Christmas Pics

Here are some of the pics from Christmas. We had a lovely day and Ayda had a blast.

The Lin family before the present opening madness began!

Aunt Wendy gave Ayda this tu-tu. The look on her face cracked me up...she knows she is adorable!

Ayda and Mozart riding in her new wagon. She loves it so much. She willingly goes for a ride anytime of the day and even will just sit in it and play. It's great!

Christmas lunch at the Jones'. She loved playing on Sara's rocking chair from when she was a little girl.

These were my bloomers when I was a baby. I put new elastic in the waist and legs and they were like new again. It was neat to let her wear them on her second Christmas, 26 years after I wore them on my second Christmas.

Christmas family picture. It was hard to catch Ayda for any pics. The Jones' have TONS of toys at their house and two dogs. Needless to say she was quite entertained. Not to mention the fun she had playing with Aunt Sara and Aunt Jill!

The Jones' "kids". Kevin grew up practically in this family. If he was not at home, he was there. He is very close to them. And of course they have welcomed me into the family and now Ayda. It is funny how much she reminds me of her Aunt Sara too. Anyway they are such great people and we had Christmas lunch at their house. It was great to see everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was worlds different than Christmas last year! Having a three week old last year was fun and special but let's be honest I don't remember much of it. So this year was a blast to share the holiday with Ayda. She was so into the lights, trees, ornaments, presents, etc. Here is a little video I took of our morning. A few highlights of our morning! It was fun opening gifts and spending time together as a family. I have some pics to post too but I am heading to bed for now. Enjoy the video and check back tomorrow for some pictures! Hope you had a great holiday as well!

Christmas Tree

We finally got our Christmas tree! I am so excited to have a live tree that is taller than me! We had fun picking out the right tree and then getting it home and decorating it!

Ayda heading to pick out the tree with Agong and Aunt Ivory!!

All of us with the tree!

Ayda loves playing with Uncle George!

Kevin pushed Ayda all around in this dump truck and she had a blast. She thought it was the funniest thing ever!

YAY!!! My first tree on the roof experience! I felt like a true Christmas goer! My allergies have always prevented me from having a live tree in the past...but not anymore!

Ayda's (second) First Birthday Party!

We had another birthday party for Ayda down here in FL. We wanted to make sure Kevin's parents could celebrate with her too! Another couple that we are friends with joined in and we had a great night! Kevin grilled out and then we enjoyed the yummy cake. Kevin's mom made a vegan cake for them and Ayda and I recreated a smaller version of the cake I made in Atlanta. It was a relaxing, fun evening and Ayda loved being center of attention once again!

The cake I made!

Sweet little feet...

Getting ready for another smashing of the cake!

Just getting started!

We had to abruptly move the party inside because as soon as the cake came out so did the mosquitos! We were all getting attacked. So Ayda kept eating her yummy cake and we all grabbed stuff and headed for the kitchen!

I think she is a fan of her vegan cake! She loved the icing!

And then decided to try it out as a hair styling product. It was a crazy hairdo for sure but we are all about letting her express herself...and she did!

Sugar high drunkenness

Ayda has definitely figured out how to open presents. She loves to rip the paper and see what is inside. Only problem is now we are having to guard the Christmas presents with high intensity. She loves to crawl under the tree and grab some!

It was another fun celebration for Ayda. Once again, Kevin and I sat there watching her and wondering where the year went. She is just so much fun and we are so beyond proud of her!

Spoons and a Pink Pig

My mom has a small collection of spoons from around the country. When I was in high school I loved bringing a spoon back from wherever I had been. She also has some from other places she has visited. Well apparently Ayda has a liking for collector spoons as well. Several times while we were at my mom's I would catch her on the landing of the stairs just playing with them. She had them all lined up on one stair at one point. I even found one in the bath toy box. My poor mother's spoon collection is dwindling with each visit from Ayda!

Here are the spoons about 99% of the time we were there:

And here they are the morning we left and I cleaned them up till the next visit:

(Notice the empty places where spoons should be)

The last night we were in Atlanta my mom, Jim, Ayda and I headed to Lenox mall to ride the Pink Pig! I rode it as a kid and was excited to ride the newer version with Ayda. I was not sure if she would have much interest but as we rode along on the pig she pointed at different things and said "Wow"!

Ayda and Papaw waiting in line to ride. She and papaw really bonded on this trip to Atlanta and Ayda lights up when he walks into the room!

The three of us anxiously awaiting our turn!

Birthday Pics!

Finally I am posting pics of Ayda's birthday party in Atl! We are having her party here in Florida tomorrow. She had so much fun seeing everyone and playing with all the kids. And she most definitely loved eating the yummy cake!

