Farewell Party

Today was bittersweet to say good bye to 2 of Leah's (and Mommy's) good friends. Throughout this blog we have written about how much the baby group has meant to us. We knew no one in CT and now that we have such a nice group of friends has been so much fun!! Well, sadly 2 of the crew are moving away and we had a bbq for them. Janelle/Rylee and Melissa/Will are heading back to their "home"state and we are going to miss them sooooo much. Leah didn't feel so good at the party ( shocking???) and we had to leave early. We just want them to know that we are so lucky to have met them and we will never forget all of the great memories we made with them ( and will continue to make when we take our road trips!!). Here are some pics from the photo shoot we took for them and the party!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

The best gift I could ever get is spending the day with my whole family. I had such a wonderful Mother's Day and there is nothing I love more than being your Mommy. We went to NJ to spend the day with Daddy,Noni, Aunt Marcie, Uncle Jeff and Jared and Lainey. We pretty much did the exact same thing as last year with a visit to VanSauren Park and then off to a great lunch. I think this is the beginning of a cool tradition. Thanks for all the great gifts and I especially love Leah's first homemade card ( her drawing, hand prints, and a pic of her!!!).

Happy 14 Months!

So much has changed in the past two months ( which is the last time I did a "Happy___ Months" update). Our baby has turned into a little girl and so many changes now on a daily bases. Well for starters we've decided that she will be off to a new school/daycare in September. We're really excited about Leah being at her new "school" with a few of her friends from playgroup also!!! I'll write more about that when we get closer to the date. But as we speak Mommy has a 37 more days of school and can't wait to spend the whole summer with LeLe. Okay so back to her 14 Month birthday, here are some wonderful changes over the past two months:

1. She is officially a walker. Which I love 90% of the time and find it challenging the other 10%. The challenging part is that she would rather be walking then sitting in her high chair, stroller, shopping carts, bathtime, and diaper changes. But for the most part it is sooo much fun watching her get around. Whether it be the house, the park, the mall.....she is now on the go. I love that one minute she'll want to hold my hand and walk and another she pushes it away so she can do it all on her own.

2. Will hide behind my legs or Daddy's legs when she is playing hide and seek with other people.

3. Can follow alot of directions; such as " can you go get me the banana?""it's time to eat , please go to your high chair"

4. Loves her "Thinking Chair" ( named after the chair in Blue's Clue's). Every night after I put her pajamas on she will go pick out a book and sit in the chair and pretend to read.

5. Can say alot of words and hum songs ( book, balloon,shoe,cheeeese,etc.)

6. Can give you a look that makes you think she is 12 years old.

7. Will call out Mama and Dada

8. Can dance and throw a ball...neither one of those are very good right now.

9. Will give me a hug and say bye-bye when i leave for work ( melts my heart EVERYDAY!)

10. Chases after Tyson and has him chase after her.

Leah's Movie

When you have a good ten minutes to sit down and relax, take a look at the movie I made for Leah. We have such amazing video and pics and figured I could use a good art's and crafts project over the rainy weekend. It came out really clear and sharp on our computer but can't figure out how to upload it the same way.....so it's a little blurry and the voice isn't so great, but oh well! It's our version of her baby book.Enjoy!

Recent Videos

Leah practicing her rockstar moves" Bye Bye"

Weekend with the twins

From the park, to the pool, to the doctor's office...........Leah couldn't get enough of Olivia and Sydney this weekend. It was practically summer in April this past weekend and all we wanted to do was be outside. We got to test out their new kiddie pool and she just loved it. The park and pool were planned but the same doctor appt was totally by accident. Just getting them ready for "school" next year......that story to come in the next blog.

Great news from a great friend!

What do you think Leah.....a boy or a girl?

Finally the day has come that we can annouce that there will be a Baby Kurchack on the way!!!!! Leah can't wait to have a new best friend in her life. Steph has been Mommy's best friend for 15 years now and to add this new chapter in our "book" is going to be the best yet!!!!!

On her way

So we think Leah has really begun to walk. It's not all the time but she is getting more and more confident. Mommy just has to remember next time to turn the camera the right way!! Stephanie came over and it really got Leah excited so I think she walked just for her :)Funny.. how Steph was there when I found out I was pregnant and now she gets to witness another "first". Go leah Go!

A baby's best friend

Leah and Tyson have such an adorable relationship. I could sit there for an hour and just watch the two of them play. He licks her face and then she giggles, she pets him and then crawls away really fast and hides until he catches her. I remember when we first got him ( about a month before we found out that we were pregnant) and I was sooo nervous about if a dog and baby would be okay together. We are so grateful to have them both in our lives and to watch them get closer and closer is so sweet. Okay, we just watched Marley and Me for the first time last week so Tyson gets some extra love. Here is what Leah likes to do lately with her best friend.

