Stomach bug!

Our house is afflicted again, this time with an evil stomach bug. Layla got it first, on Sunday night. She threw up in her crib, and again the next day, and was a little fussy but not too bad. The Studly Hubby stayed home with her most of the day Monday and then of course he caught it next. Now he's on the couch moaning and looking totally miserable. As usual we are both really surprised at what a trooper Layla must have been through all these miserable symptoms. I haven't caught it yet, but I suspect it's coming.

Today, Layla is feeling a ton better. I came home early to take over when the Studly Hubby got sick, and she cuddled with me and helped me put blankets and give get-well kisses to the Studly Hubby to help him get better. Hopefully he will be over it just as fast as she was.

Whenever I am at work worrying about my baby at home, the Studly Hubby will send pictures to make me feel better. Today he sent me this picture during snack time.

Layla in the cart!

Now that Layla is a big 1-year old, she really likes running errands with us. Yesterday we took her to the mall and did a little shopping, which included a stop at Storables to look at locking garbage cans. While we were there we let Layla ride around in the cart for the first time.


Before this we rarely ever took Layla to the grocery store. We order a lot of our groceries from Amazon Fresh, we get a fresh veggie box twice a month, and the few times we go to the grocery store we either leave Layla at home or take her in a baby carrier or the stroller. After she had so much fun in the cart at Storables on Saturday, we decided to take her with us to the grocery store today and she had a blast. We had her ride around in the front part. It was a full grocery run with a full cart and by the end she really wanted to get at all the stuff we had piled up in the cart. Fortunately we were done right when she start really getting upset!

1-year photos

The Studly Hubby and I, and the Studly Hubby's Studly Parents, took Baby Layla to the photographer's new studio in Belltown to get photos taken for the last of our pre-paid 1-yr photo package. Here are a few - more will be posted later when we get the full set, including much-coveted pics with the Studly Hubby's parents and another very beautiful new quilt made by the Studly Hubby's Studly Grandmother.






The last six months have been particularly rough, since we've all been sick so many times. Pictures not only preserve memories but also make you see yourself from a different perspective, which was exactly what I needed. In these pictures we all look very happy and healthy, and it was a good reminder to me that when we are well we ARE happy and healthy. Since the pictures were taken we had one more cold pass through but this weekend we seem to be doing better again, so hopefully soon we will have more healthy days than sick ones.

The D.O.

I reported earlier that Layla has been visiting a Doctor of Osteopathy that is working on her neck (so she can turn better to the left). He's doing such a wonderful job I made an appointment for myself and went in today.

Here is a picture of him from his website (I've fallen off the wagon with pictures but wanted to throw out a bone).


My totally awesome physical therapist AND my chiropractor AND our doula are all in love with this guy. They all think it is SO helpful for babies to get this kind of treatment (birth is traumatic!). At my physical therapy appointment last week, we spent a great deal of time discussing this and an equally important topic: just how old is this guy?

He looks 22. My physical therapist argued that he must be at least 45, from how long he has had his practice and how old his children are (he has a 10-year old, and by Seattle standards, that makes him at least 45). Today, he let slip an important reference date so I could solve the mystery; he is 37. I tried not to act totally surprised, but I think I did. The funny thing is, I didn't know if I should be surprised at how young he is or how old he is.

I'm happy to report that the appointment was really helpful. He found all my problem areas and worked to make them feel better. He didn't lecture me about my bad posture, instead he problem-solved on how to make my posture better. I think it was a success!

Our shy girl

As a couple more baby-colds passed through our house, I've had to duck out of everything non-essential again so I can maintain the basics - work, sleep, eat, take care of Layla. Although that sounds really boring it has given me a lot of time to watch all of Seasons 1-3 of Celebrity Rehab (and Season 1 of the follow-up, Sober House), which is AWESOME. So, it hasn't been all bad. Plus, the Studly Hubby as always has been super-supportive.

But before I get hit again with another baby-cold I wanted to report in on the latest of Layla's developments; she has gotten SUPER SHY!!!

It started a few weeks ago at a baby-group meeting - even though she knew everyone there, when one of the other moms came over to say hi to us Layla tucked her chin down and blushed... but ten minutes later she was in the other mom's arms telling her all about her day, so we were back to normal.

Then, last weekend a friend of ours stopped by to drop off a red wagon we bought from him and Layla actually CRIED... but we decided she must have been tired and our friend, a large guy with lots of facial hair, maybe looked kinda of scary from a baby's perspective. But, two days later another friend came by, Layla wasn't tired, the friend wasn't scary by any stretch of the imagination, and Layla cried, again!

Then yesterday Layla turned on the shyness full-force. All the babies in our baby group are turning a big 1 year this month so we rented out the Gymboree gym and had a big birthday party. Even though Layla knew everyone there, and there was CAKE, she sat in my lap for about an hour before she finally got up the nerve to venture out and explore. In the last 20 minutes she finally started visiting with other moms and dads so she did warm up eventually... but how weird!

Especially knowing her mother, who is NOT shy, and never was!

Clearly she got this from the other side of the family...