Word Wars

Well, it's official: Leah said her first word.

And it wasn't "momma." 

Why is it that God makes the D's easier to say?  What makes those silly D's come out faster? 

Leah's first word?

Daddy

Only her sweet little voice pronounces it "da-ee." 

I threatened to go on a nursing strike in protest, but who am I kidding?  I can't resist that face. 

Besides, I still get the most kisses...

3/4 Finished

I'm two days late in writing this post.  Could it be that I'm struggling to accept the fact that our beautiful baby has completed 3/4 of her first year? 

It seems impossible, and yet somehow it's true.  I know because of this:

It has gotten very difficult to take her teddy bear pictures!  Long gone are the days when I could snuggle her up with the teddy and the biggest challenge was getting her to smile.

Long gone are the days when I could put her down and expect to find her in the same position a few moments later.   

Long gone are the days when I could lay her down in her crib for a nap and expect it to happen. 

But, in their place, some new and extremely wonderful qualities have emerged:

Leah crawls everywhere.  You can't keep that girl down!  She is curious, determined and strong.

She also loves to knee-sit.  For whatever reason, she skipped the step where she pulls herself up from a laying to a sitting position.  I don't even know if she can do it... instead, she rolls herself to her side and pushes herself up to her knees, then sits on her hiney. 

I know I probably shouldn't, but I love this picture!

She loves to "walk" (using her walker for help, of course) across the basement.  That girl can really boogie! 

She has crawled a flight of stairs (with some assistance from mommy and daddy to prevent her from flailing back and falling down.  She hasn't quite grasped the concept of what happens if she crawls off edges or falls backward off the stairs...)

She is still a good eater.  Foods tried this month include:

*Mashed potatoes and gravy

*Cranberry sauce

*Stuffing

*Pumpkin pie

*Oatmeal

*Chicken
*Corn

*Scrambled eggs

*Brown Rice

*Cheese, which she can pick up in her tiny fingers and feed herself

The brief window of time in which she was a good napper - which began in August - has closed again.  It's now waaaaay too much fun to sit, stand, crawl and chuck things out of her crib.  All this prevents nap time from actually taking place.

We are so grateful that she is still such a snuggley baby.  I fear those days may be coming to an end, and I treasure every cuddle moment.

She eats three full meals a day, and still nurses 4 times a day.  I am actually starting to look forward to the days we leave nursing behind us, even though I know I'll miss them when they're gone.

Like a little alarm clock, she wakes up every morning at 4am.  I'd be annoyed, except that we bring her to bed with us where she cuddles up and falls asleep again.  I adore those stolen morning moments, especially before I go to work! 

She still isn't teething (to the best of my knowledge), but she is working on growing some hair!!  I call her my fuzzy old man head, because it's just a little whispy curl, but I LOVE it!



It looks here like she has teeth, but I promise it's just a spit bubble...



I have been reflecting a lot on what it means to be a parent.  It is such an amazing process, to think that we began this journey 18 months ago with little more than a wish and a prayer and a whole 'lotta love.  Here we are today, proud parents of a baby who is well on her way to being a little girl.  We couldn't be more proud or grateful.  

She has changed me in so many wonderful ways.  She has given me more love and joy in these short 9 months than I could have asked for in a lifetime.   She is my hope, my world, my heart.

Leah - Nine months old

Mommy and Daddy love you to infinity, sweet baby!  Happy 9 month birthday!

Better out than in

Week 39. 
This was such an enormous milestone during pregnancy. Particularly because my baby was born at exactly 39 week...

As of tomorrow, Leah will officially have been out longer than she was in (no, I'm not obsessively counting weeks.  I get e-mail updates from the same website that sent weekly e-mails about her development in-utero.  That's how I know she's 39 weeks old today!)



Baby Leah at 39 weeks



Leah - 39 weeks old



Just a few changes, eh?  At least her hair still looks the same!


I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the amazing growth that has happened over the last 39 weeks; during her first 39 weeks of life, she went from two cells to an entire, amazing little baby! 

