Where's your nose?

Davis has been perfecting his latest two tricks over the past few days.  He can now respond appropriately to "Where's your tongue?" and "Where's your nose?", both crucial pieces of knowledge to have.  However, don't expect him to perform in front of a crowd.  He currently has no desire to show off for an audience.

"Where's your tongue?"

The official countdown to his first birthday has begun--five more days!  And it looks like he will actually have more than two teeth when he turns one.   We can now feel a nice, sharp, new puppy tooth coming in at the top, so that's exciting.  Davis is a bit of a late bloomer in the teeth department.  I guess he figures the later the teeth come in, the longer he can nurse.

Good Article

I like the Simple Mom blog and try to read it when I have a chance.  I received the link to this article in an email this morning and for some reason it just really hit home.  Thought I'd share...

http://simplemom.net/what-do-kids-really-need/

Hello,

my name is Leah.  And I am a deadbeat blogger.  Sorry!

We just got back last week from a wonderful trip to the beach...then again, every trip to the beach is wonderful in my book.  Davis is turning one in less than two weeks...(sigh)...and I'm feeling a little emotional, but I'll try to put on my big-girl pants and deal with it.  I just can't imagine where the past year has gone.  It's been, by far, the best year of my life and I don't know what I did with myself before I had my little boy--probably got more sleep and didn't lose stuff so much :)  But seriously, every sacrifice has been welcomed and worth it, and every time I look at that sweet boy I just feel so incredibly blessed to have him in my life.

He still only has TWO TEETH!  As he was finishing up his supper tonight, it occurred to me that I better make sure I have a good picture of his little two-teethed smile because before we know it, he's going to have more.  I have a feeling he'll get several all at once, and he seems to be teething (drooling, gnawing, nursing a lot) now.

He's walking/running all over the place, trying to say lots of words, and can even help me "fill in the blank" when we read his favorite books.  He uses a couple of signs--"more" and "all done/finished"--and has just begun to try climbing.  He can go up stairs, but hasn't got the hang of going down them just yet.  We've been going to the park near our house early in the morning before it gets too hot out, and he loves following the big kids around and trying to be like them.

Here are a couple of recent pictures...

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day!  Derek and Davis gave me flowers, a card, and a beautiful necklace, and we got to spend time with our families on Sunday.  We also had Davis dedicated at church on Sunday, which was so nice.  He did great, and he looked super handsome.  We took hardly any pictures, and the ones we did get were pretty squinty, but here goes nothing...

Also, I had to include a picture of my almost-eleven-month-old bathing beauty.  I cannot believe he will be having a BIRTHDAY in a MONTH!  Wow, time goes by too fast!

Firsts

The past couple of weeks have included a lot of firsts around here.  I'll just share a couple, since you might not want to hear that Davis ate his first piece of dog food--did I say that out loud?

Davis went to his first baseball game, a Mudcats game, on his first Easter Sunday.  That same day, he had his first experience with the water hose outside.  He loved having me spray his feet so much that I eventually just gave him the hose.  He had a ball holding it and slurping up the water.

This mama made her first "real" bread (the kind with yeast that you have to wait for all day long).  I've made lots of dessert-y type breads that are really more like cake, but this has been a new experience for me.  So far I've made a regular white bread and an oatmeal bread.  Thanks to my trusty mixer, a birthday present from my favorite husband, my lazy butt didn't even have to knead it.  Hopefully I can figure out how to make bread that tastes like macaroni and cheese but contains every vitamin and mineral you need for the day.  Davis has already decided that most vegetables are gross.

Oatmeal bread...yum

Easter

As I was sitting on the den floor watching Davis play and thinking about how blessed we are on this beautiful Easter evening, I happened to check Facebook on my phone and I saw this note posted by a former co-worker/friend.  It was titled, "My Prayer for this Week".  I don't think she reads this blog, but Christine B. is a kindergarten teacher at the school where I taught for the past six years before I decided to stay at home with Davis.  She is a fantastic teacher and an awesome person in general.  She wrote this because my school lost two students in the tornadoes last week, and many other students lost their homes.  All of my former co-workers are facing their first day back from school after spring break tomorrow, and my heart goes out to all of them as they and all of the students attempt to move forward...

Lord, please be with me, my family, and my school family this week. Give us peace, strength, and a positive attitude to deal with the load we have this week. it's going to be hard, but through your power and grace we will do your will. Holy Spirit- surround our Stonybrook families this week and pour out blessings to them...help us as a staff be a blessing to them, their children, and Lord, to each other. Help us, help each other. You know what is ahead of us this week Lord, as a staff. We have never faced this. We are confused, sad, and burdened...but hopeful. I know that it seems impossible to do the work we have to do as teachers, plus be human in the same right. But I claim that through you, we will be victorious this week.Thank you for all of the compassion shown by our staff and complete strangers last week. I am so glad to know that in our differences, positions, etc that we put everything aside to do your work. I feel much closer to staff that because of our schedules and demands of being a teacher, we are unable to share, talk, and reach out to one another.  Thank you for sustaining us.Please surround my children with understanding and give them compassion to show towards their friends.  I love you Lord and I am thankful that you loved me so much to die in my place and rise from the dead, so that one day, I too can rejoice in heaven with Osvaldo, Daniel, Granny Gill, and others that have gone before me.  In Jesus, precious, holy name....Amen.

Oops...

It's been a little too long since I last posted.  Davis had a birthday (well, his 10-month birthday) and is off and running...literally.  That boy does not sit still.  Ever.  He's so funny when he walks.  He looks like a little orangutan and usually has a big smile on his face as if he's saying, "I'm doing it, I'm doing it!"  Sometimes he has a clear goal in mind; other times he just goes around in circles.  Either way, it is really cute!

I took little D on a date to Chick-Fil-A last Friday night, as going out to eat is one of his (and my) favorite pass times.  He had so much fun flirting with all the girls and sharing an ice cream cone with me.

Davis' new favorite activity, besides unrolling the toilet paper, is playing with a ball.  He likes to throw it, hand it to someone, and chase after it.  Sometimes I feel like we are playing fetch, but it's okay because we take turns being the dog.

We are headed to downtown Raleigh this weekend to check out a couple of fun-looking events.  There's a Planet Earth celebration near the Capitol and a bluegrass festival at The Pit, both of which look like a great time!  Hopefully the weather will be decent so we can go.