My little peanut is getting so big! I am absolutely loving the stage of life that she is in right now (despite the exhaustion of trying to keep up with her while 33 weeks pregnant!) Her little brain is just like a sponge soaking in everything around her and she is so eager to discover new things and learn anything I will throw at her.  So far, the two's have not been that terrible for us (knock on wood!!).  Sure, she has her moments of testing but for the most part she is an incredibly easy-going little girl who just likes to have fun.  At even a hint of a fit I will tell her she needs to go to her bed if she is going to act like that and she immediately says  "Look mom! Happy! Happy now!" to show me that she doesn't need to go to her room.  She hates to miss out on the action so usually even the threat of being seperated from all the fun does the job. 

 With all the busyness of summer over we have had alot more days at home just the two of us.  These are such great times to try out science experiments and practice letters, counting, etc.  I like to plan a couple of activities per week because it keeps us from just sitting and staring at each other or the t.v. all day....and it saves me from playing prettty pretty princess every half hour.  Don't get me wrong, I love this game and love that Laynie loves it....but once or twice a day is enough for me. :)

 A little while ago we tried a "sink or float" experiment.   I gathered up a few items from around the house and we tested them in water to see what would happen.

 I wasn't sure that Laynie would really pick up the concept but after only a few tries she could predict pretty well what would happen.  Except for the apple...the apple was a tough one because it feels so heavy but still floats!

Using the see through container because it made it much easier to look at and talk about what was going on.

  I also printed off pictures of the items so that we could keep track of which things floated and which things sank.  She wasn't really too interested in this aspect of it while we were doing it however it was great to hang on the fridge.  Over the next couple of days we would look at the pictures and talk about what we had done as a way to reinforce what she had learned that day! 

One of the things we tested was a leaf.  I asked her to go pick one out from the yard and of course, she couldn't get just one.  Everywhere we go lately she stops to pick up every leaf along the way.  Our walks to the park take about 10x longer than they should because she has to collect every single one that she sees! :)

Daddy's Girl

Man do they love each other....

  There is no way to explain how happy it makes my heart to see their relationship grow.  They have a bond that is incredibly special and in Laynie's mind nothing could ever be as cool as her dad. 

  Each afternoon when I lay her down for nap Laynie asks "Nap, then I wake up..Daddy home?" in her cute little two year old voice just to hear me confirm that "Yup! When you wake up it will be time for daddy to come home!".  Then, when he finally does pull in the driveway she runs around, squealing and jumping like a crazy person! She can hardly contain how excited she is!  

  Lately, after she runs around in excitement she quickly dashes off to find a hiding spot...their new little game is for Jeff to come in, ask for her and then declare "Oh, Laynie must not be home today!" Laynie is usually giggling so hard by this point that she gives away her hiding spot but still jumps out yelling "BOO!"

They are so alike in so many ways.  Starting with her used-to-be-blue eyes that are suddenly looking more and more hazel like his! They are both playful, goofy, funny and high energy! They totally "get" each other's sense of humor which is so funny to me.  It is so fun to watch her personality unfold more and more and realize that I understand certain aspects of her because of what I know about Jeff...and vice versa.  There are certain traits of Jeff that I think I understand more clearly now, because I see them in her. 

She may not know it yet but Laynie is one extremely blessed girl to have a daddy like hers.  Jeff adores her, loves being with her, plays with her constantly whenever he is home and takes time each night to tuck her in and pray, sing, read with her.  He is everything a two year old girl needs in a daddy...and will be everything she needs when she is 5, 10, 14, 16 etc. as well :)

September at a glance.

Where oh where did September go? I truly can't believe that it is gone...and I hardly blogged anything to remind me of what I did.  Truthfully, I am not really sure what we did!  As is typical for this time of year, we began a lot of new things...BSF, FLIPS, etc.  This post is going to be a hodge podge of random odds and ends from the month. Ready...go.....

~Aud was here for a week towards the beginning of the month.  It was so so good to see her! We didn't do anything too exciting and that is exactly how we like it.  A trip to target, some sewing, traditional wine Wednesday with Kel at Blue water, (no, don't worry...no wine for me :) and lots of chillin' at home hangin' out with Laynie.  Seeing her leave made me miss her even more but I am so thankful for the time we had with her! Strange to think that the next time she is home I might have a baby!!

~Laynie and I have been filling our days with crafts and activities! Her little brain is soaking so much up right now and I am super excited to be able to do a little bit more "formal" teaching with her.  Nothing extravagant...just little activities here and there to break up the long days at home. :) We are doing LOTS of coloring, painting, playdough etc. 

One of her new favorites is shaving cream.  Sometimes we practice writing letters with it...sometimes we just have fun and make a big mess!

~ September is national sewing month and I have been sewing up a storm!  This happened towards the end of my pregnancy with Laynie as well.  I think it is some strange type of nesting.  I feel the need to be productive and creative...sewing is the perfect solution since I can mostly just sit unlike cleaning which I don't have much energy for these days.  Laynie has quite a few new pieces to her wardrobe and Kelli and I are working on a huge backdrop for some family pics!  Kelli took this pic the other night, it's a little peek at our project!

One of Laynie's new outfits....

~ The second year of FLIPS started a few weeks ago as well.  FLIPS is the dance program that I run with a friend of mine at Blythefield.  Things are going great so far this year! We have a really good group of girls and great parents as well.  We spent the month of September preparing for the praise service which was this past Sunday.  All of the classes worked so hard to learn their dances in only four weeks and they all looked awesome on Sunday evening.  I am really enjoying being involved and will be a little sad when I am done in a few weeks. (Even though I know that once I have this baby boy I prolly won't have much desire to go back for a little while)

~ We are on our third week of BSF and Laynie and I are loving it.  The study is on the book of Acts and I can already tell that I am going to learn alot! Laynie loves her class and is always excited to go.  It doesn't hurt that most of the kids are from her sunday school class at church so it is a pretty familiar crowd.  She talks the whole way there about how excited she is to see Brayden! 

~ Sunday Night Football!  We have been having friends over each Sunday evening to eat dinner and watch football together...it is a fun way to make sure we see each other somewhat regularly and I really enjoy it! (Even if I really could care less about football :)

Hmm...what else??

I guess maybe that is all for tonight.  There is so much more but I am fading fast, as is the usual around here lately.  Only 8 more weeks till we meet this little guy! We can not wait and are counting down already.  However, just the thought of having a newborn is making me want to head to bed and soak up all the sleep I can get between now and then!

Goodnight!