Sick Day

This little face is what gets me through the day. Leah and I have both been sick this weekend, so I have had the wonderful experience of taking a nap with her and hanging out on the couch watching movies with her. For a sick day it has been an absolutely wonderful day!!!

Swimming

We went swimming today for play group and it was so so much fun. I had Brad blow up Leah's floater on Sunday and Leah was thrilled. She spent all day playing in it.

 First thing this morning, Leah wanted to play in her "fishy" instead of eating breakfast.

 Finally we got to the pool. At first Leah did not want to get in the water, she was terrified. I was shocked, she loved the pool and the lake last year and she LOVES the bath tub. Fortunately it didn't take her long to figure out how much fun the water is.

 Leah climbing up the slide. She had a hard time climbing up, she would climb up a few stairs and then try and climb back down. All the other kids were climbing up and sliding down, so I am not sure why she didn't want to do it.

 The few times she did go down the slide she was very scared, she wouldn't even go down by herself. She goes down our slide at home all the time, weird.

 Leah loved that she could walk around in the water and lay by the water fountains. So much more fun then sitting in her "fishy" and me carrying her around.

 Leah in her fishy. She still loves the fishy and still wanted to play with it at home, out of the water.

 Had to share a few more pictures. Leah reading her "stories".

Helping Daddy pack. She had so much fun taking the clothes that Brad was packing out of the suitcase so she could climb in. She wanted to go with her daddy. Look how cute her little skirt is, my Mom made it for her cause I had nothing to go with the sweater.

Work is getting busier and busier with tax season, so I am trying to take every opportunity to play with Leah and take pictures. She is seriously so much fun.

My Baby is not a Baby Anymore

 I absolutely love Leah getting older. In my opinion, this toddler stuff is by far more fun then the newborn stuff. Brad and I say all the time that our next kid just needs to come out a toddler instead of a newborn. Leah as a newborn was tough, lots of crying and sleep less nights. Now she sleeps all night and wakes up excited for a new day. She is constantly reminding me that she is not a baby anymore. 

 Today when she woke up from her nap she saw her necklaces hanging on her shelf and she insisted that she wore all of her bracelets and necklace. I would put one on and she would point and say more in sign language until she finally had them all on. Then she had a major fit when I took the bracelets off for dinner. All day she walked around showing off her "pretty, pretty".

 This is pretty much what we do all day. Leah destroys everything that she comes in contact with and climbs in every box, basket, bin she can find, even if it is way too small for her. She also carries her baby around everywhere. Leah got a grocery cart for her birthday and she always puts her purse on her shoulder and puts her baby in the basket and pushes the grocery cart around. She loves it!!!

 I "taught" Leah how to color last week, thanks to Amy's suggestion. I thought Leah was way to young and would not care for it at all. I was completely wrong. She LOVED it. She likes to have more than one color though.

 We took Leah to the park the other weekend and she loved it. However, all she wanted to do was walk around in the snow, silly girl!

 Here is me and Leah. I love that leah says "WEEEE" when we go down the slide!

 Leah loves to have her picture taken, most of the time. She either gets excited or tries to grab the camera. Today though everytime I got the camera out she came and sat on my lap. Leah likes to look at the pictures on the camera right after we take them, so maybe that is why she kept doing it. Oh and Leah's hair is finally growing, her are her pathetic pig tails.

 Guess who this is??? This is what happens when I wash Leah's blankets. Before I can even grab them out of the laundry basket she already has ALL of them and is all cuddled up.

 

So today Leah decided that she is way too big for her high chairs. For the past week or so she has fought me to sit in her high chairs cause she knows that there is a big girl chair at the table, until today I have been able to convince her to sit in her high chair. Today I would put her in her chair and she would get as stiff as she could and scream and point to her big girl seat. When I said, "Let's eat", she would immediately run to her big girl seat. Man I am going to miss the highchair, it is so much cleaner. 

 To celebrate my Grandma's birthday and my Grandpa's retirement the whole family went bowling. It was a lot of fun. Sad that these are the only two pictures I took.

 "Jaxson" was one of Leah's first words. She loves her cousin Jaxson. When ever we go to Nana's she says "Jaxson" as we get out of the car, when we pulled up to Jaxson's house, she says "Jaxson". She loves him so much and follows him around like crazy. Leah was lucky enough to go outside and play with Jaxson one day. Jaxson was dying to go out and play and Leah was not about to let him go out alone. So Jaxson collected sand toys and they went outside to build "snow castles", they had so much fun. Ever since that day, Leah ALWAYS wants to go outside. She pounds at the back door and says "out". Whenever we come in from the car she tries to run to the front yard. I can't wait til it is warmer, so I actually want to go outside with her.

Tonight Leah's friend, Eden, came over to play for a few minutes. I had no idea how much fun they have together. Leah gets to play with Eden 2 times a week and is always so excited to go over there. It was so funny to see Leah giggle at everything Eden did and follow her around. I was amazed how nice Leah was to her too.

I bought this costume for Leah off the clearance racks a while ago. Leah found it in her closet and insisted that I put it on. She had so much fun wobbling around in it. She is such a girl.

