The Leggett Crew

Anybody out there listening?!?!

2011-10-26T00:11:00.002-04:00

I have decided that if I get ANY response to this post that I will start back updating the blog. I have been on sabbatical for a LONG time but I have been inspired by reading someone elses blog. But then I thought.......who cares.......so let's just see?!?!

A few pics from this weekend....

2010-07-26T16:39:00.007-04:00

Everytime I come on here I look at that picture from 2007 and think.....we need to take another family picture.....Amanda just turned 3 years old and we still haven't done it. I hope to get a family picture done this fall (maybe).

It has been a LONG time since I posted anything and I know people (my cousin Trina in Aruba:) are wanting to see what my lil ladies look like these days so I am posting a few pictures from Amanda's birthday party this Saturday.
This is actually a picture after the birthday party when we went over to "warm" my cousin Monika's new house. You can see Monika in the background playing her guitar and the girls are captivated:)

Here is Amira throwing up her triangle. It is hilarious to me and Salama how she poses for pictures like this. I have to stop letting her look at facebook with me since she peeps over my shoulder sometimes and sees the pictures of my line sisters doing this and she is imitating......but you gotta luv it:)

These girls LUV to dance.....this is the "After Party" when they were opening Amanda's gifts. I think they like the aprons.....thanks Grandma Leggett!

Here is everybody after the party had ended. I am sure all these kids slept well after jumping in that moonwalk in 103 degree heat.....I know I did!

SISTER LUV! I hope and pray they stay this way FOREVER!

Showing off the back of her Okimee shirt.

NOTE: The shirts they have on are made by a friend of mine who just launched her clothing line: http://www.okimee.com/

Today's Photo Shoot and Videotaping for Blog:)

2009-11-30T01:34:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures from today. Everytime I update the blog I try to take some pictures that day for "most recent". I had just taken their hair down so they both have big AFROS!

Amanda's 2nd Birthday with family and friends (from July:)

2009-11-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks Grandma for the Elmo blanket!

I don't know if the children or the adults had more fun at the birthday party! It was a "jumpin" good time! Maybe I'll have my birthday party there next year!

Once again, Grandpa was the biggest kid and the life of the party! He will surely be on the invite list for all our parties:)

My Amanda is really growing up!

Morning of Amanda's Birthday! (from July:)

2009-11-28T07:00:00.001-05:00

Amira and I decorated the kitchen for the morning of Amanda's "official" birthday. We had strawberry cupcakes and milk for breakfast!

Here are some videos from the big surprise.....she literally walked from her bed waking up into her breakfast birthday party. I don't know who was more excited....Amira or Amanda.

Amanda's Birthday Party at Daycare (from July:)

2009-11-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Amanda's Birthday Sunday (from July:)

2009-11-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

All Birthday Pictures! (from July)

2009-11-28T02:00:00.001-05:00

As you know I absolutely LOVE birthdays (mine, yours, a complete stranger’s, etc.). Anyways, we celebrated Amanda’s birthday 3 times (party with family and friends, party the morning of her birthday, and party at daycare). Here is a slideshow with all the pictures from that week/weekend of parties!

My lil lady is officially 2 years old (well almost 2.5 at the time of this post:)

Click HERE for the slideshow.

Amanda woke up with an unwanted surprise!

2009-11-27T00:38:00.000-05:00

Amanda and Amira have been sharing a room for months now. However, they have never successfully pulled off sleeping in the bed together since we always catch them and make them get back in their own bed…..however, over the Thanksgiving holiday Jacquelle and I were really relaxed with them and they got to stay up and “read books” until they fell asleep. I guess they “read” so much they fell asleep in the same bed:)

The most exciting event was when they woke up and Amanda declared…… “Amira pee-peed on me Mommy!” I wish I had video of that…..it was hilarious. She was in shock and may not sleep with her sister again anytime soon. You’d think she’d know that Amira has a 1 in 3 chance of peeing in the bed these days since I wash sheets at least 3-4 times a week.

Thanksgiving dinner preparation

2009-11-26T00:44:00.000-05:00

Here is the very first turkey (well just a breast) I've ever made!!! I was so doggone excited about this turkey I may have checked on it 18 times. Since I'm a vegetarian, I'm always concerned about over or undercooking meat.......in this case I heard all these horror stories about drying out turkey. I don't think Jacquelle had much faith in me either.

However............the turkey came out juicy and well-seasoned as ever from my cocktail marinade it sat in the night before. I was so proud I even made a video for proof so my father in law can see the results of my work......I don't think he had much faith in me either:)

Amanda's almost a big girl.....

2009-11-23T00:24:00.000-05:00

Amanda has been potty training at day care for the past few weeks. Ms. Nicole has requested that Amanda finally bring …..(u know)!!! I’m so excited for my big girl. Here are some pics and a video from her opening her first pack of ……(u know).

