Bluebonnets

This post is late since I was hoping for retakes. Little Bit does not look at the camera anymore so it is impossible to get the kind of shot I wanted. I guess I can't blame her, we have probably taken 2,000 pictures of her since she was born.

The world is my playground!

Can't forget our boy Shrek! What are they looking at??

Last year's family portrait

1,001 Reasons

Every parent things their child is wonderful, brilliant, etc. But how many parents think their 1 year-old may outsmart them?

This afternoon I left Leila in the gameroom for ten minutes "to go get my book," with a plan to start dinner and return with a book to read while she watched Baby Einstein.

I was so pleased she played quietly by herself while I was gone. When I returned, she asked, "book?" shocking me that she remembered what I had told her earlier.

I was even more shocked when I went in the guest room and found out why she had been so quiet.

Sigh.

Patrick looooves to play golf. We have a new plan for retirement: a pro golfer for a daughter. (Joke.)

We are having a lot of fun with these golf clubs but not really in the way they were intended to be used. Mostly she pushes them down her slide.

Easter Festivities

We spent a whole week celebrating Easter by doing different activities. I think so far the lesson for Leila is Easter = presents + chocolate, but we will work on the lesson of Christ dying on the cross to save us from our sins, and then being resurrected 3 days later. From her nursery school she is in the habit of praying before each meal and we pray before bedtime and I am trying to instill in her why we pray and to whom. Who knows when that lesson will be understood! From reading my Aunt Cailin's blog, it is at age 3 when they become religious, lol (inside joke!)

On Palm Sunday we dyed Easter eggs and it was really fun but excrutiatingly slow. Luckily she is easily distracted. The best part was breaking them at the end, lol.

At her school they had a beautiful flowering of the cross chapel for Holy Week, but I did not get any good pictures because once she saw me at chapel she started crying. Then they had an Easter egg hunt on the playground.

On Good Friday we went to Froberg's Farm to pick strawberries and she loved it! She was a really good picker too and understood not to pick the baby green ones, so if we are ever short on cash I might hire her out (now that really is a joke.)

On Saturday the weather was gorgeous so we had our 1st Easter egg hunt at home.

On Sunday we went to a beautiful service at our church, after which Leila got chocolate on her Easter dress. The new bunny in her Easter basket she appropriately named "Hop."

We went to my Aunt Sandy & Uncle Jay's for brunch and to celebrate my mom's birthday. We made a strawberry pie from all of our pounds of strawberries we picked and it was delicious. Leila loved the Easter egg hunt with the big kids and my brother Jay was kind enough to share his eggs with her.

19 months

Patrick, Leila and I are having a great time exploring our new city. We love her age of 1 1/2. She is sweet, adventurous, and still portable... Everything is a joy for her and she can't hide her excitement. Daddy coming home from work is the highlight of her day. She is at this point of absorbing everything and wants to know what everything is. She wants to know what color things are, what animal it is, what sound does it make.

Here is a typical conversation. Leila: "Purple bow." Me: "Yes, your bow is purple." Leila: (pointing at my shirt) "Blue. Blue Blue." Me: "Yes, my shirt is blue." Leila: (holding teacups) "Two! Two!" Me: "Yes, you have two cups. What color are they?" Leila: "Blue." (They are not blue, but that is her favorite color and therefore default response, lol.)

Leila is pretty hilarious. She has started becoming very opinionated about her clothes, and last Wed. when Sean came over for dinner she had on leopard pants and a purple polka-dot t-shirt. One of my brothers commented she is always wearing her monkey shirt in pictures--there is a reason for that. She also wants to pick out her bows or wear a ponytail.

She is very good at following directions, when she wants to. When I go pick her up from school, this is what I hear in the hallway before she sees me: "Leila, please sit down. Leila, please get away from the door. Leila, please sit against the wall." Ha! Leila is the absolute youngest person in the whole school (by far) so that explains her exuberance. She will catch up (others in her class are already well past 2.) I know her teachers think she is good and obedient during the day.

She has this preoccupation with her family and friends and asks every day (no really, every day, usually multiple times) what the following people are doing: Dada, Mimi, Dude, Nana, Pops, Jay, Josh, and her best friend Avery (and others, depending on the day, don't want to leave anyone out!) We look in her photo albums at pictures of all of her friends and family and she points everyone out to me.

