Mayah's Birthday!

Today was Mayah's Birthday party. Mayah is a friend that Leah has made here on our complex. Her parents are awesome and she is a wonderful little girl. When we first met the family Leah was Mayah's age and now Leah will be 4 in a few months and Mayah turned 3. The birthday party was at a local My Gym. The place is awesome. The party hosts were great and all the kids had a wonderful time. Leah can't wait to go back.

We snapped some pics of her in the car on the way home. She got this little bottle of water and was having a blast drinking the water. She really enjoys drinking water, definitely a good thing.

Now if we can only break her of her terribly bad habit of always needing to find comfort in biting her nails! As shown in the second picture, she loves her fingers.

Future Salsera?

Leah likes to listen to salsa, she calls it "Abuelo's music." Today after dance class I put some on the on demand music channel and she danced away.

PJs/Bedtime Fun

Ruth bought Leah a really nice nightgown and Leah loves it. Leah does not like wearing any clothing to bed. At all. She loves putting on pajamas, she will go to sleep with them on but at some point during the night she takes them off. Never fails. The nightgowns work perfectly for her because its not too much material and if she does want to take them off, they come off rather easily. Lately she has been asking for more nightgowns because she doesn't get too hot in them with her bed covers on...so I bought her some.

This is her hanging out in one she picked out because she likes clouds.




Leah making a face because I told her it was way past her bedtime and she needed to go to sleep.

Matzah Ball Soup

Matt and Leah made matzah balls together for Matzah Ball Soup. Ruth always tells us about how when she first made matzah balls with Lindsay and Matt, how the kids got a kick out of seeing the tiny balls grow big so quickly in the broth. Matt doesn't really cook much but when he does it is always good and it is almost always something he had as a kid. It is a real treat to see him do it with Leah's help.

Matt's soup ended up looking like this-minus the carrots. Tasted really good. Nice comfort food.



Anyone who cooks with Leah knows how much she truly enjoys helping. She is especially good at making anything into balls. She gets all serious and focuses on the task.

Fridays

Fridays are great with Leah. Now that its warm out I pick her up early and we hang out. Sometimes we go to the malls, sometimes we walk down and get ices at the Ralph Ices that just opened right by her school. A couple of times we've picked up picnic stuff up at John's Farms and walked down to the park, eaten, played and then walked down to the library. Sometimes we get a ride home and just veg out at home. No matter what it is mostly our time and it is wonderful.

Today we went to Ralph's and Leah picked out a chocolate milk ice and we took the bus to Walt Whitman for some shopping & to get lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Leah loves to listen to my Ipod so its pretty easy to keep her entertained while we shop, take the bus or sit in a restaurant waiting for food.

4 Year Old Milestones

Leah will be 4 in August. Today she is 3 years, 8 months, 3 weeks & 6 days old. Crazy how time has flown by. Less than 4 months until she turns 4. Today at school the teachers were discussing some of Leah's latest things. She has taken to telling stories, elaborate, drawn out stories. She has also created her own version of gibberish. She is getting very good at pretend play and can do so for hours on end. She is a delight. An imaginative delight. She has developed an imaginary play friend or two which show up every once in a while at home. Mostly when I am busy with chores and she is out on the porch playing. One thing Leah has never done much of is having a security object, lately though she has become quite fond and attached to a few of her toys.

Seems to be right on target with all the milestones 4 year olds should be meeting.


Milestones: 4-Year-Olds

Motor Development: Gross Motor Skills

* running is more controlled; can start, stop, and turn
* turns somersaults; hops on one foot; gallops
* can easily catch, throw, and bounce a ball
* can brush teeth, comb hair, wash, and dress with little assistance

Motor Development: Fine Motor Skills

* copies crosses and squares
* prints some letters
* uses table utensils skillfully
* cuts on a line

Language and Thinking Development

* uses a 1,500-word vocabulary; speaks in relatively complex sentences ("Mommy opened the door and the dog ran out.")
* understands words that relate one idea to another — if, why, when
* continues to learn through experience and the senses
* understands, mostly, the difference between fantasy and reality
* understands number and space concepts — more, less, bigger, in, under, behind
* thinks literally; starting to develop logical thinking
* begins to grasp that pictures and symbols can represent real objects
* starts to recognize patterns among objects — round things, soft things, animals
* grasps the concepts of past, present, and future but does not understand the duration of time

