Back On Our Own Again...

Nana has officially left town about 5 days now and the apartment doesn't seem the same. I was getting use to being "alone" (since we had for 3 weeks) and thought how nice it was going to be to have someone around! And now I am thinking how am I going to be "alone" again for another 2 weeks? I am sure it will go by fast, it just doesn't seem like that right now...it's hard being in a big city, with no friends or family to fall back on...but we manage the best we can. I am going to be hitting myself when November comes because although it will bring our daddy home, it brings on the most stress we have gone through yet. We have the stress of starting a "real life" together which means no deployments, no debts, not training, no military! This is an exciting, but scary time in our lives together because this is all we have EVER known since being together the last 8 years. It will be the next chapter in our life together and hopefully for once it will be less complicated, but more fulfilling and exciting. We are looking forward to it...just not the move back to Minnesota in the dead cold! Eeeekk! :)
I shouldn't say my time is completely boring and I don't have a lot to do. Between school and Sydnee, I barely find time to give my brain a rest and then to add working out and my new business Scentsy to it, it seems like a overwhelming now, but I think it will be good for not only me, but us. It will get me ready to put my degree to use! :)
Lots of exciting things coming our way and as long as we have each other to hold on to, we will get through this! :)

Nana Is In Town! :)

We were extremely excited to go pick up Nana from the airport! :)

She is in town for 10 days and it is great having someone to around since Lucas is gone for training for another 3 weeks. (Not to mention it is awesome having help!) It didn't take long for Sydnee to warm back up to her Nana from not seeing her for 2 whole months and now they are both attached to the hip. She absolutely loves her! We have enjoyed running around San Diego, going shopping here and there, going for walks, and to the pumpkin patch so far.

Before moving back out to San Diego, it was Nana "duty" to give Sydnee a bath as my mom enjoyed doing that every night. Sydnee loves her tubby time and she has really enjoyed Nana giving her her baths again. Nana lets her get away with a little more splishing and splashing than mommy, but that is ok! :) After all, that is what Nana's are for! Hehehe...

She even got her first "boo-boo" while Nana was her, she split her lip open pretty deep and was very upset about it...staring down her busy zoo box that was the culprit! :) She is a trooper though and decided to show it off...

We are enjoying our time with company and will hate to see her leave on Sunday, but it won't be long before we are in MN in December for a while.

Bumps, Scraps, and Bruises

Sydnee is officially on the move and boy is she determined! She has always had those accidents, but now it is really happening. I thought I would be one of those moms that wants to wrap their baby in bubble wrap to protect them from everything in sight, but I have taken the back seat of this one. I love to just sit back, watch her learn how to do this or that, and she learns very fast. I hate that she gets so frustrated when she wants to do something, but it is good that she doesn't give up (probably got that good trait from her mommy and daddy).
And the bumps, bruises, and scraps keep coming. We went to the park yesterday to get out of the house for a while. She was doing so good playing in the sand, grass, and walking across the pathway which is cement. She was walking across the cement and was so excited to reach me and just fell. He knee drug on the cement and scraped it all up. I have never seen so much blood for such a little scrap! She was SO upset and we had to leave :( and bath time was not fun either. Poor baby bear, but she is back to the old Sydnee today! :) This is just a taste of what is to come I'm sure, but I will be there with a band-aid, kisses, and hugs for her!

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!