sugar, spice and everything muddy

So....no belly pictures, but this little video clip will do. As a little side note, Neil and I just bought a Flip Video camera...sort of looks like an iPod...and WE LOVE IT. Its portable and easy and could quickly take the place of all of our still photos. And best of all, its Mac compatible (whew). Who knew it would be so hard to find a video making device that was Mac compatible!

This little ditty was taken at 21 weeks--OVER HALF WAY THROUGH the pregnancy (OKAY-you are going to have to go to YouTube to see me...this blog template cut off part of the video). I feel like I have---ehhheemm Neil has--so much more to do before baby girl gets here :-) This is Layla's favorite place on Earth. The funny thing is that she has no desire to look at or eat the candy, its mostly about all the stuffed animals. You can see from the video that she makes a bee line straight past the lollipops, bubble gum and chocolates (unlike her mommy) for the teddy bears and pink poodles :-)

Finally, this little clip is my new favorite. Make sure you notice Layla little hands. She was playing in the mud--while wearing a little girlie pink outfit. In this clip, she was helping daddy put together our new porch fans. She put together her outfit--complete with camo hat and pencil--so that she could be just like her daddy.

Just say NO

Hey guys...I'm sorry for being MIA for a while. I've started running in the mornings--and Layla has started waking up earlier so all of my blogging time is GONE! I could probably squeeze something out at night...but I get REALLY lazy once Layla is down for bed and my cup of ice cream starts calling my name.

Speaking of running...its still going great. I'm starting to slow down a little and my muscles are starting to ache after longer runs. I guess its the shift in my center of gravity that is putting strain on some random muscles--which makes for a great workout. My 20 week check up was great...and the doctor said everything was super with the ultrasound. I'll try to get a tummy picture up soon because guys...ITS FINALLY GROWING like whoa. YAY!

And Layla...sweet little Layla. I'm sure you other parents out there can understand this predicament--Neil and I are having to really discipline her over something she picked up from a neighbor's child (who, by the way, disrespected both parents and wasn't corrected..YIKES). Our sweet little Layla has started saying "NO"--I should say yelling "NO" at both the most random and well placed times. Yesterday she woke up during the middle of her nap...sat up in bed...yelled "NO" and then went back to sleep. BUT, I think we are making progress. The last few times she yelled it at her stuffed animal friends--she ran to me, buried her head in my shoulder and cried--without me saying a word. So hopefully what comes next is her learning some self restraint with that word and learning how to say "no" appropriately. That's a hard one, guys...most adults don't learn how to speak politely and that sometimes you have to do things you'd rather not. AYE AYE AYE....I love this age--its challenge.

I hate to finish this up early, but I'm heading out the door to get a little 7 mile run in with my dad--its his birthday fun run :-) So stop by his website and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY...he'd love it.

its a

Most of you have probably already heard by now...

But I wanted to make sure I shared it here too...................

Neil and I are being blessed with another little girl.  We are thrilled beyond belief.  We would have been happy either way, but I think deep inside we wanted another little girl.  And I think we've got her name picked out :-)  But I should probably keep it a secret for just a little while longer until I get a firm "yes" from the hubby (even though he's already calling her by name).

More important than the gender, she looks perfectly healthy.  She has a strong and well developed heart and aorta (148 bps).  The placenta looks great and her little cord is really thick and strong (must be all the dairy that I've been craving).  All her organs are as they should be.

We saw her sucking her thumb (ADORABLE), resting her head in her hands (must have been thinking some deep thoughts), crossing her feet (just like her big sister) and hiding from us.  I am so excited to see her personality because she already seems so different than little Layla.

And on that note...Here is clip Neil took of Layla at gymnastics on Tuesday.  This is typical for her...she is super competitive and has a hard time waiting her turn.  She's learning, but we think its hilarious to watch her in action--not waiting her turn.  This clip is where she is learning to do seat drops...poor little girl in purple didn't even see the red blaze coming.  And I swear Ms. Portia is a saint--the way she handles all those little girls...GEEZE, she is blessed with patience for sure.

Blue or pink

Its been so long after a week's vacation at the beach and going on a blogging hiatus

HUM...

