Meeting Santa

Leo was clenching me for dear life! Then I forced him to sit on Santa's lap...poor kid! ;)

Merry Christmas!

16 Months

Leo is 16 Months!

This month Leo...

Is more and more attached to his tiger and blankie...

Notices more and more...we took him to the aquarium again and its amazing to notice the difference in him in just a month or so.

He has been very resistant to taking naps the past week or two...makes things hard!

Is soaking up everything....be careful what you say! 

Loves babies and is surprisingly gentle! (Which we just finished our homestudy for #2 so if you hear of anyone looking into adoption...)

Christmas Tree!

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went and picked out our Christmas tree! 

Thankfully, so far, Leo hasn't gone all destructo on it! I told him it was pretty and not to touch it. Now he points at it and says pretty. We'll see how long that lasts! He did break all my candles (in the windows) and the donkey in my nativity. Needless to say my nativity keeps getting smaller and smaller (last year Piper ate the sheep) and has now been moved to a higher location! Christmas with a toddler keeps life exciting!

Here is just a cute picture of the kiddos taking some down time (watching Barney...)  AKA Piper waiting for Leo to drop a cheerio. 

15 Months

Leo is 15 Months!

He likes to "walk" piper around the house.

Loves to wear Ronnie's ear muffs. He gets a cute squishy face.

Is a dare devil! Likes to climb and jump! Scary.

Likes to wash his hands and wipe his own face

Is a tattle tale when Piper is doing something bad

Likes getting into his stuffed animal basket...especially if you are trying to change him!

He has a booster seat at the table now!

Happy Halloween!

Now that is a cute football player!

Leo had fun trick-or-treating at a couple houses but 

he mostly loved socializing with the neighbors (especially the neighbor dogs!)

Piper played the role of a good coach and tried her best to keep Leo in the game!

14 Months

14 Months!

A few unfortunate things about this picture...

First my poor baby has a cold! 

2nd he is watching Barney

3rd He will only watch this one episode of Barney

4th He watched it several times today (what can I say he was sick)

This month, Leo....

Says more and more words.

Loves to imitate or say what you say. Especially "Achoo" and "Boom"

VERY independent and is more and more each day

Eats a lot!

Likes to go for bike rides (on the backseat) with Ronnie

Likes to help "clean"...He gets the broom and mop out all the time

Puts things in the trash when you ask him

Asks for bubbles in his bath

Grunts (ALL THE TIME) when he wants something...

We took Leo and his friend to the zoo! Aren't they the cutest otters?!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch! Leo basically just ran around 

and enjoyed being outside! I really wanted one of those huge white pumpkins....

maybe next year!

Leo loves his tractors! 

13 Months

Leo is 13 Months! 

He is growing so fast and I'm scared I won't remember all the cute/funny things he does! 

• When you ask "What does a ___ say?" He'll tell you. He knows cow, duck and dog the best.
• He knows where his head, belly, teeth, eyes and toes are.
• He is cutting a ton of teeth right now!
• He is BUSY!
• OFF the bottle! 
• Loves to be read to and is starting to talk during the whole book, like he wants to tell it.
• Loves to use a fork and then insists on carrying it around. Scary.
• Is a very good eater.
• Finally likes the swings!

12 Months

Leo is ONE! 

 This month Leo,

• Had his first haircut 
• Still loves to play chase especially when you are trying to change him. 
• Drags the wii remote behind him (we got him a toy for that now) 
• Gives things to you and wants you to hold them, he'll give it back to you if you put it down
• Is more and more chatty
• Knows who people are in pictures (Mama, Dada, Nana, Pops, Jesus) 
• Runs fast and is very busy
• Worries about Piper when she is whining
• Holds the phone a little past his ear and says "Hi Mama"
• Fights with Piper to see dada first when he gets home
• Cries when people leave
• Tried cake and didn't seem interested

 Our last sticker photo shoot! Bye Bye stickers!

Leo has grown into a spunky little toddler. He is so fun and entertaining. 

We are excited to see his personality develop. 

We love our little guy.

California Part 2 (of 2)

Monterey and San Francisco! (Picture overload!)

The drive from the Sequoia National Forest to Monterey was very brown! Then it turned into some serious agriculture. We probably saw every fruit and vegetable. Quite the change in scenery. 

When we got to Monterey we got some lunch while enjoying the view of the water...

...then we rented a surry to enjoy the coastline. Leo was super cute in his helmet.

We saw seals and otters.

Then we took the very scenic drive....17 mile drive.

 and saw the Lone Cyprus.

Then we headed to San Francisco.

 We went up and down very steep streets and down the curvy Lombard Street.

 And of course saw the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really foggy the whole time we were there.

Of course we wouldn't miss seeing this "Full House" scene.

We took a walk in the park... 

 and came across this beautiful greenhouse. 

 The last day we were there, we went to Alcatraz.

 

Where Leo had his first boat ride (and time in prison ;) )  

Then we headed home.

California is a neat place to visit and we checked off a lot of our bucket list items. Monterey and San Francisco were quite chilly though. So that is something to keep in mind if you go...bring a sweater!