Leah Lovely and Aaron Adorable: Crunch Game Celebrities

We were at a Crunch game tonight and they kept taking video in our section.  Of course, some of the cutest kids in the place got on the jumbotron multiple times!!

Leah waving

Trying to look at herself on the jumbo tron while doing a goofy fake smile.  What a silly goose!

Mr. Aaron is famous!

Leah Lovely: Beauty

During a recent car ride we stopped to get gas at a backwoods mom-and-pop gas station.  Leah said she had to go to the bathroom, so we headed into the rather grungy looking store and were pointed towards the bathroom.  We went in and the bathroom was clean enough, but very outdated.  The floor was faded, grayed linoleum and the walls were covered in decades old, faded wallpaper.  As Leah sat on the potty doing her business, she looked around at the decor.

Leah: Mama, it is so beautiful in here.
Mama: What do you mean?  It is kind of dirty and old looking.
Leah: Mama, you're not looking at the right things.  The walls are covered with flowers and the floor has a beautiful pattern on it.

I looked around and it turns out that she was right - the wallpaper was covered in tiny pink and blue flowers, and the floor had a really cool geometric pattern.  All I saw was the dirt; all she saw was the beauty.  It was a wonderful reminder that it just takes a little shift in perception for the world to be beautiful and I love that it was my smart, perceptive girl who reset me on that.

I love you so much, Leah Kate!!

Leah Lovely: Dancing Girl

There are two things that Leah loves: dancing and dressing up.   Oh and let's add a third - her new baby brother.  Here she combines all of them into a cute video!

Leah Lovely - Aaron's Singing

When it is bedtime for Cameron and Leah, we try to have Aaron napping or content so that Tim and I can focus on the other two and getting them to bed.  That doesn't always work out, so sometimes Aaron accompanies us on the bedtime routine.

On this particular night, Aaron and I were putting Leah to bed.  After we read books, snuggled, kissed and hugged good night, Aaron and I went to the door to say good night.  Leah asked for one more song: "Mama, you and Aaron sing me ABCs."

I started to sing and in the middle of my song, Aaron let out a big, LOUD poop.  Leah started to giggle, but I kept on going through the song.  Aaron pooped again, and then again, both times very loud.  Leah dissolved into giggles and shouted, "Aaron is singing with his bum!"

And now that has become the nomenclature for anytime Aaron poops or farts - he is singing with his bum!!

Cam Cute and Leah Lovely - Anatomy Lessons

Two funny stories from Cameron and Leah:

I was sitting on the couch feeding Aaron when Cameron came over to me asking for help putting stickers on something.  I dropped one of the stickers and couldn't find it, so I asked him to look for it.  He found it below Aaron, on my lap.
Cameron: Look Mama, I found the sticker.  It was on your penis. 
Mama: I don't have a penis, I'm a girl!
Cameron: Oh sorry.  It was on your .... (searching for the word) ... it was on your... your slot.
Mama: (trying to contain laughter) My what?
Cameron: (embarrassed) MAMA!!  Don't laugh!!  I said slot.  I don't know what it is called.

Just so everyone knows, we did have a discussion about the proper terminology afterwards!
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We were eating dinner when Leah leaned over to me.
Leah: Mama, where is my chest?
Mama: (pointing to Leah's chest) It's right here.
Leah: (looks back and forth between her chest and my chest)  Oh.  Where are my bumps?

Oh what funny kiddos!!

Leah Lovely - Sweet Video of Leah and Aaron

Here is an adorable video of Leah holding her five day old baby brother.  She is talking to him and telling him things - it is so sweet!!

Leah Lovely: Leah's Reaction to Cameron's First Day of School

Wow, it has been ages since I have done anything other than a picture post.  It is about time to do a few words only posts, including some cute stories from the kiddos.

This one is about Leah.  As the first day of school was coming, I was concentrating entirely on Cameron and how he was doing, feeling, was he nervous, etc.  I didn't really think about Leah because she was just going to continue at Sweetheart like she always has.

After Cameron left on the bus to go to kindergarten, Tim was going to drop Leah off at daycare.  She started crying as he was putting her into the car, and kept crying and crying.  Finally, on the drive to school, Tim got out of her why she was so upset.  She tearfully said, "Where Cameron go?"  Tim explained that the bus took him to kindergarten.  Leah said "I go to kindergarten?"  Tim said no, and Leah asked "Cameron come with me?"  Tim said no again and Leah got upset again, finally saying "But Cameron need to drop me off."

That is when Tim realized that Leah was upset because Cameron wasn't going with her to daycare, to drop her off.  She didn't mind that he got on the bus, or that he was going to kindergarten... she was upset that the routine that she had been in for the last two years of her life (Cam and Leah go to daycare together, Cameron helps drop Leah off in her room and then goes to his room) was all of a sudden being altered.  Poor sweet baby!  And I felt like a horrible mother because I didn't even think about that, about what effect all of this would have on Leah and what a change it would be for her too!

Tim was able to calm Leah down by telling her about how after kindergarten (half-day), Cam would be taking a bus to the YMCA and going to school up in the front.  That made her feel much better, that Cameron would be close by and that they would still get picked up together.

What a sweet girl, she loves her brother so much!!

Leah: Twelve Months Old!

Leah turned twelve months old last Sunday. She had her one year checkup today. Our poor baby had to get four (!!!) shots and then had to get blood drawn. She cried a bit but mainly just looked outraged that we would subject her to such mean torture! Here are her stats:
Weight: 19 pounds, 4 ounces - 19th percentile
Length: 28 1/2 inches - 29th percentile
Head: 45 centimeters - 45th percentile

Leah fell asleep on the family room floor!

