New Year Already?

We had a fabulous Christmas! We hopped from house to house over several days and spent a lot of time with our families. Lea had a blast and handled all the mayhem very well. Bailey, on the other hand, hated it and spent most of the time hiding under tables or beds and behind sofa cushions. :) Now, time for some picture overload...



Cousins!



Lea's three favorite gifts were, in no particular order, a custom made rocking chair, a pillow pet and a Leapster lap top.



Skyping with Uncle Dave & Aunt Sarah



Playing in the snow!



It's hard to believe that a new year is right around the corner. So many wonderful things happened in 2010, I can only pray that 2011 will be just as good. I'm not really one for "new year's resolutions" but I did make a list of things I want to do and places I want to go this coming year. It's a list of fun things to do as a family... things like going to the zoo, camping at the lake and visiting family in FL and NM. I am looking forward to this new year and watching little Lea grow & learn even more... is that even possible? She's already changed so much! She just had her 15 month well check right before Christmas. 25th percentile for weight and 70th percentile for height. The doctor said she's perfect... but we already knew that. ;)

Yay, Christmas!

I am SO excited for Christmas this year!

Kevin came home today after two weeks in NJ (with a short weekend home in the middle). Now it feels like Christmas. ;) Lea and Bailey were so, so very excited to see Daddy walking up to the back door today. Kevin brought Lea a little stuffed giraffe from his trip and Lea just loves it.

 When you have a little dog that isn't so crazy about a toddler in the house, it's kinda hard to get a good picture of them together...

This was the best I got! lol

Our Christmas shopping is all done... gift wrapping is almost done... we might actually get some snow flurries on Christmas day... plans are all set for the next several days... and Kevin remembered that I had a tub full of old stuffed animals & dolls in the attic so Lea will be getting several more surprises from Santa! YAY!

Merry Christmas!!!


Lea's ready to open some presents!

More words...

Lea continues to say new words every day. She usually just says the first syllable of a word, but I read that any sound they make consistently for the same thing is considered a word.

Last night, as she was playing in a bubble bath, I asked her to say 'bubble'.... she immediately said "bub-bub". :)

Another thing she's into right now is her stuffed animals. She's always loved soft, fluffy stuffed animals but recently she's really been interacting with them. Almost every day she will line them all up on the sofa (or chair or floor). She makes sure they are sitting upright and gets mad if they fall over, then she talks to them. Yesterday, I am pretty sure she was scolding monkey. Her little finger was pointing in his face and she raised her babbling voice. Then, she stepped back, waited a second and proceeded to clap her hands at him so I guess monkey apologized to her. lol

Here's some adorable pics of Lea taking care of Grover...


"Want some milk, Grover?"



I'm Lovin' It!

I am really enjoying being at home with Lea. She is learning so, so much these days. Just yesterday she learned how to say "grape" (actually, she says "Gggrray").

This morning, as I was working in the kitchen, I heard Lea groaning. She sounded like she was in a little distress, so I peaked into the living room. When I saw what happened, I immediately grabbed my camera (like any caring mother would) so I could capture this....

"Help, Mama! I'm stuck!"

Lea & her stroller

Here's a cute video of Lea playing this morning. This is one of her new games... she pushes her little stroller around the house and then over to me so she can go "under the bridge" (i.e. my legs)!

Little Stinker Review

"Ew... what's that smell? Uh oh... I think the baby needs a diaper change... Not It!!!"

We've all been there, more than once. You get a nice whiff of a stinky diaper and proclaim that it's not your turn! With a 15 month old that will eat almost anything, I have been in that situation more than I can count on all my fingers and toes. I thought nothing could make stinky diaper changes more bearable. Until...

I met Kathy Dalton, CMO of Little Stinker, at the first annual EVO '10 conference. Kathy joined two other parents to form an alliance and rid the world of stinky kids. Little Stinker makes products that are natural and organic.

When Kathy first told me about her Baby Butt Spray, I was pretty skeptical. At that point, Lea was still nursing and her dirty diapers really weren't that stinky. Fast forward a few months when Lea was completely weaned and began eating almost anything.... let's just say dirty diapers took on a new meaning. Little Stinker Baby Butt Spray to the rescue! Seriously, this stuff is amazing. It's made with yummy, organic extracts like blueberry, aloe, cucumber and apple. The Lavender/Vanilla scent perfectly camouflages stinky smells while also being light and gentle enough so it's not irritating. I can't say enough good things about it... and I can't bear another dirty diaper change without it, either! You know how your baby has that particular smell that just melts your heart? It could be a special baby shampoo or laundry detergent you use. When you smell it, you know that's your baby. Well, this spray is now that for my little Lea.

