Cutie

Chris and I say it all the time. Leah is the best. The most exciting news of the weekend is the Leah can READ. We were sitting in Olga's Saturday evening having Leah name shapes on her placemat. Chris and I argued over whether my sqaure was really a square or a rectangle as he and Leah both thought (it may have been a little rectangle-ish). I desided to practice letters with Sass, instead. I wrote L-E-A-H and had Leah name the letters. Then I said, "what does that spell?" Sassy's reply, "Leah". Chris and I were speechless. I know that other 27 month old kids may do this, too, but I couldn't believe she did it! We haven't even been practicing reading names, only naming upper and lower case letters (brag--Leah can name almost all upper case--V is the lone hold out, she confuses it for U). She is so smart and we count ourselves as very lucky to be her parents. We love her more than anything!

Christmas Tree Farm

We got our Christmas tree this weekend. We told Leah she was going to a tree farm to see trees and horses, and she replied, "no, elephants!" She did a great job walking around on her own (until the end when she insisted on being carried).

She liked the little trees a lot. We told her she couldn't bring her "three birds" and Kermie the Froggie so she settled for just Ernie and Elmo. Compromise.

Leah really liked the horses. She wanted to be near them, but not to touch them. When they had to leave to pull their wagon, Leah yelled, "NO!" after them. We bribed her back into the car with promises of fruit snacks. Otherwise, she could have spent the entire day 3 feet away from the horses, staring at them.

First Movie!

Considering how much Leah loves Kermie the Froggie, we knew her first movie should be The Muppets. Daddy and I both loved the Muppets as kids. We headed to the theatre on Friday.

Leah was very excited about going to see Kermie the Froggie. We went and picked out some yummy snacks to sneak into the theatre (Reeses Pieces for Sassy) and bought her some popcorn. The first 15 minutes of the movie Leah kept busy eating, which was good because the first part of the movie was low on Muppets. During the middle part of the movie, Leah was good for the most part, but had a hard time sitting in her chair. She prefered to stand and move (much like she does at home). Towards the end of the movie, Leah fell down. She was very upset and insisted we, "Go Home!" I told her we could go home, but we couldn't come back. She took a deep breath and decided to stay. She did spend the last 10 minutes of the movie rolling around on the nasty steps. Oh, well. As we were leaving she said, "that was fun!" So, I think we consider that a success.

Look at that love for Kermie the Froggie!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at Autie Nicole's house. The food was wonderful and it was great to be with family. Poor Daddy got his chin split open earlier in the morning playing football. It looks a lot worse in the picture than it turned out to be. We were happy that he didn't have to go to the ER, though. We wouldn't know what to do without Daddy!

Hannah, Ethan, and Trevor all have November birthdays. Happy Birthday!

Thanksgiving Prep

Leah and I did a lot of baking this week. On Wednesday, we made cookies and peppermint bark brownies for Aunt Renee's house. We worked very hard. Unfortunately, we went to Target for some odds and ends and forgot to properly barricade Ruggie from the treats. We came home and he had eaten them all! I was so mad! We ended up having to buy treats for that night.

On Thursday we made pumpkin pie and raspberry swirl cheesecake. They were both good, but Leah was done with baking. She spent most of the morning putting her friends to sleep with a dish towel while I cooked.

Kermie the Froggie

Leah slept through the night a few weeks ago and was treated with a Kermit the Frog. Daddy brought it into the room, and Leah covered her eyes like, "I don't believe it! Kermie the Froggie!" She spent the rest of the night talking all about "Kermie the Froggie". She now insists on carrying her 3 birds and Kermie the Froggie wherever she goes. It's getting to be a lot.

Mommy also loved Kermit the Frog as a kid, and even dressed up like him one Halloween. Mommy and Aunt Nicole both had Kermit the Frog sheets as kids, too. I think Leah's love of Kermit has a genetic link. :)

Gym Class

Leah will be beginning preschool this spring, so I figured Leah should get some experiences in a class like setting. We signed her up for Gymnastics. She had a great time picking out her leotard, "I love this blue one!" After I got her dressed she told me, "No class today! I go to sleep!" I was a little nervous....

It turned out she loved the class. The class is designed for 2-3 year olds. Personally, I think there is a huge difference between a 2 year old and an almost 4 year old. Orginally she was signed up for a 2 year old only class that got canceled. Leah seemed to be one of the youngest participants. Let's just say you could tell that during the first class. During the first class, she had no idea that there was a "teacher" or what the role of the teacher was. She spent the stretching portion of the class sitting next to me looking bewildered while I stretched. She did enjoy the various activities set up by the teacher. She had no sense of a rotation, though, and protested when she had to leave an activity she loved. She also wanted no part of the teacher touching her. Miss Kaitlyn would reach to help Leah with something, and she would just run around her. By the end of the class, she did let the teacher help her flip over a bar. Despite a few near melt downs, Leah loved the class. As we were giving her a bath that night she gave her final thoughts on the day: "I love that class" and my favorite, "no touch froggies in class" (she desperately wanted to play with the stuffed frogs that were are part of the 4-5 year old class).

