♥18 months♥

I'm constantly finding myself in disbelief that my teeny-tiny precious little baby is now a {gulp} TODDLER!  She is 18 months old today & I love her more and more as each day passes!  She is turning into a funny, silly, affectionate, sweet, smart, adorable little girl.  

Dafney is now in the Toddler room at daycare and has been for about a month now.  I saw immediate changes in her vocabulary & actions, which is really fun!  It took her a little while to adjust to her new room, teachers & fellow comrades, but she adjusted and is doing great!

They keep her so busy in "class" now that she's in the Toddler room.  They do more art projects than I have room on my fridge ;), they have a "theme" each month (this month is water) and learn everything there is to know about that specific theme {okay, they learn as much as a toddler can}, they get to play outside on the playground, they start to form {long-lasting} friendships and so much more!

Dafney talks up a storm now {clearly she gets that from her Father}!  Most of what she says we can't understand, but she does say a plethora of actual words: 

• more {& she does the sign for it as well} - she has perfected this one & has been using the sign for it since she's been about a year old.
• "uh-oh" - okay, so maybe Webster doesn't consider this an actual word, but it's been a big part of her vocabulary for months.  Everything is privy to an "uh-oh" and we're trying to teach her the difference between an actual "uh-oh" and intentional doings.
• hi & bye - probably the cutest things she says!  She loves to say "hi" & "bye", especially to babies & puppies :)  She gets all excited and giddy and waves along with her words...seriously, beyond cute!
• baby - for a while, everyone/thing was a "baby".  But, we're slowly teaching her the difference between a baby and a puppy and a "big kid" and an adult.  For the record, it's not going well; everyone/thing tends to be a "baby" ;)
• puppy - she used to do really well on identifying a puppy, but now she calls any & all dogs "baby"!  It's a work in progress!
• mama & dada - ♥ melter's, let me tell you!  The firs time I heard her say "mama", tears came to my eyes!  It was the coolest thing and it was like sweet, sweet music to my ears!  Sadly, she's much better at saying "da-da" and she tends to point to herself and say "mama"...
• no - this was the opposite of a ♥ melter...it's practically like saying a swear word for a child.  For the most part, she knows what the word "no" means {even if she doesn't listen to us when we say it} so when we ask her questions, she will say "no" if she doesn't want to do something or will shake her head "yes" if she does {she hasn't perfected the word "yes"...yet}.
• all-done - {which may or may not sound more like "ah-da"} and she will do the sign for this, too!  She knows to say this when she's done doing, well, whatever she's doing.  *Cute story alert: I went to pick D up at daycare and I happened to get there as they were eating their snacks.  She saw me, stood up, ran to her teacher and loudly said "ah-da, ah-da" {while doing the sign} and waited for her teacher to say it was okay for her to be done at the table.  Seriously, could she be any cuter?!?
• milk - {which comes out like "mi"} and boy, will she tell you when she wants her milk!  
• cracker {which comes out like "cacka"} and will point to any cracker in her sight.  I'm a bad mom and let her eat crackers & chips...hey, the kid could stand to gain a few pounds!
• nigh-nigh - she's just started saying "nigh-nigh" and walking up to her room when she's tired at night.  It's so much easier than guessing if she's tired :)
• Dafney can also identify her nose, ears & eyes...she's a genius :)

Dafney loves, loves, LOVES to climb on furniture!  We recently got her a new chair and I think I can count on one hand how many times her butt has actually sat in the chair.  More often than not, you will find her standing on it, dancing on it, or trying to climb over it...I think we have gymnast on our hands :)  She also loves to play with her babies!  She is an unbelievably nurturing little girl and loves to give them hugs & kisses as well as putting them to bed {and yes, she will "shhh" you if you are being loud when she's trying to put her babies to bed}!

Since we don't have our 18 month Dr. appointment for a couple more weeks, here are some stats on our sweet girl:

Pants - still wearing some 9 month, but mostly into 12 month pants/shorts {even though they are a little big in the waist}

Shirts - still wears some 12 month shirts and starting to wear 18 month shirts

Onesies - 9-12 month

PJ's - 12 month

Dresses - 12 month

Shoes - Size 3 {she was gifted small feet like her mom}

Happy 18 month "birthday" to the sweetest, funniest, most adorable little girl in the world!  I am beyond blesses to be her mother ♥♥♥

weekly snapshots

I swing like a total PRO :)

National Donut Day...yum!

Sweet girl loving the golf cart ride!

delish

perfect night by the fire

Family pic: 2013 - at Grandma & Grandpa's camper!

D getting ready for the "Easter' egg hunt" :)

Found one!!

