Brightly Living

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

the Farm

Family pumpkin patch and corn maze outing will always be my favorite day here in washington I think. We have a beautiful drive down into snohomish valley and then we can take our pick out of a number of farms to visit.

We ended up at the one we always go to. tradition, I guess.



We played, made our way through the cornmaze, and picked out our pumpkins.





































a tough decision between two pumpkins



These rows of flowers were beautiful!


even though there were quite a few squabbles and a screaming tantrum, a long drive to one farm and then turning around to another, kids that did not want to take a family picture, and disappointment over pumpkin allowances, there was too much beauty and too many small happy moments not to call it a perfect, lovely day.

Monday, October 6, 2014

conference weekend

I had a wonderful weekend watching general conference. It seems like each conference I get to listen to more and more of the sessions. I guess that is a good sign that our kids are getting older. Legos, blocks, and snacks kept L and P occupied enough that I got to enjoy at least  half of the talks. I was nourished by what I heard and I am excited to read the talks again.

We pulled off perfectly matching pajamas! (Thank you, Target little boys section and an adult size captain america shirt for eric from the big boys section)





We were quite the sight taking a walk along the power line trail. Six people with the same clothes. Except for Eric who changed out of his shorts.






happy conference weekend!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

these days

"Look at my castle beautiful!"



She makes a lot of different kinds of "castle beautifuls".


Eric, Kyler, and Kacin finally finished their summer puzzle. One piece was lost along the way. We always lose just one piece.


Perry went through a stage in which he put his cars to sleep all over the house.


He parked them and covered them with blankets. Once he even sang lullaby to them.


This is his favorite car as of late. He has slept with the white car in his bed with him the last two nights.


The white car needed a nap.


I have learned not to clean up blankets strewn throughout my house because I should never wake a sleeping car.


Layla spends a lot of time creating art.


One sunday night game night Kacin convinced us to play the game of Life. I was rich.


A couple days ago Perry's therapist/behavior coach was at our house to help with a play date. Perry had a meltdown at the start. And it lasted all but 10 min of the hour with the little friend here. We tried all sorts of things. Then the therapist said she didn't know what to do, and she was the professional. I don't know if I should be comforted by that (see, it's not just me!) or worried. We both know the best solution is a bigger house with a safe space/room for him to calm down. Insurance doesn't cover bigger houses. We are thinking on other solutions.

In the meantime, I get a break when Handy Manny or Curious George are on.


Layla plays library.



One day two of my sisters posted pictures of their children sleeping in funny ways. So we sent them this one so we didn't feel left out.



When therapy was canceled one afternoon, I felt like dancing. An unexpected free afternoon! We went to the zoo. Layla and Perry loved seeing all of the animals, and taking pictures with the fake ones, too.




Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Layla's Name



Layla's birth parents gave her the name Layla. We couldn't imagine calling her by anything else. Eric asked her birth parents once if they named her after the Eric Clapton song. :) They didn't. They just liked it. Fair enough.


Her middle name had been Atlas. Which made me think she was destined to be a world traveler one day.


We talked as a family, though, and decided we would love to give her the middle name of my sweet grandma Allen, Belle. So we could call her L Belle. Layla's great-grandma Allen was a nurturer. She was sweet and organized. She loved shopping, but she was very frugal. She always loved kids. I remember her always being calm, soft spoken, and put together.




Layla's little personality already exhibits a similar disposition as a sweet nurturer.



At two years old, she became Layla Belle Allred.