A 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!

XOXO,
Leah

getting 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".

so many updates.

Leah's official blogger mom has been busy with wedding things, and poor Leah's blog has gone un-updated for weeks!

Two weekends ago, BFFs Mike and Lisa moved from Portland to Seattle. Now we can see them all the time!

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!

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.

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."

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.

Leah'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 :)

deep 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.

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.

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!

doctor 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.

15 month checkup

Leah 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!)

parades 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.

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.

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.

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. :)

To my Leah.

My sweet Leah,

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,

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.

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.

I want to be nearly-constantly joyful like you are. Not just content, but joyful.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I love you. I hope I can show you how much I do every day.

summer 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.

Leah's Favorite Tunes

Since Leah loves loves loves music and dancing, I want to make sure that we remember all of her favorite songs... So far:

- Take Me Out to the Ballgame (loved it as a newborn, always calmed her down)
- In the Mood (loved it at 7 months. first dancing tune. http://vimeo.com/7605271)
- Ready for This (loved it at 12 months. http://vimeo.com/10911695)
- Free Fallin' (mommy sings it every night at bedtime, Leah sang "freeeeeeeee" at 13 months.)
- Me and Julio (current favorite... some great great dance moves to this one.)

Go 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. :)

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.

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.

zephaniah.

Dear Leah Madison,

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.

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:

"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

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.

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. :)

All of my love,
Mommy

St.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!

"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."

Better than great. Leah Madison, I hope that in 15 years you feel the same way. :)

Dorothy.

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.

growing 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 :)

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.

And in super great news, yesterday marked Leah's 14 month birthday, and 3 months until her baby sister Rory Kate is born!

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.

Bargain 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.

Little 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!

"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.

Zoom 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."

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.

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 :)

great 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 :)

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.

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.

On Wednesday, Clara came over to hang out, and the girls wore their raincoats outside and played in the grass. Pretty fun.

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. :)

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.

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.

great 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. :)

Home 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.

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!

Sweet 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.

Thanks for so much fun, Chicago!

Another 1st Birthday Party!

Leah had another birthday party tonight - this one was Elmo themed, and at Lou Malnati's, mommy's very favorite pizza place. Leah had a great time eating, seeing her family and friends, and opening more presents :) She's a very very very loved little lady.

More Chicago Fun

We've been having lots of fun here in Chicago - on Tuesday, we went to Great Grandma Perek's house for lunch. She made mac n cheese (with hotdogs!), yummy sandwiches, and super great strawberry shortcake. Leah had a blast. She played with Snickers, Grandma's puppy, and a pretend puppy that Grandma had in the dining room.

On Wednesday, we went to the zoo! Leah saw lots and lots of animals... she can say goggie, rabbit, bear, duckie, monkey, horsie, and kitten. She did a great job naming all of the animals - and the ones that she didn't know, she called "tucker". Which seems pretty appropriate.

On Thursday, we had a relaxing day - we tried to go swimming, but the pool was closed, so we went to a couple of parks nearby to play. Leah loves swings now, and is a champion slider.

Today, we went to downtown Arlington Heights for lunch at an irish pub with Grandma and Grandpa. Leah had grilled cheese and sweet potato fries, and mommy had fish and chips. (Sorry Luke, we know you would have loved them.) After lunch, we went to the library. Leah had so so so so so much fun. She played on the giant map rug, played giant chess, found lots of books to read, and did a ton of puzzles. We came home and baked cupcakes for another one of her 1st birthday parties tomorrow :) She only has one left after tomorrow. :(

Hot Dog City

We're having a great time in Chicago :)

On Friday, we woke up super early to get to the airport and fly to Chicago. Leah stayed awake the entire flight (but was so so so happy), so we read books and ate snacks the whole time. Grandpa Tim came and picked us up at the airport and took us to Superdawg for our first round of Chicago hotdogs.

On Saturday, Leah had another 1st birthday party! This one was with the Paustian family - mommy's mommy and her family. It was a Cubs themed party, and it was so so so fun. We ate more hot dogs.

On Sunday was Ross' wedding - Leah had a blast. Lots of dancing, lots of eating, lots of mingling with people. We found out that she's not allergic to watermelons, etc. like her mommy. Great news!

Yesterday we recovered from our big weekend. We took some good naps, watched cartoons, and snuggled. Our kind of day.

Oh No! Again.

