A Fresh Start.

The time has come. I have decided to leave this blog in the dust, and start anew! I've been wanting to for a while, but now just seemed like the right time. And I was so close to reaching 10,000 views!

Won't you join me at my new blog site: beautifullifeproebsting.blogspot.com and become a follower?! This one will of course stick around, but don't expect to see any new posts on it.

It's been fun!

Carrrrots!

I think I’ve got a food snob on my hands. But it’s okay; she’s being raised by a food snob. Ever since Leah has been eating (all of three weeks), I’ve noticed she’s kind of picky not about what she eats, but how it’s prepared. For instance, I’ve made her sweet potatoes two different ways. The first time I just boiled them like I do normal potatoes. I figured it was easier than baking them for an hour, even though the internet told me baking them really brings out the flavor. She ate them okay, and I figured she really enjoyed them… until I baked her one the next time. That’s when I got help with the spoon, “mmm” sounds, and her almost finishing her entire bowl. Apparently she can tell a difference. I did the same thing with her newest food – carrots! And I think it’s safe to say she has a new favorite food! The carrots were going in a down faster than I could keep up, and when she was finished they were spread from her toes to her forehead. I’m not sure how that happens. Oh wait, I know how it happens. She flails, insists on grabbing the spoon, turns sideways, kicks, laughs at her dad, sneezes with a mouthful, and arches her back as far as she can. Dinnertime is just one more thing that solidifies the fact that nothing is easy with Leah.

Here we sit, week 21. Wait a minute, we’re not sitting. We’re rolling, squirming, inching, standing, and jumping. However, Leah did sit up on her own for the very first time last week. I swear she is too strong for her own good. It has only happened once, but my mouth was too the floor. I quickly learned, after trying to reenact it, that Leah has to be in charge – and I can’t help. If she does it on her own she concentrates and really steadies herself. If I try to sit her up she throws herself all over the place and topples over. She likes to sit up with me helping her. I usually surround her with toys and she will grab them and of course eat them one by one, then throw them to the side. She has such a strong core, I try to tell her if she would just sit still she could be doing it on her own. But she doesn’t listen. And something tells me she will never sit still. She is trying desperately to crawl. She can push herself so far up, sometimes I think she will just take off. She can get her knees up under her belly and she can put her chest way up off the ground – just not together. One of these days she will put it all together and then we will really be in for it. Kyle said he thinks she’ll be doing it in three weeks, and I don’t think that’s too far-fetched. We shall see. Until then, she will roll. She is rolling everywhere now. She has made it all over the house. She is rolling into walls, the entertainment center, the couches, her jumperoo, the tile floor, and her basket of toys. It’s pretty ridiculous. When she does roll into something that she can’t roll over or through she just opens wide and tries to chew it down. No object is too big. Although yesterday it got a little dangerous. I came back from the kitchen to have her halfway across the floor and eating the computer cord! Time to babyproof – she is out of control.

We’ve learned not to be surprised by her; she continues to break “rules” one by one. I try to tell her she’s missing out on her babyhood – but she doesn’t seem to care. Something about her in week 21 just looks different. Even Kyle said she looks different. I can’t really put a finger on it – I suppose she’s just changing like I’m sure she will a million more times. She’s looking rounder (thank you sweet potatoes and carrots), and taller, and less baby like, and of course cuter. She’s also feeling different – like a cement block. She’s a dense little thing. I’m not sure if she’s more muscle or fat. With her rounder and taller figure in full force, we had another clean out the closet day. Each time they get more depressing. Some of these things she only wore once! And I specifically remember buying some of it “big” thinking it would last us through the winter. Or at least until January. No such luck – I put her in one of her “big” outfits this weekend and she was ready for the flood. Kyle made some comment about how I’m always buying her clothes because I think they’re “so cute.” I quickly corrected him. Yes, I buy her things that I think are cute (duh), but I’m in the store in the first place because she is growing at the speed of light. I don’t want all the other babies to make fun of her because her pants go to her ankles.

