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While playing at the park today, Leah had a little run in with a boy who was about three years old.

Leah, while crawling toward the playground where the boy was standing: da da da da da da da da
Boy: I am not your daddy
Leah, crawling closer: da da da da da
Boy, emphatically: I am NOT your daddy
Leah:da da da da
Boy: I said, I am NOT your daddy

Apparently Leah has no fear of older children bossing her around. Though she does know who her daddy is, da da is still fun to babble at any given time. In order to alleviate his anger and anxiety, I led Leah away to our blanket and everyone was safe and happy once again.

On her first birthday, Leah took two or three steps unaided but was very unsure of herself and needed to be extremely close to mom or dad so I hesitated to call that walking. It was more like taking a step or two in order to throw herself into our arms. But Friday night, all of that changed.

Leah is pretty confident taking many steps on her own in order to walk from one person to the other. Her longest walks have been at least a dozen steps. I am one proud mama and Leah is one proud girl. Maybe a little full of herself but I figure we can deal with that later.

Her walking debut has come all at once, out of the blue. Sure, she has been standing on her own and loves to give long rants, raising her arms when emphasizing an important point while doing so but she has always been very cautious about steps.

So on Friday night when I stood her up and sat a few feet away from her, reaching out my hands just out of reach and she walked like a pro, I was in shock. Morgan and I sat in the hallway for quite awhile, moving farther and farther apart calling her over while the dirty dinner dishes sat on the counter and the house was a mess. It was so precious I didn’t want it to end.

Here she is last night, all ready for bed showing off her new accomplishment.

Our little garden is growing. I must admit, I am a little paranoid about my plants, especially the seedlings. Am I watering them too much? Too little? How can you tell? How many hours of sun are they getting? Again, too much or too little or just right?

We must be doing a few things right as our carrot seeds have sprouted…

…the second batch of lettuce is growing (the first batch struggled)…

…and the onions are doing superb.

The cukes are doing great still under my neighbour’s care yet to be transplanted and all I have to say about the tomato plants is that I am going to visit a garden shop on the weekend and do some substitutions.

If you ever find yourself at Crescent Park by the children’s playground and want to take a little breather, here you go.

A nice looking bench dedicated to a wonderful person. Though I never had the privilege of getting to know Morgan’s grandmother very well, his mom and aunt tell memories of her. This weekend, we were able to spend time with Morgan’s side of the family and visit this bench which was placed in her honour. Written on the plaque it says,

Donated to City of Surrey for Cecile A Cobb
“By family and friends forever in our Hearts”
1913-2006

We planted a small pansy beneath the bench as well. Losing someone you love is never easy, even with the passing of time, the ache remains. So for now, I hold on to the ones I love ever so much.

We put our apartment on the market a few weeks ago which has meant a few changes in our day to day life. Our computers along with their paraphernalia are now residing at our parent’s houses and we have acquired a laptop from one of Morgan’s friends. Our living room and dining area no longer look like computer lab/living area but now like a spacious front room with no clutter in sight.

Our place is generally very clean at all times of the day or a few minutes away from achieving that status. Though it is nice to come home to a place that looks amazing after we have left for a showing, I don’t think I have the willpower or energy to make sure everything looks perfect every time we leave the house if it not for sale. It is a nice idea though.

All of this to say, I am blaming the lack of computers and us packing up and leaving the house often, sometimes for extended periods of time, for the lack of blogging as of late. I guess the truth will be in the pudding once we have sold.

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Every month or so, one of Morgan’s friends plans a burger night for all the guys leaving us ladies to fend for ourselves. They think they have it so good, eating burgers at Red Robin’s but what they don’t realize is we ladies get together as well for good times.

Katherine came over for the evening and brought over some delicious lasagna for dinner for all of us. After a great dinner, we drove to the beach to enjoy some beautiful scenery and gelato.

We stopped along the promenade to go down to the beach where Katherine had a mini photo shoot with Leah. She takes amazing pictures and has a great eye making a picture appealing to the eye. I try to copy some of her techniques and when that doesn’t work, I just hijack some of her pictures. I sure hope her blog pictures aren’t copyrighted as I may be in trouble when she sees her picture of her gelato on my blog.