Boy, mommy has been pretty bad about updating recently. Pretty ridiculous.

We've been having fun, as usual. Lots of playing outside, lots of reading. Leah's doing a ton of talking now - starting to put together phrases like "dada no go," which is awfully sad but cute.

We found out that Leah is going to have a baby sister, which we're very excited about. She's been practicing with her baby, which she loves so so much.

Last weekend, we had BFFs Mike and Lisa visit. It was so much fun. We ate a lot, played a lot, and had a lot of fun.

This week we're sick. :( Just colds, though.

We're also getting ready for our trip to Chicago this weekend!

we love fridays!

Friday means weekend, and weekend means DADDY! Leah woke up from her nap today and ran to our room saying "dadadadadadadad!" They're great buddies... She gets so so excited when he gets home each day.

Today we went to a Caspar Babypants with Clara and Liz. It was great :)

Oh No!

The best week of the whole year and no updates to show for it! Here we go!

Last week was awesome. On Tuesday, birthday day, after present time, we went out for breakfast with Grandma Lauren, Clara, and Liz. Leah took a little nap and we headed to UW Hospital to visit where Leah was born... we brought the nurses some brownies and visited with the fishies in the tank. :) For lunch we went to Agua Verde, a yummy mexican restaurant. Leah had some quesadilla and yummy lemonade. When we got home, we relaxed, napped, and then had dinner and sang happy birthday, and ate carrot cake. What a great day!

On Thursday, Leah had her pajama birthday party with all of her friends - Clara, Lilah, Noelle, Annika, Jimmy, and her Westside friends Paige and Lenna! It was so fun.

Over the weekend, daddy was out racing his bike, so us girls (Grandma Lauren too) hung out around the house, worked on projects, went for walks, and played in the garden.

This week has been pretty quiet. We said goodbye to Grandma Lauren on Monday, and relaxed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today we went to Grass Lawn with Clara, Lilah, Noelle and Olive, and played in the garden.

Birthday Eve!

Today we played around the house and finished some crafty projects to get ready for Leah's FIRST BIRTHDAY! We have a great day planned tomorrow, so it's good that we got a chance to rest up today!

Birthday Month, Days 10-11!

Leah had an awesome birthday weekend. We went to the zoo on Saturday... it was a gorgeous day, and Leah loved seeing the elephants, the flamingos, and most of all, the fishtank at the kids' Zoomazium. We got a season membership, so we'll be back to the zoo again soon!

Sunday was even more gorgeous out than Saturday! We went to Panera for lunch, and to Home Depot to pick out some flowers... and then we came back home, did work in the garden, and enjoyed some yummy kabobs for dinner.

Birthday Month, Days 8-9!

Well, we were hoping to be feeling well enough to have some fun days, and fun days we had! 2 mornings of shopping, 2 days of playing at the park, and 1 great lunch at Panera. Tomorrow we're headed to the zooooooooooo!

Yesterday was Leah's due date. I like her on the outside much better. :)

Birthday Month, Days 4-7!

Birthday Month Day 4 was Easter! We went to church, had some yummy breakfast, and relaxed most of the day. Birthday Month days 5-7 were a bit less exciting. Leah, Daddy and Grandma were all sick, so we did some more relaxing around the house... Hopefully all the ladies will be healthy tomorrow so we can have some fun!

Pre-Easter.

The easter bunny came early to our house (because Grandpa Mark is leaving tomorrow morning) - Leah got a great Elmo easter basket, filled with eggs and an easter little people set. We had a yummy easter breakfast of easter eggs, pancakes, easter rainbow bread, sausage, orange juice, and orange jello salad.

After our big breakfast, we relaxed and played most of the day. Leah is walking most of the time now - she finds it much easier to carry things around that way.

It was a great day. :)

Birthday Month Begins!

I am proud to announce that Leah's very first birthday month has begun! Her Grandpa Mark and Grandma Lauren are in town to visit, and we've had lots of fun already.

On Wednesday, we went to Panera for lunch - Grandma and Grandpa got to experience the amazing eating talents of Miss Leah Madison. She ate an entire bowl of mac 'n' cheese, 2 slices of baguette, and a GoGurt. Not sure where miss skinny minnie puts all of that food...

On Thursday, we girls had a marathon shopping day - Leah got a great spring/summer wardrobe at BabyGap, and a really cool comfy chair.

Today we got ready for Easter! We dyed easter eggs, made some great bread, made orange jello, and had yummy pizza for dinner.

