Favorite Sibling Pic Yet!

Who knew playing in a cardboard box could be so much fun?

The Bs have it!

A forced smile, but so handsome!

Expert Jumper!!! Leo jumps all the time.

Somerset is obsessed with balloons!

11 month portrait with Joy the Owl

Serious messes come from this girl

My boy has a major sweet tooth

Downing a smoothie.
Somerset is a good little eater!

This week has been all about bs. Somerset has had a language explosion and now says ball, balloon, bottle and bubbles. It's crazy how many words she picked up in such a short time. She also is getting really good at mimicking. When I put her on the baby swing at the park, she squeals "weeeee," and she tries to say "I love you," which sounds like Al-lah-lah." It is very heart warming and is so gratifying as a parent.

She has taken a real liking to Angelina Ballerina and Elmo. She is also starting to show a real preference for certain toys. When we take her to the toy department, she squeals at all the girly things. She loves the dolls and anything shiny. She is as much a girl as Leo is a boy.

She still has yet to crawl, but scoots like a real pro. I think I have accepted that this is her chosen mode of transportation and that's just how it's going to be.

Leo is loving swim class! He isn't a very good listener to the swim teacher, but he has such a blast. We will continue to work on the listening skills. The teacher loves him anyway because he has so much spunk and energy . The teacher said that he is a nice kid with a lot of energy.

Leo also got a new tricycle. We have never bought him one, so this is all new to him. Joe takes Leo out and they practice steering and moving the pedals. He loves it!

Leo is my sweet boy. He is filled with so much love. At nap time and bed time, he always says things like, "I love you a million, trillion zillion! I love you soooooo much!" It makes me feel so good about being a mommy.

The kids are really starting to interact. They play together and they can disturb each other too. It usually revolves around Somerset knocking down or breaking a Leo Lego creation or Leo taking away a toy that Somerset is playing with. For the most part though, they get along fabulously. In fact, right now they are playing a game called Smash the Blast. Leo made this up and it involves blocks and balls crashing into each other....typical Leo!!!

Summe rtime fun!

We've had some fun times now that summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Leo has been taking swim class twice a week and has been having such an amazing times that I signed him up for another round of classes. He is at the very beginning level, but the best part about class is that he takes it without parent participation, so Somerset and I watch along the side and he feels like a big boy because I am not with him. He is so fiercely independent and always prefers to do things alone when given the chance.

Leo also loves flying balsa wood planes with Joe. They go to the park and fly them down the hill. Leo has always had an uncontrollable urge to throw things, so at least this is a good outlet for that.

Somerset has picked up a few new words. She now says ball and E-lah (Elmo). She has finally fallen in love with the furry, red guy.

She still scoots around on her bottom to get around, but boy is she fast. She leans forward and puts her hands in front of her, so she is so close to crawling if she chooses too.

Leo and Somerset are partners in crime. The both act crazy together. Today we took them to a grocery store that had side-by-side kid seats in the cart. They were both making each other crack up and were acting CRAZY!!! It was cute, but they are getting wild together.

Joe and I went on a real date alone to our friends' Brian and Nancy's wedding. It was a gorgeous Oregon day on a beautiful vineyard. We had an amazing time and were child-free thanks to Grandma.

I was nominated as my work's employee of the month. It was a good feeling and although I tend to be shy about being the center of attention, I was grateful for the recognition.

Joe's hop plants are going crazy. It will be a great harvest for him and I am sure that he will have so much fun brewing beer from his very own hops. Go Joe!!!

So Sick!

What a week! Unfortunately. our poor Leo has been so sick. He has the flu and this is the most discomfort we have seen him experience. This has been a very difficult time and to make matters worse, he passed the sickness alomg to me and Joe. We are parying Somerset is spared this pain.

On a happier note, Somerset has picked up a few more words. She definitely now understand "ut-oh" and uses it frequently, as she seems to have many mishaps. She also now says "nah, nah, nah, nah, nah" for no.