Check out Little Stinker online. They have a Natural Nursing Balm and Cooling Breast Cream for nursing moms, too. These would make fabulous stocking stuffers!

Disclaimer: This review is based on my own personal opinions and experiences. I received a sample of the above mentioned product and no other form of compensation.

Words!

Lea is finally starting to say some words. I think her first word was 'Dada' and now she sometimes even says 'Daddy'. She calls me 'Mama' now, too. It melts my heart every time! Every night at dinner, we tell Bailey to "Get!" while pointing into the living room (we don't allow Bailey to sit by the table while we're eating). Well, wouldn't you know that Lea decided that would be her second word... "Git!" she yells, while pointing at the dog. lol

Lea is still signing for some things, such as 'more', 'up', 'all done', 'hungry' and 'milk' so I am now saying to her, "Can you say it in words?" when she signs. It actually worked! Yesterday Lea was holding her arms in the air (asking to get up from her high chair) and I asked her to say "Up, please." Next thing you know, she said 'Bup!' :) I am also working on 'milk' so I'll let you know how that goes.

Here's a list of words and sounds that Lea currently knows (she'll be 15 months old on Dec. 19th):

Words
Dada
Daddy
Mama
Git (Get)
Papa
Ga (Grandma)
Bup (Up)
Muh (Milk)

Sounds
Uh-uh (dog)
High pitched squeal (cat and bird)
Ggrrrrh (lion, bear, pirate)
Schhh (snake)
HmHmHm (Santa)

I feel like I am forgetting some sounds! She also waves at EVERYONE and sometimes she just waves at no one. She can blow kisses and she likes to give a kiss to anything... she kisses her stuffed animals, Bailey, books, etc. She gives sweet, short hugs and will sometimes run over and just give you a quick hug for no reason. I love it! She is starting to do the hand gestures when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". When anyone laughs, she has to laugh along. It's like she's saying, "I don't know what's so funny but I'm not going to be left out!" And, she dances.... a lot. Her moves are evolving. She used to just sort of bounce/ bop in place but now she's adding some arms and even some twirls. She loves music and will stop in her tracks to dance if she hears any type of music. :)

Friday morning we're going to see Santa. I've been showing her pictures of Santas and talking about him a lot so I hope I am preparing her a little bit. It should be interesting. I imagine it could go one extreme or the other!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

We kicked off our holiday season with Lea's very first Christmas parade. She loved the big bands, drums, trucks, dogs and flags flying around...

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. It started with Grandma Sue's side of the family the Sunday before Thanksgiving... about two dozen kids and just as many adults! After an amazing pot-luck lunch, all the kids headed outside to play. Lea fit right in as she followed the big kids around.

Wednesday night we headed to Aunt Jill & Uncle Chris' for super yummy spaghetti, lasagna, salad and bread. Lea really has a blast playing with her cousins and this visit was no exception.



Cousin Kristin making Lea laugh!

Thursday morning we headed to Grandma Sue and Papa Gene's house for another delicious meal and Lea got to play with her cousins again! Friday we spent the day cleaning and decorating for Christmas until Gramma Deb and PopPop came up for dinner. Then, Saturday we headed down to their house for Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dave. It was so wonderful to see them! Lea warmed right up to them and we all had a blast playing outside in the leaves. The weather has been just perfect the past week. We stayed so late that Lea got her jammies on before we went home. :) Sunday morning, everyone came up to our house for breakfast and one last visit before Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dave had to go back to New Mexico. We miss them already!

Now... Monday morning came along and Kevin headed back to work... but not me! It was my first official day as a stay-at-home mom. Lea and I have continued our busy trend with play dates, flu shots, grocery shopping, cookie baking, house cleaning and, yes... even laundry. :) So far, I am really enjoying my "extended vacation". We'll see what tune I'm signing after the holiday hustle and bustle.

Here's a few more pictures from the past week...





Lea got her very own Christmas tree!

Playing outside with Uncle Dave.

Lea LOVES running through the leaves!