Wise

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This weekend Leila took us to Wise Virginia to visit her friends Doctor and Tabitha Ray and their little dog Bentley.  Doctor's real name is Daniel, but that was too confusing.  Leila liked calling him Doctor and has decided rather randomly that he's her new favorite person in the whole entire universe.

We got to Wise at 2AM on Saturday and slept until it was time to go tour the campus of the University of Virginia at Wise .  This is a place with snow, so it was very impressive.  There was also a statue of Thomas Jefferson and some very fast glass elevators.  Then we went and ate at a Dairy Barn and went back to Doctor's house for a nap.  After naptime, the five of us bundled up and went to a delightful dinner party at a 100 year old house.  Leila did not know to be impressed at how old the house was, but had a great time trying to slam stained-glass doors and playing with napkin rings.  She made lots of new friends.

The next day we went to tour Natural Tunnel.  The best thing about Natural Tunnel is that there is a train that goes through it and it's a VERY LONG train.  The next best thing is getting to hike around on a BIG mountain and see BIG rocks and BIG trees.  The other best thing was when we were leaving and we saw a dozen deer grazing in a meadow around a very funny looking building.  When we got home Tabitha made a delicious corn and crab chowder.

After that we were all very tired, so we rested up and spent all day on Monday driving back to Memphis.  Leila learned to sing the song that never ends, so we did that for much of the trip home.  We also shared a Happy Meal and had eggs at Cracker Barrel.

Thanks Tabitha and Doctor!  We had fun:)

Leila taking in a snow-covered Memphis

We had a great time in snowy Wise, Virginia this weekend - more on that trip later.  Here's a picture of Leila enjoying a brief snowfall in Memphis this morning.  We saw snowflakes falling at 9am and the ground was clear again by 1pm.

surprise ending!

Today Leila went to her first Caterpillar Club meeting at Memphis Botanical Gardens.  She did three craft projects.  First she made a doorknob hanger with penguin stickers on it, then she made a penguin magnet, and finally she made penguin potato prints!  Can you guess what the theme of today's club meeting was?  

After craft time, the Caterpillars read two books about penguins.  The age range of the group is birth to five years, so there were a variety of attention spans on display.  Leila had one of the shorter spans.  

After reading time, the Caterpillars bundled up to go on a nature walk, where they saw . . .

Dinosaurs!

Frog

Leila has recently adopted a new imaginary frenemy.  

He is called "Frog."  No one but Leila can see him, but she tells us what he's up to several times a day.  Here is a list of frog's three habits:

1.  "Frog is fun."

2.  "Frog is sleeping."

3.  "Frog scares!"  

We don't know if Frog is a boogie monster or a BFF, but he likes to hang out while Leila is reading in her rocking chair or putting on her shoes and socks.  

Chocolate Mint Snow-top Cookies

Leila's new favorite recipe was a big hit this Christmas.  We made some to share with our neighbor Buck and his new baby brother and we also made some to share with Aunt Leigh, Aunt Jenny and Grandmary when we stopped in Jackson a couple of weeks ago.  I think we'll make more for Valentine's day and we're sharing our recipe in case you want to make some too. 

This week has been very busy for Leila.  She has been interviewing babysitters and they are all very nice.  We've also been looking hard for places to go JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP.  We figured out that Jumping Jack's inflatable playground is closed and that the playground at Chic-fil-a is built for big kids.  We'll keep looking and look forward to your good ideas.

Leila is really excited because a lot of people she loves are starting new jobs soon.  Mommy is going to be teaching Art Appreciation at Mid-South Community College and Drawing II at the University of Memphis.  Granddaddy and Aunt Ashley both have big news about jobs too, but we'll let them share their news with you when they are ready.  We are so proud and excited for both of them!

Leila has become a very good talker lately and has been great about singing songs to us when she's bored.  Now that she knows words, she's become very assertive.  She's good about telling us what she wants and when she wants it.  When she woke up from her nap she told us "Daddy! Puppets!"  She's also really good at telling us "It's BIG!" and "It's FUN!!!" when she likes something.  Right now puppets are Big FUN!!!

(secret)

(i forgot to mention that yesterday Leila volunteered to use her potty twice!)

Christmas Vacation

Leila had a lot of fun on her Christmas vacation. She got to visit with Grandmary, Aunt Jenny, and lots of cousins at Aunt Leigh's house in Jackson on her way down to visit Boompa and Gigi. In Mobile, she had fun feeding fish and turtles on the golf course while she waited for Santa. She also liked getting to visit with Aunt Angel (who just got a monogram machine, which helped personalize lots of beautiful presents). When Santa came, he left her a bike and a pink pony she can ride on as well as lots of other good suprises. Then, on Christmas Night, Leila got to play with Jackson Fulton, who taught her a lot about basketballs and eating gumdrops. Leila's parents and Jackson's parents joined the rest of the Fultons in an exciting game of Christmas charades.

The next day, Leila went to Foley to visit with Grandmama and Granddaddy. There was a white rocking chair there just Leila's size and lots of fun hats to play with. Leila also enjoyed getting to ride Granddaddy's big wheel car; I don't know if she remembers, but she got to ride it in Thomaston last summer with Sarah and Rachel. She definitely remembers that it was fun! In Foley, Leila got to go to places like LuLu's to eat and play in a sand pile with water buckets. This Christmas was very warm, perfect weather for lunch on the water. Leila also enjoyed getting to visit Grandmama and Granddaddy's friends Bill and Lark Young and hopes to get to play with them again. When she wasn't eating delicious seafood and playing in wet sand, Leila was learning to cook from Grandmama. They made quiche one day and chocolate-covered peanut-butter ritz another day!

On New Year's Day Leila went back to the Fulton house so that Grandmama could go take care of Great-GrandMargaret. Leila had fun eating black-eyed peas and playing with cousin Roman and GiGi some more. Then, on January 2, Leila made the long drive back to Memphis.

We all really enjoyed everyone's hospitality and we hope that someday soon we see anyone that we missed. Leila really loved all of her presents and is still trying to find good homes for all of her favorite new things. Thanks everyone!