16 Months Old

My 16 month old...

- Has only 5 oz. of milk in a bottle now, first thing in the morning. Really I am just too lazy to get her to give it up-- it's convinient when she's so hungry when she wakes up. The dr. said as long as she isn't carrying it around all day, it's fine to wait. I know it won't be a big problem to get rid of it. She loves to have milk or juice in her cup now.

- Still does really well sleeping through the night, until about 6:30am (but usually that's not predictable). She wakes up in the morning talking to herself, full of energy. She's done really well with naps, lately, too. I can tell when she's getting really tired, take her to her room & hold her for a minute or two & then just put her down and she almost never cries.

- Says words for "eat (and this one we hear a lot!)," "more," "baby," "milk" (sounds a lot like "more," though), "fruff (dog)," "daddy" (although this sometimes refers to her paci), "mama," "hi," "outside" (sounds sort of like "socks"), "keys," "teeth," "shoes," and seems to be learning more every day!

- Can find even the tiniest picture of a "fruff" or a "baby" and will be sure she tells me, or whoever is around, repeatedly that she sees one.
- Can point to most of her major body parts, including hair, toes, and fingers.

- Loves to kiss things. Especially Elmo & any dog or cat. When Brett leaves for work, she goes to the door & starts making kissing noises.




















- Also loves to feed things-- and people. Even if they can't actually eat, like her Elmo doll.
















- Likes to "help" do chores around the house. She unloads the silverware from the dishwasher one by one. (Of course it takes forever that way but she always looks so proud to be able to help!) She brings your shoes or coat if you ask. She pretends to vacuum with her new rolling push toy (even though she is scared of the real vacuum).




















- Shakes her head yes in response to questions you ask her. I'm not sure if she actually knows she is agreeing to what I'm saying or not (because she never says no), but many times I think she really does understand.

- Is definately getting some more teeth in, as evidenced by the gnawing of her paci on her back gums. She almost has a mouth full now! She is also obsessed with brushing her teeth. Anytime she sees us brushing our teeth, or even just sees her toothbrush, she says "teeth" and wants to chew on the brush. Of course, I help her out after she tries herself.

- Has her own way of making sure you know what she wants. And will let you know if you get it wrong. She is a typical girl-- everything has to be exactly the way she wants it, or else someone's going to pay!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day with a toddler was so much fun! We had most of the presents under the tree for a week or two before Christmas Day, and Leah never really touched them. Even that morning, she wasn't quite sure what to do with the decorative box. But it didn't take much demonstrating for her to figure it out and by the end of the day she was ready to rip into whatever she could find! Her favorite presents seem to be: a stuffed Elmo, a stuffed dog that talks & sings (from Uncle BJ & Aunt Chela), an erasable drawing pad, a doll with a stroller (from Grandma & Grandpa), and any & all books. Between the gifts, she would want to be held or read to, and really seemed like she just wanted to play with what she had. By the end of the day, she had so many new things to do, she didn't know what to do and just wandered around aimlessly!

Leah got a really good amount of gifts from Grandma & Grandpa, and several church people & other family members sent things. Brett & I also got some great things, and I can't think of a single thing I now need or even want. We were so blessed. We got to spend some great time enjoying dinner & games with my family Christmas day and the day after. It was kind of sad when they left & it was all over. So much time spent leading up to the "big day" and then it's over in a flash.

... And Baby Makes 4!

That's right, on or around July 26, Leah will be a big sister!

I think I've already told most of the people that read this blog, so I hope it's not a surprise to anyone! (We have not yet told people at our church, so if you happen to go with us, keep it on the down-low-- that's mine & Brett's job, and they don't need to know yet.) We are so excited about our growing family! This baby is much anticipated and well-planned-for. We found out November 23rd, the Monday before Thanksgiving. I took a test without Brett's knowledge, completely not expecting it to be positive. I even put it away in the cupboard for awhile before I went back & decided to look at it. I was completely shocked, just like the 1st time around!

I know, though, that everything will be different this time. Already, the pregnancy seems much less important than the actual baby himself. (I don't know that it's a boy, it's just better than saying "it.") I don't have as much time to focus on myself as the 1st time, because now there's a toddler in the picture. I won't have as much time to rest. I know I won't have time to document every step of the journey-- that's why I'm grateful to at least have this blog. I know much more what to expect this time around, too.