Here are a few pictures that she took of Leah.

The last one I just threw in for fun as it reminds me of the Statue of Liberty. I am not exactly sure what Leah is pointing at but I love how the picture shows Leah’s personality and mannerisms as a one year old.

Leah loves all of her birthday gifts (even the clothes though her mom loves and appreciates them a little more) and the cards as well. One of her recent favourite pastimes is to reach up and grab cards from the TV stand or the shelves and open and close them to her heart’s content.

I love getting her all dressed up in her new clothes and watching her interact with anything new. Anything new is not necessarily a gift or expensive but can be as simple as a wooden spoon and a big bowl or a wagon ride.

For her birthday, Leah received a wagon (with cup holders for sippy cups) that she enjoys thoroughly. Until our house sells, it will reside with Grandma and Grandpa but I am sure it will get used often. Leah had no fear of being pulled around, even when her Uncles were running and doing pop-a-wheelies with her. Good thing she was wearing her seat belt (no five-point harness but it did the trick).

I took Leah to visit our doctor today to primarily get her one year shots. I hate the whole experience as Leah cries and freaks out and then is generally pretty cranky the next day. I was so nervous about giving her Tylenol when she was younger and am still not a big fan but if that will alleviate crankiness, we will do what we have to do. She received four shots today and by number two she was freaking out. I felt so bad for her but know it is for her own good. When we left the office, everyone in the waiting room was staring at us because they had all heard the cries of desperation. We said a quick good bye while I was shoving bits of mum-mums in Leah’s mouth in an effort to keep her from bursting into tears again.

Leah weighs twenty pounds, is twenty-eight inches long and doing great. She is eating well and even though she dislikes cow’s milk and hates formula, I will start weaning her from breastfeeding right away (now that I officially have doctor’s permission). I will have to take it upon myself to do some research to make sure she is getting enough calcium and vitamin D (which will not be a problem in the summer) until she drinks enough cow’s milk as it is fortified with them.

Here is my girl loving her food.

I cut up spaghetti noodles before giving them to Leah as it would be very difficult to feed them to her otherwise but last night after she finished her bowl, Morgan and I put a few long noodles on her tray. At first, Morgan helped her and then she would slowly feed them into her mouth with her hand. A little time consuming to eat all of dinner that way but fun to watch a one year old try to figure out how to overcome the challenge.

On the morning of Leah’s birthday, Morgan got up with her so I could sleep in. It was so thoughtful how he treated her birthday like a mother’s day for me. Though he still had to go to work, Leah spent some quality time in the morning with her daddy before I got up. She apparently thought it was an important day too as she was busy mapping out her future at a local university.

After all of that hard thinking and planning, it was time for a good, hearty breakfast of oatmeal mixed with some applesauce. I think it is so adorable how Leah rubs her head and rubs her hands in her hair. She has discovered that she has hair. Though, when she has oatmeal, yogurt or spaghetti sauce on her hands it isn’t quite so cute.

On her birthday, Leah and I mostly hung out of home cleaning, baking and decorating cupcakes. In the afternoon I felt I must do something that she would really enjoy so we visited with some friends before we walked over to the new park in our neighborhood. Though we didn’t have much time, she enjoyed playing on all the equipment and even cried when I put her back into her stroller. Thankfully, the tears didn’t last long as we journeyed home. Here she is on the teeter-totter holding on tight.

What fun!

It was one year ago that your daddy and I were able to first hold you in our arms, though you were held in our hearts as soon as we knew I was pregnant. I was nervous about the day of your arrival and ever so eager to meet you. You arrived right on your due date and you stole our hearts from the moment we saw you.

There were a few funny moments from that day I will always remember. I wouldn’t let Daddy leave my side, even to warm up his meatball and spaghetti lunch he brought to the hospital, so he had to be content eating the pepperoni sticks I had bought the day before for lunch while I was in labor. I have vivid memories of him sitting on the couch, admiring our nice ocean view and eating pepperoni while helping me through my pain. In all truth, Daddy was so supportive and the proudest daddy around.