Not a bad start to birthday month :)

family.

Leah had a great time with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kristen and Uncle Matt. On Thursday, we all went to the Seattle Aquarium... it was a good thing that Leah had learned to say WOW already, because she got to say it a ton as she looked and pointed at all the fishies.

On Sunday, we went for a walk in Kirkland, watched some basketball, and hung out with the fam before they headed out early this morning.

We'll be seeing them again in May, but we'll miss them till then!

Choosy babies choose co-jack.

Today at the grocery store, Leah spotted a brick of cojack cheese, pointed to it, said "I want," and the nice deli lady gave her a slice.

talking about walking.

Leah is walking around the living room saying "I DID it. I DID it. I DID it." Apparently she thinks her walking is pretty awesome too :)

le croissant.

Today was free pastry day at Starbucks, so we met Clara and Lilah and their mommies for breakfast. Mommy had a vanilla steamed milk, and Leah had a croissant. Yum :) We're excited for Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kristen and Uncle Matt to come back from skiing!

backlog.

Oh gosh. We haven't updated in a while, but lots and lots has happened! We've seen lots of friends and family - we had a picnic with Billy, Clara, and Lilah last Thursday, and a really fun breakfast with Lilah and Clara on Friday. The girls ate pancakes, quiche and lots of fruit.

On Saturday & Sunday, Grandpa Tim, Grandma Sue, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Kristen came to visit! Saturday was a beautiful beautiful day, so we went downtown. We visited Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle, and lots of things in between. Leah learned to say "I want" which scored her a new stuffed puppy friend at a store (thanks grandpa!) On Sunday, we relaxed during the day, and went to Rock Bottom Grill for dinner, where Leah had her very first kid's meal - mac and cheese and broccoli! She loved it so much.

Leah is talking and walking a ton now. She walks about 60% of the time now - choosing to stand and walk when she used to sit and crawl. What a gal :)

Weekend of Friends.

We had another great great weekend. On Friday, Clara came over to play in the afternoon while her mom was out - we played outside in the yard, and upstairs in Leah's room. That night, we went out to dinner with Clara and her mommy and daddy. Leah had her first sampling of sweet potato fries, which she loved. :)

Tonight we went to Lenna's 1st birthday party! It was great. Leah did some walking, and loved playing with the big girls.

Friends are so great.

We had Erin and Billy's going away party today... They're moving to New York, and we'll miss them so much. Clara, Lilah, Hunter, Jimmy and Billy came over, ate snacks, played, and had a great time. I can't believe how quickly these babies have grown into little people.

super playdate.

Leah had quite a great day today. When she woke up from her morning nap, her friend Clara (and mommy Liz) were here to play while I went to the doctor. It was Leah's first time being alone with somebody that wasn't her mommy, daddy, grandma or grandpa, but you'd never know that if you saw how happy she was. :) She and Clara played, chased the kittens around, had lunch, and just had fun. Pretty great little girls.

leah's mommy is 27!

Yesterday was by far the very best birthday I've ever had, because I got to spend all day of it with my little boo. We went out for breakfast with friends Liz and Clara (the little girls split a mickey mouse pancake), out to University Village for shopping and fun, and back here for a yummy pizza and brownie sundaes!

Now it's time for Leah's birthday next - just over a month to go!

great weekend.

We had a really great weekend. Luke worked from home on Friday, so it really seemed like a 3 day weekend to us girls :) Yesterday we went to Marymoor Park... Leah is still not crazy about swings (she gets that from her daddy), but really loved playing on the train, watching the big kids play. Today we had a girls' day while Luke went and WON his first road race of the year, in a sprint finish no less. We think he's pretty great.

couch peekaboo.

Leah loves to play couch peekaboo these days. If someone is laying on the couch, she goes to the end, sits on the floor, and then pops up and giggles. :)

Today is a beautiful beautiful beautiful day here in Redmond, so we're headed to Marymoor Park today to enjoy the sun!

Cubs Fan.

Leah and I celebrated the first day of Cubbies Cactus League season (and first W!) by listening to the 2003 NLDS Game 5 - Cubs vs Braves, during our lunch. I tried to teach Leah to say "Cubs WIN!" but no luck... yet. She was born on Wrigley Opening Day last year, so I know she's a cubbie girl even if she can't tell me yet.

wawa.

