Anthony's Birthday...

 What a cute daddy...

Happy Birthday to Anthony way back in March...I have some catching up to do :)  His birthday is a week after Sabrina's and I never got to both birthdays.  We had a great day together as a family and then a great date night that evening...it was the best of both worlds ;)  We are so grateful for Anthony, he is an awesome father and a great husband!  We can't wait for him to be out of school so that we can enjoy him even more...we love you!!!

 Sabrina helped me make Anthony breakfast in bed...

 We went to Mini's to try and satisfy his Margarita cupcake craving but unfortunately it was not the special of the day...still good though...

What to do next? -the zoo, of course. He finally got Bri to sit on the big elephant trunk...she loves the elephant but has always been too scared to sit on it :)

 Fun ride on the carousel...

 Bri made Anthony sit on the baby tiger...

A nice ride on the train and then we headed back home so we could go on our date which included Wing Nutz (yummy) and rock climbing (I only agreed to go for marital peace and his only birthday wish but I was terrified, I am no good at those kinds of things, unfortunately)

Sabrina's 3rd Birthday!

 Bri loves the zoo and her cousin Tessa and so that's how we started out her day and I think she had a great time!

 I love how they hold hands when they walk :)

 Sabrina got her favorite foods for dinner which included hot dogs, mac n'cheese and jello jigglers

 She loves pink frosting and marshmallows and so she got strawberry milkshake cupcakes (the cake mix she picked was cherry chip but we have to call it strawberry because she loves them).

 I tried to capture the blowing of the candle and this is as close as I got after about four lightings of the candle...

 Unwrapping presents was serious business this year...

Bri received her first Book of Mormon from Grandma K

We love our Sabrina girl...she is spirited and is all about the drama.  She loves princesses, singing, dancing and a little bit of mischief.  She is big into pretend play all the sudden and so her kitchen, baby dolls and princess dolls are getting a lot of action...although any object can suddenly turn into mommy, a princess or some other random character that argue, kiss, get saved, etc...it is quite entertaining.  I wish I could record her singing - it is my favorite.  She is sassy but she is also a very tender girl and when I start to lose it she often looks at me and smiles and says, "Be happy Mommy!" (too bad she is usually in trouble when she says that because it's pretty cute)  She gives lots of loves and we are just so grateful to have her in our lives.  She has looked like a 3 yr old for so long that I didn't think I would be fazed by this birthday but I was and I can't believe she is actually 3 and getting so big.  We had a great birthday celebration with her, she has been so excited for her birthday this year-it was a lot of fun.  We love you Sabrina!!!!

I just had to include these pics of Jakey at her party...he loved her balloons....

Happy Birthday to Our Boy!!!

Happy Birthday on January 24th to our little guy!

 We had balloons, which he loved to squeeze...

 We had presents, which Bri was kind enough to help him with...

 And, of course, we had cupcakes...

 He started out a little slow....

 But he gained momentum quickly...until it was demolished...

We love our Jakey and are so grateful for his happy smile and cute little ways.  He is crazy but so darn cute!

I have to say that I usually hate the month of January, it is the month where I often feel quite blah.  When I found out I was due on February 4th I was quite nervous that the baby would come early and be in January...which, of course, happened.  What I didn't realize is that I would finally have something to look forward to in January and my sunny little boy just cheers up the whole month for me.  For the first time January passed quickly and we got to finish it out with a nice little party and fond memories of the first year we have shared with our little guy.  We love you Jakey Bear!!!!  HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from the Layne family...

 Jakey was a lamb this year for the nativity...

 Bri was an angel...and took the job seriously...

 Jakey was not so eager to meet Santa this year...

 but Bri couldn't wait to get on Santa's lap and get her candy cane...

The kids on Christmas morning and playing together :)

We had such a wonderful Christmas together as a family.  Anthony was even in quite good Christmas spirits throughout December this year :)  We wish we had more time this year to enjoy the season and reflect on family and friends and most importantly the birth of our Savior.  We were blessed to be able to see family and friends from out of town and I have been missing them, but it was so good to see them.  We love all of you and hope that you were able to enjoy your holiday as well!

My Favorite Jakey December Moments

 Okay, well, maybe not my favorite...but Jakey learned to climb up on the dishwasher this month and has been obsessed with it ever since...

 Yes, those are his pants...

 I love randomly finding him standing or taking steps when he's not thinking about it...

 This is the month that little Jakey becomes quite adventuresome and my life with him becomes a little more of a challenge...he is into everything and quite pleasantly ignores the word "no"

 

I think I will forever remember Jakey's obsession with our Christmas tree.  Sabrina would eventually leave things alone...but not this guy...he has a mission.

I love my Jakey Bear...he is my little man and is such a joy in so many ways.  He drives Bri and me crazy sometimes, but he always does it with a smile on his face...well, unless he's whiny :)  It's crazy to think that last Christmas he was not here, he has been such a fun addition to our family.

My Favorite Bri December Moments

 This is usually how Bri is with getting her picture taken lately...

 But we put on her new Christmas jammies from Grandma and look what happened...

 Yeah, I don't know where she learned this pose...but funny

 She traded the dolly for her rubber ducky...but check it out...looking and smiling at the camera without moving...amazing

 Not sure why she chose the trash can as her backdrop for this one...but still cute

 Wrapping up for her grand finish...

 and fini...my cute, funny girl

My favorite memory this Christmas with my Sabrina girl was hearing her sing Christmas songs and decorating trees.  She was so cute and loved to decorate this year...it made it so much fun.  And I love that she is starting to get it.  Her little voice is so fun to listen to when she is singing and she totally gets into it.  Her favorite songs this year were We Need A Little Christmas, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and Deck the Halls.  Oh, and she loves Mr. Grinch...and so I also love hearing her sing Fa Hoo Forays...so cute!

Our December...Here We Go...

 Bri and Anthony checking out one of the Christmas tree contenders...

 My cute guys...

 We went to ZooLights and Bri got to feed a reindeer...

 and ride the carousel...

Super cold, but it was pretty fun!

We had a crazy busy December, but it was so fun and good to have time with Anthony after he finished his semester.  We were so busy we never even made to Temple Square to see the lights (I am still grieving)...I think this is the first time in my entire life that I have missed the lights there.  We were pretty prepared this year though and it reduced the stress of Christmas tons...we even made Christmas cookies for the neighbors - I would have posted pictures of the process but Bri got her shirt wet and promptly removed it and wouldn't put another on for the pictures.