Author Archives: Audra

A Day at the Beach

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

Finally- I have added some new pictures. These are just a few from Beth’s visit, there are still a few more days of her visit, so I’m sure there will be more. Our summer has been flying by, lots of work but some time for fun as well. We have had an amazing visit with Beth and can’t believe its almost over.

Maggie got to have some time with friends today when we had them over for a Pinkalicious party. This is Maggie’s new favorite book, so she had to have pink cupcakes and of course Beth had a craft planned. It was great to see friends and have some time to just hang out. We also love that we have a house and yard that we can have friends over. Those pictures will come in the next few days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

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Today is Justin’s 30th Birthday! Life has been a little crazy so unfortunately we are not doing anything special, just hanging out at home and trying to unpack still. Maggie is excited to help make a cake, I have to still find our mixer it is packed in a box somewhere so this one make take longer than usual. We went to see Fireworks last night which both the girls really enjoyed, Layla was so tired but refused to sit back and rest. Every time one went off she had to sit up and point to it at first it was a little loud but they both got used to it.

Sorry we haven’t written much since moving in Father’s Day weekend we have been away twice. Justin and I went to Philadelphia for work, we were there for 5 days and the girls stayed here with Grandma and Grandpa Slife. We had a great trip and got to see Olympic Trials for Gymnastics which was a lot of fun. We spent the last 3 days in the Wisconsin Dells with the Slife’s. Which for those of you that don’t know the Dells is the Waterpark Capital. We actually did not venture to any of the waterparks but we did other fun things with the girls. I will post pictures as soon as I can, hopefully Grandma and Grandpa will share their pictures because they took lots more than we did.

Pictures Coming Soon!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

I just wanted to say a quick Happy Father’s Day!! Justin I hope you know how much we love you, your a great Dad. Today won’t be much of a break for you I know but we will celebrate a nice father’s day once we are moved in.

So today we finish moving in, we got most of it done yesterday and just have bedrooms and odds and ends left to do so hopefully we will finish early today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!!

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Can you believe in a just a few hours Maggie will be 3!!!

I’m first going to write a little bit about our wonderful 3 year old who amazes us every day. Looking at this picture I can’t believe how grown up she looks. This has been such a busy year and it has flown by, but in the midst of all the craziness Maggie reminds us to slow down and enjoy all life’s little moments. I have to say the “Terrible 2’s” were not so terrible. She is so lovable, outgoing and so incredibly smart. I know that is what all parents say but there are many times I look at Maggie and wonder why she knows the things she does. And many times when I’m trying to reason with her, and then I realize I’m trying to reason with a toddler. Crazy I know, but sometimes you forget when you hear her talk.

Okay now onto the Birthday celebration. Today we had planned Maggie’s Birthday party with our playgroup. It was to be at the park near our house, but WI weather did not cooperate. My friend Luanne opened up her house to have it there, I can’t thank her enough and am so amazed at how generous the friends I have her are. I truly don’t know what I would do without them. We had a great time, had a Princess Cake and she got to ride her brand new bike. Not only was Maggie was excited about the bike but I think it meant even more that Daddy got to bring it. Yumi came to help us out and did more for us than we could have even imagined. Not only did Yumi come to the party and help with everything, but Adam stayed home with Layla, who is running a fever, so Daddy could come to the party. We are not sure what we would do without them.

So far Maggie’s Birthday is off to a great start and can you believe that 3 years ago at this time we were in the hospital waiting to find if whether we were having a Boy or a Girl. I knew life would never be the same at that time, but I could not have never believed it would be this wonderful and Maggie would be so amazing. We have to be the luckiest parents!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY MAGGIE- WE LOVE YOU!! LOVE MOM & DAD!!!!!

Baby Steps!!

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So Layla has finally decided to give this walking thing a try, and although she hasn’t given up crawling just yet she takes more steps everyday. She has figured out how to get herself up and loves walking on carpet, the hardwood floors are not her favorite. She loves climbing the slides at the park and is really figuring out how to do it, so it should be a great summer for her.