She is working very hard on her third, and I just noticed yesterday… fourth tooth. We can see and feel them, finally. It just has to break through the skin (gums?). C’mon, teeth! If this one is like the last two, we will probably see it like this for a few more days before it actually comes through. And these few more days will be difficult on all of us – but we have Tylenol to help us through. She likes to help me with the Tylenol now. She knows exactly what it is and gets excited, opens wide, and grabs the dropper. Sometimes I think I’m overmedicating, but then I try not to use it and she screams. I’ll take the medicine over the screaming, please and thank you. I pray that when she gets these two, we will get a break for a while. It is so very exhausting. She will cry out of nowhere, not sleep well, only want to be held, and chew and drool on everything. I’ve heard that the two tops ones are some of the hardest and most painful. Yikes. I will need a massage by the end of it… or a stiff drink. And I told Leah I would take her out to get some sort of prize. Something tells me she will pick something she can chew on. The only thing easier with these teeth is the fact that she is finally able to hold her own teething toys! With the first two, she was too little to figure out how to keep them in her mouth so either Kyle or I had to constantly hold them in her mouth. She is getting really good at doing it herself now, thank goodness. There is a reason babies shouldn’t get teeth until six months… it’s so they can hold their own toys in their mouths!

Her newest tricks of week 21 consist of making all sorts of new noises, sleeping exclusively on her belly, and biting her toes. I’m a little bit jealous of her flexibility. She can get her feet in her mouth with no effort at all. One more thing to chew on, yay! Except last week she bit her toe and then cried… sooo, she hasn’t put them in there too much after that. It was both hilarious and sad. Naptime or nighttime, I always find her on her belly now. And I am so thankful. I know the SIDS people say back is best, and it was in the beginning, but she is strong enough now to control her head and neck so I don’t worry about her. Plus, I cannot stand over her bed all night and flip her back over everytime she rolls onto her belly. She is sleeping longer for naps thanks to her belly and that makes for one happy mama.

Her favorite toys of this week are her ocean mat that has dangling toys that she can reach, her puppy Koda, her “tactile sounds” fishies, her book that sounds like paper crinkling, aaand her dad. He’s the best toy of all these days. She laughs and smiles if he just looks at her, meanwhile I have to go through a whole song and dance to get a giggle. It’s completely unfair, but cute. She also has an obsession with his face that’s pretty adorable. I don’t know if it’s the whiskers or what, but she is always touching and inspecting his face! She also has taken quite an interest in the remote. She can spot it from anywhere, stares it down, and then whines until we give it to her. I’ve joked about getting her her very own for Christmas, and the more obsessed she gets with it, the more that joke turns into a serious thought. And of course, she still loves her books. Brown Bear will always be her favorite, but we’ve incorporated Jamberry, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom which she is really starting to enjoy.

This coming Saturday I can finally enroll her in swimming lessons! I am so excited. I bought her a swimsuit before she was born planning on putting her in lessons in January. I knew she would be six months in January, so I bought her a six month suit – logical, huh? However, I put that suit on her and it was way to snug. It pulled down to the middle of her chest, and left marks over her shoulders. Thankfully, she got a 12 month swimsuit as a baby shower gift from her grandma, so I decided to put that one on her to see if it would work. It fit perfectly. I don’t know if you’ve looked lately, but swimsuits are kind of hard to find these days so I’m happy to have at least one she can wear for her lessons. Kyle refuses to call them lessons though, so he’s come up with “water playtime.” He doesn’t believe she’ll actually learn how to swim. I, on the other hand, am fully expecting her to come out of them swimming without assistance.

She will be five months old in a week, can you believe it? She seems much older to you, too, doesn't she? Please, lets keep the five months between us, and let her think she is twelve.

Frustrated.

Not me for once! My daughter. You see, she would really like to be 14 instead of 4 months, and that is seriously cramping her style. She would love to walk… or crawl… or do anything other than roll as a means to get to where she needs to go. And since she can’t quite do those things yet, it is leaving her very frustrated. She grunts, and breathes heavy, and scowls, and whines… and I must say, it is very annoying. I feel bad for her; I wish I could help her along. But alas, all I can do is sit and watch – and endure the whining. Someday, someday soon she’ll be big enough to do those things and as happy as I am to see that day, I know we will really be in for it once she gets going.

