Leia Week 13: Moving to her Own Room - 9/25/13

We spent this week back home, recuperating from the big Bay adventure.  Had some time for catching up with friends we hadn't seen in awhile and went on our first bike ride of the summer.  But the biggest excitement was Leia moving into her very own big girl room!  The event was precipitated by the fact that she had been sleeping through the night for awhile, so we knew she was capable, but then she stopped, so why?  After a bit of research, I discovered that her sleep cycles were changing and she needed to learn how to put herself back to sleep when she wakes up at night, which meant a whole new sleeping/bed time routine, and the commencement of regular naps.  Of course, this wasn't going to be easy for anyone, but especially not Josh, who's hormones take him into shutdown mode when he hears her cry.  Hence the need for her to be in her own room and the volume on the monitor to be lowered during crying sessions!  In the end, Leia was really happy in her new room, and she's so advanced that she picked up the falling asleep routine right away!  Now we have a really good little napper, though not very consistent on the length of time, but one thing at a time right?

Constantly learning and exploring everything in sight with her mouth.

Enough Bumbo time, let me out of here!

Dressed up all warm and snuggly on her way to her big show...

Showing off all her great Abba Dancing Queen moves and costume.

Whew,  looking exhausted and disheveled after a long night of great performances!

Happy to be part of the cool Tahoe Big Truck Hat gang!

Josh, Leia, and Great Grandpa John uniformed up and ready for some Steelers football!

Look at this happy girl in her new big girl bed.

Dad was crying more than Leia about the big move!

Play time with Auntie Biby.

Leia helped chef up a delicious dinner from our veggie box: pesto chicken, fresh green beans, and Caprese. Yum!

All bundled up in her cozy new suit for a chilly fall ride in the chariot.

First successful bike ride post labor for mom and baby.

Dad is already a pro at towing.

Happy Birthday Uncle John!

Leia Week 12: Bay Area Whirlwind Tour - 9/18/2013

We headed down to the Bay Area this week to do some catching up with a few peeps that was long overdue.  We drove all over the place, and definitely spanned the entire region that is considered "Bay Area," but it was a lot of fun to see everyone.  We started with a lunch and visit with Grand Nana in Fairfield, then onto the SF and Marin area for some great meals and hiking in Muir Woods with Kent and Judy Adams. After that we headed south to Menlo Park to play with the Sege's, but not before a quick stop along the way in Dublin for a fun dinner with Monica and family.  Then back up to SF and Belvedere to catch the Rygg's on their short trip out west.  It was so fun to hang with everyone, but we sure were exhausted by the time we headed for home!

Pretty lunch out on the terrace.

Leia and her Grand Nana...Looking like she might be inheriting Mom's name and her blue eyes!

3 of the 4 generation Ablan girls.

Fun hike through Muir Woods with Papi and Judar.

Leia had never seen such big redwoods before in her life!

Kent posing by his name-sake tree.

Georgia was practicing for her future baby sitting duties by helping me trim Leia's nails.

Watching our first of many future Saturday soccer tournaments.

Leia's first trip down the big kids slide!

Only 2.5 weeks later and she's already fitting better in the big girl swing...

...or is she??  She did have some successful swings with a big old grin on her face!

Enjoying her morning tea in the sun room with Georgia.

Followed by a little chillaxin' with her friend Alexi.

And the girls are back together, this time on the west coast, enjoying a little bay-side Mexican cuisine.

Gotta love the awesome views from the Rygg's back deck.

Trying to calm and exhausted baby who refuses to sleep...anyone else have this FOMO problem?

Enjoying a beautiful bay sunset.

Her new amusement park ride is the vertically swinging carseat...good thing those seat belts really work!

Few, back home.  Do you see that 90 deg head raise at only 12 weeks?!

Leia Week 11: Shots and Friends - 9/11/2013

We stuck around on the home front this week and enjoyed some mellow, relaxing time.  Still full of new friends for Leia though.  She saw her friends Chelsea, Marco, Anna, and Kelly.  And we spent some quality time with Nana at our favorite annual "After Starbucks Party" Party.  She also had her first round of immunization shots, which was not fun for anyone, but especially not Leia.

Bath time for baby girl!

Showing off her cute outfit from Closet Cowgirl.

Already so advanced at multi-tasking: Bouncing and rooting for the Steelers all at once!

Leia's new favorite position...the Cheshire Cat.

Showing off our new Steelers shirts...Leia's is an actual jersey, complete with shoulder pads!

Was a very exciting game, she couldn't keep her eyes off!

Showing off her cute new hoodie at the "After Starbucks Party" Party.

Out to lunch with Auntie Chels.

More interested in trying to get milk out of Anna than smiling for the group shot.

Hey Marco and Anna, you guys look good with one of those!

Recovering on the couch with a cold pack after her first round of immunization shots.

Me and my two favorite people to hang out with.

Sorry Kelly, forgot to take a picture during the first hour of bouncing when she was still really happy!

Slacking off during tummy time, but with a face like that, who could be mad!

Look at that head lift...so advanced!

Leia Week 10: Friends in Philly, Labor Day with Zeena and Rob - 9/4/2013

Since we were already all the way back east in PA, we decided to make the drive across the state so Leia could meet her new friend Aria Rygg.  Born only 3 weeks apart, we know they will soon become total besties!  Then we hopped back on a plane to get home in time for a fun weekend of Tahoe adventures with Auntie Zeena and Uncle Rob, who also turned out to be a phenomenal Baby Whisperer.  Beaches, BBQ's, Wet Woody's, and Disc Golf...the fun never ended!

Father-Daughter bonding time with Eric and Aria Rygg.

They don't quite know if they want to be friends yet...

Lovely dinner out on the deck.

Everyone had to help get Evan to bed, he was having way to much fun playing.

Aunt Kat and Aria chillin'.

Holding hands...now they have bonded!

Leia was awake much more on the flight home, but still very well behaved (although a few extra feedings didn't hurt).

Hanging at the beach in her pretty new sundress...too bad we have to hide from the sun all the time.

Beach party with Zeena and Rob.

Guess we have a little more work to do to toughen her up...wasn't too happy about the cold Tahoe temps!

Gorgeous, mostly smoke-free day for a kayak on the lake.

Happy as a clam in her new bouncer.

Working on a little tummy time.

Here's a happy camper ready for her next big adventure!

Stopping for food is not an option when you're in the middle of an intense game of disc golf!

Milk drunk!

Just can't get enough of that sweet little face!

Leia didn't like disc golf too much, but probably because she couldn't see anything!

Rob demonstrating where his beautiful wife nailed him in the head with a high-speed, close-range frisbee throw!

New to the game of disc golf, but I think we converted them.

Definitely easier to throw with a baby in your belly than with a baby on your back!

Chef Josh smoking and carving up some delicious chicken and ribs. 

The Baby Whisperers celebrating after a successful sack-out.

Just love all he great sleeping poses.

Finding comfort from her duck friend after an exhausting couple of weeks.