Happy Birthday Leah

My little Lulu turned 1!!! How did this happen; she grew up way too fast. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday May 31st, although her birthday was actually Wednesday June 3rd. We had a house full of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. However, like most one year olds, she was quite oblivious to the fact of her birthday, although she really seemed to enjoy the cake. I made a little purple Carebear cake for her: chocolate of course because it is her favorite.

Leah was thrilled to have her own cake and ice cream and dove right in. At first she would just bend her head down to her cake and bite it but then she just decided to grab the whole piece and go for it. The ice cream was too cold for her to hold, but she loved it when I fed it too her with a spoon.

I shopped all over to find just the right baby doll for my baby. At Toys R Us I was pulling them off the shelf to look at and she grabbed this one out of my hands and started giving it kisses. "That is the one", I knew. She loves to touch her baby's eyes and mouth and will hug and kiss her. She takes her baby to bed every night.

Nana and Papa Fife gave her this fun little ride-on toy. Papa Fife picked it out. Leah will ride on it and say "Whee!!" as Abi and Tal push her around the house. But this is her favorite, walking behind it. Abi and Tal help her turn corners and get unstuck from the walls that she drives into. The morning after her party she figured out how to pull up and walk behind it. She walked around and around the circle of our kitchen, dining room and living room. I was sure that her little legs would be sooo tired from all of the walking. But if you stopped her she would squeal and squeal to go again.

Although Leah is growing so big, she is still my skinny little baby. At her Dr's appt she was 30 inches tall ( 80%) but only 17 lb 6 oz ( 4%). She had her shots that day as well but I kept up on the Tylenol and we got by with only a little fever and fussiness. She is also cutting teeth and coping with allergies so runny noses and crankiness and just a part of our days and especially our nights right now. Leah finally has enough hair to put up in little piggy tails. The hard part is keeping them in. However she likes to watch herself in the mirror and chew on her toothbrush while I do her hair in the morning. She has also learned to say "No, No" and will point her little finger at you and wave. Leah adores being outside and will squirm, wriggle, scoot and cruise to get outside. She suprised me by scooting down the stairs the other day, face first no less. Thankfully I caught her and got her turned around so we could try a safer way. She is sooooo close to walking. She loves to hold onto my fingers and walk me all around the house or outside. She can stand by herself for a few seconds but then chickens out and sits down. Kris and I had her walking between us the other night and she would take 2 or three little running steps before falling down. What a sweet baby!!!