One of the most striking things we have noticed this month is that, all of a sudden, Leah understands us and can do what we ask. The other day I was in the mudroom looking for one of her shoes, so I called out, "Leah, where is your shoe? Bring Mama your shoe!" I peeked out the doorway and saw her crawling over to her car seat, climbing up on it, grabbing her shoe (that she had presumably hid in there!), and bringing it back to me. Then she sat down and held her shoe near her foot! It is really awesome and gives us a taste of what is to come.

Leah has been doing fantastic this month with her sign language. It must go along with the new understanding that she has when we talk to her. Her best signs are "more" and "thank you" - especially "Thank you", which she does without being prompted. She can also do "please", "all done", "eat", and "milk". We are working on "help" and "drink" too. It has been fun for Cameron too, who has taken back up the sign language. He loves to show Leah how to do her signs.

Leah has become so mobile! She doesn't quite walk yet, but she is SO CLOSE! She has taken a couple steps when we send her back and forth between us, but doesn't seem to interested to do it on her own. She can stand up without holding anything and gets a very proud look on her face every time she does it. She also RUNS behind her push toy. She definitely understands the concept of walking, just doesn't want to do it on her own quite yet. Soon enough, I am sure.

Leah loves to be outside. She likes to be carried around in our arms and check out the world. She has a walker that she loves to go in, especially enjoying running down the driveway. She is happy to sit in her stroller and just look around, but also loves to crawl on the ground and feel the dirt/grass.


This past month, Leah had her first Easter. She did a great job finding her eggs and her basket, and loved doing both. More about Easter in a separate post though.

And of course, Miss Leah had her big first birthday this week. Of course, that will be a separate post as well.

Leah Lovely: Tricky Leah!

Today, Cam and Leah were playing together in the family room. I decided to run upstairs and put a load of laundry into the washing machine, and I asked Cam to call for me if Leah left the family room. I was up there for about a minute and could hear them playing, so I kept loading the machine. All of a sudden, they sounded much closer, so I called to Cam and started heading towards the stairs. I said, "Cam, where is Leah?" He called back, "Umm, about half way." Half way what? I was thinking... that is, until I got to the stairs. There, on the landing half way up the staircase, sat Leah and Cam!! I asked Cameron how Leah got up the stairs, and he said, "She climbed up herself. I came up behind her to make sure she didn't fall." Leah just sat there smiling, obviously very proud of herself!

My thoughts:
1) Hmm, apparently Leah can climb stairs. I have seen her go up and down one step, at Nana's house, but never more than one. So Cam was the only witness to Leah's first trip up the staircase.
2) We have been saying that we need to get the gates up... now we REALLY need to get them up.
3) What an amazingly considerate older brother Cameron is. Of course, I wish he had called for me when Leah left the family room, like I asked him to, but the fact that he thought to follow behind Leah and make sure she was okay is super sweet.
4) I am definitely out of the running for Mama of the Year. Leaving an almost one-year-old alone downstairs with a three-year-old is NOT a good idea.

What a tricky little monkey we have though! We love our Leah pea!

And, as a bonus Leah Lovely, here is Leah with her first pigtails!! (which, I agree, look more like antennae on an insect)

Leah Lovely: Daddy's Girl

Leah has become very vocal and expressive lately, and we are definitely starting to recognize words and sign language that she is doing. She is definitely insistent in getting her point across!

Yesterday Tim was out working in the yard and Leah and I were in sitting on the couch. She and I were playing when all of a sudden she started craning her neck to see around me. I asked her, "Leah, what are you looking at?" and she answered "Dada, Dada, Dada" and pointed. Sure enough, Tim was out there in the yard within her line of sight.

I showed her how she could stand at the window and watch him, and boy was she excited. She "jumped" up and down and called out to him "Dadadadadaadaaaaaa!!", all the while banging on the window, until she got his attention. She got the biggest smile on her face when he walked over and banged excitedly on the window. He waved and headed over to another part of the yard.

She squawked and got down from the window and crawled as quickly as she could the way that Daddy was headed and stood up at the window to look for him again. No luck, so she went to another window. I figured out what she was doing when she stood up at another window yelling "Dada, Dada, Dada!!!!", so I scooped her up and we walked around looking for him. Once we found him, she was so happy and excited and stood at the window watching him work. She loves her daddy!!

Leah Lovelies: Breaking News!

Breaking news here in our house... literally breaking through Leah's gums - she finally got her first tooth! She has been teething for months now, it seems. I really thought around five or six months her first tooth was coming. Last week, it finally broke through. It is her bottom left front tooth. We don't have a picture of her new tooth yet - we have barely seen it ourselves because she keeps it hidden! Tooth number two might be right on the heels of the first, it feels like the next one is about to pop through too. We will put up a picture as soon as we can get it!

Leah Lovelies: Chatty Leah

We have had lots of Cam Cutes in the past - little stories about Cameron that we put together into a post. Well, here is the first of "Leah Lovelies"!

Leah has been very verbal in the past few weeks, making tons of different noises and cooing like crazy. We tried a few times to catch it on video but as soon as the camera comes out, she clams up. We finally got it on camera tonight as we were getting ready for dinner. Don't mind the background noise of Cameron and I getting dinner ready. As a bonus, you can see some of Leah's reaching skills.

Enjoy!