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.