Leah may not be walking yet, but what she lacks in large motor skills, she is making up for in the verbal department.
She now says about 15 words.
New ones this week:
Yes
No
Bubble
Wow!
Toe
Car
Bath
"mmmm" when she is hungry :)
She can point to a bunch of body parts, do about 10 animal sounds, and imitates just about everything we do. We are having so much fun with this kid!!!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Like mother, like daughter
I am mostly writing this so I don't forget....
Leah is becoming quite the chatterbox (hence, the post title)! At 13 months, she can say a pretty good amount of words, and every day is showing more and more interest in talking.
So far, she says:
Mama
Dada
Papa (my Dad)
Duck
Car
Cup
Walk
Fish ("ish")
Shoe ( a new favorite)
Hot (sounds like "ot")
Light (sounds like "ite")
Oh-oh
She calls a kitty a "yeow"
Leah is just loving labeling things, and points at all she sees, all the time, so she can hear someone label the object for her. Watching her develop her productive language is just so much fun.
What will be next? "Wine"? "Ew cute"? "Love it"? There is a real possibility there...
Leah is becoming quite the chatterbox (hence, the post title)! At 13 months, she can say a pretty good amount of words, and every day is showing more and more interest in talking.
So far, she says:
Mama
Dada
Papa (my Dad)
Duck
Car
Cup
Walk
Fish ("ish")
Shoe ( a new favorite)
Hot (sounds like "ot")
Light (sounds like "ite")
Oh-oh
She calls a kitty a "yeow"
Leah is just loving labeling things, and points at all she sees, all the time, so she can hear someone label the object for her. Watching her develop her productive language is just so much fun.
What will be next? "Wine"? "Ew cute"? "Love it"? There is a real possibility there...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
OooOoooOooo
I captured this the other day and it made me giggle. Seeing the world through little eyes changes your perspective. I wish I got that excited over a dog! I am thankful to have this little red-headed reminder to enjoy the little things!
Monday, March 19, 2012
This is what it looks like
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| This is what love looks like,on the rare occasions Leah stops long enough to snuggle. This is a little bit of heaven. |
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| ... two seconds later, this is what curiosity looks like! She is constantly jabbing eyes, and shoving her chubby little fingers up noses and in ears to explore. Silly girl. |
Besties
I love these little goofballs so much! Every time we get the kids together, we laugh at how much fun they have. Raising babies with my best friends by my side is one of life's greatest gifts, and watching them grow up sharing laughter and hugs is already amazingly gorgeous.
Here is a random Thursday night of playing with Isabella, Makayla, and TyTy. Love them!
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| Blowing kisses! |
Baby, it's warm outside!
It has been so so so fabulous having a little sneak peek of summertime in March! We have been rushing home from work just about every day to cram in some good quality time in our yard, at the park,walking around downtown Glen Ellyn, and heading to the lake, our favorite place to go.
So far, Leah is loving the swings even more than the end of fall last year. She giggles pretty much the whole time, as she feels her tummy squiggle. I am so thankful for that sound. It makes even the most stressful of days better.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Party- the sequel
Here are some favs from Leah's "friend" party. Thanks again to Wedoff Photography for capturing these!!
There are a lot.... what can I say, I love photos.
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| Goodie bags for the kiddos |
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| The sign in table |
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| Getting ready! |
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| First card |
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| The guests start to arrive for the fun!! |
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| CUPCAKES! |
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| Two of Leah's boyfriends, Anthony and Jack |
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| Nonnie playing with the kiddos |
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| Real Men Color |
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| The teeniest guest, baby TyTy |
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| Birthday kisses! |
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| More birthday kisses! |
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| Big baby! |
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| Seriously, how can Isabella and Makayla get any cuter?!?! |
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| Signing Leah's book |
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| My awesome parents |
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| Thanks for coming! |
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| Love. |
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| Love again |
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| Party animal |
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| Leah with her Daddy and Aunt Cait |
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| What a day! |
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| This was the BEST. All the kids helped feed Leah her cake. :) |
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| Mangled cake. Haha. |
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| The whole fam-damily! |
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| Love my pals! |
Better late than never!
