1 Year Ago Today........

Happy Birthday Leah!

The best aunt and uncle Leah could ask for ( thanks for all of your help!!)

Daddy is so proud of his baby girl

Happy 1st Birthday Princess!

Leah and the wonderful women in her life

Leah is leading the band

We asked her how old she was today and this is what she said ( no joke!!)

Noni and her grandchildren

There were no tears at this birthday cake!

Thank you Mommy for such a great party

Leah surrounded by her best friends

Mommy surrounded by hers!!

Leah is proud to be another Shaw lady!!

The Shaw's and Jalosky's....can anyone say future vacations?

We love our playgroup!!!

..........our whole life changed. Today is your first birthday and we just want you to know that our love for you is bigger than our hearts. You have changed our lives for the better and just make everything sweeter. So much has happend in a year and to watch you grow into a beautiful, sweet, smart, playful little girl has been the best thing to ever happen to us. There are not enough words to explain the feeling we get when we look at you. Not only have you grown over this past year but we have also. You have opened our eyes and our hearts to what really matters in this world.

Today was your birthday party and you were surrounded by your family and friends. It was a beautiful day for the beginning of March ( almost 70 degrees!!) and you were such an angel today. Of course Mommy can be a little crazy planning all week and Daddy couldn't sleep all night he was so excited and anxious........but in Leah fashion you were just AMAZING!!! No more fear of big groups, you just laughed and played the whole day. As soon as the music started you were front and center and clapping. And then when we sang Happy Birthday to you, you again clapped on cue ( I am really starting to think music may be a possible future for you :)....but the cutest was you waiting very nicely for us to cut you a piece of cake and then you just threw the whole thing in your mouth/face. What a ham!!!!!! Overall, the day was just PERFECT. To have Noni, Grandma Shirley, Aunt Marcie & Uncle Jeff, your cousins Jared, Lainey, Jocelyn, and Great Aunts Ethel and Anna Lee , and all of our amazing friends made the day so special.

We love you to pieces and can't wait for all of the memories we will make over the years.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

We may have said it once before but we'll say it again.......................

WE LOVE SNOW DAYS!!!!!!

my new adventure........DAYCARE

It has been a new and exciting week for Leah. She started daycare last Monday and although it is a transition for ALL of us we think she started enjoying herself as the week went on. She really likes her teachers but it sad to see Corey leave in the morning. As each day went on we would see her get happier each time he picked her up. It has really made her more affectionate at home ( we get lots of hugs and kisses now). I think she is just so happy to see us and be home. She lost her voice during the week and we were thinking , aww she must be crying alot. While I was at work I tried to imagine that instead of crying alot she lost her voice because she was so busy talking to her new friends ( kind of like how Mommy always lost her voice every summer at camp because of all of the fun she was having).

Well only to find out over the weekend that she was losing her voice because she has a cold AGAIN!!!! When is this winter going to end??? She actually threw up on Saturday from coughing so hard and it made me think of something I read once:

" No one ever told me that becoming a mother would at some point require me to cup my hand in front of my child's mouth in an attempt to capture as much vomit as possible to keep their cloths in tact. And they certainly didn't tell me what to do with the handful once I had it........"

So now it's Monday and we had ANOTHER snowstorm. Which is usually great news because I get the day off, but I am starting to think snowstorm=Leah cold....this will be the 3rd snow day I have off and we take a trip to the doctor. Only 5 days till the big birthday so let's hope this cold is a quick one..........

Leah's very first steps

Yesterday (2/28) Leah took her first steps!!! There were only a few but it was so exciting. I tried to capture it on video but that is not easy. So here are two clips of a few steps ( of course the better video is sideways !) Looking foward to the next few weeks when she realizes she can explore this world on her own.

My trip to PA

While Mommy and Daddy spend some quality time alone, Leah hung out with Aunt Marcie, Uncle Jeff, and her cousins Jared and Lainey. We missed her sooo much but had a great time celebrating our Valentine's get away at Bear Creek Resort! (Thank you sooooo much Marcie and Jeff, we really appreacited it!)

Mommy remembers when she was little and her big sis Marcie would teach her the piano. Well this is that same piano and now here is Lainey teaching Leah to play. Life really does come full circle.

The future Ms. Alicia Keys

We couldn't wait to go to Chickey and Pete's and since it was Leah's first time it was extra special. I mean where else can you get the BEST baby lobster tails, crabs, wings, and cheese fries....yum!!!

