tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49878163551723985092024-03-18T21:44:16.039-07:00Leah+RoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-9213743441312681812011-05-10T14:15:00.001-07:002011-05-10T14:15:48.635-07:00aw shootThis is really hard to keep up, says 2 months of no posts. Here's what we've been up to:<br><br>March:<br>- went to the park a ton, leah's getting used to going on the swings and slides again.<br>- had our first picnic of the year with the o'connor fam on a cold but sunny morning<br> - worked in our garden to get ready for new flowers and got rid of weeds and pinecones<br>- leah talks a ton. she knows what she wants and asks for it. like a lunch of "m&ms, macaroni and every strawberry."<br> - did a ton of running (74 miles in march)<br>- mike and lisa stayed with the gals and watched little mermaid while luke and i went to a velodrome fundraiser.<br>- went on a hospital adventure when luke crashed on his bike and had to get stitches in his chin. leah talks about it still (in may) about 3 times a week.<br> - luke changed jobs within amazon and had to spend a few days in cupertino. girls week at home.<br>- leah sings "go cubs go" like a rockstar. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100849530555844&comments">https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100849530555844&comments</a><br> - rorykate is getting bigger. we stopped nursing and switched to formula, making her a bigger and even happier little girl.<br><br>April:<br>- Leah's Birthday Month! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100849955469314.3510254.9362103">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100849955469314.3510254.9362103</a><br> - Papa and Nana and Grandpa Tim all came out to visit and celebrate birthday month!<br>- On Leah's birthday, we got donuts at Top Pot with Lisa, The O'Connors, and Grandpa Tim. We made a Build-a-Bear and had dinner at Red Robin! It was a great day. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100991628181064.3519714.9362103">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100991628181064.3519714.9362103</a><br> - Leah got lots of great gifts, including a new play kitchen!<br>- Leah moved up to the 2 year old room for church preschool. Her friends there are CoCo and Ellie. There is a giant dinosaur and an awesome playhouse. <br> - Had Little Sprout Workshop at our house. It was crazy and fun.<br>- Easter weekend, we made sausage & homemade bread. We did the Redmond egg hunt (and Leah loved it!)<br>- Should note that Leah seems to be getting better anxiety wise every week. We're learning how to help her through stressful times (like being at the park when there are other kids.)<br> <br>May:<br>- Leah went to pony class. It was pretty scary.<br>- Rory is starting to move and groove. She is the happiest baby and happiest person I've ever known. She's starting to sit and crawl. It's really exciting.<br> - Luke accepted a job with facebook, so we're considering a move to Silicon Valley! <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-75135513771009776072011-03-14T14:31:00.001-07:002011-03-14T14:31:25.634-07:00state of the rorykate address - 6 months!RoryKate. is. 6. months. old. I actually don't believe it, and keep counting months on my fingers to double check.<br><br>She had her 6 month appointment today - 26.5" and 12.75lbs. Not great news, as her weight isn't going up like we'd expect - she's below the 5%, and within her own chart, hasn't gained much in the last two months (and only about 4.75lbs since birth). Today she'll be starting on pediasure, a supplement drink. So if you're sick of seeing Rory in her 3 month clothes, hopefully we'll be helping her grow into some bigger ones soon. <br> <br>Leah is really funny. She repeats pretty much everything these days, and even occasionally says what i'm about to say before I get a chance to say it. Today I found her in the playroom and she said "What am I doing sweetheart?" <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-24935397597641466052011-03-08T18:44:00.001-08:002011-03-08T18:44:55.598-08:00state of the sleeping addressI always brag that I have great sleepers. They're certainly are in a weird schedule right now. <br><br>GREAT: both girls sleep until at least 7am.<br>GREAT: rorykate always takes a good morning nap, sometimes right after she wakes up.