Here are some photos from Leah's actual first birthday, and not just the parties. We had the day off, so we spent it together- just the three of us- after 2 crazy, yet fabulous, parties.
We started the day with a nice breakfast, headed to the Shedd Aquarium to see the fish and "Baby Beluga", and ended the day with dinner and a little cupcake. It was a lovely way to get some quality time with our little family, all the while feeling so blessed and thankful that this little girl was sent to us one year ago.
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| Opening all her gifts! |
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| Birthday morning!!! |
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| Checking out the penguins |
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| Baby Beluga!!!!! |
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| Jellies! |
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| Loving her new phone |
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| One year old smooches. :) |
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
To my one year old
Leah Joy-
You are one year old, and I am in awe. In some ways, I fee like I have know you my whole life, and in others, I can't believe you have been part of our family for a year already. There have been many adjustments and leaning moments for your Daddy and me this year, along with tears of joy and frustration, and moments of utter exhaustion and unadulterated glee. All in all, though, you have slid into our lives with so much ease and with a sense of contentment for us. It is as if you were meant to be our daughter. I take that back. You really are.
You, Leah, are more than I have ever wished or hoped for, and, let me tell you, I had some high standards after longing to be a Mom. The darling personality you are blessed enough to possess is the light of my life. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is better than that dimply, toothy grin, especially when it is accompanied by you reaching up saying "MaMaMa" and crawling into my waiting arms.
You have a way of making the world a better place,and you have only been here for a year. I am so looking forward to seeing how you grow and change into the person you are destined to become, and how you continue to do good things with your life. My hope is that your Daddy and I can help you grow into a good, loving person, and that you will someday find the kind of pure happiness you bring to us.
There has been so much change in you the past year. The teeny, pink, curled up infant of February 2011 has blossomed into a wiggly, loud, smiley, active, smart, and sweet little toddler with a ton of personality. You are so much fun we can barely stand it!!!
At 12 months, you:
- Just had a great doctor's appointment. At 12 months, you are reaching most 15 month milestones already (yay), but are a little behind on walking. You weigh a dinky 18.6 pounds (9th %), and are 29 inches tall (44th%). What a peanut. You are happy and healthy, and that is all we really care about!
- Had two fabulous birthday parties! They were such celebrations of you and how great you are. you are loved by many. My biggest hope for you is that you always feel that.
- Do not have a mellow bone in your body. If you snuggle for three seconds, it is a miracle! You are a busy busy busy little girl with a zest for life and a curiosity like I have never seen. You want to touch and feel everything you see!
- Are such a flirt. You love to look at people, wave hello, and give big cheesy grins to anyone who looks your way. The stranger danger phase is starting to get better, and you love people now!
- Are boycotting bottles for the most part. You still like to nurse, but you bat away bottles. You are taking a lot of whole milk now, so I hope you get to drinking!! You love drinking from a sippy, and say "cup" when you want a drink.
- Crawl at breakneck speed, and pretty much run with your walker now, but are nowhere near walking alone. You just don't have the confidence yet. You cruise on the furniture, and love to pull up on anything at all, but you need the reassurance of holding on to walk. You'll get there!
- Don't eat quite as much, although you are still just as adventurous. You now know what you want on your tray, and will hunt through whatever to get to it. You are still such a great eater, but I am sure there will be a time in the not too far future when getting spinach, kale, and beets in there will be a struggle. For now, I am in babyfood heaven.
- You say "walk", "duck", "cup" all the time, and you do a lot of sounds, like "EYOW" when you see the cat, and "uh-oh" when something falls. TOO CUTE.
- Your hair is getting so crazy curly and longer by the day. You have a mass of ringlets in the back. I love to rub them. :)
- Like other babies now. You point and try to touch them, and make all kinds of sounds. We try to make sure you don't maul them in the process.
