Pumpkin Patch

Houston is getting a small taste of fall... Temps have been cool in the 60s in the morning and shooting up to high 80s in the afternoons. The coming of fall is such a tease. Do I wear long sleeves or short sleeves? Pants or shorts? I guess the correct answer is layers.

We have been enjoying plenty of fall activites and taking advantage of the weather when it is nice out. This past weekend we went to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin for carving. I can imagine what it must have looked like to Leila, rows upon rows of pumpkins almost as tall as she is. She loved it, and spent a lot of time carting the baby pumpkins around.

Afterwards we went to the dog park, which explains why she had an outfit change inbetween picking her pumpkin and carving it. Our final result is the best version of a "Happy Jack-o-lantern" we could find. She recognizes when things are "scary" now, so we are keeping everything as happy as can be. Her Mimi kindly brought her a stuffed scarecrow... only it has been banished once Leila deemed it "too scary" LOL. (It was not scary in the slightest, but who are we to argue?)

The dog park down here is amazing and we go as much as we can. Surprisingly, Shrek basically takes off on his own and makes sure each and every tree/fence post in sight is well, claimed. We worried he might have aggression issues, but we have never once had an incident. Our conclusion is that he is a good dog, he just does not like to be threatened while he is on his leash, nor does he like his manhood threatened, if you know what I mean.

Leila loves, LOVES the dog park. She loves to pet the dogs, and throw a ball or stick for them, and loves to see all of the different dogs. This past weekend we saw some dalmatians, which was especially exciting because we just watched the movie 101 Dalmatians (and one had a red collar, like Pongo.) I love to watch the Great Danes, because they are just so amazing to look at. We also saw some dog fights... bad pitties. Probably my least favorite breed. My old boss used to have one, and she had to drug it before having parties at her house. Hmm...

One good shot looking at the camera, thank you Leila!

Cheese!

Hmm, which one should I pick??

I really love this little one!

Actually, I love all these little ones...

Two seconds before they all fell down

Pushing them back to where they belong

The final choice, do they weigh the same? Possibly

Helping carve the pumpkin... Leila is holding a plastic play knife that won't cut anything

Look what we did

The final result, as happy as can be

Blast from the past... Leila's first pumpkin patch @ 2 1/2 months

Last year's pumpkin patch @ 14 months


And this year @ 26 months

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.

A Lot Can Happen in 5 Days

So... last post mentioned some big stuff: moving, illness, walking. Since then, we have some major updates.

First update, moving. Our house sold in less than 5 days. So it turns out all of that time spent watching "Sell This House" was worth it. We have had an exhausting week, cleaning, packing, de-cluttering, organizing. Our house looks better than it ever will again, LOL. But it paid off, since keeping the house clean just about killed us. I locked Shrek outside when the maid came and he overheated and threw up everywhere. We had a showing today, and Leila ripped the metal bins out of the wall, sprinkled pens throughout the house, took the kitchen dishtowels out from under the sink and dumped out all of our things in the bathroom, and then peed on the carpet while I was trying to change her diaper. Going through any more time doing THAT would have been horrific.

Second, illness. I am close to 100% better, still have a nagging cough/congestion while Leila has congestion. Somehow Patrick escaped it.

We are moving to Clear Lake and now have to find a home ASAP. So please keep us in your prayers since this is a MAJOR change and we have A LOT to do. Sadly, we just got our home exactly how we want it, and now we are leaving it! Since this is our first house, I am a little emotional about it, mostly over the nursery where I brought my 1st baby home. That and the fact I am leaving all of my friends behind since I have lived here since 1986. No, it is not like I am moving to a different state, but lets be honest, with a baby it is a big move since you can't just jump in the car anymore.

The good news is that Leila is walking better every day and falls less (which equals less injuries) so we are thankful for each new day! Today she learned how to "dance" so once I get it on video you will have some LOLs. She is also becoming increasingly verbal and opinionated. I am thankful for this as it increases our ability to understand one another. Other words she says are "ba" (bottle), "na" (banana), "mo" (more, also snack), and of course "mama," "dada," and "no," which were among the first. Words she signs include eat, sleep, more, please, friend, and a handful of others.

Here are some pics of our house that were on the internet.

Three Things

I am inspired by the updates of Leila's friend Cannon and also a post on babycenter.com to share three things about us that are unique. Leila has not had a lot of time in this world to do anything extraordinary, but there are already things about her that are super-special. If anyone reads this, we would love to know 3 things about our friends that are unique. I am making Patrick's list for him because he forgets we even have a blog, LOL.

3 Things about Leila
1. Her name means "dark beauty" in Arabic and strangely enough she was a dark beauty at birth even though her parents are pretty fair. She is now a blondie!
2. By 11 months she could perfectly communicate her needs to us through talking and sign language.
3. She went to Paris before she was a year old!
Leila's party trick: Sign language and animal sounds

3 Things about Laurie
1. Both my father and I have blue eyes with a brown spot in the exact same place on our right eye
2. I am the oldest of 6 kids
3. I swam in the Blue Grotto off of the Italian Isle of Capri before they closed it to visitors
Laurie's party trick: Elbows are double jointed

3 Things about Patrick
1. He went to the Black Tie & Boots Ball in 2001 when the President was a Texan
2. He has met Stephen Hawking, Gorbachev, General Schwarzkopf, both President Bush #41 & President Bush #43, and Rick Perry, among others.
3. He is an amazing craftsman and has built several pieces of furniture
Patrick's party trick: He can wiggle his ears

3 Things about Shrek
1. He hates water, yet when we come home during the rain he is always soaking wet
2. If you feed him at night, he will eat his food in the morning. If you feed him in the morning, he will eat his food at night
3. He knows when bed time is and will go get in his bed alone at the same time every night.
Shrek's party trick: He can shake hands

And here are some pictures of Leila now that she is one. She is definitely a girly girl. She not only wants to wear her purse, but also her bracelet and her sunglasses. She likes having shoes on, like mommy. She is a hoot. Her Gymboree teacher said they stop putting everything in their mouths around 15 months. I am ready for the dirt to stay on the ground.

Ready to roll

Leila loves to give hugs, especially to her dad (and dog)

Playing with her Uncle Jay, and dirt

Yum! She licked the bowl of cottage cheese clean


I see you Mommy!

When Leila is older, we will tell her we made her make her own toys (just kidding)

This singing pig was a gift from her Uncle Josh and Uncle Jay. She loves it and will spontaneously give it hugs. To catch it on film took a little prompting.

Leila is One!

Well the day has finally come for Little Bit's 1st birthday. What an exciting day. She woke up as usual at 8 a.m. and had a delicious breakfast of organic waffles and watermelon. I would like to point out she eats more than I do sometimes, and I think she is still under 20 lbs. We played for a bit and watered the grass, which takes an hour (I am Patrick's sprinkler system.) She likes to walk with her purse on, up and down the stairs to the deck, over and over and over. She also pushed her new dolly stroller around the house.

We got dressed and ran some errands, then stopped at Piccamolo for her first official cup of ice cream, birthday cake flavor of course. We ran into HEB to grab some essentials and got a small container of the extremely addicting grown-up whole milk macaroni and cheese. This stuff is delish and Leila loves it, so it was perfect for her birthday lunch (along with veggies.)

Next we went swimming and she clapped for the big kids going down the slide at the froggy pool. They loved it and started showing off for her. That wore her out and when she woke up from her nap we went to Gymboree play gym. Everyone told her happy birthday and we stayed for a whole hour, which is longer than usual. She amazed me again when a young baby was crying and I said "the baby is crying" and she did the sign for baby for the first time.

We went home, and had a yummy dinner of veggies, fish sticks, and of course more macaroni and cheese. Some of the food was thrown overboard to the dog but not the macaroni and cheese. When Patrick got home, she opened the rest of her presents from mommy and daddy: a ladybug book and a puzzle that makes animal sounds. She LOVES all of her presents so far, and we have not made it through all of them yet.

After that she was out by 7:30! She was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open, which was really cute. Of course, we think everything she does is cute. This year went by in the blink of an eye. She is such a sweet little girl now, and so different from the raven-haired infant we brought home. She is hilarious and a little bit sassy. We love you Leilabug!

All smiles at Pop's birthday dinner.

More ice cream, please.

Hugging her new singing pig from Uncle Josh and Uncle Jay.

I love birthdays! Clap, clap.

Leila & Shrek, part I

Hilarious clip from when Leila was first learning to crawl. Shot on March 11 from my digital camera and just found tonight. Listen for her laughing at the end. Enjoy!!

We're crawling!

Last Saturday was a momentous day in our household--Leila began crawling! Her dog Shrek has not been safe since. He is so good with her, like a big brother, and he lets her poke at him and play with his collar (under supervision, of course.) I can't leave her alone for 5 seconds now though, yikes! She's had her eye on the doggie door for several months now and I know first chance she gets she is going through it. This week she also began pulling up in her crib to stand while she waits for us to come and get her. Something new every day!

We also started Gymboree with her friend Ryan and his amazing mom, Sarah. Leila was so enthralled with the toys there that I bought some but they must be magic Gymboree toys because at home they are just not as entertaining. Her current favorite toys are Shrek and my sister's dog Lucy who is vacationing with us. Anything she is not supposed to have is also her favorite, which includes the remote control, her nightlight, plastic bags, and mom's cell phone.

This Saturday we had a scare when Leila somehow got her teeny-tiny thumb stuck in the hole at the end of a measuring cup where the ring attaching the cup to the others normally would have been. When I tried to pull the cup off, the plastic was sharp and was cutting into her thumb, making her bleed, and it wouldn't come off. Soap or oil didn't help. Luckily super-dad came to the rescue and Patrick used kitchen shears and garden shears to cut through the plastic! Amazing! I hope we will not be the ones eventually telling you about erasers up the nose. I thought for sure it would be one of the boys to do something like this first, LOL. Here are some adorable shots from her 6-month portraits, enjoy!

First Day Blogging Lessons

Thank you all for your responses and support. According to Those Who Know, I have learned the following in Day 1:

1. Blogging does not necessarily invite creepos and weirdos, this advice from a four-year blogger.

2. If you are going to commit to a blog, you have to keep up with it. Your archives may be checked by blog-stalking friends, LOL.

3. No matter how much you love your child, don't forget about your first baby, the dog.

4. True friends will remain so even if you have become a mommy-blogger.

And here are the adorable photos that are the real reason any one looks at a blog, enjoy!!