The um game

Leah loves to be quizzed, but only in Portuguese. She will look at Dave and say "um, um" to get the game started. This is because when Dave is trying to think of the next question to ask Leah he often says "ummm" while he is thinking. She will play with him as long as he can stand it, and corrects him when he makes a mistake.

ABC's

A little early morning ABC's to let Dad have some sleep in time!

Wheels on the bus.

This video is a bit long and a snoozer for anyone other than grandparents. So for the rest of you fast forward to the last few seconds where Leah will demonstrate that dads on busses fart the whole time. You may wonder why? Well, what else do dads do on busses? Help me out here if you have a better idea!
As with many kids her age, this song is a definite favorite.
The neighborhood school bus stop is right in front of our house. This means that between morning and afternoon kindergarten, elementary, and junior high, the bus stops in front of our house about 8 times a day. And when you consider not only does the bus stop for great viewing, but many KIDS get on or off, you will understand that much of Leah’s day is spent anticipating and watching for the next bus! “Watch bus, watch bus, watch bus?”

Oh no you don't

Dinner show

This is so short, my camera memory was full.
Dave and I enjoyed a great serenade from Leah tonight at dinner.
She was really in to singing today.

The Dad Toss

Dave is preparing Leah for Lagoon!

Hack job

Well, it's a bit shorter than planned due to a quick turn of the head during a crucial cut. But it will grow back quick right? Next time I will have Dave around as head stabilizer!

Juicing Carrots

17 Months!

I was going to wait until the 18 month mark to document all the fun things Leah is up to but there are SO many. I just have to put a few things down now so I can remember later.

In the last week Leah has started asking for her Grandma Mary and Papa Joel. She calls them May and Pop. We got on the freeway today to go to work and she was convinced if she asked enough times, I would take her to see May and Pop. Too bad she fell asleep before we could pay them a visit!

Leah still LOVES her babies, Maddie, Lala, and Deedee. She spends many hours playing with them. Counting their fingers and toes, helping them go pee and poop on the potty chair, and feeding them carrot juice are a few favorite activities.

Speaking of carrot juice, Dave has been so great about making Leah fresh carrot and spinach juice at least every other day. She sucks it down and enjoys sharing with the babies. When she hears the juicer motor start, she runs from whatever part of the house she is in to help Dave make juice, throwing down whatever she was doing and pushing over anything in her way!

Letters, Numbers, Colors.

Leah's interest and awareness has really exploded in these the last month or so. It seems like she took a month off while learning to walk and run and then BOOM, she just can't get enough.

Leah counts very often.

Se counts EVERYTHING. Of course we encourage it because it is SO cute and she still thinks 10 is the highest number, but whatever right?

Leah's interest in letters just started about two weeks ago when we started singing ABC's. Now anything with writing on it she points to and tells you the letters she knows and wants you to tell her the ones she does not. She has about half the alphabet down so far. Its great to watch her get so excited about it.

Colors are moving a bit slower. Leah still gets confused by a few of them. I must admit, so do I. If I can't tell if something is blue or purple, how can she? Yellow is the new favorite and the most fun to her her say. Blue, purple, black, red, and green are very identifiable to her but when you get to grey, brown, white and the like, she looses interest FAST.

Now for my favorite thing about this time we are in, Leah's vocabulary. WOW! I have no idea how many words she says, too many to count, and more every day. The best new development here is her willingness to speak Portuguese. Dave says she will still only speak if they are alone, otherwise as soon as I get home its English time. But I really hope to hear it in the next couple weeks!

And now the list of 17 month favorites:

Foods: smoothies, olives, avocado, English muffins, grapes, popcorn

Books: 123, Wag, Hop on Pop, Goodnight Gorilla(only in Portuguese), Heads, and Alphabet are the top few but Leah still LOVES books.

Going on walks

The park

Kids

The train

The bus

All animals and insects

Running

Baths

Climbing the stairs, over and over

Playing monsters with her Dad