This past Sunday, Oct. 5th, Layla Belle was baptized. Her godparents are Ryan's brother Derek and my sister Abby. Layla continues to grow quickly...she is 5 weeks old and I can't believe how much she has grown! It is hard to remember the time that she was not here! :) My maternity leave is about half over...I'll be headed back to the classroom on Oct. 28th. I am having mixed feelings about heading back, but I am going to enjoy every moment with her until then. :) Ryan continues to be very busy at work, but has managed to squeeze some hunting in...he is actually spending the week duck hunting in North Dakota. He's gone until Saturday, but we miss him already! He was very much looking forward to this trip and I hope that he has fun and of course comes home with lots of ducks.

Our little lady is two weeks old! It is unbelievable that she has already been with us for 2 weeks! We are continually amazed by her cuteness and the blessing that she is in our lives. The picture shows Layla's favorite sleeping position, but she has found her lungs too! She is now weighing 5 pounds and 9.6 ounces. She is 18 inches long. We love seeing her grow!

Sorry for the delay on pictures...so many people have been asking to see more of Layla Belle. :) We have been a little busy! We are enjoying every moment with our little lady. She is doing well and will head to the doctor on Tuesday for her two week appointment. We are hoping that she has put on some weight. :)

As for Ryan and I, we are doing well. I am enjoying spending time with the little lady and Ryan continues to stay busy at work. Bow hunting started today, so Ryan has been out in the rain twice today hoping to get a deer.

Layla Belle was born at 12:30 pm today, 4 pounds and 14 ounces of joy. Mom and baby are doing great and we're all enjoying the view from our room. What a day of joy!

Last weekend, we went camping at LuWiSoMo for family day weekend. We had a great time! The weather was wonderful (despite an afternoon shower) and the company enjoyable (we love you Rick, Kathy, and Dan). Who would have thought that at 8 months prego, I would even attempt to camp! :) I did sleep in the RV with Rick and Kathy, but that's still considered camping, right?

A few weekends ago, Ryan and I had a chance to attend Packer Family Night at Lambeau Field. It was great to see the team play and to get a sneak peek at the upcoming football season. We managed to get 10th row tickets with a great view! We enjoyed our first family trip to Lambeau.

Before and after photos of the nursery for our baby girl, scheduled to enter the family in September. Some window treatments, and rocking chair, and I think we'll be set.

We just returned from our week long vacation to Minocqua. Our first full week vacation in 5 years! We spent the week relaxing, fishing, reading, and playing golf. I became very good at riding along in a golf cart :). We did play some mini-golf and I would like a rematch...Ryan beat me by one stroke! We were joined for the second weekend by Ryan's cousin and some good friends from Appleton. They got some skiing and tubing in as well...I had fun watching, but I sure wanted to join in. It was a great week! It was very hard to come back home.

Long awaited belly picture..31 weeks and counting...feeling great!

Happy Anniversary Ryan! Can you believe that it has been 5 years?! I love you!

4th of July camping trip to the Nicolet National Forrest....some time spent in the woods, some time spent at the beach, all time spent relaxing and enjoying life.

Brewers game up in the Twin Cities (everyone else seemed to think it was a Twins game) with Matt and Abby. Great times.... First 18 batters were outs and the game ended in 2 hours (hardly even enough time to eat a dog and drink a beer).

About a year ago, there was a great video of Tiger Woods traveling around the internet with the beauty of his swing set to classical music. Well, here's my version...pretty ugly, eh?

23 Weeks and counting

Grandma Kathy (aka "Rocky Balboa") and Grandpa Rick (aka "Easy Rider") during and after the Soulburner 5K run.

Nearing 60 and still kickin'....pretty impressive.

20 weeks and counting.

Thumbs up....it's a GIRL!

Flexible....

cuddly...

and by the looks of her ears....

she takes after her uncle Derek!

Sarah and "Little Jones," at 18 1/2 weeks. From what we're told, our baby is about the size of a bell pepper, which explains the baby bump. Ultrasound coming in a week, so check back then.

It's fishing season....if only they weren't toxic.