I can’t believe it! She’s 1!!!

We took her to the doctor for her one year check up. She had to have a shot in each leg and each arm. Her dad had to leave the room...it was too much for him to watch. He hates seeing his little girl hurt. But she did great. Cried some but was more angry that we were holding her so tight she couldn’t move! She’s now 2 ½ feet tall and weighs 24lbs. I think the growing has eased up a bit...which is great since she’s in 24 month outfits at 12 months!

On her birthday I made her a cake.

She didn't eat much at all but had a good time squishing it to pieces!

Miss Leah - or Hurricane Leah as her name has become - is all over the place. She started walking around 11 months and has just become faster and faster every day. Although the scabs on her face the week of her birthday showed her legs aren’t as fast as her mind would like them to be.

She loves to read! She’ll give you the book and then try to sit on your lap

so you can read it over and over and over again. We all tire of it but know readings a good thing.

She absolutely loves animals. Dogs, cats, horses, sheep, cows, etc. She gets so excited when she sees them and everything else is forgotten.

She also loves to push things around. I tell people it’s like having a ghost in the house because you’ll leave a room and when you come back the chairs are all moved around!

She's eating all regular food and milk now. She loves yogurt, bread, pears, squash, pasta, french fries, watermelon, broccoli...the list goes on and on. She's a little finiky though, some days she'll eat it-some days she won't. She's very much her own little person already.

It has been amazing to watch her grow this last year. I forgot how much fun it is to have a little one around. I also forgot how tiring it is...but the fun wins 99% of the days. She has such a cute personality already. She scrunches up her nose and smiles at you. She gives kisses (when she wants) and hugs. When I pick her up in the morning or after a nap she'll lay her head on my shoulder and pat my back. It brings tears to my eyes every time. And no matter how angry or upset I am at the lack of sleep or her stubborn ways...all she has to do is look at me and give me her cute little smile and I melt.

9 Months Old! What???

Where has time gone? I have a hard time believing that 3 months from now our little "Boo" (as we call her) will be 1 year old. I want her to grow up so slowly and she already isn't listening to me. I guess it's only the start of things to come.

At her doctor visit yesterday she weighed 20.5 lbs and was 28.5 inches long. The doctor said he doesn't usually see a baby with such perfect proportions. That her height is perfect for her weight and vice verse. He said she is the size of a 1 year old now and is growing perfectly. I think she may have some of her dad's height in her which is wonderful! While checking her mouth, nose, eyes and ears the doctor took a second to squeeze her cheeks saying "You can't be that close to those cheeks and not want to give them a squeeze." !!!

Lately Boo will sit on the floor and play with toys for what seems like hours. She is really good to play by herself....as long as some one's laying on the floor not far from her. She loves to be scared (hence the nickname Boo) which gives her brothers and dad tons of enjoyment. I have to close my eyes sometimes as the throwing into the air commences...but she loves it.

One of her favorite past times is sitting outside on the front porch. She watches all the cars go by and claps at everything. Sometimes she even gets her own chair!

Boo is so limber!! She always has her legs in the air and her feet in her mouth. I've tried telling her many times it's not lady-like but once again...the not listening part! I guess if she stays this limber I'll have to sign her up for gymnastics or something!

Her newest thing is trying to stand on her own. She can hold onto furniture and sometimes she lets go-thinking she will just be able to stand on her own. Sometimes she may for a second or two but usually she falls. Which is fine with me...I'm not ready for a walking baby yet! She still doesn't crawl but has figured out how to get around by rolling everywhere. She's pretty quick too! You can't take your eyes off her for a minute.

I know I've said this before but we just love this little girl. Even though she tires us all out she is such a wonderful blessing. She makes our hearts melt every time she sees us and smiles. She loves her family and we love her. This has been such an amazing 9 months. We look forward to all the future adventures!

Spring Break (aka Leah's 1st Vacation)

Last week was spring break for all of our kids. I wanted to do something so the boys wouldn't just be sitting around all week long. But Kim and I couldn't really take off a ton of vacation days. So we decided to take a quick 2 day trip. We decided to go to Lehman Caves, in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. It's about 3 hours from us...not too far but far enough to feel like you went somewhere.

We didn't want to drive the whole way (and we weren't sure how Leah would do in the car), so we decided to stay overnight in Delta (about mid-way between our house and the caves). When we got to Delta we took a little rest and let everyone stretch their legs a bit...

Leah really enjoyed her 1st hotel room. :-)

We had time to spare in Delta and decided to visit the Topaz Japanese Internment Camp (only 15 miles from Delta). Stephan and Nathan had learned about the Japanese Internment camps in history this past year and were interested to see what one looked like. We drove out to the site and were amazed at how little was there. Some cement flooring, some pottery, a few bottles and some markers telling us what housing block we were by. As we were walking around we did stumble onto an old army truck that had fallen apart.

Great photo op!

Even though there isn't much at the actual Topaz site, in Delta they have a really interesting museum with information about the Topaz camp (among other things). One amazing thing they have is an actual "house" from the camp site.

and furniture that would of been inside one of the rooms.

The main part of our trip though was a 60 minute tour of Lehman Caves. We'd all been through Timpanogas Caves but had heard Lehman Caves was better. So we thought we'd check it out.

Leah was having fun just hanging out in the sun.

Inside the cave was just amazing!! None of my pictures do it justice. The colors were amazing,

the formations were strange and breathtaking

Even the door to get in and out was cool looking!

All in all we had a great time touring the caves, walking around a historical site and just hanging out together. Plus now Leah can say she's been out of Utah!

6 Months Old!!!!

I can't believe it's already been half a year. It's amazing how fast time goes by; especially when you want it go slow. Leah's doing wonderful. She's still in the top % for height & weight and going strong. As the doctor told us "She's as big as a nine month old." It's not hard to believe since she's wearing 12 month clothes!

She loves everything right now. . .well expect naps (an apology goes out to her babysitters!)

She loves to chew on everything! You put it in front of her-she'll chew on it!

She loves to hang out in her Exersaucer

and look at books.

She can sit up on her own but not for very long. She talks-a lot. Not that anyone can understand her but boy can she get loud! She talks to mirrors, light fixtures, her hands, her brothers, etc. She also loves to smile and to be pushed around in her stroller. She seems to love being outside; which is good since her parents do too.

We've enjoyed these first six months and can't wait for the fun stuff we know is coming. She's a lot of work but brings so much joy to our family. She's a doll and we love her.

4 Months Old

Our baby girl is 4 months old. It's so amazing how quickly time goes by. It seems like just a few days ago she was this little itty bitty baby who barely fit into her newborn clothes. Today was her 4 month check up. She's gained 3lbs and has grown 1.5 inches. She in the 90% and going strong.

We love her so much! Her personality comes out more and more every day. She smiles all the time; so big her whole face is smiling. I can't seem to get a picture of it though. Once you get the camera out it's all seriousness trying to figure out what that is in your hand.

This is about as close as I've gotten:

She loves to stand up and see what's going on but also loves to lay on a blanket for "floor time." Her little arms and legs get going so much she actually can move herself around a little bit. She also loves to be scared. Crazy kid...she didn't get that from me! Sometimes when you scare her she'll laugh...and I have to say, a baby's laugh is about the cutest sound around.

She can now eat food! YAH!! Well, if you call rice cereal and smashed bananas food. But she seems to like it.

She's growing up so fast. It makes me sad but happy at the same time. I can'twait to see her as she gets bigger and bigger. I can't wait to hear her little voice when she starts talking or watch her walking around.

I take that back, I can wait. I don't want her growing up any faster than she already is.