Leana's New Friends

Now that my schedule at work has increased to 50%, I needed a lot more childcare for Leana. I was lucky to find a stay at home mom who lives just a few blocks away and has a daughter (Helena) just 6 weeks older than Leana. These are 2 scenes that I came home to last week.


Leana and Helena got a wagon ride to the grocery store.


Once a week there is a third toddler who joins the fun (Moritz). I walked in to find them all singing "If you're happy and you know it...". Leana was standing in the box, dancing and clapping her hands.

16 Months Old

Leana celebrated her 16 month birthday by climbing out of her crib this morning. I sure wasn't expecting her to be waiting for me at the door when I went in! We have removed the bumper from her crib which may have been acting as a booster and the floor is padded with pillows in case she decides to try this again tonight....will keep you posted!

At 16 months, one of Leana's favorite activities is dancing...I couldn't decide which dancing video I liked best, so I am posting all 3. She has even more moves now, like a twist, that I still haven't captured on video.

A slow dance:

Picking it up the pace a little:

Dancing in Carmel:

Thanksgiving in Carmel

We had a nice 5 days in Carmel for Thanksgivng and Leana enjoyed her first taste of turkey (actually she mostly enjoyed the cranberry sauce).

We attempt a photo shoot with s sqiurmy toddler....

In Carmel, Leana gets her own laptop.
Playing with beads
Kitty or Cell Phone?

Cell phone always wins


Brushing Grandma's hair

Tiring out Grandma Ruth...

Snow Day!

Leana discovers snow.

A Wintertime Walk

Maybe it's not officially winter yet, but the weatehr in Seattle is acting like it is! We went out for a bundled up walk in a nearby park.

Leana's First Hair Cut

Before...she was happy until they put the bib on, then she knew something was up.

After...pigtails and pink glitter in her hair.

Leana's new look

15 Months Old

15 Month Stats:
Weight: 19.5 pounds (8%)
Height: 31.25 inches (75%)

At 15 months, she has so many "tricks" but the latest things we have been impressed by are:

-Block Stacking. Leana is pretty good at stacking little wooden blocks. She got up to 6 high on her own and to about 10 with Jeff helping her by straightening them as she goes.

-Buckles. Leana has been obsessed with straps and buckles for some time and just a week or so ago she finally succeeded in getting the strap on her stroller buckled into place. Luckily she hasn't figured out how to undo them yet!

-Comprehension. While she has been slow to start speaking, Leana definitely understands a lot of words now. Body parts, animals, and her favorite books are her specialties so far.

-Signing. Leana now has two sign language "words" that she can comminucate: please and thank you. She won't always do it, but it's the first time she has responded to any of the sign language words we have shown her. "Thank you" and "blowing kisses" are a little hard to distinguish at this point.

Leana finally realizes that there are better ways to go down the slide than throwing herself down it head first.

Favorite morning activity: climbing into the rocking chair and "reading" a book
Taking after Grandma Kathy, an artist at heart A nice Fall day in Seattle, Leana is working hard on her stroller buckle.
Playing in the leaves.

Stacking Blocks with Daddy

Pumpkin Patch

Leana's first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Actually (as far as we remember), me and Jeff's first time too.






Leana led the way in the corn maze...


My new favorite family photo

Happy Halloween!

Leana the Lion

First Trick or Treating (Mom ate the candy)

Trudging home after a long day

Born to Run

Decatur Island

Leana, Jeff and I escapeed to Decatur Island last weekend and had a great time relaxing (when Leana was sleeping) and playing/exploring in the sun, wind and rain. Leana's favorite things at Decatur: the birds, the merry-go-round, the rocks, the water.

14 Months

Pictures are getting harder and harder to take since Leana is always on the go!

Look Mom, I can feed myself!

Leana's first attemp at self-feeding with a spoon

Go Fetch!

First Day of "School"

Leana and I are continuing in the program offered by the local community college. Last year we were in the infant class and now we have moved on to the toddler class. It involves a lot of play time for the kids, discussion time for parents, and an organized snack and music time. Leana had a blast and is sleeping it off now.

snack time with buddy Finn

Goofball in the Morning

Leana is really into "feeding herself" even if it's make believe, so give her a spoon and any bowl looking object and she might play with it for an hour or more. And act really crazy while she's at it.

Mommy got a new phone

having fun taking videos with my new smartphone!

picking blueberries


exploring


hide and seek

I Like Beads

Santa Barbara Trip, Part 2: Wedding Fun

We had a great time at the wedding in Santa Barbara. It was up in the mountains on a big piece of property...plenty of room to set up a pack n play and have Leana sleep under the stars so that Mom and Dad could have fun and hang out at the wedding until midnight. Midnight! Too bad Leana woke up even earlier than usual the next day...

guacamole face
making friends during the cocktail hour
silly photo booth, Leana was not amused

first camping experience


She loved the dance floor but that was hard to capture on video...