Its Halloween time in State College.  This year Carrie is a duck as it is the only real discernible animal sound she can make. :-)  I'll put pictures up after tonight's trick or treating.  We may be inside or outside as the rain from Hurricane Sandy is still lingering over us.  She had her Halloween party yesterday at school.  We were there some other parents for story time, snack time, and for their craft time; they made an owl.  Carrie's buddy Connor was not in a good mood at all and his mom took him home before snack time was even over.  Hopefully, he'll feel better for trick or treating tonight.  Happy Halloween everyone!

So I actually used my vegetable garden that Nate built for me last mother's day this year.  I'm using this as a place to keep information on the plants I'm growing.
Parsley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93079BU8Q-E
Cilantro: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/herb/how-to-harvest-cilantro.htm

   This past weekend we had Carrie's first birthday party celebration.  Surrounded by family and friends, my beautiful little girl had a great time.  Winnie the Pooh was all over the place and we played "Pin the Hunny Jar on the Pooh Bear".  She opened tons of great gifts from those who her including a wagon, a sand box, a bead maze, blocks, books, stuffed animals, and lots of fun things to play with outside this summer.  And the cake...she looooved the icing.  Not so much the actual cake (she spit it out) but she loved the icing.  We stripped her down and she dove in but did so in a relatively neat fashion.  I only cried when everyone sang Happy Birthday (we had to do it twice, that's my bad).  I can't believe a year has come and gone.  All I can think about was 8:44am on Thursday, April 21st these days.  I can't wait to see what the next year has in store...but at the same time, it doesn't have to come so damn quickly. :-)    

                        

There are so many things we take for granted in life.  God blessed Nathan and I with our beautiful baby girl with no issues or complications.  We have been unbelievably fortunate in all things.  I say this in relation to the TLC television show The Little Couple.  This show is about Bill and Jennifer Klein, two little people, married and living in Texas.  They have faced a great deal throughout their lives related to their physical condition.  But they are incredibly positive, funny, and caring people.  They have been successful in love and in their professions.  Over the past two seasons, the show has documented their attempts at having a baby of their own.  They have had to face the fact that it is too dangerous for Jennifer to bare a child and have now gone through two cycles of implanting embryos in a surrogate.  They have lost one pregnancy and the second time around they didn't even achieve that.  It's incredibly heartbreaking.  It makes me so thankful for how simple it was for me to conceive, carry, and deliver my precious baby girl.  I hope that all those who have been blessed with healthy pregnancies and healthy children to remember its not always the case for everyone.  Be grateful every day.  I know I am.

So April is here.  This is going to be crazy!  We'll be in DC for Passover and Easter, then my parents come to State College the next weekend, then Nate's parents come the next weekend.  And we even already have plans for that last weekend of April.  This will probably help with my neurosis over the fact my child is turning 1 in 3 threes.  I won't have much time to really sit and think about it too much.  I also have 3 papers to write over the next month (I think).  Summer will be here before I know it.  I can't wait to get Carrie out in the nice weather and at the pool this year.  Hopefully she'll do more than just sit and stare at the water like she did at 2 months old :-)  See as how much she enjoys bath time, I think we'll have a good time at the pool.

OH! And how could I forget to mention...Carrie's first hair cut was this weekend!  She did an awesome job.  She got to sit in a little red car in the salon and enjoyed every minute of it.  Tory was great with her.  Pictures soon.  And hopefully video.  I'm currently having a fight with my video camera and computer regarding the upload from the camera to the computer.  GRRRRR.

Caroline is  super crawler now!  Check out her moves!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi0C2Mqyf0g&list=UUOd8Ar7uepKo4s-z-dN2IpA&index=1&feature=plcp

Caroline Month 11

Sooo....my daughter turns 11 months old tomorrow.  I am having the most difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact I am going to have a 1 year old.  I am having more difficulty than I did with actually giving birth. That was part of the process.  It was what was supposed to happen.  My baby is not supposed to be growing up.  I can't even believe this!  She is jabbering away all the time.  She LOVES when we walk her around.  She doesn't want to sit down anymore.  She just wants to stand all the time.  She likes to scoot around our table all the time now.  She's such a little person now.  I can't express how much I love that little girl.

The beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year is up and running.  Welcome Week programming is officially over however work life has not slowed down.  I'm working on approving all of our groups as they using our brand new online re-registration system.  This is a daily activity that has no end in sight.  Nate is super busy at work as well with the CVC Reverse Car Raffle coming up in the next few weeks.  I'm taking an Independent Study this semester to help get me through the Qual Exam come January.  PRAY FOR ME! Caroline is rolling over now; not every day yet but she's doing it more often.  More so for Nate, but oh well.  She still lights up my day with that beautiful smile!

Life Update

So Peanut is now with us....Caroline Jamie Leopard was born on April 21, 2011 at 8:44am. She is the light of my life. I can't explain how much I love this little girl. Her smile is the best thing in this world to see. She's almost 4 months old and has changed so much in so little time. She sleeps through the night, smiles all the time, and loves breastfeeding. Bottle feeding is not going so well but we've seen slight improvments. Here's hoping she gets used to it soon as the school year is rapidly approaching. She has yet to roll over but has rolled up on to her side several times. She looooves the noises of her daddy. He can make her laugh 9 times out of 10. I love watching her with him.

Peanut update

Today marks 20 weeks in my pregnancy. Tomorrow we have our next ultrasound and hopefully we'll be able to find out the gender of the baby. We have begun getting the nursery ready. We have painted the room blue and green. It still has some finishing touches to be done. We have also gone to register with my parents. We are expecting the arrival of the crib any day now. We are still in the market for the rest of the furniture. My students here are pretty excited about the baby; its pretty sweet of them. They get into hearing each week how big it has gotten.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with the Leopards. We experimented with driving out to MO. We broke it up by stopping to stay in Columbus with the Brown's. But on the way home we drove the entire way. It sounds like Nate wasn't a big fan of that arrangement :-) We had a nice time with his family. We got to play a lot with our nephew, Jonas. He is about 20 months at this point and a lot of fun. Man, does he love his Grandpa! It's so adorable! I would post the picture of me taken with him but its terrible so I won't :-)

We plan on heading to Massachusettes for Christmas day to see the Grossmans. We also get to see their new Vineyard house! Yup, they have achieved their dream of having a home on Martha's Vineyard. It is so exciting for them. I don't know if I could be prouder! We'll get to see the Matthews' there as well so lots of time with Andy and Leah as well. I'm really looking forward to it. Then for New Year's we'll be flying back to MO. I love this time of year.

I also have to take my qualifying exam again. Not super excited about that at all!

So lots of stuff going on right now. Stay tuned to see what we are having! :-)

Peanut

Well Nate and I are soon to be parents! As of now I am 3 months pregnant. Our due date is April 20, 2011. Nate and I couldn't be more excited! At this point we are unsure as to whether or not we'll find out in advance if it is a boy or a girl; but we have plenty of time to think about it. For all of those who have already congratulated us, we thank you for all of your well wishes!

2010 - its gonna be a good one

Well, 2010 has already started off really well. The second week of January brought great news; Nathan was offerd a development position for the central PA office of the American Cancer Society. Everything worked out and he accepted the position just a few days later. Nathan couldn't be more excited about this opportunity; not to mention how excited I am for what this will do for his happiness :-) He starts on Febrauary 8th.

Also, Nathan and I just got back from a Eastern Caribbean cruise on Holland America Cruise Line with my entire family. My parents were invited to teach for a professional development program for pediatrians so brought all of us along. It was AMAZING! We went to Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. The ship was beautiful and the ports of call were fantastic. I loved all the staff we met on the ship and I miss them! :-) If anyone is tettering on whether or not to take a cruise...DO IT!! I can't thank my parents for such an amazing experience.

