3rd Birthday Party

WOW was Saturday a fun day... Little Bit's 3rd Birthday Party was a blast. We had a princess-themed splash party and her dad went all out on the "splash" part.... Our backyard was like a waterpark. I think all of the kids had fun! Leila did and she was really good. She loved her cake and is now "officially" 3, according to her. A big thank you to our parents who helped out a lot, especially the dads! And also a big thank you to everyone who drove so far to be here and celebrate her special day.

Leila's 3rd Birthday!

Another sign of how girly our daughter is... She is in denial about turning 3, just as I was about turning another certain age. Today is her birthday, and she told me this morning, "She is not 3 yet, she is still 2 1/2, and she is still a little girl." I am not sure what exactly constitutes a "real" birthday to her--a cake?? A party??

We had another great, long day though! She woke up happy and we had a breakfast of organic waffles and berries. She picked out a cute outfit since I made her wear pants to Jump N Jungle (a moonwalk playplace) and we went and played with a bunch of her friends. Then we came home to eat lunch with her dad and open presents. We had macaroni & cheese and peas for lunch, per her request :)

The big gift from Mom & Dad this year was the Rapunzel dress & doll, which she wore until we had to leave. We also got her some other little things, mostly princess-inspired, of course! And books, my favorite. We had to watch the Tangled movie once she opened the dress, so we did that, skipped her nap, and went to swim class where she did great. From there we came home to change into a dress and then went to her Dude's retirement party. It made for a long day but she was a trooper.

It is hard to sum up Leila in a short post. At age 3, she is such a joy and so much her own person. She is smart, funny, kind, caring, and definitely a firstborn. I say this because, being one myself, I see a lot of the traits I have... such as being bossy, a perfectionist, and determined (We hear, "I do it myself" about 15 times a day.). She is such a little lady; and all about fixing her hair, painting her toenails, and wearing jewelry and playing dress up. She always wants to match and has a certain order for things. She wants to understand things about the world and asks a lot of questions. She loves smaller children and babies, as well as animals. She is basically fearless and was throwing herself down the moonwalk slides today headfirst. She loves to sing songs, read books, say prayers, and play Pretty Pretty Princess EVERY day. Her current favorite lovey is a small pink pig named "Princess Hoppy." Her favorite books/stories for the last few months have been Grover's The Monster at the End of this Book, The Crucifixion (since Easter), the Little Red Caboose, and Pinkalicious. Her favorite shows are Elmo's World, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Clifford. Her favorite movies are both Disney: Robin Hood & Cinderella. Her favorite food is macaroni & cheese and her favorite snacks are Ritz cheese crackers, jelly beans, and Icees. She loves her family and tells me she misses her daddy when he is at work. She has said to me before "I just love you so much," which never fails to make me tear up. We feel so lucky to have this precious girl!

Having fun at Jump N Jungle

Headfirst AND backwards down the slide... It may have been 15 feet long, or more.

So excited about presents!

'August' Barbie was an exciting gift. The doll has a peridot green dress and comes with a matching ring. In 2 months we will again consider such things "choking hazards."

A new game since we have had enough Pretty Pretty Princess for a lifetime....

Disney Princess cd player, wow!

New Books!

And her favorite gift, the Rapunzel dress and matching doll. Leila kind of looks like her I think.

Last Big Trip before Baby

We took one last big family trip last weekend before the baby comes. Let me just say my family is wonderful at traveling and we are so grateful that Leila is easy to take along. She chilled in the car with her movies while we were driving and was excited to sleep in her special beds "just her size." Patrick is great at navigating and packing the car and mom packs lots of snacks and plans the trip so it is fun and not stressful. We hope the new baby will travel as well as Leila!!


First we went to Austin for 2 days to see my sister Lisa and hang out with my Aunt Carla & Uncle Roy & adorable cousin Madison (age 9.) They are the best hosts ever and put up with all of our demands (baby gate, air mattress, etc.) and fed us delicious food! We wish we could see them more. We got to see Patrick's friend from college & his girlfriend and the guys played golf.

We drove straight from Austin to Sea World and spent one entire day there, in the heat, 7 1/2 months pregnant!!! But it was great. Not too crowded, and we got to do everything we wanted. Sea World is a really fun place. The Sesame Street Bay of Play is awesome. The highlight of the trip for all of us was when Leila met the REAL Abby Cadaby. She was on Cloud 9. We fed the dolphins and saw the Shamu show and the waterski show. They have rides for little kids that Leila & Patrick rode and it was just a great day.

Next, we went to a resort in San Antonio and hung out that evening. The next morning Patrick played golf with another college friend and I hung out at the resort pool with our friend's wife & daughter and my college roommate Lisa & her adorable daughter Campbell. It was really fun and did not last long enough. We had to leave that afternoon to come home, but we all missed Shrek so we picked him up first thing and boy was he glad to see us.

Our next family vacation we will be a family of 4, I can't believe it! I did not get any pictures of the 3 of us from the whole trip, oops. Chasing after a 2 1/2 yr-old kept me busy. Now I think I need a vacation from my vacation!!

Hanging out with Aunt Lili at Chuy's... why is the Austin restaurant so much better than the Houston ones??

