Chatty Little Leah

Leah vocabulary has exploded over the last few weeks, and I am loving it! A few of her favorite words and phrases are "I do!" (as in, who wants some ice cream?), "O-tay" (okay), "Yep!" "Butt-ine" (Baby Einstein- that one took a while to figure out) and "Mere!" (Come here). A few more favorites are "mingo" (flamingo), "llama" and "hee-po" (hippo)- all characters from our favorite books. After falling down, Leah will say "ouch", "oww", or "hurt", then "wash" since her hands are dirty. Such a little ham.

There's No Place Like Home

We survived our trip to Denver, and had a really good time in the process! Leah had so much fun getting to know her aunties 'Jenny', 'Shelle', 'Sahhh' and 'Emine' and the puppies 'Jack Jack' and Mollee'. We visited with lots of relatives, checked out a hot new bakery (owned by Jason's cousin) and Leah even did really well sleeping there (a small miracle, in itself).

We visited the Museum of Nature and Science, and saw a lot of neat things... mainly huge stuffed animals and this pickled human brain.

Leah blew huge bubblesShook her little maracas on stage

and learned about wind with Scientist Jason.

Do you love Baby Einstein as much as we do? There is a clip in one video that uses this same hand puppet to tell the following joke: Girl: Why did the bee go to the doctor?

Bee: Why?

Girl: Because he had hives!!!!

You're An Animal!

Leah usually won't let us dress her up in the silly costumes they have in museums, so Jason and I dress ourselves up for our own amusement...

Hearing through the ears of a donkey...

The glamorous life of a woodland creature...

6 Month Comparison

There is a growth chart at the Children's Museum that we took Leah's picture against in November, when we were there last, and again just last weekend. It looks like she's grown from the head of a penguin to the shin of a giraffe. Yay!

At the Denver Museum of Science and Nature, we also learned that she is the size of this small prehistoric dinosaur.

Children's Museum

We have decided to make a tradition out of visiting the Denver Children's Museum everytime we are in Colorado. Highlights from this trip included fishing with Daddy

Aarrrg- a happy little pirate!
Four-wheeling in the park
Checking out a squirrel's nest Holy smokes! A surprise visit from our best little friend Bence! The Pinkals were in Colorado, too, and made the trip to meet us at the museum- Leah and Bence had a blast together, mostly playing with rocks in the lawn outside of the museum... go figure.

Recovering...

We survived the car trip! Leah did really well both ways, although we've been home since Tuesday and have yet to get in the car again.

On the trip, Leah was happy to sing along with Standin' Tall. And when things got boring, she just sucked on her toes (something she never did as a baby).
Baby Einstein helped Leah make it through Aunt Sarah's graduation.
Okay, it helped me, too.
We had a great trip, but we are so glad to be home again! I think Leah speaks for us all when she says

Good Grief!

Look at this cute little peanut that I get to spend my days with.

We explored the sewing machine today. Halfway through, Leah let out a little toot. I didn't say anything, and didn't think she had noticed, until she looked up at me and said, "Boop!" ...hee hee hee...

Halleluia!

Leah has said "Amen" at the end of prayers for a while now, but lately she has been singing the good Lord's praises at any ol' time. Like a friend in church said as she said "Amen" during someones talk, she sounds like a miniature evangelical preacher.

Road Trip!

We are going to Denver this week for Jason's sisters graduation. We've only made the 16-hour round trip drive once since Leah's been with us, and that time we actually spent the night in Wyoming halfway through. I thought traveling with a six month old might be a bit overwhelming... Ha! What did I know? This time around, we are driving straight through, stopping only when necessary, and hoping for the best. So, I'm wondering if anyone has any great ideas for toys/snacks/activities that are fail-proof in the car... I'm going to need all the help I can get!

The above is my favorite picture from last years trip. Notice the naked bum and the dark spot... when will a mommy learn?

Disco Fever

My sister Heather had an awesome disco 70's style birthday party last night, and we had a blast dressing up and gettin' down. Here are a few highlights. We played the Newlywed Game, boogied down, and Jason even won best costume! No, my mom isn't pregnant. But in 1978 she was, so she gets the prize for the most authentic costume!


It was a great party. Happy Birthday, Heather!

Name Calling

Leah is really into labeling right now, and wants to know the name of every thing and person she sees. When she wakes up from her naps, she points to everything in her room and asks, "What's this?" (Which actually sounds more like "Us siss?") and then we go around the room and name everything. She has a pretty impressive vocabulary, with words like "whale" and "hot dog" making their debuts daily.


She also loves names, and has grouped most parent/child teams into one person. We all know and love "Ahbee" (Megan and Aubrey Nelson, interchangeably), "Tredor" (Trevor Francis, the cool big kid neighbor) and my personal favorite "Anna" (the main character of a library book). And the newest team, "Bay-ah" (Bea and Bence Pinkal). It is so fun to hear all that Leah has to say!

A New Love

Milk Chocolate Buttercreams from See's Chocolates.

Here is their online description:

"Ah, the splendors of See's oh-so-delicate Buttercreams! Filled with a nearly perfect concoction of vanilla, butter, and cream, these candies have a habit of sneaking into your consciousness at odd hours. They beckon you to find the box that holds them, pick one out, and bite down into its luscious softness. They're almost unbelievably satisfying, any time of day."

How did they know? That is exactly how I feel about them... A 2 pound box for $36? Well worth it, in my opinion.

Mothers Day!

I love Mothers Day. And this year was a great one. Jason and Leah spoiled me all day long, and it was so much fun. I love being a mom, and I am constantly amazed at all the silent work that all mothers do every day to raise their children. What an amazing force we are!

I also love my "sweet little tiny" who is such a big girl and still such a baby all at the same time. When she sleeps in my arms, I love watching her sucking reflex and her dream smiles (just like when she was days old). But I love her strong personality- the other day Jason called us for dinner, and I replied "Not now, Dad, we're busy!" then Leah chimed in with a "Yeah!" She cracks me up.

And I love my husband, who works so hard for our family so that I can stay home with Leah (a role that took some getting used to, but now I wouldn't have it any other way), who spoils me any chance he gets, and who is such a great dad.

Weekend Getaway

For our four year anniversary Jason and I went to the Homestead Resort in Midway, and left Leah with Grandma and Grandpa. We had so much fun there- it is a lot like Kellermans from Dirty Dancing- lots of bungalows and activities and... well, there weren't any Patrick Swayze-look-alikes as far as I could see, but you get the idea. Anyway, we took a dip in the 65-foot-deep natural crater, had a rather interesting dinner experience, slept in, got massages, and topped it all of with a trip to the Timpanogos Temple. It was so much fun, and Leah did great the whole time we were gone. Who could ask for anything more? Since Leah wasn't with us, we didn't think to take a whole lot of pictures, but this is what we ended up with.

Views of the crater, complete with scuba divers! The worker guy promised me there were no living creatures in the water, and at 95 degrees, I think he was right! It was great!

Asian Baby

More often than you would think, people ask me if Leah is Asian, or actually, if her dad is Asian. Jason's sisters get it all the time (they are all half Mexican, Leah is a fourth). I never really saw it until I saw this picture.

Moving Up in the World

We finally bought a new carseat for Leah this past weekend, and we all love it! Now that she is old enough and big enough, it was time to make the switch. She has been surprisingly quiet in the car since she's been turned around, since there is a whole new world to check out from the comfort of her seat. She loves the seat, but of course, the best part is the box. We were running late to church, so Leah thought it would be best to finish brushing her teeth in the car.

Another Room with a View

Not quite the same, but still pretty darn cute!

Fashionista

Some days, Leah likes to dress herself...