Leah can say wawa now when she wants water. I think I'm more excited about it than most of the other words, because her thirst is something that I don't guess super well about.

not so sick afterall.

Well, it appears that yucky roseola did not get Leah. One day of fever, a few days of sluggishness, and she seems mostly back to normal. No rash, but we have seen a lot of drooling and fingers-in-mouth. Perhaps the fever was related to some top teethers coming in? We'll see!

sick. again. so. soon.

After Leah woke up from her nap this morning, she seemed not quite right... sort of whiny, which isn't normal, very clingy, and not too hungry (which is really not normal.) After waking up from a long afternoon nap, she seemed even more whiny, clingy, and not hungry, and unsurprisingly, had a fever.

As it turns out, roseola is making its way around our playgroup. We'll be ready to see the trademark rash in a couple days once this fever is gone. In the meantime, we plan to read and snuggle our way through this yucky fever.

little mommy.

Leah loves her dolly "Bay-babe." Today when she woke up from her nap, she went straight to her toybox to get her out (Bay-babe was napping too, obviously) and picked her up, gave her a big open mouth kiss, and then looked very seriously at her. Leah said to Bay-babe, "gung gung," (which we all know means hungry.) Leah set Bay-babe down very gently, rummaged through the toy box, and presented Bay-babe's bottle. Leah said "gung gung" once again to Bay-babe, and then put the bottle to Bay-babe's head. Once Bay-babe was done eating, Leah gave the sign for "finished" and put the bottle back in the toy box.

Needless to say, I sat with my mouth gaping open for the entire 2 minutes.

I hope that when Leah is a mommy she can have a daughter as cool as she is.

Splashing.

Leah LOVES to splash in the kittens waterbowls. As the person in charge of keeping her clean and dry all day, I do not love it when she splashes in the waterbowls.

It was clear today that she is aware of how I feel about the splashing...

As I got her breakfast ready, I overheard (splash splash) "no no no no no no" (splash splash) "no no no no no no" (splash splash).

At least we all know what the expectations are.

walk about talk about.

Leah added "nak" to her vocabulary today - took me a while to figure out that means "snack," but with a little bit of pointing (and yelling), she helped me figure it out. She also is saying "dada" now, which of course, we all love. In fact, after her morning nap today, I put her on the floor and she crawled her fastest into our room, saying dadadadadadadadada. She looked in the bedroom, in the bathroom, and back out in the hallway for her daddy, but she couldn't find him. Mondays are tough like that.

She's also working on walking more. She loves it when I stand her up a few feet from the couch so she can walk to it (or fall into it).

hello spring!

This weekend, we spent a ton of time outside because it was sooooo beautiful out. On Saturday, Leah and I ate lunch outside while we waited for daddy to get back from his morning bike ride. We all went to Target, took naps, and went for a walk around Grass Lawn park. Leah loved looking at all of the kids, but got a little tired and cold towards the end of our walk. :(

Today we went down to the Kirkland waterfront for a picnic lunch. Leah loved seeing all of the dogs, the waves on the beach, and most of all, the ducks. She kept saying "duck. duck. duck." but I thought she was saying dog. She looked at me with a scrunchy face and pointed to the duck saying "duck." I'm still getting used to her knowing the right words for things. :)

Before bed, Leah climbed around on the couch with Daddy and giggled and giggled and giggled.

wagon friends.

Lenna came over to play today! The girls had so much fun - they chased each other up the stairs (and giggled a ton about it), played with some toys, shared some snacks, and went for a wagon ride to Grass Lawn park. We always have fun with the Lundell ladies. :)

greenlake.

We headed to our old stomping grounds today and walked around Green Lake with Annika, Clara, Hunter and Billy. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun enjoying the sun :)

out into the world.

Today we ladies ventured out into the world for the first time in weeks! We went to Target to get lots and lots and lots of things that we needed at home. Leah found a hat that she liked (and wore) all through the store - since she had the same one at home, we opted to not buy this one. But as soon as we got home and pulled the hat out, she put it on and wore it all night. :)

out of quarantine.

Leah had her friends Clara and Lilah over yesterday to play... it was so nice to not be sick anymore and be able to have fun with friends again!

secret of the gung.

Forgot to mention two amazing breakthroughs:

One - Leah is sleeping all night long now, without mid-night wakeups. I'm sure that because I'm writing this, karma will step in and I'll be up at 3:45 again tonight, but I'm willing to take the risk. 7pm-7:30am = amazing.

