Happy 2nd Birthday Leo!

Leo had the best 2nd birthday a little boy could hope for! The day started off great with a portrait session at JCP. The photos turned out so adorable and I can't wait to post them. Of course, Leo was all smiles.

After photos, we went to the Toys R Us and let Leo spend $20 worth of Birthday money. He bought a few cars a a junior golf club set. Have I mentioned that he is obsessed with golf?

After his nap, the rest of the family came over. In addition to mommy (me), daddy and Grandma Laurel, we also had Aunt Tiffy, Uncle Martin, Grandma, and Grandad come over. We ate quiche, potato salad, and other goodies. Next Leo opened presents. Leo was so spoiled with gifts. With every gift he opened, he would ask, "cars?" Luckily, he did receive many awesome cars, along with books, clothes, coloring books etc. Leo was basking in the glory of his special day and loved all his presents. After presents, we played golf outside for a while, chit chatted and had fun watching Leo play. It was a gorgeous day, so we wanted to spend as much time outside as possible. After play, we finished with cake.....yummmy!!!! For a second year in a row, Leo opted for a Cars cake. At least the boy knows what he likes.

We finished the day with a trip to the grocery store. This may sound boring, but now that Leo is officially 2, he gets to go to playland while we shop. This is a play area in the store that is attended to by a store employee. Leo has been begging to play there every time we go shopping, but because he wasn't 2 yet, it wasn't permitted. In a way, this was a 2-year old right of passage. The lady who watched him said that he was the most confident 2-year old she had ever met. Cool!

All week, we have had Grandma Laurel in town. Leo adores her and they are best buddies. She is so good at playing with him, so he always asks for "grandma too," or "grandma come" indicating for her to play with him. He is really going to be heart broken when she leaves ( I think she will be too).

For the first time today, Leo said "I'll miss you," when Grandma L and I left to go to the store. It was the sweetest thing ever! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful 2-year old.

Baby on the WAY!!!!

I have a HUGE announcement! Joe and I will adding another little one to our family. I am now 12 weeks along and the baby is due September 26. So far, everything looks great with the baby. We heard the baby's heartbeat and got a ultrasound photo of our cute little blob! The pregnancy came as a surprise, so we feel extremely grateful and blessed.

So far, the pregnancy has been much more difficult than with Leo. I had horrible morning sickness, fatigue and severe food aversions. With Leo, the pregnancy was so easy that I questioned many times if I was actually pregnant, but the second time around has proven to be much different. It is all worth it though!

I will start posting photos of my growing belly too. I am just starting to show, so that is fun, however, I just look bloated.

Too Much Fun!

Leo and his toddler friends celebrate
their 2nd birthday's together!
Leo's "date," Evie, is sitting next to him

This kid is BRAVE!

Never to early to learn a good work ethic

Face painting at its best!

Feeding chickens with Lorenzo and Marcy

Leo has had nothing but fun over the last week. Last Thursday, I took him to the Portland Children's Museum with the annual pass my parents gave him for his birthday. He LOVED it! He had so much fun that I took him 2 days in a row! His favorite feature is the digging pit with shovels, buckets and construction trucks, but he also loves the interactive water exhibit, the train table and the face paint. We had a blast!

Leo also visited his friend Lorenzo and was able to help feed their pet chickens. That provided endless fun for both boys who have similar dispositions. So cute!

Joe took Leo to the play group's 2nd birthday party and Pump it Up Jr. Unfortunately I had to work, but apparently Leo had a great time. He fearlessly climbed all the tallest slides and bounced around like a crazy man in the bouncy rooms. He was not at all cautious like most of his toddler peers. What a dare devil.

On Sunday, I celebrated my 36th birthday. The day was super low-key, but it was nice to sleep in, get flowers and go out to dinner for beef brisket and the fixings. The Oscars were on that night, so Joe and I watched them. My big treat will be to get some new sunglasses in a few weeks! Yeah!

All Smiles!

Leo's New Jammies

Our Young Scholar

This is my Happy Boy

It's been a while since I have taken photos of Leo, but he looked so cute and grown-up yesterday, so I decided to break out the camera. He can now say cheese to the camera, so I may be able to get him to start posing a bit.

Leo's language skills are building daily. He now uses simple sentences and can communicate almost any thought to us. This makes things a lot less frustrating for everyone.

Our biggest problem with Leo is the amount of time he sleeps at night. He is usually asleep by 8:30 pm and wakes up at 6 a.m. (sometimes earlier). Most toddlers his age sleep 12 hours straight, but like most things with Leo, he never follows the rules. In the morning. He will start calling for me. When I enter his room, he beams, "good morning!" At that point, I know there is no way he is going back to bed. He usually naps for 2 hours in the middle of the day, so I nap with him, which is one of my greatest pleasures in life.

Today I am taking him to the Portland Children's Museum. My mom bought us annual passes for Leo's birthday, so we are going to take advantage of the gift early. More photos to follow!