs (and gives typical giggles but loves to flap her arms and legs and scream with delight when really happy), eats solid foods (avocado was the first and then banana and sweet potato- the last being a favorite), drinks water from a sippy cup or miracle munchkin cup, rolls over both ways, sits up very well, and is on the brink of crawling (rocks back and forth and moves her hands forwards and sometimes a leg or two before going back to her stomach). She is obsessed with Reid and Adeline, has started showing a preference to being held by mom and dad over other adults, has had two bottom teeth for maybe two months, sleeps mostly through the night with a bed time around 730 and a wake up time between 6-7, sleeps with a pacifier, enjoys watching Finn, relishes being outside, tries to chew almost any thing that comes her way, isn't a huge fan of eating beans, and has the sweetest spirit (and cutest cheeks and chunky thighs). Oh, how we love our Baby Jules!

Life lately

In an effort to remember these days that are flying by, here is what a typical week day looks like for our family:

1. Around 5:45, either Andy or I wake up to exercise. If it is my turn, I go on a walk around the neighborhood with Jenn. If it is Andy's turn, he goes to Eat the Frog with Graham. Sometimes (like this morning), one or both of the kids wakes up early and will come lay in bed with whoever is left behind (why does this seem to happen to me more often than Andy!?). Then, we all go have breakfast - Addie asks for a "nana" and will occasionally even sit in her highchair to eat said "nana." Reid is becoming more interested in cereal (specifically the confetti-os we get at Whole Foods) and will sometimes put milk with is and sometimes not. They will both eat as many berries or other fruit that they can get their little hands on and will sometimes asks for "milky" or water. Reid will sometimes asks to watch a show like Puppydog Pals, Ninjago, Power Rangers, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, or the like, and Addie will occasionally asks for "Mee Mo" (Mickey Mouse). Usually, we do not watch TV in the mornings but on some mornings, like this morning with the maid coming, we give in. The show they both agree on watching right now is Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and I try to put on Sesame Street on Saturday mornings ("Sesame Street Saturdays"). More often, our mornings involve music and, sometimes, a dance party. Reid also likes to play with his legos in the mornings (Adeline likes to get involved, also, which doesn't always go over well..). If he is feeling particularly energetic, Reid wants to sword fight or wrestle or practice his karate moves (he just started karate class but has been practicing "ninja moves" for months) and sometimes Andy (primarily)  will give in. Occasionally, Adeline gets in on the action but she mostly watches and will play with her dolls or just insist on being held. Once we get them both dressed (Reid prefers fast clothes and Adeline prefers clothes with Minnie Mouse on them), we will hustle them in to the cars with a car snack. Favorite car snacks include strawberry crepes (taking a break from them at the moment because I was worried about sugar intake) and pirate booty (we only allow pirate booty on "pirate booty Mondays"). Then it is off they go to Trinity Lutheran. If we are lucky, we will get pictures or videos of them throughout the day - they usually seem to be engaging in fun activities and overall content. On a rare occasion (although needs to happen more often), I pick up Reid to go to lunch (his favorite remains sub-a-way) but now that I work 3 days/week and spend more time with the kids, I have been less prone to lunch breaks with Reid. Then, around 5:15/5:30 (me) or 5:45/6:00 (Andy), we pick the kids up from school. Adeline is so excited to see us every afternoon and often insists on walking in the hallway, drinking from the water fountain, and drinking from Reid's cup. She will also run away from us with a mischievous grin and get upset if we try to carry her out, so pickup can be a bit trying in that way. Reid is also excited to see us and he usually has a piece of artwork (he is in to coloring in designs and drawing rainbows and writing his name right now) to show off. We then load both kids in the car and brace ourselves for I-4/17-92 traffic! Reid does pretty well in the car (although he typically insists on either turning the radio off or turning on one of his favorite songs, which include the Cheers theme song, the Puppy Dog Pals them song, Rock and Roll all Night, and Old Town Road). Adeline, on the other hand, has become increasingly upset about our long car rides (I can't blame you, girl!). Often a car snack will help both kids settle down, but somewhere along the ride, Adeline will typically fuss and say she has poopy (she usually doesn't) or reach out her hand for us to awkwardly hold from the front seat. Once we get home, Adeline likes to play a game where she wants her seat belt unbuckled but then wants to crawl around car. After getting her out of the car int he midst of her protests, we all walk inside and Reid lets Finn outside (his first real chore) to go to the bathroom. Then, it is scramble time! I try to put together whatever I can for dinner or, if I beat Andy home and he has the kids, we all wash up and sit down to dinner. After dinner, we play for a little bit before bath time. Next up - bath time. The kids typically bathe together and, after brushing teeth (which Adeline loves to try to do on her own), one of us takes Adeline in to her room for book time (currently favorites include the potty book and a book on opposites and the dinosaur dance book and brown bear brown bear) while the other plays with Reid for a bit. If Andy isn't home, I sometimes let Reid watch a show while I put Adeline to bed. Then, once Adeline goes to sleep (she goes to sleep pretty easily after book time, rocking, and turning off light and on moon and stars), it is time for Reid's best time routine. Admittedly, we struggle a bit with Reid's routine. Lately, we play with magna tiles or legos in his room for  a bit and then read a few books and either fall asleep with him or leave him in the room while we shower in the hopes he will fall asleep. After that, it is our turn for bed-time, which we often postpone by watching tv for far longer than we should. And that, my friends, is a typical day in the life of the Laydens. <3 <3

My Little Loves are Growing Up!

There are a lot of things I miss about the newborn and infant stage (definitely not including sleeplessness and worries), but I am pretty in love with the little beings my kids are these days. Reid says the wittiest and funniest things (story below) and has the best imagination, while Adeline is a little mama with a cute sense of humor, enviable dance moves, artistic interests, and she gives the best hugs and kisses around. Andy and I are heading to DC tomorrow to a new partner conference his law firm set up and, while looking forward to some quality time with Andy, I already miss my littles. At time, they drive me crazy sometimes and ramp up my stress level, but I feel most complete when my whole family is intact and together.  Now for the fun Reid story:

Last week, right after I loaded the kids in to the car to head to school, I asked Reid whether he needed to go pee. After he replied with a very clear "no," we were on our way. About five or ten minutes in to our drive, Reid alerts me that he needs to pee and he needs to pee right now. I am super frustrated, partially because my co-worker just alerted me she is staying home sick and I am already running behind getting to work, but I pull over at WaWa and take Reid (with Adeline in tow) to the bathroom. As we walk from the bathroom to the car, I notice rows and rows of snacks and brace myself for the snack requests. Luckily, I did not get the barrage of snack requests I envisioned so it was time to move to the next challenge- getting the kids back in the car. In order to get Reid back into the car as quickly as possible, I challenge him to race Adeline and see who can get buckled in first. Reid, never backing down from a challenge, gets in his car seat and hurriedly buckles himself in. I then buckle Adeline in (after proclaiming Reid the champ) and walk over to Reid to check his buckle job. I notice his buckles are all twisted and tell him, "You are all tangled up," to which he replied, "You want me to get a snack?" I said, "No. I said you are all tangled up." Reid then responded with, "Ohhhhhh, I thought you were saying you wanted me to get a snack... in spanish."  :) :) :)

So much to share!

I have found that, during this particular period in my life and even in the midst of a seemingly monotonous life, so much growth and excitement abounds within the ordinary grind. For me, it takes a moment of quiet reflection to really notice and appreciate the changes that have been happening in our household lately but, when I do take that time, it is amazing to think about. Mostly, I am talking about the ways both kids have changed developmentally over the past few months. Adeline's vocabulary has blossomed and she is now stringing multiple words together in to sentences. Of course, some of her words are largely unintelligible to the untrained ear, but I am particularly adept and understanding words like "mee-ow" (for "milk") and "Ree" (for "Reid") and "err are ew" (where are you") and "pee bow" ("for "peek a boo"). She is funny, sassy, strong-willed, loving and, especially in the late afternoons and early mornings, a stage 5 clinger. Meanwhile, Reid's imagination has been going stronger and you can often find him fully entrenched in some sort of physical game where he is a ninja or Sonic the Hedgehog or some sort of superhero. He keeps us on our toes with his physical hi-jinks and fierce independent streak, but he is also incredibly loving and kind (especially to his baby sister). With the holidays fast approaching, both kids have been floating on a whole new level of excitement (Cloud 9 times 100). While the copious amounts of sugar that surround us at all times during the holiday season certain help trigger some excitement, the joy and love (yay family time) surrounding the season are palpable and I am certain the kids feel it all. Yay for holidays!