I haven't really been sick much-- just a constant underlying feeling like I'm hungry, yet nothing sounds good to eat. I get nauseous every once in awhile, but its not really bad at all. And, just like with Leah, I'm craving fried and starchy foods. I want peanut butter toast every night. Or a biscuit. Since we're still keeping it a secret in most circles, sometimes its a little hard to feel that this is all real. Of course, that blinking dot on the ultrasound last Friday helped a lot!

My biggest concerns now are mostly adjusting to a new newborn in the house. I'm not at all sure how Leah will handle it. We've been practicing holding her baby dolls and being sweet to them and feeding them bottles. I haven't really been talking to her about it much yet, because 9 months is a long time for her to wait, and she'll understand better in a few months. She's grown so acccustomed to having all our attention; now she will have to get used to someone else in the picture. We'll have to create a schedule where I can get some sort of sleeping into my day. Then there's the whole breastfeeding issue to deal with again. I fully intend to give it a try all over again, hopefully even longer this time. Even if it means I don't leave the house for the first 4 weeks after he/she comes home. I'm dedicated to succeeding this time. Leaving the house with 2 kids is a little intimidating to think about, anyway. There will be 2 car seats, 2 sizes of diapers, 2 times the stuff. I intend to make the baby sling or backpack carrier my best friend for the new baby. I know I have plenty more time to prepare for these things, and I'm looking forward to the adventure!

Christmas Fun

Introducing Leah to the Christmas tree. So far she's not destroyed anything, although she does love to touch the "balls!"

Leah on Tree Decorating Day @ our house

Annual Christmas family photo 12-5-09

Daddy & Leah waiting for the Holiday Express train at Pullen Park-- they drove us through a lights display. Leah really seemed interested in the lights. But it was really cold!

Leah wasn't sure what to think of Santa. As long as she could see Mommy & Daddy, she was okay, but she wasn't about to smile.

Saturday we went to the Christmas parade in Wake Forest. It was really a good parade, lasted about an hour & a half. Leah especially loved the bands & the dancers, but mainly she was interested in the dogs ("fruff") & babies that were around us. She got a little antsy at times-- there were a lot of gaps between the parade participants-- but as long as she was held, she was really good & seemed to be enoying herself.

Christmas Traditions, New & Old

I have really been getting into ideas that we can do as a family to celebrate the Christmas season. I want to implement things now, while Leah is young so that she can say when she gets older, "We've done this since I was a baby." I know she won't really remember much we do this year, but I still want to make this a special holiday and start traditions that we can continue throughout our children's lives. Christmas has never really been my favorite holiday, because I think it is so over-commercialized. But I still think it is a special time of year, and want to use that as an opportunity to make good memories with my family.

Some Christmas traditions we've already done, this year & the past years:
- Pick out our Christmas tree from the tree farm the 1st weekend in December-ish.
- Bring the tree home & decorate (with ornaments from my childhood, which will probably over time be replaced with ornaments, homemade & otherwise, from our children's childhoods) while watching Charlie Brown Christmas or listening to Christmas music, and munching on my infamous hot Pizza Dip.
- Take a family photo in front of the Christmas tree to use in the Christmas cards.
- Go to a Christmas parade. (Well, we haven't gone yet, but we're going to one in a neighboring small town this weekend!) Or one of those drive-through lights displays. (We did that last year.)
- Watch several of the popular Christmas cartoons & movies at some point in December-- Rudolph, Frosty, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas...
- On Christmas Eve, after a Christmas Eve service at church, go home & read the Christmas account from the Bible and open one gift before bed. (This gift may end up being pajamas for the kids, but I'm not sure yet.)


