Christmas Day 2007

This was our first Christmas in the new house. It has nice to be able to decorate a bit and have space for things like a tree and lots of presents. And oh boy did Leah get lots of presents. lol. Between Christmas Eve and Christmas I suspect we won't need to go shopping for toys for another year.

We were woken up by Matthew who I suspect was more excited for Leah than Leah was. When he first woke her up she told him to go away and she wanted to sleep some more. So sleep some more she did.

First she saw her new bicycle.




After opening presents we headed over to Ruth & George's for Christmas Day brunch/dinner.

Leah wasn't feeling too great, a bit of a cold so she was tired & cranky but still enjoyed herself. Not to mention looked adorable in the Christmas dress she picked out for herself.



Leah got the prettiest initial necklace, along with lots of other goodies in her stocking.



We opened lots of presents. Then had a delicious meal cooked by Grandma Ruth with Aunt Lois & Aunt DL & Aunt Lindsay. Everything was delicious and the perfect conclusion for Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent with our families and friends at our new house. We had a great big dinner of all kinds of different dishes and just hung out and had a good time. Eating, drinking, laughing and being merry. I think a good time was had by all.



After everyone went home Leah got ready for bed. She was incredibly excited and couldn't wait to put on her pajamas and set out brownies & milk for Santa. In years past Leah has been afraid of Santa and anything Santa related. This year however she reconciled her feelings and just couldn't wait for him to come. Every Christmas Eve we give Leah a new pair of pjs to wear.

Today we went to Freeport for a birthday party for one of the boys in Leah's preschool class. We had a great time. Leah got to ride a pony, decorate a pumpkin, and run around with all her playmates and her 'boyfriend' Alistair.

Happy Birthday Leilani

A very happy birthday to Tia Leilani :)

Good Morning

Leah has officially begun attending Pre-school. Here she is with Matt all ready for school.

Kitty love

We love having the cats in the house. Tiger Lily is definitely the affectionate one and Darth Vader is a bit selfish and only comes to you when she wants attention. The two are almost always together.

Tiger Lily & Darth Vader

Tiger Lily & Darth Vader love laying on this throw. We got it as a gift when we lived in East Meadow and it has served many purposes. Not sure why the cats love it but they just lay down and stretch out on it, no matter where it is.

Leah the Bold

Leah the Scaredy Cat is diminishing and Leah the Bold is making her appearance. Over the last two months Leah has really come out of her shell. She is opening up more towards people and isn't nearly as shy as she used to be.

She will go on swings and even ask you to push her a bit faster and higher. She will go into a pool and the ocean with no qualms about it.

We went camping last week for a few days around Lake George. At first she was not crazy about the nearly mile walk to the cabin, or the lack of electricity. She asked us "Where's the fridge?" after we walked in. But after a few hours she didn't miss any of those amenities one bit.

She rode in a canoe without a bit of fear and wants to do it again and again. She climbed up and down and through these caves at the Natural Stone Bridges and Caves. She was a trooper and better at walking and climbing than some of the grown-ups.

On Sunday, on our way back to Long Island we stopped at Indian Ladder Farms for their local food festival. They had a sand play area for the kids, lots of free, and delicious food samples. They also had a petting zoo. Leah is usually quite adamant that she doesn't want to go anywhere near the animals but over this summer she has gotten comfortable with the concept of feeding and petting the animals. She feed the sheep and the alpacas and lamas.

Then she did something that surprised us. She decided she wanted to ride a pony. These weren't tiny ponies either. Usually she says she wants to do it but then in the end decides not to. This time she waited and waited, put the helmet on, climbed on and left us to ride the pony.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a ton of pictures due to the fact our digital camera broke before our trip. We have to develop some film and post those pics.

She also started pre-school this year. She loves her new class and has some awesome teachers.

AND she started taking dance classes as well. That was part of Ruth & George's birthday present. She took her first class and was scared to go into the room and leave us. But once she was in with the other little girls she was ready to dance her butt off.

