Mackenzie's Mountaintop Birthday!

Leila's friend, Mackenzie, turned 3 this last week. All Kenzie wanted was a birthday with snow, so we were invited to Paradise, Mt. Rainier for a Saturday of fun in the snow. It could not have been a more BEAUTIFUL day! The sun was shining and the road to the mountain was clear. Leila played in last year's snow in our yard, but didn't go sledding much since all we had was a kiddie swimming pool that didn't slide too well (although we sure tried!).

She was very excited...until we got to the top of the sled run. Oh my! I was worried that maybe we had made the trek for 10 minutes of tears and a return trip home. She was having a melt down! Being the sensitive parents that we are, I loaded her on the sled with Chris and gave them a shove. The first run she got snow in her face, which made things worse. After 2 more runs she figured out that she could throw snowballs at the people waiting at the bottom. This delighted her! She LOVED it! Whew!

Dad and Leila - after she got the hang of it!

Grammy and Leila...going down sideways.

The birthday girl - Mackenzie!

Snowball in hand....headed for Mommy at the bottom.

Eventually, Leila wanted to try it all by "ME-self!".

Tossing snowballs at Grammy.

Lunch break! We ate our lunches in the new visitor center and then enjoyed some of Kenzie's b-day cake. Watch out! Those benches are slippery!!

A little more snow before heading home. The air was colder after lunch and the sun went away.

I think we can say that Leila enjoyed herself!!! It was a great Saturday. We all slept wonderfully that night!

Princess Breakfast

Leila is well-rounded. She can be the girliest of girls at moments and then turn right around and pull out her Hot Wheels. I LOVE this about her! She dances around the house in her tutu and crown during the day and then informs us each night that she is gonna be a hockey player when she grows up...a goalie no less. This weekend we took Leila to a princess breakfast in Bonney Lake and boy was she thrilled to pull out ALL her girly-girl gowns, jewelry and tiaras. No hockey sticks today! Of course, Leila chose her Cinderella gown to wear to the ball, as that is her favorite princess. We sat at Cinderella's table (they let you choose between four princesses). We had a great time!

We met up with Leila's second cousin, Chassidee. Auntie Lynn, Gramma and Papa were also there.

Princess Aurora and Miss Leila.

Visiting with Ariel.
"Mine favorite!"
Riley, Leila and Chassidee.
Leila ALMOST went over the back here!

Sleeping Beauty chose Leila out of all the little princesses there to be her dance partner. Oh my! The look on Leila's face was priceless....pure JOY!

Explaining the steps...

The funny part of this was watching the parents "dance" around with our cameras trying to get the perfect shot!
Singing the "Heart Song" (A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes) as L calls it. She has known this song since she was about a year and a half. There was a time when we sang it many times every night before bed. Special memories!
Each princess sang a few songs from her movie.
Gramma and the Cinderellas.
Daddy and the girls.

Posing with the princesses. I love that Leila is staring at Jasmine.

One more photo with Cinderella before leaving. On a side note, the young lady that is playing Cinderella here is a former drama student of Chris's. Luckily, Leila thought she was the real deal!

Randomness

In looking over our photos, I realized there are several single shots here and there that are pretty cute and probably should be posted. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this posting except to share the adorable Miss Deeda in all her wackiness. Enjoy!

Sporting her new Eskimo hood that she made at daycare. The kids are learning about the Arctic.

"What a feeling!" She costumed herself.
Quite the princess outfit...
We spent some time over Christmas vacation babysitting a few friends.

Tevyn and Leila sharing some books.
Different day: Kenzie and Leila make some silly princesses.

A new dress from one of Daddy's students. Didn't want to try it on, but once she did we couldn't get it off of her.

To Neverland!

Zoo Lights at PDZA

We bundled ourselves up tonight and headed out to Zoo Lights at the Point Defiance Zoo. Perfect night to enjoy a walk around the colorful zoo! The weather was cold, but clear and we beat the crowds. Leila was excited about everything EXCEPT the giant tiger's mouth that you have to walk through to get to the Asian animal/lights exhibits. We have heard many times since returning home tonight, "I not like the tiger!". Other than that, I can safely say that she had a wonderful time...as did Chris and I!!

The zookeepers were offering pictures with Rhonda the Reindeer for 5 dollars. The cost benefited the zoo's conservation projects, so we couldn't really say no. We were happy to help out a great cause and get a semi cute photo of the three of us. Leila isn't quite sure where to look in this:
Take two: Now Chris is looking goofy! Oh well...
Leila and Daddy stopping for a photo in the Asian exhibit area...

Leila's second favorite "Christmas light animal" - Her first being the monkey.
Checking out the meerkats with Daddy.

Second visit to the meerkats...only 10 minutes after leaving them, we had to go back.

My sweet girl!
We ended our Zoo Lights visit with a ride on the carousel. We made it out of the zoo with only ONE ride...this is unheard of with Leila. This is her favorite ride whenever we can find one (Disneyland, The Fair etc), so to leave after one ride is pretty good.
After a stop for dinner at McDonald's, we made it home. Leila was excited to wear her new PJs that Grammy made. L calls these her "zoo jammies"....so of course she had to wear them after our visit to the zoo.
Super cute PJs Grammy!!!
What a wonderful evening we had together! Can't wait for next year!

A Visit with Santa

Leila visited with Santa this last Saturday. I asked if she wanted me to carry her up or if she wanted to walk. Of course she wanted to walk "all by me-self!".

Leila very confidently told Santa that she would like a dress and a wand. She is really into princesses at present.