Festive Freebies

The scene is set: Lights glowing, fire going, hot chocolate cocoaing, and OH the Christmas tree.  And of course, that gorgeous white, flaky stuff - since it's eleventy bajillion degrees below zero out. 

Doesn't that sound festive? 

If, in between shoveling the walk, finding that "to die for" present for your in-laws and hunting for that ellusive Elf on the Shelf you long for a little simplicity, here's the good news:

Shutterfly's got ya covered!

With dozens of simple, elegant and personalizable layouts for everything from calendars, to beautiful holiday cards , to canvases and portraits, it's a great opportunity to tell your story through pictures.  Another terrific find - and my personal favorite this year - photo coffee mugs.  Yep.  Perfect for the new mommy obsessed with immortalizing my little one's every moment. 

With all this at our fingertips, the most difficult part is choosing the one we like best!  I'm leaning toward this one for our little family's very *FIRST* Christmas card (can I get a woo hoo?!).   

The best part of all of this?  Holiday cards can be yours FREE of charge!  And you don't even have to put down your cocoa or leave the comfort of your pajamas.  What can beat that?!  Especially since it's eleventy bajillion degrees below zero out.  Seriously. 

Made

Today was one of those days where I was reminded how awesome I am.  (C'mon - everybody has 'em!  Maybe not all that often, but I was due!)

Today I...

- went to church -

- made lunch -

- baked cookies -

- made broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce -

- put the baby down for a nap, including running up and down the stairs 15 times since she is currently having more fun standing up in her crib than napping -

- made banana oatmeal -

- cleaned the kitchen -

- fixed crockpot pork for burritos for dinner -

- made carrot, green onion, corn and rice -

- started a load of laundry -

- dried a load of previously washed laundry (washed at an unknown time... did I do that?!) -

- put clean sheets and a clean changing pad cover in Leah's room - 

- cleaned the kitchen again -

- fed, bathed and put the baby to bed -

- ate dinner -

- made chicken, carrots, green onion and peas -

- wrote this blog while Casey cleaned the kitchen -

After all my hard work, though, I'm not sure I came away with anything new Leah will actually eat.  She's never had oatmeal, chicken or rice before, and I'm not sure any of those went over very well upon first taste. 

The best part - besides spending the day with my family - was getting to "feed" my kind-of-tacky-but-oh-so-fabulously-Christmas cookie jar for the first time!

Yes, it's a momma snowman with her baby snowman.  No wonder I got suckered in by this one... I know it kind of bridges that gap between festive and downright tacky, but I couldn't resist!  It makes me happy!

Whew.  On to a new day.

Holiday Checklist

Item Numero Uno on our holiday checklist:

I'm fairly sure I've been waiting for this day since I found out I was pregnant last July.  Yep.  (That's normal, right?)

It was better than I could have imagined. 

Leah was an absolute trooper, particularly since she decided it would be a much better idea to play in her crib than nap - which meant that she was awake for about 6 hours in a row this afternoon.

We had a lovely dinner at Maggiano's, and then we were able to enjoy a wonderful parade.  I loved snuggling that baby close as the marching bands and floats went by!  Leah watched in awe, with that bright, delighted look in her eyes. 

She flirted with everyone standing around us and admired the glow-wear nearby children were sporting.  Although, the highlight of the night was mommy in a hat.  That trumped everything else we saw... go figure. 

Even though she was clearly exhausted, our little angel made it through the entire parade snuggled up in the Moby inside my coat, with her little pink snowsuit and the brown and pink hat Grandma made her.

Then, once the parade was over, she fell asleep against my chest.  It was perfect timing - Daddy and I were able to stop for some hot cocoa on the walk back to the car.

It was a perfect day. The kind of day that still drops me with sheer awe that this is my life. 

Merry Christmas!

Ye Olde Christmas Photos

Well, what's the point in delaying the inevitable? 

Welcome to our life:

Christmas 2010

And to all, a good night!