Social and Emotional Development

* takes turns, shares, and cooperates
* expresses anger verbally rather than physically
* can feel jealousy
* may sometimes lie to protect herself, but understands the concept of lying
* enjoys pretending and has a vivid imagination

* Speech is almost always understandable.
* Can usually count from 1 to 10.
* Can walk on tiptoes, climb a ladder and ride a tricycle.
* May name and match three or four primary colors.
* Knows his or her own name.
* Correctly uses the pronoun "I."
* Children this age recognize gender differences and will correctly say "I am a girl" or "I am a boy."
* Can dress and undress with supervision but still has trouble with laces and buttons. Children this age also begin to be selective about what they wear.
* Holds and uses a pencil with good control. Can copy a cross, circle and possibly a square.
* Can to draw a person with a face, arms and legs.
* Engages in conversational "give-and-take."
* Can sing a song.
* Talks about his or her day's activities and experiences.
* Can identify emotions such as sadness, anger, anxiety and fear.
* Enjoys the companionship of other children; plays cooperatively and shows interest in other children's bodies.



Before I know it she will be off to kindergarten.

We are currently working on Leah memorizing our home phone number, after that we will probably have her memorize her grandparents' home number. She has an excellent memory.

All in all she is a happy, healthy, well-adjusted girl. Can't ask for more than that.

Fairy Princess

It amazes me how easily Leah finds so much to entertain herself with. While I started on cleaning out the garage, Leah spent the afternoon on the porch making up stories and games with random things like hangers, Christmas decorations, plastic Easter eggs, baskets and random other things. She pulled out part of her fairy costume and threw it on.

Spring is here!

We've been suffering major cabin fever around the house as of late. Leah spent some of the afternoon out in the park.

Shabbos Confusion

Leah was watching the Backyardigans and in the episode two of the characters were trying to get to another two characters before sundown because they were in the mountains and it was full of snow, so they didn't want to get stuck in the dark. So one of the characters says "Hurry up we need to get there before sundown" and Leah says "MOM! I didn't know the Backyardigans were Jewish! That is cool."

I explained to her that not all sundowns were Shabbos and that not all Jewish people observed Shabbos the traditional way they do at my job. I still think its pretty neat she connected the show to something she has learned about at the shul.

Leah Rocking Out

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Leah likes to listen to music. All kinds. On occasion she will rock out, as she likes to call it. She especially enjoys NOLA band Down.




She also likes to listen and dance to goth/industrial music. She is getting pretty good at mimicking our dance moves.

Happy Valentine's Day

Matt & his valentine



Leah picked out her Valentine's Day outfit at H&M. A My Lil Pony shirt paired with the cutest pink & red polka heart sweatpants. She is getting pretty good at getting her own outfits together. She even remembers what she already has at home so she can get things that coordinate. We really love H&M.

Like Father Like Daughter

What is she thinking?

What is Leah pondering in this picture?

Conversation with Leah

Mom: Leah could you please get the phone for me.
Leah: Hmm...the phone? I don't know. Actually you know what I think?
Mom: No I don't, not a mind reader.
Leah: I think you have legs & feet and you can walk. You should get it yourself.

Leah: It is so nice when you can just take a break and play with your dolls.
Mom: Thats nice.
Leah: Mom, you just don't understand. I never get a break. It is nice when people finally leave you alone so you can finish your work and play.

O_O

Feeding the dolls

Leah has found new uses for her new bed. She loves to play dinner party with them her dolls in the upper bunk.

Decorating Time

Leah decided to add some extra touches to her new bed.



Leah's hair changes from day to day depending on what we do with it. Though naturally it is very curly.

New bed

Leah got a new bed from Ikea. She has been eying the bed for about a year now. Every time we went there she would ask for it. For a while it was out of stock. She loves it.









Leah shows Elmo some love.

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.