I love finding Eggs ♥

may foodie penpals: reveal day!

Can you believe it's the last day of May?  I'm sad that "birth-month" is almost over :(  But, I'm super happy to share with you my May foodie penpal goodies!  

If you haven't heard of foodie penpals {shame on you}, you should head over to Lindsay's blog, The Lean Green Bean and check out the foodie penpal program...and while you're there, you might as well check out all of her amazing recipes & other fun bloggy "things"!  

Let's get to the good stuff...shall we?!  This month I received treats from Lindsay who is a fellow blog reader :)  She sent me some amazing treats, so let's dig in:

• TJ's Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies:  Not only were these cinnamon-y & delicious, they were fun to play with {who doesn't love playing with their food every now & then?}!  My 17 month old loved these {educational} cookies, too - a total win-win in my book!
• Justin's Almond Butter:  Seriously, this stuff is the best, especially for "on-the-go" snacks!
• Dark Chocolate Speculoos Candy Bar:  Think dark chocolate meets cookie butter...um, total awesomeness! 
• TJ's PB & J Milk Chocolate Bar:  Holy crap, a PB & J candy bar...does it get much better than this?!
• Justin's Organic Peanut Butter Cups:  Probably one of my favorite treats ever...there is just something completely amazing about chocolate & peanut butter together :)
• TJ's Spicy Lime nut mix:  OH.MY.GOSH. this was unbelievably tasty!  I love spicy foods and these did not disappoint!  
• Smokey Spice Rub:  I haven't had time to try this yet, but it's on my list for this weekend!  Hopefully the weather is nice so I can do some grillin'!
• TJ's Gluten Free Granola:  I was beyond excited to try this and to my surprise it was better than I had anticipated!  It's crunchy and slightly sweet and has been perfect as a mid-morning snack!  I will definitely be buying this again and again!
• TJ's bag:  Lindsay was even sweet enough to send a Trader Joe's bag...we use these things all the time!!

A big, HUGE THANK YOU to Lindsay for sending me such a wonderful foodie package!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jealous and want to join??  Here's how:

What is the program all about?

- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email.  It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal & get their mailing address & any other information you might need such as allergy or dietary restrictions.

- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail.  On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats.  The spending limit is $15.  The box must also include something written.  This can be anything from a note explaining what's in the box, to a fun recipe...use your imagination; the possibilities are endless!

- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size & how fragile they are.  *Don't forget about flat rate boxes!*

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.  If you're a reader & you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received.  If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for the month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian residents will be paired with other Canadian residents ONLY.  We've determined things might get too slow & backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from the US to Canada & vice versa. 

If you are interested in participating 

 ​for June

 , please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form & to read the terms & conditions.

You must submit your information by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th.​

Going Gluten Free

A month or so ago, Hubby and I decided that we wanted to try eating GLUTEN FREE.  There wasn't really a "good reason"; however, recently I had been getting some bad headaches and was having trouble sleeping and I was willing to try just about anything to see if either or both would improve.  So, we decided we'd cut out Gluten.  I was a little intimidated at first, but did some research and found some really great Gluten free blogs...such as this one or this one and I can't forget this one.  Once I found these blogs, I felt a little bit more confident about meal planning & changing our eating habits.  

So, what exactly is Gluten?  The definition states it's "a substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough".  In "Leah-Terms", it's the glue that holds yummy food together ;)  I did a little research and planned out all of our meals and found it to be a lot easier than I had anticipated.  It seems as though Celiac Disease is on the rise and most grocery stores carry Gluten free foods.  I've never really had to look what I was buying before, so having to read labels closely was a foreign concept.  It definitely took longer to grocery shop, but in the end, I bought all Gluten free foods.  Everything from pasta, to breakfast foods, sweet treats, salad dressings and pretty much everything else in-between :)

I will say that even though it was easy to find GF products, it was not so nice on the wallet.  GF foods tend to be a lot more expensive.  I bought a GF cookie mix and it was $6 and made about 15 cookies.  I am sure there are better places to buy GF foods, but I stuck with my local grocery store.

How do I feel?  For the first 2 weeks, I didn't really notice a change, but into week 3, it sort of hit me that I was sleeping better and hadn't had a headache in over a week.  Who knows - maybe it's coincidence or all in my head, but maybe just maybe eating GF will help my headaches and sleep patterns!  For now, we're trying to eat GF as often as possible and we hope to continue this for a while.  

Here are a few pictures of the GF meals we made:

And, last, but certainly not least, stay tuned this week for a BIG announcement!  Yep, our household has BIG things happening...and I'm excited to finally share it with you ;)  

Happy Wednesday!

