Getting Into Everything

She knows what 'no' means but... that doesn't mean she listens. 

"Mom, you need this?"

Happy Valentine's Day

Kisses & Hugs from our silly little ones...

No More Bottles!

Last weekend we washed up all the bottles and packed them away.

So Leah is almost one week down with only a sippy cup and she is doing great!! It was much easier than I expected and luckily it didn't mess with our streak of sleeping through the night. We are on 10 days of full nights sleep and it's amazing.

Such a big girl now!

1 Year Stats/Doctor's Appointment

Still a healthy little girl... got her shots and the appointment went well. Doctor said she's still big but it's slowing down... and still proportional. Good news :-)

She was walking all over, impatiently waiting for the doctor:

Here are Leah's 1 year stats:

Wt for age - 22 lbs 2oz (80th percentile)

Ht - 2 feet 6 inches (84th percentile)

Head - 46.5cm (86th percentile)

1 Year Pictures

All I can say about pictures this time were that they were challenging!! Who know it would be so hard to get a little girl to sit or stand in one place for longer than 1 second?? It is lucky no one else was there to see me lock her in the guest bedroom until she would walk in front of the background :-)

Everyone use this post as a reminder next time I think I can take an active, busy 1 year old's photos. :-)

But, they turned out okay and they are done... so all in all, it's a success.

My personal favorite :-)

Leah's Winter "One"derland Party

Leah had the BEST first birthday party. It was spent enjoying time with family and friends, devouring cake, admiring awesome decorations, swimming and opening tons of gifts. All of her aunts, uncles and cousins made it to the party which made it extra special. Thank you everyone for a wonderful first birthday party for our sweet little girl.

The Birthday Girl: 

In her custom made dress by Grandma D.

                                         

Decorations:Done by her creative Auntie Nikki - so lucky to have an aunt who is so awesome at party planning. The party wouldn't have come together without her:

Time for Cake:

Make a wish...

Not so sure...

Getting Messy...

Messier...

Messiest, but it sure was yummy!

Swimming:

Opening Gifts:

Wow.. look at all of these...

 She needed some help!

Cousins and Aunts & Uncles:

We also celebrated Grandpa C's birthday, which was on the 26th. 

Note the decorations done by Mommy were not quite as nice:

Happy 1st Birthday Leah! Can't wait for the next one!

1 Year Old

It's here! Your sticker pictures and monthly updates are coming to an end. And (although mommy and daddy can't believe you are 1 year old already) we are so happy about the smart, spirited, energetic little girl you are becoming. I'm sure you can tell from our monthly posts that, Leah keeps us on our toes, but it's in a good  way (most of the time). You have made the past year the most happy and exciting (but tiring :-) ) year for us. We wouldn't have it be any other way! Thank you for the laughs and joy you bring us every day. We love you more than you will ever know.

Here is what you learned before you turned 1:

• You're a good little eater, you'll eat about anything which is nice for us. I hope you continue to love those vegetables and fruits. Your favorite food is sandwich meat (ham or turkey) and mac & cheese.
• You are almost to having only whole milk - no more formula. It was a really easy transition and you are drinking it cold, which is very nice. 
• Next to go... the bottle... wish us luck on that one. Going to attempt it next weekend. 
• You say ma ma, da da, ziggy, yah, no and lots of other sounds that we don't know what they are yet.
• You can WALK! And now you are getting pretty good at it with limited falls. It's nice that you can get around where you want and it's super cute to watch you waddle.
• You are learning so much. When you learn to put blocks in the right shape, etc. you think you are super cool. You are so proud of yourself and love to clap when you do a good job.
• You also still have a temper. When the shapes don't go in the right spot, you get mad and bang them on the box. :-)
• I love your giggle. I love that you giggle a lot now. Daddy usually makes you giggle the most but the other night Parker made you laugh more than I have ever heard you laugh before.
• We are working on pointing out family members in your book. You actually point to the right people sometimes so I think you are learning who they are (or you are just a good guesser).
• You are more into books now than you have ever been. Sometimes you will sit on my lap and we will actually get through a whole book before you want off. Your favorite books are the ones that have things you can feel or that have flaps you can open up.
• You traveled to Florida this month. So before your first birthday you have been to San Diego, Las Vegas and Orlando. It's sad that you have made it across the country already and you are only 1. Shows you how spoiled you are.
• You still LOVE to dance. You love having music on and swaying side to side. 
• With that dancing you started singing to yourself too... so cute!
• Your favorite toys: your princess castle and Parker's old red and yellow car.
• Now you have made it 4 nights in a row sleeping through the night (our new record). It was a little rough after vacation but we are getting back on track.
• You like to stack rings or blocks. 
• You love your blankets. Doesn't matter which one it is, you love to snuggle with any kind of blanket. Although Grandma's silky ones are your favorite and you do love to steal Paige and Parker's from them.
• You love it when "we are going to get you..." You squeal and start booking it in the other direction, but if we take to long you do have to look back to make sure we are coming.
• Mom is trying to teach you counting and where your nose is :-) But, most of the time you ignore me. I'm sure you will get it soon.
• You still love bath time. Even more now that the bath has lots more fun toys to play with.
• You have your two top teeth and two bottom ones.
• You are are wearing size 3 diapers and 12-18 month clothes. 
• You are the best thing that ever happened to us!

At 11 months:

And our BIG 1 Year Old: