Chubby little cubby

Leah has grown very attached to her stuffed Winnie the Pooh that Grammy gave her for Valentines Day. She snuggles him, rocks him, holds him on her lap in the car, and carries him into daycare everyday. He's become a great transitional object for her. She used to cry and/or cling to one of us when we would drop her off at daycare in the morning (and be fine as soon as we left the room!). Since having her Pooh bear, she's been fine. Maybe a little whine here and there, but that's all. I'm thankful she has a security object, and I secretly love that it's Winnie the Pooh. ;)

Not much new going on this week. We're looking forward to our visit with Aunt Laurs this weekend!

New foods and toys.

During our weekly grocery trips, I'm trying to buy a couple different foods that Leah hasn't tried in order to keep things interesting. Last week, we gave her half a peanut butter sandwich, which she gobbled right up. I also bought some pancake mix and I discovered that she will not eat plain pancakes - she has to have some maple syrup just like everyone else. ;) (I was trying to avoid sticky fingers! Oh well!) Yesterday, Dan gave her some strawberry slices for the first time. That was a no-go. She would put a piece in her mouth, make a silly pucker face, open her mouth, and let it fall out onto her lap. Ha. And she continued to do this with 4 or 5 pieces. I guess she thought she might like the next one? ;)

Dan set up Leah's new kiddie pool on Saturday. The water was pretty cold and she didn't have any interest in even sticking her feet in. But she enjoyed kneeling over the side, playing with her bath toys, and splashing. I think this will be awesome, and she'll enjoy it more and more, as the summer goes on.

Daddy's got the magic touch.

For the past week or so, Leah will only fall asleep when she's with Dan. It's wild. I can give her the bedtime bottle, try to rock with her in the nursery, let her stretch out in my arms, etc. Nothing. She stays awake. Babbles, squirms, you name it. But as soon as her dad takes her in her room, she's out like a light.

Hey, I don't mind. Whatever works! We'll take it. ;)

She's been extra whiny this weekend, especially today. I imagine it's her teeth since she always gets whiny like this when she's teething. She's got one top tooth that looks to be cutting through her gums right now, so that's gotta be killing her. She also has a bug bite on her leg from being outside a lot on Saturday, so the itching could be annoying her too. It's been a long day.

So, yeah, bedtime with Daddy? Sounds great. ;)

Big Girl Jammies

Weather is in the 80s down here, and last night I dressed Leah in some new summery pajamas that we bought at Target. These were the first two-piece jammies she's worn; she's been in infant sleepers up until now. Oh my goodness, she looked like such a big girl! It's amazing how one little detail made such a difference but suddenly, she really didn't look like a baby anymore. She was my little girl, just playing and babbling and looking so darn cute. I love it.

Apparently, she's got quite the sweet tooth too. When we picked her from daycare yesterday, her caregiver Chandre mentioned that she barely ate any regular Cheerios... but was all over the Banana Nut Cheerios that someone else had. ;) We couldn't blame her. Both Dan & I said regular Cheerios are so bland and boring that you have to put sugar on them to taste any good. Ha.

Current Stats

Let me bring everyone up to date on the basics:

Leah had her 1 year checkup last week. She currently weighs 21 lbs 8oz and is 29 inches long. She had 3 vaccines and they pricked her big toe to check for anemia. Poor girl.

She currently has 7 teeth. 4 on top, 3 on the bottom.

At around 11 months, Leah refused all baby food. She only eats table food now and she HAS to feed herself. ;) Her favorite things so far seem to be hamburger, bananas, and Olive Garden breadsticks.

We're DONE with formula! YIPPEE! We're on to whole milk, which is wonderful and so economical. We're also down to 2 bottles per day (first thing in the morning and bedtime). She drinks from sippy cups throughout the rest of the day.

No walking yet. She is mastering standing on her own and has been cruising a lot more. And she still loves to crawl super fast everywhere.

Words she can say: Mama, Dada, Bye, Pooh-ba (Pooh Bear), Ba (for bottle or ball, depending on what's in her sight) and sometimes I swear she says Da-ba (for "Dodgeball"). She also understands that a doggy says "woof woof" (she'll go "uh uh") and she claps whenever we cheer and say "Yay!". Other than that, she loves to babble in her own Leah language. :)

Welcome to Our New Blog

Everyone knows life with a one year old is a busy thing. Crawling, cruising, walking, talking, eating, playing, whining. It's neverending.

Still, I want a place to document our daily lives when I do have a moment to breathe. To inform family and friends, to remember in years to come, to make sense of as we travel along this parenting road. We survived the first year, so we're off to a positive start. ;)

So, here it is. Life with Leah. Enjoy. :)