So based on the one month of 2010 I have good feelings for this year.

Fall 2009

The Ohio State Penn State football game has come and gone (OSU wins!), Nathan has become a Vice President, my sister is pregnant, and the holidays are rapidly approaching. I went to Wittenberg's homecoming this year and had a great time with my girls. Homecoming 2010 is officially up and running and school sucks up all free time (which isn't a lot). Happy Valley has seen snow already and the temps are back up in the high 50s. Life is never boring!

Summer 2009

The school year has started and summer is over. This summer wasn't too crazy. We took the regular trip to Martha's Vineyard and we had amazing weather. We took a trip out to Missouri to visit Nate's ailing grandfather (please keep him in your prayers) and to meet our nephew, Jonas. We had a great time. I am now officially and doctoral student and am taking a class on Administration in Higher Education this semester. Nate just got a promotion to Vice President of his company. It brings more stress but also some great new experience for him. We look forward to another nice fall in Happy Valley.

Summer 2009

Time for a summer update. We recently went on our annual trip to Martha's Vineyard. While we were there we went to watch the sunset as Ben and Nate had yet to see one there. It was a great night. While we were there Andy said the words "Grandma" and "Grandpa" for the first time. It was very exciting for my parents. We also took Andy to the Flying Horses for his first ride. The Flying Horses is the oldest function carosel in the United States. I loved going as a young girl so I was very excited to finally take Andy. Andy loved the beach; we practically had to drag him out of the water every day.

There is some not so great news this summer when it comes to Nathan's grandpa Speed. He isn't doing so well these days and we fear he may pass soon. We are taking a trip out to MO in a few weeks to visit Speed plus meet our new nephew, Jonas, and visit Hayley and her new finance Tom.

My family is doing well. My parents are still building there new home in MA. They now have walls and ceilings and are getting even more exciting as it is getting closer to being finished. Here are a few photos of our vacation this year.

EastOver 2009

This past weekend the Grossmans, Matthews and Leopards all celebrated EastOver (Easter and Passover) in DC at the Matthews' home. We all had a great time and loved watching Andy and his friend Bruce Thompson (son of Mindy Palmquist) during their first Easter Egg Hunt.

Trip to Gatlinburg

This past weekend I met up with the girls for a weekend in Gatlinburg, TN. Despite the rain, we had a great time. On Friday we went out for dinner and walked up and down the stripe for a little while then went back to the cabin and spent several hours in the hot tube. Saturday we spent all day shopping, and loved every minute of it. We found a great grilll for lunch and we killed three funnel cakes between the seven of us...YUM. I bought...a few things... :-) When we ran out of steam we headed back to the cabin, got into our comfy clothes and relaxed a while. Eventually we got back into the hot tube :-) We definitely made a dent in the booze business over those 2 and a hlaf days and it was fun doing it. I had such a great time and am already brainstorming ideas for our next trip.

It is semi-official. I have been recommended by the department of Higher Education to the Graduate School to admit me to the doctoral of education program at Penn State. My life as I know it is over...study, study, study!

THON

Penn State has once again blown everyone away at the IFC/Panhel Dance Marathon. The students blew away last year's total and raised $7.5 million to go towards childhood cancer research and treatment. WE ARE...PENN STATE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS2znImpA78

New Baby...New Car

Its been a big week for the Leopards. On Monday Nate and I bought a new Chevy Malibu. Nathan's Civic was 11 years old, had no heat, and a broken windshield. He deserved a new, adult car. It's blue and has that new car smell.

Then yesterday, we got a new nephew! Nate's older brother Matt's wife, Katie, had their baby boy. His name is Jonas Cameron Leopard. He actually came pretty early; due date was March 17th. He's a little over 5 lbs and will be in the hospital for a few weeks but he has been breathing on his own the whole time and is doing well. We can't wait to see him in person.