Nana Jr.

I am constantly amazed by what these little people are capable of.  Lila is not the best "talker" yet, and lately, it seems like I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what she is telling me, and what she is thinking.  I know that she is extremely observant, but sometimes she surprises me with just how observant...

Last weekend we were at my parents house.  My Mom always takes her dog out on a leash.  Last time we were there, Lila had to have a leash on her stuffed dog.  This time she had to actually take my Mom's dog out, and patiently walk her around the yard, just like Nana does.  Not a big deal, right?  Then my brother hollers at me, "Come look at her", so I go to the door.  Lila has the dog leash in one hand and is bending over to carefully examine the grass, and poke around in it, and then grabs a handful.  This may not sound like a big ah-ha moment to you.  But, that is exactly what my Mom does when she is outside with the dog...she looks for and picks weeds!  It is funny what these little people notice.

Notice the "weeds" in her right hand.

*Disclaimer...Lila does actually wear pants, sometimes. She is going through a stage where she doesn't really want to have her diaper changed, but doesn't want to sit on the potty either. It almost takes two people to get a diaper on the kid, so sometimes the pants don't make it back on. Any advice on starting potty training would be greatly appreciated. She tells me when she needs to go (sometimes) and then we run, run, run, to the potty and then she acts like she is afraid of it.  Does this mean she is just not ready yet?*

Jumping bean?!?!

Lila has been trying for weeks to jump; she practices a lot...she is so determined, and it is so cute. Last night, she finally did it! Both feet came off the ground twice!!! She was so proud of herself. Of course, by the time I got the camera, she was so tired and her little legs were worn out. Here is her attempting for us, maybe soon we will be able to show the real thing.

I hear the train a comin'...

Today we went for a ride on the Cedar rock railroad http://www.cedarrockrailroad.com/.

Lila was saying "choo choo" all the way to the park, and while we were waiting for the train. Then the train started, and she got a little scared, but rebounded pretty quickly to enjoy the ride. It is a neat little train, and we will definetly be going back. (we managed to get out of the house without any plastic necklaces, but the pink sunglasses were a fixture most of the day)

Ooh La La

This past weekend, I went and got a pedicure while Lila was taking a nap. When she got up the first thing she noticed was my toes, and she was constantly touching them and looking at them...so I painted her toenails. She was so excited, and just kept looking at her feet, then she had to break out her high heels. It was so funny. We then had a little date, and we went to my friend's wedding. She actually sat down by me in church the whole time, with her feet stretched out in front of her proudly.

Check out these legs!

vacation

**WARNING: This post is super long

This past week we went on vacation. We literally went from coast to coast, and two different time zones in four days. We had a great time, but I don't think we will be attempting that again any time soon.

We left Austin on Friday, July 31 st, headed for Seattle to vacation with Shawn's mother's family. It is always exhausting getting there, but we are so fortunate to have families that we are close to and that do things together, so it is always well worth it to go and spend time with everyone, and it is always soooo much fun. It was Lila's first plane ride, and I was a little nervous. She is such a trooper, and a generally content kid, but you never know what is going to happen at 30,000 ft for 5 hours. But, she was a champ. We had a bumpy start to our trip, and didn't get to Seattle until 1:00 am (which is 3:00 am here), but we quickly rebounded and had a fantastic time.

On Saturday morning, we headed down to Pike's Market and the waterfront in Seattle. I never get tired of going there. The market is such a lively place, and so full of color. Note that the pictures of the flowers and food are unedited...the colors are true to life. Everything there is so vibrant.

Here we are at the waterfront

Eating at Ivars. The kids love feeding the birds there.

On Saturday evening, we headed to the home of some friends of Shawn's Aunt Carmen. They have a beautiful home overlooking the lake, with a magnificent view of Mt. Ranier

Toby had planned to surprise Gran with a vow renewal ceremony for their 20th anniversary. Gran was very surprised, and it was a beautiful night.

Mt. Ranier at sunset

On Sunday, we packed up and headed for camping in Port Angeles, WA.

The drive looked a little different than it would in Texas.

This was the view from our campsite...not bad huh? It was a really neat place. The view and sound of the Pacific, and it was neat to watch the fishing boats go out. Also, a little break from the heat.

Not sure why all the guys get such a kick out of playing with Nerf guns?

We came home on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday we headed to Corpus Christi. It was Lila's first beach experience, and she loved sitting in the surf and letting the waves hit her.

Notice the necklaces: no outfit is complete without at least one plastic necklace!

Jaid, Mary and Kamdyn joined us at the coast and we all went to the TX State Aquarium. Lila loved it...especially the dolphins. During the show, she was dancing, and clapping

A good time was had by all. Next time I think we will take two separate trips, though.

Big Week

Last week was so much fun. Abbi and Aiden (cousins) came to spend the week at Gran's house. We went over almost everyday to hang out. Mostly we went to the pool. The little kids couldn't get enough of the "frog" slide (it was like a frog and you slide down the tongue), and Abbi was so patient with them, and caught them at least two hundred times. There was another little girl that came to the slide and she told her Mom that she wanted the big sister to catch her, too. It was so cute.

Lila would start to go even before her bottom hit the seat. The kid loves to slide!

Here goes Aiden

Here is the crew at Gran's house, pretending the swing is a roller coaster.


On Friday, we packed up and headed to Hallettsville. Lila always has such a good time there looking at all the animals, and playing with my crazy Dad.

Big Papa had young ducks

Here she is walking with big Papa in the yard, checking out all the animals

This is a picture taken from my Granny's yard. It was about to rain, and I looked out the window, and the ground was so yellow against the blue sky, and the trees looked so vividly green...it was soooo pretty. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was beautiful; it embodied why I love the country. And, did I mention that my cell phone didn't ring all weekend and I got to take 2 naps. Thanks for a great weekend everybody.

Here is "our" watermelon crop! Shawn planted the vine the last time we were there, and my grandfather has been taking care of it (so it is really his crop). There are 3 baby watermelons; hopefully at least one of them will make it...that will be exciting!

Good-bye Mullet

On Sunday, July 12th, Lila got her first haircut...unofficially. Her hair in the back was long and stringy (like a mullet), and it had been made dry and brittle by our summer diet of sun and chlorine, and it was time for it to go. So, after her bath I cut it off. Sorry, I didn't take any before pictures...I was in a hurry to complete the project before Shawn came in the house to find me cutting her hair (he didn't think it needed to be cut; said something about "natural progression" because he is such a naturalist and all). It looks so much better, and is starting to curl again.