Japanese Garden

A Zen moment

Look out world, Leo can walk!

Mommy and her favorite young man

Today my mom, Leo and I went to the Japanese Gardens and it was beautiful! The weather was perfect and admission was free because I picked up a cultural pass through our local library. Now that Leo can walk, he loves cruising on his own, but he doesn't have the common sense or skill to avoid injury. He took quite the tumble when he hit a storm drain and cried like crazy....I felt so bad. Luckily he recovered and enjoyed the rest of our visit.

Cars, Cars, Cars

Leo is OBSESSED with cars! Today we caught him putting his toy cars, in his ride-in car while watching the movie Cars. We went to the grocery store, and when a friendly customer stopped to say hello, Leo smiled at her and said, "car."

He also has developed a huge interest in Thomas the Train and now says "choo, choo." Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a boy on our hands!

Play time all the time

Leo dives for the magnolia petals
and then tries to eat them

So independent already!

We have had a few beautiful days recently and have taken great advantage of them. Today I took Leo to the Chinese Gardens and he had a blast. It was quite stressful for me, but Leo was in heaven. I let him walk all by himself and he did great. He has the natural curiosity that most toddlers have, which means that he stops every 5 seconds to try to eat magnolia petals, say hello to all the other patrons and run around like a maniac.

We also love taking Leo to the park. He adores watching the older children and tries to play along with them. Some kids find him adorable and enjoy his company, others think he just gets in the way. It always breaks my heart when they aren't receptive to him, but I do understand that he is barely one and can't always hang with the big kids, despite his efforts.

Photo taking is almost impossible now. He has no interest in the camera and as a busy boy on the go, he has better things to do than pose. I will have to take what I get and be thankful if I get any shots of him at all.

Better Now

Bedhead after afternoon nap
No, I did not style it this way!

At Zoo
It was too crowded to see any animals
and the look on Leo's face says it all.

We had a very challenging week with Leo. Our poor little dude was ill with a stomach virus and had many diaper changes. We took him to the doctor on Thursday, and he actually had lost weight from his previous visit. This is bad news since he is already on the low end of the scale, but thankfully he is healthy again and eating.

This week I bought Leo some clothes off of Craig's List and they are adorable. He is wearing one of the shirts in these photos. The clothes had belonged to a little boy named Theo, so it only seems fitting that Leo would now take them as his own. Craig's List is a great way to shop since babies grow so quickly.

Leo has started using the sign for "all done." He uses this sign all the time and it can be so hilarious. For example, he will use it in the middle of a diaper changing or if he is sick of being in the stroller. Today, we went to the duck pond and Leo met a nice dog named Freckles. He enjoyed the dog, but apparently he didn't enjoy the owner talking so much. After a few minutes, he did the sign for "all done," because he wanted to move along. It is quite rude, but also endearing. At least he knows what he wants.

Leo's 1st Easter

Leo's 1st Easter was pretty low-key. Since he doesn't yet understand the concept, we didn't make him a basket or give him any candy. He did meet the Easter Bunny a few times at the local mall and was much more fond of him than that scary Santa Claus.

Karen and her husband Neal, (Jack's parents from play group), had a lovely brunch for a few of the parents and kiddos. Leo wasn't quite himself and had many grumpy moments. He crashed hard when we returned home and he finally had his nap, At night we went to my parents for Easter cookies. Leo got his first taste of chocolate chip cookies and even made yummy noises.

Fun in the Sun!

Now that Leo is one, he seems more and more like a little boy every day. He added the word cheese to his ever growing vocabulary, so he must really like it. Leo is also a becoming a much more confident walker and can now turn, which allows him more mobility. He now walks about half the time and crawls the other half.

We have had so much fun over the last few days because the weather has been gorgeous!!! We have taken Leo to a local pond/lake that has real ducks! Plus, people walk their dogs there too and Leo goes crazy. When he sees a dog, we always stop and explain to the owners how much Leo adores dogs. Leo makes friends with everyone he meets, so the dog owners are always happy to stop and let Leo admire their dog/s. Sometimes he even starts barking, which is a really high-pitched chirping noise. It really is the cutest thing that he does.

Leo also LOVES his new ride-in car that Great-Grandma Naomi gave him. I use it like a stroller and he "drives" to the local park and library. He even makes "vroom, vroom" noises when he is in it. I just can't believe that my baby now makes sound effects...he really is growing up so fast!