Just because

*Please note the boogers coming out of her nose. Like she wasn't gross enough!

Cooking with Leah

My daughter the dancer

Weekend Update

Here are a couple pictures of Leah from ballet yesterday:



And here, Alex and Leah were doing some very important work on their laptops:

Getting the kinks out

So our camera broke, thus the lack of pictures lately. But thanks to Black Friday we bought a new one and I'm playing around with it, taking videos and pictures. Here's a new video of Leah as I was putting her to bed tonight:



Starts out a little dark but ends alright. Its the giggle that gets me.

And here's a nice clear, crisp pic from the new camera as well:
What do you think?

Halloween and cute pics

I got Leah dressed up for Halloween and it lasted for about 10 minutes. She didn't like the makeup and she keeps telling me that it was stinky. She looked cute though:



Saturday morning Leah and I were hanging out and she decided to do some gymnastics and insisted I take her picture:

And here's a few more just because they're cute:



Mom, no more pictures!

Going to School

Today is Leah's first day of preschool. She put on her backpack and trotted off to school this morning with her Daddy in tow. Her backpack is really a fancy holder for her "mish", which she cannot be without. Here is a photo her daddy took of her before they left this morning:


Daddy had to wake Leah to take her, and here is a more out-of-it looking photo he took:


Here is Leah playing with her first schoolmate:

More to report later!

Supermodel

Just a cute pose:

The Farm

Last weekend, before the fires, we took Leah to Underwood Farms. She had so much fun:

Riding a pony

Watching the pig races with her friend Ethan.

Being a cheeseball in a wooden train.

And this one was just before we took an afternoon walk:

My "office"

I was so excited when I got my new job that I had my own office! I felt so grown up, so professional. Slowly I'm including more and more personal touches to make it feel homey. Here is a picture:I can lean back in my chair while sitting at my computer and touch the wall behind me. But it's mine! Whatdoya think?

**Note the business card taped to my monitor so I remember my own phone number!

Painting!

Surprisingly, tonight was Leah's first painting experience. She sat in her high chair for about 45 min (yes, you read that right), and painted. First it was her coloring book, then it was her fingers, then hands, then arms. She loved it!

Some shameless exploitation

In the past several months, Leah has been showing how she uses her imagination. Here she is sharing ice cream with her toy:



And here she is "cooking":


Here are some pics of Leah and her new friend Hailey:

And this is how Leah eats raspberries:


Thanks for looking!

American Idol Finalist

You didn't know she was a finalist, did you??

No news is good news

I've not nothing new to report, as I've been busy with a new job. September is a busy month for us, as we've got about a bazillion birthdays, thus a bazillion birthday parties. Here's a photo from a big 60th birthday extravaganza from last weekend:
Like my Dora purse??

That's it for now!

Pacifier Follow Up

In case you're following our pacifier saga, just wanted to give you the update. Today is day 2, night 3 and so far so good! She's asked for it a few times and cries for about a minute when I remind her the "bunny" has it, but then she settles down and goes to sleep! I have to say I'm shocked and amazed at how much easier this has gone than I expected. I don't want to jinx anything but so far so good!

Oh, and her Uncle Jeff was generous enough to give her this:And it's HUGE! I think it's almost the entire length of Leah. And now she is sleeping with it. Along with a Dora pillow and blanket, and 6 other plush items. Thanks a lot, Uncle Jeff!

We finally did it

Leah has slept with a pacifier since the day she was born. Since she was about 6 months old, we limited it to the car and her crib. Then at some point it was only to be used in bed for sleeping and thats it. At 2 years, 3 months, it bothered me that she still had it, even if we had limits on it. She seemed very attached to it, and I dreaded the day we took it away. Well, last night was that day. I told her that a bunny needed them and took them for her babies, but the bunny would bring her a nice present to thank her. She seemed to be ok with that concept until she went to sleep and realized there were no paci's there. She cried for about 2 minutes, and then was quiet the rest of the night! The second I went in her room this morning she said something about the bunny bringing her a "nice present" and this is what she got:She looked at it and said "whoooooaaaaaaa". It was the cutest thing ever. She was very excited about it and we made sure to thank the bunny who gave it to her.

Now lets just hope she can nap today without it!!!

More vacation pictures

Family photo:



Leah playing in the sand:

Eating smores:

All the cousins:

Some pics from our trip

We had a busy day on the lake. Here are some pics:

On the road

We're up in Bass Lake today. It was a 4 hour drive, plus a stop for lunch. It was nap time towards the end of our drive, and Leah finally fell asleep.....about 10 minutes from the lake. We ended up driving around for an extra 30 minutes so she could get in a good nap.

Here is Leah and all her "friends".

Some new pics

Being cheesy:
Papa's birthday:


Being a goofball:

First pedicure:
(well, I just painted them myself, but still...)

Where did my baby go?

Seriously, does this look like a baby to you?


Or this? (note the dog in the stroller)

Awe, this is what I'm talking about: (Leah and her cousin drinking their milky)



And this:

They'll always be my babies....

**No chihuahuas were harmed in the making of this blog**