Two - We figured out the secret of "gung gung." After Leah said "gung gung!" about 100 times yesterday while pointing at the pantry, we figured it out. Gunggung= hungry. Whenever I get out a snack for Leah, I ask if she's hungry. So for her, food=hungry. Thus, gung-gung. When I pulled out the cheerios, she grabbed them and squeezed the bag shouting "GUNGGUNG!" I said "hungry?" and she smiled and said "gunggung mama."

Mystery solved.

valentine.

We had a great valentine's day with daddy... we went to costco, and had yummy pizza for dinner (Leah just had some pizza crust.)

double date with daddy.

Daddy took his two favorite girls out for dinner tonight to Ram. Mommy had a yummy cheeseburger and fries, and Leah ate peas, string cheese, and pita bread. Leah started dancing a ton to Lenny Kravitz "American Woman," and this wasn't the first time - it played at Ram last time we were there, and Leah danced then too. What a wild child.

chatterbox.

Leah is talking up a storm now. Today she pointed to a pita on the counter and said "more!" No arguing with that. Whenever we say "kitten" she says "ucker," and she's trying so hard to say "thank you." She seems to say "gung gung" a lot, and gets frustrated when we don't understand her... hopefully we'll figure out the mystery of the 'gung' soon.

Sweetheart.

good feeling.

Leah and I have a good feeling that we're going to be better soon. Our noses are running less, and we're coughing a lot less too. Hopefully we'll be able to see our playgroup friends on Thursday!

no news is still sick news.

We are still sick. Leah is still wonderfully fun and cute. Yesterday she spent about an hour climbing/rolling/sleeping on a pile of pillows. We're hoping to be better in a few days so that we can be a part of the world again.

doctor.

Well, great news at the doctor yesterday... Leah just has a cold, and her mouth injury should be just fine. Her doctor thinks that the tear may not mend, but that's okay, because our frenum doesn't have any function anymore - it probably did at one point in human history, but not anymore.

We're having another snuggly day at home... Daddy discovered that Jolly Ranchers are a great cure for mommy and daddy's sore throats - not for Leah though, sadly.

We're hoping for some big getting-better magic today so that we can go to Leah's friend Billy's Superbowl Party! (Leah's cheering for the Colts - she just loves those Manning brothers.)

rough week.

Leah has had a pretty rough week... she started to get a cold on Monday morning (not nearly as bad as the Christmas cold,) but still very uncomfortable. Lots of coughing and sniffling which calls for lots of snuggling and napping. We've had to cancel most of our play plans for the week, which was a bummer.

To make matters worse, today she fell down while standing next to a chair... At some point between hitting the chair and her head hitting the floor, her teeth cut into her labial frenum (the little thing that attaches your top lip to your front gums.) Our little tough lady only cried for a few minutes, then happily sucked on a freezie. We were able to look inside to see that she cut through about 50% of the frenum, but a phone call to the doctor reassured us that this frenum serves no purpose, but will most likely grow back without a problem. But I bet it hurts quite a bit.

weekends are the best.

We had a great weekend with daddy... lots of relaxing, snuggling, and reading.

hi mama!

Leah said "hi mama" when I woke her up from her nap. It was great.

great friends.

Yesterday Leah's friend Noa came over to play - Noa is 2, so Leah loved sitting quietly and watching Noa play. Noa brought her baby doll over and Leah LOVED it. She was so gentle, and examined the babies head, hands, and feet.

Today we met Leah's friends and their mommies for coffee at starbucks (Leah and I split a croissant which she thought was awesome) and took a walk along the sammamish river trail. Leah's friend Annika brought her two doggies, and Leah talked to them from her stroller as we walked. I think our little girl needs a puppy soon.

oil changing.

This morning, after a yummy breakfast of peach-berry smoothies and oatmeal, we went to get an oil change. We watched from the window, and one of the mechanics played peek-a-boo with Leah from the mechanic pit. She was laughing so hard that she grabbed her tummy like it was aching with laughter. What a funny little lady.

daddy days.

We really love when daddy is home. On Saturday, we played for most of the day, and went to Ram for dinner. Leah dined on garbanzo beans, black beans, corn, cheerios, and string cheese. Mmm. On Sunday, it was rainy so we did lots of reading and snuggling.

sleepover party!