Leah grew up this week. A lot. Not just in age (the big 20), but in maturity. In addition to being frustrated that her body is smaller than her mind, she has become quite independent. For instance, I can no longer rock her before her naps. I told you how I have been working on just putting her in her crib and letting her get herself to sleep? Well, that has backfired on me. Even just this time last week I could rock her for a few minutes and put her in her crib awake and she would fall asleep. Somewhere in the middle of last week, however, that changed. Now she isn’t having any of it. She screams when I rock her. Literally. Not cries, actually screams. Shrieks. Squeals. Yells. Whatever you want to call it, there are some serious sounds that come out of her little mouth when I try to rock her. And I must admit it makes me a little sad. Sure, my job got a little easier, but I really enjoyed rocking her. Oh well, I guess that’s part of growing up. I did get a fun tradeoff for not being able to rock her though. Now I get to listen to her talk herself to sleep. It cracks me up. Usually for a good five or ten minutes she just babbles and babbles. Lord knows who or what she’s talking to, but she is certainly entertaining herself… and her mom. Sometimes she throws in a squeal or two, or even a stray cry here and there, but eventually all I hear is silence.

Speaking of squealing, that’s also a new event of the last week or so. Who taught her how to squeal?? I’m not complaining; I love it! She has gotten so much more vocal it seems in just the last few days. She is definitely well on her way to talking. I feel like she will be the kid that doesn’t stop talking and asks a million questions. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

She is still working on some more teeth. I think I’ve forgotten what life was like before teeth, and that is helping me get through the process. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to not be bitten or to sleep through the night or to not hear screams out of nowhere. Who decided we need teeth anyways? I’d like to give that person a talking to. God? You and I are going to have a long discussion when I meet you.

Last night was her best night in over a month. She only woke up twice, and with five hours in between. Hallelujah. It was either the teeth giving her a break, the ridiculous amount of sweet potatoes she ate to give her a full belly, or the fact that we finally set up a space heater in her room (it’s the coldest in the house for some reason). Whatever the reason, I plan on re-enacting yesterday all day today and see if we can’t get the same result tonight.

Did you catch the part about sweet potatoes?! I think it’s safe to say Leah has a new favorite food. Not like she has too many to choose from, this is the third thing she’s ever eaten and the first real people food. She gobbled those suckers up! And insisted on helping me with the spoon… which was a nightmare. But we had fun. She ate her whole bowl, for the first time ever, and then puked. I call that a successful meal. Tonight I suppose I’ll limit her now that I’ve learned the result of an extremely full belly. I’m thinking next up on the menu is green beans! They say babies like what their mama’s eat while they were pregnant and it proved true with sweet potatoes so I’m hoping it will prove true again with green beans. I’m giving her only vegetables until she eats a wide variety, then we’ll switch to fruit. I don’t want to spoil her with only sweet things.

I’m so excited to spend a first holiday with her this week. And on her 20^th week birthday no less. I remember like it was yesterday being 20 weeks pregnant with her. It was Valentines Day, and I had just found out a few days before that “he” was a she! That’s when the fun really started. Now we’re on the other end of 20 weeks and I’ve got a frustrated, squealing, babbling, eating, wonderful little girl. It’s almost unreal how much can change in mere “weeks.”

I have been seriously lacking the conversations the past couple of weeks. But we were working on teeth, there wasn’t a lot of time for anything else. But I’ve had my ears up, and I’ve got a couple for you.

Me: What are we doing for New Years?

Kyle: Nothing. Staying in. We have a bedtime at like 6 o’clock.

Me: We all don’t have to go to bed at “6” – just one of us.

Kyle: Nope, we all do.

