Quick catching up...Thanksgiving

The best time of the year, as far as I'm concerned! We drove to Muncie for a long holiday...notto mention a long drive. Never used to seem that long.

Anyway, if it weren't for the cat, the week would've been perfect! Art's horribly allergic to cats and my grandma has a sweet little kitty, who Leah affectionately calls 'meow'.

We got to see all the cousins and had so much fun playing with everyone! Not to mention all the good food! Yummy!

We have now officially kicked off the holiday season in style!

Photos of multi generations! And this is what happens after 10 hours in the car...

Quick catching up...Halloween!

We have been having so much fun with Leah these days and Halloween was no exception. Of course I waited until the last minute to figure other costume, but finally decided to get creative and make her a Dorothy costume from wizard of oz. we were out shopping and Leah found the cutest pair of red glitter slippers and she made us buy them ( by not putting them down in the store...).

She got to wear her Dorothy dress as daycare for their parade and then later that night when we went trick or treating with Grammie and her friend Charlie (and his parents, of course).

Here she is as she waves at her fans before heading out to get some candy! She really got the hang of knocking on doors and saying thank you. *so proud!*

I love you, Room & Board outlet

You will see this new baby make its debut tonight in our living room! So excited!

Isnt this what everybody does in LA?

Had dinner tonight in downtown LA at bottega louie. What a scene! Paparazzi and limos, and of course we couldn't leave without getting some macaroons! My first one trying these amazing things...so good! I think I found my new treat! A must have!

Way to go, Uncle Kevin!

We had so much fun in Omaha this week! We certainly took advantage of the great (hot) weather as much as possible!

Leah cheered everyone on and even learned to say GO!! It was awesome!

Omaha bound!

Omaha, here we come! On our way to swimming Olympic trials to cheer on uncle Kevin!!

He swims first thing tomorrow morning and we'll be there cheering him on!

But, we still have a car trip to conquer with our wonderful toddler...

Twinkies!

Father-Daughter days...oh, how much I love it when Dad dresses Leah and then Dad dresses himself.  At least they have pretty good taste!

My little cutie!

What a weekend!

Thanks to the family and friends for making it such an amazing weekend! Great job to the tough mudder guys! No major injuries and everyone made it to the finish line. That equals a win in my book.

The kiddos played at home all day and enjoyed a little party time in the afternoon.

Not to mention, Leah is starting to drink from a big girl cup, but hasn't quite mastered it yet...only a matter of time!

We just have too much fun!

She's learning so quickly these days and getting so fun! Here's some of the things we've been up to:

Play date!

What a day! Everybody is off in different directions, but lucky for us, we're having a great time!

The kiddos found the animals!

What is she wearing?!

No words for this...except that this is what happens when I leave Art and Leah to their own devices...

Notice she is dressed in layers, yet it's shorts, a tank top, and leg warmers.  When they went outside, she added a Twins jersey and jacket...like I said...no words.

If this girl is anything like her Mom, this is only the beginning!

Our Summer Water Safety Plans

Our friend asked me about my water safety plans for the summer and thought it was a good topic to share with you.  How do you effectively navigate playing with the kiddos near the edge of the lake and in the yard without having to strap them into a leash-type device that was most definately not designed by a parent?

Even though we've been taking swim lessons with Leah, you can never be too careful in and around the water.  And these lessons are only working on getting her more comfortable with the water - we're not quite to the point where she can swim on her own...

Here are my choices for this summer's gear, I'll try not to be too bias (12-24mos):

Speedo mary jane water shoes from Target, size S (4-5)



Speedo Fabric Baby Float from Target

Remember this cutie from last year?

 

Speedo Swim Diaper

Common misconception - you don't need a disposable diaper under one of these, as long as it's an actual swim diaper, meant for swimming!  It should have a plastic lining, somtimes between two pieces of fabric, that has tight elastic on their waist and legs to hold in any mess that could happen. 

We've swam in these for the last several lessons and hadn't had any messes until the last time...don't worry though - very easy clean up.  A couple swishes in the toilet and we're good!

*word to the wise though, don't put the diaper on until you get to the pool...

Speedo Swim Vest (33+ lbs)

We'll use one of these vests once Leah gets to this size, until then, we have an infant life vest that we bought at (*it kills me to say this...) Walmart last year while in Florida. 

She hated it...but it was mandatory for the boat.  Notice the cutie swim diaper! 
This was over a disposable, just in case...

Last, but not least, the Foam Board!

Leah LOVED this 'magic carpet' as they call it at Foss, and we definately need to get one of these for the lake.  Not sure yet where to find it, but I will find it.

So those are our go-to items for this summer at the lake.  Of course, there's the sunscreen, bug spray, sun hats and cute swim suits (a girl can never have too many...). 

Anything I'm missing??

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful easter - filled with candy and lots of time with Grammie and Grandpa Templin!  We all attended Grandpa's church service at St. Joan of Arc Catholic church on Easter Sunday.  They had a great guest singer, Robert Robinson - he was amazing!  It was a really nice service, not to mention good company too.

