Flash Back Friday! #3

My 3rd Flash Back Friday is going to be my crazy baby shower I had a year ago on January 26th. This past Monday marked the anniversary of that day. When I say crazy, I mean crazy. I had invited too many people. I didn't think every one would show up but I was wrong. I could probably name who was not there.

This is what it looked like-crowded.

There were not enough seats and it was standing room only. It was nuts.

I was totally embarrassed. I felt so bad because I could not visit with anyone really and my poor sister was embarrassed because her house was not accommodating to that many people. If we would have know how many would have shown up, we would have had it at a church. I guess that is why you R.S.V.P, right? Well I didn't even put that on the invitation so that was my fault totally. And I should have had two or three different showers but NO, I wanted to get it done in one. But now I wish I would have done it differently.

People were leaving because there was no room, which made me feel even worse because I didn't want anyone to feel that way but I totally understood. When people would tell me later they were sorry they didn't make it, I always told them I was glad they didn't because that meant one less person I had to feel bad for.

Notice that there were people down the hall. People were everywhere.

This is a picture of when half of the people were showing up. In my lap, I am holding cute little Mary. She is my friend, Ann's little girl. So cute! Ann was such a help that day. She was helping my sister get things out of the way so that they could make room for people.

This was what the seating arrangement looked like. Pathetic!

It took me forever to open all the gifts. I felt bad because I didn't even read cards or we would have been there all day.

If you click on the picture, you can see my friend Amy Reed looking at me because I was opening her gift. and if you notice, it is the sweater that Ayla is wearing in our family photos that are on my side bar.

People tell me they had a good time though. This is a picture of my cousin Harriett and our family friend Krissy. Krissy is now dating my cousin Levi. Who knows? She might become part of the family.

All I can say is that I am thankful people stuck around because I probably would have been one of those who had left to give someone my seat.

Here is a picture of me crying because this was the present I had been looking forward to. My Grandma had made Ayla her blessing gown. I was crying for two reasons. One, it was beautiful and, two, she was on of the ones who had left because there was no room so I didn't even open it in front of her. :(

Isn't her blessing gown just beautiful?

This picture is for you, Monica, because you had made a comment about me doing an ATG Flash Back week. Well, here is a real ATG Flash Back from my shower a year ago.

L to R Lisa, Medi, Leli and Fetnetia. All these wonderful women worked with me at the Airport, when I worked there.

Medi and me.

Here is a picture of my sister wondering how all those people fit in her home. Yikes!

After the party and when things calmed down, our friend Tonya and a few others stuck around to actually visit. We all couldn't believe how many people showed up. I could not help but laugh because I couldn't even comprehend how many people were there.

I felt bad about it for months and I guess I still feel bad about it. It was not the shower I had imagined. It was too overwhelming. I didn't even get to see everyone that was there. It was so impersonal. If I could do it again, I would either have it at a church so that I could see everyone or have different showers. I recommend people do the R.S.V.P. thing and not try and get everything done in one shot. I know it would have been wearing having a few showers but I wish I would have. I didn't because I had already had one shower with my old ward and that one was big too. I didn't want to have 3 more showers but I should have. I would have enjoyed it better. I guess you live and learn. Well I have we are not having Ayla's 1st Birthday party in our small apartment. We are having it at the church.

Playing Hair Salon.

My mother was complaining the last few months about her hair and how she wanted it to be dyed and cut. So I told her that I would do it. She's okay with me dying it because I have done it in the past but she was scared about the cutting. So I told her I would call my friend Melissa (who does hair for a living) and have her teach me how to cut her hair. She was all for that. So that is what this post is about. 

Two weeks ago from today, I dyed my mother's hair.

This is the before picture from the back. Notice all the dark roots? Yeah, it had been a while since she had her hair done and it was time.

The front view before dying it.

My poor mother had bought this hair dye at least 3 months ago. 

I made a smock out of a trash bag and I was ready to go.

I dyed her hair in their basement because I did not want the fumes around Ayla.

It took me about 30 minutes for me to apply the dye and then she had to let it sit for another 30 minutes. I then rinsed and put condition in her hair and made her keep that in for an additional 5 minutes and then I rinsed her hair again. Totally playing hair salon.

This is the after picture from the back, After I had dyed it. Doesn't it look better?

And of course the front view of after.

