17 months

Whoa... I thought it had been at least 2 months since I last wrote but I was wrong.  So much has been going on it is making my head spin.  Not to mention how quickly Leo is changing....

The last post I talked about how Leo was starting to say more and more words, and he is still adding to his vocabulary.  A few Leo words:

strawberry
blueberry
corn
pool
poop
potty
park
pet
pat
bubble bath
boat
bye-bye
bread
book
back

walk (pronounced "bach", yes it sounds like the sound a chicken makes)-  Leo sings this word as it is the chorus of a song on The Best of Elmo dvd he watches.  Destiny's Child sings it and if I sing a verse he will fill in the chorus which is walk walk but in Leo language is "bach bach".  I love it.

He knows that a sheep says baabaa and a cow says moo and a cat says meow (or neow)

Names he has now said (some only once but most of them he has used multiple times)...

Sara

Rebecca

Emily

Tiernan

Liam

Henry

Greg

Debbie

He really likes to shout names, like calling out for someone to come back so that is how I can get him to say names lol.

He is an exceptional communicator and with his mix of sign language and verbal words he gets himself understood.  One of his favorite sentences to sign is "One more time please."  He does this by using a finger held up, signing more, than please.  He signs please a lot now which makes refusing him even harder. 

This month started out with some really nice weather and Leo and I spent a decent amount of time at the garden.  Evan's parents came up to visit over Memorial Day weekend and the week following and we had fun going to stay on Cannon Beach with them, than hanging out around town.  Cannon Beach was beautiful. It was overcast and cloudy for part of the time but on Memorial Day we had gorgeous weather and we got to walk out to Haystack Rock and see the tidal pools. 

Leo LOVED the ocean and if it had been warmer I'm sure I would have been hanging out in the water all day.  The water was pretty cold and Leo ran in, got soaked and was still laughing and splashing...brrrrr!  I can only imagine how much fun he is going to have at the beach in Florida when we go in July.  During Nana and Pap's visit we were able to get some time out of the house... I was FINALLY able to take Sara on the "girl date" I had promised her for her birthday in November,  Evan and I went on a date (dinner and a movie), and I had a sub job.  We also got the soil in our garden ready for some more planting.  After they departed, we put in our tomato plants (4 of them) and put down beet seeds so our garden plot is completely used up at this point.  There are a few spaces that I think we might pull the existing plants and be able to plant something else.  Everything is growing HUGE!  I like going and seeing how much progress they are all making. 

For the past week and a half, I took over a maternity leave for a friend of mine and had a blast.  It is hard leaving Leo and thinking about what I am missing but I also find that I really enjoy being at work and talking to adults.  It definitely didn't hurt that I was leaving Leo with my sister Emily during that time.  I knew I didn't have to worry about him being neglected or unloved while he was there which is such a blessing.  It was during that week that he said Emily and has gotten much clearer while saying Sara and Rebecca (which used to sound like rababababa) I think he is saying Riri more now.  He loved going to their house and was excited when we would say where he was going for the day.  His time with them was cut a little short as Rebecca had gotten sick over the weekend so Evan took a sick day on Monday while I went to a professional development and then I had him on Tuesday.  He was really well behaved and I was able to finish up what I needed to do.  So the plan for the upcoming year is to start working as a substitute (same maternity leave) in a Kindergarten half and extended day class then finishing up the day with a sixth grade literacy block.  Talk about two ends of the spectrum!  I am excited about starting out the school year but am apprehensive about leaving Leo.  I know he will be fine but I'm not so sure about me : /    I have been incredibly spoiled getting to stay home with Leo this long and I know it.  As fast as this past year and a half has gone, I know it will only seem to go faster once I am not with Leo 24/7.  I am trying to make full use of our time together this summer to make memories that will sustain me until next summer.

