Thanksgiving and Beyond

Leah had a fantastic Thanksgiving. She got to spend tons of time with V.V. and Grumpa. She also got to visit with lots of other special people. She had her first meeting with Uncle Mike, and also got to meet baby Claire. Leah ate her first Thanksgiving dinner this year, since she was too little to eat last year. She liked the sweet potato casserole and the satin pie best. In fact, after tasting the chocolate satin pie, she said "happy". Every time she wanted another bite, Leah would request "happy". I think the pie has officially been renamed from "satin" to "happy pie". Really, it makes grown ups happy too, so the name fits! One of Leah's favorite parts of the weekend was visiting the animals at Aunt Christina & Uncle Jay's farm. She met goats, sheep, llamas, chickens, ducks, kitties, and pigs. Leah was not too sure what to make of the pigs, but you can see some photos of her meeting Luna the llama and Violet the sheep. The other really cool thing that Leah got to do on the farm was to wash her hands in the sink. She liked that so much, that she insisted on doing it twice!



Leah had the chance to paint some pottery at the J last weekend. She painted a plate for Hanukkah. She was very good at using the damp sponge to wipe down the plate before we painted. She also liked using the paint brush. She was not quite as happy when we painted her hand for a hand-print. It was a fun morning, despite the hand-painting. We got a new camera over Thanksgiving, so we got the chance to practice shooting at the park yesterday afternoon. It is amazing what a difference a fast camera makes when taking pictures of speedy munchkins! Here are some of our shots:





Coming up, Leah will be riding the Pink Pig with Honey. We are also expecting a visit from V.V. & Grumpa just in time for the first night of Hanukkah. As always, I have TONS more photos than I am able to share here. If you want to see more, just let me know and I can send a link.

The Girl Never Slows Down!

A reminder from Leah: Please remember to vote! She went this morning, and had her first experience with the Democratic process. Leah had a packed weekend, and you can see some snapshots below. She had a slightly difficult time adjusting to the time change, so we were stretching to keep her awake on Sunday evening. We handed her the spoon, she insisted on doing her own dipping, and you can see the results! Prior to Leah's experiments with yogurt, she had a fun afternoon at the park with Anna & the Sims Family. Leah was having a blast on the swings, and Anna wanted to know what all of the fuss was about. Finally, Leah's current new trick is climbing into things. Boxes.....bins....strollers....and wagons. She got into her little pink wagon, but needed some help getting back out! This girl keeps us moving!! More soon.

Happy Halloween

While this was not Leah's first Halloween, this was the year of her first costume! She was a lovely purple iris, and Jack was a busy bee. They went as a pair to the Halloween party at All Creatures Animal Hospital (we're still waiting to hear the results of the costume contest, as they vote by secret-ballot after the party). As always, Jack doesn't mind the body of the costume, but he is never a fan of the head-gear. On the big night, we went to Bubbe's house, and checked out the Glen Errol Halloween festivities. Leah got to hang out with cousins NASCAR Charlie, and Spidey Max. It was a fun time for all, and we look forward to doing it again next year! Hope you all had happy haunting. =)

The Great Maine Adventure

Leah has returned from her big road trip to Maine and back. She was an absolute super-star! Especially remarkable for a 15-month old to sit still for that long. We made stops in Raleigh and CT on our way up, before forging on to ME. Of course, our first stop in Maine was at Kittery for lobster rolls and whoopie pies. Leah her first taste of lobster very much.


Leah got to meet her friend, Caly for the first time this trip. Caly is 6 months old, 3+ inches shorter than Leah, but weighs almost a full pound more! The girls hit if off well, and it was fun for Leah to be the "big kid" for once. She helped return dropped toys to Caly, and inspired Caly to clap her hands.


Leah met 3 very special guys this trip too. We didn't get a picture of her with Uncle Al (aka: Uncle Boom), but below you can see her goofing off with Uncle Neil & Uncle Jimmy. She found all three men highly entertaining. She especially thought it was funny when Al or Neil tickled her. Leah loved spending time with Aunties Shannon & Kris as well. She has met them both before, but not since she had much conscious memory. Shannon had story time with both babies. They all had fun, and it was a nice break for the mommies too.




Leah got to go on her first apple-picking expedition. She had a great time picking apples (with, or without adult help). She also got to put those new top teeth to work, and learned how to take a bite out of a whole apple.


We were SO lucky to get this time with friends. We had a terrific time just hanging out, and the scenery was brilliant. Our next goal is to plan another get together for 2009!!

Burt's Farm

Leah had a very exciting adventure today. We rode out to Burt's Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville, GA. There we went on a hay ride through the farm, and Leah romped among the pumpkins. They had pumpkins of all sizes, from tiny to HUGE...and from the traditional orange to blue! Leah loved the hay ride, and pointed out every flower and pumpkin that we passed along the way. Two other firsts, Leah tasted her first fresh apple cider (iced to combat the North Georgia Indian Summer), and her first fried apple pie. Today was a simple day, but so much fun for all of us! We were able to spend some time together, and it is so amazing to watch Leah experience fun new firsts. Seeing the world through her eyes is a very beautiful experience. Now we're aiming to rest up, before we hit the road for Maine. Hopefully I'll get some photos of the front porch once we have all of the pumpkins set up.

Busy Baby

As usual, Leah has been a very busy girl. She has spent a lot of time with family lately, including her cousins. She is also in the process of moving to 1 nap/day. This is a big transition, and some days it is working better than others for Leah. Luckily, we are able to stay pretty flexible, and try to ease into the new schedule. Two of Leah's newest interests are shoes and purses. You can see here her bold fashion decision - nothing accessorizes fish pajamas better than (fake) Prada.


We've been able to spend some good time at the park lately. The weather has been great for it. The most exciting news there is that Leah FINALLY likes the swings! Up until two weeks ago, she would cry every time she got on the swing. Now she giggles and smiles. She especially enjoys it when she has other friends to watch swinging next to her.



Up ahead for Leah is the pumpkin patch this weekend. Then, we head out for Maine shortly thereafter. This will be a huge adventure for all of us, and we're looking forward to seeing Auntie Shannon, Auntie Kristen, Uncle Al, Uncle Neil and Caly!

Long Time No Blog

Ahhhh, so now that Leah is on the run it is hard to keep up! She may not actually be running, but she is walking all over the place. Here are a few shots of Leah from the beach. We had a fantastic time in Watercolor with Bubbe, Honey, Uncle Michael, Aunt Kim, Sophie, Max, & Charlie. Leah was NOT a fan of the beach itself, but she made up for it in the pool and at home. We also got a treat when Auntie Michelle visited for an afternoon.




Mommy & Daddy have seen Holly & Kirk over the past year, but they had yet to meet Leah. We finally had a breakfast date, and Leah was intrigued by Kirk. She is such a flirt!


Suddenly, Leah has decided that sunglasses are cool. Here she is modeling her shades. I think she has realized that she gets BIG reactions from people when she walks into the room in those shades.


In the next few weeks, Leah's calendar is pretty busy. We've got a Dinerman/Schulman/Katz family get together, and we'll be celebrating cousin Charlie's fist birthday. It all leads up to our great Maine vacation in October. I'll try to be better about getting this thing updated more often. Since Leah is moving, it is also hard to get pictures of her sitting still!