In Memory of my Grandma

2009-11-09T00:14:00.000-05:00

My grandmother passed away earlier this month and I am thankful I was able to travel and spend 3 days with her before she went home to meet the Lord. My cousin and I enjoyed singing to her and feeding her sherbet a few days before she left this earth. I also painted her nails for her which was one of the things I enjoyed most while visiting her when I was younger (my mom didn’t let me wear nail polish).

These are some pictures from when Amira was only months old. I am so happy I took lots of pictures of their one and only meeting.

Happy 100 years Piney Woods!

2009-11-04T23:39:00.000-05:00

My high school/boarding school celebrated its 100 year anniversary this year so they had a big celebration with lots of alumni and parties. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures at the party but I “stole” some off of Facebook that other people posted:)

Kiesha and I partying with Coach Neal....my how things have changed:)

As you may remember, my two nephews (Kejuan and Keairr) are in school at Piney Woods now so my mom, my sister, Devonte (my other nephew), my niece and one of her friends came up for the weekend too. Kejuan was clowning around which is why he is sitting on the ground with his pants rolled up and looking crazy.

Fall fest

2009-10-31T23:22:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from after the Fall Festival at church. They dressed up as dancers because I had just come back from Vegas spending time with grandma and didn’t have time to do anything else.

Amira wanted to be a dinosaur sooooooooooo bad for some reason. I tried to throw together a dinosaur makeshift costume but she wasn’t having it. Oh well, maybe next year.

On the other hand, Amanda really enjoyed wearing her sister’s dance outfit for her costume. I think she thought she was the cutest thang at the party!

Family Reunion

2009-07-04T23:16:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures from Jacquelle's family reunion. I think the girls jumped all day long. Amanda jumped so long she had a blister on her big toe. It was at this point we decided we would have a "jump" party for her birthday!

Crib Take Down Event..............

2009-07-01T23:13:00.000-04:00

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-15T23:06:00.000-04:00

Family Beach Vacation Trip (from last April:)

2009-06-12T16:02:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from our 1st "Family vacation". We visited the aquarium, walked along the docks, and walked on the beach in our rain boots (it was too cold for bare feet).

Here is Amira on the balcony of the hotel room:

Amira and Amanda in the hotel lobby:

Enjoying the water rushing around her boots:

My girlz:

Sitting/Climbing on the big frog at the Aquarium:

The big A-DA-GATAH (Amanda's pronunciation of alligator....although this may have been a crocodile....I don't remember?)!

It was a little cold toward the evenings....can you tell?Walking on the dock:

Here are some videos....we were pretty excited about the waves:

Amira's Dance Recital

2009-06-11T23:00:00.009-04:00

Miss. Amira had her dance recital and she was soooooo excited about it. Her dance lasted every bit of 2 minutes but the preparation took much longer. I was absolutely fascinated at all the fuss in that dressing room over hair and make-up for some 3 and 4 year old little girls.

My biggest task for the day was................getting all that hair on her head in a BUN!! I didn't realize she had so much hair until I tried to put it in one spot and make it stay.....thank God for Let's Jam, lots and lots of hair pins, and a knocky ball:)

Although most moms did foundation and mascara and lipstick and blush, I couldn't bring myself to do it.....I don't even wear all that stuff and she's ONLY 3 years old. I decided on some eye shadow and lip gloss and I think she looked absolutely BEAUTIFUL (but I'm a lil biased:) You have to click on the picture below to get the full effect of her beauty!

Here's my lil Super Star after coming off stage:

They were so tired from skipping their naps so we let them sleep in the car for awhile. Amira put every single sticker she had in her treat bag on one arm so she looks like she has tattoos. Amanda was probably sleep before we got out of the parking lot to head home.

Here are some older videos from some of her classes earlier this year.

The first is one of their "drills" during class and the second is one of the first times they practiced their recital dance. The way they perform it in this video is about how they performed it at the recital......it was pretty funny to watch.

Easter Baskets

2009-04-15T23:49:00.006-04:00

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T22:40:00.002-04:00

They both had a mouth full of candy in this picture.

Once again Grandpa had just as much or more fun on the Easter egg hunt!

Happy Easter Everybody!

2009-04-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

Amira and her cousins.

Amanda was not in the best mood after service so this is the only picture I have of her in her Easter dress.

Amanda's First time in .....!

2009-04-02T22:36:00.005-04:00

Amanda has shown interest in the potty but I usually just take her diaper off and she sits there while we clap but nothing ever goes in the potty. She's only 20mos and Daddy thinks it's too early but I thought I would actually try putting her on some ..... this time.