This one is going to take some explaining. Kyle and I each have roles for the bedtime routine. He takes her clothes off/entertains her while I fill the tub, get the jammies and towel. I do the bath. I take her out of the tub, dry her, put lotion on and fight with her to get jammies on. He hangs up the towel and throws her diaper away. He picks her up and talks to her while I get ready to feed her. I feed her, he puts her to bed. One night, we decided to switch. He was getting her jammies on. I went to sit down.

Kyle: You forgot to throw her diaper away.

Me: (As I go to throw it away). Oh, my bad.

Kyle: See, my jobs not as easy as it looks, is it?!

Me: Roll my eyes on the way to the trash can.

Houston: We have a tooth!

Actually, we have teeth, but that didn’t go as well with my Apollo 13 theme.

Oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to start I’m so excited about her new pearly whites. I guess I’ll start at the beginning. A little over two weeks ago I took Leah to the doctor. I decided she had an ear infection. She was tugging at her ears and rubbing her cheeks really hard. She was fussy and not sleeping well. She seemed very needy. Teeth did enter my mind, but I shrugged it off because “they” tell me teeth don’t come until six months. After a thorough check-up, I was told her ears were in tip top shape. And the rest of her health was in tip top shape. Okay, so what’s the deal, doc? By observing her trying to gnaw her thumbs off, and looking at her gums he told me my then three month old was working on her two bottom teeth. Of course she was. That started a long and painful process for all three Proebstings. He said Tylenol could be our best friend, and that they still might take a week or two to break through. I have always had a thing with medicine. I don’t like having to depend on it. But that went out the window. I didn’t want to overdose her, but she was in pain and it helped her – so why would I not give her as much as the dosing directions allowed? Even with Tylenol we were in for some rough days and nights. Her sleep lately has been deplorable. Waking up every 3 or 4 hours. Sometimes screaming. There were days when I didn’t brush my teeth, change my clothes or shower until Kyle got home. There was a day when I only ate Salami, chips, and frosting out of the can. There were days when I was covered in drool and spit up alike, but didn’t even care to change – I would just re-dirty new clothes. There were inconsolable tears from Leah, even with the Tylenol, and that was by far the worst part. About three days before they actually broke through I could see them coming, and I got so excited! Her gums got really swollen, I could see white underneath, and the day before they broke she had a little blood blister over one of them. So sad, but at the same time I knew it was almost over. Finally, Saturday morning I stuck my finger in her mouth like I had done every day for the last two weeks praying for something sharp – and I got it! I felt a hard and sharp little surface and I’m pretty sure I squealed in excitement. Only one though? But after inspecting her mouth I noticed the other one had a similar blood blister, which I hoped meant it would be here Sunday. And it was. We now have two of the most beautiful bottom teeth I have ever seen. And we can all relax.

Except not.

Because her chewing has not slowed, her sleep has not improved, everything is still covered in drool, and she has gotten a new dose of fussiness. Are more on the way soon? Who knows. I would like to say no because “they” tell me I have a month or so before the top teeth appear… but “they” haven’t met Leah.  So we will do what we have done for the last almost three weeks. We will not sleep, I will stick my finger in her mouth every day, she will only want to be held, and we will take Tylenol like we may never get it again. And I will enjoy spoonful after spoonful of frosting as I drown my sorrows.

The teeth weren’t the only good part of the weekend. Remember that wedding? The one that was five and a half hours away? Well, Leah was an absolute champion the whole way there and back! She didn’t make a peep. She slept most of each way and when she was awake Kyle or I sat in the back and played with her. Everyone made it there and back in one piece. And during the wedding while the rest of the babies were crying or talking mine was sleeping peacefully in my arms – afterall, she was in a church. And we all know how she loves church. Leah also started reaching for people this weekend! Let the record show that the first person she reached for was her Uncle Kyle, who is terrified of her. But whether he likes it or not, she is determined to make him hold her. After that she has reached for both Kyle and myself. It just warms my heart when she actively chooses to be held by one of us.

