Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wow how time has flown by so quickly. We had a wonderful Christmas. It was the best ever so far. We so enjoyed Christmas with Leah even though she had no clue what was going on. To her it was just like any other day when everyone comes to see her. She actually slept while we opened presents. The day after Christmas she rolled from her tummy to her back for the first time. She is reaching for things with more accuracy now. She is also making new sounds which make us laugh. She is just so sweet. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will start 2010. It's been almost a year since we found out we were going to have a baby. It just doesn't seem like a whole year has pased. God has blessed us so much. We surely don't deserve it. I hope that this year will bring much joy and wonderful blessings to my friends and family.

Here are a few pictures of Leah.

The day after Christmas. Leah is trying on her new hair flower that Aunt Dana gave her.

Leah trying out her new 4-wheeler that Grump bought her.

Gran, Grump and Leah
Our first Christmas! She just couldn't stand anymore excitement for the day.
Christmas eve...so excited about Santa.

12 weeks old

I can't believe that 3 months ago I was seeing my little Leah for the very first time. It is so bittersweet to watch her grow. I have been having many teary eyed moments recently. I was holding her and realizing that when she was born the length of her body was about the width of mine. Now her head to waist are that same length. Why can't this time last a little longer. She'll have many more years to be "big" so I want this time to last. I am truly cherishing every day with her despite my house needing some attention. I figure I will always have a house to clean, but I will not always have a baby to hold. Speaking of holding, this past week Leah has decided that she needs a little independence. She doesn't want to be held as much which breaks my heart. She loves to be laying on her activity mat or the floor with some toys. She coos (quite loudly some times) and smiles and has a great time just wiggling and looking around. She still wants to be held in the evenings and when she is tired so I still get my snuggle time. She is amazed by the sight of her hand. She hasn't figured out she has 2 of them yet. Her eyes are filled with wonder as she watches her little hand move around. Life is so good!

We had Christmas/3 month photos taken on Saturday. Go to http://www.appearphotography.com/, click on find your photos, children and families, then Leah to see them. Lori did a fabulous job. I don't even know how to choose. At first, Greg was not very excited about the whole photo shoot. He really doesn't like taking pictures. He told me he did not understand what the big deal was about getting the pictures made. After viewing the photos last night, he said it was all worth it. Leah did pretty well. She had her moments, and I'm amazed Lori was able to get the shots she did. Leah can and does smile more that she did that day, but she was so mesmerized by the lights and the camera that we couldn't get her to smile much. We are going to have so much fun with future photo shoots.

Here are a few more pictures that I took. They don't even begin to compare to Lori's.

Leah with her Gran and Grump.
Our little family
I could just eat her up!

11 weeks old

Oh what joy Leah brings to my heart. I can't say enough about how much fun it is to be home with my little girl. She is so sweet and her little personality is just blooming. She melts my heart every time she smiles. She has found her voice and likes to make really loud noises now. It is so much fun to talk/read to her and listen to her coo and smile. We took her to church for the first time, and she slept through the first half of Bible study. Greg took her out to give her a bottle for the second half. She is loud eater and doesn't take the bottle very well.

The bottle....what a challenge. We had to give her a bottle when we first got home because of her jaundice. That only lasted 1 week. After that she was not given a bottle for quite some time. Here lately we have been trying to give her a bottle so that I can leave the house for more than 2 to 3 hours. It has not been going very well. She fights it! We have made investments in many bottles. She took the cheap ones the best, but that's not saying much. We have been trying to give her practice each day with just an ounce, but it seems more like torture. Then yesterday I got to thinking about what type of nipple was on the bottle. She doesn't like the silicone pacifiers. She takes the latex ones. I thought maybe that would be the case with the bottles. So I made a little trip to the store and got a bottle with the latex nipple. When I got home she was ready to eat. I warmed up the bottle gave it to Greg, and she took it with no problems. I could have kicked myself. I'm just thankful to know what works now. I feel better about leaving her with Greg or my parents and knowing she won't be screaming while they try to feed her.

Greg's parents came for the day on Sunday. It was nice having them here to spend some time with Leah. I know she had changed so much since they last saw her.

Here are some pics from the past weeks.

First time to go to church.

Trying on her shoes which are much too big.

They are only a size 1.

Her first Christmas tree. She loves to look at the lights, but that day was more interested in sleeping.
Her first snow. As you can see, she really didn't care about the snow.

Grandmama and Granddaddy