This is what we created tonight for date night. With Leah, Dallin and me being sick the last few days, it's been a rough week, and we needed a little pick-me-up. This put a smile on our faces, and hope it puts one on yours, too!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Playseum
For St Patrick's Day we took Leah (and Dallin) to the Playseum, a place set up like a mini city, with different rooms for different activities: music, the Dr's office, construction, the fire station, the grocery store, the hair salon, and the pet shop, to name a few. Each room is set up to allow parents to let the kids loose and explore, and Leah loved it. It was here we learned Leah has a particular love for cars - she wanted to be inside anything she could drive and she didn't want to get out!
 |
| We started out with story time |
 |
| and then moved right on into driving! |
 |
 |
| While Leah took her first driving lesson, Dallin beat away on the drum! |
 |
| Who wouldn't love that face? |
 |
| Another car! |
 |
| Well, whatta ya know?! Another car! |
 |
| To Dave's disappointment, his daughter did not seem to take to playing with dirt as he might have hoped. This activity was very short-lived. |
 |
| Weighing Dallin in the pretend grocery store. |
 |
| Fishing. I'm surprised we even got a picture of this one, because the time it would take to capture a photo is about how long Leah spent doing this. Patience is not her strongest quality. |
 |
| She loves jumping...though I think this trampoline disappointed her. I've taken her to an open gym a couple times recently where they have a big trampoline and she LOVES it. This one didn't quite measure up. |
 |
| And finally, music! |
 |
| She played the violin like it was a guitar. |
 |
| It took some time for her to get this mini organ to work, and I think the noise scared her once it did. |
 |
| A computer! Always a favorite...though the screen on this computer is a fake one plastered over the screen and Leah kept trying to take it off to see the real screen. |
 |
| We ended the morning with snack time. We were all exhausted by the time we got home, but it was a morning well spent. |
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Bath time! (video is fixed!)
Sorry if you tried watching this video and it didn't work...I accidentally set it to private, but it should be good to go now!
Dallin just discovered splashing:
His expression while he's doing it is hilarious.
Dallin just discovered splashing:
His expression while he's doing it is hilarious.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
20 months
As is probably evident from a certain recent post about Leah, she can be quite the handful. She is also an incredibly energizing, entertaining, loving, and rewarding little girl, and it has been so amazing to watch her grow and learn every day.
Some things to remember about our 20 month old Leah:
She is very self-entertaining and always has been. Of course she loves attention and loves when we play with her, but she can keep herself busy for a long period of time, which makes her play time interesting to just sit and watch. She is also very nurturing and likes to do what she can to help me with Dallin, whether it be by feeding him snacks or grabbing a burp cloth to wipe him off when he spits up or reminding me when we're going somewhere that I need to bring Dallin, too (as if I'd forget). On the rare occasion that she wakes up in the morning or from her nap before Dallin, the first thing she wants to do is go find him and wake him up. She LOVES her baby dolls and it is very fun for me to see her imitate things I do with Dallin with her babies. She "swaddles" them in small blankets or rags and cradles them while bouncing up and down and whispering "sh, sh, sh" in a rhythm in their ear. In fact I heard her doing this behind me while I was doing the dishes this morning and was surprised when I turned around to see that she was cradling and "shushing" a roll of paper towels to sleep! (kind of creative, kind of weird, but pretty cute!). She says "sh" whenever she sees someone sleeping and is pretty good at whispering, though something she's done a few times recently in Sacrament Meeting when we say "shhhhh" is purposefully call out in high-pitched squeals. Nice.
She loves singing and reading to herself. Her most recent favorite song is "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", joining in on the "beam" throughout the song. She also loves to do the actions to "The Eentsy Weentsy Spider", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and likes singing the "thank you" part of the Children's Song, "All Over the World at the End of Day". It surprises me the things that Leah picks up on, especially where music is concerned. When my parents were here recently, my mom asked me if Leah knew "Old McDonald Had a Farm". I'd sung it for her a little bit, but not a ton, so I was about to reply "I think so" when Leah stepped in and answered the question herself by singing, "E-I-E-I-O!". That's when I learned she definitely DID know that song!
