Ayla's 18th Month

The most anticipated month of all finally came. Ayla is officially a big girl at church and can go to nursery for the second and third hours. She is a very independent and social little girl, so leaving mom to play with other kids is right up her ally. She is getting bigger, especially when compared to her newest niece and nephew, but I still look at her and can't help but think she is so small, and I still call her my baby girl. TJ has picked up on this nickname and will often her her, "baby" as well.

Here she is on her first day without mom in nursery. She ran right in and grabbed a seat next to TJ. She played with legos without even noticing me taking pictures and singing songs of joy in the background.

Both TJ and Ayla are obsessed with washing their hands. Once they start pumping the soap it's hard to get them to stop.

TJ and Ayla like to sit on the little brick ledge on the front of our house. We told them to sit there once and now they always run straight to it and plop down as if it's their special seat made just for them.

We took the kids camping in Destin. Ayla loved to strut her ruffles on the beach.

And play in the sand.

And I love to take pictures of it all with my iphone. Evidently Trent likes to take pictures of me taking pictures.

When Ayla gets tired we just push her in the stroller till she falls asleep, then prop her back for a nice, shady nap.

Our campsite had a spigot that the kids loved playing in.

The walk to the beach from the campsite was a bit long and we only had one stroller. TJ came up with a quick fix for that problem.

Ayla loved the tinfoil dinners

The girl loves to eat.

And eat and eat and eat. Here she is eating a crepe.

And here she is eating a pineapple. Blessing it first of course. Folding her arms was her favorite trick of the month.

We took a trip to Jacksonville Beach, where Ayla found a chair just her size. She loves sitting in little chairs.

Trent texted me this picture when I was gone somewhere. I love my little sleeping piggy tailed baby.

Ayla's 17th Month

photo via Tucker Photography

Ayla's 17th month did not treat her well. When we moved to Tallahassee you would have thought she was a staunch supporter of the Gators, protesting the move to Seminole territory. Upon further investigation we realized it wasn't her Gainesville heritage, but rather her pesky first molars. She was teething (all four first molers at the same time) and was not her usual easy-going self. It seems as though Ayla likes to grow her teeth in sets of fours, which makes for an extra painful, albeit quick, process.

We were teaching TJ how to ride his bike without training wheels, and of course Ayla wanted a turn.

We took a quick trip to the closest beach- Bald Pointe State Park- where Ayla helped TJ and Kaeme burry Warner.

She enjoyed playing with Ellie at the beach also.

Kids eat free on Thursdays at the Wharf, a seafood restaurant on the corner by our house. The kids got to play at the splash pad while we waited for our food.

After dinner we all went back to my house to celebrate Kaeme's birthday. Ayla insisted on wearing her swimsuit on top of her pajamas per usual. The girl is obsessed with shoes and swimsuits and is constantly bringing them over for me to put on her. 

We met some good friends at a good beach on a not-so-good beach day. But we still had a great time.

While at the beach Ayla enjoyed eating and feeding little Emmet Cheetos. She looooves to feed people, what can I say, she's our little humanitarian. 

My mom let us borrow this little table which the kids love to sit at for breakfast and snacks. Often times Ayla will point to something she wants to eat, make lots of "ah" noises, then run over to her little chair, and wait patiently to be served.

During Ayla's 17th month I put her hair up in her very first pig tails. She immediately turned into a pig and started running happily throughout the house, which made it difficult for me to take a picture.

Aubry and family came to visit on July 4th. We had a blast in between rain storms at the pool.

Ayla loves babies just like her dolls. Here she is trying to get her hands on baby Tucker.

Due to weather the fireworks were rescheduled for the 6th. By that time Ayla wasn't feeling well, and didn't want to be there.

I dressed TJ and Ayla in their matching outfits for church and had to snap a few pictures on our way out the door.

After receiving a hug from big brother she blew him a kiss. 

We have enjoyed living closer to my parents and have spent many days hanging out by their pool. 

After finishing her blueberries, Ayla played in the water with her bowl.

And helped fix the deck.

Here she is "helping" Kaeme and Papa install the new deck.