Beach Babe(s) in Santa Cruz

Leila and I took a trip up to Santa Cruz for a glorious 24 hours to visit with some of my great college swimming buddies.

Leila discovered sand, and LOVED it!

Uncle Kris was on Day 1 of his voyage across country, back to Raleigh, and paused to help teach Leila the joys of the beach.
Leila enjoyed meeting Amy's daughter, Madeleine, who is just two months older than Leila.
Brooke, Amy and I soaked up the lovely Santa Cruz afternoon sun, while enjoying time with the most beautiful "babes" on the beach. And Leila also relished in her post-sand afternoon snack.

Ah, a stunning sunset...

Leila agreed to share the backseat with Madeleine. They went from gazing into each other's eyes, to reading books, to leading a symphony of cries that rose to quite a crescendo as we parked the car in front of Brooke's house.

A Few Leila Funnies

Here's a collection of four rather entertaining moments from Leila -- two from Christmas, and two from earlier this month. Enjoy.

Learning to Walk

Here she goes... onward and forward. Leila is clearly not concerned about her lack of grace, as she ecstatically makes progress on her clumsy little feet, pausing to check out the sights along the way. And what a great toy... once she gets to her destination (or collapses in fatigue), she can have fun emptying the contents of her wooden wagon.

Leila's Christmas Brunch

Leila was really hammin' it up for Christmas brunch. As you can see, she was ecstatic to be eating some scrambled eggs, shouting for her 'dada,' grooving to the music in her happy, post-present head, clapping her hands in delight, giggling up a storm and working on her sippy cup coordination.

Leila's First Christmas!

Christmas was particularly special this year. Not only was it the first time in three years that the four Woodards were together for the holiday, but bringing David and Leila into the celebration made the day positively magical. Leila really enjoyed all of the brightly wrapped presents, especially the shiny bows. It was such a treat to watch her experience the joy of all her new toys.

We spent the morning of Christmas Eve opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Vaina and Aunt Beth and Uncle Jeremy. Leila really enjoys her new stacking cups and the Elmo telephone. Thank you!!
Below, she makes an honest and enthusiastic attempt to tear into Aunt Beth and Uncle Jeremy's gift.
Then we went over to the Woodard home for cookies and decadent treats on Christmas Eve afternoon, and were greeted by a sea of colorful boxes on Christmas morning. Surrounded by gifts, Leila makes a dive for the toys that make noise.
Here she is, donning one of many different bows.
Leila says hi to her Raggedy Ann doll, a gift from Nana. This was a gift of tradition, one that Nana gave me for my first Christmas.
Uncle Kris pulled through with the biggest surprise of the day... a hot new jogging stroller for the Woodard-Vaina's to enjoy for years to come.
A little football-throwing action... another Woodard family Christmas tradition. Yet another tradition, not pictured here, was a good old fashioned Nerf gun war.
A toast to Leila, family, health and prosperity.
Leila's new walker toy.
Taking her new wheels out for a spin.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all! And a Happy New Year!!

A Winter Walk Through Kaweah Oaks Preserve

A few days ago, we took a stroll through one of the preserves that my organization manages. I used to go to Kaweah Oaks Preserve as a kid and hadn't been there since I was in high school, probably trespassing at night. So, it was really nice to revisit this beautiful stretch of land that has been restored to its natural state, filled with cattle grazing freely, wise, old valley oak trees and lazy sycamores that uniquely rest portions of their thick and weary trunks vertically along the ground.

A few recent pics

Here's Leila showing off her cheeks...
... and her ability to multi-task (ease her ceaseless teething pains and stand up to scope out the scene)...
... and her ability to worm her way into and out of a tight spot.

Leila's First Thanksgiving

We (as in David, Leila, Uncle Kris, Nana and Popo) all drove down to Temecula, CA for Thanksgiving with my Aunt Vickie, Uncle John, and cousins Abby and Zach. It was a festive event, full of laughter, games and especially calories. Since it was the first time that the Richardsons (some of Small Hands' most devout followers) had met Leila, it was a special treat for all.

There is so much to be thankful for and so much to be hopeful for as 2009 approaches. Cheers to all!

Below, Leila tries turkey for the first time. My interpretation of this shot is, "Mmm, this bird is lip-lickin' gooood. More turkey, less green beans, thanks."
The group shot...
Leila tried her hand at the black and white keys... a pianist in the making?

Upon our return on Sunday, we picked up the newest addition to our growing family (and David's growing inner circle of good-looking ladies) -- "Dolce." As you can tell, she's a beautiful little kitty (about 6 months), but what's more, she's a special little kitty. Dolce has about 22 toes (6 more than the average feline). These fine creatures are known as polydactyls and were highly coveted by Ernest Hemingway who had scores of them frolicking around his Key West home.

Dolce instantly warmed to David and me (though tries to keep her distance when Leila approaches). She cuddles and coos and even head-butts for closer cuddling. Because she's so extraordinarily sweet, we decided to name her Dolce.