Happy Thanksgiving!

What I am most thankful for.

Rock 'n Roll

Rockin' out Hendrix style!

Today I got a few adorable pics of Leo playing with his guitar. Is this a sign of things to come? He can always woo the ladies if he can serenade them.

Growing up

It's been a while since I have updated and I have only taken a few photos of Leo this month.....blame it on my new job. I started a seasonal position at William Sonoma and have had a great time, but as a family, we are still adjusting to the change. Leo is more clingy the mornings after I have worked, which means I get more hugs. Although he misses me when I am at work, Leo has been enjoying bonding with Joe and is becoming much more independent. It is easy to put him to bed and he usually tells us when he is ready for bed by saying "night, night."

Speaking of hugs, Leo is much more generous with hugs now. He will often ask for "big hugs," which Joe taught him. It is basically a hug in which we squeeze him really tight. He also loves our family "group hugs." With group hugs, we all hug simultaneously and say "group hug, group hug, group hug," squeezing a little harder with each chant. I know this sounds unbelievably corny, but these are some of my favorite moments in life.

Leo is constantly surprising us with new words. Last night he threw a ball and said catch. He also combines words on a regular basis. while we were at Target, he saw a Christmas tree made up of nothing but ball ornaments and he said, "ball Christmas tree." He is starting to know the names of different Thomas trains such as James, Duncan, Gordon, Harvey and Percy.

Joe had a birthday last week and unfortunately I had to work at night. While I was at work, Tiff and Martin stopped by and brought Joe/Leo a gift of Nerf balls. Ever since then, Leo has been in love with them and constantly says "Martin, Tiffy, balls." We are still working on the Aunt and uncle bit.

As you can see by the photo, Leo loves building /stacking things and then making them crash. Also, a favorite game of his is to collect all of his books and put them in the laundry basket.

Leo's 2nd Halloween

We had the best Halloween ever! Leo was the cutest little frog and really got into the spirit of the holiday. For weeks leading up to the big day, Leo has been talking all about Halloween. He watched It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown about 50 times and yelled "Halloweeeen," every time he saw pumpkins and other decor and is also quite fond of ghosts.

We started out night with a visit to see Aunt Tiffy at show off our little frog. Next, we made out way to Grandma and Grandad's house to do the same. Leo was lucky enough to get a couple trains for his Thomas collection (the aquarium trains) and he wouldn't let go of them for hours).

Next, we took Leo trick or treating around our neighborhood and we all had so much fun. Leo really got into knocking on the doors and would even try to enter people's houses when they opened the door. Of course, he got showered with attention and given ample candy for his efforts (yeah for mommy and daddy who will get to eat most of it). Everyone was so delighted to see our little frog come to their door too and although he didn't quite master saying trick or treat, he always said good bye.

Afterward, we decided to head to our church for the Harvest Festival. It was a bit late for Leo, but he had fun playing a bean bag game with Aunt Tiff and enjoyed all the chaos of the event.

We couldn't ask for a better day. I am already looking forward to next year!

Hallo-weeeen!

Leo Loves his buckeyes!

Before our date night

Leo is almost 19 months old and he continues to amaze us. His vocabulary is increasing daily. He is now using words we didn't realize he knew. Today he said guitar and climb.....where did those words come from?

He is obsessed with Halloween or as he says it "Hallo-weeeen." Every time he sees pumpkins, ghosts or any other Halloween decor, he happily declares "Hallo-weeeeen!" He loves the holiday, but it frightens him too. We bought him a Halloween themed Thomas train that came with a Halloween DVD. He was watching the DVD in his high chair the other day and Joe and I were in the other room. All of the sudden, we heard crying from the other room and came to see what was wrong. Leo had been frightened by the Chinese Dragon that appeared in the episode. The train's faces can be very expressive and when one of them has a scared or distressed look, Leo is very affected.

Leo also loves buckeyes, which he calls "cuckeyes." We keep them in his pumpkin bucket and he always wants to play with them... "cuckeyes?"

Leo is now fully sleep trained. He sleeps from 8 pm to about 7 am and if he ever wakes up in the middle of the night, all I have to do is go in his room and say, "night, night" and he goes right back to sleep. The sleep training is the BEST thing we ever did. Leo seems to enjoy his independence and Joe and I are finally sleeping well. Yeah!!! At bedtime, I still breastfeed Leo, but the last few nights, he has not been interested. He just pulled away and said "night, night," so I put him in his crib and he was ready to sleep. I always thought that ending that night time feeding would be very difficult for Leo, but he seems to be weening himself. I guess this is a blessing.