This is how it went down:
1. We put on the .......
2. She sat on the potty and we cheered.
3. She got off the potty.
4. She ran around showing off her panties for a few seconds.
5. She paused for a second in the kitchen......and the floodgates opened......leaving a puddle in the kitchen floor.
6. We put the diaper back on:)

This all transpired in less than 2 minutes......we'll try again in a few days or weeks or months!

Dancin' in the Rain!

2009-03-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

We have had a good bit of rain here so I put on their rain boots and let the girls have at it....and that they did!

Amira's Birthday Party with friends!

2009-02-22T21:55:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures and videos from Amira's birthday party with her friends:

She was so tired and pooped out from no nap and lots of fun. Look at that sad face after her Cousin Laila left.

If you (probably only the Grandmas:) are interested in ALL the pics from the party (lots of them)....click HERE

Birthday Sunday!

2009-02-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Here are my little ladies before church on the Sunday after Amira turned the BIG 3! The last video is of them playing with the microwave (which can be endless fun in this house)!

Amira's 3rd Birthday at Home!

2009-02-13T21:25:00.001-05:00

Amira woke up to decorations and balloons on her birthday. I luv birthdays!

Here she is opening her box from one Grandma and then listening to a musical card from another Grandma. Check out the princess slippers and crown that were in the box! The priority mail sticker was a big hit too.

I really enjoy these days when the small things make their day. I hope these days last a LONG time!

Riding with the windows down!

2009-02-07T14:38:00.005-05:00

It was about 70 degrees here today so we rode with the windows down. Amanda was having sooooooooo much fun I HAD to take some pics and videos!

Amira FINALLY received a STICKER!!

2009-02-06T19:02:00.001-05:00

Ms. Nicole has started giving out stickers at day care for the days when the kids behave well. Monday she didn't get one for telling a story. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday she had to be told to do something more than twice. But Hallelujah on FRIDAY she pulled it off!!! I was gettin a little concerned that I had the "bad" child at day care:)

We made a BIG deal about this doggone sticker.....we danced and sang all the way home in the car and talked about it over dinner and then she got two treats after dinner......a peppermint stick and some fruit chews!! She went to bed HAPPY on FRIDAY!!

We hope she can get more than one sticker next week.

Amanda's First Time with Bows to Bounce!

2009-02-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I put Amanda's hair in "pony tails" so she had never had bows to bounce when she hopped. She was really excited about having her "big girl" hair do.

Thanks Grandma for the matching dresses:)

Amira and Amanda's First REAL Snow!

2009-01-20T17:33:00.002-05:00

We got snow in NC on inauguration day so we all ended up at home playing in the snow. Here are some pictures from that day/evening.

Here is our silly dog Annie letting the girls bury her in the snow.

Then Amira proceeded to try to bury her Daddy in snow.

THE MAKING OF THE SNOWMAN!
HERE IS THE FINAL PRODUCT! TOO BAD HE DIDN'T HAVE A HAT!

Amira's shout!

2009-01-11T21:28:00.001-05:00

Here is Amira clowning around like she's shoutin'. It's not one of her "for real" shouts but it's funny anyhow. She stops at the end and tells her Daddy he needs to go get some "instruments" which means the tambourine:)

Ring around the Rosie with strollers

2009-01-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

Opening Gifts on Christmas Morning at Grandma Leggett's house

2009-01-05T23:39:00.010-05:00

Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures on Christmas day. Here are the few pics I took and some videos. The girls have on their boots with their pjs but it's Christmas Day and they didn't have houseshoes. I thought it was a cute lil get up myself (although I'm slightly biased:)

Amira luvs puzzles!

Here is a video of Amanda praisin da Lord for her Elmo.....hilarious!!!

My Amira wanted to be so mean to Elmo for some reason?!?!

Memphis Zoo Trip

2008-12-30T22:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo while we were in Memphis. Aunt Salama joined us on our excursion.

Lots of pics went into your Christmas card! Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the girls during my efforts to get some pictures for a Christmas card. The last three are the award winning shots most of you saw on the Christmas card.

Click here to see the scrub pics that did not make the cut!

Amira's FIRST Dance Performance!

2008-12-18T00:47:00.006-05:00

Here is the big performance that they talked about for weeks before it came. Amira is on the left side of the screen.

You can see it here in small but better quality or click here for a larger but less quality view.

A BIG Thanks to Ms. Nicole for working with them and teaching them the dance!!! They did AWESOME!!

THE DANCERS!

Photo Shoot at the House today

2008-12-07T17:43:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving in Miami

2008-11-27T17:39:00.000-05:00

Amira and Jasmine in Memphis

2008-11-22T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of Amira and her cousin Jasmine when we visited Memphis a few weeks ago.

