Layla got to meet Santa today! Yesterday while we were at the PX we saw a sign that said Santa would be there on Sat. and Sun. so we decided to take her today. We got there after he had already been there for about an hour so there was quite the line. Layla was so excited to look at him (keyword: look) and we kept saying how he is going to bring her lots of presents on Christmas. She told us she was going to tell him what she wanted for Christmas and sounded pretty excited. Now, before I go any further let me remind you how she reacted last year -- 
So ya, this year she acted exactly the same. We don't pick up her pictures until next weekend (which I will then post) but I am positive they turned out exactly the same. Out of the entire line we waited in, Layla was the one that screamed the most and the loudest. The photographer took about 10 shots of everyone and only about 3 of Layla, poor Santa was looking at us like "get her off of me!" So, once again, Santa was unsuccessful. Hopefully next year since she'll be a bit older things will go a bit smoother, I can only hope.
Now that Thanksgiving is over it is officially time to start decorating and celebrating the holiday season, aka Christmas. Today we got out the Christmas tree and all of our decorations and put everything up. Our house looks so festive and smells so good (we bought a bunch of cinnamon and pine candles). I love this time of year! Our Christmas tree this year has ornaments only on the bottom half of the tree, can you guess who decorated it? Layla put almost all of the ornaments on this year and she only broke 3, I thought that was pretty good. So our tree definitely looks like a 2 year old decorated it. While we were decorating we put on Christmas Vacation which is a tradition, we have to watch it while we decorate. 
Tomorrow for Thanksgiving we're going to a friend's house for dinner so Layla and I made 3 pumpkin pies and I used my mom's recipe for this pudding dessert which is to die for. Layla had so much fun helping me pour and mix everything but I think her favorite part was eating all the leftovers. The house smells so good now and I cannot wait to dig in tomorrow. 
Today I asked Layla what she wanted for Christmas and this is the list I received:
1. Doggie
2. Present
3. Burger King
4. French fries
5. Game
6. Princess dress
7. Two toys
8. Hannah Montana
9. Video games
10. Card game
11. Color books
12. Color Crayons
13. Cake
14. Candy
So there you have it, if you've been thinking about getting something for Layla for Christmas, here is her wish list.
Today while we were watching TV, Layla comes up and gives me a huge hug. While her cheek is up against my cheek she tells me "I love you, Mommy. You my best friend!" She makes my heart melt, that's for sure.
Pretty much as soon as we woke up today, we were running out the door to go play in the snow. It is so pretty and white outside right now but so cold! Layla had a good time. I still need to get her a pair of gloves (which they don't have at the PX, go figure) so we spent most of the time just walking around with our hands in our pockets. Thanks to Grandma we'll have gloves by the next snow fall! :) 
Layla has inherited my love of water. Like me, she takes about 2-3 baths a day and would take more if I let her. Tonight I needed to take another shower so Layla decided to take one with me too. She hasn't taken a shower with me since she we were in Dexheim, so awhile ago. We sang a lot of songs and washed our hair and as soon as I asked her if she wanted to get out I heard Daddy running around the house trying to find our towels. He got there just in time to wrap me up in my towel when I got out. Layla decided she wanted to stay in the shower longer. Ed started messing with her hair and bugging her and she yelled at him "Daddy, stop it! I am trying to take a shower" and then sighed and rolled her eyes at him. She had a great time though! 
Then, while she was in the shower, what did she find? She looked up to the window and there a another ladybug crawling around. I seriously don't think I have ever seen that many ladybugs before, they are always in or trying to get in our house. It's crazy! As soon as she saw it she got so excited, she said "Ladybug, what are you doing? You looking for your Mommy and Daddy? Don't worry we'll find them. My Mommy and Daddy are right here. See?" 5 minutes later she had to get out of the shower and hold the ladybug. 
