A Smorgasbord of Updates

I just can't get enough of these sleepy pictures of Leila. (Keen Small Hands observers might notice that Louie looks a little different, a little younger perhaps. That's because this is Louie's younger brother, Larry. Louie went missing for a couple nights, but we eventually found him hidden in one of the drawers of her bed. Whew!)

I took Leila to her first of at least two weddings this year. What made the wedding such a special occasion, for Leila anyway, was her special "party shoes." I had actually hidden these silver slippers in the closet for fear of her obsession with the shiny party shoes. Indeed, she loved them! But I promptly stashed them away again until we bust them out for the next extra special occasion later this year (woohoo, Adrienne's getting hitched in 4 months!) The bride and groom provided oodles of small bottles of bubbles. Leila hoarded them and entertained herself quite well. (Adrienne - got bubbles?)
Say cheeeeeesseeee!
My brother Kris (now correctly identified by Leila as Ungkel Shisssh instead of Ungkel Shit) graduated from Infantry School (IBOLC) this past Thursday at Ft. Benning. I'm so proud of him. Unfortunately, Leila did not make the cross-country flight, but she was really excited that I was traveling on an airplane. She was even more excited when I told her that she had been on an airplane as a baby: "Leila go airplane, baaaby," she repeated several times before I left, while I was gone and after I returned. I'm grateful to my parents for watching Leila while I enjoyed this special ceremony for my brave brother.
I got to participate in the ceremony by applying his Infantry rope.

And, the real news is that Leila is ... drumroll ... practically POTTY TRAINED!! I'd say that she's about 90% there. It's really been an amazing and fairly rapid evolution, especially considering her fiercely persistent resistance for the past 6 months. About 10 days ago, I gave her some pull-ups to try and a book about a girl named Hannah who learns how to use the big girl potty. Though Leila was scared to make the peepee, she was inspired by Hannah. You could see the book working on her like the strongest kind of peer pressure. She couldn't visit the potty without Hannah. While I was in Atlanta, my parents continued the efforts, with a steadily improving success rate. By the time we were back home this past weekend, Leila was eager to show me her skills. She's been getting to the potty about 9 times out of 10. She's even done two poops on the potty, but is still a little bit of a naysayer when it comes to grunting out the number twos. We're on our way to diaper liberation, woo-hoo. Yeah, Leila!
I think her favorite part of using the potty might actually be dumping the pee in the "big potty." (She learned this from Hannah.) Wait a minute... favorite part of using the potty? - the candy, for sure. She always gets a jelly belly after a pee (two for a poo) and can hardly contain her excitement when she receives her reward. Other favorite potty-time activities include pulling down her pants (being the exhibitionist that she is), and that initial sound of success (the little whistle of the tinkle, which signals that candy is imminent). One of my favorite parts is how she keeps her pants around her ankles and, on the occasions I'm not in the bathroom with her, she waddles out to show me the evidence of her pee in the removable potty cup.

And lastly, a little insight into Leila's fearless spirit and taste for wild adventure. Kinda scary, right?

Great Weekend at Coy Flats

Nana and Popo have their camping routine down to a science that almost crosses the threshold of fine art. I marveled at their meticulous planning, packing and sense of process. Of course, I could never be that organized, but it really gives me something to strive for. Beyond serving as camping gurus, Nana and Popo were most excellent companions. We enjoyed our time cooking, eating, stoking the smoky fire, making s'mores, playing cards, hiking, playing ball with Leila, blowing bubbles with Leila, reading to Leila and chatting. And Leila proved to be a pretty stellar camper and tent sleeper. Thanks to all for a marvelous weekend of mountain air.


Leila was not so happy about feeling the spray of this very powerful, up-close-and-personal, late spring waterfall just past Ponderosa. That's probably because she didn't have to work very hard to get there or get back. While Leila sat impatiently as navigator in the backpack on my back, Nana, Popo and I practically slid down a mountain to get to this beautiful waterfall, gripping onto tree branches so that we didn't slip and slide down the acute-angled, loose dirt trail. Ah, but what a stunning view and crisp, refreshing snowmelt spray.

Nana and Leila took a few restful minutes to get in some quality reading time...
Bubble time...
Cooking up some tortellinis on night 2.
We had an intense two-night 500 rummy battle.
Game on? Not for Nana and Popo. "D" is for Dad, "M" is for Mom and "N" is for Niki.
Leila slept in the tent, snug as a bug in a rug.


And best of all... Leila never got sick. For those of you who know the road up to Camp Nelson and, from there, the road up to Ponderosa... it's a slithery snake of a ride that could inspire nausea in the strongest of tummies out there. We debuted the "sea bands" for this ride -- could it be that they are the key to vomit-less drives? We won't leave home without them ever again.

Adventure, Friends and Cities by the Bay

We all know that Bay Area weather is dependably undependable, but it seems that every time we head up to the Bay Area, the weather is divine, beckoning our return. Our friends, of course, are dependably fabulous, also beckoning our return. Thanks to all of our Bay Area crew for a truly tremendous loooong Memorial Day Weekend. We can't wait to see you again, regardless of weather.

Below, Leila teaches "Auntie Bobbie" (in San Francisco: our first stop) how to play the Egg game on my iPhone.
Leila has been quite amorous of late. Robin caught us sneaking a smooch at happy hour.
I took Leila to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Though she's a bit young for most of the activities, it was fun to see her try some things out. She was apprehensive but curious about the seemingly infinite realm of scientific exploration. So was I. But we definitely got in there and made some discoveries. Below, she practices turning turning the world upside down and creating desert landscapes...
...and watches rainbows appear and transform on various prisms through a spinning lens...
...and she makes a wave of motion and music...
... and creates a psychedelic spinner...
Below, we've arrived at "Auntie Brooke's" house in Santa Cruz and Leila is proudly sporting her Cal shirt. Go Bears!
Auntie Brooke stares lovingly into the eyes of her adorable and perfect 3-week-old son, Jack.
Leila and Madeline spent two days together playing like twin sisters - playing, hugging and wrestling with unbridled love. Below is a streaked glimpse of their rapidly moving love and fun...
A Lady Bear and Baby Bear reunion! Cal swimming alum and former roommates Brooke, Liv, Amy and I brought our growing brood of little munchkins together for a fabulous day of Santa Cruz backyard play time and lunch.
Playtime.
Lunchtime.
And then I took Leila to the Santa Cruz pier with Brooke for a picnic followed by a visit with the seals...
Under the pier, the seals truly captivated Leila with their barks and silly antics...
A long, tired car ride back to the valley for both of us...