Crawling!

Wow, what a week it has been. So much has happened, but the big news is that Leo is now officially crawling! It's hard to say exactly when this milestone was achieved because he has been working on this skill for a while, but Joe and I agreed that on Thursday, he was confidently crawling. We are just so proud of him and we can tell that he is proud of himself too. Now we will see what trouble awaits us!

In addition to crawling, Leo is now eating Gerber stage 3 foods, which have chunks. It can set off his gag reflex, but every time he eats, he gets better and better. Leo is a great eater and has been eating 3 times a day for nearly a month.

Leo has started showing us a little more attitude recently. He has temper tantrums and changing his diaper can sometimes be an all out battle. He also has had fits of rage when we take things away from him, get him dressed or clean his face. He sure is a feisty little man.

It has been snowing all week. The weather has been very precarious and my mom stayed with us most of the week because she works much closer to our house than my parent's house. Leo really enjoyed the extra time with grandma and I think she had fun too. Even though the snow was hugely inconvenient, it gave Leo more time to practice his crawling.

Lastly, Leo is teething... again!!! I think he is getting is upper 2 teeth. He has been putting his fingers in his mouth, tugging on his ears and has been fussier than usual. Poor little guy.

Snow Day

Today it has been snowing and we have had so much fun. We bundled up Leo and took him outside, but he wasn't too fond of the wind and cold, so we promptly came back in. I have already baked some oatmeal cookies and we plan to watch the Steeler's game, eat some of Joe's famous homemade chili and stay warm and cozy inside. The snow is the perfect excuse to do nothing and that sounds perfect!

Bath Time!

Leo had his first bath in our kitchen sink and it made for a great photo opportunity. Have you ever seen a happier baby? He sure does love his rubber ducky!

More Firsts

Today I surprised Joe and dressed Leo up in his Steeler's jogging suit. I didn't think it would fit because it is sized at 12 months, but it fit perfect. It's a good thing I tried it on him because it is the cutest outfit ever! Also, because Leo got suited up, the Steelers beat the nasty Cowboys. Yeah Steelers!

Well, 2 cool things happened this weekend. We reintroduced Leo to the Santa at the Beaverton Mall and he didn't cry. This Santa is awesome...maybe the best I have ever seen. Perhaps we will get the happy photo with Santa after all.

Also, apparently, since Leo has teeth, we are suppose to brush them. I don't know why this surprised me so much. I guess it's just because he only has 2 teeth and he is just 8 months old, but none the less, they are 2 very precious teeth and deserve not to become decayed. Luckily, Leo loved getting them brushed with his infant tooth/gum paste.

We also decorated the house for Christmas. We didn't go all out, but the house still looks very festive.

What...no photo with Santa?

Leo hates Santa Claus. It's just a simple fact, but none the less I am very surprised. I took Leo to see Santa three times this week. I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain.

The first time I took Leo was on Monday to Washington Square Mall, which is the local shopping mall. At first, Leo was stoic when he met Santa, but the session ended with him pulling on Santa's beard and then bursting into tears. He didn't crack a smile in the photos, which is very unlike Leo. I thought perhaps I would have better luck if we returned with Daddy and a toy that might persuade him to smile. On Tuesday night, we returned with Daddy and Cookie Monster and even though the Santa was a much better one, Leo immediately started crying when he met him. Today, we decided to try the Beaverton Shopping Center. We thought that maybe this time we would have better luck. Since there were no children waiting to meet Santa, we thought that perhaps if Leo were to get aquaited with Santa before he was placed on his lap, that might be better. No such luck. Leo was more hysterical than ever and even broke out into hives...which only happens when he is under great distress. I felt so sorry for the poor Santa!

Instead of the standard photo with Santa, I may just have to settle for this adorable shot of Leo dressed in his holiday sweater.

Thanksgiving in Colorado

We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Bailey, CO with Joe's dad Joe Sr., his step-mom Paula, great grandma Rita and brother Aaron. Leo was showered with attention, love and generosity and he was soaking it all up. Each day was better than the next and I do believe that Leo experienced some of the best days of his life. While in CO, he cut another tooth, started to rock back and forth in the crawl position and slept for 7.5 hours in a row one night.

The Morris family live in a log cabin about an hour or so outside of Denver and the scenery is breath taking. We enjoyed relaxing days just chilling with the family...eating great food, taking family walks and watching movies. Plus, Leo had a blast meeting his great grandma Rita (GiGi) and his uncle Aaron. He also loved hanging with his grandparents, who clearly adore him.

When we arrived, Leo was welcomed with a million hugs and kisses and a whole array of gifts. Leo now has a new toy horse he can ride named Butterscotch. He also received a Thanksgiving day outfit, a cool highchair, a blanket with his name on it, toys, food etc. It was awesome!

On the last day of our trip, we went to a cute little town called Evergreen. Leo loved cute little shops and flirted with all the shop workers. He also got an Elmo hat (a photo will be posted soon enough) and some cool new clothes too.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing my little boy in the presence of so many people who love and care about him. He is one very lucky young man.

Leo's 1st Tooth!

This is day 2 of Leo's 1st legitimate cold. He is still in quite a bit of pain and has been especially clingy. I can't say that I mind the extra cuddles, but I really wish he felt better. In addition to all the pain he is feeling from the cold, he also cut his 1st tooth yesterday. I was feeling inside his mouth and the bottom tooth on his left side has broken through the gums. I was so excited when I could feel the ridges, it is just unfortunate that he has both things going on at once. He also has been rejecting solid foods for the last few days, which could be caused by either the teething or the cold. Even though our little Boo boo (our pet name for him), has been feeling so cruddy, we can still count on him to give us a smile.