Amira's Ribbon Dance Class

2008-11-07T16:35:00.000-05:00

Here we are headed to class:

Amira got a lil frustrated in class since some of the girls wouldn't pay attention and the teacher had to stop and give more instructions.

You can tell from these videos that although this is a 2 year old class she is ready for the next level class. Come on Ms. Natarsha!!

Amanda is such a little sister sometimes!

2008-10-31T16:23:00.000-04:00

Who likes to eat, who likes to play......Amanda versus Amira?!?!

2008-10-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

This video proves who likes to eat and who likes to play in our house!

Pictures and video from last night

2008-10-25T01:20:00.009-04:00

My Amanda is turning into a big girl

Amira really likes taking pictures....can u tell?!?!

Amira singing Jesus loves me

Amira luvs being taped!

Amira has memorized books that we read a lot so we try to get Amanda to let her big sister read to her sometimes.....she ain't havin it!

Animal sounds by Amanda

All about that FORCED luv!

Amira comes up with all kinds of ways to stay up as long as she can!

Girlz nite slumber party!

2008-10-17T00:58:00.002-04:00

Jacquelle went on his annual Men’s Retreat so Amira slept in the bed with me and Amanda woke up too early so I put her in our bed too. I really enjoy sleeping as a family…..too bad Jacquelle doesn’t or we would have a slumber party in bed at least once a month. Here are some pics of my sleeping beauties. I had just taken Amira’s braids down the night before so excuse the afro!

Da butt?!?!

2008-10-12T00:53:00.001-04:00

Jacquelle and I go back and forth about how big Amanda’s butt really is. He tries to convince himself that it’s her diapers but I know her butt is big because I carried that big butt inside of me:) Here are some pics to prove my point:

My 31st Birthday

2008-10-08T00:08:00.005-04:00

My 31^st birthday started out poppin’ in more ways than one. Most people know I’m a fairly simple person so all I really wanted was a popcorn popper and that’s what I got. Amira presented me with the gift that she and Jacquelle wrapped the night before and she was bursting with excitement. Since we had taken the day off from work we had a popcorn party for breakfast.

Tried to get a cute picture for my birthday before they went to school but they wouldn’t cooperate with each other.

I was trying to get Amira and Amanda on tape "Praisin da Lord" but this was a much much milder version of their shoutin dance. I'll try to get a better one of them at a later date.

I had a small cake so there was only room for the number 3!

Amira who's birthday is it?

Our article in the newspaper

2008-10-08T00:04:00.002-04:00

In case you didn’t know, Jacquelle loves car shopping. Whether it be for us or some stranger on the street that mentions they are in the market for a car. We both took off work for my birthday and guess what we did for MY birthday…..went car shopping. No we don’t need a car but since they say it’s a buyer's market we just decided to see if we could get the deal we wanted and walk away with a 2009 Camry. They didn't agree to our deal so we didn't get a new car but we randomly ended up getting interviewed and in the newspaper.

Here is the article: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1259634.html

Here is the picture: http://www.newsobserver.com/859/v-pop_gallery/gallery/1259635-a1259632-t4.html

Surprise Birthday Party for Mrs. Leggett

2008-10-03T23:47:00.005-04:00

We decided to surprise Mrs. Leggett for her birthday (which happens to be on the same day as mine…..I told Jacquelle we were meant:). Ciara (Jacquelle’s lil sis) and I invited lots of family members and friends at the last minute to come out to Outback and celebrate. She was extremely surprised…..she was even more surprised when her baby boy Myron showed up from Greensboro.Amanda acted like she didn't know Uncle Kent

Amira "helped" eat all of Cameron's fries off his plate and didn't touch her food. He's such a nice cousin to her!

Cousin Laila was rocking her afro-puffs!

Myron and Ciara

My rebirth as a runner!

2008-09-27T23:30:00.001-04:00

I joined a Women’s Beginner running group towards the end of the summer so I could get back in the groove of running and so I could finally learn to run long distances with my two little ladies in the jogging stroller. It is definitely an adjustment pushing weight and not being able to use your arms when running. Overall it was a great experience and I hope to keep it going so we can participate in many runs together.

This is at one of our weekly Saturday group run.

This is at the finale 5K run we all participated in together. I ran it in about 30 minutes which I thought was pretty good. I hope to do even better at my next run and I'm looking for running partners so let me know if you want to join me.

NOTE: I would DEFINITELY recommend this running program for anyone interested. It is set up for women who have never run or those who haven't run in awhile. We started out running and walking at different distances and intervals and built up to running 3 miles.

Welcome Monika to Raleigh!

