First Halloween

This is Leia's first Halloween so we thought we would start it off right. We took her down the road to Snead's Farm where they have fall weekend where they sell pumpkins, do tractor rides, kettle corn consumption, and hot cider. Leia loved it. Especially the chickens. She has actually learned to communicate with them using the "buck buck buck" chicken vernacular. There were cows there also whom she saluted with a "moooooo". With that done we picked out our pumpkin and headed home to put on Leia's Halloween costume. Pics above.

BBQ

The other day we had a BBQ at our house with friends and family attending. It was a great time. I even had 5 gallons of home brew for everyone to enjoy. Leia enjoyed all of the attention especially from Mary Cunningham who taught Leia how to shake hands.

Leia is doing exceedingly well. She runs all over the house climbing chairs, sofas, stairs, and even the dining room table She loves playing on the phone and has even accidently called 911 from my cell phone. Luckily I was able to catch the operator before firetrucks and ambulances were dispatched to our house.

Leia is also learning many new words and is making a strong effort to get her point across. Our next trip out of town will be Thanksgiving to our family in New Jersey.

Some pics above.

Pics of Princess Party Pants

Cool Hand Leia

Leia is so cool!!

She is full of smiles and play. In the morning after she has been given a bottle or food we will go into the living room and read a few books. The literary kind like Duck In A Truck or Gorilla Goes To Sleep. Her favorite choice of book are the ones with the colorful pictures of animals or fruit. She will point to them and blurpble out her interpretation of the object. Usually you can make out the word. Banana is "nana", Giraffe is "ur-aff", or Lamb which is "lamp". For some reason Bottle is "dadieee". Like in the cartoons I must be a walking plastic jug full of Similac.

Nina has developed a new hobby of buying Leia cute outfits and dresses. Cannot say I blame her. Leia is the coolest baby to don on purple pajamas. Above is our latest picture of the Super Star "Lady Leia", thats her rap moniker.

Other than that life is great. I love watching her grow and change. Everyday we see something new from her.

Jesse

Update

It has been a while since we have updated the blog. Things are going well. I am home from work now on a permanent basis. My employer is keeping me on with the company on retainer. If there is some work I would like to do they will throw it my way.

I will soon be starting school again to beef up on my web development skills. Meanwhile I am home with Leia half the day while Nina takes the latter shift. Together time is usually around 2-5 PM where the whole family does something like going to the pool or a hike. At night I am still teaching Jiu-Jitsu classes in Fredericksburg.

Being a stay-at-home Dad has been great so far. I can really appreciate the changes that Leia has made over the last 3 months. When we got her she could not walk yet, did not speak much, and was insecure about leaving our side.

Now she sits confidently in the same room with us playing by herself if need be. She is still always seeking our attention especially if we are on the computer. She wants to play with the keyboard too! She loves to play with us both and I keep coming up with new games to keep her busy. Like lifting her up in the air with my two feet while holding her hands as she 'flies' over Dada.

She is running all over the place now and is always trying to talk. I bought some flashcards online from a teacher's supply store that shows a letter of the alphabet and a related picture of an object with the first letter. She may not be able to say 'elephant' but she can differentiate the correct object when asked.

She also is a great fan of dogs. It is probably her favorite word. Nina and I will have to get a nice little dog for her when she gets older. My vote is for a Jack Russell.

Well that is about it for now. I will try to post some pictures next time.

Jesse

Weekend In Ocean City New Jersey

This week the three of us went back to my old stopping grounds in South Jersey. We spent the weekend on a hotel on the board walk. Right outside were the dark green waves of the Atlantic gently rolling across the sandy shell ridden beach. The smell of funnel cake and pop corn gently wafted across the air with the shrill sounds of 50,000 children begging their parents for a quarter for the arcade. Brings back memories. Leia had a great time playing in the surf. The sand itself was a minor barrier for her. She felt safest on our lap while she let the sand pour through her little hands.

While playing feed Dada sand I accidentally bit one of her fingers. Not hard enough to bleed or leave a mark but enough for her to bawl up with the most mournful cry a parent could ever hear. I quickly whisked her away into the ocean where she quickly forgot the sharp bite and began laughing as we jumped the breakers.

We also visited with the other half of my family. They were thrilled to see her. We all shared in a BBQ. My brother and grown up sister was there. Boy time sure flies when you are away.

Pictures are attached for all to see.

Grammy makes a visit.

Grandma Handal stopped by to play with Leia today. Leia had a great time. It looks like she also is fond of hand bags.