d.o.n.e.!

Well, despite a very busy Labor Day weekend consisting of a wedding, and a wonderful concert in Detroit, we were able to achieve my goal of being finished and prepared for HE-VB's arrival.
A big thank you to Katy for painting the nursery!! Apparently, Leah is taking a bow for all the hard work she has done as well.

What a ham! Leah is very excited to meet her little brother. She has been convinced that

this bedroom that used to be hers is now her "brudder's".

And of course, while mommy was working on this project this weekend, someone snuck into the oreos. It's amazing what she can reach on the kitchen counter now!! We are very excited to meet this little guy and hopefully it will be sooner than later. Our last dr's appt didn't really show many signs for hope, but I'm told that could change quickly! :)

Swimming

Leah is getting smarter and smarter with every day that goes by!! This morning she asked if it was Water Wednesday...which is an activity they do at school every Wednesday involving bathing suits, sprinklers, water tables etc. I shook my head and said, "Nope, today is 2 in 2 days Tuesday!!". I can't believe our baby is turning 2 already!! Here is a nice shot of her swimming over the weekend. She did quite well, but really, how could she not have with swimmies AND a swim ring on!

New Bedroom for Leah!

Leah is doing such a great job lately of embracing her almost 2-year-old-ness, we're so proud of her! Sunday was the first day we attempted to put her to sleep in her big girl bed for nap time, and she did great! So, Sunday night we decided it was time for no turning back, and tried out her new bedroom. Last night was night # 3 and she slept ALL night! For those of you that may not know, that is an amazing feat...she sleeps through the night MAYBE once a week, so we're going to cross our fingers that this becomes a more common habit at our house! I now have jumped in headfirst on transforming the nursery into HE-VB's room. There's so much to be done before he comes, but we're enjoying the change!!

It's been nice and hot these past few days, so we took Leah down to the local splash pad. She had a great time running in and out of the water and signing that it was cold.

Here is a video of her activity, if you catch at the end that a motorcycle drove by, that is what she is signing with her right hand. (what a smart girl!)

The other weekend, Rick went to our friends Kevin and Maggie's house to help with a car repair and took Leah with him. Their daughter Charlotte and Leah had a cocktail while they waited. Thanks Maggie for sending this picture, it's adorable!!

July's come and GONE!

It's amazing to think how fast time goes in the grand scheme of things! I am 31 1/2 weeks along and the nesting phase is in full effect! Rick is doing a great job of getting projects done for me so we can start transitioning Leah into her new bedroom and we can get started on HeVB's room!
Here is Rick and Leah paging through her favorite picture book of her first year.

Also, my tummy is getting in the way of my snuggle time with Leah, so I guess it's not just the 2 of us anymore! Leah cuddles up to her brother and gives him good night kisses. Also, there is a game at her school to have all the kids walk around with balls under their shirts, this morning Leah was walking around with one and someone asked her what it was and she stated very clearly, "It's a baby!" I think she's getting the hint!! She continues to keep us on our toes and laughing at all the new words that she's coming up with lately. Her favorite phrase is "wut bappin?" translation: what happened? Her favorite babysign is the sign for ice cream, she is constantly whipping out her imiginary ice cream cone and giving it a couple licks and then signs that it's cold. I will also try and follow up with a video of this cute occurance.

Busy-Body

Here is a video of a typical evening at the VB house....Leah finds some interesting things to play with when mommy is doing the dishes or has her back turned. Last night was no different. She learned how to get into the box where we keep all the items that may poke an eye out...etc. I found her sitting in the box and it prompted the video.

She is adding words to her dictionary every day - I believe I heard "what happened" in the correct context - and another one of her favorite phrases is "where did it go"...you may have to listen closely to translate it, but that's what it is!

Also, baby boy VB is doing well - we're happily in the 3rd trimester and moving right along. According to the last doctor visit we were still measuring right on schedule and I passed the real glucose test so no diabetes diet for Mommy!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

One of Leah's favorite books is Brown Bear Brown Bear....so we went to John Ball Park Zoo over Memorial Day weekend and found a brown bear for her. She had a great time looking at the animals but her favorites were definitely the monkeys. She was trying to imitate their gestures which was a priceless things to watch. :)

Daddy and Leah really enjoyed the aquarium as well - watching all the big fish swim by. Good photo op!

These are the sunglasses from way back when she was a baby. She still enjoys putting them on and hanging out around the house.

And of course, I can't resist putting on the 4 sister picture! We spent some bittersweet family time last week with the passing of our Grandma. BUT it was a great time to catch up with Aunti So and a lot of other out of town relatives during the funeral functions over the weekend. Grandma B will be missed but your spunk lives on in all of us...even Leah!!

Summer 2010 is Here!

Oh thank heaven for summer! There are so many fun things going on in the VB house lately!! Rick installed a cute little bike seat for Leah and they've been taking little rides here and there- mostly to watch the fountains aka "bubbles" in Royal Park Condos. We rode to my parent's for Sunday dinner this week and apparently, the ride was very soothing and relaxing for the passenger.

Leah has started to take an interest in the "potty". She is demonstrating this interest by taking off her pants / diaper at random times throughout the day. We decided it was time to get her her own potty, but she hasn't quite caught on that she needs to actually stay seated for a duration of time. But...when does she stay seated at all anyways? We aren't pushing it, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

This is just one of Leah's cute little summer outfits. Oh, there are MANY more to come. I love seeing the little leg rolls come out from their winter hybernation!

Someone CLEARLY did not check the weather for this week.....we're having fun with some new interests in picking her own clothes and for instance, wearing a rain coat on a sunny day. I wonder where she might get that from?????

Baby BOY VB is doing very well. He is growing daily and we're a little past the halfway mark. I will post belly pics someday. :)