Some traditions I would like to implement this year or in years to come:
- Some sort of Advent Calendar or Christmas Countdown. This year I bought a nativity set called "What God Wants for Christmas." There is a different box to open each day for 7 days before Christmas, and each box contains a piece of the nativity scene and has a short kid-friendly story to go with it to tell the Biblical account of Christmas. The last day has a mirror, to show that what God wants for Christmas is you & me. Perhaps when the kids are older, we'll do something a little more involved.
- Another "countdown" idea I'd love to do is to create one of those paper chains where you tear one off each day before Christmas. Each chain will have an activity on it that we can do as a family, whether it be small like "have hot chocolate in front of the fire together" or larger, like "drive around to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood." I have a lot of ideas for this that could be a lot of fun.
- Hopefully volunteer somewhere as a family, maybe at the homeless shelter or soup kitchen or something.
- See a Christmas-y play, like the Nutcracker or even just Disney on Ice.
- Make Christmas cookies together-- some to eat, some to give as gifts to teachers & neighbors.
- Make some Christmas ornaments or other decorations together that we can save & take out each year to remember Christmases past.
- Shop together for our "shoebox gifts" for the Shoebox project that is sent overseas. (I have done one in the past, but missed the deadline this year. Plus, it would be more fun if Leah could pick out the gifts herself for a child her age.)

15 Month Update

- At her 15-month check-up, Leah weighed 21 lbs., 6 oz. (which is only about 2 1/2 lbs. more than her appt. 3 months ago-- and I promise, the kid eats all the time!)-- in the 25th% and is 31 inches tall (the 70th%).

- Her vocabulary has really started to explode this past week. Yesterday, she finished drinking her juice, announced "Mo!" and proceeded to walk to the refrigerator & try to open the door to get herself more juice. She also mimicks the word "eat" if I tell her that is what we are going to do. She says "baby" very well, and can pick out a picture of a baby when she says it. She knows "ball." She says "Mommy" but still doesn't seem to recognize that as my name. She also has a few of her own words that would be hard to recognize if you didn't know what she was talking about, like one for her Pooh, and words for Elmo, milk, and shoes. She also seems to have a word for a friend in her class, Miles.

- If you tell her it is time to go bye-bye, she will start to wave (at herself), go to find her shoes & jacket and plop down where I can help her put them on.

- So far she's doing well with the Christmas tree. There are only non-breakable ornaments within her reach so we don't have to continually tell her "no." The first day she really didn't do anything with the tree, didn't even seem to notice it was there, but then she slowly began to notice it, and pointed at the ornaments, saying "ball!" and touching them, but not really playing with them or trying to get them off. We'll see if it can last all season!

Texas Thanksgiving Trip

We just got back from a great long weekend in Texas, to visit Brett's family for Thanksgiving. It was really a good time, and everything went so smoothly. The flights were quick & easy, and Leah did well-- she slept about 45 min. each way, and though she got a little restless toward the end of each flight, we were able to keep her from too much screaming or crying! We had a 3 hour drive from the airport to Mom & Dad's house, which also went well. By the end, I could tell Leah did NOT want to get back in the car! We let her play outside as soon as we got there and she loved running around in the big backyard. The weather was really nice.

Brett's sister Karen, Johnny & their 2 boys arrived later in the day Wed. and we all went out to dinner. Leah loved watching her older cousins, and they kept her entertained all through dinner. She didn't care that she couldn't really do everything they can, she just wanted to watch them. They were great with her, including her in their playing and taking good care of her. Brett's other sister Brenda, Jeff & their 2 boys, arrived late Wed. Leah was not shy around anyone and held her hands up to whoever looked like they might hold her, much to everyone's delight. I barely had to keep up with her most of the weekend. Karen & Brenda were willing to take her outside to play the million times she walked to the door & tried to open it.

Thanksgiving Day Brett's Aunt Virginia, her "male friend" Denny, and her son Royce came for lunch, which was way too much food! We ate all day, it seems like. We watched the Macy's parade in the morning, played at the park some, and watched football & relaxed in the afternoon. Friday morning we took lots of family photos before Brenda's family left, and then went out to lunch. Then Karen's family left, and the rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out around the house, eating lots, and Leah getting spoiled by her Nana & Pawpaw. Leah slept in till between 7:30-8:30 every morning (of course she would, when Mom had volunteered to get up with her anyway!).

Friday Brett's mom gave Leah her first (much-needed) haircut. She sat very still for most of the time, very curious. She got a little fidgety, but was easily distracted by a comb. She didn't want to keep the apron on long, either. We were able to save all her thin little curls in a small bag for her baby book.

