Jibber Jabber

According to our baby books… Leah should be able to say a word by the time she is a year. (Less than 3 weeks people!!!)

 

Now… is this word supposed to be a real English word, that is widely understood by others!?

 

Leah talks… a lot.   But we cannot understand any of it!   It is all in her own special language.  

 

She says multiple “words” that go beyond the typical “da da da” and “ma ma ma”. 

 

She frequently says “Apt” “Bop” “Dodat” just to name a few… but we have no clue what these “words” mean!!!

 

She will just look at you, repeating the “Apt” in different tones, titling her head….

 

What on earth does it mean!?!

 

We need a translator.

 

I Believe...

=

… sleep is seriously overrated.  Red Bull is all you need…. today though I am so tired I am on the verge of tears.   Way too much to do though.

… Next week is a BIG week for me.  Send positive thoughts my way!

… having a clean house is a great feeling, but sometimes knowing a house is full of love and a happy family is more important than a clean house.

… Husbands are sometimes completely oblivious.   Yesterday Brian took Leah into Daycare with only one shoe on and didn’t even notice until the teacher said something!  He has also been known to bring her home with only 1 shoe.

… I NEED a DSL camera!  If everyone who plans to buy me Christmas or birthday presents for the next year could just pool their money together, that would be superb!

… Leah will be a sassy little thing someday.  We might be in for it when she hits the terrible 2s… or maybe we are already there?   Just look at her “I am not happy” face!   … and yeah, she makes it about every 10 minutes it seems! Give it back to her, and then she will a “fine!” face.



… sisters are built in best friends.   I love seeing my sister and I’s relationship grow!

… the mail system is AMAZING!  Just think about it!   They receive millions of pieces of mail every day, are able to sort it correctly (with a few mistakes here and there, but come on, we all make them!) and can even get things across the country in less than 24hrs!   Before I die I seriously want to take a tour of a post office, or UPS hub!

… I might be losing weight just from the fact that I am a mom… I have to share everything I eat, spend most of my time cutting up her food and making sure she is eating, and then when she is done, mom is done.  

Things I learned this past year

As we are approaching the 1 yr mark I have been thinking about all of the life lessons I have learned...

• I am not the important one, but SHE is.   Your life revolves around her... her naps, her eating schedule, her bedtime...
• My life seemed to have no purpose until she came along.   She is the reason why we work, we strive to be better, we dream for more.
• Time is precious.   Time with her, time to myself, time with my husband, time to get things done.  Even when I previously thought that I wasted my time laying on the couch or just crawling into bed to watch some TV, it is appreciated now, and amazing when I get the chance!
• Sleep is overrated. Caffiene is necessary.
• Once you become a parent you will always have 800 things on your mind.
• If you get up in the middle of the night with the baby, try to keep your mind shut off... otherwise you will be up for hours, as I currently am writing this at 3:55 am and have been up for an hour and a half already!
• There really is no point to pick up anything anymore... the house may look nice during naptime, but as soon as she is up, everything goes right back to how it was before.
• I used to never understand how people could have such a horrible memory.  I used to be able to rememeber EVERYTHING.... that talent has been slipping, but only for the fact that I have way too much to try to remember!
• I now understand fully when people say that children will never love their parents as much as parents love their children.   I understand my parents love for me, and I LOVE Leah, and know she will never know how much that is until she has children of her own.
• I seriously feel  sorry for those who choose to never have childen of their own... they truely are the most AMAZING things ever and they are severly missing out!
• I figured out what never ending love truly means and how indescribable it really is.

Very blurry, dark, and short

But its something!!

Anxiety

Its 2 weeks from test day and the anxiety is seriously beginning to set in.  

For the past week I have started to have issues sleeping... I wake up in the middle of the night and just cannot fall back to sleep....

Then last night the true aniexty hit....

I started to feel ovewhelmed... and it didnt really occur to me until we were trying to settle down to watch a movie when I realized I HAD TO CLEAN THE HOUSE!

My heart started beating FAST, I felt like I could hurl,  I just felt like I HAD to clean, and I was taking my frustrations out on Brian.

