The Girls Got Good Taste!

Be still my beating heart...what a proud moment for Mommy, HA! After all the presents had been opened Leah went straight for Aunt Cynthia's new COACH purse. Teach them right from the start!!! You would think that with all the toys on the floor she would be itching to get into all of them, but no, not my girl...high class all the way. Now I just have to work on making sure we don't have any "Diva" Attitude. Maybe next year we can shoot for some Gucci or Versace...or not :)

Official Taste Tester

YUMMY!

This past Friday Leah and I were hard at work doing some holiday baking. Normally I try to find something for us to do during the day to get us out of the house for a little bit...even if it is just running to the grocery store. But Today, we were waiting for Leah's "Big Girl" bed to get delivered, so I had to stay put. I decided that making cookies for our neighbors was a friendly-holiday thing to do. NOTE: We have the best neighbors (2 of them actually) that always help us out and house-sit/dog-sit when ever we leave town. Anyway, I tried to get Leah to step in and really get involved (meaning-Messy) but she wasn't really interested. She did have fun helping me hold the mixer, but that was short lived. Of course when I was unwrapping Hershey's Kisses for the Peanut Butter Blossoms she was happy to steal a Kiss. Anyway, as I was taking the beaters out of the blender I let her have a lick. Her face lit up, so I gave in and gave her one...and she was off!!! She ran out to the living room to cherish her new treasure. She loved licking the beater so much. You can tell by her expression above how much she is enjoying it. Even after she had licked it clean she wouldn't hand it over. I thought it was pretty cute. I know when we are at Gigi's (my mom's) house for Christmas she will get to make more cookies and I can guarantee she will be begging for the beater. The trick will be getting Aunt WaWa to share, Ha!

In other news, I am 28+ weeks in my second pregnancy now. The THIRD trimester, YAY! I seem to be doing well, or at least I think so. My doctor is concerned because I am experiencing some Braxton-Hicks contractions. I'm not too worried...I had them for the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy with Leah, but my doctor says this time it is different. Everything has been "stretched" before and I started having them very early. So I am on strict orders to take it easy...of course this would be right before the Holiday's with our crazy travel plans that include Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois! I told my doc...I know the deal (All my time working for the March of Dimes has made me a expert, of sorts-Ha!) Lots of rest, lots of water, warm showers and laying on my left side. I don't think he liked my quick response and lack of concern...Now my problem is that Mitch is going to be on me...He is not that kind of doctor but he sure is acting like THAT kind of doctor :) But seriously, neither of us wants me to end up on bedrest, so I guess it's time for me to buckle down and behave.

WaWa!!!

Okay, so WaWa is actually Aunt Laura but Leah can't seem to pronounce Laura so she says "WaWa". We were fortunate enough to have Aunt Laura come and stay with us for a few days after Thanksgiving. She was out in NJ/NY visiting her in-laws for the holiday and her work schedule permitted her to stay for a few extra days to catch up with her favorite little niece Leah. We only had 2 days but they were great. On Monday we took Leah to the asthma/allergy specialist (not so much fun) and then we went shopping at Quakerbridge Mall where Leah got to see Santa Claus. Last year she loved him but this year...not so much. She just kind of looked at him with this scowl on her face...it didn't last long. I had been trying to introduce the idea of Santa to her with books. Now, when ever she sees him on TV or in books she says "oh, oh oh" I guess that is her version of "Ho Ho Ho!" Maybe if I would have waited a bit longer she would have been a little less apprehensive, oh well maybe next year.

On Tuesday we went to Adventure Aquarium in Camden. It has slowly become one of our favorite spots. Leah does really well and loves to look at all the fish...plus on weekdays it gives her an opportunity to run around, even though we are stuck indoors. We spent the most time watching the hippos and the sharks. We are glad that Aunt Laura got to go with us, and I love the picture above of them posing in the shark's mouth.

Lucky for Mitch and I. My sister was here for our anniversary. We were able to go out to dinner and knew that Leah was in good hands with her Auntie! I think Leah had a great time, but Aunt Laura looked exhausted when we got home :) Thanks Aunt WaWa for coming to visit. We love getting to spend time with you and can't wait for Christmas!

Leah trying to tickle her Aunt Wawa!

