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.

2 Years Old

How have 2 years gone by so quickly? It seems like yesterday I was in my friend Erica's prenatal fitness class, talking to my friends about what it was going to be like once we had our babies. Now those babies are two, and well, no longer babies any more. Bittersweet.

Leila and I have spent the last few days watching all of our videos of her since she was born. She loves to watch "Baby Aya" on the screen and thinks the noises the baby makes are hilarious. Which they are. Gone are the chubby cheeks, the downy dark hair. Gone are the chubby thighs and silly cooing sounds. The little girl that has taken her place is tall, has curly blonde hair, is quite silly and loving, and most definitely opinionated.

Patrick and I were taken aback on Sunday when Leila said--completely unprompted-- "I love you Daddy. I love you Mama." We just looked at each other--where did that come from? I don't know if he teared up, but I sure did. I don't even know if she fully understands what it means, but it sure was sweet.

A little about Leila at age 2:

• She is the ultimate girly-girly: wears her hair up, carries a purse ,wears jewelry, has her toenails painted, loves shoes
• Favorite color is yellow
• Knows her ABCs and can count to 12, though only when she wants to
• Current lovey is pink puppy, aptly named "puppy"
• Loves dogs (and cats, much to her father's chagrin)
• Favorite food is pizza (or so she says)
• Wants to characterize everyone as "boy" or "girl," including her stuffed animals
• Likes to watch Elmo, Baby Einstein with signs, and choice Disney movies
• Has a fierce sense of independence
• Is still v. attached to "pink paci" (this is not going to be a fun battle)
• Current favorite books are Winnie the Pooh stories, and The Three Bears
• Has an amazing memory and is able to make connections that surprise me for her age
• Is quite crafty at delaying bed time: "Milk! Story! Kiss!"
  

What an incredible journey this is. We love you LeilaBug! You amaze us every day.

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

Leila's 2nd Christmas, belated

Leila got really sick the night of the 23rd with a high fever. She was ill on Christmas Eve and her fever spiked on Christmas Day. Needless to say, it was not the super-exciting 2nd Christmas we were hoping for. We had picked out Elmo slippers and found a tickle-me-Elmo for this Elmo-obsessed tot and she wanted nothing to do with them. She said NO NO and pushed them away. The pictures below tell the whole story.

Sad...

Sadder...

Saddest.....

Our little princess was so sick she did not even want a kiss from mommy and daddy...

But seeing her aunts and uncles and Nana and Pops perked her up for a little bit and she managed a smile. Her adorable outfit didn't hurt either. Also, my brother Jimmy is newly engaged and his sweet fiancee Courtney was with us for the first time, so Leila tried to be happy for their sake.

Sadly, lunch at my parent's house wore her out so much she did not last 15 minutes at Mimi and Dude McKinney's. Leila slept for 14 hours straight Christmas night.

Our sweet girl looked so cute on Christmas Eve, fever and all. Below is a picture of us from last Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve 2008