We are still enjoying a meal a day of cereal. She seems to like it okay. She is a pain in the butt to feed though. She squirms all over, arches her back, turns her head to look at everything, and talks her way through it. And holding her down makes it worse, so I just follow her every ridiculous move with the spoon hoping something lands in her mouth. So far, she’s gotten it not only in her mouth, but also in her eye and up her nose. She is also trying to sit up constantly. So far she can sit completely upright in her bouncer, on our bed, or on the couch – but no such luck on the floor. She gives it her best effort, however. I’m sure it won’t be long.

One day last week when the teething was exceptionally bad and she wasn’t sleeping I decided to sit with her in the rocking chair and just read. We read every book she had, and she didn’t even move. She was so interested and never got bored. It was so nice to have a variety other than Brown Bear to read. I can’t say enough how much I love that books are her favorite.

She’s growing up so fast. And her new teeth make it seem even faster. 19 weeks already. She is definitely taking advantage of every week – it’s so hard to keep up with her and she’s not even mobile! I’m so excited to enter this Holiday Season with her. We are taking her shopping for her own presents this weekend, and I’m more excited about that than any present I’ll get. I’ve got a hunch that this might be my favorite Christmas yet.

Daddy's Girl.

Can I just take you back a few weeks? Okay, a lot of weeks. Starting about week three, Leah really got going with the crying. We had the witching hour, and a lot of nights where she wanted to stay up late and hang out. In those days, Kyle and I had a daily conversation that went something like this: Kyle: Can we just let her cry? Me: No, she’s too little. Now we can come back to real time. Leah is now four months old. I’ve noticed some things that lead me to believe she is starting to play games. For instance, I will rock her she will be completely relaxed and almost asleep… I put her in the crib and she instantly wakes up and cries. Repeatedly. I cannot spend my days rocking her, so I have finally reached the point that I feel I can let her cry a little to get herself to sleep. We worked on it all week last week, and she actually did great. She cried for only a few minutes each time, but then got herself to sleep. By the end of the week I was able to put her in her crib wide awake and she got herself to sleep each time without a tear. Then the weekend rolls around, and you know who is home. King of the “can we just let her cry.” Well, I learned something this weekend… he is just a big sap. First nap of the weekend, and Leah cries when I put her down. I left her room anyways, and came back downstairs. Kyle was still upstairs in our bedroom. A couple minutes later I hear him walking the path into her room, and what do you know, she stops crying. I rolled my eyes. A few minutes later he puts her down again, I hear crying, then instantly it stops again. Wonder why? I roll my eyes again. He tries a couple more times. I continue to roll my eyes from the couch. Finally, he makes it halfway down the stairs and lets me know, “she keeps crying.” I let him know that it’s because he keeps picking her back up; she would much rather sleep in his arms. He sticks his bottom lip out and tells me he doesn’t want her to cry. I think it’s safe to say, the big bad, “let her cry” has left the building, and “daddy’s little girl” has emerged. And so begin the days of mom being tough all day, and daddy coming home to the rescue to make sure there are no tears. But for some reason, I can’t fight it. I can roll my eyes, but I don’t ever want to tell him he’s not allowed to stop her from crying. And hopefully she is learning (without getting too spoiled) that daddy will always come to her rescue. They’re quite a pair.

And to continue in real time, Leah hit a big milestone yesterday: Foooooood. What a fun experience that was. She didn’t do much head thrashing like her cousins did, but she did make a number of funny faces. She went back for bite after bite though, so I think she liked it! And she had a great night of sleep to follow, yay for a full belly!

She also had a doctor’s appointment yesterday. She is growing like a weed, just under 15lbs and 25 inches long. I remember when I used to blog about her weighing three ounces, and being a quarter of an inch long. Crazy! He also checked her tracking ability, ability to hold her weight up while standing, ability to pull herself into a sitting position, and reflexes. Of course, she passed all of it with flying colors. And then… she bit him, which prompted a long talk about where in the world her teeth are. He did tell me that the lining of her gums is thinning out, so hopefully they will be here soooon. Until then, there is a lot of biting, drool, and sleepless nights in our future. Her chewing is really out of control. She will chew on anything. For instance, today we were in the car, and I heard a strange sound. I looked in the mirror facing her car seat and saw her uncomfortably bent over and gnawing on the chest buckle of her car seat. When I put her car seat mirror in the car in preparation for her arrival I had visions of how I would see her in it. I thought I’d glance back and see her sleeping soundly, or maybe I’d see her laughing or smiling. I never once thought I’d look back and see her eating the buckle. She is somethin’ else.  