Saturday Brett & I took a 5-hour drive up to see his brother Brian. Leah stayed with her Nana, who of course loved it! She did really well, but of course she was spoiled all day! Sunday we went to church and then took a short trip to Point Comfort, where Brett grew up. We got to see his old house, church, elementary school, playground, etc. He loved the trip down memory lane. And of course we got lots of pictures.

You can see tons more pictures on the Shutterfly site! AND-- Brett's mom got us a mini video camcorder for Christmas, so soon there will be VIDEO on the Shutterfly site!

15 months old

My 15 month old:


- Will finally drink milk from a sippy cup and is down to only the morning bottle. That one is soon to go, too!

- Her favorite foods are: bananas, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni & cheese, French fries, and yogurt. She will still eat almost anything I put in front of her. She's also doing very well with a spoon now, and we're starting to work on a fork.

- Has no problems whatsoever with walking from place to place. She does try to get ahead of herself when she walks, and ends up tripping & falling flat on her face, but it usually doesn't bother her. Shortly after she figured out how to walk, she figured out how to stand without even pulling herself up on any furniture. She loves being able to keep up with the other kids in her preschool now and I love seeing her walk down the hall to music class!

- Is getting her teeth in really weird. She now has 2 new molars on top and 1 on bottom. But she skipped past the two right next to the 2 front teeth on the bottom and one on top. I'm still hoping these are what contributes to her often constant grumpiness.


- Understands a whole lot more than I sometimes give her credit for. She might not be able to say many words, but she understands what to do when I tell her to "bring me that book" or "throw that in the trash" or "Want to go outside?" (she points at the door) or "ready to eat?" and a lot of other things. I don't know why it still surprises me every time she does what I ask!

- Is most of the time very obedient. If you ask her to bring you something she has that she's not supposed to have, she will do it willingly. She of course has her ocassional temper-tantrum, but mostly she listens very well.


- Can point to her nose & her ears when asked. Doesn't so much understand where mommy's nose or ears are, though!


- Pretends to feed her baby dolls & stuffed animals with a fake bottle I gave her. She also gives them hugs & kisses (complete with kissy noises).


- Is starting to enjoy reading books much more and also sitting on people's laps. She'll pick out a book, bring it to me, and then turn herself around and plop down on my lap so I'll read it to her. It melted my heart when her book of choice the other night was her storybook Bible. I can't tell you how many times I've read her "Peekaboo Kisses"!

- Loves to dance. She holds on to her little Activity Table and bends her knees up & down, or waves her arms around. She also waves her arms around to television commercials and songs on the radio in the car.

- Also loves to be outside. Even if she's not doing anything. She likes to pick up leaves or pine needles. She likes to wander around and play with dirt. She's always so much happier after she's gotten some fresh air.

[I'm actually writing this about 3 days earlier & having it automatically post on her 15-month day since we're leaving for Texas tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving. So I will update with pictures once we get back & also her height & weight once we go to the dr. on the 3rd.]

Thanksgiving Ideas

Since the Fall, I have been attending a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group at our former church, Wake Crossroads. It is a fairly large group, maybe 40 or 50 moms, all who are in the same phase of life as I. I haven't really been super excited about going each week (it is a 30 minute drive & it is my day off from work), but it is nice to be around other moms, to fellowship, and also learn new things. And Leah gets to play with other kids her age. Each week we have breakfast, then a speaker (with topics like contentment, time management, etc.), then small group time, and then a craft.



All this to say-- Last meeting the speaker just showed us & talked to us about different traditions her family celebrates around the holidays. She was quite crafty, which I like, but no one could quite figure out how she had time for all those things!! She did inspire, me, though, to come up with some ideas & traditions of my own. Most of her ideas were for Christmas, and I'll do a separate entry about that, but since Thanksgiving is upon us, here are some crafts I have found that might be fun in the years to come.

Thankfulness Can

Her main Thanksgiving idea was a "Thankfulness Can." They decorated a regular tin can with just cut up pieces of construction paper. Then, each day leading up to Thanksgiving, each of the kids puts in the can a piece of paper telling something they are thankful for that day, with their name-- anything from "I'm thankful we ate spaghetti today" to "I'm thankful my family spent time together"-- whatever is age appropriate. Then on Thanksgiving Day, you can pull out the slips of paper & read them together to remember all you are thankful for.

