I am BIG girl now...

My little tiny baby girl is growing up so fast! She is on the verge of mobility! AHHHH! While this is terribly exciting it is also terribly frightening because the days of leaving her to play while I go do something and expecting her to still be there are gone gone gone!

The other day I left her on her playmat, went upstairs to get a drink and when I came back down stairs she was no where to be found. I said "Lo...Lo where did you go?!" She had crawled (backwards...haven't quite figured out the forward motion yet) into our spare room!

Here we are on all 4s, rockin' back and forth. We have been doing this for days! I keep hoping she will start moving FORWARD! Mostly because I am tired of the tears of frustration over it! (Hers not mine!)

We are also eating like a champ! This kid devours everything! She leaves nothing on her "plate." I keep waiting to introduce something she doesn't like! Ha!

Here I am drinking from my BIG girl cup!

So it seems mobility is inevitable! Everything is happening so fast now. She is SO close to sitting up on her own, almost crawling forward and NOW she can stand up for several minutes by herself. Now, she isn't pulling up yet but I feel that is coming too! Chad and I think she just wants to skip it all and start walking. I will be interested to see how she figures all of this out!



And now here is Lo and L.Jo playing! They are so cute and I just love watching them grow up together!
L.Jo is learning to sit right now, she is getting pretty close. It is funny to remember when Lo did that! And now going with the theme she is a BIG girl now!


Here are some just because pictures:

She is starting to suck her thumb when she is sleepy. It is so sweet.

SUPER LEIGHTON!
Wearing my cape mommy!

And Finally

I am 28 weeks old today and as cute as ever!

I just love being a mom. More than I ever thought imaginable! Watching her and all my friends' babies grow and learn things just makes me happy and amazes me every time. It makes you take a step back and appreciate ALL the small things in life that we tend to take for granted every day. All our babies are such a blessing from God. They are each fun and unique, full of life and personalities!!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
Matthew 19:14

New Mama's Corner

Hey this is for all you new momma's out there! Sometimes in the midst of telling the world all about the great things our sweet little ones are doing we forget to share some of the things we learn along the road to motherhood that can save a new mama panic or frustrations OR simply make her feel like she is not the only way that does crazy things.
There is a blog I stumbled upon months ago called New Mama's Corner. I found it when I was googling for breastfeeding help and fell in love with her blog. It is full of all sorts of great tips and advice that I LOVE reading! We have become blogging "friends" if you will (at least I think we have) since we have never met in real life. Our daughters seem to share very similar stories and are 6 months apart exactly and they are both named Olivia! So of course we felt we had tons in common. Anyway you can read her "horror" story about blankets in cribs here. I share this because this very SAME THING happened to me a few months ago (almost verbatim, see we have bunches in common ;) ).

the poodle blanket lovey is all she is allowed to sleep with now!
only because it is barely a blanket and it can't be wrapped around her head.

I thought Lo could sleep with a blanket covering her up in her crib. I figured she might be cold. She has since birth been able to lift her head up and move it side to side. In my mind that equals they are capable of getting out from underneath a blanket and won't suffocate themselves. Now I know babies will let you know if they are in "danger" by crying, but I had had enough of the crying in the middle of the night and was going to let her cry it out. (note she was about 18 weeks at this point?!) But as I laid there waiting for her to go to sleep the cry just sounded weird and muffled...I continued to lay there, but something kept nagging me to go check on her...finally, begrudgingly, I might add, I got up to check on her. To my HORROR she had wrapped her blanket around her head like a turban so tight I can't believe she could even cry! Well, I yanked her out of that crib so fast and just held and rocked and nursed her apologizing over and over for being a "bad mommy!" SO needless to say she no longer sleeps with a blanket in her crib and will be sleeping in sleepsack this winter.
Hopefully our stories will help you avoid this panic. And if you all have stories about things you learned the hard way and want to share feel free to share them! I wish I would have told the story sooner and maybe it could have helped!

