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

Rodeo, Part I

On Go Texan Day, Leila's school had an adorable little preschool Rodeo. The kids dressed in western wear (boots allowed, but no guns please, said the note home.) They had a horseshoe toss, and rode pretend ponies, and listened to a campfire story. It was super cute. Patrick had the week off to work on the Rodeo BBQ committee so he was able to come.

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.

Cuteness Update

My Aunt Cailin has this brilliant list on her blog of things my super-adorable 3 yr-old twin cousins say. These girls are so cute, they got not 1, not 2, but 13 blog posts for their 3rd birthday!! Aunt Cailin shames me. Examples of hilarious quotes are "Please bless Barney, Baby Bop and the Wiggles," (Claire-During her nightly prayer) or "Tell that boy don't be cranky," (Carmel-Referring to her father when he denied candy.)

Little Leila has done some pretty hilarious stuff lately. Since now we live far, far away, I thought I'd share since we are the only ones that witness it.

"Neigh, Neigh" when she wants to 'ride' Shrek like a horse (which he tolerates for a little bit)
"Dog?" first thing she asks for in the morning, before Mama, Dada or baba (no offense taken, sweetie)
"Melmo?" every time we get in the car now that I have a portable DVD player - OR incessantly at toddler story time at the library, at which Elmo has not ever appeared
"Avewy?" asking for her best friend, strangely every time I put her on her changing table (I think this is because we practiced singing "Happy Birthday" for Avery's birthday party while I changed her diaper to distract her, sorry Avery for the association, lol) and also at her highchair
"Mimi?" "She's at home." "Belle?" (Mimi's dog) "She's sleeping at her house." "Du?" "He's at work" asking about her grandparents every day, multiple times.
"Nana?" "She's at home." "Po?" "He's at work. "Jay?" "He's at school." asking about her other grandparents and my brother every day, multiple times (She can't say "Josh," my other brother at home's name.)
"Big Boo?" Asking to watch 'Sesame Street' at home--apparently Elmo is reserved for the car now
"Amen?" While folding her hands to pray at the table. We pray before meals but now she wants to pray every time we get up and sit back down... "AMEN."
"Ewwwwie!" When asked how her diaper smells.

She knows where all of her favorite things are in each room and will make a distinct whine telling me exactly what she wants (the markers to color outside, her puzzle, her cup, etc.) I guess we need more sign language to fill in the gaps...

Leila's favorite things to do now (in no specific order) include: coloring with markers; watering the plants, playing tea party; watching Melmo; playing with Shrek; taking baths; eating, eating, and more eating; "helping" me cook; and reading books.

She does not like having her diaper changed, sitting in a grocery cart, going down the stairs, mice, or books without pictures.

She LOVES (in no particular order): her dada, her mama, her dog, her grandparents, her Elmo t-shirt, her "lovey," her stuffed animals, and her baby dolls. If she does not love something she will say "no" and push it away, lol.

Had her first toddler pre-terrible twos moment and refused to take off the cowboy boots..
Had her second toddler pre-terrible twos moment when she only wanted to wear this Elmo shirt

She loves to color and make a huge mess

Playing with her friend Luke, Luke & Leila haha

My friend Kelly brought her adorable son Luke over and they loved to play together! After he left, she kept asking for the baby.

We played princess for the first time and she loved it. I am so happy...

Once we finally got her Elmo slippers on and she wasn't scared of them anymore, she didn't want to take them off

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