tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69856638398347263532024-03-05T12:43:53.216-08:00Leah MadisonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-24793592251061754992010-09-20T13:01:00.000-07:002010-09-20T13:03:16.755-07:00A new little sister, a new blog!Hi everybody, this is Leah Madison. I have a new big sister now, so my mom set up a blog for both of us over at http://leahandrory.blogspot.com/ She'll be moving all of my old posts to the new blog, so you can always go back and read about what I did before Rory was born!<br /><br />XOXO,<br />LeahUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-54409048644365778672010-09-02T13:20:00.000-07:002010-09-02T13:22:24.600-07:00getting close to big sister time!Only a week and a half until Leah becomes a big sister! We've been doing lots of playing, and having lots of fun (and doing some rory preparation) in these last weeks. Leah finished up yoga last week, and loves to show us "down dog" and "tree pose".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-67467984990669109922010-08-25T12:52:00.000-07:002010-08-25T13:04:55.849-07:00so many updates.Leah's official blogger mom has been busy with wedding things, and poor Leah's blog has gone un-updated for weeks! <br /><br />Two weekends ago, BFFs Mike and Lisa moved from Portland to Seattle. Now we can see them all the time! <br /><br />We had a week of sick at our house - Leah and mommy both had colds, and daddy found out that he had mono! He's been resting up, and working at home some (which we love!) to get better before baby Rory comes!<br /><br />On Monday August 16, Leah slept in her big girl bed for the very first time at night! She did great, and has been sleeping in it so so so happily ever since.<br /><br />Last Friday, we declared August 20 as Big Sister Day at our house. So to celebrate the first annual big sister day, we went to Top Pot for donuts with Lisa, and then over to Build a Bear to make some new friends for Leah and Rory. Leah made a monkey for herself, which she named Mike, and made a sweet bear for Rory, which she named "bearbear."<br /><br />This week, we've been mostly hanging around the house - today we went to the KidsQuest museum with Paige and her mommy, and it was so fun! Leah found the babydolls first. She carried them around for a while, and then put them in the crib and said "phew!" and then went to play with the Brio set. We finished the morning off with a bagel date at Panera together.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-90444026381196189272010-08-10T07:41:00.000-07:002010-08-10T07:42:37.179-07:00Leah's Backyard!Leah was sick yesterday, but her daddy and Mike spent the day ripping up the backyard in preparation to plant grass! Our backyard is huge now, and will be so great for running around :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-74044917685499759822010-08-08T21:16:00.000-07:002010-08-08T21:19:33.946-07:00deep clean week and an easy peasy week.Two weeks ago we had deep clean week at our house. Leah was a trooper, and dealt with her toys being reorganized, and even helped to go through all of her clothes to decide which ones were too small. <br /><br />This past week was an easy week for us. We relaxed a bunch, and on Thursday, Leah had Itsy Bitsy Yoga with mommy's yoga instructor, Anna. As usual, Leah was a bit hesitant at first, and then warmed up to the fun.<br /><br />This weekend, BFFs Mike and Lisa were in town - they're moving here next weekend, and we're so so so excited. Plus only 5 more weeks until Leah's going to be a big sister!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-87526589735213048512010-07-26T13:46:00.000-07:002010-07-26T13:51:33.006-07:00doctor week, fun weekend!Last week was doctor week. We had Leah's 15 month appointment, a checkup for her birthmark, and I had a dentist appointment. All good appointments :) Over the weekend, we played a ton. Luke worked from home on Friday, so Leah was able to see him during the day, which was great. On Saturday, we ran errands together, and did some gardening. On Sunday, we went to church, did more gardening, and went to the pool! It was so fun. Leah loved hanging out and splashing around in the wading pool the best.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-41631187268966800232010-07-19T11:32:00.000-07:002010-07-19T11:35:41.502-07:0015 month checkupLeah checked in at 35 inches(>100%) and 22 pounds (35%) today. One shot, which she took like a champ. We'll head back in for her when she's 18 months (with her new little sister in tow!