The Happy Haps

We have been in a sort of "lock down" here at the old Gimpel homestead. If you live in Cali, then you know what I'm talking about. The wildfires that surround us are making breathing very difficult. The temps last week also peaked around 108 degrees... you could literally chew on the air! It is beginning to clear out some & the temps are slowly making their way back to normal... FINALLY!

We are also winding down our annual Gimpel summer extravagnza... we celebrate Papa G's birthday, my birthday, Mama & Papa G's anniversary, Ross' birthday & Mama G's birthday all within a month of each other. Ross celebrated his birthday on Saturday with a BBQ and pecan pie!! Mmmm... pie... and in true party animal style he will continue his celebration on Thursday when he gets his wisdom teeth out! YIKES! He is NOT happy about this but I know everything will go smoothly. Hey, at least it's a couple of days off work!

Ayla continues to grow & change before our very eyes! She amazes us everyday with something new. Her personality is coming out more & more... she has a VERY silly side as well as a concentrated, serious side. I now live for her giggles & belly laughs which come quite often!

Here's Ayla with her ladybug blanket. I LOVE this blanket & would steal it from her if she didn't love it also! It is silky on one side & fuzzy on the other with a big (soft!!) ladybug stuffed animal in the center. It's the PERFECT size & weight for carrying around (someday). She loves to feel it & put it in her mouth.

Here she is grasping her new wooden toy (thanks Auntie Kim). She is definitely doing more reaching & grabbing for things. Some of it is accidental, but the look of surprise on her face from catching something is priceless!

She also loves songs & books (when her mommy isn't distracting her with that darn camera!) We are starting to run out of songs to sing to her. Thank goodness kids love repetition! Among her favorites are our rockin' renditions of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". "Isty Bitsy Spider" & "If You're Happy & You Know It" are close seconds. She is beginning to enjoy Peek-a-Boo games & has a few Peek-a-Boo books that are becoming favorites.

The most exciting news is that last night Ayla slept uninterrupted from 8 p.m. until 4:45 a.m.!!!!
Then she ate & slept again until 7:45 a.m.!!!!! She has been consistently sleeping for 6-7 hours every night, but this is a new record!!! Of course, if I were smart (and that's a BIG if) I would also go to sleep when she does, but as it is I am getting more sleep than I have in months. I don't know what I'm going to do with all this extra sleep! My body has been deprived of REM for so long, it may just go into SHOCK!!!!