Layla Grace- Her 1st Month

     Meet Layla Grace Huffmier, born November 9, 2012 at 5:41 AM. She weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz., was 20 1/2 in. long, and was/is the most beautiful person I've ever seen!
    So obviously a lot has happened since the last time I posted here. On March 2nd, Nate and I found out that I was pregnant with our first baby. We were absolutely thrilled! We had decided in November 2011 that we wanted to have a baby and little Layla was such a sweet answer to many, many prayers. For the first 18 weeks, Nate and I were both convinced that we were having a little boy. Then during our first visit to Dr. Smith, we found out that we were actually having a baby girl! We were definitely shocked but also overjoyed. We were finally able to call our baby by name- Layla Grace. I had a wonderful pregnancy and I loved just about every second of it! Even the "morning" sickness (which lasted ALL day) couldn't dampen my spirits when I remembered that I had our little one growing inside me! I just couldn't get over the fact that God had entrusted me with such an important, amazing role! The pregnancy flew right by (up until the last 3 weeks, which felt more like 3 months....I mean, come on already! I just wanted to cuddle my baby girl!) and soon enough, we found ourselves at the hospital looking at the most adorable baby ever, just laying on my chest, scrunching up her eyes because of the all of the lights in her bright new world.
     I will probably type up more of Layla's birth story later, but what I really wanted to write about/remember right now is Layla's first month. She has changed so much already and I don't want to forget a single second of my time with her (not even the time that her diaper pretty much exploded in the car on a very long car ride to Orlando!).
So here are some of the changes I've noticed so far:
Physical

• Layla's hair has grown so much! I was completely shocked that she was born hair in the first place and now I can't believe how fast its growing! At first it was only growing longer/thicker in the back and I was starting to think she might end up with a baby mullet, but the top is also starting to grow now (woo hoo!). Plus, its getting redder and redder every day! YAY! It was a pretty dark brown at first but it keeps getting lighter and when the sunlight hits it, its nice and red (just like mine!)!
• Layla's eyelashes are about 3X as long as they were when she was born. She just barely had eyelashes at first and they were blonde so you could barely see them, but now they're nice and long and even a little bit darker. She looks so pretty and girly! :)
• Her eyebrows are getting darker, too. They were very blonde and hardly noticeable when she was born.
• Her eyes are getting lighter and are such a pretty shade of blue! Layla's eyes were super dark at first, but we're pretty sure that they're going to stay blue (again, just like her Mama's!). Her eyes might have my color, but she definitely has her Daddy's eyes. They are big and gorgeous and I love it when she stares at me.
• Her cheeks, her belly, and her thighs have all gotten much bigger in her first month! Nate joked that she would start filling in at her cheeks and end at her toes and that has been so true! Haha! Her cheeks filled in first, then belly, and now her thighs. She is just so darn cute!
• She has her Mama's feet, although they are big like her Daddy's. Let's just hope she grows into them! Haha! ;) She has the cutest tiny little blonde hairs on her toes and fingers, which she also gets from me (poor kid!). 
• She now has an innie belly button- YAY!
• Layla has the cutest little lips. She often puckers them up into the tiniest little lips you've ever seen and makes such funny faces!
• Her nails grow sooo fast! I have to cut them every 2-3 days because they are razor-sharp and they grow back so fast. She tends to scratch her face when she's upset so we have to keep little mittens on her anytime we're not holding her so that she can't scratch herself if she gets fussy.

