Seriously...since November?

Wow....we haven't posted since November? That is really sad.

A lot has happened in the past few months!

Leighton had a wonderful Christmas. She understood (for the most part) the whole Santa Claus thing and how he comes for a visit.

Then, in January, after much discussion, we decided to go ahead and have tubes put in L's ears to help combat all the ear infections. She handled everything like a trooper and I'm happy to say we haven't had an ear infection since!

We just returned from a trip to Texas to visit family for Easter and have a busy Spring and Summer coming our way. Mike and I are headed to St. Martin for a week in May and then to PA to visit family in July. Should be fun!

Halloween

Leighton really got into the holiday this year with helping to carve and paint pumpkins for Halloween.

She also LOVED dressing up as a kangaroo with a baby joey in her pocket!

Trick or Treating was by far her favorite once she realized people were handing out free candy. Sprinting from house to house and giggling after she scored each piece of candy!

Pumpkin Patch

We headed back to the same orchard for our pumpkin picking as we did for the apples and had a great time with some friends along the way.

Leighton had a fun time picking out her pumpkins and we enjoyed the rest of the orchard and the other fun activities (i.e. petting farm, yummy caramel apples, donuts, etc.)

Trip to Santa Fe

We took a much needed vacation this October to Santa Fe to spend time with my aunt and uncle.

It was relaxing and so beautiful out there!

Leighton had a great time hiking in her backpack and enjoying the time with our family!

Apple Picking

We have a lot to catch up on, so I thought I'd do it via mostly pictures!

Earlier this fall, after a Notre Dame game, we headed to an apple orchard to do a little apple picking.

Leighton got really into it and has been munching on apples for the last few weeks :)

Well there went Summer...

I swear I thought I would be better at posting. Obviously I'm not.

This Summer hasn't been too crazy, but I feel like every chance we get to spend time outside and in the sun, we've tried to do. The weather hasn't cooperated much though!

We have plans to head to TX at the beginning of September for Labor Day and visit with family and friends, so hopefully, we'll get some warmer weather!

Not much is new with Mike and I, but Leighton continues to surprise and delight us each and every day.

She is talking...constantly. I mean...ALL THE TIME. I know I asked for this time to come, but now that it is here, I'm wondering what the heck I was thinking! We are starting to speak in small sentences (3 words max), but I can see that changing quickly.

My girl loves to dance, sing and play with her Legos and Mr. Potato Head. And the coloring...can't forget the coloring!

The latest news for her is that we consciously went potty for the first time yesterday! Not sure if this is the start of something or just a fluke, but exciting nonetheless!

Spring!

It has been a busy Spring in the Hormuth household. A few trips back to Michigan under our belt already this year!

The weather has been horrible in Chicago the last few months and it looks like a warm Summer isn't in the cards for us.

We've been enjoying a lot of at home time lately and are starting to get a little cabin fever. Bring on the 80 degree weather!!!

Lots of trips planned this Summer so should be pretty busy over the next few months!

March/April

Leighton has become such a chatter box the last few months! We say things like "I don't know" (sort of) with our hands up in the air and palms turned out. Such expressions! We also say words like: dog, please, thank you, hi, bye, go, silly, belly, nose, ears, daddy, mama, Leighton, all done, more, baby, cheese, and especially NO. Gotta love the no's.

We took a family trip to Houston at the end of the month and visited with my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Louis and all of my cousins. Leighton had a great time playing with her cousins and enjoying the much needed warm weather!

MARCH Photos


APRIL Photos

February

Unfortunately, not a lot of excitement in February. Leighton was dealing with ear infections all month, so I feel like the only place we visited other than home was the doctor's office.

We did have fun goofing around and making Valentines for our friends and teachers at daycare!

We also tried sushi for the first time....not a big hit :(

Catching Up

Ok..so we really need to catch up this blog and provide some updates!

January was really exciting for me (Christina) with a start at a new job working at Leo Burnett/Arc and on a client I really enjoy...MillerCoors! Beer is fun!

It seems like the winter was just getting started in January and we had a lot of days where Miss L was sick, but we got through it!

And...we kept up the good spirit for the Bears, but they didn't get to the Super Bowl :(

Christmas Eve/Gifts

We enjoyed a wonderful holiday at home in Chicago this Christmas!

Christmas Eve was spent making cinnamon rolls, going down to Michigan Ave to see the lights and have Ghirardelli ice cream with friends, mass at St. Mike's and then some yummy beef wellingtons for dinner!

