8 Month Hula Skirt

Remember back before Peanut arrived, we took a poll among family members ... would I be having (a) Swim Trunks, or (b) a Hula Skirt?  The Hula Skirt won, obviously, and we finally made that trip to Hawaii we'd been dreaming about for over a year.  Because we did so much and took so many pictures, I'll have publish a couple of posts on Hawaii.  But I wanted to make sure I got the 8 month post up first.  Look for lots of photos from the rest of the trip in the coming days.

On the first full-day in Hawaii, Leah turned 8 months.  BA stuck with his tradition and got her a cake.  There wasn't a single pineapple upside-down cake at the grocery story (would you believe that!) so he just bought a white cake and chopped off the top of a pineapple for decoration. 

Aloha!

The above picture was the ONLY picture in this series where Leah was smiling.  She actually spent a good deal of the trip sick (croup cough that just got worse) and we ended up spending half a day going to a pediatrician in Honolulu, only to find out there was nothing we could do.  As usual, the Peanut exhibited no symptoms at all while at our $150 impromptu doctor's appointment.  This is classic Leah.  Screams all night, coughs up a lung, throws up her formula, refuses her formula, we go to the doctor, and she smiles like nothing is wrong.  Not a sniffle, not a cough, not even a runny nose.  The doctor looked at her and actually said, "well, she's the picture of health." 

So we went back to the condo and started steam showers, during the day and over-night.  Luckily Hawaii is humid so there was no need for a humidifier, we just slept with the balcony door open.  And we tried to get her to nap but she would have none of it.  She hated the pack-n-play they brought in for her crib.  She would scream and cry and flail her legs up and down on the pad.  So in order to get her to sleep someone would usually have to load her in the stroller and take a walk. 

Because of our impromptu visit to the doctor we got an accurate weight and height for Leah.

Weight:  17 pounds, 8 ounces (38%)
Height:  27.5 inches (60%)

And our biggest milestone for this month so far (only crawling has the potential to surpass this one) Leah learned how to clap!  We'd been trying to get her to do it for a few weeks, but it wasn't until her Nana clapped for her that Leah decided it was time to try it out.  And she loves it!

Happy 8 months to my little Hula Skirt!

My Gift

Ever since Leah was born, BA wanted to get me something to celebrate her birth.  I wanted something that I could wear almost everyday - something I could wear to the office, or to the gym.  I took my time searching.  BA wanted to buy something for me months ago, but I could never really figure out what I wanted.  Until I saw this necklace ...

I think it's perfect for me.  It's simple, but not boring.  It's understated, but doesn't blend in.  I am so happy with this necklace.  Thank you BA!

But honestly, let's face it ... this little gem was my real gift.

Thanks to Aunt Haley for the adorable red dress.

Pictures Galore!

I've been a little lax on blogging recently.  So to make up for my lack of posts, here's one that should help satisfy any Leah-deficiency you may currently have.

She's eying her bottle and she knows it's being withheld.  "Somebody's gonna pay for this!"

... and Mommy loves you!

This next series shows you what happens when Dad is left alone to entertain Leah.  I was cleaning the house and I had all the windows open.  It was a really windy day and kind of chilly, so BA decided Leah needed to layer-up.

We take afternoon walks ...

Peanut helps with the chores ...

"Haha, Mom and Dad thought it would be funny to put me in the middle of the clean clothes."

"Okay, seriously guys.  This is not funny anymore.  I told you I don't want to fold clothes!"

And winding down at the end of the day ...

 Leah is the perfect baby.  Until 6:30 p.m.  Then she loses it.

And this is my favorite sight to see lately.  My baby, peaceful, asleep, in her crib. 

Air Crawl

Leah has been working on her crawling lately.  She doesn't have it down on land yet, but she's mastered it in the air.





Such a proud Peanut.

BA's Corner: Ghost Dad and the Single Mom

Leah is absolutely enamored with Mommy these days. I don’t even exist. It doesn’t bother me too much…I think it’s great that AA is getting so much affection from her. It’s just funny how obvious it is.