Poor Brian... I do this every time... but usually its days before, not weeks before....

I dont know why a dirty house is what "turns it on" but all of a sudden I just look around and I just see everything out of place, everything is unorganized, and I just have to get in under control!

I suggested to Brian that maybe he should help me keep the house spotless for the next few weeks, and then maybe I can keep myself under control....

13 more days.

My little teaser

Leah is tall and she is already using it to her advantage.

 

I saw it with my own eyes when I dropped her off at Daycare the other morning.

 

Leah has a “friend” named Madeline in her class.  She is 4 days younger that Leah and a little one… tiny for her age and the complete opposite of Leah.

 

When we arrived at daycare I put Leah on the floor where she hurried over to the bookshelf of toys and pulled herself up to stand.   Madeline also came over to play.  They were both going for the same toy when Leah grabbed it first.  Leah then proceeded to hold the toy in the air, above Madeline’s head, and shake it!   Madeline just stood with her arms outstretched, trying to grab the toy from Leah, but Leah continued to hold it up high, just outside of her reach!   

 

 

Entering Toddlerhood

Its been a pretty big day in the Gilmore household.

Leah has been standing constantly.... took 4 steps in a row.... and we went bottle free!

Sunday was the day of her official first steps and her Daddy was the lucky one who witnessed them!! I think her doing it created such a reaction from Brian and then me trying to get her to do it again she was just way too excited, squealing up a storm, and just couldnt pull herself together enough to do it again.   But you could totally tell she was just as proud of herself as we were of her!  

Tonight I was sitting on the floor, watching Teen Mom (I love) when I looked over and Leah was just standing alone and looking at me! I said something like "Whoa Leah!" and Brian hurried into the room to see her.   By the time Brian got near she had fallen on her butt, but Brian stood her right back up... and then she took 4 steps to me!!!!!!   They were very slow and steady as if she was really thinking hard about moving those feet, but she did it!!   We got her to take a few more after that, but she only did about 2 at a time .... but the rest of the night she has been standing all over the place!!   It is crazy how much stronger she has gotten in the past 48 hours!!     She will be taking over the house before we know it!!

And remember my post about my 1 year old rules?  Well I got a little anxious... last night I just could not stand the sight of another bottle, let alone cleaning that sink full of bottles, so I made the executive decision to clean them one last night and pack them up!!   She has been bottle free for 24 hours now and she doesnt seem to have a problem with it!!   WhooHoo!!   Now only 2 more weeks of formula and we are practically home free!!

Now considering that these BIG milestones happened in the same day,  my heart is hurting a little.  She is definitely not a little baby anymore.  We are really entering this next stage at super speed!!! She is truly growing up in a blink of an eye!

And might I add that she climbed up the entire flight of stairs from our basement to family room completely alone (Dad following behind her) and today her teacher informed me that she "really likes to throw things". 

We might just have our handsful with this one!

She is Beautiful...

... and absolute perfection. ... even with a little chocolate on her face.

Anna and Vince Tied the Knot!

Anna and Vince are an adorable couple that have been together almost as long as Brian and I.   I remember the first time I met Vince, he came down to Cape for a Rodeo or Monster Truck show and wanted to dress the part so he appeared looking like a country boy....and Anna is a saddy, heel wearing, sparkle and pink loving girl...    I remember telling Anna "Who on earth is he!?"  and she assured me that he ususally did not dress like that, and she didnt know what he was thinking....   The next 2 years of college we all got to spend alot of time  together.   They are probably one of our favorite couples, but sadly we have not had the chance to see each other much since we entered the real world.   Jobs and babies can make things difficult....

But I am so glad we had the chance to celebrate with them this weekend.  They had the most perfect winery wedding Saturday night.   The weather was perfect, the trees were beginning to change, and the wine was great!

Oh and see those candles above, there was one pretty much sitting on my shoulder! I was very lucky I did not burn my hair off!

The Fab 3 ... Oh and Anna drinking BEER?!

I love her!

Brian and I had a great night away as well... no baby, a night in a hotel, and no needing to drive anywhere...