Leah had her very first sleepover last night! Leah went to sleep, and then friend Lenna came over (already asleep) and slept in the guest room. Both the girls slept very well while their mommies and daddies played games. :)

uh-mo

Today is a very very very very very big day for Leah! Today at Target, while we were picking out leah-snacks, I heard uh-mo-uh-mo-uh-mo-UH-MOOOOOOOO! Sure enough, she was pointing to a rack of Elmo bibs. So for the record books, the first non-mama non-dada word is:

ELMO.

sharing.

Leah loves to share. When she's eating, she always offers me whatever she has (if it's cheese, she usually hesitates though). :) Today she tried to share elmo with the kittens. They weren't interested.

We haven't been up to much here the last couple of days - Leah played with Clara and Lilah yesterday, and with Clara, Noelle, Billy and Jax today... And Leah had her first morning alone with daddy while I ran to the dentist. I felt like I was going for a spa treatment - I think that means I need to get out more.

wagon rides.

Yesterday was a B-E-A-utiful day here in Seattle, so Leah got to take her first wagon ride outside. She loved it so much. So did her buddy Roger Bear. :)

rainy sunday.

Another rainy ladies' day here at the St.Clair Ranch. Our today looked eerily similar to our yesterday. Lots of snuggling, lots of reading, and lots of being excited for daddy to come back home tonight.

ladies' day.

Daddy is doing some mega bike rides with his team this weekend, so it was a ladies' day here at the house. We started the morning in style by sleeping until almost 9, unloading our groceries from the amazon fresh man, and eating cheerios, black beans, and bananas. (Well, one of us ate black beans.)

We spent the rest of the day playing, reading, napping (mommy too!), eating more, and going for a beautiful walk to the park.

We capped off the evening with some homemade white cheddar mac & cheese and peas on the side. And yes, we BOTH had peas on the side. :)

quiet rainy day.

Not much going on here today... Leah is a bit sad about her teeth hurting, but happy to have daddy working from home :)

social butterfly.

Leah had her friends Clara, Lilah, Annika, Billy, and new friend Jax over today. She loved it, especially since her friends always bring great toys and snacks.

good friends.

Clara and Lilah came over today to play. Lilah can crawl now, so now they can get into 3 times the trouble. :)

i will not eat green eggs and ham (pureed, anyway).

Leah let me know yesterday that she is not interested in eating pureed foods anymore.

Understandable.

state of the baby address - 9 months

Leah officially turns 9 months tomorrow, but we had her 9 month appointment today. Tricky. Her stats are:

31 inches (100%)
18 lbs (35%)

So still long and thin, no big changes there.

we love weekends.

We had a really really really great day today, and closed the weekend with a yummy dinner at Ram. (Thanks Grandma Lauren & Grandpa Mark!)

happy anniversary, mommy & daddy!

We celebrated our 5th anniversary today! So much has happened in the last 5 years, but the best best best best best thing is our little girl.

We went to Panera for lunch, and Leah shared a bowl of white cheddar mac & cheese with me. (Much tastier than her usual garbanzo bean lunches!) In the afternoon, Leah played with daddy and took a bath while I enjoyed time in the kitchen making some yummy dinner. During dinner, Leah played in her wagon next to the table. She loves loves loves her wagon.

Oh wow - and I forgot to mention that Leah's tooth finally broke through last week. And in other big girl news, Leah played with her lion push walker today and took a few steps with it. We were all so excited for her, Leah especially :)

Shopping.

We did some shopping today, and started the celebration of mommy and daddy's 5th anniversary!

more friends.

Today Leah saw all of her playgroup friends, over at friend Clara's house. It's crazy how much they've changed since when we started meeting in July.

good friends.

Today we went over to friend Lilah's house to play with Lilah and Clara. The girls had a great time, and us mommies did too.

signing, and what not to do.

Leah is able to sign a few things these days - more, milk, finished, water, up, etc. Luke has been really good about signing "daddy" whenever he comes into the room, but I guess I haven't been quite as diligent about "mommy".

For the last few days, when Leah gets fussy and wants me to hold her, she's been smacking her chest. Once I pick her up, or just come by her, she's fine. I couldn't figure out why she had chosen that sign (since she signs for "up" specifically when she wants to be picked up) until I caught myself saying "mommy" over and over again (in an attempt to connect her mamammaamamamamas to the "mommy" word, while patting my chest. She looked at me, and started patting her own chest.

