Trip to Colorado

21 Weeks

Playing with Celia from next door. He often begs to go over there.

I am now 21 weeks pregnant and starting to show a bit. People still don't ask if I am pregnant, but I think it's becoming somewhat obvious. The big news in the pregnancy is that I think we have come up with a name!!! I checked out a book from the library and while Leo was napping, Joe and I were relaxing in the backyard. I stumbled across a name and Joe loved it. I still have my apprehensions, but I do LOVE the name. It's very unusual, but the nickname isn't. Joe and I have had a heck of a time agreeing on anything, so I think this will have to be it...unless I chicken out. In any case, all of you will have to wait until she is born. I hope that someday, when she reads this blog, she will say, "good job mom and dad, I love my name!"

In Leo news, he said his longest sentence ever this week. He told Joe, "If I hit a boy with a block, that's mean." That's correct Leo. You are learning social norms and sentence structure all at once. Well done.

In other news, Leo has been potty training quite successfully. He actually went #2 in his potty for the first time a few days ago. It was such a big deal, that I promptly took him to Target to buy him a car. We were so proud!

Self Portraits

This afternoon, I saw a flash of light, but thought I might have imagined it. Joe walked into the room and caught Leo red-handed with the camera. Turns out our little guy was snapping photos of himself. He took about 5 photos, but I only have 3 displayed. I am still amazed that he figured out how to take these photos on his own.

Leo has recently started introducing himself to kids and adults he meets, "Hi, I'm Leo!" What a friendly and confident young man we have. It is so CUTE!!!

In other news, our baby girl is moving a ton. She almost always moves around during Leo's pre-nap story time. How cute is that?

We have yet to come up with a name. I think we will keep it a secret until she is born, but picking a name has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. Unfortunately, I am obsessing over the matter. I really loved being able to call Leo by his name while I was pregnant with him.

Baby Girl!

Our little girl has Joe/Leo's cute little "ski-jump" nose

To my surprise, we are having a girl! I was convinced baby #2 was a boy. Words cannot express how thrilled I am....a daughter!!! Yesterday, Joe and I went to the big ultrasound. At first, our baby girl was not cooperating, so the tech did the rest of the scan. We saw her heart's 4 chambers, her brain, her spine, hands, feet...everything but what we needed to see if she was a girl or a boy. The whole scan, my heart was pounding, I was so anxious and Joe held my hand. Finally, the tech said, "it looks like a girl!" I started crying and Joe kissed me. We were both so relieved that she was healthy and so happy to find out we were having a daughter. Now we just have to come up with a girl name. Any suggestions?

Leo didn't seem too interested to find out he was having a sister. When I said we were having a girl, he replied, "Race cars?" At least he has his priorities straight.

Speaking of Leo, he is a talking machine. He often says, "Look at that car Daddy/Mommy." My personal favorite is when he said, "I eated the hot dog Daddy." The funny part is that he had just chewed it up and spit it in his bib. What a boy.

19 Weeks Pregnant

Popping out a bit at 19 weeks
19 weeks pregnant with Leo

Well, I am now feeling the baby move! Things seem to be following the same pattern as they did with Leo. I am feeling great and enjoying the ease of the second trimester. On Thursday,we will learn if we are having a boy or a girl. I can hardly wait, although I have convinced myself it's a boy, but not for any reason other than the fact that Joe says the Morris men only have boys. I have no real gut feeling either way, but can't really imagine them telling us we are having a girl. As always, good health is what we want for our next child.

Leo is talking up a storm. He uses full sentences often and this week he told me, "I got a new book at the library Mommy." He seems to understand most of what we say and he has this look when he is focusing. You can see the little wheels in his heading spinning to grasp concepts.

This week I had to explain to Leo that when the new baby is born, they will cut me and take the baby out of my stomach. I showed him my c-section scar and explained that the cut wouldn't hurt because they would give me medicine. He is fascinated by the scar. For that matter, he is obsessed with any type of "owie," cut or hurt. "Ow, it hurts," is something we hear in our house often.

We started the very first stages of potty training. He doesn't seem all that interested, but he did manage to go pee a few times this week, which warranted a reward. I made a huge fuss over the first time that he made "water come out of his pee pee." We went to Target and bought him a new car. For now though, he will get a peanut M&M when he goes potty.

Leo is so affectionate. We get lots of voluntary hugs and kisses and he says, "mommy, hold you," when he wants me to pick him up. I just love this boy!

17 Weeks Pregnant....Again!

17 Weeks Pregnant with New Baby

17 Weeks Pregnant with Leo

Leo requested I take his photo after watching an Elmo segment about cameras

This should be fun! I have decided to post photos of my growing bump every two weeks, just like I did with Leo. It should be interesting to compare the growth between this baby and Leo and also the change of hairstyles too. Things are going great with the pregnancy. I have gained about 6 pounds, so that is good. I feel back to myself again and have been able to keep up with my exercise routine. I am also able to cook and eat normally again. I have had different cravings this time around though. Last week, I wanted Greek salads all the time!

Leo has been getting so cute, but he can be quite naughty too. He is definitely a two-year old now, which comes with a series of challenges. He doesn't want to nap and I have to hold him tight in his bed until he falls asleep. He usually cries and puts up a big fight before he finally conks out. This is the least favorite part of my day. I know that it is ridiculous that I go to such efforts to get him to nap, but he still desperately needs his sleep.

Leo has started singing a lot. He loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle , Little Star", but instead of singing "like a diamond in the sky," he sings "like a diamond in the car." It is adorable!

He also tells us when something hurts, "ouch, it hurts," and he wants us to kiss his boo boos.

Leo is extremely social. he loves to play with other children and enjoys going to the gym, the play room at our local grocery store, the church nursery and Gymboree class. Because of his big personality and enthusiasm, he is almost always declared "one the favorites" by his care takers.

Leo continues to be very athletic. He can climb, kick and throw very well. He loves playing basketball with daddy at the park.

Leo went in for his 2 year check-up. His weight is up to the 12%, which is the highest it's ever been. His height is 18%, but this seems to dip back and forth depending on whether or not he has had a growth spurt. His head continues to expand and is the 72%. Dr. Crowley said he is very verbally advanced and she was amazed that he can identify all his ABCs. He also knows most of his numbers and can count too. He just seems to prefer letters over numbers though.

Romantic Getaway

The Pelican Brewery

Bunny Feeding at its Finest!

Joe and I had a much needed night away, and left Leo overnight with my mom for the first time. We went to Pacific City on the Oregon Coast and stayed at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda. We had the best time and felt like we were dating again. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE Leo, but having a night away was amazing! We were able to dine in peace, walk on the beach and sleep in (8 a.m. was the latest I could will myself to sleep).

The hotel was all that we expected and more and had a gorgeous view of the ocean. We enjoyed having dinner and breakfast at the Pelican Brewery and although they have fabulous beer, I had a non-alcoholic Becks.

One of the highlights of the trip was feeding the bunnies that roam freely around the hotel. Joe literally had them eating out of his hand.

As for Leo, he had a fabulous time with Grandma and was able to enjoy all the perks of her care-taking such as extra sweets, a few new cars and a later bedtime. Everyone had a blast!