- Love to mimic us. You hold the phone up to your ear when we say "hello", and do many, many animal sounds, along with other things you repeat when you see or hear.
- Adore climbing the stairs... over and over and over again, until we can barely see straight from following you. You giggle just about the whole way up.
- Love your bath some nights,and hate it others. It is like you just have off days from time to time and don't want to deal.
- Adore stuffed animals. You still love to squeeze and hug them, and often drag one around with you when you crawl.
-Need a ton of sleep (To any sleep deprived parents reading this- I am not complaining, rather, feeling a little jippedon time with Leah- don't kill me).You do not do well past 7 PM. I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact that we have to get you up at 5:30 AM, but still.... most nights, I wish I could get you to stay up longer so we had more time together. It is really a struggle to only get to have a couple hours a day with my girl when I have to work.
- Love your Daddy. Your face lights up when you see him, and you love to say "Da" when you want him. The feelingis utterly and completely mutual. He is head over heels for you, and is, in my opinion, the most hands on dad I have ever seen.You two are so darn cute together it hurts sometimes.
- Have a few hilarious idiosyncrasies. You always pull your socks off in the car and "talk" to them, you still make the hilarious, albeit hideous sounding hyena noise, and you love to rub food into your pretty red locks.
- Enjoy "sharing". you take a toy of some random sock on the floor, hand it to one of us, we say thanks, and you clap for yourself. :)
- Love to look at and play with animals. You "talk" to dogs by barking to them when you see them. I am curious to see if you are an animal lover as you grow!
Even my worst days since being your mom have been some of the best of my life. Thank you, my sweet one year old, for making my dreams come true, giving me a reason to be better and a happiness like I never thought possible, and for the honor of loving me back. You are a true gift, and I look forward to many, many years spent playing, giggling, and cuddling with you, the other love of my life.
You are my love, my laughter, my joy ever after.
You are one year old, and I am in awe. In some ways, I fee like I have know you my whole life, and in others, I can't believe you have been part of our family for a year already. There have been many adjustments and leaning moments for your Daddy and me this year, along with tears of joy and frustration, and moments of utter exhaustion and unadulterated glee. All in all, though, you have slid into our lives with so much ease and with a sense of contentment for us. It is as if you were meant to be our daughter. I take that back. You really are.
You, Leah, are more than I have ever wished or hoped for, and, let me tell you, I had some high standards after longing to be a Mom. The darling personality you are blessed enough to possess is the light of my life. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is better than that dimply, toothy grin, especially when it is accompanied by you reaching up saying "MaMaMa" and crawling into my waiting arms.
You have a way of making the world a better place,and you have only been here for a year. I am so looking forward to seeing how you grow and change into the person you are destined to become, and how you continue to do good things with your life. My hope is that your Daddy and I can help you grow into a good, loving person, and that you will someday find the kind of pure happiness you bring to us.
There has been so much change in you the past year. The teeny, pink, curled up infant of February 2011 has blossomed into a wiggly, loud, smiley, active, smart, and sweet little toddler with a ton of personality. You are so much fun we can barely stand it!!!
At 12 months, you:
- Just had a great doctor's appointment. At 12 months, you are reaching most 15 month milestones already (yay), but are a little behind on walking. You weigh a dinky 18.6 pounds (9th %), and are 29 inches tall (44th%). What a peanut. You are happy and healthy, and that is all we really care about!
- Had two fabulous birthday parties! They were such celebrations of you and how great you are. you are loved by many. My biggest hope for you is that you always feel that.
- Do not have a mellow bone in your body. If you snuggle for three seconds, it is a miracle! You are a busy busy busy little girl with a zest for life and a curiosity like I have never seen. You want to touch and feel everything you see!
- Are such a flirt. You love to look at people, wave hello, and give big cheesy grins to anyone who looks your way. The stranger danger phase is starting to get better, and you love people now!