Playing on the deck with her cousins!

Having a very serious chat with Nathan. I believe it might have been about whose sippy cup is whose...they had the same one!

A friend of mine always makes our cake for special occasions. Unfortunately she had to work the two days before Ayda's party and could not do it. So I decided to try my hand at cake decorating. I must admit I was very pleased with how it turned out. Definitely not professional, but it was super cute and everyone loved it! My SIL helped as well and I do believe the cake would not have been as moist if she had not done the mixing! Thanks Al!

The big cake and Ayda's smash cake!

My mom and Ayda snuggling before everyone arrived!

Cake time!!!!!!

"Hmm...what is this stuff?"

"I think I like it!"

"Yes, I really like it. I could eat the whole thing."

And she just about did...and we paid for it later. Ayda has never been one to refuse going to bed on time. After her party was a different story. I think it was a mix of over-stimulation, sugar high, and some teething, but she was absolutely NOT going to bed at 8:00. I put her down and she was quiet for about 5 minutes and then the screaming started. Kevin and I have never been one to just let her cry it out. So I went and got her and she proceeded to play downstairs while we watched football. She was so wired she was really quite entertaining to us. My mom finally got her down at 10 but I was up with her every hour till 3AM. I am so thankful those kinds of nights are VERY rare in our house! She had so much fun at her party though so it was really still worth it! I can't believe my baby is one already! Still setting in.

Lighting of the Christmas Tree...sort of.

On Thanksgiving night we decided it would be fun to go to Lenox Mall and see the lighting of the Christmas tree. We met up with my brother and his family there and were ready for some fun. The advertisement on t.v. said there was a pre-show at 6:30 and the tree lighting was at 7. Perfect we though! Watch the tree light up, load up in the car and head home just in time for bed. Whoo! Except the tree didn't actually light until 8. The pre-show was basically the singers/dancers warming up. And it was FREEZING outside!!!!! Though we were all pretty bundled up, it was still so cold. The adults could have clearly toughened up, but the poor freezing, hungry, tired kids just could not handle it. Really, we headed home at 7 for their sake.

We managed to get back to the car, load up, and get home in time to watch the tree light up live on TV! Now we know why we have lived in ATL for as long as we have and never gone down to see the live show. It was a great idea though!

Isabel is really having a blast!

Ayda was so bundled up! She looked quite comfy!

Abby was so good to Ayda! She made sure she was doing ok under all the blankets. She was so sweet rubbing her head and talking to her.

The crew...having so much fun! We were so bundled we could barely move around to pick up little ones!

Babyland General

My mom, Ayda and I decided to take a day trip to North Ga to visit Babyland General. It is where the Cabbage Patch babies are born!!! I was not sure if Ayda would have anything to do with it but thought it would still be fun. And, wow, did Ayda have fun! She was out of control visiting all the different babies. My mom had said she wanted to get her a doll for her birthday while we were there. Ayda picked hers out rather quickly and I was surprised at how very badly she wanted that particular one. There were tons of little girl babies with lots of hair and cute bows in their hair. Did Ayda want those? Nope. She only wanted the bald headed boy. I even tried to trick her into getting the cuter one and she screamed till I gave her the little boy back. Oh dear! So Coop joined our family and she LOVES him. She carries him around all the time, pats his head, and gives him kisses. It is really very cute!

(Stay tuned...I am WAY behind on pictures of our trip to ATL. I'll keep posting till I get caught up!)

One Year Ago Today...

Ayda Grace Lin came into our world!! I cannot believe her first year is over. She has been the most amazing blessing for both Kevin and me. To try to sum up her first year would be impossible. It has been fun, adventurous, fast, exciting and more. Ayda has such a great personality and to see her develop into what it is today has been wonderful. She keeps us on our toes, but only because she loves to explore her world and she loves to be with people! We have had more laughs than tears this year as a family and most of the laughter was because of something Ayda did. Kevin and I were warned that we would never feel more tired than when we had a newborn. Yep we were tired, but the energy we receive from being parents totally makes it worth it. We love every second of this!
So today as I refect on this year and the day Ayda made her entance into this world I am full of joy, pride and sheer happiness for our daughter. It is bitter sweet as we conclude a big year of firsts but I am also so very excited to start her second year. I know she will keep us busy learning and growing more. We are thankful for her health, the many people who love her so much, for the many lessons we have learned about being parents and about ourselves in general, and for these first 365 days!

Ayda, we love you so so much! You are beautiful, smart, fun and more. We are incredibly proud of you! You make being parents easy and fun! We have had a blast with you this year and can't wait to see what you do this next year! We love you, pumpkin!
Daddy and Mommy