Leighton got all dolled up and then into her Christmas PJs she went to go to bed before Santa came to visit.

We slept in on Christmas day and had mimosas and cinnamon rolls and watched Leighton open her presents. I think her favorite part was the paper :)

We then headed to the Fearings for Christmas Day dinner and some fun, quality time with friends.

Our New Years weekend was spent in Grand Rapids with Mike's family celebrating his family Christmas with all of his siblings and Leighton's many cousins.

I can't believe the holidays are over already :(

I'll post more Christmas Day pics when Mike sends them to me, but here are some for now from Christmas Eve and a video of Leighton opening/playing with a present from Brad.

Holidays

Seems like we missed the entire month of November in our blog!

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with the Fearings and some new friends. It was a ton of fun and a ton of food!

Unfortunately, Leighton has been sick the last few weeks, so we've been laying low. I now have her cold, so I'm sure we'll pass it on to Mike too.

The house is pretty much decorated for the holidays. Just a few more little additions and we'll be ready for the holidays. Now...just got to get to my baking!!!

I'm taking a few days off in December to bake, so it should be fun :)

Looking forward to Christmas at home and then on to GR for the Hormuth Family Christmas.

Leighton's First Trick or Treating Experience

Fun Times!

On the move!

Update: 1-Year

We took L in to see the doctor for her 1-year appointment, but ended up spending the majority of the time trying to determine what was causing her 103 degree fever. We ended up skipping the 1-year appointment and taking tests to determine if she had something more serious. After a variety of tests, the doctor determined we were dealing with something viral and it had to run its course.

So...while I was out of town for work, I missed her follow-up appointment which turned into her 1-year visit! Mike did a great job fielding my questions from Texas!

For those family members who don't see L that often, here is the latest on our little peanut:

She weighs in at 18 lbs 7 oz (still tiny in the 15th percentile for weight), she is 28 1/4 inches tall (short like her parents - 25th percentile) and her head is still big...really big at 18 3/8 inches (85th percentile).

We are good to go for all foods except shellfish and we have transitioned over to milk!

And the biggest news of all...

Leighton is officially walking!!! We took our few steps a few weeks ago, but now we are walking everywhere. We're still wobbly, but she is quickly learning to keep her balance.

More videos/pictures to come!

My baby is 1!!!

I truly cannot believe my baby is one! She is growing up so fast. It feels like only yesterday when we were at the hospital and I was clueless (still am) of how to take care of this tiny little person.

We had a very exciting week leading up to her birthday. A lot of decorating, planning, shopping and the best surprise was that my brother, Brad, flew in for her big day!

Unfortunately, little L was sick leading up to and on her birthday, so although we were excited to party, she was a little less than thrilled.

Forget the terrible twos! We thought it was the flu/cold that was causing Miss L to get an attitude, but now, we are thinking that she has the terrible ones! Man...has she got the temper tantrums down pat. I'm pretty sure this is already payback for how I was with my mother. If this is any indication of what is to come, Mike and I are in for a wild ride. Boarding school anyone???

Thought we would post some pictures of the big day for those who could not attend :)

Our little ham...

Our little ham...putting on a show at dinner time...

Time Flies...

Wow...can't believe how much time has flown the last few summer months. I really can't believe that Labor Day has come and gone and we are now looking into the face of fall. Looking forward to football and
roasting marshmallows in our fire pit and introducing Leighton to her daddy's alma mater. Too difficult to show her mine, but some day she'll visit and understand why mommy loved college so much!

We have had a very eventful few months! Our trip to Santa Fe was wonderful, even if it did rain every day, but the last day we were there. Ohio with the H2B group was relaxing and time much needed with friends. Leighton's trip to the ER was not the best way to spend the time in between these two trips, but you take the bad with the good, right?

Leighton has transitioned to the next classroom at daycare and is now officially a Panda :) She still visits with her Penguin teachers, but she is learning all new things in her Panda room. We know how to sign when we are done with eating, we can clap and we are standing without holding on to anything. The walking thing is a little too scary for now, but we LOVE to walk with mommy or daddy holding our hands. Oh and not to forget that we can wave good-bye while saying proudly "ba-ba".

It is so sad and joyous at the same time to think that a month from now my little peanut baby is going to be 1 year old! A small birthday party is in the works for the weekend of 10/9-10/10. We will definitely post pictures of the big event :)

Sorry for not updating more often, but I'll try to do better over the next few months!