Singing with her 2nd cousin Madison... So cute! Leila definitely looked up to Maddie and told me, "she's so pretty." Madison was so patient with her, and even told me she would watch Leila while I talked to her mom.

The highlight of our trip... Abby Cadaby herself!!!


And she got her picture taken with Zoe, which was so cool. Cookie Monster was not so cool and actually scared her, and she is not scared of much.

Feeding the Dolphins

Leila and Baby Campbell, who is about to have her 1st Birthday!!

Swimming!

We started Leila in swim lessons at 9 months in a group class to get her familiar with the water and teach lifesaving techniques. She has been attending a swim academy since last fall (with a few months off when I deemed it too cold for swimming, even in a heated pool) and has made awesome progress. She was recently promoted into a class with a 3, 4, & 6 year-old, and she definitely holds her own at just 2 1/2!

She can dive in, swim underwater using her arms and legs, dive to the bottom for rings, turn around, cover over half the width of a pool independently, and climb out on her own. We still have more work to do, such as strokes, coming up for air and going back down, and perfecting diving technique. I still have to watch her to make sure she does not get too deep. This is not the type of program where they throw you in to see if you can swim, so I am still not 100% confident in her survival skills in the water. BUT we have made huge progress and I am thrilled with the results. I am hoping by the end of this session in September she will be swimming independently. We spend a lot of time in the water so it is really amazing to watch our little fish go. This is an old video so she has improved a lot since only 3 weeks ago.

Our Princess and her Frog

I mentioned before Leila is not only not afraid of creepy-crawlies, but she LOVES them. Ants, spiders, worms, and especially frogs. She will say to me, "Mom, do you like snakes?" And I will say "No!" To which she will reply, "I like snakes." And she DOES.

In saying this, imagine her delight when a little toad showed up in her pool outside. This little guy was the highlight of her day. She held him, and talked to him, and took him down the slide. I swear I saw her kiss him, but I really hope I am wrong!

He was fun until we went to release him in a marshy area near our house. As if by magic another toad appeared in the pool a few days later! The new guy got to ride on the slide too. And mom and dad cleaned the pool, again :)

Camping

We spent Memorial Weekend camping. This was Leila's 1st time to go camping and it was really great. Lucky for me and Leila, her dad can do just about anything. He even cooked for us on a propane stove since there is a burn ban throughout most of Texas. And all of the food was good!

We went on a couple of nature walks and listened to a Park Ranger give a talk on Amphibians & Reptiles and got to pet a baby alligator. Leila brought her bug catcher and caught a grasshopper and some roly-polys right away. We roasted marshmallows over the propane heater and had s'mores. Not having a campfire takes away from the ambience but maybe next year. Anyway, Leila does not know any differently. Our next big vacation this year will involve a hotel though!!!

Looking for bugs

Enjoying her pink "lemlalade"

Roasting marshmallows on the propane heater, quite the adventure. You can still catch a marshmallow on fire in case you were wondering!!!

Wanting to be carried, thank goodness she still has not hit 30 pounds!!

Petting the baby alligator

Her grasshopper.. this one is NOT afraid of bugs, animals, or anything generally considered "yucky"

Chillin'

Patrick had our tent up in record time. He can do anything!

Swinging around

All smiles even after a rough night of sleeping with our appropriately-nicknamed daughter "Wiggles"

Little Miss Cheerful

Last week was an exciting yet slightly sad week marking the end of the school year. Leila is switching schools next year so it was sad to say final good-byes to everyone. She had a great class and a great teacher and learned so much. I am amazed what they can teach 2 year-olds and am taking notes. The last chapel of the year was Character Chapel where they recognize each child for their individual character strengths. Leila was recognized for being "Cheerful and Respectful" and we are so proud!

Some happenings from this past school year:
(1) Her teacher told me my 2 year-old needed to work on her mouse skills... apparently the parents of other 2 year-olds let them play with the computer... we don't but I guess it shows!
(2) Each day she gave me the run down on who got time out (no offense, but always boys;) until one day she told me SHE got time out! WHAT??!! This is not acceptable in our house. I asked her about what her offense was, and had to keep from laughing out loud... Not hitting, kicking, or anything like that... She got on top of the table. Talked to the teacher and it turns out she had asked Leila not to get on the table but she did anyway, so she got time out... the teacher was trying not to laugh too. Leila apologized to her teacher and did not get any more time outs :)
(3) Leila made a good friend! She has a lot of friends, but her teacher reported she and this other girl sit together and laugh all day so loud she has to shush them. I am thrilled she is reaching out on her own. Hopefully we can keep in touch over the summer.

Here are some pics from the last few days at school.

"Fishing" on Field Day--caught one!

Loves the big pink scooter

Enjoyed soaking Mom on Field Day

Leila and her new close friend, yay for girl friends!

Performing in Chapel for the Mother's Tea... beyond cute

Posing with Mom at the Mother's Tea.. Leila wants to wear a skirt or a dress every day and will only wear pants or shorts if she has too

The delicious "ice cream cone" cupcakes I made for Splash Day... they were a hit and the teacher said the kids didn't know whether to lick them or not, lol

Splash Day was a great way to end the year

Leila did not sit on the sidelines for one second!

Last Day of school, in a tutu, of course!!

Bye Mrs. Fuller! We will miss her incredibly patient teacher.