That following Tuesday, I had my friend Melissa come over to show me how to cut my mom's hair and to let me do it. 

So here is the back before I cut it.

And here is the front view before I cut it. Look at how long those bangs are. Crazy.

Me trying to figure out where I was supposed to cut. 

It was kind of hard but I started to get the hang of it.

In the action of cutting. Yikes!

I had cut my mom's whole head to the length she wanted it, with Melissa coaching me the whole way. But when it came to blending the hair together, lets just say I was not ready to do that part. Melissa said she didn't expect me to be able to do that my first time and that she didn't even blend the hair on her first hair cut. So she told me that I could learn it the next time I cut my mom's hair and that cutting the length is hard enough for your first time. 

So here she is blending the hair for me.

 I think I can tackle that next time though. I was already trying to remember how I had cut her length. There is actually a lot to cutting it the same length because you have to part the hair a certain way and cut the length, then use the cut as a guide line to get all the hair the same length. Pretty interesting.

After that, my mother went and blow dried her hair for the after pictures.

So here is the back. I cut off about 4 to 5 inches of hair.

And here is the final product. My mom can see again. Yay!

I think it turned out really well and just how my mom likes her hair to look. 

It was fun playing hair salon and I think it was fun to try to develop a new talent. And I had a happy mother at the end of the experience. I think this new talent will help me in the future with cutting my kids' hair. I don't plan on doing it on other people that much though. I will stick to my talent and that is making and decorating cakes.

Thanks Melissa for sharing your talent with me and blending my mom's hair for me. That was definitely the hardest part of the whole process. 

Lion House!

On Saturday, Ayla and I went to the Lion House for lunch with some of my old co-workers. Yes, I said the Lion House, the place that I love for their rolls. This is where Kurt and I had our wedding luncheon. 

The street view of the Lion House. 

Isn't it such a cute place?

I had just gotten done having breakfast with my Dad, right before we met everyone there. So all I got was a yummy piece of Apple pie and of course one of their yummy rolls.

And now I will show the company that I had the privilege to be with.

This is Collette and her sister.

Jennifer and me.

Jennifer's daughter, Megan and Ayla. 

Ayla had Megan's scarf on. Too cute!

Megan, Me, Hillary and Jennifer. Hillary is Jennifer's other daughter.

If you look in the background, you can kind of see how cute of a place it is to eat at. It is very comfy like a home which it should be. It used to be the prophet Brigham Young's home.

This is Susie and me.

And this is Amy with Ayla.

Too bad Ayla didn't have her eyes open.

Ayla, by one of the windows.

I took Ayla in the other room to take a few pictures. I thought the room was so cute and cosy.

She looks so adorable. It is like she is my little model.

She makes the fire place look huge but it is one of the smallest fire places I have ever seen. 

I love the mantel on it. Beautiful!

Ayla was so worn out from Saturday's morning events that, when I brought her home, she was out. I laid her on the couch and she wouldn't move. Kurt and I had a good laugh. She makes us so happy. It is the little things that make us happy in life.

Below are some pictures that my friend Julie took while we were there. She was another one of us that had joined us for lunch but doesn't want to be on anyone's blog. So there are no pictures of her.

A view of the table form her view.

Ayla staring off into the distance.

Just thinking about things.

Julie gets some of the cutest pictures of Ayla. She is the one who took the pictures at the shower too.

We had a wonderful time spending time with my friends!

Ayla turned 11 months!

Ayla turned 11 months yesterday. I can't believe that my little girl will be 1 year in a month. I always do a post on her monthly birthdays because I want to keep a record of her. Plus I love to post about her! 

Ayla is still at 28 1/2 inches long and now weighs 17 lbs. She has gained a pound and is the same length. Either, she is not growing in length or I just don't know how to measure her. I'm pretty sure I don't know how to measure her. If she is the same length next month, I think I should be concerned but for now I think it is just me.

She has started on finger foods, finally. Not her fault, mine. I am always so afraid that she is going to choke. Well, she loves cheerios, breads and she has had pancakes. I tried her on some dried apples but she swallowed them whole. I won't be giving those back to her until she is a little older. Plus, the package said 12 month + (didn't see that when I bought it or fed it to her. Oops!!). 

