Dancing Duo

Daddy and Ayla dancing to reggae...

She loved it so much, she went right to sleep :)

Memorial Day Weekend

Ayla got to meet her Uncle Brent & Aunt Vanessa this weekend!

This is the first time Uncle Brent was able to hold her...

He got more practice during his visit :)

Aunt Vanessa (aka Auntie V) also got in on the action...

We went on a walk to Kemp Park here in Folsom

Ayla got her first outdoor diaper change... thanks to Uncle Brent we now have this embarrassing picture to document it!

I think we like her a lot!!!!!!!!

22 Days Old!

You are NOT going to believe this but Ayla went to the Rainforest today!

There was VERY serious research to be done & data to be collected...

She seemed to like the red froggy on the left the best. He moves up & down, up & down...

Of course, an excursion of this magnitude really takes it out of a girl!

Time to sleep it off & get ready for the next adventure!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had another amazing weekend with our family & friends, Friday night, Ayla got to meet her new friend Teryn...

Saturday, Ayla got some professional portraits done then we went on a big outing to Grammy & Grandpa's house in P,ville

Sunday was my first Mother's Day & it could not have been more perfect. Our parents came over & the dads cooked brunch... DELICIOUS!!

Ross presented me with this necklace... our family tree... our birthstones (Alexandrite & Ruby) are at the roots & Ayla's (Diamond) is on the branch. The picture makes it look yellow- but it's really white gold.

As part of my gift from my parents , my mom made this needle point of a dragonfly & a ladybug to represent our little Ayla Bug.

Mama & Papa G gave me the gift of a clean house... all I have to do is call the cleaning service!

Such a perfect day! I'm so pround to be called Ayla's Mommy!

Ayla is having a lot more active time & is becoming so much more alert. We are enjoying every second with our daughter!

More pics from Ayla's first 2 weeks

Story time with Daddy

A bit blurry, but it shows me in my Peanut Shell sling... I LOVE this! And so does Mommy! But, shhh... don't tell Daddy! He may catch on that Mommy can be hands free & the dishes could, in theory, get done!

Visiting with Auntie Kim & my future babysitter, Jack

Here is a picture of Ayla that Jack (age almost 8) made

His sister Macy (age almost 3) also made one... scarily accurate!

Skin to skin with Daddy

Passed out with Mommy (a very familiar scene around these parts)

This was supposed to be "tummy time" but I passed out again!
Later on, I did, however lift up my head several times AND turned my head to the other side TWICE! Hmmm, genius baby? Perhaps... but since there aren't any unbiased bystanders about we shall never know!

Sweet Baby Girl

8 Days Old!!!

The puss...

Why do people keep pointing that thing at me?

Snuggle bug time with Mommy

I LOVE snuggle bug time!

Getting ready for a big nap... nighty night!

Kind of a "whack" idea...

Mr. Wilford (aka Grandpa) has been busy in the lab devising new baby carriers for the working baby... hmmm... somehow I don't think this is the BEST idea he's ever had... although the weeds have never looked better!

Here's a Little Story About a Girl Named Ayla

It all started last Friday, 4/25 when I went outside to do some work in the garden. I saw the most amazing, beautiful dragonfly that I had ever seen on one of our rose bushes. I had been waiting ever so patiently for Ayla to come and took the dragonfly as some sort of sign... dragonflies seem to show up in my world whenever something big is about to happen and when I am thinking about my brother a lot, which I have recently, not to mention that Ayla's room has its fair share of dragonflies adorning it.
That evening Ma & Pa Gimpel and Ma & Pa Wilford came over for dinner... chinese take out. Apparently both Ross' Grandma & my Grandma both went into labor after having chinese food... it couldn't hurt, right? I had already been having sporatic contractions here & there but really nothing to speak of. I can't go any further without mentioning the fact that Mama G happened to spill an entire styrofoam container of sweet & sour sauce all over the carpet in the dining room & we spent the evening on our hands & knees scrubbing it out- we still love you Mama!! Ross finally went & rented a carpet cleaner from Home Depot at about 9 p.m. & that seemed to do the trick! This was the hilarious view of our parents supervising the cleanup...
On Saturday morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. with pretty distinct, regular contractions. All day we timed them & they became more & more regular & strong as the day progressed. I was up all night with contractions that were pretty much 5 minutes apart. At 6 a.m. Sunday morning we decided that it was time to drive to the hospital. By the time we got there I was already 4 cm dialated & 90% effaced. SHOW TIME!
I was still able to smile between contractions until they broke my water... then I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in no time at all! My plan all along had been to have a totally natural birth- absolutely no drugs unless I really just could not handle it anymore. Well, I reached that point and was demanding drugs. I have never felt anything like that in my entire life... for those of you with children there is no need to explain, for those of you without children, there is no way to explain! They were getting me all hooked up on IV fluids & were going to give me IV meds when all of a sudden I NEEDED to push... they checked me & there was no time for meds- Ayla was moments away from her debut! I pushed for about 30- 40 minutes & was rewarded with the most AMAZING creature that was ever put on this earth! Ayla Sierra was here!
Amazingly, that night in our hospital room Ross looked down saw a bug crawling on his arm... after freaking out & trying to hit it away, we inspected it to see what it was... to our absolute SHOCK we saw a tiny gold colored ladybug... in a second story sterile hospital environment! How it got there, we have no idea... our journey began with a dragonfly & ended with a ladybug...
But the most awe inspiring is our own little Ayla- bug- a name we have been affectionately calling her since we found out about her...

Stay tuned to the adventure!