2008-09-27T01:17:00.001-04:00

I don’t have any pictures for this post but my baby cousin Monika moved up here from New Jersey. I wish I had taken a picture of her driving that 10ft budget pulling her car behind it. She drove all night by herself from New Jersey.....she is definitely a tough sistah. She is finishing her thesis for her Masters at Seton Hall and working a security position til 10pm each night so we don’t get to hang out much now since she's pretty busy with both her jobs. She’s staying right next door in the rental property so Amira and Amanda like to go over and knock on her door and bug her. It’s so nice to have some family up here in NC.

Welcome Annie to the family!

2008-09-23T01:05:00.005-04:00

Here is our new puppy Annie. We got her from a local rescue agency in late August and she has been a handful so hopefully she will remain a part of the family. She has a jumping and nipping/biting problem which is really hard to deal with when you are trying to get to the car for work. If Jacquelle had his way she might already be gone.

I called a dog trainer and they told me to start squirting her with a water bottle to correct her but that only worked for awhile. She also seems to have an incontinence problem because she gets really excited and pees at our feet when we first come out in the morning and when we first get home. Any suggestions would help since I’d love to keep her around!

She's an 8 month old black lab mix.

Rusty still is and always will be my first dog luv:) We have had him for 2 yrs and he was a rescue as well. He's almost 3 years old.

Happy 50th Anniversary Tarts!

2008-09-06T22:49:00.005-04:00

Aunt Glenda and Uncle Kent had a great vow renewal ceremony and Amira was able to be a part of the ceremony with her cousin Yassmin. Here are some pictures from the ceremony:

Amira, Cameron and Yassmin

Aunt Glenda and the girls

Amanda wasn't as excited as everybody else:)

Mr. and Mrs. Leggett (my in-laws)

Kejuan’s Send Off Party to Piney Woods School (my alma mater)

2008-08-02T23:48:00.002-04:00

My 3^rd oldest nephew is now attending Piney Woods School (one of the few remaining historically African-American boarding schools in the United States). We gave him a send off party so here are some pictures from that. I tried to label my nieces and nephews based on their birth order. People who haven't seen them in awhile will be shocked at how much they all have grown.

Amira being clingy to Kejuan before the party (she rotated which cousin to cling to throughout the day)

My nephew Dacari (6th oldest), Amira and Cousin Phillip

Kejuan with Devonte (2nd oldest) and Cousin Eric in the background

My sister Salama and her friend Angela (she may as well be part of the family)

Brianna (5th oldest) and my brother-in-law Byron

Brianna and Kaylah (7th oldest) strike a pose

Kejaun in the kicthen aggravating the cooks (mama and Salama)

Keairr (4th oldest) and Kaylah made up a little jingle to get the party started

Here are Keairr and Kejuan clowning around before everybody got there....they were imitating some of my mama's African music....hilarious!

Here is their jingle....Kaylah gave a shout out to everybody leaving home for school and made EVERY single person at the party dance with her. I just posted a few of them below.

Here is Rico "twirling" Kaylah for his dance performance

Here is Sandra taking it back ole school for her dance performance

Mama's performance was BY FAR the BEST of all. She had us crying laughing.

We had such a good time sending Kejuan off to school.

Amanda's 1st Birthday!

2008-07-24T10:20:00.003-04:00

Amanda had her 1st birthday party at day care. Here's the big girl with her smirky smile waiting on us to sing Happy Birthday!

Here are the vegan, all natural cupcakes I made with some whip cream and sprinkles added. For those of you that are doubters of my vegan food.....they actually tasted very good! Amira and I fixed them together that morning before day care......she felt like it was her birthday:)

NOTE: For those of you like Trina that will probably try making these cupcakes, I never use the coconut extract and they turn out fine. I also use the unbleached flour and natural/raw cane sugar instead of white sugar.

Amira, Farrah and Jill are waiting patiently for their cupcakes.
At least Farrah liked my cupcakes.....Amira liked the whip cream and sprinkles and Jill just wasn't in the mood for a cupcake:)
Amanda is right where she wants to be.....in her daddy's arms. She is sooooooooo much a daddy's girl.

Here are some pictures of my big girls after day care. It's hard to believe how fast they grow up....some days I wish I could pause time for awhile and keep them where they are.....other days I dream about them going to college so Jacquelle and I can go to the movies on a weeknight and then to IHOP at 1am just because.

Pool Fun

2008-07-20T10:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Amira and Amanda in the pool after church. I started out with very very very cold water....I don't know if us having well water has anything to do with that. Well the girls weren't having it....Amira would only stand up and Amanda would hold on to me super tight when I put her big toe in the water so as to say...."Mama pleez don't put me in this artic water!"

About an hour of me sitting out there trying to get them to get used to the artic water Jacquelle comes home and puts a big cooler full of hot water in the pool. Let's just say I'm happy I was able to get them out of the water without a fight. They had such a good time after the water warmed up! I wish I would have video taped them splashing with each other....it was hilarious.

