Life with Leah

I meant to create this post before Corbin was born, but since he came early, this post is coming later. I just wanted to make sure I wrote down some of the fun/interesting things Leah is doing these days. This girl definitely keeps us on our toes. Life with Leah is anything but boring.

Leah loved going with me to my doctor appointments. Her favorite was when we had appointments at the hospital (or as she calls it "the place with the turning-round door"). She is fascinated with their big revolving door and would cry when it was out of order and she couldn't go in or out it. Here's a picture of her playing in the waiting room after one of my ultrasounds. She was totally fascinated by this bead board and played with it for a half hour or more. She loves puzzle-type toys like this where she can try to figure things out.

Leah loves her daddy and gets to do a lot more with him now that Corbin is here. They often go outside just to play. And she also loves when she gets to go to mutual with him. Ross really likes it when she will settle down with him and let him read to her. I enjoy watching them interact together. I just wish they could learn to get along better at bedtime though. That's when Leah and Daddy butt heads the most!

This poor kid is cursed with such fine hair. It looks so cute when I style it with all it's natural curl. But it gets so snarled, nappy and full of static so easily, especially after she has been asleep.

Her favorite activities currently include: singing, dancing (mostly spinning in circles), jumping/climbing on furniture and beds (despite getting in trouble for it every day), playing computer games, playing outside/at the park, and helping me with cooking and laundry whenever I will let her.

She has definitely developed a personality of her own. She is strong willed, likes to do things by herself and has no problem telling Ross and I exactly how she feels about something.

Our little "space cowgirl." She found this cowboy hat and light saber at Ross's cousin's house and played with them for quite a while.

We've also discovered that she has a unique sense of fashion. When she decides to dress herself, she can come up with some interesting combinations! If we're staying home, I will usually just let her wear what she wants. But if we are going somewhere, I make her change her shirt or pants so that she actually matches.

Leah loves all things Mickey. He is by far her favorite character (although she still does really like Kermit and the Muppets). Here are some more of Leah's current favorites...
Color: Red
Songs: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Jesus Once Was a Little Child" (She requested this for her bedtime song for nearly a month straight or more. We have finally convinced her to pick other Jesus songs, but this is still the one she chooses the most.)
TV Shows: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood"
Foods: Shells and Cheese, Spaghetti, Cottage Cheese and she loves to put Lemon Pepper on her foods like her dad does
Movie: "Sleeping Beauty" (I'm guessing that is it because more often than not she'll choose that to watch at bedtime if she has behaved well enough at bedtime to get to watch a movie.)
Books: Little Critter books and Berenstain Bears books

The poor girl shopped 'til she dropped!

Leah loves to play games or watch videos on the computer. She's pretty computer savvy for a 2-year-old. Her favorite websites are Disney Junior and PBS Kids. She can maneuver both of these very well to find whatever game she wants to play or video she wants to watch. On this particular day she was so tired when she was playing that she fell asleep waiting for the game to load.

She recently requested that I get out her Halloween costume so she could dress up like Abby Cadabby again. She dressed up in it several days in a row and even wanted the purple freckles on her checks. I only put her hair up in the pony tails once though. She even went to mutual with Ross dressed up as Abby (we tried to get her to take it off, but it turned into too much of a battle.)

Bedtime is still a battle most nights with Leah. She hates going to sleep at night. One of us has to be with her when she falls asleep. If we threaten to make her go to sleep alone, she'll say, "But I can't go to sleep without a girlfriend or a boyfriend." I don't know where she got that from, but I always think it's funny when she says it. We've made a bedtime chart for her and she can earn a sticker for it if she goes to bed without fighting, getting a time out or if she sleeps all night in her own bed. If she fills up the chart, we told her she could go to the store and pick out a special prize. There's only 25 squares in her chart and we started the it over a month ago. However, I doubt we'll be going to the store any time soon.

Despite the struggles of living with a head-strong 2-year-old, we still lover her very much and wouldn't trade our little Leah for the world.