Memorable November

I know I start out every post about how busy we have been that month, but man, November takes the cake!! Thinking about all we've done this past month, and I can't believe we fit it all into a month! Especially when we spent so much time sick at home, in bed!

We spent a lot of time out walking with friends

Remember, remember the 5th of November. Gunpowder, treason, and plot.

I knew what the 5th of November was, thanks to the movie 'V for Vendetta' but I had no idea how big of a deal it is here in England! We celebrated our first 5th by going to a big bonfire held in a local nature reserve. There was a big fireworks display & everything. It was fun & brilliant & I can't wait to do it again next year!

Layla & I have also developed a new tradition of going to the Galaxy Club for lunch once a week to have burgers, fries, and read comic books together! We started reading Super Girl New 52! issues together, but then I found a whole book of all the first issues & we started reading that together. Layla LOVES it!! We have so much fun. We've also been reading some Batman lately. Together we sit in the booth, eating & reading, for hours after she gets out of school.

Layla also had a big milestone this month; first ever ear infection! The doctor was surprised it took this long for her to get one. She was in a lot of pain the first day, so I took her in, but once she got some medicine & ear drops, she was fine. Luckily it wasn't a bacterial infection, it was just a bit of inflammation due to drainage from her being sick for the past month.

Layla has been having a great time at her school. She plays, she colours, she sings, she learns. I'm so impressed with her vocabulary. She has learned so much these past few months!

Yes, her 10 is backwards & I think it's so cute.

Funny things Layla has said & done:

• Layla is on the potty, I'm in the next room "Mommy, thank you for letting me eat chocolate!"
• We were up late watching movies one weekend & when the last movie was over Layla asked, "What are we going to watch next?" I replied, "The back of our eyelids." She said, "I don't like that movie."
• "I was having a moustache last night, just like Grandpa Pete's"
• "Mama, I have a good idea!" "What's that?" "Rocket ship!"
• "I'm cold." "Put on a sweatshirt."

• While she was sick & had her ear filled with ear drops, she couldn't hear anything. We were getting comfortable for sleep & Layla sits up suddenly, "I feel better!" Then looks surprised & points at her healthy ear & says, "Hey! I can still talk with this ear!"
• Floral prints & Batman socks.

Layla is still running just as much as ever. We went to the track one chilly day to run a few laps together. She's a natural =)

This particular day, we got to the track to see a group of people running around one person carrying a flag. Each time they finished a lap the flag would be passed on to a different person. The group constantly changed, but there was always someone running. I asked one of the resting runners what they were doing this for & she pointed out a list they had on a poster. It was a list of all RAF Lakenheath airmen who have died. The runners were doing a 24 hour memorial run for these people. It was very touching, and they even got Layla & I in on it! Layla thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Layla also had a fun time one weekend with her friend, Isa. While Isa's parents went out of town she stayed with us! They fight like siblings, but they play like best friends! We kept busy, and in spite of the girls both being sick, we had a lot of fun!

Layla decided to make a duck costume. Wings, beak, and of course, tail feathers.

We had a pretty fun Thanksgiving. Since Jer was deployed for this holiday, we didn't want to do anything too big. I love cooking Thanksgiving food, so I made a decent meal, with the help of Layla, & we had a few friends over to help us eat it.

My little archery expert, working on her form!

An article came out about a local archery club & as soon as I read it, I knew that Layla & I had to join! They don't offer lessons, but the guy that runs the club was very helpful in teaching Layla & I what to do & loaning us some equipment. Layla is still quite little to be doing this on her own, but she's very enthusiastic about learning & enjoys going out to the club to shoot, collect arrows, or play with her toy bow & arrow. I just ordered myself a bow & arrow set, but I'll probably wait until her birthday to get Layla her own set.

Layla & her friend, Xander, trying to steal the club's golf cart!

At the end of the month we took a short trip down to Dover to see the sights. Oh, Dover Castle is just beautiful. We toured underground tunnels that were used by the British during World War II. They still had a lot of the original equipment down there. I wish we were allowed to take pictures in the tunnels, it was so cool down there!!

Roman church, Saxon lighthouse

My little adventure traveller. She's only 4, but she gets to go to the coolest places!

The great tower of the castle. Layla & I climbed all the way to the top! She was such a trooper with those steep, winding steps! The view from the top was just brilliant. It was a cold, windy day, but man it was beautiful!!

We were able to see France in the distance. Layla was pretty excited to see France since she's been learning French. She's been begging me to take her there. Hopefully we'll be able to make that happen in 2013! We're looking for a low-key Christmas at home with Jeremy.

Happy Holidays!!

ROCKTOBER!

What a busy month we've had!!

I don't even know where to begin with this post.
At the beginning of the month we learned that Jer would be deploying at any time & we have been worried about how Layla would handle it since this is the first deployment she's old enough to actually be aware of what is happening. It's been rough on her, but we've kept busy with school & friends, and even had a few days of being ill & staying home in bed watching movies.

We've gone into the nearby city centres for shopping and browsing at the outdoor markets. The weather has changed incredibly quick this month. We were having a bit of a late summer when it started, but by now we've had torrential rain, strong winds, hail, and even a bit of snow.

