Wednesday, October 28, 2009

(almost) Wordless Wednesday - Tasty Treat

While I was making dinner LeAnne was creating her own tasty treat!


I love how she celebrates her successful transfer of the treat! lol!




For more Worldess Wednesday fun, visit 5 Minutes For Mom's.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Good Family Fun with Pumpkins

It was a great weekend for our family! We finished all we set out to do as far as chores go then Sunday we made a trip to the Klickers Pumpkin Patch, did a bit of Christmas shopping for LeAnne and carved our pumpkin after dinner but before bath.

LeAnne was great entertainment at the pumpkin patch. It was like she was on a mission to make sure every pumpkin was standing upright. Once they were upright she would lean down next to them. Sometimes she would try to take a bit, other times it was like she was smelling it or listening to it. It was cute! Of course she LOVED climbing the mountain of straw. The slide was a big hit this year. She went down the first time with daddy and the next time wanted to go by herself.

LeAnne on her mission to make sure all the Pumpkins were standing up straight.



Inspecting the stem?


What is she doing? Hugging the pumpkin? Listening to it? lol


Going down the slide with daddy! Wee!!


Daddy & LeAnne on the mountain of straw


Here she goes, down the slide by herself! :-)


Wee!


Laying in the straw people watching


It's time to carve our pumpkin!

What are you doing daddy?


You want me to stick my hand in there? uh NO!


I'll watch & use a spoon thanks!


Pumpkin is yummy!


Okay I see mama playing in the pumpkin guts so I'll give it a try.


That's one neat friendly Jack-O-Lantern Daddy!



She had a blast playing in the pumpkin guts & helped us separate the seeds for a tasty treat!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

2 Year Wellness Check up & Shots


LeAnne now weighs 26lbs 15 ounces (1 oz shy of 27lbs), is 34 inches long and I don't recall the measurement but Dr said she's in the 80th percentile for her head circumference. She's gotta have a big head to store all those brains! So she's on track to be tall, skinny and smart! Ha ha!

She was one unhappy girl the second we walked into the exam room. She didn't want the nurse or Dr touching her, she screamed and clung tightly to me. Poor girl wasn't happy at all. Her doctor says she's one healthy girl. His words about how to handle her emotions/tantrums/terrible 2's were reassuring. He says ignoring her when she's screaming will get her to stop fastest. That any positive or negative attention is still attention and she'll play to the audience longer. lol! The next 2 things he said kinda have my head spinning a little. He said she needs to be done with having a pacifier as soon as possible. He said they like them to be done at 15 months and at 3 years old it can start to do permanent damage to her teeth. Ahhh she loves her binky! So now I'm trying to figure out the best way to get rid of the binky. Do we have a binky round up and she goes cold turkey? Do we only start letting her have it in her crib and then eventually just lose it? hmmm! Suggestions? The other thing that has me perplex is potty training. He said girls usually train closer to 2 years old, that we should help her develop a word for what she is doing, training goes better if its more her idea and a positive experience. He suggested rewards like big girl panties, a snack or a toy. My concerns are this; how do I start, how do I help her understand she is suppose to go on the potty, I was thinking about having her try ever 15 minutes but I can see her getting mad at me, and will she get the concept if I say okay you go potty on the big girl toilet and you can have a balloon? I know I will look back at this someday and think its silly I was overwhelmed.

She was really unhappy when she had to get one shot at the Dr office then we went over to the Flu shot clinic to get her and I a flu shot. She soon forgot about being upset and had a wonderful day with daddy. Then it all came back to her when she saw the band aids on her legs during bath time. She was traumatized all over again. Poor girl! She ended up going to bed at 7pm because she was exhausted.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - LeAnne Laughing

LeAnne was laughing at our silly cavalier king Charles spaniel, Bella, who was spinning. Bella is the best ever lap dog, very cute but also very neurotic and not the brightest dog.