Developmental

• Layla was pretty alert right from the very start, but now she is really alert. She is much better at focusing her eyes on people/objects. She still really likes to stare at light, whether its the lights in the house or the sunlight streaming in through the living room windows. She also makes eye contact for much longer periods of time now. I love just looking in her eyes while she cuddling with me! :)
• Layla has already learned her Mama and Daddy's voices!!! I just love it! She recognized Nate's voice shortly after birth (probably because he read lots and lots of bedtime stories to her while I was pregnant with her) and kept flicking her eyes in his direction while he was talking behind her a few hours after she was born. In the past week or so, we've noticed her turning her head to find my voice when she hears me talking as other people are holding her. It's so sweet and it pretty much melts my heart!
• She is soooo good at holding her head up! The day that we got home from the hospital, Layla lifted her head up from Nate's chest, held it up for a few seconds, and then turned it to the other side! She keeps getting better and better at it every day! She can now lift her head and hold it up for over a minute when she is laying on our chests. She can also lift her head and turn it while napping on her belly (no scolding, please! She only sleeps on her belly during the day when she is being supervised). 
• Layla is so strong already. Its pretty much pointless to try to open her hands if she has them all curled up in fists. She can kick pretty hard, too. When she is fussy and we try to lay her on our chests, she will use her little legs to climb right up our chests if she doesn't want to lay that way.
• Layla is staring to smile more and more every day! At first, she only smiled when she was sleeping- mostly in the moments as she drifted off to sleep and as she started to slowly wake up from sleeping. Now she is starting to smile more throughout the day while she is awake. There have been two times when she has smiled in response to her Daddy playing with her feet! :)
• Layla's longest night so far has been 7 straight hours and it awesome! As long as we're home and we get her ready for bed before she falls asleep for the night, she usually has one 4-6 hour stretch and then a couple of 2-3 hour naps. She sleeps pretty good at night so far (definitely better than I expected for a newborn)!

Personality

• Layla is the most expressive baby ever! She makes such funny faces. She definitely keeps us laughing!
• Layla took to nursing right away and is already a pro at it! In fact, its pretty much her favorite thing to do. During the end of her 3rd week and now throughout her 4th week, nursing is just about the only way she can be comforted when she is upset. I've read that the constant desire to nurse is a pretty common phase for this time of life, so I guess its probably normal. Sometimes its tiring for me, but for the most part, I'm just thankful for the extra cuddle time with my baby.
• Our little girl absolutely loves to be cuddled! We've already spoiled her (or so it would seem), so she does not like being put in her swing or bouncy chair at this point. She would much rather be held and cuddled all day long. I know we have to let her have some tummy time and some time learning to be content on her own, but I really love cuddling, too! Some of my most favorite moments so far have been in the mornings when I bring her into our bed and we all cuddle together as a family. Layla is just so sweet and calm as she is waking up in the morning. She does the cutest little stretching routine ever, too! Her desire to be cuddled has also led to her hatred of laying or sleeping on her back. At this point, she sleeps in her carseat and I think she likes it better because its snug and makes her feel more secure. It also keeps her slightly inclined so she breathes better (she is usually somewhat congested, despite our efforts to use nose drops and the sucky-thingy on a daily basis).
• Layla loves music! She favorite way to go to sleep is to be rocked in the rocking chair and sung to. Nate's guitar music is also very soothing for her when she is upset.

I don't expect many people to read all the way to the bottom of this post. It's probably not very interesting if it's not your own kid/grandkid, but like I said, I wanted to record all of these things so that I wouldn't forget. Our little Layla is growing so fast and it kinda makes me sad. I love watching her grow and I'm excited for when she's a little older and we can have a little more fun together, but I have really loved her newborn stage, too. I expect that I will always feel that time is flying by way too fast and that I don't have enough time with her. She is too cute and we love her so much! I'm thankful for the time I've had with Layla so far and I'm looking forward to a lifetime of learning more about her. She is wonderful and is the most perfect addition to our family. I couldn't have imagined anything better. I love being Layla's Mama!

Lunch Date

For the first two months that Nate and I were married, I was a tutor. I only worked 10 hours a week, between 4pm and 7-8pm, depending on the night. This meant that I was able to sleep in every morning, meet Nate for lunch every day, and have a house that was always clean because I had nothing better to do while Nate was at work during the afternoons. I LOVED being able to meet Nate for lunch everyday. It was so wonderful! The only downside to that schedule was that we didn't get to have much time together in the evenings. However, the job was only temporary so I had to find a new job as soon as it ended. 