 This is all we do lately, read stories. Leah is totally obsessed. All day long she brings me stories and insists that I sit down and read them too her. She also spends a lot of time reading them to herself. I wish I knew what she was saying when she reads them, she goes on and on. My dad made her a rocking chair for Christmas and Leah sits in it and I sit in my rocking chair and we each read books; unfortunately, I HAVE to read whatever she gives me. It is so cute. I hope she always loves reading.

One last thing. My mom came over the other night and Leah came to the door when I answered it. Today when the UPS man rang the door bell, Leah ran to the door screaming "Nana, Nana". She was so disappointed when I opened the door and there was no Nana. I shut the door and Leah just cried. I can't believe she remembered that Nana was at the door a few days earlier. 

Leah is so much fun. I can't believe how girly she is already. I love every minute of being a Mom!

I am so sad I didn't ever post anything about Christmas and New Years, they were awesome. But at least I finally posted about what we have been doing in 2011!

13 Months

Leah's 13 months and is learning so much, here are some fun things she can do/say!

Leah is beginning to say a lot of words, she also speaks her own language all of the time. Unfortunately she does not say any of these words on demand. She only says them if she wants something or if she is being ignored.

Words she says:

• Mom and Mama
• Dadda - When Dad is not home she says Dadda and waves
• Nana
• More
• No 
• Grape, Please, and Up - she has only said these a few of times so who knows if she really said them or if it's all in my head.

Words she whispers - why she whispers them I do not know.

• Jaxson - This was one of her first words
• Papa
• Tiffi

Foods she loves:

• Scrambled Eggs - her very favorite
• Cookies - she goes crazy when she sees them
• String Cheese
• Fruit cups
• Beans
• Milk (soy)

Foods she doesn't like:

• Tangerines

Her favorite Toys:

• Piano (her's and mom's)
• All baby dolls
• Slide
• Socks - not a toy but she loves to play with them
• Tupperware
• Tea Set
• Anything in the dishwasher
• Boxes

Other fun things:

•  Leah loves to dance and to bounce on things. Anytime she hears music she breaks out dancing.
• She got a tea set from Grandma Stringham for Christmas. I was shocked that she picked up the cup and started stirring it and drinking out of it. She loves it.
• Leah loves to read books, lately she likes to sit on my lap and read the book to me in her own language. 
• She loves to be chased, especially by Jaxson and up the stairs
• She can identify her tongue and head. She can't sit still enough to learn the rest of her body parts, she has no interest.
  
  I love Leah so much

Thanksgiving

     So far this Thanksgiving was the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. Our little family was able to go to Brad's family cabin and stay for several days. However, that is not what made Thanksgiving the best yet. 2010 has been the hardest and most rewarding year that Brad and I have ever had. I took the opportunity this November to spend a few moments each day reflecting on the things I am thankful for. My heart has been so full of gratitude. As I reflect back on 2010, it's not the hard times and trials that stick out, but the wonderful blessing that resulted from those trials.
     I am so thankful for the Lord's hand in my life, for all of the answered prayers and the promptings from the spirit that I have received. I have especially developed a stronger gratitude for my family, not only my husband and daughter, but for my parents and siblings. For a husband who does everything in his power to make me happy and to help make the burden lighter. For Leah's smiling face that reminds me of how precious life is. For a Mother who drops everything just to watch Leah or to listen to my fears and worries. She is never judgmental and always encourages me to move forward with faith. I could go on and on about how wonderful my father is and about each one of my sisters and what an example my little brother is.
     I can not even begin to explain how grateful I am for my education and for such a wonderful employer. For an education that has taught me so many things about preparing for the future and for hard times, an education that has allowed me to have a career to provide for my family in times of need. I am thankful for an employer that has allowed me to manage having a career and being a mother. For the flexibility that they have allowed me and their understanding for my needs as a mother.
    The person that I have gained the most gratitude for in 2010 is for Brad. Even though I mentioned him above, I think he deserves to know in depth how grateful I am for him and how much I love him. He has spent the entire year doing everything possible to make our family happy. When things got tough he did everything in his power to take care of EVERYTHING. He spent a good part of the year home with Leah as well as working and going to school. Luckily this fall he began a wonderful job and works so hard to gain stability back into our life. I am amazed at how he manages working and going to school full time and he still finds the time at the end of the week to help around the house, with Leah, and other things I request of him. He is such a great dad. Leah loves him so much. I am so thankful to be able to go through the journey of life with Brad. He is such an inspiration to me and I love him so very much.
     Wow, I never write this much on my blog, especially serious stuff. Now on to the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!

Leah is 1!!!!

My good friend took these AMAZING pictures of Leah! We had to do them twice because the first time Leah was cold and ornery. The second time she was even more ornery and would not sit still without her mouth full of marshmallows and even then she wouldn't look at the camera or smile. So I am so surprised that any of the pictures turned out. By the look of the pictures you would never know that Leah was upset at all!! Thanks again Kim!

 This one is my very favorite. It totally shows her personality.

Leah & Kenzie

My sister took Leah and her baby Kenzie and got their pictures taken. They turned out so cute, I just had to share.