Grandma Fran and Granddad Sid were the first to come visit you very soon after you were born. They walked over to the hospital as soon as Daddy called. They were so excited and happy to see and hold you. When Grandma Pauline and Grandpa Ed came, they brought Uncle Chris, Auntie Anna, Uncle David and Auntie Andrea to come see you as well. It was like a big party. Everyone was so overjoyed to see your precious, sweet face and hold your little hands.

You were so healthy from the get-go, eating and gaining weight like a champ. You have always enjoyed your food, gaining steadily to be just over twenty pounds now. I have only brought you to see the doctor when it was time for your shots. You have stayed very healthy with only a few colds.

In the first few months, I had a whole new appreciation for all the mothers of the world. It seems babies have a way of overtaking your life and overtaking your heart as well. Your daddy and I were so proud to be parents and would happily talk about you to anyone who cared to listen.

This past year has flown by and we are enthusiastically watching you learn and grow. You love to pull yourself up to a stand and love using your walkers to walk around the house. You love to share your heartwarming smile and you have the cutest laugh. You love to ‘talk’ and spend time with friends. You are growing up so fast and we are so proud to have you as our daughter.

We love you more than words can express. I remember in the months after you were born, there were so many cards and gifts were delivered just for you. There are so many people that love you so much Leah.

I look forward to the coming years as we grow older as a family. I also want to treasure all the special moments we have together now, knowing you will only be this young once while looking ahead to a bright future.

You are such a precious, little girl, bringing so much joy into our lives. No matter where the future leads, never forget we will always love you and be here for you. We love you so much.

Mommy and Daddy

Leah has been standing on her own over the the past couple of weeks, gradually extending her time up to 3-5 seconds. It is very cute to watch as when she does get apprehensive, she tends to squat down and looks like she is getting a good workout. Though she has become quite the copycat lately in the cutest ways possible, the squats she unfortunately hasn’t learned me. Maybe that is because my workouts are few and far between. Though I run now and again, I was thinking maybe I should step it up a little as summer is just around the corner.

Here is Leah standing on her own in her cute Easter dress (that I forgot to take pictures of her in on Easter).

Leah has been paying very close attention to how everything works and is mimicking so closely and carefully. I was in the bath with her a few days ago and as I was massaging the shampoo into my hair, Leah started rubbing her own head as well. If she could undo her car seat buckle, I am sure the would have found a way to jump out of it and I would find her in the seat next to her as I was driving down the road. Fortunately, they make those buckles very hard to undo though I was trying to picture my reaction if she ever did get out of it. That would mean serious business, though I am not sure what serious business entails yet. Not sure I want to find out yet.

Another first I have been fortunate enough to avoid this long that I wasn’t looking forward to, came this weekend. I had my first experience with my own sick child and it didn’t go over so well. She wasn’t horribly sick, just definitely not herself and very, very fussy. We went over to my parent’s as we had a showing on our house and I let my mom look after Leah while I made dinner. My mom was thankful I was making dinner for her and wanted to help (but couldn’t really do anything as Leah wanted to be held) and I was so thankful she was looking after Leah for me so it worked out well.

This morning after an extremely long nap followed by a very long cuddle and nap in my arms, Leah has perked up. She is back to her happy self, playing contently and giving smiles to anyone who asks, as long as they don’t ask just before lunch or nap time.

I was glad for the nice, long cuddles and they are becoming not so common anymore as Leah is becoming less of a babe and more little girl. I want to treasure every stage with her as she is such a gift.

It’s sad that sometimes a tragedy is what needs to come along to make people stop and realize what a treasure we have been given in life itself. To realize that our days are numbered and that we are not the One in charge of the final number. That we know not when or how that day may arrive at our doorstep or of someone we love, while being sure of the One who does. Today I will hug those close to me a little tighter and try to be more generous with my love. To take the time to spend with those I love and treasure those moments, for I don’t know how much time is left.