In the last 3 months we have lived in 3 different houses, in 3 different cities, in 2 states, and logged over 3,000 miles together on the road. Reese has gotten two teeth and lots of chub, Bailey and I have gotten moodier, and David got a job in Temecula, CA.
Things are still not all the way settled, we are living with my sister's family in Oceanside, but we are getting there, slowly. The girls LOVE it here with family always around and the Johnson's house is so big it feels like we have our own home since we've each got a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves. Except for David's commute, we'd be happy to just stay here in Oceanside forever!! I caught Bailey explaining to a stuffed animal that she, "is from Utah, its cold there!" Yeah, we all love being back home in the warm green winter!
Well here is our first ever attempt at a Christmas letter. The year started off slow and uneventful. Tricia spent most of the first half of the year planning her family’s reunion. The Weech Reunion came and went in June and it all seemed to be a success, Bailey sure loves to spend time with her cousins!
All the excitement (I call it chaos) began in August when Reese Lauren Layne joined our family. Big thanks to the Johnsons for coming and taking care of Bailey for us during all the hospital stuff! Bailey has enjoyed being a big sister so far. I think she will like it even more when Reese is big enough to actually follow her orders.
Reese’s first few weeks were easy and then we noticed she was not sleeping or eating well. After tons of trial an error we figured out she has acid reflux, a lactose allergy, and she had very persistent thrush. For weeks we were on four medications which kept our heads very dazed and confused, compounded by the lack of sleep, it was rough to say the least. After a month or so of the crazy Reese schedule she is down to only two daily medications. It all seems so easy after what we had been doing.
Now that Reese is four months old she is so alert and her favorite person is definitely Bailey, followed closely by her Dad. I think Reese sees Bailey’s entertainment value already. Around here Reese is usually called Reesie, but she’s also been “Reesie chubby cheeks,” and “Reesie Piecie.” Grandma Meri summed up Reese’s personality perfectly in one word, she’s “nosey.” When awake she has to know exactly what’s going on with everyone and every noise she hears. Her unique characteristic that stands out to us is her love of talking. Instead of crying in the middle of the night she wakes up chatting with herself extremely loudly. Once you put her binky back in she turns her head and starts snoring, so strange! As Aunt Tammie found out from her day of babysitting, all Reese wants is someone to chat with her. Reese really can talk all day long.
As for Bailey, she is still the princess of this house. She can tell you all about anything Disney, but especially the princesses. The one new thing Bailey has taken interest in this year is cooking. Whenever she sees either of us cooking she comes running yelling, “Wait for me!” She has labeled herself the “Tasting Chef,” and if you haven’t heard she discovered mayonnaise is a tasty ingredient. Check out the video below on our blog for insight into this discovery, and to both laugh and be grossed out. We are very pleased at how loving she is as a big sister and how much laughter she continues to bring into our home.
In October we took a family trip to Disneyland and to see family in CA. Only a few weeks later David was laid off from his job. So far the search has been unsuccessful with many companies putting building projects and hiring on hold because of the national economy. So in December we went for a week as a family to LA for David to work for his Dad’s construction company. While there, Tricia and Bailey got to enjoy Christmastime at Disneyland. We were sad to leave the warm sunny weather, and seeing so much family, to come home to freezing temperatures. Since that trip we’ve decided to look a little harder for Southern California jobs.
2009 has potential to bring tons of change in our lives due to the job search. We hope to stay in Utah so we will be able to keep enjoying our home and ward. However, it looks like at the start of 2009 we might be headed to LA for a little while to work again for David’s Dad. In the coming year you can keep up with our happenings at our family blog: http://utahlaynes.blogspot.com/
When Bailey and I make things in the kitchen she has declared that I am the "Cooking Chef" and she is the "Tasting Chef." I turned around one day to see the "Tasting Chef" doing her job to my disgust. It was just funny enough to overcome me being grossed out long enough to get it on film. She would have continued on much longer but I demanded we throw it away as soon as the video stopped.
So not all of Bailey's renditions of "You are my Sunshine" are as cute as the previously posted one. I wasn't present for this wonderful sister bonding moment. Thank goodness it was caught on camera!
So, for bedtime lately I started singing "You are my Sunshine" to Bailey. I used to do it a lot when she was a baby and then forgot about it until we came across the song on our Ipod recently. In just a few days she picked up on the song and started to sing it to Reese when Reese got upset. Very cute! Bailey would come running from across the room, jump right in front of Reese's face, scare Reese into crying more and then sing a sweet song to her. Surprisingly it seemed to help Reese, she usually stops and smiles at Bailey and then when the song ends she resumes her crying.
Alright, thanks to Shauna I'm giving this blogging stuff a whirl. I figure it may be the only way I can succeed at keeping a journal because putting pen to paper just doesn't work for me. So, if it turns out to be the most boring thing that no one else wants to look at, at least I'm keeping a journal.
