6 Months Old Today!

Joe and I are so excited to celebrate Leo's half-year birthday today! I just can't believe that 6 months ago today, Leo was born. Coincidentally, it is also Aunt Tiffy's birthday. Today, we went on a 2-hour walk to the farmer's market, and daddy bought Leo a Webkinz chicken (Leo loves this silly chicken and it was on sale).

Life with Leo is so wonderful; I never thought I could love a little person more. Joe and I are still constantly amazed that Leo is our son and we have completely fallen in love with him. I am so excited for the future and all the adventures we will have with him. Even though I am constantly exhausted and he continually tests my patience, I can't imagine life without him. He truly is the apple of my eye.

I Like Pears Too!

Leo is continuing to enjoy food and today, I fed him fruit for the first time (although I was told that grandma sneaked him some apple sauce). He ate his pears with such delight; I am so relieved that he loves food.

This week Grandma, Grandad, Uncle Martin and Aunt Tiffy are on vacation in Nova Scotia. Leo has been helping me take care of their cats (4 in all), and he loves each and every one of them. Unfortunately, he still wants to grab clumps of their fur, but our feline friends are patient with him. It is so sweet to witness his fascination with the animals.

Leo gets so much attention. When we take him out, it is like being with a celebrity. People are constantly telling us how beautiful he is (am I bragging too much?) and he almost always gives friendly strangers a smile back. Having Leo really is a gateway for conversation.

Leo's New Best Friend

At Joe's request, I have decided to add a new photo of Leo. He felt that the blog was filled with too many "gross" food photos. I personally think the "messy baby, with food all over his face" photos are adorable, but to each his own.

Leo has decided that Sesame Street is awesome and he especially loves Elmo and Cookie Monster. So much so, that we decided to buy him his own Cookie monster (trust me, I am sure that Elmo will find a place in our home soon too). Whenever we show Leo Cookie Monster, he smiles with delight and then grabs him and proceeds to suck on his eyeballs. It is just the cutest thing seeing Leo form preferences towards certain things in life. It's amazing that such silly, furry little puppets will make him so happy. I don't even mind that Leo likes Elmo, but I do find it odd that Elmo refers to himself in the third person.

Eating is Fun!

Leo loves food! Thank goodness. He ate sweet potatoes 5 days in a row and with each feeding his enthusiasm increased. He ate carrots for the first time today and they proved to be a huge hit as well. We still don't have a high chair, so I seat Leo in my lap and feed him that way, which is great for now.

As you can see in the photo with Leo and Joe, Leo loves his daddy and also loves exploring everything. He is so curious about the world around him. This week, I noticed how in love he is with our cat Miette. He loves looking at animals. He also adores music. I sing to him constantly and he smiles, even though I have an average voice at best.

First Meals

Our little man is eating solid foods now...well, kind of. Leo "ate" his first meal of rice cereal on September 13th and more of it ended up on his bib than in his mouth. He ate the rice cereal 2 days in a row and today, I fed him sweet potatoes, which he seemed to prefer. It is all very cute, but I would not say that eating has been a complete success. In fact, I don't know if he has really ingested any of this food. As for the mess, until now, I never truly appreciated bibs.

Growing up so Fast!

Our little man is growing up so fast! Many changes are taking place with Leo and we are so excited to watch him grow and develop so rapidly. This week was full of firsts.

Leo and I went to a storytime called Baby Bugs at our library and joined the other mommies and babies from our play group. It was so fun and Leo seemed to enjoy the story telling, rhymes and toys that were geared for babies 1 and under. After Baby Bugs, the playgroup met at the park and had lunch, which was fun for both of us.

Leo has had a horrible week of sleep and has been getting up every 2 hours! It has been torture for all of us, so we decided to visit Dr. Crowley to rule out any health concerns. After his check-up, I learned that Leo is perfectly healthy and now weighs 13 lb., 7 oz. He is still small for his age, but he is following his growth chart, so the doctor is pleased. She recommended that we start solid foods, which may help him sleep better at night, so tomorrow, Leo will eat rice cereal for the first time....stay tuned!

Dr. Crowley observed that we have a very intense and smart little man. She said that we will have our hands full with him, but that his personality type is associated with a baby that had colic. She was very impressed with how interactive he was and observed how great his hand/eye coordination was. Yeah Leo!

Leo is also sleeping in his crib for the first time tonight. Until now, he has slept in his Pack n Play, which is located by the bed. Leo has to learn to fall asleep on his own, which is a scary thought for me. I have always breast fed him to sleep and then rocked him. The doc explained that when he falls asleep in my arms and wakes up elsewhere, he is frightened. She equated it to us falling asleep in our bed and then waking up on the kitchen floor. Tonight, I fed him and then put him in his crib. He was swaddled, had a pacifier and we turned on his aquarium, which is a soothing music and light show. It worked! He actually fell asleep in his crib and he is still asleep at almost 9:30 p.m. (knock on wood). Please, please, please wish us luck. I really need sleep!!!

The 2 photos at the top of the post showcase Leo discovering grass. He wants to touch everything he sees and then put it in his mouth. The bottom photo is of Leo at Baby Bugs. His curiosity of the world around him is amazing and makes me feel so in awe of the fact that Joe and I created this little person.

New Stroller

I just couldn't pick one photo from our stroller ride today...look at those eyes! Grandma Laurel and I tested Leo's "big boy" stroller and he loves it! We went to the local park and library and Leo had so much fun and much easier to take on adventures. The weather was picture perfect too... no pun intended.

Yesterday we went to the Chinese Gardens with my mom and Laurel and had a very peaceful time. The gardens are beautiful and so relaxing.

We have been blessed with two great nights of sleep. It's such a cliche, but I literally couldn't sleep once I realized it was 5 a.m. and Leo had been sleeping since 1 a.m. These long stretches of sleep are magical...thanks Leo!