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.

1st Birthday Party

Leila had her first birthday party and it was a blast. She had so much fun. Thank you to everyone who came! We had some guests drive in from all across Texas and we are so glad they made it. She had almost all of her baby friends here and there were at one time 10 kiddos under the age of two.

Our girly girl had a costume change mid-party into her 1st Birthday tutu. This was just in time for her first cake which was served on her tutu-outfitted high chair, fit for a princess. Leila LOVED the cake. She went daintily at first but by the end she was covered in icing. Yum!

The Girliest Girl

Leila has been cracking us up lately. She all of a sudden decided that she only wants to walk through the house with her purse on her shoulder. Like mommy, I guess, but neither one of us actually put the purse on her before she started doing this. She will come up to me, holding the purse, and fuss until I put it on her. We both think it is hilarious, and there is no doubt she is a girly girl. Last night, I put her purse in her bed and when I went to get her this morning she was standing in her crib with the purse on her arm. Seriously.

Leila and her fancy Eiffel Tower purse.

What do babies carry in purses? Why stuffed animals of course.

Leila and matching Minnie Mouse at 11 months. See her below with the same doll at 6 months.

Leila and her matching Minnie at 6 months. My she has grown!

Happy Birthday to our July baby friends, Cannon and Carter!

The Cutest Thing Ever

Everyone knows nothing is cuter than a baby, and one thing rivalling babies for cuteness are puppies. Well, what about a baby AND her puppy? Leila loves to give her doggie hugs, and I have caught her doing so several times. She is crazy about Shrek--loves him, loves him, loves him. How cute is this?

First Steps!

What a day! We started the morning by going to our church playgroup. Leila's twin friends Charlie and Hazel know how to sign. I have been working on her for months to learn how to sign. Well, the twins were signing all through our lunch. Then, when we got home, Leila started signing too! Just goes to show what peer pressure will do, ha.

I was really excited by the signing. But then the day got even better. This afternoon, not once but twice Leila took steps! Just one step at a time, but actual walking! The funny thing is I don't think she quite knows how great it is since she has been moving around for so long. Way to go Leilabug! (aka Goober, Wiggles, Munchkin, Little Bit, Fileila) I will post video as soon as I can catch her on film.

4th of July

Leila's first 4th of July was tons of fun. We went to our friend's Drew & Julie's river house and took their boat down the San Bernard to go to the beach. Leila loved the sand and the water. She ate at least 3 hand fulls of sand when we weren't looking...yuck! Thanks Drew & Julie for a great time!

She loves being a salt shaker and cracks up!

Shrek was too busy playing with all of the other dogs to pose for a family picture with us.

Leila liked the boat but HATED her life jacket... I don't blame her!

Clap, clap, clap... her new skill! Enjoying the beautiful water at the beach, lol.

Eleven Months Old

I can't believe it! Our little Leilabug will be 11 months old tomorrow. Such a big girl! Not so much a baby anymore (tear.) She is so much fun. Leila is a little ham; prone to kisses, "dadas," and sticking her tongue out. Where she learned that, I don't know, but I don't do much to discourage it seeing as how I always laugh when she does it.

She likes to throw things to see where they land and then let you pick them up for her, such as out of her crib, carseat, high chair, and stroller. Little does she know that sometimes they don't come back. Often we make a loop twice on our walks because once we are home I realize we are missing her pacifier, duckie, and hat; only to find them strewn along the sidewalk at random places along on our path. Sort of cute, sort of not so cute in 100 degree heat.

On Tuesday she learned how to clap; she is so proud of herself! Leila does great in the water now after swim lessons, and is learning to kick like a pro. She no longer cries when she goes under, though I can say with certainty she is not thrilled to be dunked. She now has 7 teeth, so digging stuff out of her mouth is asking for pain (ouch!) She can still wear 3-6 months clothes, but we are also in 6-9 months clothes. This is throwing my seasons off, but we are thankful she is healthy and growing! And that hair... if you met her now you would never believe it was almost black when she was born. The tips are still dark but I don't dare cut it!

Happy Birthday to Cousin Sara, Kylie, Cole, and Ryan, our June baby friends!!

So sassy!
Pitiful look... Leila wants to read her favorite book, Eight Silly Monkeys

Enjoying a beautiful summer day. So joyful!

Baths are the best! We love our duckie bath, thanks Sarah!

Hilarious clip... A girl after her grandpa Griffin's own heart. We call it "I love eggs."