Starting a full-time job for the first time in my life had its challenges (I was completely exhausted for the first two months and couldn't understand why), but what I hated the most was packing lunch! Ugh, I still hate packing lunch and I dread doing it every night before I can go to bed. 

Side note: The week after Halloween when I was in fifth grade, two of my classmates (they were twin sisters) came to lunch with lunchboxes full of candy because their mom let them pack their own lunch. I remember going home and begging my mom to let me start packing my own lunch. It only took me about a week to realize that I still wasn't going to be allowed to take candy for lunch and that I hated packing my own lunch. What was I thinking??!

Anyways, Wednesday night, I had fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie and when I woke up, I just wanted to go to bed, but unfortunately I still had to make my stinkin lunch! We had leftovers for dinner, which meant I didn't have leftovers to pack for lunch the next day. We also did not have bread which was fine with me because I had sandwiches for lunch for the past two weeks and I was sick of them. I decided to ask Nate if he would bring me lunch the next day because I only have a half hour for lunch which isn't enough time to go get something. He was hesitant to agree because he didn't want to use the gas in his work van to bring me lunch. I just assumed that we would put gas in the van and it would be fine. I pitched a little fit and went to bed mad. He came in and offered to bring me lunch, but my bratty response was, "No, Nate, you should do it out love, not out of obligation!". Basically, there are two morals to this story and the first is this: Once I fall asleep, I should probably stay asleep because otherwise, I get a little crazy. 

So Thursday afternoon rolls around and Nate texted to say he was bringing me lunch. I had already texted him to tell him it was not necessary and to apologize but he came anyways. Then he volunteered to stay and eat lunch with me! It was so nice! I have missed having lunch with Nate and it was such a nice break in the middle of a crazy work day. So in conclustion, the second moral of the story is that husbands and wives should always get to have lunch together. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Valentine's Day

Well, I've pretty much given up on trying to do the February Photo-A-Day challenge, but I am trying to be more consistent in taking pictures of our day-to-day life together. Yesterday was Valentine's Day and Nate made it so wonderful for me! We have always made a big deal of our anniversary and of birthdays, but never really made a big deal out of Valentine's so we were not planning much. We had just planned on trying a new recipe at home and that was it. However, when I got home, Nate opened the door just a crack and said, "You're early!" (which I wasn't), and I knew right then that he was up to something. I walked in to find that the house had been cleaned, the table was set and a dozen roses in a vase. He even made the bed and left some chocolates there. It was so romantic!

Definitely my best Valentine's Day so far! I love my husband! :)

Day 11: Makes Me Happy

The theme for Day 11 is "Makes Me Happy". This has three things that make me happy: 1. My most favoritest ever, Nathan, 2. Nate's hoodie, which means its cold outside (YAY!), and 3. Nate's lipring...let's face it: he's way sexy! I love this man so much!

More February Pictures

The theme of my February Photo-A-Day Challenge posts so far seems to be "Well, the picture was supposed to be ....., but its actually......, because .......". It turns out I'm really bad at remembering to take a picture everyday. And some days, even when I do remember, I still can't take the right picture. That's how Day 8 went. The picture was supposed to be of the sun, but I leave for work at 6:45am and get home at 5:45pm, so I don't really have very many sun-photo-taking opportunities during the week. Don't get me wrong, some mornings, I drive to work surrounded by a gorgeous pink/orange/reddish sky, but I try to refrain from taking pictures while driving. So for Day 8, I took a picture of our dinner since its one of our favorites and I forgot the picture on the actual "dinner" day. Here it is, Cajun Chicken:

Please excuse my extremely poor photography skills (although, I think I should get some credit for using our awesome square white plates instead of the paper plates we would have used if I was taking a picture).

And here is Day 9, which is actually what it's supposed to be: the front door!!! Yay, I remembered!!!

The pinecones were inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest. They probably look a bit random by themselves but they go great with my "winter mantel" in the living room (which I hope I might remember to take pictures of some day).