Bc we got to ride in the limo with them!

Best wishes Anna and Vince!! Enjoy Hawaii this week!  Very Jealous!

Oh yeah... we went to leave the next morning we had a flat tire!!   Just had to make it even more memorable! Luckily it happened before we got on the highway... and then we hung out at my parents house all day waiting for Dobbs to put a new one on.  

Retro Leah

2 months young...

1 year old rules

1. No more bottles! They will be packed away for Leah's future siblings. She already has no problem drinking out of a sippy cup so this should not be an issue. She currently only gets a bottle before bed and in the morning, but I think we can easily switch it with a sippy cup.

2. No more formula! Whole milk all the way! Since Leah is already a seasoned sippy cup drinker, and I premake her cups for daycare, which then sit in the fridge and she drinks them cold, hopefully the switch to whole milk wont be too rough. The taste just might be different.... Lets hope her pickiness in food does not effect this.

3. I shall let Leah try to feed herself with a spoon/fork. This one will be HARD! When it comes to her eating apple sauce or yoguart (both of which she loves) I insist on feeding it to her even though she is continually trying to grab the utensil and cup from me. How will she ever learn to be civilized if I do not let her try and learn? This one will seriously be rougher on me than Leah.

4. Phasing out the binkie. Binkie will only be allowed for sleeping. Sleeping includes bedtime, naptime, and long car rides. At the pumpkin patch last weekend we met a little girl that was 2 and was talking to her mom thru her binkie! I was shocked! I will not let Leah do that. This might be a bit of a struggle... but it has to be done. Then hopefully thru-out the year we break the addiction completely, but one step at a time.

5. The carseat will be turned around!! This one wont come soon enough! Our tall girl currently sits with her feet propped up on the seat. This will be a nice trasition for everyone!


...and on to Toddlerhood we go!

I believe...

... that change is on the horizon.


... that even though Leah will be 1 next month, she is still my little baby. She reminded me this morning when she woke up early and just wanted to be cuddled and rocked!

... that I desperately need a vacation and Jamacia sounds very nice!

... we are entering the greatest time of the year! Halloween, a Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... I love all the festivities!

... it is 100% OK to cater Leah's first birthday! I am willing to spend alittle bit more so that I dont have to figure out what to make and when to get it done. Now is it OK to hire a maid as well?

... I can pretend to be crafty by finding SUPER easy projects. Maybe sometime I will be able to do something more complicated!

... that its about time Leah starts walking... she just wore a hole in the knee of a pair of jeans from crawling so much!! She has definitely been getting stronger and is working on her balance. Who wants to bet if she will start by her first birthday or not?

... that this has been the fastest year of my life!!!! It has also been the greatest.

... that Brian and I have too many dreams for the future and I sometimes wonder if we will actually be able to acheive them all... I hope!

... that my next car just might be a dodge caravan! HA! Its the car we have been eyeing and pricing so that we know what we need to save.

just finished working on first birthday invitations...

There really is  not much more to say....

I am going to go check on my little girl now....

test < 4 weeks

Yeah, I am freaking out a little bit!

I have yet to take any practice exams... I am not sure if I want to know the scores I get...

However, I dont think I can possibly know this material anymore than I do right now... Let hope that means something.

I have been studying when I can... Lunch breaks, during nap time.... but I do have a pretty awesome study partner....

Im starting her love for Math early.  

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

We had an amazing family fun time at the pumpkin patch this morning.      It just might have been my favorite activity yet! I am sure its just because Leah is getting older and can enjoy more things!  

She would not let go of her snack cup, even though it was empty.

Daddy and Leah on old fire truck

I love our family!

Excited for our train ride!!!

Im just a bit too big for it huh?   I had a hard time getting out!

Cute, but Leah is trying to escape us!

So sweet!

Leah loved the hayride!

My favorite picture from the day!! I think I will have to frame it, get a cute halloween picture frame, and get it out every year!

We each got our own pumpkin... Leah LOVES hers!

She would not let go of it even when we left!

I loved out trip to the Pumpkin Patch!! I am even more excited to know that each year will just get more and more fun! :)