So I inadvertently taught her that the sign for mommy is patting your chest. Oops. Not a huge deal, except that it may make any signs involving "me" or "I" sort of confusing.

home again home again.

We flew home yesterday. Leah was feeling much better than she did on the flight out (although still a little sniffly), didn't sleep much on the flight, but was a very happy girl. She ate some snacks, played with the kids in the seats near us, and loved looking out the window of the plane. We brought her carseat, and she sat backwards in it with her toys in front of her and had a great time.

As soon as we got home, she started exploring the house. When we left, she was just starting to crawl, and not really standing up yet. So when we got home, she had lots of exploring to do. And thus, I have a lot of childproofing to do this week.

party girl and climbing.

Today Leah met her Great-Grandma Donna, her Aunt Linda, Aunt Laura, Uncle Bob, cousins Bobby, Mary, and Debbie, and friends Ross, Anneliese, Tom, Angie, Mary, Kathleen, and Bridget. It was super fun.

At night, Leah decided she was interested in climbing the stairs from the basement to the living room. After a few determined tries, she made it up about 5 steps. And she was so thrilled about it. :)

new years baby.

We had a low-key new years eve. Some games, some snugglin...

Today we went to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. It was so so so so so so so so cold (11 degrees), so we mostly stayed inside and looked at the train exhibit. It was pretty neat, and it gave me a chance to remember fun times at the Gardens with Grandma Paustian. I think she would have had a great time taking Leah to see the trains. :)

Tonight, Leah played with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Tim, Aunt Kristen Grace and Uncle Matt while mommy and daddy went on a date! It was a great early anniversary celebration, and the first time we had been out anywhere alone since the night we left for the hospital to have Leah. It was also the first time we had been to Chili's in a really really really long time. Leah had a great time at home.

midwest tour.

Leah has been continuing her inaugural tour of the Midwest. On Monday, we drove from the Kentucky lake house up to Indiana for an overnight pit stop. Leah met Great-Grandma Jean, Great-Grandpa Bill, Uncle Marty, Aunt Cindy, Maggie, Jeffrey, and Aunt Marilyn. On Tuesday, we woke up and drove over to meet Great-Grandma Lee and Great-Grandpa Richard.

Grandpa Tim and Grandma Sue drove to Indiana that morning to pick us up and take us back to sweet home Chicago. She saw Aunt Kristen Grace and Uncle Matt, and opened more presents.

On Wednesday, we had breakfast at Walker Brothers with good friends Jeff and Melissa. Mommy had an apple pancake and Leah had silver dollar pancakes. When we got back, Great-Grandma Perek and Uncle Tom came over to meet Leah. It was great. :)

We rested in the afternoon, and at night drove to Wilmette to see Grandma Dianne, Grandpa Art, Great-Grandpa Paustian, and all of the Paustian aunties, uncles, cousins, and friends. Cousin Katie brought her little sister Grace, and Leah thought she was the best ever.

feeling better.

After getting a humidifier cranking, it seems like Leah is feeling (and sleeping) a lot better. Unfortunately, both mommy and daddy are sick now too. :( Uncle Monty and Auntie Kim went home today, after a fun couple of days here at the lake house.

sweet christmas.

Leah had such a great Christmas yesterday. She got to meet Uncle Monty, Auntie Kim, and their dog Bailey. Leah loves Bailey so much - now that she's a crawler, she's been chasing him around the house, and trying to eat his toys. In exchange, she's been sharing her cheerios with him, which I know he appreciates.

Leah is still battling a cold, but seems to be on the up-and-up.

firsts.

It's been a big couple of days for boo madison. On monday night, she got her first cold. Big bummer. She's still stuffed up today, and we're hoping she'll be feeling better soon. Fortunately, she's a tough (and naturally happy) gal, so she's still giggling and playing quite a bit, even with snot continually running all over her face.

Yesterday was her first flight. With her cold, I was super worried about her comfort, but she seemed okay, sleeping in my lap for most of both flights and the drive from Nashville to Grandma Lauren and Grandpa Mark's lake house in Kentucky. It was also hers (and my) first time in Nashville, and even though it was only for about 30 minutes, we had a great time.

wild child.

Leah is a wild child. So fun, but so very wild.

counting down.

We're counting down the days until Leah's first airplane trip to see her grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles, cousins, and friends!

Also, Leah had pancakes this morning for breakfast. I think they've moved into the favorite foods category, along with black beans and cheerios.