Happy Halloween

Leinna enjoyed her first Halloween. We don't have many trick-or-treaters at our house, so we went to the Popelka's and watched Sunday night football while the trick-or-treaters came by. It was so fun to see all the kids dressed up! I wish Leinna wasn't so set in her bedtime routine- it was bath time and she let us know. There was only 4 minutes left of the game, but Leinna was ready for her bath. Next year will be fun to actually take her trick-or-treating. Enjoy the pictures below. The shirt that says "Baby's 1st Halloween" was a gift from Mrs. Popelka!

Need I say more...

Reading with Papa

Leinna loves to have stories read to her and well Bailey is learning that if she wants any attention from Papa, she has to sit through the story too.

Other news in the land of Leinna...


Yep- we have introduced rice cereal! She hasn't had the cereal has her only meal- yet. We've just been introducing it into her bed time bottle. She really seems to like it. Before we know it, she's going to be feeding herself... boo-hoo.. I'm not ready for her to be such a big girl yet- and I can imagine the time just keeps going by faster and faster.

Everything in the mouth!

Why do children experience their world through the sense of taste. I mean honestly, my shoulder can not taste that great, let alone the burp cloth, her blanket on the floor or a toy I put in her hand. She really loves to chew on the tag of this ducky rattle toy.

I suppose I should just get use to the idea of everything going into her mouth. Leinna has certainly increase the drool factory, which leads me to my next pondering moment. Can a baby spit up drool? For the past three days she's been spitting up clear liquid. I know it's not the normal drool because she really spits it out of her mouth where normally her drool just leaks out. Ah the joys of being a new mom... which brings me to another question. Why don't babies come with a user manual? This is really challenging for myself as I like being able to go look up an answer either online or in a book. How easy would it have been to open up the baby manual to "spitting- up" and see that it's either common or a serious concern if your baby spits up clear liquid and then listing recommendations to follow. I guess it all just goes back to an earlier post I stated about trusting your instincts. Talk about a lesson in learning to trust your own gut! Looking forward to heading to Anchorage the beginning of November to have Leinna seen by an actual pediatrician for her 4 month check-up. I'm certainly keeping a list of questions to ask.

Trip to Wisconsin

A huge thank you to my mom for sending me photos from our trip to Wisconsin. I just loved the fall colors while we were there. Seeing a true fall season makes me wish I lived in the "real world" again.

We started our trip by having a quick visit with Auntie Gina, Uncle Allan and Cousin Oliver. Only Uncle Allan was able to travel to Wisconsin with us, but we are looking forward to spending quality time with them this December.





Once we arrived in Wisconsin, we were able to stay with Aunt Cheri. We were very excited to hear that Cousin Renee was going to be coming down with her daughter Ellarae. Ellarae is 10 months old- and what a fun little girl. She taught Leinna how to scream!! One night Leinna was laying on Ella's blanket and well- she wanted her blanket back. In the picture this is right before Ella layed on top of Leinna- it was quit funny.











While we gathered in Wisconsin to remember Gunny's life, it was great to introduce Leinna to the Great-Grandmas!




The trip was great. We are hoping someday we will live close to family again so we can all get together more often. For now, we are thankful for the internet and digital photos so we can keep everyone update with how life is going.

3 Months Old

3 months ago, our little Leinna Daisy was born. I'm so amazed at how fast the time has gone and I can only imagine that time will continue to go by quickly. We had a special visitor this week from our good friends Sara and Amelia. The babies slept the whole time ~ some play date! I'm sure they'll have plenty of play dates in the future. Not much new to report- Leinna's getting close to rolling from her back to her stomach, and it seems like she's getting a tooth! She's got the drooling figured out and it seems like you can see a little white tooth in her gums. She also enjoys sitting up by herself while supported by pillows. Leinna has also really started to enjoy her bath time and love to splash the water with her legs. Here's a few more pictures of our growing little girl.

First Plane Ride

Leinna experienced her first plane ride! We were looking forward to her first airplane ride in December when we head to South Dakota, however we had a death in the family and headed to Wisconsin this past week.

The picture shows Leinna's thoughts about our 12 plus hour traveling adventure! While her attitude to start may seem unpleasant- she proved to be a great little traveler. She mostly slept or ate during the "5 up and downs" before we arrived in Rapid City. The very next day, we loaded her up for a 12 plus hour drive to Wisconsin. Again- she mostly slept. What a blessing!!

I do have to say that it was quite funny the looks I received from other travelers on the plane. The most common look- "Please don't sit by me..." and the look of relief as I passed by the row. The even more funny thing was after the flight the compliments I received about Leinna being so good. As if I had any control over how she was going to travel.

We were thankful that we were able to make the trip back for the funeral. It was a sad reason to get everyone together and yet good for Grandma to have all her grandkids there and to meet her newest great-granddaughter - Leinna Daisy.