More Pictures of Leila

For those of you who can't get enough ...

Leila and her teddy bear.

The proud father.

Mama & her baby.
(Kiersten is enchanted with her new daughter.)

Leila & her Mima.


Benj & Talia check out the baby's "stump."
(Yes, that's a puzzle box lid on Benj's head. Crazy kid.)


Talia & Benj enjoying their new sister.
(Talia's helping already. Good job, Tali!)

Leila Beth Rodriquez

Leila Beth Rodriquez

Born: 8:03 am (Eastern Time),
Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

6 lbs. 12 oz., 20" long.

Mama & baby sharing a quiet moment in recovery.

The big brother's first chance to hold his new sister.

A head of inch-long hair!! Must be a Rodriquez baby.

The moment the big sister has been waiting for!

Having fun already!

The Rodriquez trio: Benj, Talia, & Leila. ...
Otherwise known as "the BLT." :-)

Annual Mother's Day Pix

9 days out from "baby time."
I love the laughter!
Sweet smiles :)
I love Benj's "picture pose" and Talia's angelic look heavenward
Hug Mama!
The girls

She loves to pat the belly :)

Interview with a Big Brother & Big Sister

A little over a year ago we started circulating what is known as "the cousins box" between our family & Seth's siblings' families. Since we all live in 3 different states, we put various fun representations of the kids' lives in the box to help them get to know each other better. Recently I decided it would be fun to interview Benjamin & Talia about the upcoming baby for something fun to put in the cousin's box. The results were so entertaining I just had to share!

So without further ado...

Interview with a Big Brother & Big Sister: What Benjamin & Talia “Know” About Their Soon-to-be-Born Baby Sister

What do you know about our baby?

Benj: I don’t know what to say.

Talia: Come out of Mama’s tummy.

Is our baby a boy or a girl?

Talia: A girl.

What do you think her name is going to be?

Benj: Baby.

Mama: You don't think she might have another name? What would you name our baby?

Benj: Baby.

What is the baby going to look like?

Talia: I don’t know!

Mama: Do you think she will have hair?

Benj: Yes.

Mama: What color?

Benj: I don’t know. I’m going to think about it.

Mama: Do you think her eyes will be open or closed?

Talia: Open.

Benj: Closed.

Mama: How many teeth is the baby going to have?

Talia: Um… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!

Benj: Um, no teeth!

What do babies eat?

Benj: Um, just milk.

Talia: Milk!

Why do new babies cry so much?

Talia: Cause she’s hungry!

Benj: I don’t know.

Mama: Well, how does the baby say “I’m hungry”?

Benj: Waah, waah, waah. Like that.

Mama: How does the baby say “I want my Mama”?

Benj: Cause she say “waah, waah, waah.”

Mama: How does the baby say “I’m sleepy”?

Benj: (giggling) She say “waah, waah, waah.”

Talia, tell me about what you like to do at bedtime…

Talia: Kiss the baby…hug…kiss…hug…. Put the belly away! (She does kiss & hug my belly every night then she tells me, “put that belly away!”)

What are you going to do to help Mama with the baby?

Talia: Change her diaper

Benj: Um…Talia will.

Mama: Well, you can help too! What are you going to do?

Benj: Well…hold the baby like this (grabs his doll and shows how to hold the baby)

How do you play with a baby?

Benj: I don’t know.

Talia: Play cars.

Where is the baby going to sleep?

Benj: In Talia’s bed.

Where is Mama going to go when the baby comes?

Benj: To the hospital!

Talia: Hospital!

May Flowers

We planted flowers this morning. Talia was in little girl heaven. Benj was a bit grumpy and so not very excited about the whole thing.

Using the trowel from Talia's plastic play gardening set--the handle is an ear of corn--we filled her pot with soil. (Well, dirt if you ask her.) (1)

Next we carefully poured out two little seeds into the palm of her chubby hand and I helped her tip them into the pot.

Then Mama put "just a little scoop" of soil on top of the seeds and we "pat, pat, pat'ed" the soil down with a flat trowel (an eggplant-shaped handle :) ).

Flowers not only need soil ("food") and seeds to grow. They also need water. She helped me sprinkle some water from her watering can on the pot and then I taught her to check the holes in the bottom of the pot for drips to show that we gave our flowers enough to drink. (2)

The last thing we need for healthy flowers is sunshine! We placed her pots on some low shelves on the sunny side of the house. (3)

She was so proud of her "f'owers." (4)

Easter Fun

All dressed up

Waiting for their first-ever Easter Egg Hunt to start
Benjamin finding his eggs

Talia fills her basket

Easter Eggs

Last night the kids had their first ever experience coloring Easter eggs. They had a great time!

Today we ate some of our creations for lunch. (Benj is allergic to the white of the egg so we actually eat hard boiled eggs a lot. I just take the white off for him and he eats the yolk. Loves it!--I know, weird.) Anyway, I told the kids we were going to eat Easter eggs for lunch and they immediately began planning which one they wanted to eat. Seth had drawn "Bob" and "Larry" faces (VeggieTales characters) so Benj decided he wanted to eat Bob and Tali wanted Larry. Lunch was ready, they were sitting in their seats, and the time came for me to crack & peel their eggs. Benjamin had an absolute MELTDOWN. He could NOT understand why I wouldn't let him eat "Bob." He cried big, sad crocodile tears for at least 5 minutes as I tried and tried to console him, explaining that we can't eat the colored eggshells just like we can't eat white eggshells...etc. Poor guy. What a letdown. (Meanwhile, Talia was happily chowing down. Evidently it wasn't an issue for her.)