9/20/02 - Leah is 11.5 months old. In the days leading up to this moment, Leah has been cruising quickly around furniture and the walls, so we figured her first steps would come soon. It happened tonight during evening play time. I was sitting on the floor leaning against the bathroom cupboard. Across from me, Leah pulled herself up and stood against the door frame. I made silly faces by sticking out my tongue, which was making her laugh. Suddenly, she removed her hands from the frame and stood steady. Then, with confidence, she launched forward and took four steps towards me. She had the biggest smile on her face! I became so excited that I screamed for Eric to come see. Unfortunately, this startled Leah and her bum fell to the ground. I could not get her to walk again for daddy. It's okay. My assumption is that she'll do it again real soon.

Leah Loves Music

Leah has become quite a musician! Every day, we try to have some musical play time. We both enjoy playing the piano and keyboard, shaking the maracas and tambourine, and singing. We are particularly fond of working with the song book, CDs and tapes from our music class.

9/22/02 - Our Leah (pronounced "lay-uh") enjoys a fruit snack with her friend Leah (pronounced "lee-uh") during Friday's playgroup. The Leah on the left was born October 10, 2001 while the Leah on the right was born one day earlier on October 9, 2001. This photo was snapped by Leah's mom, Brigitte.

9/22/02 - Here's another one of Brigitte's photos. Leah, Leah and Danielle enjoy a fruit and cheerios snack at the baby buffet.

9/24/02 - Leah has two more teeth coming in on the bottom! That would make a total of eight teeth so far-- four on top and four on bottom.

10/02/02 - We're getting very close to Leah's first birthday. This is exciting! It's difficult to take a sharp picture of her. The slightest move causes a blur, and it's hard to get her to sit still. Leah's secondary teeth continue to come in. She's not complaining, but she is chewing on everything in sight, including her beloved books. Leah is becoming more assertive. When she wants a toy, she takes it and grabs on-- even if it's in another child's hand. Whenever we discourage this behavior, she throws a little tantrum which we allow to peeter out. She has also started to toss toys out of the playpen or into the bathtub to see what happens to them. Leah loves to play with her rubber duckies in the bath, often standing against the side, tapping them against the tub, and making silly sounds with her voice. Her giggle is adorable. She laughs easily when daddy makes funny faces and when we bounce around with her.