Leah's most favorite activity is dancing. She continues to perk up and rock out to any type of music, rhythm or beat...she still shakes those hips quite a bit, though a more favorite dance move is twirling over and over and over. She also likes to pick up a doll or stuffed animal and dance with them to the music (she puts one arm around the animal and holds one arm out, as if she were ballroom dancing with them).
She is really growing up...lately she only wants to go down steps the "big girl way" instead of turning around and sliding down on her belly. I'm starting to let her walk out to the car more from our house on her own (mainly out of convenience - we live a little ways from where our car is parked, and it gets complicated trying to carry the two of them out now that Dallin isn't in his infant seat anymore....for a long time I'd just make two trips of it, bringing one child out at a time). This is a big deal because she used to just run off and it was tough catching her with Dallin in my arms. She still sometimes runs off, but for the most part she'll at least walk to the car. Getting into the car is another story, but we're getting there!
Though Leah can have her difficult moments, she sure is the sweetest, most joyful and beautiful little girl in our lives. I know the difficulties come because of a very strong spirit inside that little body that is just learning how to control and direct that determination and energy. She amazes and delights us every day and we love her so much!!!
Some things to remember about our 20 month old Leah:
She is very self-entertaining and always has been. Of course she loves attention and loves when we play with her, but she can keep herself busy for a long period of time, which makes her play time interesting to just sit and watch. She is also very nurturing and likes to do what she can to help me with Dallin, whether it be by feeding him snacks or grabbing a burp cloth to wipe him off when he spits up or reminding me when we're going somewhere that I need to bring Dallin, too (as if I'd forget). On the rare occasion that she wakes up in the morning or from her nap before Dallin, the first thing she wants to do is go find him and wake him up. She LOVES her baby dolls and it is very fun for me to see her imitate things I do with Dallin with her babies. She "swaddles" them in small blankets or rags and cradles them while bouncing up and down and whispering "sh, sh, sh" in a rhythm in their ear. In fact I heard her doing this behind me while I was doing the dishes this morning and was surprised when I turned around to see that she was cradling and "shushing" a roll of paper towels to sleep! (kind of creative, kind of weird, but pretty cute!). She says "sh" whenever she sees someone sleeping and is pretty good at whispering, though something she's done a few times recently in Sacrament Meeting when we say "shhhhh" is purposefully call out in high-pitched squeals. Nice.
She loves singing and reading to herself. Her most recent favorite song is "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", joining in on the "beam" throughout the song. She also loves to do the actions to "The Eentsy Weentsy Spider", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and likes singing the "thank you" part of the Children's Song, "All Over the World at the End of Day". It surprises me the things that Leah picks up on, especially where music is concerned. When my parents were here recently, my mom asked me if Leah knew "Old McDonald Had a Farm". I'd sung it for her a little bit, but not a ton, so I was about to reply "I think so" when Leah stepped in and answered the question herself by singing, "E-I-E-I-O!". That's when I learned she definitely DID know that song!
Leah's most favorite activity is dancing. She continues to perk up and rock out to any type of music, rhythm or beat...she still shakes those hips quite a bit, though a more favorite dance move is twirling over and over and over. She also likes to pick up a doll or stuffed animal and dance with them to the music (she puts one arm around the animal and holds one arm out, as if she were ballroom dancing with them).
She is really growing up...lately she only wants to go down steps the "big girl way" instead of turning around and sliding down on her belly. I'm starting to let her walk out to the car more from our house on her own (mainly out of convenience - we live a little ways from where our car is parked, and it gets complicated trying to carry the two of them out now that Dallin isn't in his infant seat anymore....for a long time I'd just make two trips of it, bringing one child out at a time). This is a big deal because she used to just run off and it was tough catching her with Dallin in my arms. She still sometimes runs off, but for the most part she'll at least walk to the car. Getting into the car is another story, but we're getting there!