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-26701046273534330122010-07-17T22:02:00.000-07:002010-07-17T22:11:52.337-07:00parades and swimming and gardening. :)Last weekend, Leah and Lenna were in the Redmond Derby Days parade - the girls had a blast in their decked out red, white, and blue wagon. During the week, we had our last week of swimming. Leah had such a blast. They have a blue floating mat for the kids to crawl across, and the first week, Leah was so scared to go across it. On our last day, it was no big deal and she went across as many times as they'd let her. <br /><br />We went to the park a whole bunch too, because Leah talks about it pretty constantly. If you ask her about what's at the park, she'll tell you about the 'dwings', the 'dlide', the 'wocker' and the 'pinner'. And as soon as we get within sight of the park, she starts climbing up and out of her stroller in happy screams. She can climb up the stairs to the slide all by herself now, and get positioned and come down all by herself. It's crazy awesome. <br /><br />Today Daddy was home, and so we did tons of gardening. We took two trips over to home depot, and Leah loved smelling the Jasmine tree. <br /><br />With all that we've been doing, Leah has been a sleeping machine. She asks to go to bed around 6:30, and sleeps until about 7:30. She lays down for a quiet time in the early morning for about an hour (just hangs out in bed and relaxes), and then goes down for a big 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I'm writing this so that when this sleeping schedule changes and I'm not this lucky anymore, or when Rory is here and I'm sleep deprived and have no "me" time, that I'll remember that I once totally had it made. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-4311914945083409262010-07-08T20:26:00.000-07:002010-07-08T18:19:33.618-07:00To my Leah.My sweet Leah,<br /><br />I love you. When I was pregnant with you, I thought so much about what you'd be like... what you'd look like, what you'd feel like when I snuggled you, what it would be like when you said mommy for the first time, <br /><br />I knew you'd be cute, and I knew we'd have lots of fun, and I knew I'd love you even if you cried all the time and you made me go weeks without sleep... but I never realized I could love you as much as I do. <br /><br />I think you're absolutely the coolest person I've ever met, and I tell you this almost every day now, but I really want to be like you when I grow up. <br /><br />I want to be nearly-constantly joyful like you are. Not just content, but joyful.<br /> <br />I want to be more enthusiastic like you are. Not just going along with what other people want, but pushing myself to find something exciting about it, even when I'm not at first. I love that you always take a few moments to scope things out, but once you realize it's something fun and good, you're all over it. You went from crying in the pool two days ago to jumping in and going underwater (and giggling about it) today. I will always try to give you a couple moments to check things out, and I hope you'll forgive me when I get too excited and push you into something that I know you'll love.<br /><br />I want to be more honest like you are. You don't over-dramatize. You aren't passive-aggressive. You don't hold grudges. You let me know when you're not happy, and then you move on. <br /><br />I want to be an explorer like you are. You patiently sit and discover things. You have an incredible attention-span. You let people teach you things without worry that they'll think they're smarter than you. <br /><br />I want to be tough like you are. You shake off cuts, trips, falls, bumps and bruises like no one I've ever known. I worried when you were a newborn that you had the weird illness where you don't feel pain. Turns out you do feel pain, you just don't let it ruin your day. Blows me away.<br /><br />I want to be as self-confident as you are. You don't care at all what you're wearing, or what people think about what you're wearing. You don't care that most of the time you have your lunch on your face or have really sweaty feeties. You don't care that you have a big red bump on your head. When kids come up to investigate your birth mark, you just smile and try to play with them. I know some of this may be that you just aren't aware of what you're wearing, or what you look like, but it makes me wonder if maybe I wouldn't be better off not studying myself quite so much. <br /><br />I desperately want to love like you love. In your 14 months with us, you've managed to learn so much about different ways that different people want to be loved. Daddy likes to play, Grandmas and Grandpas love to read, and Mommy LOVES to snuggle. Your kisses are perfect. Today you lifted up my shirt and said "kiss the baby" and kissed my belly. I have no idea what you think is going on in there, but you know it needs a kiss. You're going to be a rockin' big sister. <br /><br />At about 9pm every night, I miss you so much and sometimes want to sneak in and wake you up to snuggle and play. And in the morning, hearing your little voice calling daddy to come get you is the best alarm