Here is an alternate idea along those lines:

Thankful Wreath of Leaves

Hands-and-Feet Turkey Craft

Leah actually made a turkey like this in preschool, with her feet and hands (but I'm pretty sure the hands weren't her own-- they were too big). But I think it's a really cute idea & could be cool to show growth of the kids' hands & feet.

Card Cut-Out Placemat

I don't have a picture of this, but this is another craft we did in MOPS. We cut out phrases, cute pictures, and other cute things off greeting cards that people had already received. A good idea would be to save old birthday or Christmas cards you get, and then cut them up. We glued them all in a pretty arrangement onto a piece of legal sized paper and then covered it with contact paper to make it a placemat that can be used during the holiday season. I thought this was a great way to showcase old cards that just get stuck in a drawer.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Maybe just mentioning it made her sleep in, or maybe its the antibiotics she just started taking for her sinus infection... Maybe I shouldn't be saying anything right now! Leah's slept in till 7:00 the past 4 days. And she's woken up in a good mood. And she's still taking a good 2 hr. nap, and going to bed easily by 7:30. Don't tell her I told you...

We gave up the afternoon bottle cold turkey. I just decided it was time, since she's doing really well taking milk from a cup now. So I put all the bottles away. They're still in the cupboard, because I'm still giving her one in the morning (in decreasing amounts), but she can't see them. The first day she woke up from her nap & saw the cup she whined a minute and then pointed me toward the kitchen where the bottles usually were. When she saw they weren't there, she pointed instead at her snack sitting out waiting for her. She sat down & drank 2 full cups of milk & ate her snack. She hasn't missed that bottle since. She's started pretending to feed her baby dolls bottles now, too, (which is really sweet) so we talk about how bottles are for little babies and she's a big girl so she gets to drink from a cup.

I created a new photo website. The old Picasa site got full AGAIN, so I decided to move all the pictures over to Shutterfly, which I think has unlimited photo storage space, and allows me to create a neat site with them. You can see it here: http://codyfamily1.shutterfly.com/. I'll also update the link on the right.

She can eat with a spoon all by herself!

She discovered she REALLY loves this Elmo puppet. As soon as she sees him, she waves and then kisses & hugs him.

Isn't this the sassiest face ever?

5:30 am

Once upon a time, I had a little girl who slept like a teenager. She would wake up between 7 & 7:30 every morning, and then be ready to nap again at 10, and still take a good afternoon nap at 2. Now, I have a little girl that is full of energy and a zest for life. Lately she has been waking up sometime between 5 & 6 a.m. Now, sometimes she'll cry and I'll turn the monitor off. Five minutes later, she'll be back to sleep again. Sometimes, though, she cries until she's so upset she can't go back to sleep. So I trudge myself out of my warm bed (because I am NOT a morning person). And then I go through the mental debate every morning-- do I try to put her back to sleep so she's not grumpy all day? or do I go ahead & give her her morning bottle so she stops crying and then lay down on the couch with her for a little while? or will she be ready to play after she has her bottle? I wouldn't worry about it so much if she didn't have to go to school at 9:45 (right around the time she starts getting ready for a nap) and doesn't get a nap until 2:00! She's exhausted by then.


I have tried everything I can think of to get her to sleep later-- she has a snack before bed so she's not so hungry (and I usually try to wait her morning bottle until at least 6 so her body is not trained to be expecting it before that), she wears a bigger diaper so she's not soaking wet, I put her to bed later, put her to bed earlier... Apparently she is just a morning person, or it might just be another phase we have to get through.


I see it as another obstacle to getting rid of the bottle, too. When she wakes up, she's steaming mad & will continue to cry until she gets her bottle. (This applies for the afternoon nap too.) 5:30 is too early for a regular breakfast, and anyway, if I tried to stick her in her high chair with food in front of her, she'd get mad & push it away. (I know, because she did it after a nap once.) The bottle is a completely different story, and I do have some other ideas for getting rid of that, but I'm not sure she's ready yet.


It seems this 5:30am thing will never end. But, hopefully, I will come back & look at this post in 2 weeks and wonder why I ever bothered to worry...

