A Trip to the Mall

Leila's Nan has a blue dress that all 4 of us sisters had our pictures taken in as babies. Leila's Grandfather also has a shirt that he wore as a child. Both of them wanted Leila to have her picture taken in these items, so, we made an appointment at the mall and had Leila's pictures taken.

It was a long afternoon of picture taking (with Aunt Rebecca in tow) at the Galleria, and then lunch.
While we ate, Leila munched, too.

Then, while I was viewing the photos and deciding which pictures we wanted to order, Aunt Rebecca took Leila to play. She loved a puzzle where the pieces turned...

...And the huge monkey that guarded the entrance...

What fun!!

We're Back

We just got back from our trip to Michigan, where we got to spend lots of time with our family - especially Leila's Great-Grandma and Papa Racine, and my Aunt Kim and little cousins Rory and Kasy. We took TONS of pictures and video and have days worth of blogging material. So, it's going to take us some time to get through it all. But first, I've got to get up some pictures from Leila's trip with her Grandfather and Deedee to the mall 2 weeks ago.

First they went to Build-a Bear Workshop (BABW), where Leila got to choose her bear and watched while it was stuffed

Yes, they are very close to being the same size

Then, they chose clothes to match the ones Leila was wearing

She paid close attention

Then, they took Leila and her bear to visit Barney's for the first time

They visited the turtles and ducks, where Grandfather made sure Leila could see them

They also visited one of my favorite stores... Williams Sonoma

Leila took a short nap on the way home

And then thought it would be yummy to chew on Deedee's fingers

And her own shoes...

I thought it was hilarious that Leila and the bear were so close in size, so I thought I'd do a clothing swap. You know... just to see...

As you can see, the shirt is a bit small, but the skirt looks great! :)

She even fit in the box...

And Betsy thought it looked like so much fun that she had to give it a try

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Danielle and I also took Leila on a trip to IKEA recently, where she fell in love with a cool mobile

We also found the perfect chair for Leila that matches the one I'd like to get for myself!

Growing and Changing

So, Leila spent some time with Aunt Rebecca last week, and thought Leila needed to try on my hat. I'm so glad she did, because Leila looks fabulous in it!

And, here is her 5-Month Birthday picture

On Sunday, we went to Nan and Poppy's while Ryan went to work at Maypearl
Leila hung out on Nan's blanket...

She actually seems to enjoy tummy time now. Even when I lay her on her back, she immediately flips over to her tummy. She seems to turn back and forth every time I turn around.

She played with a new toy - plastic measuring spoons...

She said hello to Aunt Dell...

And wore her hair in a ponytail for the first time!

She said hello to her friend, Pico...

And she fell asleep in Nan's crib while Daddy did his remote wireless work on Maypearl's computers. As a result of the removed ponytail, she came home with some pretty crazy hair.

And here is a cute pic Aunt Danielle took.

Here are some older videos that never got posted...
First time in the exersaucer video from July 15th
First time she seemed okay with tummy time from July 26th video
Daddy discovering she reacts to her tummy being kissed from July 26th video
Starting to stand up from July 26th video
Swimming with Aunts Dell and Becca from July 29th video
Tummy time video from July 29th
Checking out the exersaucer video from July29th

Girl's Lunch

On Monday, Leila and I went with Aunt Rebecca to buy her new straightener. Hers just happened to shoot sparks while in Europe, and now the barrel gets super hot. So, we went to meet her friend Casey to buy another one from a beauty store that caters solely to people with their beautician's license. So, Aunt Becca got a hook-up, which is always FUN!

We got there a little early, so we hung out in the car for a little while.

After that, we went to eat lunch with Nan and Aunts Danielle and Christina.

It was our first all-girl lunch that everyone has been able to attend.

Leila's been a drool monster lately.

She really likes to grab our faces, now.

She sure loves her daddy.

Then, on Tuesday, she wore a new romper that her Aunt Danielle bought for her.

(Please forgive the shadow. I don't know what caused it.)

Finally!

So, the good news is Ryan got a laptop fixed up for me to use, so now I always have a computer to blog on. The bad news is it doesn't have a card-reader on it, so I have to use a cable to transfer my pictures from my camera to the computer, AAANNND I can't find the cable! Luckily, Rebecca realized just yesterday that her camera is a Sony, too, and her cable is the same as mine. SO, I am now able to blog again!

Hopefully, we won't have any more crazy setbacks in the near future.

Here's what's been going on...

I finished the diaper cover to match Leila's dress that I made. I was pretty surprised and impressed with how it turned out...

This is the second dress I made. It's just like the first, only better since it's the second time around.

I think this combo will be very practical when Leila is walking around and getting dirty.

Last Tuesday morning was spent at the Dallas Arboretum with "Aunt" Rachel and Katelyn. We had a great time, in spite of the typical Texas summer heat and humidity.

We went to see the Peter Rabbit exhibit...

But, Leila was more interested in her feet.

I took her shoe off very early on, so that she'd chew on her toes instead of her shoe.

Katelyn really seemed to like the big bunny stuff.

The houses were so cute! They were the perfect kiddy size!

We also saw some cool froggies that shoot water into the air. When Leila gets big enough, we can take her out there and she can play in the water.

We also saw a koi pond, which is just like the game Leila likes to play on my phone.

She still didn't show much interest, though...

But Katelyn really seemed to enjoy it.

Maybe next time Leila will enjoy it a little bit more, too.

Last Wednesday, Leila wore a dress she got from my old boss, her daughter, and her granddaughter at our baby shower. It came with a matching headband. I have always struggled getting headbands to look right on Leila, with all of her hair, but it was so cute that we had to try.

Leila's Aunt Becca put it on her here.

It wasn't long before we switched to a hairbow. :)

Thank you Debbie, Deedee, and Skylar!

Then, on Thursday, Aunts Danielle and Rebecca watched Leila while I went to a nursing school meeting. Leila got hungry while I was gone, and they were able to get her to take a bottle! It's something she hasn't been willing to do in months, and she did it twice last week - Thursday for Danielle, and Friday for Deedee.

I can't believe how much she's growing up!

On Saturday, we went to Nan and Poppy's so that I could finish painting their kitchen. While we were there, "Aunts" Rachel and Alyssa came over with Katelyn. Leila was already a bit tired when they came over, so she was a little cranky, but we still enjoyed spending time with them.

Katelyn really enjoyed all of the toys - Leila's and Pico's (the puppy).

It was time for Katelyn's snack while they were over, and Nan happened to have the perfect thing... a banana.

Doesn't she look pleased?

Leila was getting fussy, but, being a mommy, "Aunt" Rachel had just the right touch to pacify her.

Katelyn like the cat beds, too. She even meowed for us.

She really liked the kitties, too. Luckily, Cali is very sweet-natured.

Then the girls finished out their time by hanging out on Nan's bed.

Last week was very full, and we had a wonderful time!