Her newest trick of the week… grabbing her feet! She finally got them! And for the longest time, wouldn’t let them go. Ha. When I go to get her from her crib now she’s got a good hold on them and stares up at me with a big smile. She’s so proud of herself. I imagine it’s only a matter of time until she figures out how to get them in her mouth. And she has started sitting up. In her bouncer at least. I suppose it reclines too far back for her, and she insists on being upright at all times. This morning she sat straight up for the longest time. And then she tried to crawl down to the floor. She’s too much for me. She continues to love her jumperoo, books, rings, and looking at herself in the mirror.

This weekend Leah has her first wedding. To get there we have a five hour drive, Lord help us. 

I can't remember any notable conversations from the last week :(. My apologies.

In the hands. In the mouth.

A certain little bug is 17 weeks old today. 17. Seriously? Where does time go?

I got a little sentimental on her yesterday. And I suppose I can’t blame pregnancy hormones anymore. Maybe I’m just turning into a regular old sap. But her room was in desperate need of cleaning and reorganizing. Nesting instinct, where have you gone? With Leah looking on from the rocking chair, I got to work getting the mound of clean clothes off of her dresser and into the closet. I reorganized her shoe box that was a cluttered mess. I cleaned up her stack of books that had fallen apart. And then I got to work cleaning out old clothes. Her dresser drawers were a disaster, and I knew that half of the things in them didn’t even fit her anymore. As I was cleaning them out I would come across things that brought back fun memories. Sure, she’s not that old yet, but she’s old enough to have given me a brain stocked full of memories. By this time, she had gotten sick of the rocking chair so I put her on her play mat. I came across the hat she wore right after she was born. I looked at that tiny hat, and then I looked at my big girl talking to and reaching for her seahorse. I looked at the hat, and I looked at my girl. The hat, my girl. When did she grow up? How did she get so big already. It all hit me, and I had my first, she’s growing up too fast thought! I snapped myself out of that one, but they kept coming. I found the onsie we brought her home in, I found my favorite pair of her little pants, I found the tiniest pair of jammies, and I found a gown she wore in the hospital. I put all of that up in the closet, perhaps we’ll have another girl someday and I can make new memories with it. And then I got out some stuff that had been waiting for a spot in the dresser. Bigger clothes. Clothes that I’m sure in another three months I will cry over all over again. When does the growing stop?!

I might be sad about her growing up, but at the same time I am having so much fun watching her do it! I was thinking the other day; I have a front row seat to watching a person develop from scratch. It’s pretty neat really. Think of how many times a day you reach for something. From the second we get up, we start reaching. Maybe a phone, light switch, toothbrush. You probably reached for a mouse to click on this blog. And we don’t think twice about it. Little Leah works so hard to reach for her darn rings! She sizes them up, she kicks her legs in anticipation, sometimes she arches her back, sometimes she grunts, and lifts her hands ever so slowly with perfect concentration… and even then she doesn’t always get them. I get a kick out of watching her try. She is getting much better at it though. I’d say she has a 95% rate. She is reaching for eve.ry.thing. these days! And when she gets it, straight to the mouth it goes. She doesn’t discriminate either. Her Christmas dress, my arm, her toys, her books, anything will do. She has also started going for hair, necklaces, and glasses. Fun times are ahead. I cut my hair short enough to not go into a ponytail just in time.

