It's Official

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Leah is growing up. She is officially a toddler. About a month ago she took her first steps and over the past week she has gone from taking a couple of steps to walking everywhere. She still isn't very steady, but she's getting better at it every day. She can even stand up without pulling up on anything. She is so proud of herself. We are proud of her, too.

Pushing her babydoll. Beginning to walk longer distances (one week ago). She thinks she has this walking thing perfected (today). This one is a freebie just because I think it is cute.

Thanksgiving

Okay, so I'm quite a bit late getting this post on here, but at least I made it before Christmas! For a little over a week before Thanksgiving day, Leah had a cold. We decided to go to our family Thanksgiving anyway. Leah did well although you could tell she didn't feel well. You'll see that in the pics later. When we were about 45 minutes from home she began to get very upset to the point there was nothing I could do to keep her calm. She was just screaming at times. By the time we got home, she had a temp of 102.5 and was miserable. We had a long night and headed to the doc the next morning. I am so thankful for a peds group that is open around the holidays and on Saturdays! Thankfully, she did not have an ear infection or strep. The doc diagnosed her with a sinus infection, gave us an antibiotic and the next day she was a different little girl.

Here are a few photos from the day.

Grump is always up to something!

All of the grandchildren.

Can you tell Leah doesn't feel very well?

Great-grandchildren... including one on the way.

We also surprised my brother and sister-in-law with a baby shower.

Boy, does he have a lot to learn!

Leah and her Grump

Just to clarify, my dad chose the name Grump for his grandfather name. It's not that we chose it because he is a grump. He really isn't, but he likes the name. So we will see if Leah really calls him Grump.

So onto the reason for this post. Grump is retired (my mom still works) so he keeps Leah for me when I need someone. He loves it and so does Leah. He kept Leah while I got my hair cut. He told me all about the fun they had while I was gone. Later that day I received photos which more accurately described the fun. Just so you know, my dad enjoys whittling a stick to have in his mouth while on his daily walk (it's a very southern thing or maybe an older man thing).

The caption of the e-mail containing the following photos was "Grump and Leah on the patio relaxing and discussing philosophy, politics and other current world events." Enjoy!

Leah is Learning to Walk

Leah has been trying to learn to walk recently. She's been cruising around furniture for a little while, but has really been using her walker toys much more often and with increased balance. A couple of weeks ago she spent most of her time tripping over her feet or pushing the walker out too far in front. I think they are a little tall for her, but you can't really adjust them. She seems to be getting the hang of it despite the height challenge. Then she made a turning point today. She and her grump discovered a new kind of "walker" that is much more suited for her height. Now she can cruise all around the living room at a much faster speed. She loved it!

Yes, it's a chair! It glides amazingly well over the carpet.

Cruising through the living room.

She had to take a break to show me her new bracelet. Thanks, Aunt Dana!

Leah Visits the Pumpkin Patch

Leah made her first visit to the pumpkin patch today. We had a great time. The weather was great. Gran was able to go with us. Along with riding in the covered wagon and finding some pumpkins, Leah got to see several of the animals that we look at in her books. She didn't know what to think. She did learn that a goose does not make the noise "honk" like mommy says. She now makes the new goose noise which sounds more like a loud grunt. Here's a few photos from the day. (I couldn't get any with the animals due to some children running around wildly.)

"This is the one I want."This place is great!

Leah and her Gran.

Leah Goes to the Dentist

My mom works for Dr. Norby. He is a great pediatric dentist. So Leah had her first visit to the dentist the week after her first birthday. Thankfully, due to good brushing techniques she did not have a cavity in any of her 5 teeth. She didn't really like the cleaning or the exam, but as soon as she sat up she was happy as could be.

Mom is showing Leah the mirror. So far so good. She's getting a little suspicious."Oh, this is not good!!"

Leah's First Boat Ride

My brother and sister-in-law took our family out to the lake to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was Leah's first time to ride in a boat. She didn't really like the life jacket. I can't say I could blame her. Although, it was the smallest size my dad could find (and he searched diligently), it was still so big that she couldn't sit down without it pushing up on her head. As long as we helped her stand she was fine. She really enjoyed it, but eventually she gave up and went to sleep. It was a great day.