NC Zoo Trip

2008-07-19T08:06:00.002-04:00

We took a trip to the NC Zoo and we had a good time although somebody should have told us to stretch before going in since the zoo seems about 300 miles from one end to the other with steep hills in the middle.
Here's a picture of Amira and the giraffes:

Amira in the helicopter:
My exhaustion from pushing the stroller up the mountain of a hill:
This is the beginning of them getting tired:

And this is the end result:

Fun Friday at Day Care

2008-07-11T08:16:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures from Fun Friday at the girls day care. This is the day after Amanda's surgery so I was off work at home with her although she probably could have gone to day care just fine. We decided to drop by and watch Amira and her friends get wet up.

Amanda's recovering WELL!!!

2008-07-10T22:59:00.007-04:00

Miss Amanda had her surgery today (tubes in her ears and little bumps removed from the sides of her pinkie fingers). She has recovered extremely well. We weren't expecting any side effects from the surgery but we were expecting her to take a little while to get back to herself after the anesthesia. She was fine by the time we got home from the hospital. Although the surgery was with two different surgeons it only took maybe 10-12 minutes total but we still don't like our little lady to have to "go under" for any amount of time.

Here's a video from yesterday and just so happens you can see one of the little bumps. I'll have to post an after surgery shot when we take the bandages off so we can see how well the award-winning plastic surgeon at Duke has done.

Here are some pictures and a couple videos of her (with her bandaged hands) and her big sister this afternoon in the yard doing one of their favorite things ......riding in the infamous red wagon (thanks Grandma Holmes).

Amira starts posing with her eyes(you have to watch America's Next Top Model to understand:). She thought I was taking a picture. That lil girl is hilarious.
It's funny to watch Amanda imitate her sister "snatching" (although all she snatches is air):

I'm getting over it quicker this time....

2008-07-05T03:20:00.003-04:00

Well well well Miss. Amanda is done nursing. We lasted 11 months and I was hoping for one more month or at least until she turns 1 on the 24th but she spent time away with The Leggetts while I had to travel for work and when I went to pick her up she was not interested. I felt like I would cry.

It was almost as if she felt my sadness so when we got back home that night she nursed for the last time. I had a feeling it was the last time so I prepared myself just in case. It's funny because I complain complain and complain some more about pumping my milk when I'm away and at work (Jacquelle can definitely witness to this) but when she decides to stop nursing I'm all sad about it. I guess maybe I'm a control freak sometimes and I want to stop when I want to stop.

I had a much harder time when Amira decided to stop nursing 2 days before her 1st birthday. I have recovered a lot quicker this time.....and who knows maybe I'll get to nurse again in my life.........that's still in the air for now:)

New post....but old post...?

2008-06-25T01:53:00.007-04:00

I had some old posts that I’d saved but never posted dated back to April so I posted those and some other old ones with some old videos and pictures. Be SURE to go down to the clip from April 8th about Amanda sharing....it is hilarious. However, here are some fairly up to date pictures of the girls in the slideshow. They are from here at home, Father's Day at Grandpa Leggett's house, and when we were in Memphis for Rico's graduation.

Click here for slideshow:http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=63661d2cd83a7a64e9438e&skin_id=402&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

Yet another graduate!

2008-06-13T21:59:00.005-04:00

Jacquelle's younger brother Myron graduated this year too so we have two graduates in our family. Myron will attend NC A&T on a scholarship as well. Myron was very excited to be DONE with school I must say. The Leggett's did a cookout for him but I didn't get any pictures there.However, here are some from the raduation. Myron is working not one but two jobs this summer to support his fashionable wardrobe and shoe collection:) You betta go Myron!

Click here for slideshow:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6364a25deff677f9cc830e&skin_id=405&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

Amanda's a Christian now...

2008-06-01T22:03:00.002-04:00

One of Jacquelle's cousins asked me a couple months ago...."When are you going to make Amanda a Christian?"....which translates to when is her dedication ceremony at church. Well Amanda became a Christian on June 1, 2008....she will give her life to Christ at her own will in the future but we dedicated her to the Lord on this day in front of her grandparents, both aunts, uncle, great aunt and uncle, and great-granddaddy. We did a dinner at the house but unfortunately I was too busy to take any pictures. Here are some pictures from before and after church:

So proud of my oldest nephew....

2008-05-24T21:56:00.005-04:00

As you may know my sister has 7 children.....well Rico (the oldest) graduated this May!! It was a very exciting time because not only did he graduate but he graduated in the top 10% with a scholarship to Lambuth College. I am sooooooooooo very proud of him and he is such a great role model for his 5 little brothers and little sister (and stepsister too).

My sister gave him a breakfast at the church the morning before graduation so here are some pictures from that.