<br> NOT AS GREAT: sometimes I let rory nap too long in the morning, when leah and i get caught up in too much fun playtime, or less fun chores.<br>GREAT: rorykate is in great spirits in the morning. who wouldn't be with about 14-15 hours of sleep?<br> GREAT: leah usually asks to take a nap, in the afternoon.<br>NOT AS GREAT: rorykate usually seems tired, but actually isn't. probably because she got 13 hours of sleep at night and a 2 hour nap in already.<br>WEIRD: leah rarely naps. she instead plays and reads quietly.<br> GREAT: somehow, leah seems fully rested after her "nap" time.<br>GREAT: rory usually sleeps for a bit in the afternoon, even if just for 30 minutes.<br>NOT AS GREAT: 5:30 at our house. today, leah was begging to go to sleep. actually begging "please mommy it's bedtime." rory was also begging, but more with just lots of tears. <br> GREAT: i'm usually able to hold both of them off until 6:30 with food and books and baths. tonight we only made it to 6:10.<br>NOT AS GREAT: both girls wake up in the middle of the night, rory to eat (because she's been asleep for like 8 hours already) and leah wakes up with nightmares. <br> GREAT: both girls go back to sleep almost immediately after a nursing (rory) or a snuggle (leahmadison)<br><br>it's hard to remember sometimes at 5:30pm or 3am how lucky i am the rest of the day. really, i'm lucky even at 5:30 and 3am as well. :)<br> <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-63988425782169268762011-03-03T17:37:00.000-08:002011-03-03T17:38:11.929-08:00highchair and new shoesRory sat in the highchair for the first time tonight. She's been rockin' the bumbo seat, but we decided it was time for her to be a big girl in the big chair!<br><br>Leah got new shoes today that she picked out all on her own at Target. They're super duper sparkly. :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-24770813738082117542011-03-02T18:49:00.001-08:002011-03-02T18:49:46.719-08:00god made the sun.Today (after a very cranky mommy run), Leah saw that the sun had come out and yelled "MOMMY! God made the sun today! It's beauteeeeeful!" <br><br>Rory is ridiculously ticklish. It's hysterical.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-2646126434452258762011-03-01T15:31:00.001-08:002011-03-01T15:31:25.566-08:00things leah saysLeah is talking constantly, and most of the time in complete sentences. Today, I asked her if she liked her croissant and she said "I do! I do love my croissant (with perfect french pronunciation, obviously.)" It's funny to hear what words I must say often that she picks up, like when she narrates our diaper changes and says "it's okay. no worries. you'll wipe up the poopers." and then tells me "i need a fresh diaper." <br> <br>She also has a great memory now. Yesterday at lunch, she asked to go to red robin, with dad, to have cheese sticks (grilled cheese and fries) and get a balloon. We had gone a couple days prior and she remembered all of it.<br> <br>She also notices everything. I usually take a shower after putting her down for a nap, and she always notices that i've changed my shirt and washed my hair. Usually she tells me "oh mommy, your purple shirt is beautiful! and your hair is all clean and wet. good job in the shower."<br> <br>And Rory? Rory is hysterically noisy when she is hungry. She lets out a yell (not a cry or a scream, just an actual yell) in between spoonfuls of food. And it is extremely loud. Ridiculously loud.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-79771722197004357432011-02-15T11:24:00.001-08:002011-02-15T11:24:41.474-08:00valentine's dayWe had a great valentine's day yesterday. We started the day off with donuts at top pot with liz, clara, and crosby. We came home and made daddy some orange cake, took some naps, decorated the cakes, read lots of books, had dinner and everybody was pooped and ready for bed by 6:45. :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-86610759341034258582011-02-13T19:17:00.001-08:002011-02-13T19:17:30.406-08:00church preschoolToday was Leah's second week at church preschool, and it went much better than last week! She cried a bit when I left, but when I came back she was giggling and playing. She was excited to show me the toys she had been playing with (a baby and a tractor) and told me that she had a new friend, Emma. She even gave her teacher a hug goodbye when we left. On the way home, she told us all about her morning - especially snacktime, where she had "aminal crackers" and "different cups." She even said that she would see her friends next time.<br> <br>God certainly answered some huge prayers this morning. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-5745992771639116752011-02-13T07:06:00.000-08:002011-02-13T07:07:18.990-08:00Rory's Firsts.Rory celebrated her first valentine's day party last Thursday. She and Leah hosted a DINOSAUR valentine's day party for their friends (Rory has two friends her own age already - Brynn and Crosby, we're waiting on a few more to arrive in the next couple of months :) ) Leah helped me make dinosaur crayons to give to her friends, and we had lots of yummy treats. <br> <br>Yesterday, Rory was in her first 5k! We ran in the Valentine's Day Dash at Green Lake, where we used to live. It was so much fun, and the girls were so happy. We're very blessed to have such easy, happy gals.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-22773765574748727242011-02-11T18:10:00.001-08:002011-02-11T18:10:46.703-08:00birthmarks.Today Leah was talking about our birthmarks, pointing to hers, and then pointing to mine next to my nose, and she said "mommy's birth mark, leah's birth mark. where is rory's birth mark?"<br><br>God, thanks for giving me a birthmark too. I know now that part of the reason for it was to help Leah feel like not only is hers not weird, it's sort of weird to NOT have one. Thanks.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-31110018039145811592011-02-07T14:06:00.001-08:002011-02-07T14:06:51.883-08:00february?Ugh. Another month without posts. Here's the January roundup:<br> <br> <b>Leah Madison</b><br> - Leah started treatment for her hemangioma on January 13. It was a pretty un-fun day at Seattle Children's Hospital. Leah HATED the blood pressure cuff and the EKG, but we survived. She'll be taking propranalol for about 6 months. <br> - Leah is very aware of the world around her, and is talking a ton. She speaks in full sentences about things around her, especially dinosaurs! She is able to identify triceratops, tyrannosaurus, pteranadon, and stegosaurus, and loves to build block houses for the dinos to play in.<br> - Leah moved from her highchair to a booster seat this month to make room for Rory, who will be using the highchair soon!<br> - Leah finished up her 3rd session of yoga. She is still very shy and nervous around other kids, but is definitely getting better.<br> <br> <b>Rory Kate<br> </b>- We took Rory for her 4 month appointment to find that she hadn't gained any weight since her two month appointment, so she started solids a bit sooner than Leah. She now eats a full avocado everyday, as well as some pureed food - she's had carrots, squash, sweet potato, applesauce, and green beans which she absolutely hates and refuses to eat!<br> - Rory loves Luke. They are best buddies, and daddy makes Rory laugh like no one else can.<br> <br> <br> <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-8229508107731253052011-01-09T15:27:00.000-08:002011-01-09T15:28:47.863-08:00anniversaryToday we're celebrating 6 years of marriage. It's been so great, but the last 2 years have been the best part :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-18639613901082670982011-01-01T19:26:00.001-08:002011-01-01T19:26:32.207-08:00new year's resolution!we had a great new year's eve. since the girls (and us!) wouldn't be up until midnight, we decided to celebrate 3 different times, with other parts of the world. at 8am, we celebrated with hong kong, with the chinese "song of joy" playing as we ate fortune cookies for breakfast! at 11am, we celebrated with russia, listened to some sweet russian tunes, and ate russian tea cakes. at 6pm, we listened to gilberto gil and ate orange-pineapple flan with caramel sauce.<br> <br>apparently, leah's new year's resolution was to start using the potty, because she peed on the potty this morning! we celebrated with a trip to target to get big girl underwear (and some pull-ups to help us transition.) we're so proud of her.<br> <br>rory continues to be awesome. sleeping, eating like a champ, and really starting to show her personality. she rocks. 