Rude Awakenings

We are trying to get Leah to stay in her bed a little later. Since moving the start of our bedtime ritual from 8:30 to 7:00, or right after dinner (I said start time, mind you), she has been waking up before 7:00am. Just ask my Dad, I am not a morning person. (Of course, I am writing this at 11:00 pm). 8:00 is much more preferred than 7, and you'd think that with the shortening days, our potential sleep time would be increasing. This is not so.

At least she can stay in bed until the sun rises, right?

We've tried encouraging her to look out her window to see if the sun has "woken up" yet. We've tried setting her up with a bowl of cereal, a sippy cup in the fridge, and the Disney channel just a button away. We've tried encouraging her to go potty all by herself in the morning. But not only can we not train her to let us sleep just a little bit later, but she wakes up the baby with her loudness and then there is no going back to sleep for anyone.

Here are some of the things we've heard her shout--repeatedly--first thing in the morning when we're trying to get a few extra minutes of shut-eye:

IS THE SUN AWAKE YET?
IS IT MY BIRTHDAY? CAN I HAVE MY BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES? (no, her birthday is "not ready yet")
I GOTTA GO POTTY!
I'M HUNGRY SOME FOR LUNTZ.
MOM-SAY 'BLESS YOU'

And on the off-chance that she's downstairs, hopefully watching TV:


MOM! MOM! WHAT'S IN YOUR PUMPKIN? (the candy jar--it's candy corn)
WHAT'S NEXT? (Handy Manny)
WHAT HAPPENED TO WOODY? (his arm ripped)

Of course, there are those rare mornings that she trots into my room and climbs into bed with me and we snuggle and make faces at each other for a few minutes before going down to breakfast.

Ah, the joys of parenthood!

Practice makes perfect

I have started practicing french braids on Leah's hair when she's freshly out of the bathtub and fully entertained by a movie. I did it a couple weeks ago for church, but it was pretty loose. Last night was a good opportunity to practice again. I think I'm getting better--I just can't get them very tight or even. Now, if only she'd leave them in for more than 3 minutes!

Leah-speak

The latest installment of Leah-speak.

puger (computer)

scoofdiver (screwdriver)

scratch-back (back scratch)

Mom, I don't have any dressed (Mom, I'm not dressed)

I'm hungry some for luntz (I'm hungry for some breakfast, lunch, or dinner--this is usually the first thing I hear in the morning)

Mom, how was my nap? (Mom, ask me how my nap was--it was good)

Today Leah opened up an empty notebook and started reading to me. She said:
"Once upon a time there was a little girl named Leah. Loooong hair. And Samuel was crying and crawling."

Daddy Daughter Date

Leah and Daddy had a Daddy-daughter date last month while I was visiting my Grandma in Texas. They went to Thanksgiving Point and had a blast. It was a hot day. Leah got to go on a pony ride and a horse-drawn carriage ride. She saw the animals in the petting zoo--ducks, goats, donkeys, llamas, baby chicks, and horses. Her favorite thing by far was the pony ride!

After spending some time at Farm Country, Chris and Leah went inside to the dinosaur museum and looked around while they waited for their movie: Wall-E. This was Leah's first ever movie theater experience, and she is still talking about it a month later!

Of spending the day with Leah, Chris said "I kept looking at her thinking 'she's not always going to be like this.' I took a mental picture while she was riding the horse so that I would always have that moment in my mind. I always want to remember what she was like as a little girl."

I think Daddy-daughter day was a big hit!

I'm a big kid now!

Leah is such a big girl! She is mostly potty trained (how do you really know when you are completely done potty-training, anyway?). This would have been a week and a half since her last accident if she hadn024't has so many blueberries yesterday... She also has a big girl bed! No more crib for this girl, c0heck out her latest tent bed setup:



Today we videotaped her making a commercial. Okay, so she may not be the most articulate, but don't you think she is just the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet little girl ever? Is this how every parent feels about their own children?

She's such a big girl!

I can't get over how grown up my little girl is. She wears big girl panties, can say the alphabet and count past 10, knows the words to songs and nursery rhymes, can open door knobs and even the fridge, and so much more. On the other hand, she still sleeps in a crib and has a binky. When does the baby stage truly end and the big girl stage start?

Mommy 'n Me

Leah always wants to join in on the girly stuff whenever I do my makeup or paint my toenails. This time, I decided to let her.




Some new clothes. Don't you think she could be a model?

Outside Adventure with Daddy

Chris is the designated babysitter during presidency meeting, so last week he took Leah to the duck pond to run and play and chase ducks. I may be biased, but I think she is the most beautiful little girl in the world!

The braid

Okay, so I am officially the wrong mom to have a daughter with mounds of beautiful long curly hair because I have absolutely no idea how to do anything with it. She hardly even lets me brush it unless its super silky after her bath and she is transfixed by her favorite movie. I took advantage of her willing lap-time this morning to attempt a french braid. I understand the concept, but have never actually been able to execute one successfully. So instead, I decided to start with a simple braid on each side. Here's how it turned out, and I think it's pretty cute even though its not very good. I need the practice and Leah needs to get used to having me play with her hair. By picture day in kindergarten I should have it figured out!

Snuggle Time with Daddy

Like mother, like daughter

I realized one day when Leah put deoderant in her armpits that she is very observant! I did this little test with her to see how much she knows just by having watched us do these simple tasks!



Although Leah did the entire alphabet on the first try, we ran out of memory space on the camera, which is why "Y, Z" are done with a Leah in different clothes! We still had to finish!

Ooh, Baby I love your way

I decided there was no use trying to find the lost cable and just had to buy a new one. Finally! New pictures!


Story Time


Two to Tango


Pig Tails!




There once was a little Girl
Who had a little Curl
Right in the middle of her forehead...

The many faces of Leah

With Great-Grandma Helen, who Leah Helen is named after.


A moment of deep reflection...about what I can't tell you. Wish I knew.



Asking Aunt Becky for more of Ryan's homemade ice cream. Yum!

Story time with Grandma and Leah's only cousin, Daniel, who can READ!

Love the hair!




Christmas presents!



I can't tell if she's yawning, singing, showing off her teeth, or something else...your guess is as good as mine. Any way its cute!


Momma's girl. She doesn't cuddle much these days, so every milisecond cuddle is treasured.


Tell me which one is your favorite!

Curlicious!

Check out my delicious curls!

How do you like this do?