Rico with Cardiss and Celena (our beautiful cousins)
Rico with Phillip and Aaron (more cousins)

My hard working sisters and I

And here is the beaming graduate after graduation:

Devonte (2nd oldest) holding Amanda

Rico and KeAirr (the coolest of the younger brothers)

Click here for slideshow:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6363faffcf3706e2e39e26&skin_id=405&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

Amira has something to say.....

2008-05-19T22:02:00.000-04:00

Amira luvs being on the camera and watching it play back so I decided to tape her over and over and over again. I won't humor you with all the clips but here are a few. The last clip she got a little frustrated by her daddy interrupting her in the middle of her thought asking for another request:)

Amanda's trying hard to crawl!

2008-05-19T01:42:00.003-04:00

Reach out and touch somebody...

2008-05-17T01:35:00.001-04:00

Amanda sleeps with us more often than she sleeps in her bed. She is such a touchy feely baby and likes to be close and feel your warmth. Well when she sleeps with us she snuggles right up under Jacquelle and she usually tries to have one hand touching him and another part of her body touching him to make sure he’s still there. This morning was no exception…..here is a picture of them sleeping with both her requirements filled:)

I'm still here!

2008-05-06T23:45:00.002-04:00

I'm still here but just busy busy busy these days. I'm starting a new project at work so I may not have time to post until the beginning of June which is my "soft" deadline for getting this project up and rolling. I have some material to post but I need to upload the pictures and videos as usual.

I have a meeting in New Bern this week so the girls are here with me and we have had a ball!!! I am so happy Aunt Dorothy was able to come and keep them during the day so I could have my evenings with my little ladies.

Anyways, just wanted you to know that I will have some posts coming soon!

I experienced my first and last earthquake!

2008-04-19T00:59:00.000-04:00

I did a talk at University of Missouri and at 4:39am on Friday (April 18). I woke up to my bed shaking and all the doors in my room shaking. I was in a bed and breakfast that was an old house so things were creaky anyway so I tried to convince myself that someone was walking really hard in the hallway. Then I realized that my bed was really shaking and I KNEW in my heart that it was an earthquake. I decided to let it go but couldn’t get back to sleep. I tried to convince myself that it couldn’t have been an earthquake but I knew it was. I was relieved when at breakfast someone asked “Did you feel the earthquake?”…..I knew I wasn’t crazy! Thankfully I had a flight out of there soon after so I was hoping not to experience any aftershocks.

Happy Birthday Andei!

2008-04-12T01:39:00.004-04:00

For those of you that remember my good friend Andei, she is doing well at Ohio State University teaching African-American Literature (I think?). Anyways, she had a conference in Charleston,SC on her 30th birthday so I drove down to hang with her for the weekend. We had a great time shopping and touring and eating at a fancy spancy restaurant. We took one of the bike taxi’s late Saturday night and it was a really relaxing weekend. I had fun not changing diapers and sleeping in…..thanks to the Leggett’s. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Leggett and Myron and Ciara!!!

Amanda’s Advice to the World: Sharing is soooooooo overated!!!

2008-04-08T01:01:00.002-04:00

The first clip is of the peaceful Amanda eating her baby food alone (key word is alone):

In the second clip, I pureed Amanda some lentils and sweet potatoes and she LUVED them. However, when Daddy decided to share with her sister she was not thrilled at all.

Amira's Addendums

2008-04-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

Well our routine is to pray with Amira, tuck her in, turn off her lamp and then put her gate up at her door. Just about every night it’s something she will think of to prolong you leaving. For example, sometimes after you tuck her in she will fuss about how much cover she has…..some nights she wants just the sheet and other nights she doesn’t want any cover…..”I don like it mommy/daddy…….no cuvuhs pleez” Sometimes after you turn the lamp off she wants the lamp on or when you leave it on she wants it off…..”Light on pleez mommy/daddy” Sometimes right when you get the gate up and you think you are all free to leave you hear……”Potty pleez mommy/daddy…….my need to poo poo” Other times when you have made it down the hallway and you breathe a sigh of relief……you hear…….”My sheep…….my need my sheep mommy/daddy”

Well I decided to take the time to record the sheep episode tonight just for fun and so Jenn’s mom could hear how special these sheep are in the Leggett household. We spend a good amount of time each week looking for those sheep when they are misplaced so maybe she’ll be able to bring some more from Canada so we can hide them in places around the house for emergencies.

Tonight I was lucky because the sheep was right in the bed with her and she just couldn’t see it:-)

There is no picture since it was dark in her room but there is sound.

Here is a picture from last November...this was a GREAT night because we actually found both sheep. You have to click on the picture to get a good view of the sheep.

Please don't kick my baby out of day care!

2008-04-03T21:04:00.001-04:00

Well well well.....Miss. Amanda got wrote up at school today:-) Ms. Nicole wrote a note about her ~~desire~~ demand for attention. In other words my little lady is SPOIL!!! Yes I said it....she is SPOIL!!! It's all our fault I can admit. When we get home Jacquelle holds her while I fix something to eat. Then we eat and since we have been too busy to go buy another high chair he holds her while he feeds her and while he eats. Then one of us gets Amira ready for bed and the other one holds Amanda. Then I nurse her and if she goes to sleep I put her in her crib but if she doesn't I pass her to daddy and he holds her while he watches ESPN. Do you see a theme going here? This little lady gets held WAY too much!!! I wish I could call Ms. Nicole tonight and start discussing the techniques she's been trying at day care so we can start them tomorrow morning since I usually hold her while I get Amira ready and/or while I fix Amira's breakfast.

When Amira was at her last day care there was a 6mo old little boy that got kicked out of daycare since his mama held him too much and he cried all day. Even though this was a home care and Ms. Nicole has a home care there are still 4 other children to care for. So when I drop them off tomorrow I will have to ask Ms. Nicole.......please don't kick my baby out of day care!

This was taken about 30 minutes ago.....This was after we gave them a bath, I nursed Amanda and then while I read Amira some books Amanda got held by her daddy while he did some work on his laptop. And then she fell asleep in his lap while she was being held and he laid her in the crib. Looks like the Leggett household will have to change up the routine of HOLDING AMANDA!

Is it a sign?................Well I guess it was!

2008-04-01T21:50:00.001-04:00

"Salama (my baby sister) asked.....sometimes when I make a call and look at my phone it's at 9:13.....sometimes when I get a text and look at my phone it's at 9:13........sometimes when I get a voicemail it says I received it at 9:13......do you think that's a sign?"

This is what Jacquelle and I got asked over Christmas break before she put in her application for Delta Sigma Theta sorority.....after we figured out what she meant and burst into laughter and her face was still serious I realized WOW.....she is sooooooooooo serious and she wanted to be a Delta soooooooooooooooo bad. Well I guess it was a sign.....................

NOTE: Delta Sigma Theta was founded in 1913 so she was hoping this was a sign that she would make the Delta line at Skegee:-)

THE LINEUP!

I know you can't see anything but I had to post these videos for my Delta friends.

They were so tired and sweaty doing all that stepping in those heels!

You have to listen closely to hear her introduce herself!

Finally DONE!!! What a long night for us all (we waited about 2hrs for this probate show.....you would have thought the President was coming to Tuskegee with all the people out there in the middle of the night). I must LUV my baby sister!

Another video (or actually just sound) for my Delta friends:-)

Salama (#4 Disturbia)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-25T01:23:00.001-04:00

Amira hunting for Easter eggs at Grandma Leggett's
Amanda not wanting to take a picture!

Amanda wasn't feeling well (had a fever all day) but you surely can't tell by these pictures in the car.

The Amanda Centipede Dance!

2008-03-25T01:01:00.000-04:00

She might not be crawling but she's dancin!

Amanda's 1st REAL sugar cookie!

2008-03-25T00:43:00.000-04:00

Grandpa gave Amanda an oatmeal cookie this weekend when we were home for Easter (without my permission might I add). She really enjoyed it.

Amira making birthday cards

2008-03-25T00:20:00.001-04:00

Amira making birthday cards for some special people....I hope you have received them by now! She really enjoyed making them.

At the park feeding the ducks

2008-03-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Amanda!

2008-03-24T23:53:00.001-04:00

Me and Amanda after a long day of holding her and doing nothing much else (this was when she had one of her many ear infections!)

Amira with AFRO!

2008-03-24T23:27:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures of Amira after I took her braids down with her Afro!! For those that haven't met him.....that's our dog Rusty.

2008-03-24T01:53:00.000-04:00

Amira's 2nd Birthday Party!

Click on the picture to get to the slideshow from Amira's 2nd birthday party at Marbles Musuem. It's kinda long since I put in most of the pictures Jacquelle took.

Potty Potty and mo Potty!

2008-03-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

Well Amira is getting potty trained and doing exceptionally well. We started last week and she only had about 2 accidents this whole week. She wears a pamper during nap time and overnight but other than that she is doing great. However, mommy and daddy aren't doing so well......she wants to potty ALL THE TIME!! And she actually does something just about each time so you feel bad not letting her go although it is often just a lil squirt of pee pee!

I had to travel to Seattle for work this week so daddy was holding it down although he didn't answer the 2 and 3am potty calls I'll give him a B+:)

It is so weird to see her wearing panties....I look and think....where did my baby go.....she's growing up so quick.......thank God I have another baby:)

P.S. I really mean to post some pictures but the laptop with all the pictures is acting up so I have to wait until Jacquelle can fix it but I assure you that I have some pictures coming soon.