clock ever. <br /><br />I love you. I hope I can show you how much I do every day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-27996681022398869522010-07-08T12:12:00.000-07:002010-07-08T12:16:31.559-07:00summer is here!!!Summer finally finally finally came to Seattle this week. On the last day of non-summer, Leah was in the 4th of July parade in Kirkland. Her wagon was all decked out, and she looked pretty cute in her red, white and blue. The next day, summer came at about 4pm, just in time for a BBQ at the Lundells'. Tuesday was our very first day of swimming lessons - it was a bit chilly in the morning, but started to warm up. And on Wednesday, it was so so so hot, so we swam all day! We had swim lessons in the morning, and headed over to Clara's pool to swim in the afternoon. Leah is doing so well in the pool... she went from being shivery and sad on Tuesday to jumping off the side of the pool and going underwater today. She loves it. We have her pool and water table all set up for some post-nap fun this afternoon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-24813952211141134462010-06-29T14:19:00.001-07:002010-06-29T14:39:43.260-07:00Leah's Favorite TunesSince Leah loves loves loves music and dancing, I want to make sure that we remember all of her favorite songs... So far:<br /><br />- Take Me Out to the Ballgame (loved it as a newborn, always calmed her down)<br />- In the Mood (loved it at 7 months. first dancing tune. <a href="http://vimeo.com/7605271">http://vimeo.com/7605271</a>)<br />- Ready for This (loved it at 12 months. <a href="http://vimeo.com/10911695">http://vimeo.com/10911695</a>)<br />- Free Fallin' (mommy sings it every night at bedtime, Leah sang "freeeeeeeee" at 13 months.)<br />- Me and Julio (current favorite... some great great dance moves to this one.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-9901577645482742872010-06-27T21:08:00.000-07:002010-06-27T21:14:49.779-07:00Go Cubs Go!It's been a Go Cubbies kind of week. On Thursday, Leah went to her very first baseball game - Cubs vs Mariners at Safeco. We went with Leah's friend Lilah and her mommy Shaana - the girls did so well. It was a gorgeous day, and a great day because it was a WIN for our beloved cubbies! Leah got a certificate for her first game, and a yummy pretzel. She decided that she really loved dipping her pretzel in the mustard, onion, and relish from my hot dog. What a little Chicago girl she is. :)<br /><br />Yesterday, while I was eating my bagel, Leah noticed that it looked like a "C". She yelled "Go Cups Go!" I'm a pretty proud mommy.<br /><br />Over the weekend, we had lots of time with daddy... Leah and daddy hung out while I went to yoga on Saturday, and then we went to a park in Kirkland and grilled in the backyard.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-38164529957291908952010-06-24T10:16:00.000-07:002010-06-24T10:31:09.779-07:00zephaniah.Dear Leah Madison,<br /><br />This morning you asked to take a nap, and proceeded to talk and play for about an hour. Before you fell asleep, I heard you softly singing to yourself about daddy and bikes and bananas and roger and outside. As you sang, you got softer and softer, until you fell asleep. I love you. I love that you're so content to play on your own, and that you sing yourself to sleep. I love how happy you are in every situation, even when I know it's not exactly what you'd pick to do.<br /><br />Before you were born, I chose Zephaniah 3:17 to be the verse that I would pray for you for your entire life. It says:<br /><br />"The LORD your God is with you,<br /> he is mighty to save.<br /> He will take great delight in you,<br /> he will quiet you with his love,<br /> he will rejoice over you with singing."<br /><br />It amazes me how right on it is for you, sweet Leah. It's obvious that God has always quieted you with his love... I remember praying just that part of the verse over and over again during our first few nights when I'd worry that you'd cry when I put you to bed. God obviously heard us, because you didn't really cry much at all. And I know that God must take great delight in you - and very obviously, that he rejoices over you with singing... your overwhelming love of music (and your sort of freaky ability to dance in just the right way to different types of music) is great proof that God speaks to your little heart with song.