Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!

So much to say, so little time...
Christmas was great. We had family in town and then we went to visit more family! It is always great to have everyone together.

Our trip to Philadelphia included meeting our newest niece Elsa, playing in 24" of snow that (thankfully) fell before we got there, and going to the Please Touch Museum.

Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Leah with her aunt Jenni

Leah's first snowman

Tim, Sara & baby Elsa

The grandparents with the granddaughters

Leah took holding baby Elsa very seriously.

The Please Touch Museum

And to share some more exciting news - we are expecting our second child! I am due in July. We told our parents by having them open a picture of the ultrasound. The reactions made for some good photos.

"Thanks for the picture frame."
No mom, the frame isn't the gift.

"Why are they giving us a picture of Leah's ultrasound now?!?

Oh! Your future baby?!?

Hmm...

Well yeah, I know it's a picture of a baby.

Ha! You're pregnant!

Have you heard?

I'm 30 now. The big 3-0. Joe was sweet enough to take me to Vegas for my birthday where we ate some very nice meals (I am spoiled now) and saw the Cirque de Soleil show O. When I lived in Huntsville, Joe and I watched a Bravo series on the making of another Cirque show, Ka I think, and we saw their auditorium show in Memphis a few years ago.

O was fantastic! I snapped a few pictures before the show started.

This is the ceiling of the theater. The middle part is actually a trapeze that comes down at the beginning of the show.

The stage.

The mimes came out at the beginning and made appearances throughout the show. They were pretty funny. They got some of the audience members wet, who didn't seem to happy about it.

Us before the show.

And of course, one of the cutest helpers you could ever have in the kitchen.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac & Cheese

This is super tasty and should be a hit with any kid - BUT, I should warn you. It is not diet friendly. :)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 packets ranch seasoning
2lb grilled chicken, cut into bite size pieces1lb bacon, cooked crispy and chopped
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

In a heavy saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes.

Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking.

Add 1 1/2 packets ranch seasoning, and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

In a kettle of salted boiling water cook macaroni until just al dente, about 7 minutes, and drain well.

In a large bowl stir together macaroni, bacon, chicken, sauce, Cheddar, and 1 cup Parmesan. Reserve 1/2 cup bacon.

In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs, remaining ranch seasoning, remaining bacon, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Or you can sprinkle these ingredients over the casserole separately.

Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

November has passed so fast! Joe and I are excited to welcome the newest member to our family, Elsa Maxine was born on the 16th. She is adorable and we can't wait to meet her!

Thanksgiving was great and Leah enjoyed spending lots of time with family. We hosted my side for dinner and then played a couple of rounds of Scene It! My sister brought the Simpsons version and surprisingly the girls almost won. Who would have guessed? Crissie, Steve & Jenni took the girls to the Thanksgiving Day Parade downtown, Steve took all the girls to Monkey Joe's one day and Crissie and I took them to the City Museum. It was a full week!

I will leave you will the latest from Leah.

-Do you need to go potty before your bath?

-No, I'll just go in the bath.

Funny girl. So of course I made her sit on the potty until she went.

Leah's First Concert

Leah's daycare had a Fall Harvest concert on Tuesday night! I wasn't sure if she would be included because she hasn't been there long but she was. It was all very cute. Below is the link to the videos - someone walked in front of me, so it is in two clips. The second clip in the album is actually the first part. Anyways, this is the first time I've done this so I hope it works. Let me know if you have any trouble so I can try something else if I need to.

http://www.vimeo.com/album/145803

This weekend Crissie, Steve and the girls came down to visit. It was great, and the kids had a lot of fun together. We have been letting the big girls have slumber parties whenever we stay together, and Leah was great at Crissie's. I guess being at home is different for her, Leah was a party animal! She was not going to sleep. They even orchestrated their own pillow fight. So I ended up moving Leah back to her crib, but she was happy with that.

Friday we had a mini-celebration for Katie's 4th birthday and Saturday we went to the zoo and enjoyed the wonderful weather. That night Jenni, Joe and I watched the girls so Crissie and Steve could go out for her birthday. Elaine did great even though she isn't a fan of other people. :)

2 more weeks until Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Leah was a skunk this year for Halloween - Little Stinker. She loved it, she loved having a tail & telling people to say "Eww!". I put a little face paint on her nose too and she got a big kick out of that. I really thought Leah would only be interested for a few houses, but she actually made it almost the entire way around the block. Also, candy is a HUGE motivator for her. She loved watching all the other trick or treaters and the decorations, and she said "trick or treat" and "thank you" just like she was supposed to.

We carved pumpkins on Saturday morning. Leah thought that was great. She liked the seeds & goo inside and talking about how she was getting messy. Joe made a scary pumpkin, Leah called it the tiger pumpkin because of the sharp teeth.

Jenni's birthday is November 1st so before we headed out we had her family and my parents over for dinner. My dad went out with Leah and I and my mom stayed back with Joe to give out candy. Leah liked having her grandpa there to talk to & he took her up to some houses, too. When we got home she helped grandma give out candy until we ran out.

