Posing with Great Grandma and Grandpa Racine

Before we left Michigan, we made sure to get pictures taken with Leila and my grandparents. Danielle was the photographer and I edited them. I think they turned out pretty well. Of course, it's not difficult to take great pictures of such a cute subject. :)

They've been married for over 60 years!

I'm so glad Leila got to meet them and I can't wait to take her back!

4 Generations

My Grandpa always used to take us on walks, and he always wore this kind of hat and carried a walking stick. When I came across this hat, I had to get it for Leila.

These next few actually weren't poses. They were just hanging out together one day.

I think she knows he's special. Don't you?

Playing Dress-up

Last Monday was a fun girls' day of shopping. It started with Leila hanging out in the bouncy seat while I showered.

Doesn't she look ginormous? She used to be too small to reach the toys and now she can almost get them in her mouth! Crazy!

Then, she enjoyed playing with the baby in the mirror.

Then, she, I, Danielle, and Rebecca headed off to the mall to find her something cute to wear in our Nebraska family photos.
We started off in Nordstrom, where we found some cute accessories for women that we just had to see on Leila. This ended up being such fun that we continued this trend throughout our trip.

Here we are in Forever 21...



Aren't I sparkly?



(No,she's not wearing a cape. It's a big bib that also functions as a burp cloth. Neat, huh?)

And, then we moved on to Janie and Jack...







I'm a tough cowgirl!


Howdy partner!


This was just a sunhat, but looks a bit like a sombrero, here.

This was the last one. As you can see, she was getting a little tired. And, who could blame her? She had been putting up with us all afternoon!

FYI... this is the dress we ended up getting, since our family is wearing black, white, and denim.

Lastly, here's a cake from this weekend. Can you tell what it's supposed to be?

Day Four

Day four of our trip was primarily spent at my heaven-on-earth... Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmeuth, Michigan.
But first, while we got dressed and ready to go, Leila spent a little time with her Great Grandpa.
Here's a video.



(I did make this dress and diaper cover. Not too bad, huh?)

Then, off to the store we went.
In case you don't know, Christmas and cold weather are two of my favorite things. The weather in Michigan wasn't exactly cold, but it was much cooler than here, and I had a ginormous store of nothing-but-Christmas, so I was in a great mood.

I danced and skipped Leila around


And we had a great time!
She loved the huge nativity...


And Aunt Danielle was one of the few who seemed to enjoy the video on the story of Bronner's...

Leila also loved the greenery

And was quite impressed by her first view of the store

But she wasn't too sure about the nutcracker

It was a long day, as we spent time at Bronner's, then toured Frankenmeuth and ate lunch, and then went back to finish shopping at Bronner's, so Nan was happy to take Leila outside to people-watch and to take a nap.

Aunt Danielle thought it was fun to take pictures as a chicken

So, after Leila woke up, she felt the need for Leila to pose, too.

There is also a cheese store where Ryan and I took pictures a few years ago, so Leila and I had to make sure we got one together, as well.

We went to a German market, where we found a small child-sized spatula. I had to get it for Leila, so that she can use it when she's old enough to help me in the kitchen. Surprisingly, it has great use now.

(We have a ton of pictures of Leila chewing on the spatula, now named "Molly", but this is Danielle's favorite, so I chose this one to use on the blog.)

Back to Bronner's we went, where Leila tried ripping open some presents. I think she's going to be good at it this year!

And where Rebecca found her a fun Christmas hat.

(Yes, she did buy it)

Danielle found a cutesy kids apron.

And Leila made a phone call on the Santa Hotline.

And Leila enjoyed looking at the pretty lighted Christmas trees.

And, Danielle took this picture because she wanted to show that "nobody's perfect".

Poor Lei was very tired on the way home and Danielle was being a mean old auntie and taking pictures.

Once back home, Leila took a nap and I helped Rory and Kasy decorate a cake.

And before bed, Grandpa and Leila posed for a picture.

Also, check out this video of the new noise that Leila developed on Monday, after giving up the growl she did while in Michigan.