- Are boycotting bottles for the most part. You still like to nurse, but you bat away bottles. You are taking a lot of whole milk now, so I hope you get to drinking!! You love drinking from a sippy, and say "cup" when you want a drink.
- Crawl at breakneck speed, and pretty much run with your walker now, but are nowhere near walking alone. You just don't have the confidence yet. You cruise on the furniture, and love to pull up on anything at all, but you need the reassurance of holding on to walk. You'll get there!
- Don't eat quite as much, although you are still just as adventurous. You now know what you want on your tray, and will hunt through whatever to get to it. You are still such a great eater, but I am sure there will be a time in the not too far future when getting spinach, kale, and beets in there will be a struggle. For now, I am in babyfood heaven.
- You say "walk", "duck", "cup" all the time, and you do a lot of sounds, like "EYOW" when you see the cat, and "uh-oh" when something falls. TOO CUTE.
- Your hair is getting so crazy curly and longer by the day. You have a mass of ringlets in the back. I love to rub them. :)
- Like other babies now. You point and try to touch them, and make all kinds of sounds. We try to make sure you don't maul them in the process.
- Love to mimic us. You hold the phone up to your ear when we say "hello", and do many, many animal sounds, along with other things you repeat when you see or hear.
- Adore climbing the stairs... over and over and over again, until we can barely see straight from following you. You giggle just about the whole way up.
- Love your bath some nights,and hate it others. It is like you just have off days from time to time and don't want to deal.
- Adore stuffed animals. You still love to squeeze and hug them, and often drag one around with you when you crawl.
-Need a ton of sleep (To any sleep deprived parents reading this- I am not complaining, rather, feeling a little jippedon time with Leah- don't kill me).You do not do well past 7 PM. I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact that we have to get you up at 5:30 AM, but still.... most nights, I wish I could get you to stay up longer so we had more time together. It is really a struggle to only get to have a couple hours a day with my girl when I have to work.
- Love your Daddy. Your face lights up when you see him, and you love to say "Da" when you want him. The feelingis utterly and completely mutual. He is head over heels for you, and is, in my opinion, the most hands on dad I have ever seen.You two are so darn cute together it hurts sometimes.
- Have a few hilarious idiosyncrasies. You always pull your socks off in the car and "talk" to them, you still make the hilarious, albeit hideous sounding hyena noise, and you love to rub food into your pretty red locks.
- Enjoy "sharing". you take a toy of some random sock on the floor, hand it to one of us, we say thanks, and you clap for yourself. :)
- Love to look at and play with animals. You "talk" to dogs by barking to them when you see them. I am curious to see if you are an animal lover as you grow!
Even my worst days since being your mom have been some of the best of my life. Thank you, my sweet one year old, for making my dreams come true, giving me a reason to be better and a happiness like I never thought possible, and for the honor of loving me back. You are a true gift, and I look forward to many, many years spent playing, giggling, and cuddling with you, the other love of my life.
You are my love, my laughter, my joy ever after.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Family Party
Our little one year old had two very special days this past weekend to celebrate her first year.
The first was on Saturday, at my parent's house. They went all out (like they always do), and made it just wonderful for Leah! We had both sides together for a lovely day of laughter, hugs, stories, food, drinks, gifts, and loving on our baby girl! It was the perfect way to start Leah's birthday weekend. Thank you for everyone who helped make it so special. We will never forget it!
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| "Bird Turd" desserts! |
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| 1 year booty |
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| Our little fam! |
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| Leah and her Grandmas |
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| Sweet face |
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| Playing with Aunt Cait |
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| Big Girl! |
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| Deciding whether or not she will go for the smash cake Mommy made |
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| She did! |
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| Birdie cake |
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| Make a wish! |
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| She hated the hat |
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| Opening her first birthday gift! |
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| Walking with Lex |
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| This might be my favorite moment of the day. She was sooooo tired when I took her out of her seat that she fell asleep with her head up about 10 times before we got her in her bed. It was a busy day! |
It has been a year of many firsts and wonderful memories, with more to come, I'm sure! Cheers!
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