Leah had the best time with her cousins. We miss them so much so to get to spend 4 days with them was such a treat!

Gymboree

When Mommy has the week off we get to have alot of fun. We went to Gymboree and Ali's house for the day!!

Leah is really into the bubbles....I think I actually heard her say "buba"

This is one of the first times that Leah is doing the class without Mommy's help.

" Some of my bff's.......Sydney, Olivia, and Noa"

Playgroup's 1st Birthday Party!!

Taking Syd for a ride

Pic of the Mommies

I love my new book!



Leah sneaking away from Ms. Ana ( really she loved the singing!)

Our last comic standing

cupcake time!

I love my Daddy

Riley taking me for a ride

The whole baby group ( missing Emma and Evie :(

Where has a year gone??? Can you measure it in diapers, new toys, different strollers, clothing size........or the experiences you have had with your friends! Leah met her playgroup just a few weeks after she was born. Mommy was just hoping to get some good advice and maybe a friend or two she can have playtime with.....but we got soooo much more! Here we all are celebrating their 1st Birthday!! They are such an amazing group of people and Leah has really made some nice friends. This was such a great idea to have their first birthday party together ( Leah's own party will follow on her actual bday......just like mommy can't be happy with just one party!!). We really can't take any credit for planning the party since most of the group put it together ( hey I am at work all day!!). But between the group siing aling with Ms. Ana, pin the tail on the very low donkey, poster size pics of the baby, a yearbook, a video montage of our year together, books for presents, and cupcakes on the floor......Leah was the happiest baby alive!!

Happy First Valentine's Day

Daddy is Leah's one and only Valentine and he bought her a Teddy that she just loved. She hugged and kissed it all night!

Thank you so much Tracey

Well it's been a wonderful 6 months Leah has spent with Tracey. Everyday we dropped her off at Tracey's houes and everyday we picked her up with a smile. It was so sweet to see Leah grow attached and become so affectionate to Tracey. She was so easy to work with and made me going back to work such an easy transition. She never complained ( even with all of those sniffly days) and I am positive that Leah is a better person because of her. All of the reading, singing, hugging,trying new foods, playing with her son Tommy, and even hearing some Italian spoken in the house has done her alot of good. So of course we were sad to find out that her tiem with Tracey would be coming to end. We hiope to still keep in touch and get her together with them to play. I am excited and thinking that at her age daycare will be good for her. Of course this is harder for Mommy then Leah,but Mommy knows that Leah can't wait to make new friends and experiences.

Breaking me in for day care......

Getting hydrated before the gym!

Leah found Daddy

Okay, this slide thing isn't so bad after all

Mommy and Daddy thought it might be a good idea to get all the practice I can playing in new places and with lots of kids around. This is my last week with Tracey and soon I will be starting daycare. It took about 10 minutes to feel evryone out. Although I was skeptical at first, I relaized thisplace isn't so bad after all. Let's hope daycare is just as fun. I am really excited for my next adventure!!

Leah's New Milestones

Here are some recent fun videos of Leah showing off her new tricks. She is loving her new walker and woke up early this morning to play with it. The other video is of her playing with one of her favorite toys ( the musical box we got from Aunt Marcie and Uncle Jeff). She has started to follow the directions to the song.......so cute!

The Story of the Lucky Turtle

Can you guess why this turtle is soo fat?