Weekly Snapshots

dafney's "boyfriend", "leah-palooza" and my second Mother's Day!

A long, long, long (okay, I think you get the point) time ago, we had some friends over & they brought their completely sweet and totally adorable little one with them.  I'm pretty sure that Dafney & R are going to the Senior Prom together :)  

When our friends came over, R was 5 months old.  The second R came in the door, Dafney was completely obsessed.  She kept pointing to him & saying "baby"!  She gave him more kisses than a {then} 14 month old should & the hugs were endless.  Needless to say, Dafney won't be left alone with a boy anytime soon ;)  It was extremely adorable how cute she was with her new buddy!  She only laid on him twice and he only almost lost an eye once.  Not bad for a toddler-baby combination!  I'm sure someday she'll be totally embarrassed when we tell her about her makeout sesh with R, but I'm a parent now and I'm all about embarrassing my daughter this is a story that I plan on sharing with her :)

Don't you think they're the cutest little kiddo's ever?!

Hugs :)

Kisses

hmm...you look like you need ANOTHER kiss :)

A couple weeks ago we celebrated "Leah-Palooza"...otherwise known as my birthday!  I lucked out and got a gorgeous day.  I took the afternoon off work to get ready for the "leah-palooza" party.  We had some friends over, grilled some food, drank some drinks and had an enjoyable time with some of our favorite loved ones :)  It was a perfect day!

Birthday cake from my amazing co-workers!

DRINKS!!!

Birthday Cake (#2) from a friend!

Mother's Day was another perfect day!  I got to spend it with Dafney & my husband, but also my parents, sister & brother-in-law!  We went to the Zoo and enjoyed each other's company as well as watching Dafney run around!  Then we went back to my parent's house for dinner...truly a perfect day!

Starting the beautiful day with a walk!

Grandma & Grandpa

Me and my love ♥

foodie penpal reveal: April

Happy Tuesday!  You'd hardly know it was the last day of April since we're supposed to get {gulp}SNOW on Thursday...if that actually  happens, you will see me hopping a plane to get somewhere warm.  

Enough snow talk...on to something more fun & exciting.  As you know, each month I participate in the foodie penpals program that Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean coordinates each month.  If you haven't yet, you definitely need to check it out...and her blog which is pretty amazing, too!  This month I received a fun package from Kaycee who blogs over at Crafty Zoo with Monkeys.  Let me tell you she sent a HUGE package...here's what was in it:

• Kool-Aid packets: this brought me right back to my childhood.  We always had Kool-Aid in the house and it's Kool-Aid "season" and I'm definitely looking forward to making a big ole' pitcher {and perhaps making it "adult" kool-aid ;)}
• Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars: I love granola bars, so these were gone in record time!
• Oatmeal (perfect portions): I haven't tried this yet, but I definitely will be!
• Mac-N-Cheese:  This is my daughter's favorite food, so I know we'll enjoy having this together.
• Pasta Noodles: Who doesn't love pasta?!?  And, this will go perfectly in some chicken noodle soup.
• Some Grilling Essentials: Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard & a Marinade - OMG, grilling season is finally upon us and these will definitely be put to good use!
• Jello: Another childhood fave...
• Balance Bar: I haven't tried this yet, but am looking forward to it!
• Little Debbie Snacks: Kaycee lives near by to where they make Little Debbie snacks...(sorta jealous) so she sent TONS of LD snacks.  I had to hide some of the oatmeal cream pies from my husband as they are his FAVE :)
• Starbucks Coffee packets:  Coffee+Starbucks=my weak spot!  The coffee was cinnamon flavored and it was delicious!
• Some sugar(s) and flour to make some brownies (she included a recipe!!!): unfortunately life has been a bit crazy lately & I haven't had time to make them, but it's definitely on my "to-bake" list!!

Thank-you, Kaycee for sending such a great package!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jealous and want to join??  Here's how:

What is the program all about?

- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email.  It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal & get their mailing address & any other information you might need such as allergy or dietary restrictions.

- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail.  On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats.  The spending limit is $15.  The box must also include something written.  This can be anything from a note explaining what's in the box, to a fun recipe...use your imagination; the possibilities are endless!

- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size & how fragile they are.  *Don't forget about flat rate boxes!*

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.  If you're a reader & you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received.  If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for the month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian residents will be paired with other Canadian residents ONLY.  We've determined things might get too slow & backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from the US to Canada & vice versa. 

If you are interested in participating 

​for May

, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form & to read the terms & conditions.

You must submit your information by May 4th as pairings will be emailed on May 5th.​