walking

Leah walked over 11 steps today....she was WALKING. crazy.

updates

Well, the sleeping has been OK. She will have good nights and bad....She's been falling asleep quickly but getting her to fall back asleep come midnight is not as easy....Some nights she sleeps longer and others not so much. And we are too weak to make her so we just snuggle with her. It's so hard when we go to change her and then she wraps her little arms around your neck so tight and doesn't let go because she just wants to be with you!!! Heart breaker.

Lately we have been having fun at home playing on the new slide that Lola got Leah....and we have bene playing with blocks and she loves breaking down whatever I build. I got her a little drum and we've been playing with it as well...

She said "cat" today. She doesn't repeat words she says but what we've heard thus far has been- mama, dada, nana, di-di (diamond), hi, bye, sauce, cran (crayon), and cat.

It's time to read and put her in her crib. Cross your fingers all goes well.

success????

She fell asleep within 5 minutes....

and last night she slept the whole night through.

cross your fingers it continues.....

sleep training day 3

Well, that first day of sleep training went okay....well, I am not going to lie...it was TERRIBLE. Finally she fell asleep....so we went in there to see her...Well...Julian went first actually, and then he came back and said , "Um...can you please go look at her?" SO I went in and saw that she had passed out STANDING up laying over her crib rail. That about broke our hearts. We tried to lay her down and then she woke up....SO back into her bed she came.

We decided to wait until Friday night to try again...it took an hour and ten minutes and Julian and I were miserable (so was my sister).

Tonight it only took 45 minutes for her to go to sleep. Of course when I went to her room to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep standing up, she was laying down but she woke up. She fell back quickly, though....

I am going ot sneak up and try to put a blankie on her. Let's cross our fingers she doesn't wake up.

asleep

She did it! She's asleep!

We aren't going to sleep train her in the middle of the night until our neighbors are out of town come this weeked.. but this was a good step!

LA, sleep training, and beyond

Well, we went to Los Angeles and had a short yet eventful trip///

drove down on Friday. Saw some girlfriends. Leah started puking Saturday morning....by saturday afternoon we were at the ER with her and she was vomitting all over. By Saturday night we got back to Brandi's....Sunday morning she puked again but we gave her the stop puking pill that the doc said and she was fine. Went to the bbq for a few hours. Got in the car to drive home and I started puking all over....2 hours from home Julian started puking all over.

Julian's mom came to the rescue and came to our house for the last two days (which feels liek a blur to me). She watched Leah while we rested up. Those were the only 2 days she had slept away from us in the last several months.....

So we thought we would try to sleep train her.....Well, Jules went in at 3,5,7,10,10,10,10,10 minutes and she is still howling.

Due to paying respects to our neighbors who share a bedroom wall....and my personal weakness of hearing my child howl in fear, we will try again tomorrow....or the next day. Julian went in all those times because they say that it's easier on them if it isn't the mom (and easier on the mom)....he was a trouper.

Please don't remember this, Leah!!!

it's 3 hours until she turns 1

Oh Little Girl, Happy almost birthday!!!! A year ago today I was in the hospital and nervous and excited to have you. About this time some seriously unpleasant things were happening....they decided to make me dilate, to inflate a balloon near where you were. It was probably the most uncomfortable thing that happened other than the morphine shot to the bum and the contractions....and the revocery. But it was all worth it because we got you! Oh what a year it has been. Dad and I are thinking of our most memorable memories of this year with you:

Your first cry (that dad says you sounded like a little goat), when you used to kick your chicken legs in time with your crying, Your first sneeze in the hospital when we shot up in the middle of the night because we didn't know what happened to you...how you used to snort when you would cry!...the first time you started to show you were excited watching the mobile, the first time you laughed and dad was pretending to drop the doll on you, when you cried in the carride home and were still catching your breath when we got your out of your seat and dad and I both started crying because we were devastated you were so upset... first time you reacted when dad came home from work and all the days after when you'd jump and smile, first day leaving you with Lisa and being miserable..... carrying you in a sling all the time, then carrying you in the ergo carrier every day... the hospital tests to make sure your brain was okay..., making the stink eye, ...how it took over 2 months to get you to eat solid food, making your food...throwing food over your shoulder,... making the diamond in the sky and saying it's a die-die, your fist pumping when you see us....walking around walnut creek, and now living in Foster City. Snuggling with you every night.... kisses....teaching you how to "let me smell your breath" and you open your mouth on our nose....the ET finger....watching you light up and grow.

We love you, little girl. You are the best thing that has happened to us. Happy first bday! Love, Mom and Dad