My Baby No More...

Today my baby turned one. My handsome, precious baby boy. Believe it or not, I have mixed emotions about such an event. (I know this will shock most of you). With each passing day, I move closer to closing the baby phase of my life. I've had a baby for so long, that it almost feels odd. I know it's the right thing for our family- I feel complete and that makes me happy; but, it is still just a strange idea that we will no longer have to keep baby things around once Quinten outgrows them. I've already purged my house of all my newborn things- my poor sister, Siri, now gets to store them for future use. :) And every time Leah or Quinten outgrow things, I send them away from our home to someone else who can use them. Odd. Eventually, I will stop having to wake up at night for crying little ones. They will get older and will be able to bathe themselves, get themselves dressed, go to the bathroom without help, etc. Someday, I may be able to retire the countless diaper bags that have circulated through our home in the last 7+ years. Odd. We will move into a stage of independent kids who can take on more responsibilities. Kids who can buckle their own seat belts. Kids who may not want me to be around 24/7- kids who will let me go to the bathroom alone. ( I know- it's almost too good to be true).
As my baby years slowly fade into the past, I hope there will be things that are not lost. I love that my kids still want to sit with me and be loved. I love the way Quinten smiles at me when I come in his room to get him out of his crib. I love that Leah tells me I'm her favorite and in the same breath tells her Dad that he is not her favorite (I know- I'm horrible). On the flip side, however, she is the first and loudest to greet him with a huge hug when he gets home from work each day. I love the way Callie tries to make me happy when she knows I'm mad at one of her sisters. I love the way Alexa still draws me pictures and cards that tell me I'm the best mom and that she loves me. They are my precious babies- each of them- and I hope they will always know how much they mean to me.

So, the point of this rambling on Quinten's birthday is to mention that we've had a lot of milestones lately. I've been a horrible blogger and need to catch up. I started a post on Leah's birthday that I still need to finish, we've had another soccer season begin and end, preschool graduation, a family vacation to Disneyland, the end of the school year, more lost teeth, potty training going on, celebrating both Leah's and Quinten's birthdays... and the list goes on. Or I should say, the pictures go on and on and on. I have intentions of catching up. I will catch up. And I'll get it done before we get too far into the summer. We have plenty going on in the next few months before school starts again to blog about as well. So, look forward to my posts everyone... aren't you excited??? I am.

My Little Leah

Leah after her face painting at Disneyland.
Our tiny little girl. She was so small that she hardly fit in her car seat. She was a great baby... but was awake all the time- the most alert newborn I've ever met. She would stay awake for hours at a time without even a catnap... it drove us crazy!

Today is Leah's birthday. It's hard to imagine that three years ago today she was so tiny- three weeks early and just over five pounds. She was beautiful from the start and has grown even more beautiful since. Leah is my one blue-eyed child. Sometimes she will come up to me and say, "You and me are the only ones with blue eyes." And then she smiles. I love that. Leah makes me laugh with the funny things she says and does. I can't get enough of her crazy ideas and thoughts. "I hate green beans because I don't like corn" is one common example. But, on the flip side, she is the loudest child we have... sometimes her voice drives us crazy!! She also trills all of her words... you really can't believe it until you hear it. It's like rolling your r's to speak Spanish, but she does it with words that don't even have an r! I can't even replicate it all the time. We're convinced she'll need speech therapy to get rid of it... or she just needs to learn Spanish and use it as her first language. It really is crazy. Leah gives the best hugs out of anyone; she wraps her arms around your neck and squeezes tight- it's the greatest feeling.
Leah spends most of her time keeping up with her big sisters. She's pretty good at holding her own with them. I've recently had to remind myself (when we went to Disneyland and I realized she didn't know any of the Disney princesses names... Andrew asked her who her favorite was and she said Shauna...hmm) that I need to spend time doing three year old stuff with her. It's not normal for a three year old to want to watch Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers or Suite Life on Deck. When the big girls move out of a stage, Leah moves right along with them. We are trying to fix that and have pulled out all the Princess movies and dress-ups so she can at least learn their names!
Leah is passionate about a few things: the colors yellow and orange, apple juice, and her blankets, which she affectionately calls her "nins." Sometimes after she's crawled into my lap with a "nin" I'll ask her if she is my favorite and my best three year old. She always answers the same, " Yes, and yellow and orange and apple juice" because those are her favorites and bests. She is the sweetest and we love her so much. I'm grateful to be the mom of such a beautiful, fiesty, strong-willed, loving little girl.