Our Little Explorer

Leah loves exploring the house, especially if it involves crawling UNDER something. Thankfully, we can "control" this interest (slightly) by setting up her toy tunnel (thanks to the tummy time mat my students gave me last year). Still, that doesn't always hold her interest, which means she has to find other furniture to crawl under. Recently, that's been the end table. She's rather adept at ducking her head. In fact, she's mastered this skill, thus enabling her to maneuver that much faster.

Playing (more like lounging) in her tunnel.

Why play with a weight on the rug when there's one under the end table?

As soon as Leah saw me with the camera, she burst out from under the table.

Okay, so she's not under anything, but I bet she wanted to be; she crawled right over to Scott to help him fix the garbage disposal.

Mashed Potatoes?

Let me confess right now: Yes, I love to cook and bake, but I HAVE to follow a recipe. Have to. On a rare occasion I'll "doctor" the recipe here or there, but for the most part, I need serious guidance in the kitchen.

Growing up, we always ate instant mashed potatoes, so it's been shocking for me to discover that a good number of people haven't; being accustomed to the real thing, they sort of turn their noses up at good ole instant. Well, because of this attitude, I thought, "Hey, I could try making REAL mashed potatoes. How hard could it be?" Plus, when my in-laws were here, Mel showed me how to cook the potatoes in preparation for mashing them (well, in preparation for blending them for Leah).

So, this past weekend, I was feeling adventurous; "I'll make REAL mashed potatoes. It can't be that hard," I thought. Plus we had extra potatoes that I wanted to use before they went bad. All started well; I prepped and cooked them just as Mel had shown me. But that's where her guidance ended. See, when she was here, we didn't make mashed potatoes; we made BLENDED potatoes so that I could freeze 'em for Leah. See where I'm going with this?

Anyway, I already had the blender out, so I just added the potatoes. Yes, I could have mashed them by hand, but I figured the blender would be so much easier. Plus, they'd be smoother and creamier. Or so I had thought. On goes the blender. In goes some milk (just a little... after all, doesn't everyone add milk?), butter, salt, and pepper. Hmmmm, this doesn't look right. Wait! This looks just like Leah's potatoes! Well, maybe it won't be SOOOO bad. After all, I added the right ingredients.

Pouring (yes, pouring, like a liquid) the potatoes into a serving bowl, I couldn't help but notice its soup-like consistency. Hmmm, that can't be good. But maybe they'll still taste good. After all, looks can be deceiving.

I dished (more like ladled) some onto my plate where it promptly pooled to one side. Scott just sat across from me, daring me to try my concoction. In goes the fork (not much stuck to it, though). Opening up my mouth, I take a bite. Ugh. Definitely nowhere NEAR mashed potato goodness.

Needless to say, the bowl of potato soup just sat on the table while we ate dinner; and Scott had quite a few laughs at my expense. Oh well. At least I know better for next time: Instant it is.

Baby Dedication

Leah, along with five other little girls/ babies, was dedicated at church this past Sunday. My parents, in-laws, sisters, and friends were there to witness this special moment. As usual, Christina did a great job sharing bits and pieces of information about each little girl, the thinking behind the baby dedication (versus a baptism), and commemorating the special day.

Of the six dedicated, there were four of the six March babies, two of whom are Leah's "friends" (in quotes since Leah probably doesn't understand that term just yet; I guess a better phrase would be "two of whom are my friends' babies"). Anyway, all the little girls were well behaved during the service. I think they were just taking in the congregation, the lights, the attention. (I know Leah was; ever observant, she kept looking around the sanctuary.) If you read the previous post, you'll know that Leah's taken a liking to her voice. Well, she used her time during the service to share her thoughts with everyone. While Christina was talking about her, Leah added her own two cents. She quieted down for a bit, but when Christina introduced Leah's friend Lizzie, well, Leah sent her a shout-out. Guess the girls didn't have a chance to catch-up before the service.

