11 Months

What you've been up to this month:

* You’re dancing skills have improved! You’ve added some hip action to your dance repertoire.

* Your new favorite song is "Baby Leah" (aka "Silly Willy").

* You are a pro at walking now.

* Your favorite places to explore are the refrigerator, pantry, and bathroom... of course, all of the places you’re not allowed!

* You're sleeping through the night 90% of the time.

* You learned a new word: BABA = bottle.

* We can finally have peaceful dinners together. We purchased a new booster seat for you. This one actually keeps you in! No more standing on the high chair or climbing out.

* You’ve learned how to sign “all done.”

* You love to play with your BFF Norah. You always have a big smile on your face when daddy drops you off at Sarah's on Tuesday's.

* You love your fruits and vegetables. A few of your favorites are bananas, grapes, and peas.

* You know how to turn off the lights.

* You went to the Iowa State Fair for the first time.

* You are such a social butterfly. You love saying hi and good bye to complete strangers, e.g., the lady behind us at the check-out register and the man walking his dog across the street.

* You love love LOVE music.

* You have learned to climb onto the couch.

* You're even a pro at getting off the couch, bed, or anything high up. You've figured out that you must go down with your feet first.

* You hate loud noises, especially the vacuum and blender.

* You got four new teeth this month!

* You love when mommy brushes your teeth. You think it’s so silly!

* You love giving kisses. Actually, I just overheard your dad lecturing you on this. This is what he said: "You know someday, Leah, you'll learn that giving open mouth kisses is not always appropriate." :)

WOW... just one more month till you turn one! Where has the time gone?! We love you!

ROADTRIP: part two

We made it!

We had so much fun in California visiting with all of our family and friends. To add even more excitement to our trip, we were able to take Leah to the Aquarium of the Pacific and Disneyland. Here are some photos from our visit:

Leah with her Cousin Fletcher

Leah with her favorite princess.... BELLE!
Mickey's House

Unfortunately our plan to take Leah on some rides at Disneyland was cut short. During the four hours we were there, we only went on two rides. The first ride was The Pirates of the Caribbean. The second ride was The Scary Adventures of Snow White. As you can see in the first picture below, I made the mistake of feeding Leah some crackers on the ride. Within minutes of stepping off the ride Leah threw-up. After that, we decided that we would spend the rest of our time walking around the shops. We still had a great time and we can't wait to go back next year when Leah can appreciate it a little more. :)

10 Months

What you've been up to this month:

* Your favorite game to play is chase with your daddy. You think it's so funny when he crawls after you around the house.

* You love to point at everything.

* You've even added pointing to your dancing... you'll start pointing your fingers to the sky while you bounce up and down to music. It's very cute!

* You are crazy! You are the most energetic baby I know. You always have to be on the move.

* You love to yell. Daddy says you're just warming up your vocal cords for your future singing career.

* To mommy and daddy's dismay, you've become more stubborn. You show us you're upset if we don't give you what you want.

* You can sort of say "Uhh Oh", though it sounds more like "Oh Oh."

* You took your first steps!

* You went on your first road trip. We drove through Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, California, Utah, and Wyoming. You were such a trooper in the long car rides!

* You went to Disneyland for the first time and thanks to mommy's friend Alex, you had a private meeting with Belle.

* You visited the Aquarium of the Pacific with Aunt Amy and cousins Fletcher and McKenna. You loved looking at all of the sealife.

* You like to play peak-a-boo while you're in the car seat. You'll hold the blanket over your face and pull it down when mommy says "BOO!"

* Your top two front teeth came in!

* You're getting more hair. It is very light and it has a reddish tint to it.

* Your new favorite thing to do is growl at people. Once again, I think you get this from your father. I may need to have a talk with him about this.

* You are talking more and more.

* You spent your first day in prison. Hopefully it was your last day too! :)

Wyoming Frontier Prison

* We took you to the beach for the first time. Your favorite thing to do was eat the sand. Silly girl!

* You can eat the same meals mommy and daddy eat, plus a few others (see above).

* You are showing more of an interest in cartoons.

* You have a new cousin. Cousin Jack Riley was born on July 21st.

Several people have stopped mommy and daddy to tell us how beautiful you are. We had a guy stop us twice in Vegas to tell us that you needed to be on television. Another person stopped us at the grocery store to tell us that we needed to have more kids since you're so beautiful.

I normally try not to brag, but I've come to realize that it's my job as your mother. If I did not brag about you, there would be something wrong with me! Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but you have such a great personality and sweet soul. We could not be more proud!

My Long Overdue 4th of July Post

So here it is. Sorry it took me longer than a week to post these pictures. We've been out of town visiting family. Still trying to get back into the normal swing of things.

This Fourth we decided to stay home for a change. It ended up being a great idea. On Saturday night, John and Jeannie joined us for some music in the park. Each year Coralville offers a free concert at S.T. Morrison Park during the weekend of the Fourth. One year they featured the band "Guess Who"; this band is probably best known for their song "American Woman." This year they featured the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band." To be honest, I had never heard of them, but when I mentioned it to Jeannie she jumped up in excitement. Being a true Texan, she was very familiar with the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band." I thought -- if Jeannie knows and likes them, then it must be good!

We were not disappointed. We had a blast at the concert! These guys are probably in their 60's now, but they had so much energy on stage. When Leah wasn't busy greeting everyone around us, she loved bouncing up and down to the music. She's our little social butterfly!

Leah socializing with everyone at the concert

On the night of the Fourth, we had friends from our small group over at our house for a barbecue. That night we were able to grill our food minutes before it started to rain. We were convinced that the fireworks downtown would be cancelled. The rain let off around 9pm so we decided to walk downtown and see if they were still having the show. We stopped a police officer to ask him and he said that the show was still on. He also let us know that we could stand on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the Iowa River for the best views. We went over to the bridge and there was barely anyone there. Everyone either (1) did not know about this amazing spot OR (2) thought the show was cancelled. It was like we had front row seats! This was Leah's first fireworks show and she loved it. At first she was hesitant, did not want to be passed to Daddy, but she just stared at the lights in amazement. Not one cry!

Leah enjoying some 4th of July cupcakes

Of course, right when we walked back into our house we heard a loud sound coming from outside. When we opened the door it was pouring rain. God cleared the sky just for us to pay tribute to our wonderful country!

Leah is walking!

Leah is much more mobile these days... she has started walking around the house. Here is a video of her taking a few steps: