Good Morning Birthday Girl!

Woke up Leah at 6:33 am as I do every year to wish her a happy birthday. Starting at age 3 she always asks me to retell her birth story. Today she woke up briefly, asked me to tell her but was fast asleep before I could finish. We did all over again an hour later.

Sleepyhead birthday girl


Wake up! *flash* Guess she didn't care for the flash going off in her face




Crazy bedhead hair


Birthday outfit






Visiting with Louis and the kitten








Leah opened a few of her presents this morning before camp.



Happy to see the Purple Tiara from Hot Topic she's been eying for over a month.




My kid sure loves underthings.


Especially Hannah Montana themed


Another item Leah has been asking for-dinosaur fossil kit.


Next was her birthday breakfast. At first she wanted Raisin Challah French Toast but she changed her mind because she wanted slices of the Challah with cream cheese and apple butter for lunch. Instead she had scrambled herb eggs with sausage and toast.




Due to some concerns that Leah may have had a contagious virus (turns out she was fine) she was sent home early from camp. She spent the afternoon seeing the doctor and then hanging out with her grandparents. Afterward we came home to open up the rest of her presents and get ready for Adventureland.

Cute Hello Kitty Fedora




Team Jacob (Sorry Lindsay- it was her choice) lunch box and necklace


She's been bugging us for this bug kit for over 6 months now.


She also received a tub of Tinkertoys, a few board games (Twister, Perfection, Sorry), random odds & ends, Shrek Silly Bandz, two video games for her newly acquire Nintendo DS and lots of clothing.

Sunday Mornings

My Sunday mornings used to be spent getting up early and enjoying a café con leche and some pan con matequilla. I like to watch CBS Sunday Morning. My father was usually off on Sundays (unless he was working overtime) and I remember getting up to watch the show with him. I think I liked that they always had all these different suns in varying media displayed throughout the show.

This has always been my quiet time.

Now that Louis wakes up around 6 and Leah is usually up by 7:30 my mornings have changed. I make them breakfast and we spend the morning playing and talking. Sometimes I get a cup of coffee in, usually cold by the time I get to it. I still watch the show but now I do so with Leah. It is actually pretty great. She learns a lot and afterward we look up answers to questions she may have.

It can be frustrating at times, the little time I have to myself but after mornings like today I realize I am trading up.

I snapped some quick pictures of the two of them together. After our breakfast, tv viewing and research on mosquitoes I went to the kitchen to do some much needed cleaning and Leah babysat for the next hour or so. She is amazing with Louis. A great big sister. A great helper for me.

Snotty mornings w/Leah

Some mornings go off without a hitch. We wake up, Leah gets ready for school without any issues. Clothes are put on, teeth are brushed, hair is done, breakfast is eaten and off she goes. Then other mornings are pure hell.

This particular morning was going well until Leah decided she needed to have yellow elastics for her pigtails not pink, not purple, not black...YELLOW. Unfortunately I had no clue where her yellow ones were.

We have always had two morning rules.

1) We do not fight about clothes.
2) We do not fight about breakfast.

We have added a third:

3) We do not fight about hair.

I finally located two yellow ones in my collection of hair bands.

This her post crying session, still needed to get her nose cleaned up but she wanted some pictures snapped of her outfit. She absolutely loves this outfit. She bought it all by herself at H&M.







Some pics of Leah waiting for her bus & walking towards it. Every time I watch her go to her bus I am shocked at how sad & proud I feel, all at the same time. I love that she is growing up and independent but still I just want it all to slow down a bit. Goes by much too quickly.

Good Morning, Good Morning

Our morning routine has improved greatly especially now that Leah can dress herself for the most part. Just another reminder to us that she is not a baby anymore and will really be 4 in a few weeks.