And because I like to have pics on my blog here is my sweet little angel!

Watermark

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
-Romans 6:4

Our church hosted their annual baptism service this Sunday. It was a Sunday of 300+ baptisms! Praise the Lord! It was so amazing to see all those people make their faith and belief in Jesus Christ public by being baptized! And two of those people who made this step are my sister Meg, and my hubby Chad! They were baptized together it was very special. Our whole family is so proud of both of them!

Meg and Chad getting ready to be baptized!

"Daddy, I am so proud of you!"

Video of Chad and Meg being Baptized!



After being up all morning and being SUPER SUPER good, Lo finally passed out in her car seat.
(she is turning into a little thumb sucker, it's pretty cute)

We had a ton of family there supporting the two of them!

Back to School

Back to School, back to school...oh back to school.
Well it's August and Chad is back to teaching school that is.
We have really REALLY enjoyed and LOVED having Chad home this summer. It has been a blessing for both Lo and me! I am glad he got to be here to watch her really grow this summer, it is an opportunity that some daddy's don't get to experience.
And like you all do with your kids we take Chad's first day of school pic too! :)

2009One day it will be Lo's turn...too!

I am not looking forward to that day (at least not yet!) we are having WAY to much fun at home!

6 Months

Today my little baby girl turns 6 months old. It is a bit bittersweet for me because she isn't a tiny little newborn anymore and that makes me a little sad especially since seems like there is about to be a bunch of new newborns soon, BUT it is so much more fun with her now! She is learning, growing, and gaining a personality everyday and I have no desire to go backwards only forwards.


Honestly, not a lot has changed this past month. She is just getting stronger and more mobile.

She is a little roly poly and rolls all over the place. She wants to crawl and starts to creep along but then the next thing you know she tips herself over and just decides rolling is way easier!

here we are working on crawling.

She sits up like a champ, I don't even feel compelled to put pillows around her in case she goes "boom." Usually, she dives forward on her own accord (probably because she saw a dog toy she wanted :) )

riding my "new" scooter from grandpa Billy.

Don't you love kids, you can spend TONS of money on all the neat and fancy "educational" toys and they want to play with the dog's toys, paper, and empty Crystal light containers. :) Just doesn't make sense, but it saves us money I suppose.

Lo thinks it is hilarious when she coughs...again why do kids find bodily functions so funny?!

She is also into blowing raspberries (or spit bubbles at you) it cracks me up when she mimics me doing it.

Bath time has become my new favorite part of the day. She can sit in the water and we can play with her toys and splash each other!! I have waited for this moment for a long time...I don't know why but kids playing in their bath is way more fun than just soaping them up!

I am obsessed with her hair! I want her to have it! :) She had so much when she was born and then it fell out and she got that baby bald spot. BUT it is starting to grow in little by little! I hope by her first birthday we will have a full head...am I setting myself up here?! But for now we will use BOWS to camouflage! :)


My other favorite FAVORITE thing is she reaches for me (well everyone she knows and loves really) but it feels so good to have your baby know you and WANT you! It melts my heart like a Popsicle on the 4th of July! (I even love it still as we are entering into a "clingy" phase, but ask me in a month I may have a different answer! Ha!)

Eating: Well, we are officially on solids now. We only eat "meals" at dinner and "second breakfast" (as daddy likes to call it, because daddy needs a mid-morning snack too!)
And there is NOTHING we have tried that she doesn't like! This kid LOVES to eat! (I sort of already knew that deep down--I mean our bracelets of fat didn't appear because we refuse meals ;) ). She barely lets any of it escape her mouth. Peas (check) Carrots (check) Green Beans (check) Bananas (check) Applesauce (check) Oatmeal (check) Yogurt (check). Hopefully this is an indication that she won't be a picky eater like her mommy!

She also is drinking from a trainer sippy cup. And when ever you nurse or give her a bottle she likes to "Helen Keller" your face. She grabs your lips, chin, nose and whatever else she can touch as if she is trying to figure you out...

