Working with a spoon

Leah has always been a great eater. I can think of only a handful of times that I thought she might not take another bite at a meal. The problem with her eating times though is that Darcey and I can rarely be productive because we are usually active participants in the meal.

I know that it sounds odd that we would try to do other things while Leah eats dinner, but with my work schedule and Darcey's classes, we have very little time to do those normal family activities like catching up with each other, making dinner, eating, and whatever else "normal" families do in the evenings.

So at a recent dinner I gave Leah the spoon in an effort to reclaim some of those few precious moments at the end of the day. Now the problem with most of the food toddlers eat is that they are soupy, runny, drippy, messy, saucy…you name it. This of course led to hilarious results.

They were also surprisingly productive. Check it out.

-Sefton

Halloween

Leah's first Halloween outing was a blast. Darcey and I started thinking about what costume to get months ago and decided we wanted something that Leah could wear to stay warm in case the furnace went out again this year. When we found this dinosaur outfit we knew we had struck gold.

We put Leah in her wagon and started off through the neighborhood to show her off to our friends. We met up with a group of neighbors walking with six or seven other kids dressed in as princesses, a chicken, a farmer and even a spider. All of the adults had a great time watching our kids run up and down driveways and looking at the costumes of passing children. We crossed paths with other neighbors and stopped by a couple of Halloween parties before heading home for the night.

Despite the excitement of the night Leah went to bed fairly easily. It was well after her bedtime and she of course was not on a sugar rush from eating handfuls of candy. I guess next year will be a different story all together and unfortunately for me, it will be my turn to put her to bed.

-Sefton

Walking around

I knew that all the hard work in the foyer and hallway would pay off sooner rather than later. Leah has a wonderfully straight and mostly level area to walk up and down in. And she does walk.

Her balance is still not perfect but she has picked up the pace quite a bit recently. She enjoys mobility in such a way that make me realize that I take it for granted. Her world is always expanding and we have (mostly) enjoyed the challenge of keeping an eye on her as she explores it.

Enjoy the video.

-Sefton

Happy Autumn

Just a quick photo from a recent trip to our favorite orchard for ice cream. Leah still likes getting a taste from our cones and tried peach and pumpkin this time.

Happy Autumn everyone.

-Sefton

Reading

Darcey and I have tried to prioritize reading books to Leah since she was born and have had limited success until just recently. Leah was just too squirmy or fussy to sit in our laps and concentrate on a book. We actually started reading to her after she was in her crib for the night because it was the only way we could get a captive audience.

But something has happened over the last couple of weeks where Leah now wants to be read to. She brings books over and sits in down either in my lap or directly in front of me while I read. She seems to have two favorite books. One is about Elmo and one is about a duck. She doesn't really want to have anything to do with any of the 30 or so other books that are on her bookshelf which means I now have Elmo and the duck memorized.

Like just about every other development, a switch seems to have been turned on somewhere inside of her. She has a new focus and concentration which has also carried over to her understanding of words. Although she still isn't saying anything but "uh oh", she knows the words ball and duck as well as Daisy, Kitty, Mommy and Daddy. I see her learn new things whenever we have playtime together like how to make her favorite toys play music. She even laughs at a game she made up where she crawls to a corner of her bedroom and waits for us to ask her why she is over there. It's the funniest thing she knows and she does it almost everyday.

I never knew a child her age had so much mental depth and am always excited to see what she will learn next.

-Sefton

One small step for Leah...

It was a giant leap for the Ipocks. Leah finally took her first steps
over the weekend and it was beautiful. She had been kind of crab
walking around here last week with her palms and soles of her feet on
the ground which was a pretty funny sight. She has also figured out,
almost overnight, how to remain steady when she stands.

I can't describe how thrilled I am to be able to watch the evolution of her
development. The first post I made on this blog was when she rolled
over on her own. That seems like eons ago. Last night I had a flash
forward to Leah doing one of those ungraceful toddler runs down our
hallway and that seems like it is so far away.

I know I'm wrong about that.

-Sefton

Party Time

Leah's first birthday party was a huge success. All of her grandparents were in attendance, and several friends and neighbors came to the celebration as well. We had good food, good drinks and a great time.

I'd like to thank John for making the most delicious and beautiful cakes ever. Leah's cake was especially fantastic. It was truly the best cake a one-year-old ever had. Thanks also to Vicki and Lloyd who drove 34 hours roundtrip to spend 44 hours with their granddaughter. And thanks to everyone else who attended. You were all invited because you are part of our family and we wanted the party to be as much about you as it was about Leah.

And finally thanks to my wonderful wife Darcey who always knows how to take care of the people she loves. We are a family because of everything she does and all of the sacrifices that she makes.

I look forward to another wonderful year.

-Sefton