<br /><br />I hope that in the coming years, we can start to talk about what it means that God is with you, and that he is so mighty to save. What a cool day that will be. :)<br /><br />All of my love,<br />MommyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-40788052219210655082010-06-23T18:08:00.000-07:002010-06-23T18:13:59.276-07:00St.Clairs!This past weekend, Leah's Grandpa Mark, Grandma Lauren, Uncle Monty, and Aunt Kim came to visit. We went downtown, visited the market, ate lunch at Gordon Biersch, went to a baseball game (well, mommy did, but not Leah), went to UVillage (and Ram, yummy). On Saturday, all of the guys went to another baseball game and we had a girls' night and baked yummy cookies! Sunday was daddy's second father's day! Leah gave him a pretty frame that she painted, and a t-shirt. Leah gave grandpa a mug that she painted. We relaxed most of the day, and had a yummy steak dinner. After dinner, Leah played with Grandma and Grandpa while mommy and daddy went on a date! Everybody had fun :) On Monday, we relaxed, and on Tuesday, daddy went to work and the rest of us went to Panera for lunch and did a little bit of shopping. In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy worked on prettying up the master bathroom. It looks awfully pretty now. Grandma and Grandpa went home at night, sadly. But we're excited to see Grandma again when it's time for Rory to be born!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-56251587293981846822010-06-17T06:18:00.000-07:002010-06-17T06:20:20.647-07:00"i pretty."Today at Costco, the cashier asked Leah what her name was. (I knew she couldn't say her name, so I was anxious to see what she'd say.) She looked at the cashier lady, smiled, pointed to herself and said "I pretty."<br /><br />Better than great. Leah Madison, I hope that in 15 years you feel the same way. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-35787890925280385122010-06-15T19:22:00.000-07:002010-06-15T19:24:11.497-07:00Dorothy.Leah found her Dorothy shoes today in her closet. They're still about 1/2 size too big, but that didn't stop her from wearing them most of the day, with her I Love Cheerios shirt, red and blue plaid skirt, and lots of necklaces, bracelets and hats. And of course, a kitchen towel as a scarf, her very favorite accessory.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-32231119926945188722010-06-14T20:28:00.000-07:002010-06-14T20:33:19.545-07:00growing up.Yesterday we turned Leah's carseat around, and she LOVED it. Gotta say, I like being able to see my little sidekick right behind me too :)<br /><br />Last night we celebrated the playgroup babies 1st birthday! We had a great time seeing Clara, Noelle, Annika & Jimmy, eating lots of yummy food and cupcakes, and playing on the playground with Annika. It was a great day.<br /><br />And in super great news, yesterday marked Leah's 14 month birthday, and 3 months until her baby sister Rory Kate is born! <br /><br />Today we woke up, ate breakfast, and took an early trip over to the zoo with Lenna and her mommy Mallory. We got there so early that not too many other people were there, so we got to have the whole zoo mostly to ourselves! The girls loved seeing the meerkats. Super cute.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-76119580730881260842010-06-12T19:12:00.000-07:002010-06-12T19:19:58.493-07:00Bargain Hunter.After discovering at Paige's birthday that Leah loves loves loves beanie babies, I took her to a garage sale featuring lots and lots of them. When we got to the house, we were sort of disappointed to only see a couple of them on the table in the garage - I told them we were on a beanie baby hunt and the woman said "oh, you want to go INSIDE then." She took us inside to a room with hundreds and hundreds of them, all on shelves, organized by style and color (mommy loves organization. leah loves beanie babies.) Leah squirmed out of my arms and instantly found a monkey, and two Winnie the Poohs. She never put those three down, even when we handed her lots of other ones to snuggle test. Leah gave the man a Lincoln, and he told her she could have AS MANY AS SHE WANTED! It pays to be ridiculously cute. :) Amazingly, with hundreds of possibilities, Leah found only 4 more that she wanted (total of 7). They kept trying to give her more, but she kept saying "I done." She proudly walked out of the house with her new friends, and the couple gave her 4 quarters back, "to get some gumballs." So for $4, Leah had a really great afternoon. But she didn't get any gumballs. We'll put the quarters into her piggy bank.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-52241447851829859722010-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:002010-06-11T21:46:54.906-07:00Little Painter.Today we went to work on Daddy's father's day gift at a ceramics painting shop, with Clara and Lilah and their mommies. We can't say right now what we painted for dad, but we can say Leah did it almost all by herself, with only a little help from mommy. We squirted paint on her hands and she went to town. She got to try a paint sponge, some brushes, even a toothbrush (which she stuck in green paint and then brushed her teeth with. yum.) She had a really great time painting, and then ate a yummy lunch at the table while I cleaned up. We can't wait to pick up our pieces next week and see what they look like!