Sleeping: My least favorite question. I am fearful to tell you how she is doing. So come very close as I whisper this to you...ok, ready. She is sleeping through the night! I know right...sshhhh not to loud, I don't want her to hear us be too excited, because I am afraid she will get me for telling you! Lo goes down after her bath around 630pm (why so early? because that is what SHE decided was a good bedtime, not me...trust me I don't mess with the system, I just play along!) and sleeps until 445-530am depending and then goes back to sleep for another hour or two.
Now naps are a different story, they are still short (ie 30-40 minutes) sometimes they are restful and sometimes they are not.

Whew! That turned into a longer post than I thought! And gosh I wish I had more "everyday" pics...I shall work on that for next time...thanks for reading! :)

And I shall close with our doctor stats.
Weight: 15# 4oz (38%)--finally thinning out a bit! Height: 24 1/4 inches (8%)---still my little shorty.

I Love you sweet baby girl and I can't wait to see what the next 6 months brings!!

Time for a Change

I did it! After around 2 years of growing my hair out, I cut it! Cassy aka Sage Leichner (but she will always be Cassy to me) is an awesome hair dresser ( I hope that is the PC thing to say, not sure :) ). She graduated from Eric Fisher Academy about a year ago and now works at Mary Kate and Co here in Wichita. (so if you are looking for a fun, talented and great hair dresser she's your gal, just ask for Sage NOT Cassy! ;) )
Cassy took a class from the Vidal Sassoon this past Sunday and needed a hair model. So what new mommy who is stuck in a rut and needs a change could pass up a free hair cut from the best! So I did it. I was excited and nervous (not about Cassy, but just the change in general.)
I had the best time! It was so fun to catch-up with Cassy and to watch all these amazing professionals do what they do best: HAIR! While, I know it isn't easy to cut and style hair, and at risk of sounding like a moron...who knew so much technique went into it!

So here it is:
BEFORE

AFTER
3 hours of sitting in a chair this is the finished product! (note: Cassy doesn't normally take this long EVER! She even said how as a student it wouldn't take this long... but as classes go the Vidal Sassoon instructor had to make the rounds and instruct on technique and give advice and tips etc...thus, why it took so long.)

Back, and Baby Leighton approved!

Side view: My bangs were cut in a very block like sharp fashion. Vidal is known for edgy, trendy looks that look really cool, but are not everyday functional for "real" people. She has the pic of that...maybe I will get it from her sometime.
So Cassy softened up my bangs before I left. Which I like so much better...I am just not THAT cool people!

The Front.
Baby Girl seems to still know me and likes it!

It is so weird having short hair again! But it feels good and I am so glad I did it...now, if Cassy could come over and style my hair everyday I would be set! ;)
Thanks Cassy for a great day! I had bunches of fun!

Baby Booted from Burger King for NOT wearing shoes!

I found this on one of my fav blogs: Baby Bangs. And thought it was too funny...thought I would share! :)

Siblings

This picture just cracks me up. All 3 of them are DESPERATE for that Kong!!! Lo could be doing or playing with a MILLION other things but if one of the dogs brings her that Kong she drops everything to reach for it. (totally wish I could get that on video)
What the dogs don't understand is that SHE CAN NOT THROW IT! (I have promised them it WILL BE the VERY FIRST THING I teach her, only because I am sick to death of throwing that darn Kong!!!)

You may be asking "why, on earth would she even let her daughter go for the Kong?" Well, I will tell you it is helping her learn to "crawl" because of her desperate desire to get it! I do NOT however let her put it in her mouth once she gets it, I take it away and she has to start all over...mean mommy!

Of course, Tucker won! He is the MOST crazy for that Kong...it is ridiculous and makes me crazy!

I find myself asking "Why is it she has a million toys but it is the dog toys she covets most?!!?" Ah, the joys of motherhood!

And now I will leave you with what I consider to be the cutest 24 week old baby girl ever! :)