2010 was the year of rory :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-60968629912183476762010-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:002010-12-26T20:54:39.279-08:002010 Yearbook.We had a great 2010. Click on the fullscreen button in the bottom right to see our book in real-life size :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align:left; width:450px"><object id="myWidget" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1887869" width="450" height="300"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1887869"></param><a target="_new" href="http://www.blurb.com/books/preview/1887869?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget"><img src="http://bookshow.blurb.com/bookshow/cache/P2609688/md/wcover_2.png"></img></a></object><div style="display:block;"><a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1887869?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget" target="_blank" style="margin:12px 3px;">St.Clair Family Yearbook - 2010 by Luke, Jen, Leah Madison & Rory Kate</a> | <a href="http://www.blurb.com/landing_pages/bookshow?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget" target="_blank" style="margin:12px 3px;">Make Your Own Book</a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-13837947107040469912010-12-26T19:45:00.001-08:002010-12-26T19:45:54.543-08:00Christmas!We had a great Christmas - Grandpa Tim, Grandma Sue, Aunt Kristen and Uncle Matt came to visit and it was awesome! We celebrated Christmas eve with Clara's family, and Christmas evening with Lenna's family. We are so blessed to have such awesome friends and family :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-35096686828262920992010-12-14T16:56:00.001-08:002010-12-14T16:56:55.637-08:00To ten!Leah Madison St.Clair just counted to ten on her own (she was counting her new stamps from Clara!). She's super cool.<p>-- <br>JenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-67581287556909778492010-12-13T20:04:00.001-08:002010-12-13T20:04:24.241-08:00papa and nana.On Wednesday, Papa Mark and Nana Lauren came to visit! We had a yummy pizza dinner on Wednesday (and Nana and Papa read a ton of books), put up Christmas lights on Thursday (and Nana and Papa read a ton of books), went to Belle Square and the Bellevue Botanical Gardens on Friday (and Nana and Papa read a ton of books), on Saturday we threw Liz a baby shower (and Nana and Papa read a ton of books), and on Sunday the Pineapple Express got us and it was not pretty. Papa went home, but Nana read a lot of books. <br> <br>And... RORY KATE ROLLED OVER! Back to front, like a champ. <br><br>Tomorrow we'll say goodbye to Nana. Leah loves her a lot.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-27470026399435787832010-12-06T15:02:00.001-08:002010-12-06T15:02:36.565-08:00gingerbread and st.nick!Oh gosh. We've had a really really great weekend. Last night we made gingerbread houses at Mike and Lisa's house. Leah ate a lot of candy, watched "A Bug's Life" (which she loved), and Rory Kate watched some football on the couch. The houses turned out pretty cute. <br> <br>When we got home, there were presents waiting for all of us. The girls got matching pajamas, Luke got pajama pants, and I got a comfy pair of slippers. :)<br><br>This morning, a ton of presents were under the tree! Leah and Rory both got a doll from Great Grandma Jean and Great Grandpa Bill. Leah named hers Emily, and Rory's is already named Lucy, so I think we'll stick with that until Rory picks a different name for her.<br> <br>Leah also got the Red Rover game, and lots of things in her stocking. Her favorite was the dinosaur. She promptly dressed it with a necklace.<br><br>Rory got a sweet tummy time toy, and some good stuff in her stocking as well.<br> <br>Luke got a pie of the month club - one pie, made by me, each month of this year. Sugar Cream is all ready in the fridge for him!<br><br>For my present, Luke is making dinner tonight. And I'm so excited. Leah and Rory got me a cubs "W" flag and some frangos. Yummy :)<br> <br><br><br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-23399730058501653352010-12-03T13:09:00.001-08:002010-12-03T13:09:52.000-08:00ceramics and happy truckas.Yesterday we had a great day painting up some ceramic pieces for christmas presents for some special people. Clara and Lilah painted with Leah, and the girls had a very messy fun time. Lots of paint everywhere, including Lilah's mouth and Leah's hair. :)<br> <br>Today we had our roof cleaned, and so there was a truck in our driveway. Leah is still not fond of "scary truckas", but is trying to convince herself that they're not that bad. As we pulled into our driveway, Leah said "It's a happy trucka, mommy?" I told her it was a happy truck, and she seemed okay with it. The roof cleaner was up on the roof outside her room during her nap, and she yelled "MOMMY! It's the GUY! It's the GUY! He's steaming the house!"