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-2433649493957339322010-06-09T21:35:00.001-07:002010-06-09T21:38:09.620-07:00"I want a yucky yucky."I've been chewing a lot of gum recently to curb my sweet tooth, which has gotten a little out of control this past months. Leah's been very interested in my gum, constantly wanting to stick her fingers in my mouth to get it, or prying my mouth open to see what's inside. Whenever she does that, I say "yucky yucky," (either in regards to her hands or my gum. both yucky.) This morning, when I got her up from her nap, she saw me chewing, pointed in her mouth, and said "I want yucky yucky." And then made a chewing face. She's way awesome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-13253330409758652082010-06-07T11:03:00.000-07:002010-06-07T11:08:39.678-07:00Zoom zooms.Leah had a blast at her daddy's race yesterday... At first, she thought every man in cycling gear on a bike was her dada. She even walked right up to a guy on a bike near us and said "hi dada." He laughed. Once she figured out which one was really her daddy, she was confused (and a little sad) that every lap she saw him he'd go speeding away without stopping to say hi and hug her. But she loved the bikes - she called them "zoomzooms."<br /><br />She also got to see and pet a lot of "goggies." One woman mentioned that her doggy Molly was very friendly. Leah responded "I gentle," and petted the doggy very nicely.<br /><br />After the race, Leah finally got her big squeeze from daddy, and he carried her all around the race to meet people. Pretty great night :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-42989272753833650882010-06-05T19:41:00.000-07:002010-06-05T19:47:50.787-07:00great week.We had a really great week. Last weekend, we saw lots and lots of friends. On Saturday was Paige's 1st Birthday. Leah got to see lots of her old friends from the westside :)<br /><br />On Monday, we went over for an impromptu BBQ with the Lundells... Leah ate her weight in berries, hung out in Lenna's rocker, played with toys, and practiced running up and down their hill. <br /><br />The rest of the week was easy peasy. It was pretty rainy, but we managed to sneak out for a couple of trips to the park.<br /><br />On Wednesday, Clara came over to hang out, and the girls wore their raincoats outside and played in the grass. Pretty fun.<br /><br />On Thursday, we celebrated Noelle's 1st Birthday! She had a garden party, and Leah had a blast planting her own tickle-me-plant. Of course, everytime I said "tickle-me-plant," Leah thought I was saying "tickle me land" which is her favorite song. It confused her a bit. :)<br /><br />On Friday, we did lots of shopping and lots of crafting. Leah found a $10 rocker which we made-over in raspberry pink. We'll add a cushion later this weekend. We're also working on Leah's friends BIG first birthday party - should be a blast.<br /><br />Today Leah hung out with daddy in the morning like she does every Saturday, while mommy went to yoga... she took a big nap, and then showed dad how much she loves the park. Tomorrow we're headed to the U District for Daddy's race.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-2265329817325838272010-05-27T20:07:00.000-07:002010-05-27T20:09:12.007-07:00great friends.Leah's galpals Clara, Lilah, and Noelle came over today to play. They danced, shared lots of snacks, and Clara pushed Leah around in her doll stroller. Pretty fun little girls. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-85367068771541174612010-05-26T08:10:00.000-07:002010-05-26T08:12:34.633-07:00Home Sweet Home.We got back home on Monday, and Leah was soooo excited to see her daddy. They snuggled, and read, and played. She loves him so much. Yesterday afternoon, she asked "where dada?" I told her that dad went to work. She said "dada go. gogogogogogo." She went and got her shoes, went to the door and said "I go dada." Heart-melter.<br /><br />We took it easy yesterday (Leah slept a ton!), finished unpacking, and did lots of snuggling and reading. We're excited that it's already Wednesday and we'll have daddy back home in a couple of days for a looooooong weekend!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6985663839834726353.post-58202484675740036402010-05-23T20:22:00.000-07:002010-05-23T20:25:49.048-07:00Sweet summer.We had a super great day today. It was so so so sunny and sooo warm so we wore our summery clothes, played with water toys, drank lots of koolaid and lemonade, did some dancing outside, and enjoyed our last day in Chicago. We're headed back to Seattle tomorrow, and although we're sad to leave, we're excited to see Luke. 10 days is a long time to go without some squeezing from our favorite husband and daddy.<br /><br />Thanks for so much fun, Chicago!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0