Make a mess, clean it up, sit down, stand up

Leila has been working on so many things lately, among them, sitting, standing, dancing, twirling, throwing things with vehement determination and picking them up (every now and then) with deliberate care. She much prefers making a mess though. But I'm just so proud of her when she occasionally participates in clean up time. Clearly, we'll be focusing on that lesson more as time goes on.

New Video, Finally -- Ducks!

It astounds me how well Leila responds to an increasing vocabulary of words. And it also astounds me HOW she responds. Here she is, responding to the word, "Duck." Turn up your speakers. Also in this video, Leila shows her appreciation for the shoes that Daddy picked out for her.

A not-so-traditional Easter

San Francisco. Easter. What a gloriously unusual combination. Leila, Robin and I attended the Dolores Park Easter Celebration and Hunky Jesus Contest, hosted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the kabuki-inspired cross-dressing nuns-of-fun. Sacrilegious? Maybe a little. But entirely fun. We'll be painting eggs and eating chocolate bunnies from here on out, so why not try something a little different. Right? I mean, it could be 17 years or more before Leila gets another Easter like this one. And besides, how many kids can say they met their first drag queen on Easter Sunday at 14 months of age?

Ah, the beautiful freaky people of the beautiful City by the Bay...
Good times... in this moment, for everyone but Leila
The parade that we happened to stumble into.
Pretty in pastels?
Marching to the beat of a different drummer.
Leila, keeping it real.

Road Tripping to the Bay

Leila and I headed up to the Bay Area for Easter weekend. Our first stop was Santa Cruz. Well, that's not true. Our first three stops were emergency roadside stops. Leila, much to my dismay (and wanderlust), seems to have grown into a serious case of the motion queasies. Once she awoke from her nap, we couldn't go but 10-15 miles between raunchy bouts of bile eruptions. After eruption #3, she alas settled into another nap that endured for the rest of our drive to Santa Cruz. Once we arrived (and thoroughly cleaned up), the visit with Brooke, Zach and the Hassett family was a delight. We hung out on the beach, played with Brooke and Zach's two cats, went for walks, went to a BBQ and soaked up some sun. On Sunday, it was onward to San Francisco (luckily, she slept for the duration and the car remained "clean") to visit with Robin (see Easter blog post). Our return trip on Monday was not so clean. Am I thankful that we "only" had to make two stops? Poor Leila. Poor mommy. Poor stinky car.

Below: the calm between the storms...
Loving the sand.

In San Francisco, at a super posh Pacific Heights playground.

Food, fun and friends at the Farmer's Market

Leila and I thoroughly enjoyed the Farmer's Market last Thursday with the Duttons and the Clarks. The market debuted its monthly art evenings. Local art was on display, and there were several fun activities to encourage kids to get creative. Leila opted to wear the art this time around, getting her first of many (no doubt) face paintings.


Chloe and Harper showed their solidarity and got matching flowers on their cheeks.
Happy Duttons, and Harper shows off her creation.

Stacking Up Her Accomplishments

She's really getting the hang of stacking things. And clearly, she's quite proud of her accomplishments!