Last weekend

Last weekend Leah & I headed up to Chicago to see Crissie, Steve & the girls. We went to an open gym at GymQuest, swimming at the Y, and two pumpkin patches! It was a great weekend. Joe hung back and painted our bathroom. What a huge difference to makes going from a drab brown to a muted light green!

2 year check up

I was so caught up in talking about potty training I forgot to mention Leah's 2 year check-up. She is doing great!

Weight: 25 lbs, 25th percentile
Length: 35 in, 70th percentile
Head: 48 cm, 60th percentile

Day 3

Today was day 3 of potty training and Leah didn't have an accident until 7PM. She is doing great! I hope it continues with her at daycare. It seems like she really gets what we are trying to do and is interested (which is probably the most important part).

We had another great week. Work keeps Joe and I busy. It seems like lately we are left wondering if things will ever settle down. It seems like at some point they would, but they don't. Last week they posted 5 jobs they are trying to fill, but they continue to take 10% of our pay. It is frustrating to say the least.

I hope everyone has a great week! The fall weather has certainly made an appearance here. I am looking forward to the change in wardrobe!

Been a while, huh? Yeah, I'm not sure what happened, I guess time just got away from me. It seems like once Leah turned two she is all grown up. She has changed so fast I hope we aren't holding her back. A few weeks ago we went to the zoo, it was the first time we went that Leah had requests for what animals we saw. She wanted to see the lions, giraffes, and monkeys.

We had an amazing weekend for Leah's birthday. Thursday night Crissie, Steve & the girls came in, then on Friday Grandma Debbie arrived. Leah really took it all in having all her favorite people in town.

We have been working on turning the upstairs room into a playroom for Leah. When I couldn't find a toy box I liked, Joe offered to build one! It turned out great. Kind of a simple project but Joe always does a good job of putting a lot of thought into what he wants. Leah loves that Joe built it for her and is still talking about it.

I promise to update the blog more frequently!!

Leah is Switzerland

Leah, is mommy your favorite or is daddy your favorite?

Umm, peabutter an jelly samich.

Two years old

Two years ago, when the doctor placed Leah in my arms I had no idea the wonderful things that were in store for me. She brightens my days, warms my heart and teaches me new ways to see things every day.

It is amazing to see how far she has come in just one year. This time last year Leah had just a few words and had just taken her first steps. Now, she can tell you exactly what she wants or what she did yesterday and loves for you to chase her around the house. It is exciting to think about what the years to come hold for her!

We have been so busy I forgot to mention that we are done with the pacifier! This is such a milestone for us. She only had it at bedtime since she was 18 months old. There are a lot of ways parents go about getting rid of the paci, we went with the cut away approach. It took about a month & a half because I didn't want to mess with Leah's comfort while she was adjusting to the new daycare. Every week or so we would cut a sliver of the paci away, Leah told us her paci was broken. Then, she stopped looking for it in her crib when she went to bed. So that was that.

Joe and I have been very impressed with our gardening skills. Most of our vegetables have survived. The past few weeks we noticed something was eating our tomato plants. Saturday we found the culprit. It is HUGE! The picture doesn't do him justice.

Last weekend we went up to Chicago to see Crissie & her family. The girls had a lot of fun together. They are so funny when they get together - so talkative!

I made a cake this weekend & had left over batter, so I made some cupcakes.

A few funnies

Joe has been teaching Leah that she is our daughter. The other night she pointed to herself & said daughter, pointed to me & said mommy. When I asked her who Joe was she said, "That's my honey." Does she have him wrapped around her finger or what?

On our way back from Chicago last weekend she kept asking where Crissie, Steve & the girls were. Finally, she said "I want to go to Chicago, too!"

Again, on the way back from Chicago we put some crackers & M&Ms in her snack trap. We don't give Leah much candy so she was really excited. "A green one! A yellow one!" With a mouth full of crackers & chocolate, she insistently asked, "What are these?!?" until we told her what they were called.

How do you follow the perfect weekend? With a perfect week, of course! Crissie came down Tuesday night with the girls and Pete & his family were in town, so Wednesday we went to the City Museum. Everyone had a great time. If you haven't been there in a while, the roof is open now. Leah actually sat in the driver's seat of the bus that hangs off the side of the building! She had no idea what she was doing, but I have a picture on my cell phone.

Crissie spent the rest of the week with the girls and Pete and his crew. They went to the zoo and had a water day on Friday. At the end of the week I was able to meet up with Pete, Emma, and Crissie to have dinner & catch up. It was nice to be able to sit down & talk without distractions. Then, we followed up such a busy week with a lazy weekend.

Perfect Weekend

I'm not sure if weekends get much better than this. The weather was amazing so we decided to head to Laumeier Sculpture Park for the day. Leah enjoyed running and playing and all the new sites. She had the most interest in the fish (tadpoles) in the pond.