Little Miss Fat Jaws

Because my cheeks are so mushy and everyone loves to kiss them ..........all of Louisiana was calling me "Fat Jaws" ( Big Cheeks as they say in the south). Hey, I love it here.

Every car ride we took , she would sing and clap. I think she got a little of the soul in her down there.

Mommy and Daddy head into New Orleans for a night of Gumbo and Bourbon Street.

Yes, I am a southern belle and I plan on wearing all of the dresses Mommy packed for me. Ohhhh you should have seen her curls down there. " Mommy, I want my food SPICY!!"

Leah's first trip to the Cajun market to look for some craw fish

There were so many salimanders in the front yard. Each morning we went out to look for them. Here is one staring us down.

We took Leah all over town to meet different family members. Here she is with her oldest living relative. It's her Great, Great Uncle Pop Bill, who will be 90 next week. There is a BIG party going on down here but we were a week early. Still, he was so excited to meet the newest member of the family.

LeLe did alot of standing this week ( as long as she was holding onto something she was okay). She was just SOOOO HAPPY to be outside. The waether was amazing, especially since we had such a tough winter. I mean each time we took her out she sqealed in joy. She would bang on the door all morning till we went outside. Luckily Grandma Shirley has a big and beautiful yard for her to explore. She even got to try out her new fancy sandals. Leah and Grandma Shirley just soaking up the sun.

We discovered a brand new and great park/water park for Leah right down the street from Grandma's. Luckily Leah isn't to tall to be asked to leave the water area....yipee!

With her new ear plugs, cute bathing suit , and 90 degree weather she was ready to test out the water toys!

Leah's First Vacation ........Nawlin's Here We Come

It was our first vacation as a family and we went to visit Grandma Shirley and the rest of the Shaw family in Louisiana ( in Gonzalez....30 min outside of New Orleans).Leah's first plane ride was a success. With a smart move by Mom and Dad we moved seats to be behind a wall and she had her very own play area. She made a million friends on the plane and it was the one time we were happy to be right next to the bathroom ( alot of people to play hide and seek with). The bottle trick was great ( Thanks, Amy and Jodi....my flying experts!). Coming home was a little more tricky since the flight left at 7 am. She was not in the best of moods but wasn't crying either. I just never realized how quiet a packed plane can be that early in the morning.....any peep from her and EVERYONE heard it. But she fell asleep for a while in Daddy's arms ( which she never does, so she was really tired) and we managed the rest of the flight with alot of food, drinks, toys, and distractions.

No more ear infections!!

We are so grateful that everything went well this morning with Leah's ear surgery. She was such a trooper and in great spirits before ; letting all the doctors and nurses play with her. It was definitely scary seeing her in her robe/socks and in a "hospital" type room. Although Mommy shed a few tears after we brought you in.....a little while later there you were. And how funny was it that I went to camp with the doctor. So now as you sleep I feel overwhelmed with love and affection and hope this only makes you better. We love you sooooo much and thank everyone for their support. We realize this is minor but it's never easy to see your little one in ANY pain. Now we get to pack and be excited to head down to New Orleans tomorrow...........YIPEE!!!

Meeting so many new friends this weekend

Team Jalosky

Eva kissing Leah hello

Leah meeting Olivia

soooooo delicious

Leah, Mommy, and Stephanie

What a great weekend we had. First, we headed down to Long Island to see JJ, Becky, Eva, and new addition to the Jalosky family.....Ethan!! He is soo cute and it was great to watch Eva and Leah play. Jonathan is one of Mommy's oldest friends ( and best man to Corey, he stole my BFF)and we can't believe that we are Mommy's and Daddy's now. Then we headed into Queens to go and see Rosanne and Josh and meet baby Olivia. What a little roasted peanut. They are such naturals and doing really well. Leah's first trip into the city.....that Queens Blvd is scarrrrryyyyy. On Sunday Falbo (Stephanie ) came over and met Leah for the first time. That is another one of Mommy's good friends from college. All weekend, Leah was amazing with new people and we think the "new person" jitters have gone away!!!!! She is so lucky to have such wonderful friends in her life.

Big week ahead of us

We are all off on vacation next week and we are soooooo excited to spend some nice family time together, not just 2 hours a day that we squeeze in bewteen work, daycare, meals, and then sleeptime!!But first.........Monday Leah will be getting the tubes put in her ears and we are hoping that everything goes well. Then Tuesday we are off for Leah's first plane ride to the Big Easy to meet the rest of her family , enjoy some warm weather, and eat some yummy gumbo!!! We'll keep you posted and of course some pics...........................................

Learning how to be the world's best shopper

I mean who else than my mommy can teach me how to shop for hours and find the best deals.......NONI!!

We had a great ALL GIRLS day together and no matter how far we had to go to find us some outlet shops on a Sunday in New Jersey, it was all worth it!!! It was the first time Leah was able to "walk" (okay, cruise from one rack to the next) around the mall. Leah and her Noni shared giggles all day!!