One Year Old

So maybe I have been in denial about Leah turning a year old. That must be the reason. I normally look forward to writing about how she is changing and what she has been doing, but it's just been more difficult this time. I just wasn't ready to admit that my baby turned one. Still makes me tear up a bit. I can't believe it was an entire year ago that I held her for the first time. I felt as though life was just beginning at that moment. God filled my heart with a love that I had never known. I remember looking at her as she was on my chest thinking that life could not get any better than this. What a wonderful wonderful day that was. All the waiting, praying, hoping, joy then sadness, emotional ups and downs, and pain that we had gone through over the past 7 years seemed to vanish in an instant. It was like God said, "Here's what you have been waiting for...wasn't she worth it?" Oh, yes!

God, thank you for my little girl. What a joy and a blessing she has been from the moment we first saw her little heartbeat on the ultrasound. Everyday she has filled our hearts with a love that we never knew existed. Thank you for entrusting her to us while we are here on this earth. Please give us the wisdom to teach her to follow and trust in You all the days of her life.

Prior to Leah's birthday, my best friend and I took our girls to have their pictures made in their birthday outfits. AG is just 12 days older than Leah. Since they moved to Dothan, we didn't get to be at the actual parties so we had to celebrate for ourselves. They looked so cute!

So for Leah's first birthday, I wanted to do it all. By that I mean that I wanted to make her outfit and her cake. Now, I'm not saying it was the cutest thing that has ever been done, but I liked it. I decided I wanted to make her a ladybug cake. I don't even know why I chose that. I just liked it. We had family over for lunch and cake to follow. Aunt Sara made some wonderful gumbo. Then we all watched Leah dig into her cake. At first, she gently put one little finger into the icing and ever so slowly licked it off her finger. She did that a couple of times before she really grabbed a piece of cake. After a few bites, she decided that it was much more fun to just play in the cake rather than actually eating it. Once we cleaned her up, she got to open her gifts. My dad repainted my baby doll crib that I had when I was little. My mom made a mattress, blanket and pillow to go in it. Among the many things they gave her was a baby doll. She loves the doll, but most of all she likes to play with its eyes which open and close. She received so many toys, clothes and books. She has enjoyed playing with everything. It was a good day. It was a day that arrived much too quickly for me, but it was fun to celebrate.

The tablescape."Do I really get to eat this?"
"Now this is great!"
Playing with some presents.
Leah thought she should be in the crib.

So what is she doing now? We'll she "talks" a lot. She says mama, dada, wawa (water), eye, buba (bubbles), dut (duck), bye bye, baby, wu-um (worm), no no (when telling Dixie to stop barking), IE (light), and there are many other things that she tries to imitate. She can make the sounds for dog, cow, rooster, horse, owl and monkey. She can blow kisses, call Dixie (clicking her tongue and motioning with her hand), point to various body parts (mostly other peoples', not her own). She loves bath time. She doesn't really have a food she doesn't like except milk straight from the fridge. Yes, I have to slightly warm her milk. It's still cold, just not as cold as it would be. She can tell! We are working on that one. She loves loves loves books! She is crawling and cruising, but not even close to walking on her own. She likes for us to hold her hands and walk with her. She talks to most everyone we meet while out shopping. It seems that she is learning new things on a daily basis. It's hard to keep up with all that she can do. It's just amazing to watch her change. She wears 9 month clothes, but I put a lot of 12 month things on her because there are so many more options. They'll just be a little big for a bit. She wears size 3 shoes which I have learned are very difficult to find especially since her feet are so narrow. Until she starts walking, I'm not sure if she will have shoes to wear!

We are having the time of our lives with her. I look forward to every day that I get to spend with her. I know I don't deserve her, but I sure am thankful God saw fit to make me her mommy. What a year it has been! I sure hope this next year doesn't go by quite so quickly.

I love you, little girl, more than you will ever know!

Keep posted for her 1 year photos. They'll be coming soon!