Mommy/ Daughter Weekend

Brett went out of town this past weekend with his friend Steve, so it was just the kid & me. We did all kinds of fun stuff together to keep busy! We took a trip to the mall, where she ordered her very own kids meal & ate chicken nuggets & French fries for the first time. Then she got to play in the play area & drive the little quarter cars. (She really did have a lot of fun, but she wouldn't smile in any of the pictures.)

After nap time, we went to a place called Monkey Joes which has a lot of inflatables. She's really still kind of little for this place, but our $3 wasn't wasted. They did have a toddler area, but she didn't really want to play in there by herself. I took her on a couple of the big slides & she had fun, but got bored quickly. They also had a little play area with a big chalkboard, and she really liked that. We came home & played some in the leaves again, since it was a nice day.

And she's really getting good at this walking thing. The last picture is of her figuring out how to stand up on her own without using the furniture to pull up. She's got it down pat, too, and is all over the place now!

And when the kid was sleeping, I got to do some things I love to do! I am really excited about a new "cookbook" I put together, which has 6 weeks worth of menus, with recipes that I have already tried & like. Each week has 5 dinners (since we usually eat out or have pizza one or two nights a week), 2 lunches (since most of the dinners have lots of leftovers), 2 breakfasts (we usually have cereal, anyway), and a dessert. Then I put together a shopping list for each week, so all I have to do is pick which week I want to do, take the list & go to the store-- no multiple trips to the grocery store where I end up buying way more than what I came for. So this week one of the lunches was my favorite salad, the Seven-Layer Salad. And the dessert was Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. They turned out so good I had to document my success. And of course, I had time to finish about 4 pages of Leah's First Year scrapbook. (I'm up to Month 6! Maybe it will be done by the time she's 2!)

A Letter to My 14 Month Old

Leah,


I can't believe how quickly time is flying, now that you're past those newborn days. I can hardly believe you're taking steps on your own-- testing out your independence, but still falling down every few steps as if you're not quite sure you're ready for that! It's funny how excited you get when you realize you're walking without holding on to anything. You're a bundle of energy these days, waking up at 6am, ready to face the day, only stopping an hour or so for your afternoon nap. I would never have imagined you'd get into some of the things you're getting into now: trash cans, toilets, dirty clothes hampers... You always have to have something in your hands, even if it's just a tiny sticker. But you try to be such a good helper, too-- helping me turn off light switches, put clothes in the hamper, close doors... You really want to put on your own clothes, eat with a spoon, and do all sorts of things you see mommy and daddy do-- sometimes they're just too hard, but you never give up trying!


You are definately Mommy's girl. Your separation anxiety phase has officially begun and it breaks my heart to hear you cry every time I leave you with someone else. It breaks Daddy's heart, too, because even though you squeal & giggle when I just mention he's home (and even though the only word you seem to know is "daddy"), you don't want to be left with him unless I'm there too. (Of course, you always have fun together, it's just that initial getting-used-to-being-without-mommy shock.) You love to give hugs & slobbery wet kisses, but only for a second before you're off & running again. You play just fine on your own for awhile, as long as mommy's there and you can get my attention every so often. You want to feed yourself, but you also still want that bottle for your milk.

This phase-- this struggle between baby-hood and independence-- reminds me how a lot of grown-ups are with Christ's love-- we struggle for just the right amount of independence, wanting to grow in our relationship with Christ but still wanting to remain a baby, because it's so comfortable. It's something you'll face your entire life, little girl, but always remember that your mommy and daddy are here to help you grow to spiritual maturity and also to learn how to become an independent person.

You have such a love for life, Leah-- the funniest things make you laugh, like dropping things onto your head from way up high, peekaboo, tickling under your arms, jumping in your crib, and anything in the bathtub. You love to be outside, to play in the leaves, to see animals, and you love to dance and hear music. I look forward every day to seeing everything you'll learn, to seeing what will make you giggle. You remind me to stop and laugh every once in awhile, even if you don't feel well, or have had a rough day. You remind me to soak up life, because it is fleeting. You remind me that there are no worries that can't be handled with a little hug and some quiet time with Daddy.

Don't grow up too fast, little one! But know that as you do grow, Mommy & Daddy will be there by your side, capturing every moment.

Love, Mommy