3-year Photo shoot out takes

A lot of people ask if Leila is ready for the baby... yes and no. She knows what is going on, we have prepped her, and she is super-excited to be a big sister. She knows she is not allowed to boss us around, only Shrek, and I think she is ready to boss someone else around, haha. But for 3 years, she and I have done everything together and now we will have to share our time. I think it will be hard for both of us. I am as prepared as I think I can be. Everything is washed and sterilized and I have a huge bag of REAL coffee waiting for me to brew in the pantry. The nursery is almost ready, and I will post pictures soon.

We have a busy schedule, though I cut back on activities for the fall. Leila goes to school MWF for 4 hours. She LOVES it, and says each day is "great." She just finished swim classes today, and we will pick those up again in March. We stopped gymnastics in July due to her being promoted into a new class with terrible schedule options! Maybe we will start again in January. And we decided to sign her up for dance. She is so cute, and she loves it. Her little friend she adores is in the class too so I think it will be a great experience. Patrick & I also have Bible Study on Sunday nights. Poor Skylar really is going to be hauled from place to place. I am a firm believer in good sleep habits so we are going to have to figure this one out. Leila was sleep trained and has always been an excellent sleeper (despite the nap battle, she still gets plenty of sleep at night.) Hopefully I can offer Skylar the same training, since it is good for them and for tired parents!

We are currently experiencing what may be the "terrible threes." The twos were great. But all of a sudden we are having a more difficult time, mostly due to Leila not napping. I am sooo tired. She needs a nap, only won't sleep at nap time, leading to some cranky evenings. I am feeling more energetic, so I have not been needing a nap as much. But I still need to rest!

All of this to say, Leila's 3-yr pictures were a challenge. We got some great shots, but also some hilarious faces. Most of these were her imitating her dad, who was trying to make her laugh. She is such a ham. I've posted some of the best out takes below. One of the best good photographs is on our header for the blog.

The Girl Who Asks to Go to Sleep

We never knew until we became parents that there was such a thing as "sleep training." Who would have known you had to be taught HOW to sleep? As adults, we look forward to sleep because we often do not get enough of it. Babies, not so much.

It took us until Leila was 9 1/2 months old until she began sleeping through the night. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact she is so small, and was just hungry. We have had her on a very strict schedule since she was very young, with an unwavering bed time of 7:30 p.m. She is (almost) always ready for bed by then, and will lay down on the floor to signify she is ready to go to sleep.

Well, last night I was at church so Patrick was putting Leila down to sleep. He said she came up to him, signed "sleep" a few times, then took his hand and led him to her bedroom so he could put her in her bed because she wanted to go to sleep. Isn't that adorable?? I wish I could have seen it. She is a very good sleeper now, but we still maintain a strict sleep schedule.

Leila is trying to walk while holding all 3 of her "loves"

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon at the park today

Leila loves her vacuum her bf Avery got her for her birthday. It makes real vacuum noises when she "helps" mommy clean the floors

Dare we enter the online world??

It has been seven wonderful months since the birth of our daughter, and with much encouragement we are only now attempting to begin the much-avoided MOMMY BLOG (thank you Sarah, Aunt Cailin, and Lisa, you know who you are.) The jury is still out as to whether I am a MOMMY BLOGGER; this is only my first attempt and we will see if it sticks. Right now it is 10:52 p.m. and I could be doing laundry, unloading the dishwasher, and oh yeah, SLEEPING. I think all women feel this way though any time they take some time out to themselves! I am not the first and won't be the last.

This means I have seven month's worth of pictures to catch you up on, haha.

My first topic, other than this delicate entry into the blogosphere, is that of being a SAHM. I think I possibly may be more exhausted than when I was working full time at M. D. Anderson and taking Leila to her sitter. And now I get to sleep past 5:30 a.m.! In fact, if Leila dares to awaken before 7:00 a.m. she is soothed back to sleep if at all possible.