Laela's finished big girl room...

Some people have asked to see Laela's new room, so I wanted to post a few pictures. It was really hard to take the pictures because of the angles in the room, but this will show you a little bit of what we did.

We went with black, lime, pink, purple, and teal. Some of the stuff I could use from her old room, but some I had to buy new or re-do. Here is when you walk in. I found this super cute picture and hung it just above the hooks that collect everything from purses to scarves to hairbows. :) This is her day bed and art wall. She has about 15 pillows and stuffed animals on her bed right now! When the bottom trundle piece comes in, I will take another picture and post the bed made-up and pretty. She absolutely loves her name on the wall (Those were from her old room. I just recovered them with new colors of scrapbook paper and added some bling!) I have not quite figured out this shelf yet. I has some awesome boxes on each shelf (we had them in her old room) but there is not anything super inside of them. I think it will just take a little time and we will figure out what needs to be in there. Oh and above the shelf is a fun board I found at the merchantile. I put pictures of her friends and some family on there. (It even has Santa and she LOVES to take a peek at everyone!) Then the dresser that matches the bed. I love it. Just enough room and we already had a mirror that goes perfect just above it! Laela loves her new room and Ro already told me that Laela and I should go on vacation so he can sleep in her room! It is so cozy in there. :)

Painter...

Here is my paint helper...Laela did an awesome job helping me try this new color on the walls in her old room. Oh how I am going to miss her big brown dots. Oh...what a sad day. :(

Transformed!

Tonight Ro went to a late showing of Transformers, so what better for me to do than transform something myself!That is the pillow before. This is the pillow about an hour later. Now I have a little something for the new bench we bought a few weeks ago. I don't know if it will stay like this for long, but it was not a bad attempt at my first pillow with a little "embellishment".

4th of July Parade...

Laela had a 4th of July parade at school today.The kids just marched through the school, but that means that they all have to go the same direction and follow the leader and keep walking and see lots of mommies and daddies and .... do you get my point? Some of the kids had a dandy time, while others had a little more difficulty. Laela did well. She had on her parade hat that she colored and she was rockin' the shaker she made. Laela was smiling, but quickly turned shy when she got to the mob of parents. She does this thing with her hair when she gets this way. Kinda silly, but it is her thing. The parade line came around twice and the first time I really think that Laela looked straight at us and was genuinely excited we were there. Then she saw everyone else and went into to "hide" mode. Ro said that he thinks she never saw us. Hmmmm....we will never know. I was just thankful that we were able to both be there to support her and cheer on her and her friends at school. Way to go Laela and Happy 4th of July to everyone!

3rd birthday party...

Thanks to everyone that made it out to Laela's paint party! She had a blast!!!We had face painting, nail painting, and painting on paper. Everyone seemed to love everything, but the face painting was a hit!Fingernail painting was the first thing Laela hit up and she thought it was pretty awesome too! So awesome, in fact, she wanted to do the same. She got out the paintbrush and watercolors. Then suckered Nanna into letting her "paint" her nails. Laela is so serious when she paints. :)I set up a table with watercolors, crayons, markers, etc and the kids had art time. We loved seeing all of the fun creations the kids made!Oh! Speaking of set up. This year's decorations were not my best, but I did get a few comments on how I used the fun, rainbow of colors throughout the house. Including them in the paper decorations, cupcakes, and assortment of food!Laela enjoyed having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her and she did phenomenal blowing out her candles. I just knew Laela would LOVE a giant cupcake, but when it came time to eat it...she just wanted to lick the icing! What a dork. The cupcakes were a little time consuming, but I totally recommend doing them for a fun event. I found the how-to on another website, but with a little food gel...the colors were so vibrant! I loved them. :) A little bit of sidewalk chalk, watercolors, and bouncing got everyone tired and ready for naptime. YEA for a successful birthday number three! (Oh...just for the record. Laela's favorite part...the nail polish.) :)

PS - A big "THANK YOU" goes to Aunt Karri for taking pictures during the party! :)

First dentist visit!