What have I learned about her this week? Well, two things really. Or at least two of my favorite things. She loves books. She loves her books more than any toy she has. A book can calm her down or put her in a good mood more than any toy she has or any goofy face I make. And I love that about her. She really gets into them, too. She looks back and forth at the pages so frantically! And often, she’ll look up from the pages and give me a big smile while I’m reading. It’s so sweet. She’s gonna be a smart one! The second thing I’ve noticed about her this week is that she is getting quite attached to her blanket! I love it. When I go in to check on her after she’s been asleep I usually find her clutching it close to her face. The SIDS people would probably have a cow, but it was knitted so it has holes. And when I go to get her out of her crib I usually have to pry her little fingers off of it. I wanted her to be attached to something at bedtime, blanket or stuffed animal. I thought maybe it would comfort her and help her sleep better. And I think she’s definitely latched on to her blanket. Also, after a nap one day last week I heard her talking. She either wakes up talking (good sign) or crying (bad sign). I knew she was in a good mood, so I couldn’t wait to go get her. When I walked into her room the first thing I saw were her feet covered by the blanket sticking straight up so I could see them over the crib. And remember the holes? Well, her toes were sticking through them. Funny little thing was talking to her toes and smiling! It just melted my heart.

We’re still working on teeth. Oh my goodness, how long does it take?! Everything is covered in drool and everything gets chewed on, hard. I know, I’ve been bitten. Some days are worse than others, but we could all really use some teeth, and soon.

And me 17 weeks later? Well, no one worry, I’m just withering away slowly. I have to stop losing weight at some point, right? In the meantime, I need a shopping spree. Kyle? Anybody? I bought a pair of jean two weeks ago and they already don’t fit. What is going on!? But enough about that, we Proebstings are officially ready for Christmas! Thanks to Kyle, who just couldn’t contain himself. Decorations are up, Christmas pictures taken, Christmas cards bought, and half of the shopping done. And it’s November 3! I should get some kind of prize. I’m hoping to have all shopping done by Thanksgiving, and then the day after I can wrap presents all day instead of shopping at 4am like usual. It just doesn’t seem worth it this year. Waking up that early isn’t as fun if you have to do it everyday anyways. I’m so excited for the Holidays with Leah. It was already more fun decorating with her around. She loved all the lights. And I know she doesn’t even know what presents are, but I can’t wait to go shopping for her. And in all likelihood, she will be with us when we do it. How many years can we get away with that?

That’s all she wrote for today. Next week Leah gets to try food… a whole new level of fun is about to happen.

Conversation: We were getting ready to leave the house, Kyle picks up the carseat.

Kyle: What’d you put in here?

Me: Leah?

Kyle: It feels like there’s a lead ball in here.

Me: That’s Leah.

And this one isn’t about Leah at all, but I think my mom will enjoy it.

(After Kyle set his desktop background to a glacier)

Me: We should go to Alaska.

Kyle: On an Alaskan Crusie.

Me: Ya. My mom would like that.

Kyle: Oh, your mom’s coming?

Me: (Realizing how I made that sound) Yup.

Kyle: Oh I didn’t realize she came with us on vacations.

Me: She does.

See mom, I’m always thinking of you. Ha.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

We’re about to enter week 16 of having this little bug around, and she is making the most out of every single day!

We survived (barely) another growth spurt last week. Seriously, stop it with the growing! There wasn’t supposed to be another one until six months, but Leah does what she wants, when she wants. It had all of the typical symptoms. No sleep, crabby, fussy eater, me in tears, same ol, same ol. But the day it was over, she slept for six hours during the day! I didn’t even know what to do with myself and all of the time I had. Since the beginning of time (Leah’s time), the longest nap I have ever, ever gotten from her had been two hours. The day she finished up her growing she gave me a three hour nap! Three consecutive hours – it was crazy. So what did I do? Sat on my butt. These growth spurts of hers are no joke. They wear me out. I have zero energy, and get zero sleep. By the time she is finished, I am at my limit. Usually, she ends with a full night of sleep. This time she gave me and full day and full night of sleep. It almost made the whole thing worth it. 

Almost.

