Welcome William Ryo Kelly

Mini Bubbs is here!
Can't wait to meet little Will!!

Layla's first tailgate

We took Layla to her first tailgate at the Rose Bowl. It was the first UCLA home game of the season. I hope it's not an indicator of how the whole season will play out (35-0 loss, ugh!)

Not like I really care though. I just go to the tailgates to eat, drink, and be merry. We put Layla in her cutesy cheerleader outfit. Cary was against cheerleader outfits because he doesn't want to encourage her to be on the sidelines. He would have rather put her in shoulder pads and a helmet. But when she put it on and he saw how freaking cute it was, he caved. Still, we will be encouraging her to play on the field of life, not on the sidelines.

We were so excited that Hanah was also in her cutesy cheerleader outfit too!!

I also used the tailgate as an excuse for her to wear her Nike shoes that still don't fit, but look so sporty on her.

Please don't call child services on us.

It was a fun time. Lauren and Audrey came over afterwards. Poor things had to listen to Layla crying the whole car ride home. As soon as we got home and I got her out of her car seat, she let out a big belch and stopped crying. A year later, and gas is still her biggest enemy. Poor thing. So I put Layla to sleep and hung out with the girls until Cary and Jeff got home after the game. Audrey and I accidentally passed out on the couch and poor Lauren was left to be bored the whole night.

I suck. :-(

Happy 2010!

As with last year when I was pregnant, we didn't go out and ring in the New Year once again. Which is fine, for now. I hope we do get to go out again someday. We went over to the Grove again and met the Wilmarths and Schpalls for lunch with their kids.

Believe it or not, this is Layla's poo face. The reason I know this is because the next picture I took showed the evidence....

Looks like she was preparing a chocolate fondue in her pants. I only had a onesie for her to change into, but at least I had that.

Yup, went to the Grove again

Kasey, Kaylie, and Tiffany were visting from San Diego. Megan and them met Layla and I at the Grove for lunch. I'm getting the hang of this mommy stuff because I was able to "whip it out" at lunch today to feed Layla. We had a table in the back of the patio area, so I put a blanket out and got to it. Of course, when I pull the blanket back to check on Layla, 3 guys are walking by and I flash them. Megan said they turned back to look, ew. Whatever...

We went to American Girl doll store again and Kasey did a bunch of Christmas shopping for the girls. Again, how cute are these girls! And of course Layla is the only dark haired baby among blonds.

Another trip to the Grove with the girls

I know, my posts are getting more and more predictable. I only go to the Grove every other day now, sheesh! It works because I can walk and get some exercise and not have to deal with the whole getting Layla into the car issue. Layla and I met Megan, Ashley, Jenny, Hannah, and Sophie at the Grove for some lunch. The mommies treated me to lunch for my birthday. I had to leave and rush to Nordstrom because Layla wasn't happy and I thought I should try to nurse her. I haven't quite figured out how to whip it out in public yet. The big girls went to the American Girl doll store. They are so cute. Then they all met me outside Nordstrom.


I love how Layla is the only dark haired baby among all the blond haired girls. Too much cuteness!!

Happy Halloween!

So, I kind of suck. I didn't even get Layla a real costume for Halloween. I just put a pink onesie on, along with a pink tutu that was a hand-me-down from Sheila, I think. I added her ballet slipper socks as the final touch. So I guess she was a ballerina for her first Halloween.
Layla and I went to the Grove (again) to meet Christine and Bubbs.

Christine was nice enough to watch Layla while I ran to the bathroom. Bubbs decided to rearrange the kids shoe section. He's so cute!

I'm getting better at leaving the house with Layla. Especially when I go to the Grove. The Nordstrom has a lounge area where all the moms go to nurse and change diapers. I practically live there.

Breakfast with Jenny and Sophie

I dressed up Layla, and headed to the Grove for breakfast with the adorable Sophie and her mommy Jenny.

The Little Next Door

Christine and Justin (aka Bubbs, Bubbsers, Bubba) came over Sunday to hang. After Mom and Dad came by to relieve us of the foozball table, Christine, Justin and I went to The Little Next Door for some late lunch.

Bubbs is such a cool cat. He's so easy to hang with. Christine said she couldn't believe how big my belly had gotten in the couple weeks since we had seen each other. Yeah, I'm large. We had some yummy sandwiches and then for dessert...
these yummalicious delights. They are St. Germain, pistachio custard, over chocolate macaroon, over vanilla cream, over strawberry puree. Fresh currents and berries on top. SOOO good.

Tarde de Nenas, #5..maybe?

I've lost count of the Nena get togethers. This one was a Nenas get together, a reunion with an old high school friend, and a good bye to Sheila who is moving back to New York in a month :-(. I made this pistachio crusted cheese log above and these blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon below.

These amazing baby cankles belong to Brody, seen below with mommy Kelly.

I miss you already, Sheila!!

I hope you guys like this picture, you made me take it over and over again.

Here is Kimmie Bobo with Malia the Ballerina.

The Lane girls.

This is only at 4 1/2 months. Sheesh!

First day of no nausea!

I couldn't believe my luck when I woke up Saturday morning and for the first time in weeks didn't feel sick. I wanted to seize the day, so I decided to go to the South Bay for some lunch with girlfriends. I hadn't seen anyone in a while because I've been holed up in our apartment feeling lousy. It was gorgeous weather. I met Megan, Ashley, Sheila, and baby Grant at La Sirena Cafe in El Segundo. Really yummy. Surprisingly I didn't take a single picture of food. I did get some cute kiddie pictures though. Grant is such a good boy. He slept through the whole lunch.Sheila tried to convince us to crash a kids birthday party with her. We almost did, but I just couldn't muster up the hoss (hoss is short for hosseleh, new Persian word that I will post at some point).

We went to this cutesy Japanese clothing store near La Sirena. How cute is this little shopaholic! Ms. Ashley picked out a cute shirt she liked. I got a matching one for Sheila too so that some day I can get a picture of the two of them wearing it.Miss Ashley was kind enough to model the shirt for me. Is she squishy or what?

I got a little nauseous towards the end of the day, but at least I got some reprieve and made the most of it.

Sophie's 3rd birthday party

Today I went to Jenny and Andy's house for Sophie's 3rd birthday celebration.

The birthday girl showed us what kind of rock and roller she really is.

There was lots of fun to be had, including art project, cupcake building, and a non-violent pinata.The big girls were extra welcoming to baby Ashley.

Sometimes, she gets shy and hides behind her mommy's legs.
We learned that there are many ways that one can tie a shoe lace. When it came time to open the presents, all the kids gathered around Sophie in a circle. The circle got smaller and smaller every time a present got open till they were practically sitting on each other's lap. OK, not really, but it was cute.Even big sister Hannah got some goodies.

Cupcake building was a blast. We had the choice of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry cupcakes, as well as those choices of frosting. There were lots of cute sprinkles and decorations to choose from too.

Here's the birthday girl's cupcake.

And here is the birthday girl enjoying the fruits of her labor.

Ashley seemed to especially enjoy her cupcake.

Here's the non-violent pinata. Instead of beating it with a bat, everyone held on to a string, and one of the strings would release the candy when yanked.

I loved how Hannah paid extra special attention to baby Ashley. I also love that the girls call Ashley "baby Ash-eh-lee". So cute!!!