New School & Unbirthday Party

Leila started a new preschool this year. It is closer to our house and runs a little bit later than her old school, which I think will work out better for us with the baby coming. So far, she said the first day was "fun" and every day after that was "great." Quite a good sign considering all 6 of the 3-yr-olds we know at the school are in the other class. What are the odds?? She is proud to be a Sea Turtle this year and has already made new friends.

Last week her class celebrated her summer birthday and she got to wear a special crown and bring treats for her class. The whole chapel sang "Happy Birthday" to the kids selected to celebrate their summer birthdays today. I am so happy for her to get to celebrate because I think when we were in school those kids got overlooked. When I went to pick her up, every kid in her class had a blue mouth from the sherbert treats I brought, haha.

My camera lens fogged up that morning!

This is the face I got in response to "Say cheese and look at the camera."

All of the selected summer birthdays got to go to the front of chapel while we sang "Happy Birthday" to them.

3rd Birthday Party

WOW was Saturday a fun day... Little Bit's 3rd Birthday Party was a blast. We had a princess-themed splash party and her dad went all out on the "splash" part.... Our backyard was like a waterpark. I think all of the kids had fun! Leila did and she was really good. She loved her cake and is now "officially" 3, according to her. A big thank you to our parents who helped out a lot, especially the dads! And also a big thank you to everyone who drove so far to be here and celebrate her special day.

Leila's 3rd Birthday!

Another sign of how girly our daughter is... She is in denial about turning 3, just as I was about turning another certain age. Today is her birthday, and she told me this morning, "She is not 3 yet, she is still 2 1/2, and she is still a little girl." I am not sure what exactly constitutes a "real" birthday to her--a cake?? A party??

We had another great, long day though! She woke up happy and we had a breakfast of organic waffles and berries. She picked out a cute outfit since I made her wear pants to Jump N Jungle (a moonwalk playplace) and we went and played with a bunch of her friends. Then we came home to eat lunch with her dad and open presents. We had macaroni & cheese and peas for lunch, per her request :)

The big gift from Mom & Dad this year was the Rapunzel dress & doll, which she wore until we had to leave. We also got her some other little things, mostly princess-inspired, of course! And books, my favorite. We had to watch the Tangled movie once she opened the dress, so we did that, skipped her nap, and went to swim class where she did great. From there we came home to change into a dress and then went to her Dude's retirement party. It made for a long day but she was a trooper.

It is hard to sum up Leila in a short post. At age 3, she is such a joy and so much her own person. She is smart, funny, kind, caring, and definitely a firstborn. I say this because, being one myself, I see a lot of the traits I have... such as being bossy, a perfectionist, and determined (We hear, "I do it myself" about 15 times a day.). She is such a little lady; and all about fixing her hair, painting her toenails, and wearing jewelry and playing dress up. She always wants to match and has a certain order for things. She wants to understand things about the world and asks a lot of questions. She loves smaller children and babies, as well as animals. She is basically fearless and was throwing herself down the moonwalk slides today headfirst. She loves to sing songs, read books, say prayers, and play Pretty Pretty Princess EVERY day. Her current favorite lovey is a small pink pig named "Princess Hoppy." Her favorite books/stories for the last few months have been Grover's The Monster at the End of this Book, The Crucifixion (since Easter), the Little Red Caboose, and Pinkalicious. Her favorite shows are Elmo's World, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Clifford. Her favorite movies are both Disney: Robin Hood & Cinderella. Her favorite food is macaroni & cheese and her favorite snacks are Ritz cheese crackers, jelly beans, and Icees. She loves her family and tells me she misses her daddy when he is at work. She has said to me before "I just love you so much," which never fails to make me tear up. We feel so lucky to have this precious girl!

Having fun at Jump N Jungle

Headfirst AND backwards down the slide... It may have been 15 feet long, or more.

So excited about presents!

'August' Barbie was an exciting gift. The doll has a peridot green dress and comes with a matching ring. In 2 months we will again consider such things "choking hazards."

A new game since we have had enough Pretty Pretty Princess for a lifetime....

Disney Princess cd player, wow!

New Books!

And her favorite gift, the Rapunzel dress and matching doll. Leila kind of looks like her I think.

Elmo Birthday Party

Leila's 2nd Birthday Party was tons-o-fun. She was so excited for her friends to come and play at her house. We had something like 19 babies, toddlers, and older kiddos running around. WOW did she have fun. Thank you to all of her friends and family for sharing her special day.