<br> <br>Love her.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-21644923089845355792010-12-01T11:31:00.000-08:002010-12-01T11:33:00.232-08:00"scary scary santa."Leah met Santa today at Redmond Town Center. We hadn't intended on saying hi, because Leah is scared of a lot of things, and I figured Santa would be terrifying. I was sort of right.<br /><br />We went over and said hi, Santa asked Leah what her name was. She (in my arms, holding onto me thistight) said "my sister is rorykate. she is a baby sister." Santa said, "but what's your name?" Leah said "I love dinosaurs."<br /> <br />He asked her for a high five, but she declined. I gave him a high five instead.<br /><br />When we got to the car, Leah said "oooooooh santa. scary scary santa."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-87047330702396992002010-11-30T11:49:00.001-08:002010-11-30T11:49:41.658-08:00well-mannered lady.Leah loves to say "bless you!" when someone sneezes. Or coughs. Or makes any other noise with their mouth. And since RoryKate frequently makes noises with her mouth, Leah says "bless you" to Rory quite often. Leah also has been telling us about things she loves. Today she let me know:<br> <br>"I love dinos."<br>"I love squirrels."<br>"I love cookies."<br><br><br><br><br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-45579625230002986182010-11-28T20:36:00.001-08:002010-11-28T20:36:52.481-08:00last day with dad :(Luke has been working from home or just home for almost all of the last 10 days. We're not even sort of ready for him to go back to work. We had a nice relaxing day today - went back to the gardens to walk around and take more pictures, and had a hugemongous trip at costco. I seriously hate costco, but being with my 3 best buddies makes it almost fun :)<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-15335903788315976892010-11-28T09:41:00.001-08:002010-11-28T09:41:29.637-08:00Counting to ten!Leah can count to ten now, and it is super awesome. She's also doing a lot of pretend play now - making her animals "talk" and do things. <p>Rory is getting so strong now - lots of holding her head up. Also, she manages to turn herself about 90-180 degrees during the night. Weird.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-1965012887610852162010-11-27T11:17:00.000-08:002010-11-27T11:18:04.887-08:00Thanksgiving and Christmastime!We celebrated Rory's first Thanksgiving with the O'Connors - it was so delicious and so fun. Leah and Clara are great buddies, and had tons of fun riding on clara's rocking horse and rody horse. At one point, they got so excited that they clunked heads - but were just fine a bit later. <p>On Friday, we set out to Target to get Christmas ornaments for the girls, and we came back home to decorate the tree. Leah says "merry Kristen!" when we turn on the tree. Yesterday, she said "turn on the fi-place. I cold. Brrr."<p>The Roommates continue to do amazingly together in their room together. Last night, they both slept from 7pm to 7am with no wakeups in between. Awesome.<p>-- <br>JenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4987816355172398509.post-60079687445861706212010-11-24T19:51:00.000-08:002010-11-24T19:52:23.479-08:00another snow day.Today was another snow day, which looked a lot like yesterday's snow day. And Monday's snow day. Playing in the snow, sipping hot chocolate, watching Kipper. We're still amazed by how much more Leah talks every day, and how much she's obviously working on saying words better. She went from saying "crock-a" last week, to a very clear "crock-aaaaa-dile!" Her sentences are getting crazy awesome too. Today, she was in the bathtub, and she looked like she was thinking about something, so I said "Leah, what's up?" and she said "I'm going pee-pee on the bubbles." What a little lady. :) <br> <br>Rory Kate spent her day snuggling in front of the fire. Smart girl.<br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1