For more wordless Wednesday fun head over to 5 Minutes for Mom's.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

LeAnne's 1st B-day party & Random babblings from Mama bear

LeAnne was invited & attended Drake's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Drake & his parents live a few houses away from us and they seem like a very nice family! We have been trying to connect to get to know each other better so when we got the birthday invite I was very excited. The party was in the late afternoon so I was really nervous how are little girl would behave. She's a morning person and afternoon/evening time can be rough. She was scared of Drake's dad and all the people but the funniest thing was when we got in the door I put her down and she went straight up to Drake's mom and wanted her to pick her up. lol! She had lots of fun coloring, playing with Drake's toys and just wandering around. She didn't want to eat any of the dinner, but I wasn't surprised because she doesn't like spaghetti. She's not much into any pasta and will only eat rice once in a while. She did enjoy a piece of cake after helping Drake to blow out his birthday candles. Opening gifts was interesting, LeAnne helped and took to Drake's Thomas the Train very quickly. Drake is a very sweet little boy. I had a fun time talking to Drake's mama and found out that the kids go to the same Pediatrician & get this both have their 24 month appointments on Tuesday. :-) All in all it was a lot of fun! LeAnne only had a few minor melt downs over sharing and got pretty upset as we left because she wanted his Thomas the Train. His mama invited us to join them for some Halloween fun & trick or treating.

Halloween isn't a holiday I care for, would rather not celebrate, but I think we can find a happy place for this holiday. John and I will have to chat, but I think we must talk with her when she's old enough to understand, then if she ONLY dresses up in friendly costumes and attends Harvest festivals she won't feel we deprived her or be drawn to it because we just say no. It would also be a good time for her to learn about spreading the good news through distributing tracts or messages with the candy.

Prayers appreciated
Would you please pray that Drake's family & our family would develop a friendship. They seem like really nice people. I would also appreciate your prayers in regards to our family getting our buns back to church next Sunday. The plan is to go to Trinity Baptist Church in Walla Walla next Sunday. They are similar to the church we went to in Renton. We've had a rough time getting connect to a church and it's become easy to make excuses for not going. I think its very important for our family be apart of a church body so we can grow as Christians, so we can be connect with other believers, and so we can give back using the spiritual gifts God has blessed us with. Thank-you! One more prayer request; Would you pray for John's neck - He's been in a lot of pain. He will need to have surgery sometime in the near future to do a fusion. It will be a bit of a financial burden when he's off work for the surgery & on light duty (not getting full pay) and he's pretty nervous about the surgery and recovery time. I just want my man to feel better! Thank-you!

Have I told you lately how much I love being a wife & a mama? I love, love, love my awesome husband! I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an incredible man as my husband!! I am thankful for the leader he is in our home & at work. I am thankful for the care he takes of our home! I love how he finds time to connect with me although I do think we are over due for a date night. I appreciate the relationship he has with his daughters! I love how he supports me and encourages me. I love his playfulness! I love, love, love being a mama to our girls! I can't wait until Christmas when we have our whole family together for a short while. Oh how I miss our Amanda girl! I look forward to hugging her a lot, being able to tell her in person that I love her, watching the girls interact together & with daddy, and all the holiday memories we will make. I am so thankful God blessed our life with LeAnne. For a while there I was questioning if I would ever give birth to a child. Praise God! Thank-you Lord! Being LeAnne's mama is so COOL! I love watching her ever changing personality develop before my eyes! I had a chance this weekend to snuggle with her for about 45 minutes after she woke up from a nap & I enjoy kissing her, rubbing her back and just smelling her. I remember the many times we took naps in the chair together. She was so little then. Last night I really noticed that she's already starting to find things she must do before bed to put off reading then going to bed. ha ha it starts early! Our little family doesn't quite feel complete though. LeAnne needs a sibling and I'll admit I yearn to be pregnant again. The hubby & I have talked and I think another bundle of joy is in our future when the time is right and if it's in God's plan to bless us again. Stay tune & lift us up in prayer...

I am sure I could keep on babbling but it's just about time for me to take LeAnne to mom's, get her settled and head to work. I am looking forward to seeing my student today. He and a lot of other kids were out sick the all of last week with the flu. One day we only had 11 out of 28 kids at school. I felt lost without my purpose for being there but I did get to take some paid time off to be at home with LeAnne. I hope ya'll have a blessed week! LeAnne has her 24 month wellness check on Tuesday so I'll post her stats. :-)

LeAnne & I play with her Playdough almost every day. Yesterday she figured out how to make this tool work and was so excited!


Ready, set GO!


Watching her truck race across the kitchen floor!


This busy picture shows her faithful K-9 Companions are never far from her side and she was having a blast coloring in one of her new big books. I love how her feet are crossed and her sock monkey has one let sticking up. LOL!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Almost Wordless Wednesday - 2 year old fun!

