Voyages in Parenthood

Wow, has 2005 been a good year or what? We started off the year anticipating the birth of Leda, and end the year wondering what we are in store for now that she can almost walk, is crawling at break-neck speed and thinks she is talking! We went from a bump in the tummy to a little girl who seems to have learned to smile slyly at us! (Okay, who taught her that??) What a difference 12 months makes! I know, I forgot (well, didn't forget so much as I just didn't have time) to do the Eight Month post. This sorta makes up for that. I feel, now that it's 5 days past, it's a little late now! I'll make up for it in the Nine Month post! Leda has been very interesting this week! Starting with Christmas (when we tried scrambled eggs for the first time and we found the ONE thing that she would finally spit out at us!) and all the furniture surfing she's doing, and all the new things she's tried this week. Besides the eggs, we've tried chocolate chip cookies (without

Wow! I never knew a more exhausting Christmas day! Wow! We all had so much fun. Leda played with ALL her toys, but loved the pinch scoop the best! That was until she was standing with it in her mouth and fell forward...it apparently hurt her (gee, I wonder why) and scared the bejesus out of Mommy, so, we don't play with the pinch scoop any more! (at least not while standing!) We loved our gobbling Hippo - Haven't quite figured it out yet, but it's got these really cool little balls that spin on it and lots of blocks that Leda can chew! And, we love our chair... And the Leap Frog learning table was pretty cool too, but Mommy and Daddy didn't get around to putting batteries in it until today, so Leda didn't really get a picture of her playing with it yet to post! Maybe later today! Anyway, today we spent a relaxing morning playing and now we are getting a little nap before we head over to Granddad's...Leda thinks there might be more paper and ribbons and bows in i

Merry Christmas to all! Yesterday for Christmas Eve, Leda got all dressed up and had a picture done with Mommy... We spent yesterday afternoon with Leda's Aunt Rachel, Uncle Wayne, Granddad and Fay and her cousin's Caelan and Tristan for some Christmas Eve dinner...it was lots of fun and Leda found LOTS of trucks to play with (they weren't hers, but, whatever! ;-) She also got some neat gifts of her own! Her first Christmas gifts! We came home and spent a few minutes over at our neighbors, the McCartheys and Leda got some presents from their kids! She got to stay up until 10 o'clock and then she had to go to sleep so Santa could come!! At 7 this morning, rise and shine...time to open presents! First we had a little breakfast...because today we turned 8 months old, we got to try scrambled eggs for the first time...and, for the first time, we spit something out! Apparently, scrambled eggs suck! But we liked the Apple Juice!! On to the presents...in record time (well, actu

Went shopping...I'm done. Put lights up outside the house (yeah, two days before christmas...we got a little behind)....done Baked cookies, made chocolate truffles (they haven't killed anyone, yet)...done. Wrapped everything that needed wrapping...done! Okay, it's time for Christmas to be here. Yep, I'm ready. We visited with our neighbors tonight...our little town has a cheese shop! Yep, a CHEESE shop! And, they have GREAT cheese...guess I am gonna go shopping again tomorrow! Is it here yet? You know, Christmas? Brock went to get beer from the beer store and came home with a Santa doll for Leda...the nice lady at the beer store gave it to her! Isn't that nice? I love our little town! Is it Christmas eve yet? No...geez, when the heck is it gonna get here? I'm ready! Off to have dinner at my sister Rachael's tomorrow. Looking forward to introducing Leda to her cousins Caelan and Tristan and hopefully Dylan will be there too! It's Christmas now, right? No?

We won't post how old you are! ;-) Hope you had/have fun today! Love ya!

Leda's first Christmas Tree. Leda's first Christmas Tree Ornament! Oh, and if you think Duff didn't get into the fun too... Yep, if you click the picture and go look at a larger version, you will notice our dog, watching TV...specifically, Wizard of Oz...it has a dog just like Spike, our carin terrier, Duff's mentor...Duff just can't figure out how Spike got in the TV! ;-)

Well, there are other ways of describing this tree, but there are children who read this site! ;-) We went a huntin' our christmas tree yesterday! Brock and I found this great Tree farm way out in the wilds of Chester County a few years ago and we love going there. The prices are good and their trees are pretty darn good too. It's a cut your own, but they actually have guys out there who will cut your tree with a chainsaw and carry it back in on a cart! Wooo Hooo! So, yesterday, we had John, John and Biff help us with our tree! We had specific criteria for the Christmas Tree (as we do every year); Brock wanted skinny, Cyndy wanted TALL! Leda doesn't have a say yet! ;-) It took us all of about 15 or so minutes to decide on the 2005 Yates Christmas tree! Unfortunately, the first tree had a bit of a problem, it had a leader branch that was all the way at the bottom and cutting above it would mean half the tree wouldn't come home with us! So, we had to go choose another. (

It's been a crazy week. I wanted to do a follow-up to my last post, but just haven't found the time...work is a bit upside-down nuts right now. One wonders if I will still be working there much longer. It's THAT crazy! On the homefront, things are good - Leda has stood unassisted for several seconds everyday for the past several. Her first step is just around the corner (she almost did it last night!) It's amazing...I was so looking forward and so dreading this moment - still am! Our last days of things being a little easier are coming to an end and our little girl is becoming more independent a little each day. Thank goodness it doesn't happen all at once! I'd be a basket case! Anyway, we are hunting a Christmas Tree this weekend and decorating for Christmas. Of course, most of the decorations will be nailed to the wall and out of reach of the on the move little girl! Can't wait to see how we keep her away from the Christmas tree for the next couple of week

We spend a lot of time these days watching that Leda doesn't fall down and smack her head on the ground! She is constantly wanting to be standing up. She has barely started to crawl - she crawls around military style (like she's crawling under barb wire! on her stomach, like it hurts her knees to use them!) What she really likes is to stand...and then try to bend over to pick something up! Lots of fun! Last weekend, I went in to check on her during a nap...it wasn't quite time for her to be awake, and I hadn't really heard anything on the monitor...just a little rustling around, not a lot and no talking. So I figured, I'll go check on her. What I saw when I opened the door... Yeah, Boy am I happy I insisted to Brock several weeks ago that we lower the mattress one rung...if we hadn't she would have been able to topple out! I am thinking we need to go one more...yes, she more than likely won't be able to fall out right now, but, she's a resourceful little

Yesterday we did go out into the snow, for a few minutes. Until Leda starts walking, playing in the snow will only last a few minutes. Besides, she really had no interest in it at all! But, we did get her to make a snow angel. And before anyone (other than my mother, who has already channeled her mother) says, "Put some gloves on that child," we were only out for about 5 minutes total, she never touched the snow with her hands, and, YOU try putting gloves on a child that removes everything the second it touches her hand AND is screaming bloody murder because you had the audacity to put her in that pink snow suit. Geez! Besides...we put shoes on her...isn't that enough? ;-)

Wooo Hooo! It snowed all night and just ended at 9AM and we got all of about 8 inches, but the snow came so hard and so fast in such a short period of time, the office is closed and we get to stay home and play! Wooo Hooo! Leda went down for her morning nap just a little while ago, Brock is out shoveling snow and I am going to take this time to stuff envelopes...gotta get those Christmas cards out! When Leda wakes up...out in the snow we go!! BTW, that's my Budda Garden up there...yep, Budda's are Buried! Poor guys!

John Lennon...Silenced 25 years ago today. Imagine what could have been. I remember waking up on the 9th, I had a clock radio in my room at the time. I really had just discovered rock-n-roll a year or two previous (I was 12). I loved the Rolling Stones (one of my best girlfriends at the time was a big Stones fan) and I had just received the Double Fantasy album that year (I think for my birthday, that Stones fan, Suellen, got it for me). It was the first thing I heard that morning. I don't remember how I felt...I do remember hearing it, I can even remember how my room looked that day...one of those distinct memories ...but I don't remember how I felt. I know now. I would like to know what the world would be like if John Lennon was still in it. Imagine.

Okay, so what kind of sign is two robins right outside my window, playing in the snow?? Seriously, aren't robins supposed to be somewhere warm by now? Is this a good sign or a bad sign? Oh, and it ain't just two...it's like 10, flying around from tree to tree, playing in the snow. I almost wish I had my camera. Weird.

Not even going to comment (except that, geez, did we have to lose Westbrook, too?? Seriously, all our starters are on the injured bench at this point!) Bring on the 2006 season. Football is over for this town this year. It's a shame really. But, it probably had to happen at some point. Let's just let them heal and start anew next year! Love my Eagles and can't wait to see them strong again...next year!

This morning Brock was getting ready for work, around 5:30 AM, and I got up to use the restroom while he was in the shower. He says to me, "It snowed out." I said, "What?" "It snowed out." It took me a few seconds to understand what he was saying. It appears that my husband may have picked up a Chester County or Southeastern PA colloquialism. How funny is that...if he starts saying, "Yous wanna go to dinner?" then, I'll worry a little. Anyway, he was right...it snowed out! Leda's first snow. It was about an inch. She looked outside and didn't seem to really notice it much. I plan on taking her outside later...we'll see if she notices then! :-) Of course, that is if I can get her into her snow suit without reinacting the scene from A Christmas Story, where her arms can't go down!

Leda met Santa for the very first time yesterday! She asked for LOTS of things, but specifically, the 1968 Corvette Stingray sitting in the showroom...you know, the one that's original base price was about $4500??? Yep, that one! Yesterday, with the Durhams, Leda and I went to County Corvette in West Chester to visit Santa. See, our friend, Denny, works there, and he worked really hard to set up a toy drive for Ronald McDonald house and he invited Santa to come and visit with all the boys and girls who would come out to donate a toy or some money to help out less fortunate boys and girls. Denny couldn't be there, so Santa played host instead! ;-) Leda didn't seem too freaked out by Santa...she kinda was a little bored by the whole thing! He was, however, quite warm, and it was REALLY cold and windy yesterday! So, she didn't mind sitting next to him! Oh, and she really liked his beard...she almost pulled Santa's hair! In fact, I do remember him yelling "Ouch&quo

Okay, this will be funny to those of you who know both Brock and I, and how GREAT! we are at housecleaning! Someone hit this site after doing a search for "pictures of housecleaning!" yep! They got this post: Housecleaning/updating Not exactly what they were looking for! But it made me chuckle to think that a search for "pictures of housecleaning" would point to me! hehehehe

Our little girl, she is a changing! It's amazing, for the first 7 months, she's changed gradually - I mean, there's been big milestones, such as teeth (oh, did I tell ya, she's up to 7 now - it's peeking through!), and being able to sit up and all, but she's starting to look different. Her face is much more expressive (and it's always been expressive). She's growing a little more hair (I still think it might be 2007 before we need to give the kid a hair cut). She's looking a little more, grown up. She's discovered her tongue! Yes, we get lalalas now (yeah, I know, dada ain't far away...what is with these kids that they can't say mama first???? huh??? ingrates! ;-) But not only is she using it in speech, she tends to show it to us more than she used to. Not really sticking it out, but shes constantly opening her mouth and sticking the tongue forward...kinda like she's experimenting with it, trying to figure out what to do with it. It&