Happy Hanukkah

Leah had an extremely busy weekend! Most importantly, she got to visit with V.V. and Grumpa. They came all the way from North Carolina to help Leah kick off the celebration of Hanukkah. First, they took Leah to enjoy an Atlanta classic - the Pink Pig. Leah loved looking at the pig, and she ended up enjoying the ride too. However, the process of getting strapped in did not go so smoothly. After the ride she kept saying "Ride. Train", so I really do believe that she had a nice time. After the Pink Pig, we went to Eclipse de Luna for dinner. Not only did Leah taste some exotic tapas, but she also was charming the whole restaurant as she danced in her high chair. She even had the gruff-looking waiter smiling & waving by the time we left!




Saturday morning was the Zaban family Hanukkah party. V.V. and Grumpa were treated to fresh latkes, Aunt Sara's homemade challah, and lots of other yummy treats as we celebrated. Leah got to sample her first real latke at the party, because she was too little to eat them last year. She definitely liked the latkes (what isn't to like?) with homemade applesauce, but her favorite was chocolate half of her black-and-white cookie. In a first time effort, I made the black-and-whites from scratch. They were not as pretty as the ones we get at Goldberg's, but were pretty darn yummy! Here Leah shows her ability to multi-task: opening a present with one hand, while stuffing challah in her face with the other. =)



Sunday morning, we all got up and rolled out to see the Learning Groove perform a Hanukkah concert. We hung out with the Parness family. Leah ate some donuts, and grooved to the music with Micah. I think everyone had fun, and we're looking forward to taking a music class with Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael from the Learning Groove in the new year.





The final event in our weekend was a real treat for Leah. We had a little Hanukkah celebration with Bubbe & Honey, and V.V. and Grumpa. Leah rarely gets to have all 4 grandparents to herself, and she took full advantage of the situation. She helped light the menorah(s), opened lots of presents, and entertained us all. Leah's special gift from V.V. and Grumpa was a super-cool kitchen. Once she "opened" the kitchen and the bowls and spoons that go with it, she then went about cooking oatmeal and soup for all of us. She also was very meticulous about "washing" all of her dishes and cookware in the sink. Leah then impressed us all by eating an extremely grown-up dinner. She ate some mustard-crusted lamb, wild rice with balsamic mushrooms, LOTS of steamed broccoli, and of course she finished it all off with one of those black-and-white cookies! I still can't believe that we're only one night into this holiday - I hope Leah isn't let down if the rest of the week is a bit quieter!!

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!