The other birthday girl...

My Mom!

It is pretty cool that Leila could celebrate her first birthday with her Grandma.



We planned Leila's party for the Saturday after her real birthday, which happens to be my Mom's birthday. Leila got most (if not all) of the attention on Saturday, but I made sure it was Grandma who got to blow out the candle with her after we sang.



Too windy! They blew out an imaginary flame this year.

But the view was worth a little bay breeze.

It's party time!

Leila's party in pictures...

Leila ran around looking cute.


Acting all big and ONE years old!


Grandee came the furthest...all the way from Old Orchard Beach, ME.


Her BFF Kennady came! She brought her mom too.


Digging into her awesome rainbow cupcake.




Betsy made an INCREDIBLE rainbow cake. She was actually the one who inspired the party theme. I cannot believe I did not get one single photo of the rainbow awesomeness that we ate. Check out Betsylife her photos RULE!

She got frosting on Daddy's nose.


He got payback. Nice work Jeff!


Leila loved her cake, presents, and playing but most of all she loved Wills. I'm pretty sure this gorgeous grin was just for him.

My birthday girl

Dear Leila,

This has been the craziest and most wonderful year of my life. You captured Mommy's heart just hours after you were born. I will love you forever.

Yes dear, of course I loved you before you were born!!! But this is the moment I will never forget.

It was 12:26 am on Wednesday, September 22nd when I first heard you cry. I remember you cried, but not what it sounded like. Honestly, I was still in shock from the previous day's events. The next three hours were a blur too. I knew you were a healthy baby and that was all that mattered.

Finally it was just you, me, and Daddy in our hospital room. Before the nurses left they asked if they should swaddle you and put you to sleep in the bassinet. I sweetly told them, "No thank you, she can sleep on me." There was no way I was going to put you down in that bassinet so far away (literally touching my bed).

That night you slept and I fell in love. As I was patting your little bottom it hit me...this was exactly what it felt like when I was patting my big pregnant belly the night before. I knew all along you liked to stick your butt up into the air, and here you were still doing it IN MY ARMS.

That was the moment I realized I could love more than I ever imagined.

Happy birthday baby! Mommy loves you!

Sunday Funday

Sundays are fun again.




For the NFL opening weekend we found ourselves with a great balance between watching the football games and enjoying the beach.



This day became Leila's first "swim" in the ocean.


About a month ago I wrote about Leila's first trip to the beach (bayside!). It turned out to be a real pain to take her, mainly because she didn't want to leave. Jeff witnessed Leila's first tantrum when he brought her to the park at the bay following her first beach trip.

I witnessed quite a tantrum when leaving the ocean on this beautiful Sunday. It was a real, full-blown, meltdown. Uh oh.

My mom was just reminding me how her innocent, sweet, I-want-you-Mommy, mini-tantrums would not be so cute in two years. Try two days. Not cute at all.

Embarrassing actually.

With a screaming baby in my arms, Val and I took off Leila's wet and sandy mess of an outfit. We were fools to think it was those clothes bugging her. As Leila was still screaming Amy casually mentions that Leila might just want back in the water.

Amy was right. Leila was perfectly happy in the water. I knew this was a bad sign since nap time was thirty minutes away. We had to get back into the stroller now!

So this time I wrestled a screaming baby, in just her soggy diaper, all the way back to the boardwalk. All those friendly people who were smiling and waving at Leila as she made her way down to the water were now staring at me.

I should have been the one having the meltdown.

Dancing Leila

You are the dancing queen,

young and sweet, only seventeen one year old

Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life

See that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the dancing queen

September celebrations

Another round of September fun this weekend! I agree with the rest of San Diego...September is the best month.

Although ten years ago our lives changed forever, we have so much to be grateful for, inspired by, and in love with.

Many important people in my life were born in September. My Baba was born on the 9th, Leila on the 22nd, and my mother on the 24th. There are about four other September birthdays of people I love that I can think of right now!

This weekend we celebrated Leila's upcoming birthday with an old friend, Amy. She's been my sister's BFF since Kindergarten! She's visiting from Chicago with To,m and was instantly obsessed with Leila. (She will admit it herself.)


(Amy also happens to celebrate her birthday in September!)



We had a little birthday singing and dancing in their hotel room after some pool time and lunch.


(Looks like Leila is obsessed with Amy too!)

I love the look on her face here. Wow. For me?!?!


Thanks for celebrating with us Amy and Tom!

Birthday month

I have been known to celebrate my birthday for at least a week. Aunt Val celebrates for close to two weeks and Auntie Kim is always celebrating! It only seems fitting that Leila should be celebrating her 1st birthday all month long.

Leila has already received two birthday presents to kick off her birthday month. With each present she is getting better at the unwrapping part. I expect her to be a pro by the big day.

We've been practicing how to sing and blow (that's what my family calls it) with her new Happy Birthday Cake toy from Krista.





This cake is too cute and the tune is too catchy. (I am singing the counting song in my head right now.)

Here's to a month of celebrating Leila!!!

Dear Leila,

Once upon a time we were cool.



Love,
Your parents

She has to believe us, right?

Hanging out

I imagine some day these two girls will be hanging out and I'll see the need to whip out these photos and remind them that they have known each other forever. Literally (for real).



They'll watch some TV, read a book (or perhaps a gossip magazine), and look at us like we are crazy lame moms.


I can just hear them now...

Leila: Let's go hang out in your room Kennady.
Kennady: Totally. Why won't they stop taking pictures?!?


Someday they will be all grown up.
And until then, I will keep snapping the pictures.

Kennady 4 months old

Leila 11 months old