When we were at the Reagan Museum 2 weeks ago, we all sat down for a nice, casual lunch. Leah was in her stroller between us, and she stared at AA the whole time. When AA got up to use the restroom, Leah followed her with her eyes until she couldn’t see her anymore. I warned Leah before AA left that she’d be “all alone” while Mommy was in the bathroom. When she couldn’t see AA anymore, she stared at the family in the next booth. None of that family turned to look at Leah, but she was content to stare at them for several minutes until Mommy made it back (and she was no longer alone).

When I picked her up from daycare this week, Leah seemed confused. All of a sudden, she had been lifted in the air, put in her car seat, and driven home. Mommy was nowhere to be found, so there was no logical explanation for it. Must have been a ghost.

Today, we sat Leah on the bed while AA was doing some things. I walked in and crouched down, about 3 inches right in front of her face. Leah continued to stare at AA. When AA left the room, Leah stared at the door until she returned. At one point, AA got behind me so Leah couldn’t see her. Leah looked all over the room, scanning it with her eyes in search of Mommy. When AA popped her head up, Leah whipped her head around, completely skipped my face, and looked straight at AA. Over and over again.

She also likes to pull her head forward when she’s in her car seat lately. Many times she’s looking for a good shoulder strap to munch on. Maybe she's looking for her single mom. But mostly I think she's just curious and doesn't want to miss anything going by. She’s actually been falling asleep in that position - her body is tilted back, but she tilts her head forward. And it takes a little muscle to get her head back against the back of the seat. I have no idea why she’s decided that’s more comfortable than just resting her head back.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

Things are moving along around here.  The biggest and best news of all, BA got approved to transfer to Atlanta!  Ever since Leah was born we had been assuming that we'd move back to the southeast to be closer to family.  We didn't know for sure that BA's company would transfer him, but we thought it would be a very good possibility.  So I went ahead and applied for the Georgia bar and paid my $500 fee (and bought three, one-way plane tickets) in hopes that we might be approved to transfer.  And this morning we got the go ahead!  Next step - find a realtor.

Leah broke the news to Froggy

The other amazing change that has taken place around here is that Leah is sleeping through the night - well not exactly, but close enough!  About 10 days ago I decided that I was tired of feeding her in the middle of the night.  And since she is exclusively formula fed, I happened to know that she didn't need to be fed overnight.  So two Fridays ago, I put her in bed at 7 p.m., moved BA to the guest room, and steeled myself for a long night next to Leah (her crib is still in our room because she'd been having so many coughing fits and throwing up so much last month and we just never moved it out).  She woke up three times that night.  She woke up the first time around midnight and fussed/cried for about 20 minutes.  Sometimes her cries were intense, but just about the time I was ready to give in, she'd back off.  So I laid in bed, trying not to move a muscle so she wouldn't know I was there.  She woke up again at 3 a.m., and fuss/cried for about 10 minutes.  The she woke up at 5:30 a.m. and just rolled around her crib "talking" to herself.  Now, 10 days later, she still wakes up a couple times a night, but if she can find her pacifier she'll put herself back to sleep in 30 seconds or less.  Unfortunately, she's an early bird and the 5:30 a.m. wake-up time hasn't improved - but I'm not complaining!

Yay for sleeping through the night!!!

The last big change is that we bought a car.  BA and I had been planning on this and saving up for it for a while.  For the past two months we crunched the numbers and looked online for the best deals.  We had planned to buy a Jeep Cherokee, and because I'd hung on to my car for 7 years at 140,000 miles, we were able to buy a new one! 

Here it is!

Ironic that we bought a Prius when we moved to the westside of L.A. and are buying an SUV as we move back to Atlanta :)

BA's Corner: Chick-fil-A Revisited

You might remember Leah's first Chick-fil-A visit....

Well, she's improved quite a bit, and she's becoming more and more a fan....

In fact, she's even sitting in the high chair now. She spends most of her time looking around at other people and making friends....

"Dad, please ... I really don't want to be seen here with you.  You're cramping my style with the other babies."