Shopping with Nana at First Colony Mall

Cole and Carter came to play and swap drinks

Cute, huh? You like my hair?

Various items we have found in the refrigerator include plastic tea cups, a teapot, necklaces, watches, and a shoe horn


Peace out! Leila likes to take her stuffed animal friends for a ride, and if anyone falls out she says, "Uh-oh Bear," or "Uh-oh baby," or if it is her "Uh-oh Yay-ya."

Leila's newest talent: playing the piano. She really tries to mimick me in the 4 songs I can play, and banged out something that actually resembled music.

To Patrick's chagrin, I gave Leila her first pedicure after I had my toes done. She wanted her toes pink just like mommy, and she sat still and didn't touch them while they dried. Then she wanted to know why Shrek couldn't have a pedicure!

Night, night mama

Sometimes you just want to hold on and not let go... Babyhood is ending so quickly (my friend April says you can call them "a baby" until they're 2, lol) and while I love each new stage, the baby in them is what melts my heart. Leila still rubs her hair when she is tired like she did as a baby and still smack on her paci while sleeping like she did when she was a baby, and I love that!

Tonight she did a "big girl" thing and didn't even know it. When I put her to bed, I said "Night, night sweetheart" like I always do but tonight she said back, "Night, night mama." That melts my heart to for a different reason, that she is growing up. Thank goodness Patrick is out of town or he would make so much fun of me for getting teary-eyed over something like that, lol.

Here are some of her 18-month portraits, and compare these to her 6-month portraits. Is that the same girl??

Spring Break

We had a crazy week. You know it is Spring Break done right when it involves vomit. We went to the Children's Museum, the Zoo, Galveston, the library, the park, and Patrick and I went to the Rodeo. I always try to plan activities for us, but life with this 1 year-old is never dull. We play tea party, a lot, and it usually results in big wet messes. At the zoo, all of her friends sat nicely in their strollers for lunch while my daughter ran around with her sandwich exploring while I followed her.

Saturday - Kayak exhibition, met my family in Galveston
Monday - met Cassie & Avery at the Children's Museum
Tuesday - Erica & Grant came over to play, Patrick & I saw Keith Urban at the Rodeo
Wednesday - met Sarah & Ryan, Jennifer & Kylie, Jill & Cannon at the zoo
Thursday - Went to Story time twice at the library, then went to the park, then she got sick and threw up all over both of us (but felt better afterward, until it happened again)
Friday - Recovered from yesterday, introduced water color paints

Last weekend Patrick bought a kayak and I hope to take it out tomorrow if the thunderstorms stay away. I have some pictures from last weekend when we tried them out. We are only 2 miles from Galveston bay and surrounded by lakes so there are a lot of places to go.

Leila liked the yellow one, but daddy bought green
Patrick tried out all the different models in the lake next to our house (um, that is not our house in the background, lol)

We met my family for dinner at Guido's on the Seawall in Galveston

Leila and Avery both like the ball pit at the Children's museum. Pacifiers keep things from entering their mouths! Last time we went to the museum, she came down with a 102 fever.

Who is that girl looking at me?? I like her top.

First time on a tricycle and loved it even if she couldn't pedal.

At the zoo with Ryan (top), Cannon and Kylie

Enjoying this short-lived gorgeous weather at her grandparent's house with Belle

She is either deep in thought over her artwork or I caught her doing something

Leila piled the chair with books to read at the library then sat on top of them


This is her illness recovery look.. Favorite Elmo shirt, dark glasses, new flower bow from mommy... she felt better by the afternoon

Rodeo, Part II

Leila and I went to the Livestock show with her Granmary on Thursday. The princess was thrilled to wear her boots again. It turned out to be a beautiful day and she had a lot of fun. We went to the petting zoo and she found deer, pigs, goats, and even saw a wallaby (what is that doing at the Rodeo?) We toured the exhibits of chicks, rabbits, cows, pigs, and sheep.

Leila rode a pony and seemed to enjoy it. We tried fried oreos (which are good--didn't get a chance to try fried key lime pie or fried cheesecake.) We ended the morning with lunch at the director's club where she charmed the Rodeo staff and volunteers. Her dude treated us to a delicious lunch of which she took about 3 bites.

Petting a goat--he is just her size

Leila did great on the pony

Looking at the chicken exhibit

Outside the Director's Club--Leila does not even know she is VIP

This was Leila as we left the parking lot