Leila's First Birthday

Can't believe my little Leila is one.

With Tyson doing boards studying, we originally planned to postpone the celebration. Then I went to Costco and found myself tempted by the red velvet cake.

So, we decided to get some cake and sing happy birthday.

She tried to blow. Then she tried to touch. Then we blew it out. And she ate.
Oh man, that girl knows how to devour cake. That piece was gone in less than a minute.
She was a happy little girl.
Scratch that. Make it a VERY happy little girl. (This is what she did when I told her to smile for the camera.)

A little about Leila:

• She's SUPER active. She walks, runs, climbs, jumps on the bed, dances, etc. She's a pro....a pro that often finds herself falling and crying and then trying again.
• Leila loves independence. She doesn't like help from anyone, she'd rather do it herself.
• She doesn't say much, but does babble and yell a good amount. She has said, "mom", "dad", "more", "no", "llama", and "hi". But when she's learning a new word, for a LONG time she tends to whisper the word quietly until she feels more confident, then she'll say it all the time. She's recently started whispering "woof" and "quack".
• While she's learning a few animal noises, she does do a rhinoceros sound. Which according to one of her favorite books goes "snort and snuff". She'll breath deeply in and out through her nose.
• She's got several teeth. She started with the two front bottom teeth. Then she got her canine teeth on top, then a whole bunch started to come out a little bit ago. We call her a "hobo" cause her teeth are kind of all over the place and then she'll give a big old smile to us.
• She loves baths. She loves to dunk her head under the faucet. She also loves to play with the toys and line them up on top of the baths edge. She also loves to stand up in the tub, and once fell where she bit all the way through her tongue. Ouch.
• She'd LIVE outside if we let her. She'll often grab her shoes and try to put them on herself or give them to me to put on. Then she'll pound on the door to get out.
• She loves giving hugs and kisses. She'll always give mom kisses. She'll always give Eden "hug attacks" if Eden's lying on the floor. And she'll give daddy a kiss....usually only AFTER she's given mom a kiss first.
• Leila loves being naked. All the time. She always tries to run away during diaper changes and while getting dressed. She puts up quite a fight.
• She is about 75th percentile in weight (a little over 22 lbs) and in the 90th percentile height.
• She loves waving and saying "hi" to strangers. Mostly guys, not as much girls.
• She's definitely got a sense of humor. She loves to do things she's not supposed to do. She'll start doing it, wait for you to notice that she's doing it, give a huge smile, and keep on doing it. She also loves when Eden fake laughs and she'll do a fake laugh back.
• She loves books. By far, her favorite books are by Sandra Boynton. She'll carry them around everywhere, bring them to you to read and she'll sit on your lap, or you'll just catch her looking through the books herself.

Gotta Let Go

Last night, I only read a few verses of scripture before bed.

After the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors the battle continues. Soon there are so many people inside the prison that the people realize that they need to get rid of the prisoners or else they will grow too strong.

These few verses helped me.

Lately I've been hearing about people's problems and I've been putting that sadness and worry and trouble onto my shoulders...even if it doesn't help them. I couldn't help myself. I almost felt guilty for feeling happy when I knew others weren't happy.

Then there's my family.

Additional stress continues as I try to make things perfect at home. Make sure Eden and Leila are "perfect" children. Be the "best wife in the universe" for Tyson while he's busy studying for boards. Keep the house in "perfect" order.

And quite honestly, the more I TRIED, the worse things have become.

I'm still trying to fix up the mix up.

The house is a disaster and the kids are moody (cause I've been moody) and then Tyson ends up stressed and moody...and the downward spiral continues.

But I know that if I get rid of the unnecessary stress in my life (get rid of people in my prison) then things will be better.

Keep it simple.

There truly is a power that lies within simplicity.

I'm not saying that I'm not gonna start caring about other people, my children, and my husband. Definitely not the case. But I want to only take on burdens that I can do something about. Help those I'm able to help. Pray for those I can't help. Work on being happy and doing what I can. If I don't get EVERYTHING done, don't stress...tomorrow's another day.

Speaking of keeping it simple and getting rid of the unnecessary...

I need to spend less time on the internet. Period.

So, on that note, FAREWELL.

(I'll still blog on occasion, I'm not leaving that...just gonna pay more attention to my children right now.)

I May Have Gone a Little Picture Happy

(This is only a minuscule sampling of how many pictures I took.)

But you gotta admit that

she's pretty darn cute...

I couldn't resist taking millions of pictures when Leila INSISTED she feed herself baby food. Her little fingers exploring. Learning to use a spoon. Discovering alternative ways to get the food out of the jar.

And of course...having OODLES of fun!

In the end, I was extremely impressed by how much food she got in her mouth. After cleaning her up and trying to take a picture of how little food remained....she found her way over to make a new mess.

She knows how to keep me on my toes!

Time To Eat

Sorry for the poor quality of this video. It was taken with my phone. But it just made me smile.

Eden decided to try the baby food applesauce and she found that she liked it. She occasionally eats it (more often than Leila eats it). But when Leila sees Eden with something, she wants it. Solution? Have Eden feed Leila. PERFECT.

Although, I wish you could see how much applesauce is on Leila's face.