Birthday Videos

I took a video of Leyla eating her cake! Here it is:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBovwkwBHUQc&h=f13d8

And this video is the aftermath of the party, Leyla playing with her new toys, the pinata destroyed, the confetti everywhere...
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DytVLLDhvhXU&h=f13d8

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEYLA!!

Leyla is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Her party was so much fun! We spent all night Friday getting ready and decorating. I made the cake and all the cupcakes and got most of them iced. Saturday morning we went over early to clean and decorate some more. I also finished decorating the cupcakes. They were so cute :)

 We decorated her high chair! It was so pretty! We put jellies on the windows behind too, that said "Happy Birthday" and "Princess."

 Leyla's cake! I made the flower in the center, and it says "Happy" on top and "Birthday" on the bottom. I put little "pearls" around the top and bottom, like a border, and little yellow stars/flower dots on the sides of the cake. We put the candle in the center of the flower.

Her cupcakes turned out so pretty too! There were more too, that all had the same flower design on them. I ran out of icing towards the end, so some of them ended up looking a little odd...

When everyone arrived, we served little finger foods and drinks, and then we did the pinata. It was a big, beautiful flower! We had lots of fun - the kids hit it a lot harder than I expected! We let the little kids hit it without a blindfold but when we realized they were stronger, we started blindfolding them.

After the pinata, we sang "Happy Birthday" and passed out the cupcakes! Leyla was in awe with everyone singing, she didn't even notice her cake! She was staring at everyone with her mouth wide open! Finally I got her to look at the cake, and the first thing she did was grab for the candle - so I blew it out as fast as I could. Then she started delicately picking off the icing. It was so cute, she took off the little yellow stars from around the sides - but she didn't actually eat any cake until I cut it and gave it to her. She never "smashed" it - she was very dainty and polite, ha :)

She had so much fun and got lots of presents and came home, had a bottle, and crashed :) She was so tired! I still can't believe she's a year old, but I had so much fun planning the party and celebrating with everyone and watching her dance, and laugh, and enjoy it all. Happy Birthday Leyla!

New Video - Leyla Dancing

Leyla has really started dancing lately. See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxWM55WMVC0

One more day!

Today is October 28th which means tomorrow is October 29th which means LEYLA'S TURNING 1!!!!!!!

I am sooooo excited, if you can't tell. I can't wait to get started making the cake. Tomorrow I will make her little cake, about 50 cupcakes or maybe more and I'm going to go over to Amanda's house to decorate! The party is on Saturday. I cannot wait to see her face light up - she loves balloons, bubbles, and she's going to love the pinata - we have tiny little balls that will be inside it and will fall out and bounce everywhere when it busts! she will love it! and I can't wait to see what she does with her cake, if she loves it and dives in, or if she makes a face cause it's too sweet, or if she just stares at it amazed...it will be the first ever real taste of sugar for her!

Leyla LOVES her Markers!

Hey cutie :) She painted the floor, her leg, and her shirt - I painted her nose :) Oh, and she painted her tongue too! Then I gave her a bath which she thoroughly enjoyed - BUT it didn't come out all the way!! So we'll have to bathe her a couple more times...good thing it was washable markers!

A Mountain Paradise

I was finally able to go to the mountains with Marcos and see his/our land!! We stayed from Saturday to Tuesday morning. I really had fun - kind of like camping, which I've actually never been camping...I used the bathroom in the woods for the very fast time...bathed in a river for the very first time...ate a chicken that had been killed and plucked and cleaned and fried right there for the first time...it was an experience. ;)

The land was a pain to get to, but worth it! We had to park the car and walk on a tiny little path through rivers and pasture and up hills and cliffs and back down and back up...and these people do it EVERY DAY to get to work. Can you imagine?? I'm actually jealous of how in-shape they must be! Anyway, I clocked it on the way back from Marcos's dad's house and it took us 45 minutes walking. I think it takes about 2 hours though normally to get to his land, maybe 1 1/2. I got to see our bulls, the house Marcos built, his coffee, the nurseries with the little trees growing, and the already planted mahogany, cocoa, and coffee! His land is a huge hike and most of it was on the side of a cliff - I can't believe I made it up there! I was about to die. Somehow I made it there and back though. Here are some pictures!

