It's a long one

It's been a while since my last post, but the time has gone by in a flash. Jonathan did make it home for R&R. Less than two days later, we flew to California to visit his family. We had a blast! We were able to see pretty much all of the family including his sister and her family and his brother who drove all the way down from Oregon in the middle of the night to meet us in CA. We all stayed with Jon's mom and her husband, Archie, so we had a full house. We had a great time all settling around the dinner table in the evenings and playing games at night.

We spent a couple of days at Grandpa and Grandma Detty's house. They were so excited to see us. They never thought they'd get to see and hold their great-granddaughter. Hugs, kisses and tears all around.
Is it wrong for a little girl to be her great-grandpa's mini-me?

Layla had two costumes on Halloween. We brought her pumpkin costume and Gramma bought her a puppy costume. We ended up taking her around the neighborhood, and she got her first trick-or-treat candy...Pixy Stix.

We had the best time with Daddy at home. Layla quickly took to him and always had smiles for Daddy. He got to experience a couple of her "firsts" while he was home. She started sitting up on her own and holding her own bottle. He also thinks her hair got longer. It's amazing how much she learns and develops in two weeks.

Here she is demonstrating her new skills...
Jonathan and I had a grown-up night out while Summer and Brody babysitted. We went to Texas de Brazil, which was awesome. If you haven't been there...go. Who doesn't like all-you-can-eat delicious meat? We had family portraits taken, and they turned out great. I'm so excited to have our first pictures.

We did have some quality time, because...Layla decided to start sleeping 12 hours at night with no fuss or waking. She also easily went down for naps in less than ideal situations. I think God blessed our time together by giving us a happy, well rested baby. It truly was a miracle. Oh, and we took Layla to the Dr. to get her second flu shot on her 7 month birthday. She gained two pounds last month and now weighs in at a whopping 15 lb 7 oz!

Jonathan has already headed back to Iraq, and we are again adjusting into our daily routine. I'm also on a diet, since we used the last two weeks to hit every restaurant we could think of. Wish me luck. Jonathan bought me a jogging stroller to give me motivation. Layla loves to get outdoors.

That's all the news for now. Sorry about the picture overload. Til later...