Braving the wind & rain to run some errands

Running through the Autumn breeze

The beginning of the month was a bit slow. We had a lot of just the same old stuff, kept to our schedule & trying to spend as much time with Jeremy as possible before he left. After we said good bye to him we've kept very busy, going to the library, movies, bowling nights, shopping trips, running around the track, and so on. It's all been very tiring & we've also had many low key days just playing quietly at home, reading books, and watching movies together.

Layla has become a bit more clumsy this month. More so that usual I think. One night we were just arriving home from a friend's game night, Layla fell flat on her face in the driveway. She scraped herself up in a few places, and after she was clean & bandaged up she would not stop crying until I made a sign that read 'no more booboos!' Once the sign was done she felt much better.

We also spent much of October cheering on my hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants while they made a run for a 2nd World Series Championship title in 3 years. I'm excited to tell you, that we went all the way!! Giants are the Champions yet again! One morning Layla woke up, there was no "good morning" no "let's go watch cartoons" no "can I have breakfast?" I woke her up, she rolled over & asked "did the Giants win last night?" I was one proud mama! She was one excited girl when I told her that they did win!

October is the month of Halloween, one of my favourite holidays, & we spent the entire month wrapped up in Halloween themed goodness. We made crafts, read books, went to parties, and decorated our house with very spooky decorations. Layla had two costumes this year, since there were many events on base to attend, she wore them often!

Na na na na na na na na BATGIRL!

Candy corn witch with Dorothy

October also hosts one week devoted to Fire Prevention Awareness. During that week the Fire Squadron on base held many fun events & gave away some fun goodies. Layla really enjoyed meeting Sparky the Fire dog. She loved meeting him, but got a little nervous getting close to him.

Layla also had the chance to carve a pumpkin at school! She drew on a happy Jack-o-lantern face & got to bring it home with her. She was quite proud of it!

The weather has been iffy, but we've had a few pleasant days to go walk out in the nature reserve with friends. Layla enjoys running around & showing off how fast she can go.

Funny things Layla has said:
(I don't have very many this month! It's not that she hasn't said much funny stuff, I just haven't been vigilant about writing funny things down!)

• "France is where you be French!"
• "Not again! I have to go potty again! I keep on drinkin' things!"
• Layla: "Knock knock" Me: "Who's there?" L: "Layla!" M: "Layla who?" L: "LAYLA CHICKEN NUGGET!!"

The hero Gotham deserves.

A September to Remember

My baby started nursery school this month! I still can't believe that my baby is old enough to be in school, but she's already learned & grown so much in the past month. The first two weeks she would cry when I'd arrive to pick her up. She just loves all of her new little friends & her teachers (she has 3 great teachers!) but now when I pick her up she runs to me yelling "MOMMY!!!" & is so excited to tell me about her day. Not so surprisingly, she's also had to miss a few days of school due to illness. It's the first time in her life she's been surrounded by that many children for long periods of time & she's picking up all the germs.

Obligatory first day shot!

Walking in to the school.

She shares a hook with her new friend Moira.

I took a photography class this month, just something to better understand how my camera works, as well as how to take better pictures. Layla has been a wonderful & patient model!

Thinking.

Silly kid.

Shopping in Cambridge.

So stylish.

My beautiful girl.

Layla with her friend, Isabella.

Out on a farm.

Layla is loves painting & loves to create beautiful things. She painted a lovely rainbow for me one day after school. A wonderful, quiet moment. I wonder what she's thinking of when she is painting.

Instead of bringing Layla to the track or gym in her stroller, then letting her run around once my work out is done she now brings either her bike of scooter to go around with me. When she wants to be, she can be quite fast & get a lot of laps in. She still prefers to run around so she does get a few laps of running in still.

Layla is quite the stylish little lady now that she's grown up & started school. She has been wearing some really cute outfits & loves going out on shopping trips to Next or H & M.

Looking fab & too cool for school.

Ready for French lessons!

Shopping in Cambridge.

Funny Things Layla Has Said or Done:

• "I always fart in your bed."
• "Mommy, please make sure it's warm outside."
• There was a spider in the bathroom while she was taking a bath "Mommy! Kill it! It's trying to see me naked!"
• Layla got sick at school one day & after I picked her up she said "Mommy, I think my tummy is sad."
• Going through her French flash cards we get to seagull & Layla says "Those are from the beach. They're mean birds. They like hot dogs."

• "My elbows make me woggly." Said during yoga.
• "I love soda. Is there soda in California?" "Yes." "There's soda in England too!"

Every so often Layla asks about California (she pronounces it "Canufornuh") & wants to move back to our house in Monterey or go to Grandma Bird's to play with her toys. So the other day she asks about it & Jer asks if she wants to see Grandma Bird's house. He pulled it up for her on google maps street view. She was so excited to see the house & all of their cars sitting out front!

This picture is just too cute not to share. I painted her nails & it was literally the first time she sat still all day. I guess sitting to let them dry was just long enough to get her to pass out cold. It was so hard to wake her for dinner!

Thank you for checking out the blog! It's obviously been a busy month for us since this was the only blog post. Hopefully October will also be full, busy, and exciting for us! We're really looking forward to Halloween & Jer's birthday.

Au revoir!