She also gets around in the most adorable way and is getting very proficient at it. She scoots around on her little bum and uses her her feet to propel herself forward. She can get around very fast this way. I have heard about babies doing this instead of crawling, but to see her in action is hilarious. ( video soon to follow).

Leo has become much more aware of his emotions. He has told me a few times recently that he is sad. This always makes me sad in turn, but it is encouraging to see him develop in this way. Also, he expresses happiness often by saying, "I love everyone in the world!"

Baldy

I made this for Somerset's room

Joe went a little crazy with the clippers and now Leo is nearly bald. It's a good thing Leo is so handsome and can pull off this look. Also, if summer ever arrives in Oregon, he will enjoy the coolness of his new hairstyle.

Joe and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We were able to go on a real date because my mom watched the kids. It is so good to know that after 7 years together, we are still so in love.

Somerset nearly has her 4 top teeth. The fangs have poked through and the 2 center teeth are ready to come through. She also has started saying "ut-oh." She says it in a very apprehensive, girly way. It is the cutest.

She also is still not crawling. The way she gets around is hilarious!!! She sits on her bottom and scoots around that way. I really don't think she will crawl because she is so into scooting around. It does make me a bit nervous that she is making little effort in her physical milestones, but she is doing so well in other areas (eating, communication), that I am trying not to be too concerned.

She is getting more confident with waving to strangers and loves to interact with other children. She especially loves her brother and thinks that he is hilarious! The often makes noises back and forth to each other and laugh and laugh.

Bragging Rights

Just a heads up for this post: I am going to brag. I posted a few photos of Leo's amazing star ship creations. All of these ships he makes are completely on his own and he is very intentional about them. He knows exactly what ship he is trying to make and executes it as well as he can using Duplo blocks.

Also, Leo not only knows all the planets in our solar system and their correct order, but he also can name the moons too. he is our little genius!

Teeth!

The big news in the house is that Summy has teeth! She has her 2 bottom teeth now and the fangs are pointing through, with the 2 front, top ones close behind. Poor Somerset is sensitive as it is, but this added pain is no good for her. At least we are getting this teething all out of the way at once. In the meantime, her smile looks a little goofy, but is still so beautiful.

Somerset might have added the word ball to her vocabulary. It is still undecided if she really know what this word means when she says it.

She continues to wave and often turns her hand in towards herself as she opens and shuts her fingers...it is the cutest thing ever. She also loves to sign for milk when she is about to be fed.

Somerset loves eating. She likes puffs, mangos, strawberries, peanut butter ( not allergic), Cheerios, yogurt and smoothies. She is a good eater, but prefers to feed herself.

We think Somerset might be left handed. At this early stage, she favors it. Also, she may be a future drummer. She is much more musical than Leo ever was and loves drumming away with her toys. She also claps her hands now too.

Leo is now really interested in Astronomy. This seems like a natural transition since he still loves Star Wars. He loves to look at the photos in Joe's college Astronomy book and ask questions. After I explained the different sizes of the planets he declared that, "Summy is small like Pluto." (Shhh, we still haven't told him that Pluto is not considered a planet anymore).

Leo has also expressed interest in various career choices including Airplane Pilot, Doctor, Dentist and Gas Station Attendant. I told him that he would be very good at any of these things and he can do anything in life he sets his mind to.

As you can see by the photos, we spent part of our 4th of July weekend at the kiddy pool. It was fun and the kids both loved it. I did get stung by a bee on the bottom of my foot as we entered the pool. That hurt so much. It was worse than any part of my c-section. Ouch!!!

On the 4th, we went to our friends Christy and Eben's house. Leo loves their daughter Evie and they have a newborn son named James. It was good to catch up. We were home by 7 pm and put Summy to bed and she slept through all the crazy fireworks!!! We took turns walking Leo around the neighborhood and it was great to meet neighbors and see the excitement in Leo's eyes when the fireworks went off. He loves anything that blows up, makes loud noise and lights up, so the 4th is his kind of holiday.