Flat Leighton goes to Paris...

 

So my parents thought it would be cool to ditch me for five days and go to Paris sans baby… what?  I know right!  How could they ever enjoy themselves without my darling little mug around to brighten their days?  They thought they could make up for the lack of a Parisian stamp in my passport by taking “flat Leighton” with them.    

Hanging in the Emirates Lounge before boarding… Mom and Dad took a little too much advantage of the complimentary wine.  Good thing the real me wasn’t with them or I would have been looking out after myself!

 

My Dad met up with his best friend and life partner, Jack…

 

Just kidding!  They met up with Jack and Missy Zinda who also came sans baby.  Jackson got ditched with his grandparents in their shack in El Paso… poor kid!

 

And so our trip began at Notre Dame!

Next came a bike tour of the 4^th, 6^th and 7^th arrondissements with our tour guide, Aaron, who is from New Zealand.  My parents acted like stupid Americans asking if he could sing all the bike tour facts to them… Not everyone from New Zealand is part of the Flight of the Concords you nitwits!  They’re so embarrassing. 

 

Then the Louvre…

I can’t believe half my genes are from her.  Please, feel sorry for me!

Mom did impress me by finding my favorite animal, a duck, to get a picture with!

 

Then off to grab a coffee in a Louvre café.  Not a bad view!

The next day they headed out to Versailles…. This place was HUGE!

 

I think my parents are less mature than me or Jackson! 

They sure did enjoy some nice dinners while they were in Paris… too bad they couldn’t read most of the menus. 

 

Our Moms think that this will be a cute picture to show at our wedding one day.  MOMS, we are only one and it is 2012… you can’t betroth us nowadays you crazies!

Sadly, Jack, Missy and flat Jackson left for the rest of their European vacation, but my Mom and Dad took me to a few more places… 

 

Notre Dames gardens

 

Chapel of Saint Chapelle

Napoleons’ tomb… I must say this place was hilarious!  You can see why it is called a “Napoleon” complex! 

Rodin Museum… with the parents I have, no one will ever call me a Thinker!

 

Finally they decided that they missed me and made their way back to the sandbox. 

Good effort Momsies and Popsicle, but a book of pictures with “me” at all the sights in Paris will really not make up for your lack of respect for the world’s coolest baby and travel munchkin.  Nice try… but I better get a sweet trip to Paris for my 16^th birthday to make up for this mistake!

(Seriously though, thank you to Christi Warren and her family for watching our little munchkin while we hightailed it to Paris!  It was a much needed break for us and I know that Leighton adored her time with ya’ll!!!)

Until Later…

Happy July 4th!

Wishing everyone a happy Fourth of July all the way from Dubai!

Jon of course didn’t have the day off but Leighton enjoyed her day of independence with two of her favorite boys, a Canadian and an Irish/American… took a nap and then sat back and put her feet up while she got her Spanish on, watching Little Pims and Dora with her dog, Turbo.

We hope your holiday was just as relaxing has little LC’s!

Until Later… 

Three Parties… Why Not?!

So your firstborn only turns ONE once… so Jon and I ended up throwing her not one, not two, but three parties! Okay, that sounds a little more ooh-la-la and over the top then it really was. Basically, Jon wasn’t going to be with Leighton on her “real” birthday, because he had to head back to Dubai during our last visit home. So we threw Leighton a party a few days before her actual birthday, because she is one… it’s not like she knows exactly what day she was born yet!

Party #1… My brother, Derrick, and his wife, Cara, and their baby, Anders hosted the party at their house in Austin. Leighton’s party had everything a first birthday bash needs… family, friends, cake, beer and a jumpy castle… it was a fun time!

The Middlebrook’s

The Stoner’s

The Zinda’s

Auntie MonMon

Leighton was trying to talk Collier into getting in the jumpy castle!

Cake time!  Doesn’t Leighton look happy?!

Okay, kid…. Cake time minus the hat!

At this point I had no clue if she liked the cake or not…

But, I think she liked it!

After a bath in the sink and some present opening, we said bye to our guests in a diaper… keeping it classy, I know!

Party #2… On Munchkin’s actual birthday, L and I were staying at the Middlebrook’s and we were flying solo without Jon.  So we had a small shindig…

Birthday Boots… every little Texan needs some!

Another day, another cake…

And how do we end our first birthday?  In our Birthday Suit of course, playing in the sprinklers with our cousins!

Party #3… when we got back to Dubai we decided to celebrate the first birthday again… this time with a Duck themed party… Yes, Leighton is still obsessed with duckies!

Thank goodness I vacuumed… one year old parties definitely happen on the floor!

Who knew curtains could be so entertaining?!?

The big kids swam outside to keep cool!

Waiting on cake...

Someone looks pretty interested in that cake!

1…2…3… blow!

Well… maybe LC woke up on the wrong side of her crib for this party but good behavior at 2 out of 3 parties isn’t too bad!  I sometimes forget she is only one.... she is such a good kid!!!

Happy birthday sweet baby… here’s to many many more

birthdays and birthday parties!

Until Later…