Moody Gardens

Now that we live in Galveston County, we thought we might start taking advantage of our new locale. Last weekend we went to Moody Gardens Aquarium. We hoped Leila would be entertained by everything going on around her. The aquarium houses sharks, fish, penguins, and has displays you can go into and touch.

She really liked the penguins because they are just her size. Everything else only kept her attention for a few minutes. She would have rather climbed up onto the benches and ran down the ramps. Good thing her admission was free, lol. I am looking forward to the Rainforest Pyramid reopening in the summer.

Leila fits right in with the penguins. She is the same size as a Gentoo.

The pengiun exhibit was really entertaining. They were so cute and walk very much like a toddler

She loved touching the starfish and tried to pick it up, yuck

17 months and so big

One thing about being a toddler... they have a mind of their own. Leila is certainly her own person. She is very determined and wants to do things on her own and figure things out. But she is very sweet and also likes to be held by mommy... "Up!" I cook a lot with her on my hip. The way I see it this won't last so I am taking advantage of it. I should note she is still very small so she is easy to carry around!

According to "What to Expect, the Toddler Years" her vocabulary at 18 mos should be 50+ words. I think she hit 50+ words by 16 mos (she is now 17 mos). Some are basic, "mama, dada, dog, cat, banana, apple," and some more complex, "please, thank-you, Big Bird, peekaboo." She is still signing and we are really thankful for these strides in communication since it makes all of our lives easier.

Some days her curiosity pushes me to the limit. One morning, after climbing into a kitchen chair and then climbing up her bookshelf, I asked her exasperatedly, "Are you a monkey?" And she looked at me in all seriousness and said, "No."

Reading the Sunday Comics (we like Peanuts & Family Circle)

Spinning on her new toy... she warmed up to her Christmas presents, eventually

#1 Toddler toy... the Cozy Coupe, Princess edition. No, seriously, the license plate reads "Princess." This was a gift from my parents, and she didn't even let Patrick finish putting it together before she climbed in.

Here is Leila with my parents and her Cousin Sara right before Christmas

Leila and her best friend Avery playing at our new house

Our friends Cannon and Kylie came over to play at the new house. Thank you Jill and Jennifer for driving out here! It was really fun but Kylie did not want her picture taken.

Ryan and his mom Sarah came to play too and both kids loved this singing Snoopy toy. We are open for playdates, and take note, Sarah said the drive is not too bad :)

M&M Ranch, New Year's Eve

We spent this New Year's at the McKinney's ranch. It was a bit disasterous in that the rocky hill country is not exactly ideal for toddlers learning to walk. The house itself was not ideal either, as it is filled with guns, knives, and ammunition. Hmm.

I must say Leila's Mimi and Dude did as much as they possibly could to help me. One morning Leila was not in her bed and after my heart dropped to the floor I thought to look in their room, and there she was, snuggled in bed watching Fox News with her grandparents. I wish I had a picture it was so darn cute. She was perfectly content too, so I am thrilled we have reached the point to where she is comfortable enough with both sets of her grandparents to stay with them and not need mommy and daddy.

She really loved the ranch, and the weather was cold but not uncomfortably so. The first day she fell and scraped her forehead (blood.) The second day she fell and cut the side of her face open near her eye (lots of blood.) Later that day she fell on the porch and busted her lip (more blood), at which point Patrick banned her from going outside again. She healed very quickly, thankfully.

Check out her adorable hunting clothes... Camo skirt? Check. Pink cowboy boots? Check. Fake fur trim on coat, check...

Note the Hello Kittie band-aid by her eye...

This monkey shirt is her favorite. Her camo hat was a gift from our friends Drew & Julie and says "Future Hunting Princess" in pink. Did you know they make pink guns for girls?

Sharing a sweet moment with her Mimi

Our little family, Shrek didn't want to pose, too much going on to slow him down!

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

She likes to move it move it

This kept us entertained for a good hour. Watch the cuteness below.

Plus a bonus pic... this is Leila at her friend Mason's Christmas party.
She walked around for several minutes dressed as a reindeer, we'll call her "Dancer" after tonight.

Hey Santa

We took Leila to Baybrook mall to meet Santa. She was super-friendly in line but had no smiles for jolly Saint Nick.


She is enjoying the new house. She likes having a gameroom to make a disaster in. And we like that it is upstairs where no one can see it! I snapped a pic tonight of her drinking her "baba" on the floor, then found one almost identical from last month. And here is one from moving day of her eating her snacks on her back. She is so silly.

Here are a couple of house pics from moving day. Shrek and Leila are loving all of the windows. When we get home, Shrek is always watching for us at the front door.

Last Day of School

This was a sad week of goodbyes. We said bye to neighbors and friends and our church. We said bye to Leila's dear little school and her teachers and her Gymboree teacher. Shrek said bye, in his own way, to his favorite haunts on our walks. We move next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. So much for football, Patrick. We are sad not to spend Thanksgiving at the McKinney's ranch, but we will probably go out there later this winter.

The chaos in our house from moving is bothersome to Patrick, Shrek, and I; but Leila thinks it is fun. We close on the house on Tuesday so I will post some pictures after that.

Playing around before school

Ringing "Gymbo" the clown's doorbell in class

Moving boxes are Leila's new toys and chairs

She likes the carpet in our new house. This is the gameroom.

The windows in the living room are the perfect height for curious toddlers (and dogs.)