Potomac Nationals

Summer isn't complete without going to a ball game...

and the Potomac Nationals, a minor league team, play close to where we live...

so we decided to take advantage of a nice night (low humidity) and inexpensive family night prices (dollar tickets and hot dogs).


Leah lasted about 30 minutes before she started to get restless.

David and I had finished our hot dogs (I only eat them at ball games), and we saw a couple of good plays, so we decided it was okay we were leaving before the 4th inning even started.

On our way to the car, we stopped for a few minutes to watch a league softball game.



She liked being able to have an entire grassy field to herself.

Time is Running Short

It's only a matter of time before Leah will be on the move.
This morning she rolled from back to stomach and back again several times on our bed.

...and just before I took this video she pulled her legs up under herself and lunged for the camera with a very determined look.

A jumperoo is on its way, but it's taking way too long for her to just sit around waiting.

The Power of the Unexpected

This made my day. I wish I was at that wedding!

Six Month Stats

Height: 26 1/4 inches, 75th percentile
Weight: 13 pounds 7 ounces, 15th percentile

Recent Interests

Doing all sorts of acrobatics on the playmat


Trying new food and liking it


Sitting for 2 weeks -- now she insists on standing


Being around people -- here with cousin Grant

Oh really...

She always has something say.

Sometimes it's excited squeals in various pitches.

Most recently, she's added "da, da, da" to her repertoire.

Happy 1/2 Birthday

Six months old today

Sleep

Warning: Long post with few pictures.

Leah has been having trouble sleeping through the night. She was waking up almost every two hours, and it was starting to wear on both of us. Rice cereal and lots of food before bed didn't seem to make any difference in her sleep habits.

A friend recommended this book:


I devoured it on Tuesday night, and by Wednesday evening we had decided that we were going to try it immediately.

It seemed to be a good weekend, since I was going to be going out of town and David would have Leah on Saturday night. It wasn't realistic to have him waking up 3 times to give her bottles.

Wednesday night: When she woke up at 1 am and 3 am , I gave her a pat on the back and her binkie. She fell right back asleep and then at 5:30 when she woke again, I fed her, and she slept until 7:30. I thought okay, that's not too bad. One day down.

Thursday night: This was the hardest night by far, and I'm glad we didn't cave. She woke up at 3 am. I thought I could appease her with the binkie again. Wrong. She started screaming in protest immediately. I took a deep breath, closed her door, closed our door and laid down. She proceeded to cry, scream, and yell for about an hour and a half. I think. We both fell asleep and didn't wake up until 6 am. She was all smiles and didn't seem to remember how distraught she was earlier that night.

Friday night: She didn't take a very long afternoon nap -- she maybe slept for 30 minutes around 1 o'clock -- so naturally she started to get fussy and tired around 5:30 pm. Following the guidance in the book, I followed our nighttime routine and put her to bed, even though it was much earlier than normal. She slept, and she slept. At 11 pm, I was worried she would wake up as soon as I laid down. I went to bed, and she didn't wake up until 5 am! I fed her, and she slept until 7 am. Wow! A good nights rest, totally made up for the heartache I felt the night before when she cried for so long. We were both rested, and so much happier.

The trend continued Saturday and Sunday night. I hope it's a habit from now on. The only thing now is that she isn't napping as well during the day. She takes a long morning nap, and a very, very short one in the afternoon. So, David hasn't been able to see her when he comes home, because she's already in bed.

Sweet dreams Leah!

Girls Weekend

Lisa and I hit the road for a quick weekend getaway.


My former roommate was getting married in Winston-Salem, NC.

The rest of the pictures are on Lisa's camera. It was a very gorgeous southern wedding complete with sear sucker suits and a grits bar.

Leah stayed home with Daddy. They had a great time together.


The first of many messes.

Saturday morning, she helped David vacuum the chapel. Afterwards, they headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Stathis' house for the rest of the day.

Sitting Up

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July in Richmond with the Mathis'

Aaron and Leah had fun playing with each other.


We had fun holding and cuddling with Grant, before we headed out to a 4th of July celebration.


There was a skydiving show, lots of fried food, and a petting zoo.





On our way home, we discovered there was a fireworks show at Signal Hill park across the street of our townhouse development. We parked at home and then headed over with Leah in the stroller. We were worried the fireworks would be too loud for her. She didn't seem to mind at all.

Success the Second Time Around

Our second attempt at riding the train was successful.

Leah made lots of friends, and I made sure to ask the conductor where the train was going.