Rodeo, Part I

On Go Texan Day, Leila's school had an adorable little preschool Rodeo. The kids dressed in western wear (boots allowed, but no guns please, said the note home.) They had a horseshoe toss, and rode pretend ponies, and listened to a campfire story. It was super cute. Patrick had the week off to work on the Rodeo BBQ committee so he was able to come.

A Day at the Beach

Another perk to living in Galveston County is that we are really, really close to the beach. Just a few minutes away, literally. We went to El Jardin Del Mar beach today... ever heard of it? Me neither. But it is a jewel and I want to go back, like, tomorrow.

This was Leila's first "real" experience at the beach. At first we wanted to wait until she could walk, because while she was crawling she put everything in her mouth. We went over the 4th of July to a beach off of the San Bernard River near Galveston Bay, but it was more like the mouth of a river than the sandy shores of the Gulf, and she certainly could not run like she did today.

We had a blast. She loved it all: the sand, the breeze, the waves lapping at her toes. She would have walked all the way in the ocean if we had let her--no fear there. She was sandy and her feet were soaking wet but she was in heaven. She squealed in glee every time the waves touched her. To top it all off, there were dogs there, which are one of her favorite things in the whole world.

The cherry on top of this perfect day was going out to eat for dinner, at none other than "Leila's Mexican Restaurant." She was treated like quite the princess there.

Cuteness Update

My Aunt Cailin has this brilliant list on her blog of things my super-adorable 3 yr-old twin cousins say. These girls are so cute, they got not 1, not 2, but 13 blog posts for their 3rd birthday!! Aunt Cailin shames me. Examples of hilarious quotes are "Please bless Barney, Baby Bop and the Wiggles," (Claire-During her nightly prayer) or "Tell that boy don't be cranky," (Carmel-Referring to her father when he denied candy.)

Little Leila has done some pretty hilarious stuff lately. Since now we live far, far away, I thought I'd share since we are the only ones that witness it.

"Neigh, Neigh" when she wants to 'ride' Shrek like a horse (which he tolerates for a little bit)
"Dog?" first thing she asks for in the morning, before Mama, Dada or baba (no offense taken, sweetie)
"Melmo?" every time we get in the car now that I have a portable DVD player - OR incessantly at toddler story time at the library, at which Elmo has not ever appeared
"Avewy?" asking for her best friend, strangely every time I put her on her changing table (I think this is because we practiced singing "Happy Birthday" for Avery's birthday party while I changed her diaper to distract her, sorry Avery for the association, lol) and also at her highchair
"Mimi?" "She's at home." "Belle?" (Mimi's dog) "She's sleeping at her house." "Du?" "He's at work" asking about her grandparents every day, multiple times.
"Nana?" "She's at home." "Po?" "He's at work. "Jay?" "He's at school." asking about her other grandparents and my brother every day, multiple times (She can't say "Josh," my other brother at home's name.)
"Big Boo?" Asking to watch 'Sesame Street' at home--apparently Elmo is reserved for the car now
"Amen?" While folding her hands to pray at the table. We pray before meals but now she wants to pray every time we get up and sit back down... "AMEN."
"Ewwwwie!" When asked how her diaper smells.

She knows where all of her favorite things are in each room and will make a distinct whine telling me exactly what she wants (the markers to color outside, her puzzle, her cup, etc.) I guess we need more sign language to fill in the gaps...

Leila's favorite things to do now (in no specific order) include: coloring with markers; watering the plants, playing tea party; watching Melmo; playing with Shrek; taking baths; eating, eating, and more eating; "helping" me cook; and reading books.

She does not like having her diaper changed, sitting in a grocery cart, going down the stairs, mice, or books without pictures.

She LOVES (in no particular order): her dada, her mama, her dog, her grandparents, her Elmo t-shirt, her "lovey," her stuffed animals, and her baby dolls. If she does not love something she will say "no" and push it away, lol.

Had her first toddler pre-terrible twos moment and refused to take off the cowboy boots..
Had her second toddler pre-terrible twos moment when she only wanted to wear this Elmo shirt

She loves to color and make a huge mess

Playing with her friend Luke, Luke & Leila haha

My friend Kelly brought her adorable son Luke over and they loved to play together! After he left, she kept asking for the baby.

We played princess for the first time and she loved it. I am so happy...

Once we finally got her Elmo slippers on and she wasn't scared of them anymore, she didn't want to take them off