Next Gerber Baby?

I entered Sydnee into the next gerber baby contest as I got the link and suggestion from a friend. It took 3 weeks to start voting so the day has finally came! You are able to vote for her once a day for the next month! If she wins she will be able to win a $25,000 scholarship which will help to secure her for her education in the future. Please help for her to win! Of course she will always be my lil gerber baby despite what this websites/voting says. :) I love her and trust me I am not one of those pagent moms or stage moms so this will not be a on going thing for her! Hehehe, I am hoping for a soccer/hockey/softball star! :) Thanks again for helping! Love and miss you all!

Here is the link:
http://www.gerber.com/Photo/?entryid=129542&source=10086654&utm_source=Gerber&utm_medium=email&utm_content=PhotoAcceptedReminder&utm_campaign=GerberGeneration#/vote/
Click on the vote, then search, type in Sydnee and San Diego...and there she is! :)

Here and there, she's everywhere!

Sydnee is officially in the toddler stages, as she is on the move and there is no stopping her. She thinks she is pretty sly now that she is walking from object to object, along the wall, and even just walking around on her own. I even caught her today almost trying to run as the dogs were chasing her and she was screaming and walking as fast as she good to get away...super hilarious. I found that walking has to be on her terms though because when she feels like just being held, she will through a tempertantrum, yes, something that is also new in the Leifermann household. She is getting pretty good at this and being spoiled rotton. Many of the tantrums have been over her sippy cup and me refusing to do it for her (as I am trying to get her to do it herself and learn that she needs to tip it back), something she has been very spoiled with. :) I'll admit it!
Anyways, life will never be the same again, but that is a good thing! I enjoy being kept on my toes and watching her grow. Its sad, but exciting all in the breath. I look forward to the next stages of her growth and not to mention turning the BIG 1 in two months! Yikes! :) Party time! :)

Walking Oh My!

Sydnee has been trying to walk for a while now and it wasn't until yesterday and I realized this is going to happen pretty much any day now. She surprised me right away in the morning by crawling on all fours and all of a sudden in the middle of the room she stood up! She thought she was pretty slick and it was cute how she did it and looked at me with a HUGE smile on her face. I could tell that not only was it a proud "mommy" moment, but it was a proud moment for her as well. Let's just say she has been doing it ever since, and now brave enough to just let go and walk by herself. This is insane! Wish Lucas was here yet ago to watch this amazing thing!
We also headed to the park today where she had a blast. She had her first real "boo boo" as she face planted it on the pavement and scrapped up her chin and mouth and then did it again the sand...she got a mouth full...literally! :( She is a tough cookie though and had a moment and was back at it again. That's my girl! :) She is so fearless and ambitious it scares me!
Here is a little taste of what life is like now with an almost toddler girl on my hands!

The time is slipping away!

I promised myself I would keep this up and thought how hard would THAT be? Guess it proved to be a taller task than I imagined! :) It seems that even though you are a stay at home mom, you are constantly moving and distracted by something, whether it is poop, daughter in the dog food, or...well you get my drift! :)
It really is hard to believe that Sydnee is almost 10 months old. She is growing and learning something new everyday. Today I just saw her learn how to go from her knees to a squat, to standing on her own! Might seem like a small task, but to a lil baby it is a great accomplishment and she was so proud of herself that she kept doing it and smiling at me. :) She has also started to walk from object to object and it will only be a matter of time before she is completely on her own. This morning I tried to help her and she swatted my hand out of the way and walked herself...lol, talk about ambitious! Got to love it though! Although I miss her being a newbie, I love this stage she is at and it keeps getting better and better.
She has 6 teeth now, working on 2 more, which hasn't been rough at all. She is eating "big people food" and her favorites are grilled cheese, ravioli, banana bread, and well, pretty much everything! :) Glad she is not a picky eater like me! :) She must have got it from her daddy!
Speaking of daddy, he is gone for 5 more weeks at training in Arizona, but hopes to make trips home when he is not melting away in the 100+ degree weather. We miss him tons! But my mom is coming out in a week to keep up busy! It will be good for both of them, and me of course, as we haven't seen Nana for over 2 months.
Here's to another attempt at keeping this up!

Are we there yet?

We have finally arrived back to San Diego after a long 30+ hours in the car. I have to say that my baby is quite the traveler as she never fussed, only on the last couple hours on the road. She is a rockstar and born to travel I suppose. It is good to finally have Lucas back and be a family again, a feeling I forgot. Sydnee was not to sure about him, which was expected, but I think it hurt Lucas' feelings a little bit. However, she is all over him now and you never would have known he has been gone most of her young life...no more! Luke gets out in 4 months and we are just holding our breath that something falls into play for us finally and we can have a break in life! We have been through so much! :) For now, we are just enjoying each other!

It's Been So Long!

Hard to believe that is has been well over a month since my last post! I am getting bad at this as the times seem to be going faster (and slower at times).
Life seems to be getting more complicated than ever and it is scary to think about all the changes that are coming our way, but there are going to be some really good ones in the mix. Lucas is 5 days away from coming home and I can hardly contain my composure, excitement, anxiety, etc. This moment seemed so far away and it never occurred to me that is would come so fast. Along with this time approaching fast, that means that Sydnee is growing like a weed! Hard to believe that she is already 7 months which is so bitter sweet. She is crawling now (for quite some time), pulling herself up on things, transferring from one object to another, and I think she will be walking early! :) But thats far from my mind...and more important things are to come. I keep trying to imagine what that day will be like when I got to pick Luke up at the airport, the look on his face, Sydnee's reaction, how it feel...etc. I am patiently waiting for this to arrive and for us to be a family again...it will be the best day of my life (well a close second). I could not have done this all though without my family and friends! They have helped me lean on them in time of need, even if I didn't seem like I needed it or asked for it. Its been fun, but I am ready to head back to my life...our life.
Life keeps through us curveballs, but we are showing everyone that we are making it....so keep throwing them! :)

Blessing

I recently knew someone that lost their baby at only 25 weeks (in the womb) and it is hard to imagine what that must feel like. I keep looking at Sydnee and thank God for our lil angel. My life without her is hard to imagine as she is the reason why I wake up in the morning and why I take each breathe each day. She gives me life so much meaning! When I am tired, crabby, or whatever, I am going to think about all the times that this family should have felt this way and they never will. They will never hear their baby cry, laugh, giggle, or talk. My prayers are with them and their lil angel during this VERY difficult time! :( Be thankful for what you have as it can be taken so quickly!

6 Month Update!

Hard to believe that it was 6 months ago today that we just met our daughter! She is already starting to crawl and even have a tooth break through today! It finally hit me that my lil girl is growing, changing, and learning so much, so fast. Time really does go by fast. She had her 6 month appointment today and she is almost up to 19 pounds! She is right on the chart for growth and development which is great. Unfortunately she had to have 3 shots and was not a very happy camper! I think daddy probably heard her in Japan, she was THAT loud. She is a tough cookie though, jabbering away and playing as if nothing ever happened. That's my girl! :)
We are almost one month away from seeing daddy! It will be the best day of our lives!