Well, sorta.

We read the books. We talked about the dentist a lot this last month. Laela was very excited and ready to go. All the way there she asked if "that" building was her dentist. Then...we walked in the door, she stops talking, and hides behind me. Oh goodness. I stayed positive and all of the office staff was very nice. First, they wanted to take pictures of her teeth, but she was not having it. She just did not want to sit in the big chair. No prob. We moved on to teeth counting a a quick clean. HA! HA! Again...the big chair. We tried bribing her with a balloon, sticker, toothbrush, prize...even new flip-flops. Laela was not having it! I got her to sit in the chair facing me, but that was not okay for the teeth check. Finally, we resorted to her sitting in my lap, facing me and the dentist put his knees up to mine. We just leaned her back and she screamed while he counted her teeth. :)Overall, the dentist said her teeth look fantastic! They are very clean, she has all 20, and she does not have any cavities. YEA! Somehow, that girl walked out of the office with a balloon, toothbrush, and bag of goodies. Why? That is the tough part for me. I promised her those things when she acted like a big girl. Eventhough she did not act as expected, she still got goodies. Hmmmmm... now we have an appointment in 6 months for a cleaning. Laela tells me that she will sit in the big chair next time, but I don't know. Oh! I have an idea...Ro can take her! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Laela Grace!I don't know how it happened, but you have gone from this little, sweet baby ...to this beautiful and caring big girl! I say it all the time, but seriously....time flies when you are having fun! Laela continues to lighten up our life. She says some of the funniest things. For example, Laela loves to add on actually to her sentences..."Actually, you do it like this mom!" :) Just recently she has been noticing when something is wrong and she says "Sorry you have a hurt finger" or "I am sorry that you don't like that drink." We also do not like her saying "what?" to us, so we encourage her to say "yes or yes sir". For several months now, she has taught others the same. She will catch someone saying "what?" and she tells them how it is. We just have to work on the tone of voice! HA! Laela's facial expressions are the greatest! She just happens to make the expression at just the right time too! (Imagine that.) :) Ro commented the other day about how much she really is like me. Kinda weird to see a little person grow up and take after your mannerisms. There are some that I don't even realize. Then Laela will do it and I think...oh my! She got that from me. AH! Another part of Laela's life that doesn't get talked about much is her relationship with Allie Mae. I was always a little worried when Laela was a baby on whether the dog and her would get along. What was I thinking? Laela makes the perfect pack leader. She tells Allie what to do, when to do it, and to "knock it off!!" when she barks. Maybe its time for dog #2?? We will have to sneak it by mom.
About Laela right now...
*Clothes: Still size 4T
*Shoes: Size 8-9
*Height: 39 Inches (Inching up on dad every day)
*Weight: 34 pounds. She was 34 pounds at 9 months.
*Favorite evening activity: Running (in circles, on the sidewalk, or at the park). Singing in bed.
*Talking: All day, everyday!
*Sleep Habits: Naps are 1-2 hours a day and she usually hits the bed at ~7:30 pm (Followed by 20-30 minutes of singing). She has transitioned to her new bedroom seamlessly which has been great. Her wake up time is ~6:30am (She runs into our bedroom and makes sure we are all in the correct spot).
*Favorite characters: Woody, Buzz, Tinkerbell, and Mater
*Favorite Stuffed Animal: Dog, Dog, and more Dogs.
*Favorite Show: The Funny Show (i.e. America's Funniest Home Video)
*Word she always mis-pronounces: She calls one of our good friends "Mr. Ting" (His name is really Kheang(Pronounced King)). It reminds me of the little boy in Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom. Cracks me up.
*Weird Habit: Cleans her toes with anything she can find (Hair Clip, Keys, etc). Weird. Funny thing is that Kelli HATES anything to do with feet. HA!
*Favorite Drink(s): Milk, Apple Juice, and anything we are drinking.