Eleven months

I'm so far behind on this blog. I'll make this one short since the big one year blog will be coming in a few short weeks. Leah is growing and changing, and there seems to be something new almost daily. She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. I thought she might not ever crawl since she loved to roll so much, but she finally got the hang of it. I think it will be a while before the walking is perfected. She needs a lot of practice. I'll be fine if she decides to wait a while before walking. She is quite vocal and makes all kinds of sounds. She can say "woof", "mmm" (which means moo), and she has a sound for light, but I don't know how to type that one. She loves books and wants to pull all of them out when she can get to them. She is wearing 9 month clothes and size 2 shoes although I usually don't put any on her. We'll start that for the fall. She loves bananas and squash. I really haven't found anything she doesn't like.

We are having so much fun with her. Greg actually took care of her one evening and was able to successfully get her to bed. It was the first time I had not been there at night when she went to sleep. She loves her daddy and just lights up when he is around. It is so great to see them together. Life is so great and busy. We have lots going on for the next few weekends so maybe I can get with it and get some great pictures to share.



Hope you enjoy these few from this past month.

Leah is showing off her leopard print shoes.

I made the mistake of letting her play with the puffs container. She decided to empty them so she could count them.

I wonder if anyone is watching?

Leah picked out the 4 wheeler she wants her Grump to buy her. This was her first trip to the Bass Pro Shop.

She was very interested in all of the animals.

Ten months

Leah is now 10 months. I know I keep saying this, but where has the time gone? Seriously, wasn't I just holding her for the first time? It's just too fast for me! She brings us so much joy. She is so fun to watch. She likes to make us laugh and will keep doing the same things to see us laugh again. So funny how we do the same thing to her. She waves at everyone. It's so cute! She waves with the open/close hand method. When we go shopping she starts waving before people even notice her. If they don't wave back she seems disappointed.

We went back for her weight check last week, and she is barely back on the growth chart. She weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces. So she gained over a pound. She is still able to wear her 3-6/6month clothes, but is beginning to wear 6-9/9month clothes. She can get onto her hands and knees, and she makes you think she is going to crawl. But she will ever so gently lower herself to the floor and roll where she wishes. She has added the "d" sound to her repertoire, and will say dada on occasion. She likes all of her baby food, and is beginning to like table foods better. I think the change in textures has her a little suspicious. Her pincer grip is getting better, and she enjoys playing with the food even if she doesn't eat it. She is beginning to look at objects when you ask her where it is. Her favorite is the ceiling fan. She can find those in any room.

I love her schedule. She wakes around 6:45-7 am. She eats breakfast and then plays in the exersaucer while I clean the kitchen. She brushes her teeth (with max/total assist...that's for my OT friends) and then gets dressed. She has 20 minutes of play pen time while I get laundry started and clean up a bit around the house. We play, she has her cup of formula around 9, we read books and she goes to bed for a nap between 9:30 and 10. She sleeps 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and we begin again. She takes another nap around 2. Dinner is at 5, bath time at 6:30, last cup of formula at 7, and at 7:30 we read and she goes to bed. She loves the bed. That's good for when we are at home, but not so good when we are out. She will sleep in the car, but not so much in the stroller. Oh well!


Greg celebrated his first father's day, and my dad celebrated father's day for the first time with a grandchild. What a special day for all.

Leah and her dad.

Leah giving her Grump his card.


The past month was full of such fun days. We had our friends Ty, Dana and Addie Grace stay for a few days before they moved. We took the girls to a neighbor's house to get photos of the girls together. This was one of my favorites.

A few days later our friends from Texas came to visit us. It was the first time for us all to meet our girls. We had a great time. We found this bow for Leah during a shopping excursion. I have a friend that says a bow can never be too big. I may have to disagree this time.
Now life is back to normal, but I sure do miss all of my friends. God has placed some very special friends in our lives from each of the towns in which we have lived. We are truly blessed with these friendships.

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from this past month.

Having some fun with bath time.


Leah is being a ham.

Trying to ride her 4-wheeler.

What a sweet face. Makes my heart melt!