The days are going by so quickly lately. Leah is brave, hilarious, loving, and tenacious. She brings so much light and life into every day, and I am in complete awe of who she is. It kills me to think about how quickly time is moving with Leah and how she is already so independent compared to her previous versions. Without a doubt, I love getting to know her more every day, and watching her grow and accomplish everything new. But at the same time, knowing she is about to be the big sister in a matter of weeks now makes me nostalgic for all of the days we have shared together so far and wishing we could relive them over and over again.
Since I had so much fun writing out my favorite Leah-isms from daily life when she was 10 months old, I decided to write out a few more of my most precious memories that I hope to keep with me forever from her daily life as an 18-month old.
#1 – Bye, bye. Thank yoou.
In music class, whenever instruments are handed out for a song, they are collected in a basket at the end of the song. During the time all of the instruments are collected, the music teacher (and everyone else) sings “bye bye sticks, thank you sticks”! This is one of Leah’s favorite moments in class, and she always goes above and beyond to help put away any extra instruments she finds laying around. The teacher does say it is a great way to deal with any separation disappointment or sadness, and transitioning away from what he/she was playing with. Well, now, Leah is always signing “bye bye (playground, poopoo, water, rocks, babies), THANK YOOU (playground, poopoo, water, rocks, babies)!” She also says thank you in the right circumstances, and her little impeccable manners melt my heart and anyone else’s who hears her.
#2 — hmm, playground?
Leah is a playground fanatic. It is her favorite place to go to lately, and she constantly talks about it. The other day, I asked her, “Leah, what should we do today?” She replied saying, “hmm (finger tapping her cheek), playground?” It always catches me off guard when she responds to something I say to her with a reasonable answer. In my mind, I’m thinking, “whoa, are we having a conversation?”
Now, we say that back to each other often, because Leah knows I always laugh and smile. Also, whether we’re at home, if we’re in the car, or even while we’re at the playground, we will catch Leah chanting, “play-ground! play-ground! play-ground!”
#3 — dad + leah
Leah always has loved her dad. It truly is sweet to see them together and just to see how much joy she has around him. Lately though, they’ve formed their own little rituals together special to only the two of them. I love watching it and seeing it whenever I get a chance to see the two do their thing. Every morning, David and Leah make smoothies together on David’s lunch break. This usually includes Leah bouncing around with excitement in the kitchen tower as David scurries around her.
Before David puts her down for a nap, they always sit on the floor with a blanket watching the Price is Right as Leah drinks her milk. This now has the name “cozy!” that Leah will request when she is starting to get sleepy.
Leah no longer gets wiped down in her chair after a meal, but we hold her up to the sink and we wash her hands and face there. I never would dry off her hands, but David always has. Now, when she’s finished washing (and says her bye bye’s and thank you’s to the water) she requests only David to dry her hands with the towel. To which David does with impressive flair.
#4 — moooommmmmy! moooommmmy!
When Leah wakes up in the morning or after a nap, she will stand up in her crib on the edge closest to the door and yell “mommy! mommy! mommy! mommy!” until someone comes to get her. There are times when I wouldn’t mind a little extra space, like when I’m in the bathroom, or trying to get dressed, or if I’m exhausted and just don’t feel like I have the energy to entertain. But I always know that Leah loves me with so much intensity. I like to remind myself that I don’t know if I will ever feel so loved, and will be the object of so much affection as I am today and in this season.