The second class was an entirely different experience. Leah "got it." She did the stretches, got the rotation, and was even the model for how to do a somersault on a balance beam. She looked toward the teacher for direction and went willingly to her during rotations. This lesson we got to jump on the trampoline, and Leah learned how a line worked. The whining only happened once, as we were leaving, "no leave gym class, mommy!"

I had a conference comp day today, so we went to a morning class. Leah wasn't feeling it today. There was a different teacher, who Leah was immediately suspicious of. The gym was also empty, so Leah could see some of her favorite equipment (the rings, i.e. "tire swing" as Sassy calls it). We weren't using the rings during this rotation, but another girl from our class wandered over. The mom was helping her on the rings, and Leah was incensed she couldn't also go on the rings. As a teacher, I couldn't let her break the rotation to do her own thing (how I hate when my kindergarteners try this). She did the warm-ups and first rotation well, but then decided it was time to go home. We left early. I thought it was better to go out on a high note.

Playing Outside

There are only a few decent days of 2011 left. It makes me sad. A few weekends ago, it was beautiful. We spent much of the afternoon outside. Later that week it snowed. Leah looked outside at the snow and said, "go away snow!" I concur.

Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful Halloween! I was off today, so Leah came to school with me to do some work in my classroom. The rest of the school attended today, so we got to watch the Halloween Parade. I thought many of the costumes were scary, but Leah loved it. She kept asking for "more kids, please!".

After working in the classroom, Sassy and I got lunch at Coney. Leah thought we were waiting a little too long, so she asked me, "When will my chicken and fries get here?" with a tinge of sass in her voice. They came a few minutes later and she cheered. This girl loves chicken nuggets. The waitress complimented Leah's outfit as we were leaving, and she said, "I'm a buggie and I have a blue sucker."

Leah liked the first part of trick or treating. The thing she liked most was the candy. She sampled all the varities we bought. Her favorites seemed to be the suckers and chocolate bars. After each trick or treater left, we would leave the candy by the door. Leah would pick it up and walk it back to where ever we were. She liked to keep a protective eye on it. At about 7:00, she decided she was done. I managed to bribe her back downstairs with a promise of playing with the Xoom with Daddy.

Now I need to see how long it takes to put down a girlie who has ate her weight in candy tonight.

Pumpkin Carving

After Daddy cut the top off the pumpkin, Sassy wanted nothing to do with it. She took one look inside and whined, "up on Mama!"

I gave her some marshmallow pumpkin peeps, and she seemed happier. She kept looking at the peeps saying, "see, pumpkins!" then looking suspiciously at the real pumpkin.

Once she saw that I carved her an Elmo pumpkin she was thrilled! I know it doesn't look the most like Elmo, but Leah saw it right away. It's her vote I care about.

Happy Halloween!

Little Miss Make-Up

Leah is really into my make-up. She can put on lip gloss, powder, and eye shadow for hours on end. I got tired of her going for my pricey stuff, so I bought her some of her own today at Target. I'm hoping she'll like it....

Counting Pumpkins

Here's a cute video of Leah counting that I couldn't add a few weeks ago. Leah is such a counter and will count things all day long. We went through a long spell where she wouldn't say "three" and sometimes "four". Now she usually counts from 1-14 correctly, but if she misses a number once, she'll miss it all day.

Row Row Row Your Boat

Sassy has been really into singing. Row Row Row Your Boat is a new one. To make it more interesting, we made up motions. She is reluctant to sing herself on camera, but you can still hear her sweet voice (especially in the end...."life is but a dddrreeaammm!"). Cutie.

Fall Weather Friend

Sassy is really enjoying her pumpkins. She likes to go and sit by them and count them. I am really, really dreading the cold weather in which we will be forced to stay indoors for days on end. It already seems like the sky has turned a semi-permanent gray. Leah likes to get out and play, go for a walk, or go to a store daily.

Brownies

I may have had a craving for brownies with chocolate "funetti" frosting. Sassy may have agreed that this is pretty delicious. I may have allowed us both to sample the batter. We may have ate the entire pan in 3 days. Maybe.

Christmas Jammies 3.0

We got Sassy's newest jammies from Hanna Andersson. Since we've switched computers, I can't figure out how to show the other pictures from when she was 3 months and 1 year and 3 months, but it's safe to say she has grown. I'm going to keep up this tradition for as long as my children will let me!

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year again! The first time Leah went to the pumpkin patch she was in a snowsuit! Last year is was atleast 85 degrees. This year was 70 and perfect. Leah really liked picking pumpkins, especially Sassy-sized ones. I love our yearly tradition of selecting pumpkins.

Look at our little daredevil. I swear, there is nothing the girl won't jump off of.

Annual Mommy and Me cornstalk shot. It looks like she is happy. I assure you she was not. She was all done with the camera.