She looks absolutely adorable in her leotard and tights. She even has her very own pair of ballet slippers and tap shoes.

Watering the plants

Leah has taken to watering the lawn. Even if it is raining, even if the sprinklers just went off. Of course we don't have to do any of this but she really enjoys it. So what the heck?

The new place

So far so good. The new house is really working out for us. The extra space is exactly what this family needed. Even though we tend to stay in the living room/dining area for the most part, it is wonderful to be able to just not be on top of one another ALL THE TIME.

I am making the kitchen my own. We are still working on the entry way room. We will figure out something for there, eventually. Leah's room is still under construction. Finally found a bed or two that will be perfect for her room. Just a matter of making a decision and getting it in there.

Leah has adjusted wonderfully to the whole move. She was able to go and hang out with the girls at the place in Farmingdale the other. I know she had a great time visiting.

Here are some pics from the last couple of days.

New Family Addition

We went and adopted a kitten from North Shore Animal League.

She is a black striped gray tabby, who Leah has named Tiger Lily.



It is a good thing both Matt and I agree that having a pet is a crucial component in having a family, when you have the space & time to care for it. I know that I feel lucky to have had the barrage of pets we had growing up, everything from our albino burmese python named Samantha to a wonderful toy poodle named Chop-C. We got tons of enjoyment and learned a ton about responsibility. The lessons that come from caring for another animal are invaluable.

Leah loves her. It is a 15 year committment and one we are happy to make.

32 Days to go!

In 32 days Leah will be 3 years old. Unbelievable.

Now I understand the old cliché, Where does the time go?.

Many changes have occured in the Deller/Soto residence over the past week.

As of Friday, June 29th Matt is now a proud homeowner. As of about 4 p.m. on Friday we started moving into the new place.

Thanks to the hard work of George, Ruth and Lindsay we were able to move out on Friday and we were all moved in come Saturday night.

Many pictures to come.

I don't know how we would do anything we are able to do without Matt's parents helping us and supporting us. I wish there were a way to show them just how grateful we really are.

On Saturday we had my dad, youngest brother and Vivian over. My dad graciously gave us his living room set. It is perfect. It fits just right, and it matches everything. It is also comfortable. Our last couch was being held together by plywood, string and staples.

And then George, Ruth and Lindsay and we had PLENTY OF ROOM! :D I cannot wait to have people over for dinner. I promise not to poision anyone.

Leah seems to like the new place. She walks up and down the stairs. We are in the process of 'Leah proofing' the outside doors. She likes to just walk out front, which isn't the safest thing for her to be doing.

We still have a garage full of stuff. In time we will figure out what goes where.

As for what our plans are for Leah's 3rd birthday, we haven't had a chance to sit down and actually plan anything. I know her birthday party probably won't be the weekend of her birthday but it may be the following weekend. Hopefully we will have a definitive answer by this weekend.

To the fair we go

Today we went to the Nassau Coliseum Fair.

I love going to fairs. Matt on the otherhand, despises them. But we went today for Leah. I read that there was a nice enough petting zoo and Leah does enjoy them so we went. We didn't expect to stay very long. In the past Leah has not been too fond of the fair environment. The loud rides, the people crowding around everywhere and she has shown no interest in participating at all when it comes to the kid's rides.

This time was different. We started off by feeding the animals, she enjoyed giving the zebra and giraffe carrots. She also attempted to feed a donkey but its teeth scared her off.

Right off the bat Leah was asking to go on the rides, and play some of fair games. Very unlike any other outing we've had with her. We watched a mini circus show. She played a fishing game and won herself some stuffed animals. Next she went on the swings with me. I thought that she was going to be hysterical crying the minute the things took off but overall she was just nervously laughing and smiling. Afterwards she went on some of the rides by herself. We also went into the funhouse, where Leah proceeded to walk right into lots of mirrors. Ouch!

She really surprised us. She was excited and enjoying all the amusement rides. She even attempted to go on some that she was not quite big enough for. She also went on the carousel with Matt. We had lots of fair food, greasy food of course. lol. And ended the night with some funnel cake and ice cream.