Almost a year old...

Internet has been so off and on that I had to post I think 5 posts all at once!

I am getting so excited because Leyla's birthday is almost here!!! We went and bought all the party supplies - a pinata, hats, party favors, balloons, everything! I made the invitations and am in the process of handing them out :) I just can't wait to make her cake!

Also, since we haven't had internet, I wasn't able to update that she started walking! October 13th, at 11 and a half months!! She has been walking really since 10 months, but she was just afraid to let go of the wall. Or she would walk, but for 5-10 minutes at a time and then not walk again by herself for days. When she finally lost all that fear, she went crazy and wouldn't stop walking all over the house! It was SO cute. And she laughed every time she fell! It was precious. She is precious. But since she really already knew how, she never took those first shaky steps like most babies. She just let go and went for it and is walking like a pro!

Oklahoma Pictures

First time seeing her grandmother since June! She ran straight to her and gave her all kinds of hugs :) 

 At the OC campus with grandma and great-grandma. Leyla was exhausted!

 Opening her first (early) birthday present from her grandma!

 So glad to have seen Brenda!

 My best friend Danielle took professional pictures of her in the forum at OC! They turned out beautifully!

Playing with Aunt Rachel's bunny rabbit!

Newest Videos

Here are the links to the latest videos of Leyla! There's quite a few since I haven't been able to update regularly!

Leyla walking in the airport with my mom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNtO_hbFVcE

Leyla "organizing:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heEilYNsHEY

Leyla pitching a fit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxZ6kGnWOlE

Playing with a ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzycAGkzPmQ

At the fair in Catacamas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgICZixjhiM

Walking by herself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaZXnnUWotA

Wedding Pics

Leyla was just precious in her flower girl dress! 

 I love this picture of Marcos and Leyla :)

 Here she is coming down the aisle! She did such a good job!

 Fide and Brad :) She looked beautiful!

Internet in Honduras is a pain...

We finally have internet again. This time the modem broke. So, we had to go to Juticalpa and buy a new one. The only good thing is that it's cheaper now. and faster. doesn't make much sense...but, i'll take it! Ours was a year old so I guess they have a newer model now that's faster, and since the competition is cheaper, I guess they lowered their prices. So now it's $15 a month instead of $30! yay. Hopefully we won't have any more problems now.

Update...

I haven't been able to get online in awhile because our internet got shut off again and then we went to the US and didn't have internet access for a week!

It was great to be in Oklahoma and see my mom, grandmother, and sister, and all our old friends from church, my teachers at OC and my best friends there. Plus, I ate at Cracker Barrel, McDonald's, Schlotzsky's, McAlister's, Charley's and Popeye's. I ate bacon every morning for breakfast, biscuits at Cracker Barrel, one sausage biscuit, a huge loaded baked potato, and 2 sandwiches :) YUMMMMY

Fide's wedding was beautiful - it was fun to be in a wedding for the first time every! Well, besides my own wedding... Her dress was gorgeous, the flowers were gorgeous, the cakes were gorgeous, and tasted amazing, and Leyla was absolutely precious in her flower girl dress and her stockings and her little white dress-up shoes, riding down the aisle in a wagon!! Everyone loved it :) I was so proud of her, she did so well - she rode down the aisle perfectly and didn't cry or whine or anything!

We had a good flight up and down, now mishaps, and we made it right on time for everything. Leyla slept most of the flights and buses, so that was great. Now I'm back home and have almost 4 weeks left of classes and then I'm done! And hopefully will be back in TN for Christmas, and maybe even by the end of November!!!

I will post pictures of everything soon, right now I need to prepare classes for tomorrow :)