That's it for now. Maybe I'll get those mantel pictures tomorrow while its still light outside. 

Then, maybe someday my house will clean enough to be considered "photographable" and I will finally get pictures of our totally adorable apartment up on here. But that's a long shot...  :)

Day 7 Photo

Let's just pretend that we were supposed to skip days 5 and 6 of the February Photo-A-Day Challenge. That's  a much better story than the truth, which is that I forgot. Unfortunately, the theme for both days was somewhat time-sensitive. Day 5 was "10 AM" at which time I was pouring my coffee and getting to rush out the door for church. Day 6 was "Dinner" but I forgot until after Nate and I had already devoured our tacos and disposed of the evidence. Oh well, too bad. Today's theme was "Button". I decided to take a picture of my latest favorite button:

the "Auto" button on the coffee pot. I used to get my coffee ready every night before bed when Nate and I were in second year up at Word of Life NY.  I just had to hit the auto button and then I would wake up every morning to the sound and smell of fresh coffee brewing. I felt like such a cool college student as I would sip my coffee at my desk while I got ready for class and did my quiet time. Nowadays, I usually get my coffee when I get to work in the morning. Recently, though, we decided not to brew coffee at work for  a while, so I started brewing it at home. Since I still really hate getting up in the mornings and I'm always running late, I've started setting the pot at night again. Let me just say that whoever invented the "auto" button was a genius! 

Marriage Advice

Today, via Pinterest, I came across a new (to me) blog, Today's Letter. The first post I read was called "10 Things that Have Made All the Difference". I LOVED the advice in this post! Nathan and I have a great marriage but its because we work at it. We have made our marriage a top priority in our lives and we treat it like the valuable and precious gift it is. Emily's post had some great ideas for little things that could make a big difference in a marriage. I just wanted to share her post here so that others could enjoy it, too. Nate and I have decided that we are definitely going to start a "Metal Box Account" so that we, too, can enjoy a second honeymoon sometime! ;) Enjoy!

A Non-Day 4 Picture

The Day 4 picture for the February Photo-A-Day Challenge was supposed to be of a stranger, but I didn't really think that was the best way to photograph my everyday life, plus I felt like a creeper trying to take a discreet picture of a stranger. Instead, I decided to finally post a picture of our tattoos. Nate and I got our "wedding tattoos" a little over a month ago, on the day before our two-year anniversary. We had been talking about them for a while and I finally got brave enough to go through with it. 

We went with two interlocking hearts because Nate used to draw two little interlocking hearts at the bottom of all of his love notes to me. It was the same symbol that he used to mark passages about love and marriage in his Bible. As it turns out, our tattoos represent our marriage even more than we though they would. As much as  we each love our own tattoo, what we love best is how they look together. In the same sense, we are better because of the time that we have spent together and the experiences we have shared. We are better together. Our little hearts are meaningful to us and we love our tattoos!

More Bucket List

7. Go to a drive-in  movie theater
8. Go back to the cabin where Nate and I spent our honeymoon

Day 3: Hands

I love the theme for Day 3 of the February Photo-A-Day Challenge. Here's my photo:

Obviously, I chose to photograph myself holding hands with Nate, as its one of my favorite things to do! (Although, I did think about taking a picture of my finger because I burned it last weekend and now it has these really weird/annoying leathery-feeling patch on it, but it probably wouldn't show up in pictures...lucky you!). See, Nate and I spent a year of the year-and-a-half that we dated at the Word of Life Bible Institute, where there is a "No PC (personal contact)" rule for guys and girls. I'm not going to lie, it was extremely difficult to date him and spend so much time with him without being able to hug him, kiss him, or even hold his hand. I think that time made us appreciate every bit of the freedom that we have in marriage even more. Now, it just feels weird to be next to him and not hold his hand.
We have "Move Along" by the All-American Rejects on one of our mix CDs and one of my all-time favorite lines is "Your hands are mine to hold". I think that is the best possible caption for this picture and perfectly explains why I enjoyed today's theme so much!