Life here has been extremely crazy, we found out a few weeks ago that we were probably going to have to move in the next few months. And being as impatient as we are we decided to start looking right away. We were fortunate to find a new place pretty quick and we are very excited to move in. It will be a little further away from work and not so convenient to walk everywhere but the positive is it is much closer to friends and the house is beautiful with a large backyard and patio. This quick move has put our Birthday Party plans on hold once again, but I am confident that once we are settled we will have a great barbecue for both girls in our new backyard.

Not all Birthday plans are on hold Maggie will celebrate her 3rd Birthday on Friday at a park close to our house with her friends from playgroup. Today we went and picked out her Princess Plates (of course) she is very excited we will just have Pizza and cake at the park hopefully it will be nice out and then next week we will try and get packed up. We hope to move June 14th and 15th, not a great way to spend Father’s Day, but we can add that celebration to our forever postponed party. I will try to get some new pictures on soon!!

Finally- A Picture Together!!

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

Thanks to Yumi who helped us finally get a picture of both girls smiling. Layla is showing off her dancing skills and Maggie was gathering grass to throw in Layla’s hair. I have added some pictures from our last few trips to the park. We have had some beautiful weather lately and we have been taking full advantage, lots of park days and walks. Layla has been navigating the stairs at the park, still hasn’t decided to walk on her own yet, but she wants to. She will walk everywhere holding hands and gets mad when you let go. And she is trying to talk so much, every now and then you can make out a few words but she doesn’t repeat them.

Maggie is growing up so fast and still talks non stop, but now asks lots of questions and loves to learn new things. We are very excited for this summer, Maggie keeps asking when we can go to the beach it is very hard to explain that it is warm out but now warm enough for the beach. Soon enough we hope!!

Some New Pictures!!!

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

I just wanted to share some new pictures from around the house last weekend. Sorry I haven’t had much time for writing lately and it just doesn’t seem like we’ve been doing too much lately. The girls are growing so fast and are so much fun. Maggie moved into a gymnastics class where she goes on her own. Well of course that was the idea but now Daddy is her teacher and of course she has decided he is Mr. Justin during class.

Layla has finally gotten more teeth!!! She is trying to talk and has figured out that the best way to communicate is to scream as loud as you can. Just kidding- although she does love to scream is has been trying to say words, her favorites are Aggie, juice, and Kix. Nodding yes and no have really helped her communicate.

We are still planning Layla’s 1st Birthday Party, yes I know this should be some huge party with all this planning- Ha Ha!! We are know looking to have Maggie and Layla’s parties together.

I Couldn’t Resist!!

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

I’m sorry I couldn’t resist putting this picture on, how cute is she!! I can’t believe how big she is getting and what a strong personality she has, for the most part she is still very happy, but there is no doubt that she has a temper. I have just added a few pictures I have taken of Layla over the last week.

I know I haven’t been posting much but we have been so busy with work, and we are waiting for Spring to really start when we can get some great outside shots. We were teased last weekend with a beautiful weekend and we took full advantage, unfortunately this week has been rainy and cold. Hopefully this weather will change and we can finally celebrate Layla’s 1st Birthday.

Have a great weekend!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!

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Originally uploaded by justin_slife.

I can’t believe its been a year since our beautiful angel came into this world. Who would have known what an amazing little girl Layla would be. She has brought us so much joy and laughter in such a short amount of time.
We celebrated on Wednesday with our friends from the Moms & Tots Group, and Layla shared her cake and spotlight with Ben who turned a year on Wednesday. We have not celebrated at home or with family yet, we want to wait a few weeks and have a barbecue and a real 1st Birthday Party. As you can tell Layla truly enjoyed her cupcake and did not make too much of a mess because she could not waste any food. By the end there was almost no frosting left on her face because she kept taking it off and licking her fingers.
Before her party we went to the Doctor for her 1 year old visit, and she is doing great. She is 20lbs (25%-50%), and 29″ tall (50-75%), and is doing everything else right on time. Walking is still not much interest but she loves to stand and walks around the crib.

And finally to our Baby Girl who attracts attention where ever we go with that beautiful contagious smile. I hope you know how much we love you and how much joy you bring to us everyday. We look forward to watching you grow and figure out this world. We Love you and wish the Happiest Birthday!!!