Oh--we find out what we are having on Wednesday!  Neil and I are so excited we can hardly stand it.  And the little one is moving like a crazy guy/girl.  I don't remember Layla being this active so early on, but it could be a second pregnancy thing (or it could be there is a little more excitement around with a 2 year old to get the baby going crazy).  Layla is convinced she's having a sister like Fancy Nancy, but we've prepared her for a super cool little brother too.  I think I'll just be happy to see the baby again and know everything is okay.  

I think this one is sitting really low too because I am already running to the bathroom CONSTANTLY.  It gets interesting during long runs...lets just say I am very familiar with all the hiding spots along my and dad's route.  

Layla is changing so much every day...she's just growing up too fast and is turning into quite the conversationalist.  I am constantly surprised by the things she talks about.  I have TONS of video from the beach that I'm going to try and put together to post really soon so that you guys can see her in action :-)

FINALLY...

Dad and I just got in from Georgetown this evening--super cool place, by the way.  We had a meeting with a wedding planner and it went great (and I got to indulge in my latest craving for sushi--well for cucumber rolls because raw fish is a NO NO--but OH MY GOODNESS was I a happy camper or what).  Exciting things around the corner for Black Daffodil and for Autumn Song...

So I think that's all for now.

I'll post on Wednesday and let you know what we find out (and hopefully I'll have some videos of Layla and the beach trip as well).

Any guesses on what it is....right now we've got a pretty even split among our friends.

Growing belly and my little star

First, another belly picture.  This one is at 19 weeks..almost half way to baby--its going by so quickly this time.  I think I can be really proud of this one (the belly shot) and even more proud of the next one...its starting to grow grow grow!

Okay, so here is the video of Layla.  She insisted on her tutu because the music video had ballerinas on it...and she tried her hardest to perfect their dancing.  After about three dress rehearsals, she was ready to be filmed.  Although you may start to find it kind of boring....wait until the end when she hits the high note.  She told me afterwards that it was her FAVORITE part of the song.  

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from Black Daffodil Films on Vimeo.

Past curfew

First..

Belly pictures are coming as well as the video I promised...I just can't get my camera to download onto the computer (I dropped it on the hardwood floor a week ago and it just hasn't been the same).

But, I had to post this while it was on my mind.  

Dad came over yesterday to see Layla for a little while.  He's been on pins and needles to see her (even though he saw her on Monday) for the past two days and finally had a window of opportunity to get over here and see her yesterday afternoon.  He played most of the afternoon with Layla and then it was time to head for home.  As he was saying "bye" Layla begged to go with him and spend the night---this was the first time she's really really done that.  I was kind of surprised, but after I got the green light from dad...I let her go.  We packed all her night night stuff (bunnies, bears, pillow, sound machine) and she was off.  I believe I heard her mention ice cream and a movie as they were driving off.

As dad's disappeared around the corner, Neil and I just kind of looked at each other, not knowing what to do with ourselves.  We quickly decided on a bike ride and dinner at a restaurant uptown.  It was strange not having Layla with us on our bike ride (she normally sings the ENTIRE time) and it was unusual having dinner with just Neil.   Its been an embarrassingly long time since the two of us have had dinner together.  We ate and talked...came home...took a little walk because we couldn't get enough of talking to each other...and then settled down on the couch to read a little before finding a movie.

I called my mom at around 8 to make sure everything was going well--she said they were having a ball...Layla was running around the yard naked and Dad was squirting her down with a water hose. They had two kinds of ice cream and a Barney (??) movie ready to go.

At 11pm, my phone rang.  Dad was calling to say he was bringing Layla home.  She had not yet fallen asleep...they weren't willing to let her cry (THANK GOODNESS)...and she asked to go back home.  Dad said she thought she was done spending the night and was ready for something different.

Neil and I waited on the front porch....I looked over at him and told him that this better be the last time...for a VERY long time...that we were waiting past 11pm for Layla to get home.  HA!  And bless her heart, she was worn out.  But she feel asleep talking about ice cream and Barney and begging to go back to Nana and Poppy's to spend the night again.  Strange little thing.

So we'll see what today has in store...its 7:30 am and I already see her fuzzy little head sitting up in her bed ready to start the day....WHEW...gonna be a L-O-N-G morning.  Perhaps I should just take her to Nana and Poppy's for ice cream.