Snow is officially here! Last night it started snowing and now, 24 hours later, it is still coming down. As soon as Layla and I saw it snowing last night we threw on our jackets and beanies and ran outside to play in it. She had a blast! Then this morning when we woke up she immediately wanted to go out in it again, so we did. This time we took a walk in it, playing as we went, and she told me "I want to go find acorns now, mom. Acorns, where are you?" I told her that they were all gone and under the snow so we couldn't get them anymore. She asks me "Are they cold? Don't worry acorns, it'll be ok. I'll find you!" We never found any but we did find Daddy 20 minutes later when he started throwing snow balls at us! After we turned into ice cubes we went inside to warm up. Tonight Ed was BBQing on the balcony so Layla and I went out there with him and watched the snow fall some more. Snow is so beautiful when it falls and fun to play in but if I never saw any snow again, I would be a happy camper! I hate the cold, give me 125 degree heat any day!
And it was awesome! We had such a blast this weekend, I wish it would have lasted longer, I did not want to come home. We left Friday morning to Edelweiss which is in Garmisch, Germany and got there around 1pm. We checked in and then headed to Pizza Hut which was right around the corner. In Mainz we always ate at Pizza Hut because it was so close but since moving to Graf we haven't had it and it tasted so yummy! After that we decided to just go back to the hotel and relax. It was so nice to be in an American hotel for once! Right before dinner Ed and Layla went swimming in the pool and had a blast. He was dunking her head under and she would come up laughing. She even put her head in the water by herself so I know she is ready to swim. After that we headed to the other post where the CDC and PX were. We ate Subway and then dropped Layla off at daycare since we had a conference that night. I was so nervous to leave my baby there, I had a really hard time. When we got there I had to drop her off in the two year old room and all her friends were in the 3+ room. So was standing there looking sad all by herself. I started crying when we left her because I was so sad they just wouldn't put her with the other kids that she knew. Later when we went to pick her up and was with everyone else though, so I was happy about that. Our first conference was so much fun and we learned a lot, it was only an hour and a half though. We learned about ours and our spouses personalities and what love language they spoke. It really makes you think about things differently when you see it from a different perspective. I ended up being a lion and Ed ended up being an otter. We were laughing and said that Layla is growing up into a lion so poor Ed, the otter, is going to have to live with two lions his whole life. After the conference was over we raced to pick up Layla and headed to bed. Ed had a guys night that night and had a lot of fun too! 
The next day we had our conference bright and early at 9am and it was a three hour one. We ate breakfast and then dropped off Layla and daycare. Once again, the conference was a blast. We did lots of activities and just had a great time with everyone. It was totally worth it! After that we had about an hour or so before we had to pick up Layla so Ed and I went and had lunch alone. Wow, that was weird. We haven't eaten a meal alone in forever, it was really nice though. Layla had a blast with her friends at daycare but when we went to pick her up she was bawling. Apparently once the other parents started showing up and not us, she freaked out a bit. After we got her we got in the car and headed over to Neuschwanstein castle. The Disney castle was made after this castle so I really wanted to see it. It was beautiful! We took a horse carriage up the mountain to reach it because it was a far walk! While we were up there we did lots of exploring and then found some yummy doughnuts to eat on the way down. We didn't spend a ton of time there, I mostly just wanted to see the outside of it. The view from up there was breathtaking though, the mountains in that area are just gorgeous, especially the ones covered in snow. When we got back to the hotel Ed made reservations at a steak restaurant inside the hotel and then he and Layla went swimming some more right before dinner. The restaurant was so good, like amazingly good! It was pretty expensive but so worth it. Eating at an American restaurant after so long just made it even better. After that Ed and Layla dropped me off with the girls so I could have a girls night out and they went to bed. I had lots of fun just drinking wine by the fireplace and chatting with the girls. I was ready for bed by 11pm though! 
The next morning Layla woke us up about 9am and her and Ed went swimming while I stayed up stairs and packed and got ready. We left and got McDonald's for breakfast! We had such an amazing time, it was really nice to just relax and not rush around to try to see everything in the area. I would go back again in a heartbeat! 
Tomorrow the three of us are headed to Edelweiss in Garmisch, Germany for a pre-deployment marriage retreat. We are really excited to go, we've heard only good things about it, plus we get free childcare! This afternoon I was packing Layla's clothes and she went and grabbed her princess backpack. She was pouring her tubs of toys into the backpack so she could take it with us too. I put her suitcase by the door and she put her backpack by the door as well, along with her baby (and baby's car seat), pillow, blankets, slippers, another baby (with carrier), and Silky. So much for packing light, I guess we'll be bringing all of that with us tomorrow. 
