Big Girl Bed

Grandma and Grandpa Stathis helped us pick up and set up Leah's new bed.

Sarah enjoying a book with Grandma in her room.


Leah couldn't wait to climb up and explore the new bed.


My friend gave us the quilt and pillows. It turned out really nice.


We switched the direction of the bed since the room is so small.


Most of the pictures of the girls looked like this...

Snow

We got some!



Leah has her friends over on Friday. It was a much needed break. We were starting to get a little crazy here with Leah's fever and constant fussiness.

She didn't move from that spot, because it was too slippery. Maybe we'll buy some boots for next year. It's hard to justify buying snow gear when it only snows once or twice and rarely stays on the ground for more than a week.

Two

We are loving Leah being two and all that comes with it. It seems like it happened overnight.

At two, Leah is still very opinionated about what she wears. She rotates between about two or three shirts and a couple of pairs of pants.

She talks nonstop in full sentances.

She potty trained quite easily and hasn't had a hard time with it.

She transitioned to a big-girl bed and LOVES it.

She loves taking care of her sister and making sure she is okay. She talks to her in a baby voice and says things like, "I'm sorry Sarah you too little to have it. You choke on it." She is also very defensive of her toys when others come over to play. She regularly explains what is going on so that Sarah feels included.

She is still a super picky eater. Her likes are shredded cheese, pretzels, Macaroni and Cheese, and my homemade chicken noodle soup. Everything else is hit or miss.

She is very concerned about everyone and everything.

She loves nursery, babies, singing, music, movies (her favorite right now is Toy Story 3), and playing hide-and-go-seek.

We love her so much and really can't imagine a life without her.

Two Year Stats

Height: 35 1/2 inches, 75th percentile
Weight: 24 pounds 2 ounces, 10th percentile

Sick

The fever started yesterday afternoon.

I knew something was wrong when she wanted me to hold her constantly.



When she isn't cuddled up in my arms, she is laying on the couch watching TV.

I'm counting down the days until Spring!

Mash Up

A little Twinkle Twinkle with some ABCs anyone?



Please pardon my squealing. Before I grabbed my camera, Sarah squealed, everytime Leah sang something. Perhaps we'll have some sing offs in our future.

She likes it!!

She's been eyeing our food for awhile now, so we decided to give her a taste.





I'm not sure if she had rice cereal in mind.

Pure Joy

Letters

Sarah plays with these all day long.

They make her so happy.

She chews on them, talks to them, and stares at them.







It makes me happy to see Leah handing them to her one at a time saying, "Here you go baby...R...M...I (these are her favorite letters) Yay!! Baby grabbed it!!

Happy, Happy, Birthday

Leah Dear...

It was a good one.

Lisa came. We talked to my parents and David on the Webcam. David looked like that most of the time. We woke him up I guess.


We wore party hats.


Leah played with her gifts.


Her cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Stathis came for lunch.


The kids played together. The adults talked.


Leah had so much fun. We can hardly believe she is two-years old.

Stay little.

Just a little longer.

Please.

The Cake

Lisa made it. It was big with custom ordered sprinkles on top.


It was even prettier on the inside.


Yummy!

Pre-Birthday Celebrations

We had a very low-key birthday for Leah this year with just family. However, a few days before we had my friend Jenn and her three boys over. Leah just loves them. They live really close to us. It's been nice to get together often, so the Moms can chat and the kids can play.

Before they arrived, Leah helped me make the cupcakes. She was especially good at licking the batter from the beater. She also really, really liked my frosting.


These are Jenn's twin boys. They are so cute and super sweet to Leah. They picked out a Thomas the Train car for her named Arthur and some cars. She loves them. They helped her decorate the cupcakes and where especially chatty once we left the room.


Isn't Sarah so cute sitting in that bumbo? She is always so content just watching the excitment when she is awake.


I didn't get a picture of Tyce. He's the youngest and the closest in age to Leah. They have fun playing together, and we love when he comes to our house to play.

Jumperoo Part Two

Sarah loves the jumperoo just as much as Leah did. Give Sarah a couple of months, and she'll be jumping all over the place too.



Doesn't Sarah have the best smile ever?? It's so big and infectious.

Done

All the bathrooms are clean. I finished just in time for Leah's official first day of wearing only big girl panties. I'm ready. She's ready. I think. Wish us luck.

Spic N' Span

So I am slowly getting around to those bathrooms and floor.

The kitchen floor is mopped, and Leah and I worked on the master bathroom this afternoon.

I'm glad one of us was excited about this job. She started with the door, and then worked her way to the wall. I practically had to drag her out to eat lunch.



Now if I could only get her that passionate about getting dressed and keeping clothes on while we are at home.

Cold

As we were getting out of the car yesterday, Leah discovered her purple sunglasses tucked away in her carseat cubby.

She immediately put them on and said "cold" while nodding her head. I agreed and said, "oh yes, you do look cool!"

It's so fascinating to listen to kids develop their language skills.

On occasion, Leah calls me Mom, and David Dad. She's called David by his name a few times, and when he was parking the car last week she kept calling him honey.

I guess she is always listening.

Bringing in the New Year

We went all out this year as chaperones to the multi-stake youth dance. We stood watch at the doors, talked, and played scrabble on my phone.



Sarah joined us, and of course she was just perfect. She slept through most of it, despite the really loud music, and then just smiled and cooed until we counted down the New Year and headed home.



Leah slept over at Grandma and Grandpa Stathis' house. Since she was there, the rest of us slept in until 9:45 on New Year's day!!