My Bucket List, Cont.

A few additions to my Bucket List:

5. Ride a red double-decker bus
6. Visit London (and meet Harry Potter.....just kidding!...mostly)

Well, I guess thats it for now. I thought a couple of things that I've always wanted to do as we were laying in bed and talking the other night, but as I did not immediately write them down/blog about them, I forgot them. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be too young for this sort of memory loss....

P.S. On a completely unrelated note, I just started watching Glee and I LOVE it! I don't know how I waited so long before watching it! This show makes me miss being in chorus and our show ensemble, High Frequency. Man, those were fun times! I basically only want to watch Glee now, but for Nate's sake, we mix in some America's Funniest Home Videos and Man vs. Wild.

Day 2 and Already Slacking

It's February, already?! I can hardly believe that its 2012, let alone the second month of the year! Today is Day 2 of the February Photo-A-Day Challenge. Unfortunately, I forgot Day 1 so instead I'll post a picture that I found on the camera when uploading my picture from Day 2. Here's my "Day 1" photo:

This was the first day that we were able to wear "winter clothes" this winter. I was showing off my scarf and Nate was showing off his flannel. We love our winter weather!

The theme for Day 2 is "Words". Here's what I photographed:

Its a pin (Pinterest, of course) that I saw recently and loved. It's so true! I'm a sucker for a good love story and I love listening to others tell theirs. Our love story is hardly your typical story (We "took a break" twice while we were dating) but it is definitely the story with the best ending. Nate's Papa told us tonight that he has never been more sure of a marriage. I almost think its kinda funny because he didn't meet me until shortly before the wedding and we haven't been able to spend much time with him since then, so I wonder how he could say something when he hasn't spent much time with us. But I guess he just knows, the way we just knew, even though it seemed crazy to everyone on the outside looking in. I really do love our love story! 

I'm looking for Day 3 tomorrow!

Cheeeeeese!

Every time I look back through photo albums from when Nate and I are dating, I am filled with "Man, I wishes":
"Man, I wish my hair would stay that straight in Florida"
"Man, I wish we had snow here"
"Man, I wish I could fit in those jeans"
etc. etc.
But most of all, I really wish that I had that many pictures of these past two years. I used to carry my camera everywhere, but I haven't done that in a long time. I thinks its probably because 1. I don't like pictures of myself  nearly as much as when I was 30 lbs. lighter, 2. I spend 10 hours a day at a desk which isn't nearly as exciting as having picnics with Nate, and 3. If I try to keep a camera in my purse nowadays, it will probably end up broken.

When I saw Fat Mum Slim's February Photo-a-Day Challenge on Shelley's blog, I knew I must participate! What a great way to document everyday life instead of just our special occasions! Throughout the month, I will post my daily photos here so I can look back on them and be glad that I didn't let these days slip by undocumented. Everyone should join me for lots of fun!

Healthy Turkey Chili

Yep, another recipe post. Here's whats on the menu for tonight:
Healthy Turkey Chili!

(Photo from rufflesandtruffles.com)
This chili is sooo good! It's not like traditional chili (at least, not the chili that I'm used to) because it has black beans instead of various red beans, and turkey instead of hamburger, which makes it a lot healthier. It also only takes about 30 minutes to make instead of having to simmer for hours. Nate and I both really enjoy it. The turkey is very tasty and filling. Its perfect with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese on top! Here is the recipe on the original blogger's site and here is the site with the printable recipe. Enjoy!

Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms

Tonight we made Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms for dinner. This is one of our most favorite meals. It is quick, easy, extremely tasty, and also pretty healthy! If you leave out the sour cream, it would be low-carb, too. I highly suggest trying these mushrooms! Also, we like to make a double batch of the filling and then freeze the leftovers so that the next time we want to make them, we just have to defrost the filling, stuff the mushrooms, and warm them in the oven. Trust me, you want these for dinner tomorrow night! You can the recipe here and a printable version of the recipe here.