So I was trying to think of semi-healthy snacks to give to Layla since all she ever wants to eat is candy. I thought, hey why not try some trail mix. There is some candy in it but there are also nuts and raisins too so I thought it would be a good idea. Anyway, I handed her the package and what does she do? She pours it all onto the table, eats only the candy, and then one by one throws all the nuts and raisins into the trash can. It made me laugh so hard, she definitely isn't dumb. Oh well, at least I tried.
I am so proud of my baby girl. She has been potty trained since the first part of June. It only took her 4 days in all to be potty trained both day and night and she has never put on a diaper since. Whenever I think about how fast it happened I just get a big smile on my face, she makes me so proud. She never used a little potty, she has always just used the regular toilet. Since June, I have had to help her climb up on the toilet each time she had to go. Starting yesterday though, she doesn't even want my help to do that anymore. She tells me "I'ma do it, I'ma big girl!" and climbs up on the toilet, scoots her little butt back, goes potty, wipes, and puts her panties back on all by herself. It's such a bitter sweet feeling, I am glad she is potty trained but she is getting so much more independent and doesn't need my help to do much anymore. Anyway, I just thought I would share how very proud she makes me.
This morning when I was taking a shower I saw a ladybug on the ledge, by the window so I called Layla in to look at it. She gets so excited when she sees ladybugs, she loves them! So she yelled for Daddy to come in and get it for her. She had so much fun letting it crawl all over her hands and when we got ready to head to the PX she even put it in her kitty backpack to take with us (which Ed and I then secretly saved the poor thing and let it go). 
Layla's new obsession when we're at the store, a shopping car. You know, those shopping carts that have a car attached to the front of them. We went to Conrad's today and there were about 4 of these "cars" attached to a play gas pump. We put out 1 euro in and got one so Layla could drive around in it. She had a blast! She did NOT want to get out and was very upset with us when we left. Thank goodness for McDonald's! Anyway, now whenever we go to the PX or Commissary she says she wants to sit in the car instead of the basket. Too bad all the ones here in Graf are disgusting and I won't let her sit in them. LOL 
I just had to share that I am officially done with my bachelor's degree! I took my last two finals this morning! I am so happy and excited, I can't believe this day is finally here. It seems like I have been in school for forever now but it's awesome to know that all my hard work has finally paid off. I'm a college graduate! My degree is in business administration with a minor in psychology so lets hope that I can find a good job with it. Now to look into graduate schools! :)
I would like you all to meet Grandma. Grandma is small, round, green, and is always trying to give candy to Layla. She likes to wear witch hats and a cape wherever she goes and smells of chocolate. She is always there for Layla and Layla loves going everywhere that Grandma goes. Meet Grandma...
LOL... My mom sent Layla this M&M dude for Halloween and we just got it today. As soon as Layla opened the package I told her that Grandma got it for her. So what does she do? She looks at it, hugs it, and says "aw, thank you, Grandma!" And ever since then she has been calling it Grandma. We were in the car, ready to go to the PX and Layla goes "GRANDMA!!! Where is Grandma?" So we had to go back upstairs and find Grandma so she could come with us. This has been going on all day!
This morning Layla and I were getting ready and she always stands on her Princess chair and plays with my makeup while I put it on. Ed has some coins (awards) that are up there also that she always likes to count. Well I had to go get something from my purse in the other room so I left and then as I was coming back into our bedroom I hear Layla playing with the coins and counting "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco..." etc. She was counting in Spanish! How she knows that I have no clue, I am assuming from Dora.
Tonight was home made pizza night which is Layla's favorite thing to help me make. She loves mixing the dough and putting on the cheese and olives. Well I didn't have any sliced olives today so we had to use chopped ones instead and boy did that make a mess. She would grab a handful and put it on the pizza and then grab a handful and eat it. I had chopped olives all over the entire floor in the kitchen! She had a blast though and that's all that matters. 