Leo continues to be a very energetic toddler. He is a picky eater and can throw quite the tantrum. He doesn't understand discipline either, which is frustrating. If I try to give him a time out for throwing food/drink from his high chair (a continual offense), he laughs and smiles. How do you train a toddler?

Even when Leo is challenging, I feel so lucky to have such a smart, engaging, healthy and handsome little boy.

Pumpkins and Trains are the Best!

Today we took Leo to a local pumpkin patch and we all had a blast. He had so much fun running around and exploring the grounds. Early on, he picked out a pint-sized pumpkin and carried it around with him the whole time.

I also took Leo on a tractor operated barrel ride "choo choo" and we rode around the farm. Leo went in to his shut-down mode, which he does when he is in a situation that is overwhelmingly fun. He literally shuts down all forms of communication...he stops talking, or showing emotion and just focuses on what is happening.

After the pumpkin patch, we had out friends Craig and Tegan over for dinner. We hadn't seen Tegan in forever and she is now 3 and is all grown-up! She is talking so much and is still unbelievably cute.

Yesterday, we bought Leo his first Thomas train (Percy). It was a reward for sleeping in his crib all night long. He is 18 months and this should have happened a long time ago, but we figured that he is now old enough to make it through the night without us. Last night was our second night of letting him cry it out and although it has been difficult, we are looking forward to the rewards of a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Anyway, Leo loves Percy sooo much and refuses to ever put him down. He is obsessed with his choo choo and it is so cute.

Marathon Mommy and 18 month Old Son

The home stretch
About a minute from the finish line!

My inspiration

Today I completed my first ever Marathon and finished in 4 hours and 29 minutes. After 5 months of training, I was very anxious about today, but everything went well. The race began at 7 am and was so much fun! There were thousands of people along the way that cheered and held signs and there were many musical entertainers as well. Also, running with other people who were sharing in the experience made it an exciting and memorable day (so much better than training alone). The scenery was gorgeous and even though the most challenging part of the course (mile 17-18) took us up a steep hill, it led to the beautiful St. John's bridge and an even more gorgeous view of the city.

As I started the race, I felt very emotional. I was actually doing this! I felt so strong in the beginning, but the down hill stretches, even though easy endurance-wise, proved to be torture for my knees. By mile 8, I began to feel intense knee pain, but I soldiered on and it dissipated. Unfortunately, the pain continued with every downhill stretch, which is unfortunate since this is when I could have picked up the pace.

I found miles 18-26 to be the most difficult. The steep climb up towards St. John's Bridge drained me, but I knew that I was getting closer to the finish line and with each mile marker passed, I cheered. I also kept thinking about Leo's smiling face at the finish line. I want to be a good example to him and show him through my actions, that with hard work and determination, big goals can be accomplished. I know this is a lesson he will not grasp now, but he will some day.

As I approached the home stretch and re-entered downtown, cheering crowds lined the streets and shouted words of encouragement. It was exhilarating! As I approached the finish line, I saw/heard Joe. He was with Leo, my mom, Tiffany and Martin and they were all cheering for me. I had reached my destination and I felt so proud that I finished. YEAH!!!

After the race, I picked up my finisher's shirt, medal, pin and tree seedling and they wrapped me in a foil blanket. I looked pretty crazy in that blanket, but it sure did help.

Even though this was a life changing experience, the physical strain was immense. Currently, I can barely walk. I have been nick-named the hobbler because hobbling is all I can do. I hate to imagine how I will feel tomorrow.

Leo News
Leo also had his 18 month doctor appointment and he is doing great. Here are the stats:

22.1 pounds (7-8%)
32 inches (42%)
19.1 inches head circumference (74%)

He is talking so much now, it is hard to keep up with him vocabulary because he seems to learn more than a word everyday. Our new favorite combo of words is cheese crack (cheese crackers), which he is addicted to.

He is also testing his limits, especially with dumping his water cup all over the place, especially his books. He never ceases to get a kick out of this, regardless of the number of times we have said no.