Leah made friends with everyone who sat around us - I even had one lady come up to me who wasn't sitting anywhere near us and tell me how sweet and adorable my daughter is!  (oh, I know...)  She tends to charm everyone around her - I just hope this trend continues :)  Makes our social situations pretty easy!

As for the hunting easter eggs tradition, she didn't really understand the whole point of it - maybe we should've given her the candy that was inside the eggs...

She loved the goodies she got in her easter basket, then proceeded to carry the basket around with her like it was a purse.  She's into purses these days.

On occasion, she would spot and egg in a funny spot, give us a look, then go get it and shake it.  Art and I would cheer loudly and clap and she'd get a big smile on her face.  A few mintues later, it would happen all over again.  Not sure she understood the point of this game...

Father Daughter Days

On occasion, I will go out of town on a business trip and leave Art to take care of Leah on his own.  This is a fairly stressful time for all of us, so we all do what we can to get through it.

I left the iPad at home this trip so Art could monitor Leah on the BabyConnect (here) app and communicate easily with daycare if needed.  It's pretty much the greatest invention EVER!  It will also send out an email at the end of the day recapping her day and sending any photos the teachers took.  Pretty slick...

Here's the first day's photo:

Looks innocent enough, however, you'll notice that her clothes are about 3x too big (they're 12-18mos size and she's not really filling out the 12mos just yet), not to mention that they're actually pajamas.  I look forward to the day where she can pick out her own clothes...

Day 2 of my trip:

Again, innocent enough, right?  Very cute pic of our little girl - however, yes, again, that shirt is a pajama shirt.  When I ask Art about it, he says to me '...you should've seen her pants'!  WHAT?!  Yes, she wore her rainbow bright striped pants with the pink/white stripe valentines day pajamas.  Wow.  I can't let these two go anywhere...

Then I get photos like this while I'm finishing up my day at the office:

Melt my heart. 

I guess it's okay when I go out of town...

Yard work day!

Our first day of yard work of the season!  The weather man kept calling for 'sunny and 80' these past few days but only got one afternoon of 65 degrees.  Okay - we'll take it.

We put our work clothes on and got to it!  Spring cleaning at it's finest. ~although, I'm not sure the garbage service picks up yard waste just yet...

Leah helped with a number of chores...

Climbing the ladder (on her own, several times) *scary!*

So proud of herself!  She screamed when we had to 'take it away'...

Helped Dad with cleaning the porch and putting up the lights

And helped me with the Recycling

Yes, the bag and some boxes are strategically ripped and smashed.  Leah feels this is important to do with any cardboard box.  ...Just doing her part...

On a different note, we cleared out this back section of our yard next to the driveway and I have no idea what to do with it.  It usually becomes our storage area for outdoor odds and ends, but tends to look pretty bad if we let it get away from us.  I would love input on what to do back here! 

Some constraints:  Shady area (maybe a couple hours of morning sun), used to be covered in rocks, so we're constantly picking up small rocks while cleaning up back here, tends to collect leaves and other debris from the trees, so needs occasional tending. 

Considering adding to the rocks with more rocks and keeping it as is; do I plant some hastas and try to make it pretty; plant some vining something to cover the fence; or maybe make a stone patio next to the driveway to match our side patio...



Leah, the artist!

My little artist!

Leah has learned (sort of) about crayons and pens, pencils, markers...and that they are really fun to play with!  Not to mention, taste good...or just feel good on those new teeth!  We haven't saved anything for the fridge just yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time!

Bring on the fun!

Walways have so much fun with this kid!  Thought I would share a 'boring' day with you:

Out for a walk

At swim lessons (gotta find me one of these mats!)

A little painting

Some more playtime outside...'Hey Hollywood!'

Man, this girl is fun!

Kiss me, I'm cute!

Happy St. Patty's day!  The post is a little late, but better late than never...right?

You'll notice that in most of the photos, Leah looks as though she's about to lunge for the camera...that's because she is.  We have to snap fast to get the smile but catch her before she grabs for the camera.

She's learning to play by herself more these days, which is both good and bad.  Where I used to have to entertain her by picking her up and carrying her places, she now walks herself all over our house.  Is it Newton's law of motion that says once a baby is in motion, it wants to stay in motion?  When we do stop her, she's learned to throw one heck of a fit!  She has this pathetic screaming cry that makes you think you're hurting her...I get sucked in every time.  The best line was from Art the other day - 'Do you think she understands what it means when we tell her No?' ..Oh yes, she's well aware...

This is by far Leah's favorite spot - the front door.  I guess we won't be changing out the window for the screen any time soon.  She loves to stand at the front door and bang on the glass when a dog (with it's owner) walks by...saying 'dahhh, dahhh, dahhh'

Once we get this kid outside, she never wants to come in.  She walks down the front sidewalk to the street and turns left...only left.  She'll stop every once in a while to double check that we're still following her.  We made it almost to the end of the street once...

If you can't see them, she now has 4 teeth on top, 2 on bottom and more coming every week!