As a token of remembrance, the Children's Ministry provided Leah with a children's Bible, a certificate, and stone with her name, date, church, and life verse (Micah 6:8: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."). The stone was a different touch to this dedication; as we families approached the stage, we set our daughter's stone on one of the steps so as to create an altar, a reminder of this special day. We left it up there throughout the rest of the service so that the congregation had a visual reminder of what had transpired earlier.

Below is the photo we shared with the congregation during the service. It's quickly become one of my favorites since it really captures who Leah is.

This and That

Leah's growing by leaps and bounds, or so it seems lately. In the course of one week, she's really discovered her voice and has her first tooth peeking through.

The voice. It started with some growling. Sometime last week, she discovered the joys of a deep-throat growl. This discovery kept her entertained throughout the day as she'd growl during every activity-- crawling, playing, getting her diaper changed-- you get the idea. Then, later in the week, she re-discovered her actual voice. She's been babbling since she was a few months old, but recently she's kicked it up a notch. All of a sudden, we'd hear a loud "yow" (or however you'd describe a baby noise that's not the typical ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma, or da-da-da). Initially, we both thought that maybe she was upset (unusual, but not impossible), until we looked at her expression. Her toothless grin revealed her great pleasure at simply making loud and long noises. Now that she's expanded her "vocabulary", the two of us have fascinating conversations all day long.

The tooth. Yes, after months of teething, Leah finally has something to show for her efforts and pains. Low and behold this morning I noticed her first tooth (bottom right) just breaking the surface. Yeah! I was so excited, I almost called Scott to tell him, but decided against it. (He'd probably wonder why I called to tell him about a tooth. Of course, I think he was pretty interested in checking it out this afternoon after he got home. By the way, am I the only one who is excited over a first tooth?)

The spit-up. Not the most appealing topic, but this one amuses me to an extent. Like most parents, I'm curious about the person Leah will be become, about the adult she will grow into. Watching her and her spit-up today, I was thinking she might be either a psychiatrist or an artist. Okay, so spit-up probably doesn't make most people think of careers, but then, you haven't seen Leah (though I'm sure most babies do this). Upon spitting up, Leah loves rubbing her hands (and occasionally her face) in it. If I'm not quick enough, she'll swish her hands around, almost as if she's painting a picture. But then, I also thought that perhaps she's trying to determine what pictures she sees in it, similar to a Rorschach. When I pull her away from the puddle, she inevitably looks up at me, wondering why in the world I had to spoil her fun.

Ahhh, the joys keep coming.

Seven Months... Already?!!

Leah turned seven months old this past Saturday. To commemorate the event, we went shopping. (Well, not fun shopping. We (the family) went to BRU to buy a baby gate. And in actuality, it wasn't really because Leah turned seven months. It was just because we needed one... and we had a coupon.)

My little honey girl (as I like to call her) is doing more and more each day. She's just recently (within the past week) started rocking while on her knees. Every so often she'll crawl a bit on 'em, but she hasn't made the full transition yet. She's also started talking much more, though she's especially talkative when her daddy gets home from work. When Scott walks through the door and Leah sees him, she squeals with delight.

She's still working on teeth, though none have made an appearance just yet. Who knows when they actually will; I've been thinking that one of them might poke through soon since she keeps sticking her tongue out (as if she feels something under her gums), but I'm not holding my breath. Another sign? She hasn't exactly been interested in eating. She'd rather fuss (which is not like her at all).

Leah's doing much better about sitting up, but she can't pull up to sitting yet. And her transition to crawling, well, let's say it's not pretty, but it suffices. She does enjoy standing up (with help), but once she's up, she bends over to examine her feet. It's as if she's thinking, "hey, what are those doing down there?"

All in all, Leah is still a content and curious little baby, for which I'm thankful. (Proof of curiosity: she now watches when we clip her nails. Yes, she'll sit still-- for the most part-- and let me trim her fingernails. Crazy kid.)