My Valentines.

Life has been crazy busy but Sam and I did take some time to celebrate Valentine's Day and our anniversary marking 10 awesome years together.  Sam made us a delicious dinner and I highly enjoyed the dozen red roses from my dad and the dozen pink roses from my husband, along with the sweet cards, box of chocolates, and my new right hand ring.  I love it!

I planned a surprise outing and Sam and I had an awesome date night.  We went bowling, then downtown and enjoyed a horse and carriage ride along the river, and then to Brit's Pub.  It was super fun but this mama couldn't stay out long and party as I could hardly keep my eyes open.  I was home and in bed by 10. 

Leah had her 9 month well visit this week and everything is looking great!  Only 1 vaccine this time but next time there will be 5 :(  At least I have 3 months to prepare myself.  She remains in the 95th and 99th percentiles for weight and height and is most certainly hitting all of her milestones.  She is so funny lately and is such a happy baby!  It is amazing to see her learning and growing and she makes me so proud to be her mommy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Closing Thoughts

As we approach the year's end I cannot help but want to relive what I consider the best year yet.  It's funny though, with every year that passes Sam and I agree that this year was better than the last.  Each year brings its own new experiences and challenges and we continue to learn and grow.  It's obvious that the best part of 2011 for me was the birth of my first child.  Sleep deprived or not, the whole pregnancy and every experience since has been quite amazing.  It was a great year of firsts...from my first pregnancy and my first labor and delivery, Sam's first time holding our baby and changing her diaper, to Leah's first journey as a crawler and the breakthrough of her first tooth. 

I have been thinking about this blog a lot and have been meaning to get on here and post for almost 2 months.  I cannot believe how fast time flies and how things just get away on me!  When I first started this blog, my intent was to utilize it as a tool to stay connected with family members that I do not see everyday, as well as a way to document/journal some of life's crazy experiences.  I am definately not journaling as often as I had hoped OR taking as many pictures as I should be.  :(  My New Year's Resolutuion is to take more pictures.  I do already have a lot of pictures of Leah but I will now strive to become one of those camera toting, child doting mommy's who documents EVERYTHING. 

We have been having so much fun watching Leah grow.  She is learning so much and seems to be growing every day.  She has quite the little personality and she just loves to have fun.  She is quite witty and really knows how to lighten the mood and get you to laugh.  She seems to be developing appropriately and hitting all of her milestones.  She seems very healthy physically, mentally and socially.  Keep up the good work, kid!

I cannot explain the joy we feel having Leah around.  Now that I am experiencing this amazing journey for myself, I am so unbelievably happy for my family and friends who are having babies.  I feel like I know so many people who are expecting right now or have just had babies and it makes me so happy!  I hope others have such wonderful experiences because it really does give you a new, appreciative outlook on life.

Adventures In Eating!

We are approaching the big 6 month mark and have been experimenting with food.  She has been so much fun lately!  She has been doing pretty good with solids and we are excited to continue to try new things.  So far, she has mastered rice cereal, apples and peas.  Next on the docket...pears.  I home-made some baby food and she loves it! 

Who's daughter is this?? Note the bib with the truck and big tires. :)

Apples!

Peas make me so happy!

Punkin!

A big Thank You to Uncle Ben for enriching our lives by introducing us to this amazing video.  If you are a dog person you will love and completely understand this video.  If not, you will still love this video.  It is just so true :) 


Ultimate Dog Tease



Well Hello!

Hi Friends,
Long time no talk.
Update:  We are doing fabulous!  Leah is a growing machine.  She is super happy and healthy and we could not ask for more.  She is now 5 months old and sitting up like a big girl.  It was just in the last couple of days that we realized what a big girl she is getting to be.  We joke about it all of the time that she is growing her very own neck now :)  It's funny how we consider this a big deal...but we hold on to the small things in our hearts as we go through this journey.  We will always remember the day we saw her neck appear and not just a bunch of double chins on top of her chest.  She is growing into her own person already and showing her little personality quirks.  She is such a sweetie.  We are so pleased with her pleasant disposition and continuous good mood.  She is really making this parent thing a whole lot of fun!

3 months

4 months

5 months



Perfect.

I don't care how big the dirty laundry piles are, how much dog hair is on the floor, or how many dirty dishes are in the sink...

I don't care if I didn't get the chance to paint my nails, pluck my eyebrows, or workout tonight...

However, I DID get a chance to feed my baby, change my baby, bathe and dress my baby, and share many smiles with my baby.  I DID get time to cuddle, snuggle, and love up this baby.  There is nothing like the sight and the feeling of my sleeping child in my arms to help me forget about all of the things I did not get to tonight. 

Life is too short to worry about all of that piddly crap.  The dishes and laundry are not going anywhere and will still be there when we finally get to them.  I am so thankful for my perfect little life and my perfect little family.  I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my family and friends.  I am far from starving and am nice and cool and comfy in my air conditioned house.

By the way, have I mentioned that our little peanut is perfect?  Who knew that those normally appalling bodily functions could be so darn cute!?  Of course, everybody's baby is perfect and the cutest baby in the whole world, according to their parents.  No matter how tired I am or which wee hour of the night it is, she is always looking up at us from her crib with a perfectly giant smile and a perfectly squirmy little body.  It is enough to make the sleep from my tired eyes automatically disappear. 

We just love this little gal...more than words can say.

Believe in Yourself

Set your standards high

You deserve the best.

Try for what you want

And never settle for less.

Believe in yourself

No matter what you choose.

Keep a winning attitude

And you can never lose.

Think about your destination

But don't worry if you stray

Because the most important thing

Is what you've learned along the way.

Take all that you've become

To be all that you can be.

Soar above the clouds

And let your dreams set you free.

-Jillian K. Hunt

3 months old!

Little Baby Leah is no longer a newborn and is officially an infant.  So they say.  She is doing great and we are all loving life!  She is sleeping well and is quite the sweetheart.  It's a good thing we really like her daycare because it would be a lot harder for me to leave her everyday.  I hold on to every last snuggle that I can. She is always so pleasant and is such a happy baby.  But, growing waaaay too fast. 

She seems to be developing well and meeting her milestones.  She is very aware and responsive and seems to recognize her Mommy and Daddy :)  She practices her tummy time and rolls from her back to her side.  She gets pretty excited to reach out and grab things...Mommy's hair being one of her favorites.  She follows things with her eyes and has a lot of cute little noises and giggles.  She seems to be showing some early signs of teething which makes me a little nervous.  I just don't want her to be uncomforable :(  She is drooling a lot more and now wants her thumb to chew on instead of suck.  She likes to stick her entire fist in her mouth and when we pull one fist down out of her mouth the other one goes up and in automatically.  She tries to put anything that she can grab or that is close to her in her mouth.  She has two bumps in her upper gum that I can see that those teeth are heading down.  So, before they start being immensly bothersome I am wondering about your experiences with teething solutions.  Teething rings, frozen teething rings, Orajel, Tylenol, teething tablets...???