Success in the Pool!

On Sunday, Leila was giddy with excitement to show off her new pool moves for Nana and Popo. Check out her slightly nervous "warm up" smile.
And she's off and kicking, workin' those legs as if she'd been practicing for months! Clearly enjoying herself in her fun, new water world.
Ever the thrill-seeker, Leila enjoyed the laws of gravity with splashy belly flops. The higher I threw her, the heartier her laughter. And she didn't even mind getting an occasional post-toss, underwater dunk.
Even Leila was proud of her stellar accomplishments in the pool!

Stacking Up Her Accomplishments

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

WOW, She's ONE!!

Leila's first birthday was a fabulous event! We had a lovely party with wonderful people! And for once, Leila was actually a bit overwhelmed by being the center of attention. But she certainly enjoyed all the great company and loves all her new toys and clothes. Thank you so much to everyone!!

Happy Birthday Leila!!

Leila is a lucky girl! She had so many friends that were eager to help her celebrate her first birthday. We are so happy to know so many wonderful people. Thank you for sharing our special day.
Leila was more interested in the crowd singing happy birthday than the chocolate headed her way. She graciously shared her cake with everyone else and settled for a banana bread muffin for herself.
Excited to tear into her pretty gifts.
Chloe and Harper did an excellent job helping Leila open her presents. Thank you!!
Olivia and Leila enjoyed some play time.
And the men cornered the food table for themselves.
This was the first installment of Leila's 3-day birthday celebration... not bad for a one-year-old. For daycare on Friday, I brought banana bread muffins for everyone to enjoy.
Leila's weekday posse.

Almost there...

Leila has been so very, very determined to walk like all the "big kids." She gets up, she falls. She gets up, she takes two steps, and she falls. After repeated, nearly audible kerplunks on the toosh, she just keeps getting right back up on her feet. Failing is not an option for our little girl. In the past couple weeks, she's gone from taking a very hesitant two steps to taking about six or seven bold strides, covering at least 3 feet at a time. Might she squeeze in the full accomplishment of this major milestone by her first birthday next week?

Waving Hello

Leila recently learned how to wave and say hello. As far as we can tell, this is her first word. Both the "hi" and the wave came about pretty much simultaneously. And she's certainly proud of herself. She loves to show off for anyone and everyone including strangers in the grocery store, her reflection, and trees.

Moving on Up

The Crawl and the Beginning of Upward Mobility

Leila has moved on from the army crawl and is officially cruising on her hands and knees, scooching all over the house and seemingly honing in on the off-limits zones like she had a radar to detect them. You'll also see her "hey, what's up" head bob, which she has been using a lot lately. And at the end you'll catch a glimpse of her getting a bit impatient with the "next step" in this whole ordeal of becoming a biped.

Not your traditional crawl, but she's certainly mobile

Learning to Crawl

After a lovely week in Florida with David's parents, we made the bold trek across country with Leila sitting on our laps aboard a Delta flight from West Palm Beach to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to San Francisco.

Fountain of Babble

Leila has developed her own distinct language that involves a lot of babble and a lot of bubbles. She can chirp louder than most birds, coo tenderly, squeak and squeal in delight, but seems to be most fond of emulating an array of juicy farty noises. 

  

More of this to come...

Leila's First Dip and Dunk

It was another big day for Leila. And though she wasn't exactly thrilled about moving through the chilly water at the University of Georgia pool, she wasn't upset either. She even recovered rather quickly from the full submersion. Next up, the beaches of Florida. And pretty soon, she'll be ready to surf with her Uncle Kris.

(Click on the images to get the full effect of her expressions)

In the Rainforest

Here's the latest video, in honor of her four-month birthday tomorrow (June 1).

For fear of spoiling the surprise, I won't say what she does here.. but she's been doing it, unintentionally and more completely, for a couple weeks now.