Now I’ve got this even bigger “three month old.” I use the quotations, because three months is just a label in our household. No one is being fooled; Leah is not three months old. She doesn’t sleep like a three month old, she doesn’t wear three month old clothes, she doesn’t take a bath like a three month old, and she certainly doesn’t act like they tell me three month olds act. Lately, I’ve been figuring out some things she likes and doesn’t like. Her personality shines through a little more every day and I feel like I can really tell what makes her happy… and what does not. For instance, she loves the book Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? She kicks her legs in excitement when we start, and her eyes go back and forth so fast like she’s trying so hard to take it all in before I turn the page! Everytime I do turn the page, however, she gets excited all over again and her legs go crazy. It’s so fun to watch! It almost looks like she’s reading right along with me; and knowing Leah, she probably is. It also makes me really happy that she likes books. I love reading to kids, and now I’ve got one of my own to read to! Also, I think she hates (maybe not hates, but doesn’t like) musical toys. Obviously, she has toys meant for babies that make all kinds of noise and play all kinds of little jingles. And after observing her with these toys, I think they stress her out. She gets fussy pretty quick if they’re left on for any length of time. This is not to be confused with music, however. She seems to love regular music. Kyle played some Rolling Stones, Paint it Black for us the other day and she went crazy. She also seems to like Casting Crowns and Aerosmith. This can only mean one thing: she is far too advanced for baby music. She needs rock and roll. She also likes to be sung too. Not that I can carry any sort of tune, but she sure does smile when I sing to her. It doesn’t matter the song, either. Itsy Bitsy Spider, Amazing Grace, Teenage Dream… she doesn’t have a preference, ha. She loves to be outside. If she’s being a crab, or we’re just bored – taking her outside cures all. She looks around nonstop, and as long as she’s upright we can stay outside for hours! She doesn’t sleep on the weekends. And here’s why – she knows her dad is home. I’ve been building this theory for a while, but I’m convinced. It is so hard to get her to take a nap on the weekends (more so than normal)! I guess she can smell him or something. It’s so ridiculous, and cute. This past Sunday I tried for thirty minutes to get her to close her eyes, then Kyle tried for another 15… she didn’t even pretend to close her eyes. So he brought her downstairs, set her on his lap facing the TV, and they watched football together. Leah had the sweetest little grin on her face, like she got just what she wanted. Sometimes she’s just too much for me. She loves to look at herself in the mirror!! Her biggest, brightest, and best smiles all come when she’s looking in the mirror. It’s the sweetest thing. She talks to herself, too. Anytime I need a pick me up I take her to a mirror and let her go crazy. It’s an instant good mood for both of us. She has regressed in the car. We can’t get a minute down the road anymore. But it’s not because she hates the car or her carseat necessarily. She hates that she is left all alone in the backseat. If one of us rides back there with her she is perfectly fine. She laughs and talks the entire time. It’s pretty ridiculous really.

Leah newest trick is reaching for toys. Just as of this morning, actually! She can now grab at her favorite toy, her string of colored rings! And she will only grab at things with her left hand. I think maybe she’s gonna be left handed like her mama! She has slowed some with the rolling. Now when she is on her belly she tries to pull her knees up under her belly… on to crawling. This child is out of control. Also if I sit her up on the floor she can hold herself up for a couple of seconds. I think it’s only a matter of time before she is sitting up like a big kid.

That’s about it – she is growing and developing by leaps and bounds. I already can’t keep up with her.

I will leave you with maybe my favorite conversation thus far. And it really wasn’t a conversation at all. It was a one man show put on by Kyle.

Scene: Leah has decided she doesn’t need to sleep. It was 1am, and she had been up for two hours. Smiling, talking, laughing, flailing about. Because it was a weekend, and I had growth spurt duty the week before… she was all Kyle’s. He was getting increasingly frustrated. Obviously, I was not sleeping, but lying there watching the two of them battle. Naturally, when he laid her on our bed she spit up all over herself and our bed. He went to get her new pj’s, even more frustrated. As he was changing her:

Kyle: (fighting with her kicking legs) Put your foot in the hole.

Kyle: Ugh, Leah put your foot in there!

Kyle: (to me) What are these, spandex?!

Kyle: Leah!

Kyle: (to me) Why are you buying her spandex clothes?!

Leah: Staring at him.

Me: Cracking up.

I did feel bad for him, but I go through that routine all too often so it was kinda fun to watch.