The Road Warrior

Leah and I flew to Illinois to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Mitch then drove to Illinois on Wed. and we all drove back together on the 29th after my niece and nephew were baptized. Yes, it is about a 13 hour drive and we have been told many times that we are crazy. But Mitch and I kind of got used to making that long of a drive when we lived in Champaign. Anytime we went to Minnesota to visit his family it was about an 11 hour haul. People think we are especially crazy to attempt it with a toddler, but I have to say she did GREAT!

Now looking at this picture you might be thinking she doesn't look "great". But this is a kid who didn't take a nap and was exhausted from playing with all her little cousins. It was pretty cute actually...We got home from church, and put her in the high chair to have lunch and she was actually falling asleep eating her meal. But as soon as we took her out and gave her a little bit of freedom she was off and running with the troops! She kept right up with Macy and Preston and wanted to do everything that they did. By the time we got her in the car around 2:30 she was wiped out. She was asleep before we even got out of Charleston and slept for over 2 hours. I finally woke her up so that she would sleep during the night on the ride home. We hooked up the portable DVD player and for the most part she was happy as a clam in the backseat. She had a few small meltdowns but that was to be expected. It gives me hope that she will be tolerant when we drive to and from Minnesota for Christmas. PLEASE PLEASE do good on the drives at Christmas!!!

So Many Blessings!

This is Brooklyn and Preston Phillips (My cousin Tiffany's kids) Preston is holding my nephew Colby. Then of course there is Leah. My niece Macy is holding baby Jameson (my cousin Tara's son). Aren't they adorable!!!

Wow, has it really been over a month since I last blogged? This getting ready for the holiday thing has really slowed me down...well, that or the toddler that lives in my house that is in constant overdrive :)

I was fortunate enough to go home again this year for Thanksgiving. I have a feeling...actually I know that it won't be nearly as easy for me to pick up and go home once baby #2 arrives in March so it was GREAT to go home. While I was there I got to spend lots of time with family. I think one of the highlights was getting to see Leah play with all her little cousins that are her age. We had quite a wild bunch on our hands. But it was so much fun. I feel bad that Leah doesn't get to have these experiences more often...maybe someday.

The picture below is of my niece and nephew's baptism. It worked out perfect actually because little Jameson was baptized on Saturday so I got to celebrate with them too. That's the real reason that I went home. There is no greater gift from God than Children. And MAN, are these two little ones pretty special. I may be a little biased, but I love them so much and was so happy to be there on their special day. I can't wait to get home for Christmas and see them again...oh and the rest of my family too :)

Making Cookies

When Leah's grandparents were here they made cookies with her. In the pictures she looked like she was having a lot of fun, so we thought that we would give it a try. So here she is measuring out the ingredients with her daddy.

Really, I think she had more fun trying to TASTE all the indredients and playing with all the utensils...I couldn't get the wisk away from her :)

Last but not least, she waited patiently for the cookies to be done. She has a mean impersonation of cookie monster...thankfully she has better manners when it comes to eating them!

Twinkly Toes!

Yes, little Leah is all girl! She is getting weekly pedicures now...well, not really but I will let her think it is a real pedicure for as long as possible :)

If she spots a bottle of nail polish on the counter or sees me taking my nail polish off she will insist that I paint her toes too! It's a great mother-daughter bonding experience...and her toes look pretty cute to boot!

Windsor Farms Fall Festival

This weekend we took Leah to the Windsor Farms Fall Festival. We had actually taken her to it last year, so we figured we may as well go again. This year Leah was much more excited to take in the festivities. She enjoyed listening to the live band...I think they were called SUNDOG...she was busting a move and clapping along with the songs.

Of course we went out into the pumpkin patch to pick a good one! Leah saw her daddy pick out a pumpkin so she thought that she should get to pick something too. There weren't a whole lot of gourds this year, but the two that she found, she thought that she had to have. I love this picture because it shows her struggle to try to carry them both...this went on for about 10 minutes before she finally caved and put them both down.

I like to call this picture "careful, your midwestern roots are showing." Of course we went on the hayrack ride, and Leah had to chew on straw or hay the entire time. I couldn't get her to put it down.

And last but not least...ELMO!!! When we first got there she started saying "Melmo, Melmo, Melmo!" I couldn't figure out what she was talking about, but there he was. I swear she spotted him from a mile away...at first she was scared of him, but it only took her a minute to warm up. She loved giving him high-fives, and every time she saw him walking around she would take off after him. It was pretty cute...what a fun day!