First Rides

Took Leah with us to Walmart. She wanted to go on the Dumbo they had in the entrance way. Usually Leah makes a point of telling me I'd better not put money in the ride. She doesn't like to have it move. But this time was different. She wanted to hear the music and she wanted for it be on.

Things have been busy around the house. Packing for moving, not yet moving through. Have a few kinks to work out in the equation, like closing. In the meantime we are enjoying what marks the beginning of a fun and exciting summer.

Leah is looking forward to moving. She has her plans for her new room. Colors of choice for her wall are as follows: blue, pink, red and purple. Quite the combo.

Ask her the best part about the new house and she says "Two bathrooms!"

Isn't that the truth :)

More pictures to come soon.

Pictures By Grandma

Ruth takes lots of pictures of Leah. Here are some recent ones.

Day with Kitti

I was getting my hair done and Kitti was awesome enough to take Leah out for a bit. They went to the park where Kitti took some wonderful pictures of Leah.

2 years 8 months

Speech and Language Milestone Markers for Typical Children between ages 2 and 3

Identifies body parts
Carries on 'conversation' with self and dolls
Asks "what's that?" And "where's my?"
Uses 2-word negative phrases such as "no want".
Forms some plurals by adding "s"; book, books
Has a 450 word vocabulary <----Leah has easily twice that
Gives first name, holds up fingers to tell age <---Leah knows first and last name, address and is learning her phone number
Combines nouns and verbs "mommy go"
Understands simple time concepts: "last night", "tomorrow"
Refers to self as "me" rather than by name
Tries to get adult attention: "watch me" <---if you've ever been in a car with Leah and trying to hold a conversation, you are well aware of the fact she desperately tries to get adult attention by telling you to be quiet and listen to just her. lol
Likes to hear same story repeated
May say "no" when means "yes"
Talks to other children as well as adults
Solves problems by talking instead of hitting or crying
Answers "where" questions
Names common pictures and things
Uses short sentences like "me want more" or "me want cookie"
Matches 3-4 colors, knows big and little

Between Age 3 and 4

Can tell a story
Has a sentence length of 4-5 words
Has a vocabulary of nearly 1000 words
Names at least one color
Understands "yesterday," "summer", "lunchtime", "tonight", "little-big"
Begins to obey requests like "put the block under the chair"
Knows his or her last name, name of street on which he/she lives and several nursery rhymes

Leah is around the second set of milestones, rather the first. So proud of my lil conversationalist.

For Lindsay

A pic of Leah:

huh?

Leah's newest thing is "huh?" Tell her to do something, ask her a question she doesn't feel like answering, make a statement, comment, anything and you seem to get a "huh?" and its not a normal "huh" either it goes up in tone...too funny.

But it is irking my nerves and irking Matt as well.

Most kids her age, well they are saying why? Leah? Is saying why not? Whats that? What are you doing? Huh?

She is answering "Because I want to!" "I want that now!"

Too silly.

Off to the circus

Matt got me tickets to the Big Apple Circus for Christmas. Off we went today. Spent the afternoon walking around, went to eat lunch at Big Nicks. Matt and I had burgers and Leah had a slice of pizza. Then we hung out at Lincoln Center. We were trying desperately to get Leah to take a nap but she resisted. Our concern was that she was once again going to fall asleep during yet ANOTHER outing. Definitely her trademark.











Leah licking Matt's face. And then wiping it off.





We waited outside the entrance to the circus, then went in and had a great time. At first Leah was scared of the clown but after about 10 minutes it was smooth sailing. There many children there her age and once she saw them participating, she was into the whole show. She especially enjoyed the guy on the bicycle and anything with people in the air.





I braided Leah's hair on our way home to keep her occupied.




Afterwards we walked around a bit, Leah did end up falling asleep, Matt and me had some hot dogs and papaya drinks at Grey's Papaya and then it was back onto the subway and the LIRR home.