Ready for Fall

Leah looks so grown up in a sweater and jeans...


...or maybe she is just getting bigger.

The couch is holding her up even though it looks like she's standing unassisted. She still isn't crawling or walking yet.

She did put her hand in her pocket on her own.

I'm loving this stage. She laughs a lot, and is starting to show her personality and opinions more and more.

Random

Trying unsuccessfully to take a picture in the mirror.

This is the best one...scary, I know. Apparently, I can't appear normal while holding the camera steady and pushing the button.

Cute hat with red velvet, black polka dot skirt. This was an adorable baby shower gift that I've been waiting for her to wear for a long time.

Some of my favorite pictures of her are sitting on our bed, while we get ready in the morning.

She's just starting to show interest in stuffed animals.

She likes when you drop the monkey on her head while making monkey noises. No monkey noises. No laugh from Leah.

All Better

Raspy voice

I think she's going to learn to craw from a sitting up position. She can move herself around in a circle while sitting up. She loves doing this in the tub. She also leans forward to get things (as shown in the video). I think one of these times she's going to lean forward, swing her knees under her body, and then realize what she can really do...

No Fever...No Voice

She seems to be back to her smiley self with one exception.

She lost her voice. It was raspy yesterday, and today it's almost completely gone.

How do you get a baby to stop talking?? When she tries to cry and nothing comes out, she gets extremely frustrated and cries harder. Poor baby. Other than her squeaky voice, she seems to be acting okay. She plays, and smiles, and kicks her legs. She is also napping today.

Too bad she's too little for popsicles. Lots of juice, milk, and water will have to do.

Sick

On Wednesday afternoon, Leah's fever started.

It was slight, just over 100.

The fever resulted in a sleepless night on Thursday, and a trip to the doctor on Friday morning. Luckily it wasn't a bacterial infection, and there wasn't anything in her ears or lungs. We would just have to wait for the virus to run its course.

Friday was a tough day. She didn't take any naps, and as a result we were both exhausted and cranky.

The only thing that was able to console her was the swing.


and walks, lots of walks.


She crashed about 10 minutes ago. Ah, I already feel so much better!

Crawling

...not yet

She flaps her arms and legs constantly and rolls occasionally.

Yesterday, we had dinner with some friends whose daughter is Leah's age.

She crawled like an expert, maneuvered herself up the one stair separating the living room and the dining room and back down again. She pushed a "walking" toy around as she cruised like she'd been doing it her entire life.

Leah watched her with a very perplexed look trying to figure it out.


So today while we were at the store I bought this for Leah.


It was on clearance, and it said "encourages crawling."

I have pictures of me with a similar toy, and I seemed to like it.

Well, it scared her. I have never seen her so frightened before. I picked her up, and we did something else for a few hours. I thought if I tried again with her laying on her stomach, she might like it more. She moved this time. She was frantically trying to move in the other direction. When she couldn't get away, she cried again.

I guess she's afraid of cows in cowboy hats.

The Perfect Gift

My birthday gift from David came in the mail today.

It's perfect. Now, he won't have to worry about me calling him asking for directions...nor will Lisa or my Mom or anyone else with access to a computer. I seem to get lost more often since we moved. In my defense, it isn't really that easy out here.

The Piano Player

Whenever we go to the Stathis' house I play the piano...sometimes Leah joins me

She watches my hands move, listens, and then bangs a few keys

She can't figure out the orange light that appears before the flash on our camera. So she glares at it.

One day we hope to have our own piano

Cousins and Trains

The Mathis boys came up to visit over Labor day

Leah and Aaron had fun playing with Papa's trains


Hugs (Leah glaring at orange light on the camera)


Riding the train at Burke Lake

Curls and Food

Leah's hair is getting pretty long, especially on the top

So, we decided to put a few curls in it


This is what it looked like in the morning

Only one curler made it through the night


Now on to food...

Her favorite foods are applesauce and pears

She also likes prunes, carrots, and sweet potatoes


She likes to make this face while she waits to eat