Life as we know it .....

It's so hard to believe that our little Leah, or Lulu, is 6 months old. Time has just flown by since she was born. (Or that may just be my perception due to chronic lack of sleep.) She is such a joy and a delight in our family. Leah is becoming a very happy and well loved baby. We have a nice little schedule down during the day and once in a while, mom even gets a little house cleaned.

7:00 ish - We wake up. Leah is normally in bed snuggling with me at this point, so when I get up, so does she. She hangs out in her Bumbo while I make breakfast, pack lunches and get Abi and Tal off to school and Kris off to work.

8:00 ish - Leah has her breakfast of cereal, usually oatmeal. She has to have her own spoon to hold or those fast little hands grab at everything. Then she gets cleaned up and either has a bath or just gets dressed. I carry her about as we pick up the house for a minute.

9:00 ish - Mom nurses Leah and then she takes her morning nap. It's normally only 45 min - 1 hour so I have to move fast to possibly excercise and get my shower in.

10:00 ish - We do our chores. Whether its cleaning, shopping, baking or bills, Leah is right there with mom ( normally being carried about) but she will sit in her Bumbo for a little while at a time. Mom better pay attention to Leah though or she throws a fit.

11:30 Tal comes home from Kindergarten and we have lunch. Leah gets an arrowroot biscuit while Mom and Tal eat. Then Leah has her fruit: bananas, pears, peaches or applesauce. Yummy!!! Did I mention it ends up all over her face?

1:00 We read books with Tal. I should say - Tal reads, Mom reads, Leah likes to chew the corners of her book. Then we have a little tummy time and practice stand ups and sitting by herself. By now she's tired so she will nurse again and then go down for a little nap. (She's a little snacker when it comes to nursing throughout the day as well.) Mom tries to grab 20 minutes of sleep quite often as well while Tal gets to watch a show. Then we do more chores, play with Tal, computer time or one of the myriad of things that need doing.

3:00 Abi comes home from school - snacks all around. Then its pushing through homework and piano practicing. Tal likes to play outside with his friends who all have afternoon Kindergarten so he misses them. Mon and Wed, Abi has ballet from 4:30- 6:00.

5:00ish- Leah needs another nap. This one is quick, maybe 30 minutes while mom makes dinner.

6:00 Dad gets home and we can eat. Leah gets another arrowroot biscuit and then a vegetable - hopefully mom remembered to cook some, otherwise she gets another fruit.

8:00 Bedtime for Abi and Tal. Leah gets rice cereal, Yummy Yummy. We read stories and sing them songs. Then comes Leah's favorite part of the day - I lay her out on a blanket on the couch and strip her down to her onesie ( with a diaper under her) to kick and play. I lotion her down and massage her arms, legs and belly, then give her raspberries on the tummy. She laughs and squeals and loves to chew on her toes. Then I zip her into her little sleep sack and we rock and nurse before bedtime about 9:00.

I wish I could say she slept through the night. Once or twice she slept until 5:00 and I woke up in a panic. But she's cutting her top 2 teeth now and we have had a week plus of waking 4-5 + times a night. ( See I really need the nap too.) I'd be happy if we could get back to our previous usual of waking 2 times a night. But those little teeth should be through soon and sleep will improve. Even still, nothing can compare to snuggling my little Lulu and getting sweet open mouthed kisses on the cheek.

Our big, little girl, Abi, is becoming quite the ballerina. This past weekend she danced in the Nutcracker with Idaho Ballet Theatre. She was a soldier this year and a licorice princess. She is graceful and beautiful and almost has her splits to the floor. But on stage, she still looks so little to me. She'll always be my little girl.