Baby Dinosaur

More ABC's

A new independent streak has Leah wanting to read books "all by myself". She gets a little ahead of herself sometimes but usually catches it.

pillow pop.

Not recommended.

It was worth a try right? Turns out putting a 19 month old in a boat and expecting them to sit back and enjoy the scenery does not work well. Once we were back on land she had a great time though! Whatever right?

Stireman Kitchen

I still don't know how Leah was lucky enough to get to use this next but here it is! The play kitchen Grandpa Jack built! A few shots of Leah cooking Dad breakfast this morning.

Portuguese Explosion!

Dave had the last week off and has been spending a lot of time with Leah. As a result, she has REALLY started speaking Portuguese. It is the cutest thing ever! Before the last week or so, she would say a few words here and there when with Dave. Now is CONSTANT. She not only repeats everything he says but will seek him out in the house just to say something in Portuguese. Just when you think it can't get any cuter, BOOM, PORTUGUESE EXPLOSION!

One tricky thing I am running into, finding Brazilian Portuguese children's books. I can find European Portuguese books easily but not Brazilian. Anyone know any Brazilians with grown children that could lend some books?

We Miss you!

We said goodbye to Sirrus Last Saturday. At 15 years old Sirrus has been with me since the beginning of my adult life. She is responsible for much of what is great in my life. Sirrus was my introduction to dogs, dog behavior, and a crucial part in helping me train and understand dogs. She is also responsible for many of my great and lasting friendships I made in the animal world, both human and canine! My love for her will never be duplicated.

Thank You Sirrus! We miss you and the pack misses you!

Dance Dance!

As I have said before, Leah LOVES being nude. Dancing nude is the new hit!

Spoiler Alert!

Well Leah and I are both a bit spoiled from the past week of riding around on our bike set-up. I got a great new bike and Leah got a great new bike trailer! They are sooooo nice! The best part is, Leah's trailer is so nice it allows me some good long rides without complaint. We can also ride to the grocery store, unhook the trailer, and use it as a stroller! I LOVE it!

I was having a hard time getting Leah to wear her helmet without complaint, we fixed this for the moment. They were having a bike race for kids behind our house at he fairgrounds. Lots kids (ages 3-16 ish) riding around a dirt race course, all wearing BIG HELMETS. Now, it's suddenly the super cool think to do in Leah's mind! Hooray!

Island Life!

Harbour Island here we come!

Well in four months anyway. Seems it's all I think about these days, I can't wait for our first family vacation!!!!! This is a super cute dress our dear friend Gretchen brought back from the Island for Leah this spring. She calls it her fish dress and it fits perfect! Thanks so much for everything Gretchen!

( First Family Vacation and all Harbour Island posts brought to you in part by Gretchen!)

BOSCH

One of Leah's activities to do in the kitchen is to point out all the letters on our appliances. The favorite and most at eye level is our dishwasher, a Bosch dishwasher to be precise. "B O S C H, Bosch!" I hear this over and over and over while working in the kitchen. Well today while out for a walk Leah was pointing out some letters spray painted on the ground, a favorite walk highlight. They are yellow letters where a utility company has marked their underground line. It takes a bit of time but I almost always let her stop and tell me all the letters. Well today she said " L H Q O P Bosch!" Looks like everything will spell Bosch now for a while. FUN!

These pictures have nothing to do with anything, I just loved the outfit!

19 Months.

Leah really had a growth spurt this last week or so. She is noticeably bigger! And SO much fun now that all her teeth are in!!! Lets see, hmmm. I am borrowing that from Leah, she says it every time we walk into a room, or store. "Let's see, hmmm".

Leah is still a bit behind in her gross motor skills, still not walking up stairs unassisted. I REALLY can't wait for that day as we have a couple short sets of stairs from our driveway to our front door. Not fun when your hands are full.

But what she lacks in motor skills she makes up for in speaking. The girl is a talker! Its all short three or four word sentences now. "More grapes please? Thanks Grandma." So damn cute! She now knows all her letters, numbers, and colors well and is starting to learn the sounds the letters make "ffffffff fffff ffffff F". Leah also really enjoys watching me write the names of all the people she knows while telling her which letters are in their names. She is just a little sponge.

Dave and I have introduced the concept that their are numbers greater than 10. Who knew? For months everything has ended with 10, now there is 11, and 12, and 13? What the? I took a few days for Leah to get but now she can almost count to 20. Although more often than not, it goes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20! Leah is apparently not a fan of 16, 17 and 18.

Strawberries?

Another little clip my mom took. So funny how we forget to video the little daily things kids do. Some, like hunting Strawberries, are so cute and so easy to forget! Thanks Mom!

Feeding Chickens

Grandma Schmidt was smart enough to get a few videos of Leah doing her daily chores. Here she is feeding the chickens, which I believe is her favorite chore second only to brushing her teeth! Leah has a special love for a small Bantam chicken named Kurt which she calls "Baby".

Visit with family

Leah had a great week of family fun last week! My mom, Dad and brother Adam came in from Seattle . I did not take enough pictures, but here are a few my mom snapped. Of course they are all of Leah. That's a Grandma for ya!

A new tunnel. Thanks Aunt Nicole!

Grandma Schmidt got Leah this mega load of Dr. Seuss

at a garage sale in Seattle! Hooray!

Using Grandmas curlers.

On a daily walk with Grandma, picking flowers.

Random shots from the big day!