Though Leah can have her difficult moments, she sure is the sweetest, most joyful and beautiful little girl in our lives. I know the difficulties come because of a very strong spirit inside that little body that is just learning how to control and direct that determination and energy. She amazes and delights us every day and we love her so much!!!
And a couple bonus pics of the Leah-Dallin duo just for kicks!
(he's not naked...he's got a diaper on. and socks!)
8 Months
The 6th of every month is a milestone in our family, as it marks another month for the kiddos. Dallin is 8 months and SUCH a good little boy. He brings so much sunshine, squeals, grins and giggles into our home, and whether he's busily doing something or just quietly observing, he always looks like he's thinking. He loves his sister and she sees more and more that Dallin is turning into a potential playmate. He is also getting more and more into what Leah considers to be her things. Sometimes she shares but her initial reaction is usually an outcry of, "Nooo!" We're curious to see how they work it out once he's old enough to stand up for himself a little bit more :). He loves food and when he wants to eat, he wants it NOW. I've learned that if I'm going to put him in his high chair I better have his food coming close behind unless I want to be yelled at until I do. He has two teeth on the bottom, one that's popped through on top and another top one working its way down. He's very wiggly and busy, especially when we're trying to change his diaper. His favorite things are still lots and lots of kisses on his cheeks. We can also get some good giggles out of him by rubbing lotion all over his body, especially around his shoulders and neck. He's a ticklish little guy!
Dallin just gets better and better every day and we couldn't love our little guy more.
 |
| Studying with Dad |
 |
| I always leave Dallin on the floor of my bedroom while I shower. One day when I got out, I couldn't see him...he'd backed all the way under the bed! |
 |
| Where are you going?! |
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Toddler Talk
Leah has a lot to say these days...unfortunately we don't understand most of what she's saying outside of a few identifiables: hello, hi, bye, thank you, ball, mom, dad, eye, apple, Elmo, baby, Dallin ("lalla"), no, sure ("sha"), ice, shoe, Pat (when she wants to play with the "Pat the Bunny" app), cheese, night-night.
But she talks ALL THE TIME...and her sincerity and earnestness as she looks at us and goes on and on makes us really, really wish we knew what she was saying. One of the best examples of this is when we're getting her out of time out and we ask her to say "I'm sorry". Instead of simply repeating those words (or something even remotely like them), she gushes out a very long, drawn-out string of what appear to be heart-felt apologies followed by a hug. It's puzzling that her response looks so much like a good apology when I wouldn't expect her to even really understand what "I'm sorry" means.
One of her favorite things to do is talk on the phone. Whenever she hears a phone ringing anywhere, she puts her hand to her face like a phone and says, "hi-yah?" (hello). She can turn ANYTHING into a phone. Besides the obvious (real or toy phones) other objects she has used as a phone: a pack of stickers, pens, pencils, calculators, any random oblong or rectangular shaped toy, her fingers, and our favorite, a big binder clip (separating and opening up the two sides while she talked and then closing them when she "hung up"). Her phone "conversations" go something like this:
"Hello?"
Pause.
Random typical Leah babble...I don't even know how to write that out, but it would include lots of z's and sh's".
Pause.
Ha ha (laughter)
Pause.
More babbling.
Pause.
"Bye!"
She would then act as if she were hanging up and (often) promptly begin the process over again with another "phone call". The pauses are what crack me up - as though she were listening to someone else's response.
Another favorite activity of Leah's is reading her books. The first thing she does after I get her ready in the morning and the last thing after getting on her pajamas to go to bed at night is climb up on her rocker and sit down with some books and read. She babbles on and on and on with so much expression as she looks through her books, with an occasional sound or word that might go with that book.
Here's a pretty good conversation she had with Dave the other night along with her latest favorite song. (I also have one of her reading a book...I'll try to remember to upload it another time). Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)