                                                             (Photo from tastykitchen.com)

Bucket List

I figure its about time I make my Bucket List (the list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket"). I don't want to have to make things up just to have a nice, lengthy list, so I'm going to start with what I've got and add to it as the thoughts come to me.
1. Go to Alaska (preferably on a cruise) and see the Northern Lights in person
2. Ride a tandem bike with Nate
3. Have (and use) one of those little white porcelain cow creamer dispensers
4. Going camping in a tent with Nate
Well, there it is for now! I should probably start saving now for that Alaska trip.

Free Download!

I have been playing with Picnik again! This time I wanted to make a print of a quote from the (most amazing) movie (ever), The Notebook. I was inspired when I saw this craft on a blog I discovered through Pinterest. It only took a few minutes to create and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I plan on framing it and hanging it somewhere in the living room. It is designed to be printed as an 8x10 photo. To download the print, just right-click on it and select "Save As...". You can then save it to your computer and print it at your own convenience. Enjoy!

Marriage Blessings

I just want to say that I am thankful for a great marriage and a great husband. I am so, so thankful that "working" at our marriage has never felt like working but just like loving each other insanely and deeply. Nate makes it so easy to love him and be thankful for him. I hope that I make it as easy for him to love me. Nate's friendship and love is a constant reminder of how I blessed I am and how much God loves me. Nate has truly loved me like Christ loves the church and he is everything a husband should/could possibly be. I couldn't think of a better way for God to teach us about Him than to bless us with marriage.

A Whole New Level of Picnik Skill

There's no denying that I heart Pinterest, but as its a very useful addiction tool, I'm not giving it up anytime soon. I saw a really cool idea for framing wedding vows there a few months ago shortly after joining Pinterest. Because  I was enamored with all of the other cool things I was pinning, I forgot about the vows. We've recently re-decorated our bedroom (which I hope to share here soon) and I've been looking for ideas for my gallery wall. Obviously, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. There I found the wedding vow pin and decided to try to make my own. I planned on trying to use Photoshop but I really don't have any experience with it. Luckily, one of my favorite bloggers, Thrifty Decor Chick, posted a tutorial about making printables on Picnik just a few days before I decided to try my own. Using her tutorial, I was able to make my very own copy of my wedding vows on Picnik!

I was surprised by how easy it was. I did have to type each line individually, instead of typing it as a whole paragraph, but it still only took about 30 minutes all together. Now that I know what I'm doing, I could probably make them in about 15-20 mins. I think it would make a great personalized wedding gift. Ours looks great hanging in our bedroom gallery wall!

You Sneaky Wife!!

My latest song obsession is "You" by Chris Young. Nate laughs at me and shakes his head every time it comes on because I immediately turn the radio up, sing along, and dance in my seat (and believe me, I'm no dancer!). I finally bought it last night and downloaded it to the computer after we heard it on our way home from Wal-Mart because I kept telling Nate that I was going to make him dance with me in the living room. Tonight on our way home from Wal-Mart (yeah, we go there a lot...whatcha gonna do about it?!), it came on again and I was SO excited. Once we got to the apartment, Nate opened Zune on the computer so he could rip a CD and asked, "Who's Chris Young?" when he saw the album cover in his collection. Being the sneaky wife that I am, I said, "Um, I don't know. Play it and we'll see what it is." The second it started, Nate looked up at me and I laughed my most evil laugh. I made him get up and dance all around the living room with me and we both laughed hysterically as we tripped over each other. I learned two important things tonight. One: we are both horrible dancers, and Two: that doesn't matter at all when you're dancing around the living room with your husband. I had SO much fun and I think I love Nate even more, if thats at all possible.

Quote of the Week

I thought I would die laughing when Nate turned and looked at me this week and exclaimed, "Wah! I've raised a bratty wife!". Hahaha! We were both in very dorky moods and I was picking on him about something. I'm so glad I married such a dork even if that means that I've become a "bratty wife"! Ha!