At night this thing looked like a monster


I realized that we never shared our story of our lucky turtle on leah's blog, so here it goes. We moved to our new home in CT in April of 2007. Corey and I would kid around with everyone how we moved to the country and we were surrounded by farm animals ( really we were just shocked that we couldn't find any yellow american chesse in the state of CT, they only serve white.). About 2 months after we moved in corey was out front one night enjoying the abilty to sit on our steps and breath in some fresh air. Yes, at our previous apartment we had felt like we lived in a cave for 8 years and NEVER got to apprecaite the outdoors. Well this one night I hear Coery scream " Randie ....GET OVER HERE". Corey was really frightened and was convinced there was a monster in our front lawn. I came running out and we had no idea at first what ype of animal was sittting there with it's beaty eyes staring us down. It was HUGE and refused to move. As we got closer we realized it was a turtle.....no ordianary turtle but the kind you see at the Bronx Zoo....this thing was the KING TURTLE. Corey went to get his hockey stick to scare it away and it wouldn't budge. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Corey trying to get the turtle to move with his hockey stick. It was so big there was nothing we could do to move it. We called everyone, both of our mothers, who laughed and made some funny suggestions of their own. We were so freaked out by it's stare we just let it be and ran inside. We kept going out to check if it was there and sure enough, it was not going anywhere. The next morning we came outside and found no turtle but a large hole in the ground ( who ruined all of my pretty flowers)......what was there you ask.......about 10 turtle eggs, that looked like ping pong balls. We finally realized that it was a MAMA turtle who picked our house to begin her family. We officially became Danbury Hospital for this lucky lady. If you have seen where we live then you realize that it must of taken hours for her to walk all the way down from the small lake by our house, and why pick ours????I of course, realized it was a sign and that this would bring us good fortune and now was a good time to start having our own babies......3 weeks later we found out we were pregnant. So as an ode and thanks to our friend the MAMA turtle we bought a metal one to keep outside on our front steps. Here are some pics of the lucky turtle that helped us bring Leah into our lives.

25 Random Things About Leah

For our upcoming Baby Group Bday Bash we are putting together a Yearbook( well I'm not making it, but we'll be in it) and we were asked to take a page from Facebook's 25 Random Things. Here is Leah's:
1. My favorite song is the itzy bitzy spider
2. I wake up in the morning gigglying in my crib
3. My Mom and Dad think the world of me and kiss me at least 1000 times a day
4. My dog Tyson and I are best friends
5. I'm already a fish...I love to swim and take a bath
6. My hair is either really curly or really straight; depending on the weather
7. My nickname is Lele
8. I'm a big Jets fan......I kind of have no choice
9. Mommy and Daddy picked my name out 10 years ago
10.My favorite TV Shows are Blue's Clue's and Yo Gabba Gabba
11. I was born March 7,2008 and was 8lb 1oz and 19 3/4 in.
12. I have 8 teeth
13. I put everything in my mouth
14. To get me to stop crying ....all you have to do is sing
15. One animal I can always recoginize is a butterfly
16. My favorite foods are yogurt, pancakes, and pizza
17. I voted for Obama
18. I can say Dada, Mama, doggie, Leah, hi, and blue.
19. I sat for the first time during a yoga class
20. My favorite games, are peek-a-boo, tickle monster, and hide and go seek.
21. My family lives in 6 different states
22. Mommy and Daddy think I'll be a good athlete and great in school....but most of all, a good person who cares about others.
23. Right now I can sing songs with one word.....lalalalalalalalalala
24. I have the BEST playgroup ever
25. I am loved

Super Baby Bowl

It's the last game of the season and we are sad to see football go...but we do love the Super Bowl. Okay it was a no show for the Jets but we make the best of it anyway. We went to Stephanie and Phill's and had a great time. Leah made it to the national anthem and then she was knocked out upstairs. Leah loves spending time with her favorite pretend Aunt and Uncle. We also got to hang with Rosanne and Josh...who are 8 months pregnant, and we are soooooo excited to meet the baby. Of course the Spring Valley crew was there and we always love seeing them. We even found out that they read this blog ( so just for you guys; Eddie, Greg, Jackie.........we love spring val-ley) Not the bottles Daddy has been use to at a Super Bowl party
Celebrating Randie and Josh's Birthdays

The girls hanging at the game

Leah can't wait to meet baby bogard!

Leah and her new friend Jordan.....the ladies had planned the matching colors

What fills our hearts everyday

There is nothing in the whole world that sounds better than this.

Her first boo boo

Leah showing off her extra large lip :((



Ohhhh, this cold thing feels good on my boo boo

Today she came home with her first boo boo. She was standing up ( yeah Leah!!!) but attempted to clap at the same time...then proceeded to fall on her face. Those beautiful pearly whites of hers banged into her lip and she has a nice swollen lip. It is so sad, but as usualy she takes it like a trooper and couldn't be happier.

Wake up silly girl

As I go to Leah's crib each morning, I often wonder what in the world is so funny. At first I will hear noises and then as I make my way to the crib 9 out of 10 times she is laughing about something. I just wish I could get into her head and wonder what she is thinking ( or perhaps seeing?????). Either way it beats a crying baby anyday......and I can only hope that she laughs her way through life.