A string of firsts...

IMG_7058.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

Leila has had a couple of milestones as of late. Her first poop in the toilet (yes I did include 1 picture...sorry folks) and believe it or not, her first haircut. She was great during the whole experience thanks to the diversion of strawberries and of course Cory's technique of dry cutting. I don't think she knew it was happening for the most part. I finally have my clippings for her baby book. The curls are in full swing and the cut has brought out her ringlets even more.

Cory and Mark came for a visit and we had a great time seeing the sites. Some pictures attached from our hikes and touring around the city. Mike is also having a blast with Leila as well and they are enjoying quality uncle and niece time.

This one picture of Leila that is posted is one of my favorite pictures. It reminds me of a picture my mom has of me watching tv in her sunglasses and I just love that Leila has her own pair of stylish shades that are almost as big as the ones I had on for adults. I call them her Jackie O's and she is quite taken with them. Oh yeah...and the jacket obsession continues. She pretty much has a jacket and her cowboy boots on all the time. This is a rare opportunity when she was actually "underdressed". The battles on what to wear have already begun. Ugh.

Busy Bees

It has been a busy couple months for us as we are house hunting...looking for a fixer upper single family home in the city and we may have found it. We put an offer in this week and should know tomorrow on the status. It is a house built in 1919 (and you may see the pictures come up on our slide show as I used Flickr to upload the photos to send to my "2nd opinion delegates"). Hence you are seeing all the ins and outs of needed repair work and likely quite boring photos. Anyway...keep you all updated on the status-cross fingers.

Other developments: Michael arrived for a 3 week visit yesterday night. We are excited to have him here and will upload pictures soon of Uncle Mike and Leila etc. They are already galavanting together and having fun. We will also have my friend Cory in town this weekend which will be great.

I also think we have landed on a name ladies and gents. Rex Aaron. I don't need to explain "Rex" since you will know why. Aaron has arabic roots and so is a nod to Samy's heritage--not to mention we like the name. I think we are pretty set, but another name might come along and peak our interest. We have landed on Rex for sure though--I really like the name and love that Gramps will live on with our new little boy. I think Kay and Rexy would be happy.

Inspector Gadget

IMG_6967.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

It seems like everything is an "obsession" these days. Welcome to the world of an almost 2 year old I guess. The item of note now is the matching hat and coat set that we bought last winter. This little plaid wool number is Leila's only thought throughout the day I think. She has it on 24-7...and I mean 24-7 (except for when we pry it off of her to go to sleep). She asks for it first thing in the morning and insists on wearing it in the house all day and of course when we go out. I am sure you can tell it doesn't "work" with all outfits so she looks ridiculous. You get the picture. She reminds me of a little Inspector Gadget in this getup. I got so sick of looking at this thing though (and I used to really like the coat...) and even more sick of changing her diaper in it--a little tough with the coat length as you can imagine. Hence, this little ensemble has now "disappeared" and trust me, will not reappear until next winter. I know, ruin all the fun for the little one (she is still asking for it daily...) but I am sure she will learn to replace this with another item soon. (I will add she is sitting next to me as I type this and pointing at the picture and saying "Jatee" over and over and whining for it). Talk about rubbing it in, but I am not giving back in on this one folks...I am holding the line!

Click on the picture should you care to see a few more pics of Leila in her favorite gear + a cameo appearance by Hobbes.

Sleepy Time with Momma Leila

IMG_6951.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

Leila's new favorite past time is putting her various sock monkeys (mine from when I was a little girl), ugly dolls and babies to sleep. She lines them all up assembly line and requests blankets ad nauseam to ensure each one has at least several blankets. My solve is to have her use her old burp cloths as "blankets" to offset the desire to pull out all of our full size blankets. I think it is so cute how they are all arranged and she clearly has a plan for each. Some get more blankets than others and if you try to move them over to even them out she moves them right back. She is very loving with how she tucks them in and they "sleep" throughout the day.

Another new development is wanting to shut herself in her room for "privacy". I guess practicing for when she enters her teens! She tells us "bye bye" and closes the door after herself, then proceeds to do various activities. Typically she turns her room upside down pulling all her clothes out (again, practicing for her later years) and talks to us through the door. She really won't come out until she is good and ready. If you open the door prematurely, she promptly closes it back again. Case in point, she is in there right now, and I went in to check on her and she started whining "out there" and pointed for me to leave the room and closed the door back after me. I guess I won't take offense! Eventually she knocks and indicates she is ready to join the family again. I am amazed she can find so much entertainment in that little room.