Friday we went to the park and Leah just ran & ran. She loves the slides and is getting so good at climbing up things by herself. And of course, she would be content spending the entire evening in the swing.

It seems like she has grown so much in the last month. She plays independently now. She tells you things like "I'm hungry" and "I'm tired" instead of crying. She can sing her ABC's and count to 9, sometimes 10. 9 is usually followed by 13, we're still working on that. And Leah's sentences & conversations continue to expand.

Motherly Worries

It is funny the things you worry about as a parent. A month after we started giving Leah table food I started to worry that she wasn't going to know the names of the foods we were giving her. I wasn't telling her what was on her plate. Last night all that was put to rest. I set Leah's plate on the table & she yelled, "Corn!"

4th of July

We had a great weekend. Joe's brother and his wife came to visit. Thursday night the adults went to a Cardinals game & my sister Jenni watched Leah. It was probably the best game I've ever been to. The weather was perfect, the game was interesting and not too long. It was great.

Friday we spend time with Joe's side at his aunt's and caught up with the extended family. Suzy is always a great host. We made it to the local fair where Leah rode some of the rides. She was really happy about that. Joe won her a small penguin and we had some treats from the food stands. We discovered Leah does NOT like fireworks, not at all. But in the end that worked out for the best because it was such a rainy weekend.

Day care is going ok. I am withholding judgement at this point, or at least trying to. I know I have to give Leah time to adjust so I try not to be too critical.

I hope everyone has a great week!

First Day of School

Monday we took Leah in for a half-day at her new preschool. As most of you know, our home sitter is no longer watching children. Joe & I both had the day off, so we both were able to take her in & pick her up.

She looked soooo sad when I walked out of the room and before we made it out of the building I could hear her crying. They said she had a few moments during the day, she expected it to be us picking her up when people would come in & out of the room. They had pancakes & peaches for breakfast & she didn't eat any of it.

By lunch she was hungry & ate all her pizza and oranges. When Joe & I walked in to get her she ran right to us and clung to Joe like we've never seen her. Later I asked her if she wanted to go back to school and she gave me a firm no. We will see how things go Wednesday when we drop her off for another half day.

My Funny Little Girl

These are some of the things that go on at our house.
- Leah has a plastic Cabbage Patch Kid, and of course it has the famous signature on its bottom. Leah likes to play diaper change with her babies & often gets upset because the poop (signature) won't come off the baby.

- I'm not ready to call it an imaginary friend, but twice now I've seen her talk to a frog that isn't there.

- You know the song that goes, Anna Anna bo bana, banana fana... Leah like that song, but she tells you to do it for anything. "Do car. Do cloud." Whatever she sees.

- Leah has started signing. She can sing All the Fish Swimming in the Water, Old MacDonald, and Walter Walter Wagtail. I think the last one is a Jenks family original.

- Leah would empty her water table by watering my jalapeno if you'd let her. I transferred it to a pot to try to save it, it wasn't doing well in the garden. Leah like to tell me how thirsty it is as she douses it with cup after cup.

- Yesterday when Joe went to get her up for the day she had her blanket spread out in her crib and she was sitting on it with her teddy bear & Lamby. She told him they were watching TV. And their legs had to be straight out, she is very particular.

- This week we got Whitey's for dinner and had to listen to Leah say "I farted" for the rest of the night.

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Happy Belated Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. I hope you all had a chance to enjoy your day.

Joe, you are a wonderful Dad and I think it is safe to say you are Leah's favorite. ;)

Spicey!

I love this face!

Branson family vacation

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Almost the entire family met down in Branson, my dad rented a gorgeous house so we could all stay at the same place. Sunday we rented a pontoon boat and Leah thought that was a lot of fun. Monday we stopped by Silver Dollar City before heading home, everyone else is staying until Wednesday.

It was great to see all the cousins together, playing and interacting. And of course it was wonderful to have everyone together & let the craziness ensue. We are a big group, there is no doubt about that. There were 9 adults, 2 teenagers, and 5 under 4.

Pit stop in Rolla on our way down.

Pete with Katie, Anna, Elaine, Cooper & Leah.

Crissie with Anna and Leah.

My parents & all their grandchildren.

From the left: Crissie holding Elaine, Steve, Jake, Jenni, Katie, my mom, my dad holding Anna, Joe holding Leah, me, Alex, Pete holding Cooper, and Melissa. The picture is missing Jenni's husband Matt and my sister Emma.

Leah's Baptism

Ready for her big day!

Leah with mom & dad

Leah with her God parents, Jenni and Tim

Leah was baptized on Saturday! She did such a great job. The first time the pastor reached for her she didn't want to go, but the second time she let me hand her over. He put water on her head three times and she did not cry. At the end she wanted back in my arms, but even then she just had that look on her face and that was all. My sister Jenni and Joe's brother Tim are Leah's God parents. After the service we had a meal back at the house with everyone from the family and it was nice to catch up. Joe's mom came in from California for this but somehow she got away without having her picture taken.

Thanks to everyone who attended Leah's baptism. We really appreciate it!