Bug Eyes

Last night Todd and I sat with his mom and brother Kyle to look at Nick's newborn photos. When we were done we decided to pull up Lila's baby pictures to compare and see how much they look alike. We were pretty impressed with some of the pictures that really look like Nick. 

Another thing we were reminded of was that Lila used to be very startled by the flash on the camera. Often, after the initial no red-eye flash, she would open her eyes wide and we would catch her looking scared when the second flash captured the pictures. It might be because of my lack of sleep, but I was laughing almost hysterically because I thought it was so funny every time we came across one of these "bug eyed" pictures. She has always been adorable.

Preschool

Before Lila was even 2 years old we put her in day care once a week while Todd and I were at school. We told her that she was going to school too. Ever since then she has asked to go to school, and has been really excited about it. She even stole a backpack from my moms house over a year ago and has often asked about school when she sees the kids playing at recess across the street.

Well, she is now an official student! She started preschool last week. She loves her teacher and her "new friends." I think it was really good timing as she gets to do something her baby brother doesn't get to do. She is learning about bugs right now and learned about ladybugs on her first day and spiders on her second day. They also learned about the letter a the first week. When I pulled out her worksheet and saw how well she had written her a's I was pleasantly surprised as she has never done so well for me.

She even has homework. She has to draw a picture of something that starts with the letter for that week. There is a whole page of examples they can choose from, or they can pick anything they want. Lila drew everything from the example page. She commented partway through that some things she doesn't know how to draw. I assured her that it is okay if she can't draw everything. I am so proud of my little angel (angel was one example of an a-word and she said "I'm an angel!")

First day of preschool

Working on her homework

Coloring her A-pictures

Showing them off

Lila's got skills

Lila Turned 3.5

Lila turned three and a half the day before Nick's birth day. We had planned to have a little celebration that evening in honor of our princess, but then things changed and we spent the day at the doctor's and at the hospital getting a non-stress test and scheduling an induction for the next morning. So she didn't get to celebrate her half-special day as much as we wanted.

A few days later my grandparents brought us some cupcakes, so I asked Lila if she wanted a candle and some singing since we didn't get to celebrate her half birthday as much as we wanted (which wasn't much anyway, but we got her all excited about it and then didn't do anything...). She wanted one of the "big numbers" on her cupcake, and the first one I found in the cupboard was a 6. So that's what we used.

I can't believe this little angel is getting so old. Sometimes I am dumbfounded that she has been around for so long, and other times I remember that she is still very small. Either way, I have loved (just about) every moment being her mom, and always look forward to growing with her and seeing how wonderful she becomes.

Here are some things about her:

Started preschool this fall. Loves to jump. Loves dressing up with as many accessories as she can find. Still tells me she loves me often. Loves to watch the LDS Church's Bible Videos (calls them "Jesus movies"). Also loves to read the LDS Churches Children's Scriptures (her favorite are New Testament because they are stories about Jesus. She calls them "Jesus Stories" and likes when I read them or when the app reads them to her). Sleeps downstairs but often has a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep because she is scared. Loves going to nursery, but sometimes talks about getting to come to primary. Still loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but now also likes Sofia the First. Whenever I tell her she is the best or the smartest, etc., she either says "well, Kayla is the best too!" or "everyone else is the smartest, too!" Her best friend is Kayla Ho. She also loves all her cousins. She gets very concerned when other kids don't follow the rules. She only sometimes follows the rules herself. Is surprisingly observant. Might have a photographic memory- I swear she remembers everything. Wants a baby sister. Went through a phase where she didn't want to eat anything, but is starting to widen her palate again. Loves to play outside. Is brave enough to swim by herself with her floaties on. Loves all her grandmas. Plays with and even sucks on her hair- she really needs a haircut! Somehow continues to make me feel like the luckiest mommy alive.

Lila and Kayla

Like Father, Like Son

So, we have all been pretty impressed by how much Nick looks like Lila. But I just came across this baby picture of Todd. I think the resemblance might be even more uncanny... I wish I had a few pictures that had the same angles and facial expressions. I didn't have a picture that showed the face that I see all day that really does look like that one from 30 years ago.

Big Sister, Big Smile

Could they be siblings?

3 years, 6 months, 23 hours and 38 minutes later...

The moment Todd saw Nick's face he said "he looks just like Lila."

Reading Time

I love having my sisters around to play with. And I love it when grandma and grandpa have time to do stuff with the kids. Especially things like reading. Too fun.

I Went to Lagoon

Are you proud of me? At more than 8 months pregnant I made it a whole day at Lagoon with the fam! It was actually a lot of fun. I wish I could have watched all the kids at once so the other adults could all go do fun stuff the whole time, but they knew I couldn't actually handle that. Also, toward the end I wasn't sure if I would live through the day. But I was glad I got to go and enjoy being with people I love and watching all the kiddos having fun. If nothing else it was worth it to see Lila have so much fun the whole day. Another bonus, it wasn't too crowded so most of the rides were no or very little wait. I'm not sure how great it was for all the big kids, but with the little ones it was really nice that the kids could basically pick a ride and climb on. What a great time!

So I had to share with everyone my story about this ride. When I was little I really wanted to ride Puff the Magic Dragon. I also wanted to bring my little folding comb I had gotten from a kids meal (or something like that). My mom told me I would lose it and I couldn't take it on the ride with me. I promised her that I would hold on to it really tight and wouldn't drop it. Well guess what? I lost it. I let it fall right out of my hands while I was having so much fun on the ride. When we got off and I was crying, we looked around for it. My dad saw it on the ground, waited for the coaster to pass by, and leaped over the fence to pick it up for me. After he was back over the fence and my fear that he would die by being hit by the dragon faded, I could appreciate and admire my hero for saving my comb. I even remember clutching the thing in the backseat of our blue Astro van on the way home because it was now an even more prized possession than before.

My dad didn't remember this story, so I wonder if I made it up. He sounded surprised that he would have jumped over the fence. But my memory of it is so clear, it must be true! Okay, back to 2014 and more pictures.

Lila Eating an Apple

My Mother's Day Present

For Mother's Day Todd got me tickets to see the Little Mermaid at Tuachan near St. George. We finally took our trip towards the end of June. My mom was nice enough to hold on to Lila for us so we could enjoy the drive and the evening without too many shenanigans. It was a nice time to get away for a bit.

One of the really cool things we did was eat at this great restaurant. We started our meal with a delicious salad and cheese fondue appetizer. Both very good. I just love dipping stuff in cheese. Then we got our meat served to us raw with a hot rock. Yup. They heat up a slab of rock and you cook your own meat in strips on the hot stuff. It turned out sooo good! We both loved it. 

Check out my belly. This was more than a month ago, mind you

Then we went over to see the show. We got there a bit early so we were able to just hang around for a little while. The evening was hotter than I expected, which was unpleasant especially with big belly. Unfortunately it didn't get any cooler as the evening went on. Fortunately, we got such good seats that they came with seat pads and a bottle of water. That was especially sweet.

As you can see, we were very close to the front. Of course we have no pictures of the actual show because that is illegal, but it was amazing. I loved every minute of it. The actors all did a great job, and I have never seen the stage version before but I liked that too. My only complaint is that the storyline makes it way too easy to defeat Ursula. At least in the movie they have to struggle a bit and it seems hopeless for a while before Prince Eric finally spears her with his ship. In this one Ursula didn't even get a chance to show how scary she is before it was all over.

But again, the effects and music and acting and all that stuff was very fun. I am really glad we got to go!