She has learned to interact with other kids. I love to see her play with her cousin Morganne. She acted just like a little kid. It was so cute. I am sure she had this talent before but we didn't see it because Morganne isn't always around to play with and I guess Mommy and Daddy are not as exciting as Morganne or other kids. That's okay! She still interacts with us. She is a blast to play with. 

She started to say "OH!" to everything. It is as if she is excited to discover new things. It is adorable and Kurt says it is his favorite thing.

Ayla on her 11 month birthday in her Sunday Best!

Ayla has started to walk holding onto her train and walking around the living room. 

She has gotten good at walking by only holding on with one hand. She will walk around holding my hand. Plus yesterday, she took a few steps from me to the couch. She did that a couple of times. It won't be long! I am so proud of her!

Mommy loves you Ayla!!!

Flash Back Friday! #2

This Flash Back Friday is dedicated to my mother. She got excited about my last Flash Back and asked,"What are you going to put on the blog this Friday? You should put a picture of you and your sister when you were in Sunshine Generation."

So I let her pick out the pictures and here it is!

Us in Sunshine Generation

I am on the left and Marion is on the right.

I remember this performance. It was at an old folks home. 

I am glad I got the opportunity to be in such a program. I got to go all over and perform. I even got to be on T.V. with it once.  What a great experience.

Great idea for a Flash Back Friday Mom. We were adorable.

Saturday's Shower.

On Saturday, Ayla and I went to a baby shower. It was for one of my old co-workers from the airport. So Leah, Ann and Monica will probably recognize some of the people in the pictures.

This is Leli. She is the one the baby shower was for.

She and her family are from Kosovo. Everyone at the shower were from different countries except for a few of us. When you work at the airport, you work with a lot of foreigners. It is so fun to get to know them and learn about their cultures.

This is my good friend Mediah. She is Leli's sister and she was the one hosting the shower.

When Medi got married, I got to be a part of it because I took her around looking for wedding dresses because she didn't know where to look. It was a lot of fun because I love dresses and she looked beautiful in the ones she tired on. Her wedding was so neat and so different from our weddings here in America. Like I said, it is so fun to learn other peoples cultures.

Medi and I worked really close with each other. We were merchandisers in Terminal One together. We worked at the gifts shops. We became close friends. I have to say, I have a lot of good friends from working at the Airport.

This is their other sister Milinda.

This is my friend, Ester. She just loved Ayla and Ayla loved her.

Ester just kept playing with her.

I love this picture of Lari. She is so funny. I love her big smile.

This is Arton, Medi's boy. He loved playing with Ayla. He was so cute with her. He kept bringing her toys to play with. At one point he even gave her a hug and a kiss. What a sweet little guy. He is 3 years old.

Ayla with the teddy bear Arton let her play with.

He even brought out his tools to play with her. I love how Ayla has the hammer.

I tried to get a picture of everyone there but this was the best one.

Leah and Ann, if you click on the picture, you can see Marlene sitting on the couch. She looks really cute these days. She has very cute clothes. She was sporting a leather jacket when she came in. She is so cute.

I thought this was neat. Part of their tradition is to wrap the gifts in cellophane so you can see everything they got you.

Medi made this blanket for Leli. Isn't it adorable? Medi and Leli are so talented at crocheting. Look at all that work. WOW! You should see all the doilies they have made and hand embroidery.

This is something they like to do. They lay out everything that they get and display it.

When Medi got married, they laid out all of the dollies that were made for her for her wedding and other things that Medi had made for her marriage. It was so neat to see all the hand work that they did. It is a neat tradition they do.

Another thing about their showers, they totally feed you a meal. And part of it is peta. It is delicious. I love peta. I had never had it before I met Medi and her family. They are great cooks too.

Below are some more pictures that my friend Julie emailed me that she took at the shower.

Leli and Senita

Tanya, Ester and Senita with Arton and Ayla.

Me and sweet Ensia.

It was so good to see her. She is such a sweet women.

And a few pictures of Ayla.

She fell alseep one me! ZZZZ!

This one was my favorite. I just lover her teeth.

The shower was a lot of fun and I wish I could have gotten better pictures of every one there. Oh well. It was nice to see all the gang from ATG. It was an ATG party for sure.

I also noticed today that that was the last time I had been out of the house until today. Ayla has had a hard week and I have kept her in. She is doing better now but now her sleeping schedule is off and I am exhausted.