LeAnne' trying to get a taste of her birthday cake.


Check out the Pantaloons that came with her dress! :-)



Thank-you Cousin for the Playdough! LeAnne plays with Playdough while mama cooks dinner.



Taking her Monkey, Elmo & some other stuff shopping.



She LOVES playing with Grandma Marcia's tape measure.



For More Wordless Wednesday fun head over to 5 minutes for moms

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday Princess!

Happy birthday LeAnne! None of us can believe you are already 2 years old. It seems like just yesterday daddy & I brought you home from the hospital. Looking back now I see how clueless I was about what it really means to be a mama! Being your mama has changed who I am. I've learned more about myself, my faith has been tested & strengthened, I've been forced outside my cozy comfort zone and I survived sleep deprivation! It has been amazing to watch you develop! At this moment I'm looking out our dinning room window at you cleaning the leaves off of daddy's truck and watching him change his windshield wipers. My heart is overflowing with love for you and your daddy. You are one beautiful busy lil bee! Daddy & I love you very much little girl!

LeAnne's birthday party was awesome! LeAnne wore her Minnie Mouse dress tha Auntie Katie brought her from Disneyland and of course she wore the ears earlier in the day but when I put the dress on her she'd have nothing to do with them. My mama made LeAnne the most adorable Minnie Mouse birthday cake! Our house was packed with family eating Papa Murphy's pizza, catching up and watching the birthday girl open up presents. The birthday girl was a trooper through out the whole party. She had just woke up from a nap and was in a super mood. She loved opening her gifts and took time to play with each of them. Once again our family showered our princess with gifts; from tons of Mega Blocks, to musical instruments & a talking Elmo(Thnx Auntie Katie & Auntie Laura for the noise makers) to playdough, to coloring books/crayons, to authentic stuff animals from Disneyland to awesome clothes. She even got a cozy snow suit & Jacket from Dad & Elaine. Special Thank-you to Jakobi for passing on his awesome trucks to LeAnne. She loves them dude! :-) LeAnne wasn't much into eating cake this year but she licked all of the ice cream off her plate. It was a wonderful party. I've heard over and over how impressed people were with LeAnne and what a nice relaxing time they had. SUCCESS!

Just like last year, it's raining leaves & Black Walnuts in our back yard. EEKS! What a mess. We are thankful this year for daddy's new lawn tractor, it will mulch up the leaves. Sweet!

Thank-you Lord for blessing our lives with our precious daughters! Amanda sent me a text this morning that said "she's two today". We look forward to having our girls together at Christmas!




Coloring is serious business. She loves her new big books!



Birthday decor'


She loves her tool set! Daddy has a surprise for her this Christmas. :-)



Bella's got bling too! Good girl Bella!


Grandma Marcia did such an amazing job!!



Blowing out her birthday candle! She knew exactly what to do!


She loves building!



LeAnne's got bling!



Thank-you Jakobi! These trucks are COOL!


Thank-you Grandma Marcia for the awesome birthday cake!!


Birthday girl!!




Licking her plate clean! She loved the ice cream





Wednesday, October 7, 2009

(almost) Wordless Wednesday - Flash back

LeAnne will turn 2 years old Sunday October 11th, 2009. We are having a Minnie Mouse birthday party with our family on Saturday. These are a few of my favorite pictures from last year.

October 11, 2008 - Happy 1st Birthday!



November 2009 - Wearing her cousin Savana's boots



December 2009 - A happy moment in the snow.



January 2008 - She sure loves her daddy!



February 2009 - Loving her You are My Sunshine card from Auntie Katie.



March 2009 - She discovered her love of coloring!



April 2009 - Happy Easter - She thought the eggs were balls to throw. lol!



May 2009 - Our girlie girl! :-)



June 2009 - Flower girl in her cousin's wedding



June 2009 - Her 1st ice cream cone - Thank-you Auntie Pam!



July 2009 - Ta da! She loves climbing on her sandbox lid.



August 2009 - Her 1st big piece of Watermelon - Thank-you Uncle Stan! :-)



August 2009 - Our trip to Western WA. LeAnne's yellow balloon she loved!



September 2009 - Helping daddy fix his tractor.


It's amazing to see how much she's changed this year! She's developed quite the personality and we are all having a blast with her. :-)
For More Wordless Wednesday fun head over to 5 minutes for moms