Kuso's brother Atonio has a daughter, Lupe, that is 3 weeks younger (Sept 14-Oct 8) than Leila. Lupe spends a lot of time at her mom's parents house, so we didn't get to see her for the first few days we were there. This is the day when Lupe came to stay with her parents for a while. I thought with Leila being half but bigger and Lupe being full blooded they would be close to the same size. Not. Leila is a monster next to Lupe. 
Above: Lupe, Semi, Nuga, Leila
Above: Lupe, Semi, Nuga, LeilaBelow: Look how big Leila is next to Lupe. This is a little distorted because Lupe is leaning, but look how skinny Lupe is and how much taller Leila is. 
Side Note: This cement that we are sitting on in these pictures is the graves of Kuso's grandparents. When I first learned about this, it was very weird to me that they would have family members buried in their yard. This is right next to the house. Kuso said that when they were young, him and his siblings would sleep on them with their mom when they were being missed. Kind of weird for those of us that don't do things that way, but kind of awesome to know that they are always near by. 
This kiss looks a little forced, but truly, it wasn't. They actually would just walk up to each other and wave and kiss throughout the week. They also learned to fight with each other. One particular time, they were both walking toward each other, they bumped into each other and Lupe fell down. Leila pointed at her. I think Leila was pointing because Lupe was crying. Uncle Levi aka "crazy" kept laughing that Leila was pointing at Lupe because "Lupe did it. It wasn't me." Either way, it WAS kind of funny.
Side Note: This cement that we are sitting on in these pictures is the graves of Kuso's grandparents. When I first learned about this, it was very weird to me that they would have family members buried in their yard. This is right next to the house. Kuso said that when they were young, him and his siblings would sleep on them with their mom when they were being missed. Kind of weird for those of us that don't do things that way, but kind of awesome to know that they are always near by. 
This kiss looks a little forced, but truly, it wasn't. They actually would just walk up to each other and wave and kiss throughout the week. They also learned to fight with each other. One particular time, they were both walking toward each other, they bumped into each other and Lupe fell down. Leila pointed at her. I think Leila was pointing because Lupe was crying. Uncle Levi aka "crazy" kept laughing that Leila was pointing at Lupe because "Lupe did it. It wasn't me." Either way, it WAS kind of funny. 
Sunday afternoon we decided to take a quick swim in the ocean. This would be Leila's first experience in non-bath or non-swimming pool water. She LOVED it. The water is so warm there how could you not? Plus she loved to lick the salt off her hands. 
Also notice the Bongo (chip) on her finger. She loves to eat them now so she can put them on her fingers first. So funny. Doesn't she look so cute in her swimming suit without a diaper? (Remember how we sent the box with all of her swimming diapers in them? Oh well.)
This ramp into the ocean is a straight walk down from Kuso's parents house. Not too far, but down a small hill. The best way to get in is to just sit on your butt and slide down the moss. Otherwise, you are going to fall in.
These pictures were taken AFTER she had continued playing and being silly, so I wasn't too concerned about a concusion or anything. There have been several other times that Leila has taken a pretty bad fall and we were SURE that she is going to have a bump or bruise, but it never shows up. So for this bump to be this big, she hit HARD. 
This next picture was taken just for Leslie. When Kuso realized that there was a big bump on her head, he came back with yes, Vicks Vapor rub. For some reason, these Samoan men think that rubbing that on a bump will make it go away. Well, the bump was still there in the morning, but it definitely didn't hurt it any. 
Leila thought the mosquitoe nets were fun. 
This is the coconut tree in front of the house. Right now it's short enough that even I can pick a coconut from it!
Leila LOVED this cat. I'm not a cat person, but I loved this cat too. The markings are so awesome, and the cat is so calm and chill. He let Leila pet him, poke him, hit him, lay next to him, etc. without problem. Occasionally he would bat at her with his paws, but never in a mean way. Plus, he takes care of things around the house. He catches cockroaches and other bugs and eats them. Gross, but the more he eats, the less there are to worry about! We took NUMEROUS photos of Leila chasing and playing with "kitty kitty kitty."
This scene was very common. Leila loves to sit on small steps at my parents house, so when she saw grandma sitting on this small step, she sat right down and made herself at home. She sat her a LOT while we were there.
So this is how the story goes. I'm sitting on a bench when I hear a small THUD then "squawk." Then again, and again, and again. Yep, dead chickens being dropped onto the concrete. After each drop, they each squawked their last squawk. The red on the chicken is feathers, not blood.
Grandma and Leila (and Kuso)
Leila and Uncle Atonio
Her first Samoan Style bath. This night, she kind of liked it. The rest of the trip, she HATED it. She screamed the entire time and for about 15 minutes after. We got to a routine where I would get her out, take her to put her diaper on (she got really bad diaper rash so I had to try and put cream on too) while Kuso was throwing out the water, then rush to the room to help control her enough to get her diaper on, then HE would have to take her outside (she was a massive daddy's girl while we were there) until she calmed down, then we would sneak some bug spray and a t-shirt to sleep in on her. Then she would be fine, but during it, it was quite the ordeal.
Kuso, Leila, Alofa, and Uncle Logologo