So let's see... I am going to add on some random happenings around our household,

Leo is now down to one feeding per night and will hopefully be weaned completely at night within the next two weeks.  (fingers-crossed!)  He is getting in more molars, has at least 6 teeth on top but he still only has 2 (front) bottom teeth plus two bottom molars.  Our new favorite activity is the pool.  After going once Leo started signing water (meaning the pool) and pointing in its direction.  After going twice he threw a tantrum when we left and got home.  After the third time he had learned the word "pool" and I am pretty sure he could get there on his own if I let him.  He starts in on "pool, pool, pool" if I walk in that direction which is a problem on the cold, rainy days because it is the same direction as our mailbox and the office.  Well,  I am off to get some reading done... I can't believe my baby is 17 months today.  Pretty soon he'll be closer to 2 than to 1 : /   Last and final thing is that we have started learning how to go potty!  Leo showed an interest in the potty about 2-3 weeks ago and he was even telling me he was going to the bathroom either during or right before.  I figured there is no harm in spending the summer working on it so here we go!  Love to you all!       

15 months & 16 months

I feel like I should be writing everyday but who has time when you are chasing after a little toddler!  Leo keeps me on my toes for sure.  He climbs everything.  He recently mastered our dining room chairs so I am sure I will find him on top of the desk or table or maybe even hanging from wall decor any day now.  I'm kidding... but seriously it might happen.

We just finished up a month of visitors.  Starting out with Nana, Pap and Mimi at the beginning of April to my dad, Papa, mid-April and my mom left right at the end of the month.  It was a lot of fun having the grandparents visit and see all of Leo's changes.  He really enjoyed having them here and quickly became accustomed to saying good-night to more than just us and BB (our cat). At the end of the bed-time routine he has taken to saying one (or all) of their names which he has finally mastered! The grandparents are thrilled that he can say their names and that he asks for them :)    I love that he knows who they are and I am working on putting together a little photo album my mom bought him with pictures of all of his closest relatives: Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and Cousins.  That way we can say good-night to the pictures at least.  I am positive it will become one of his favorite books very quickly. (Update- I was right!  We look at the book a lot and maybe by the time we visit Florida in July he will be able to say his uncle and aunts names.)

During the past two months we had a trip to the tulip festival and I got some cute pictures of Leo.  We also celebrated Easter and my niece Rebecca's second birthday!  I frequent a cloth diaper store in our downtown and they occasionally have themed ultra-mini mini sessions for free and even allow you to choose one image for free so I made sure to get Leo down there in his cute Easter duds but he refused to smile... just as serious as can be, as usual.
We managed to get our community garden plot partially planted while we had extra help.  So far we have strawberries (the Hood variety) another strawberry everbearing plant, lavender (French and English), Cilantro, Rosemary, bush peas, broccoli rabe, and walla walla onions.  We are planning on getting some potatoes (if it is not to late) and tomatoes planted soon.  We also got to go to a Messy Madness playdate (set up by a mom from my mom's group) at Art a la Carte in Portland.  It was a lot of fun to watch all the babies get into the paint and there were some cute photos taken of Leo that day by a professional photographer that is there to catch all the cute messy moments! 

Here are some of the pictures that have accumulated over the past 2 months.  Hard to believe but there are even more! 

As you can see I am writing this piecemeal, but hopefully I will be able to get down some of my thoughts tonight and post it tomorrow.  Right now Leo is experiencing an explosion of new vocabulary!  It is like he just decided sometime between last night and this morning that he was going to try out more words today.  Words Evan and I have heard today for the first time....
hammer
Melody (I said, "That is Melody", his friend, and he repeated her name!)
apple (he has been saying "ple" for apples but he said the 'a' part today too.)
tickle
turtle
pee pee

All of these words were said in context and usually right after we said the word.  He also only said them once but from what I can tell this is just the beginning.

Leo has also been working on mastering the art of fine dining, with a spoon and not his fingers.  He also will demand a bowl be put in front of him (it is okay if we hold onto it...for now, but it must be on his highchair tray).  His skill with the spoon is pretty good but he ends up with a ton of food on his face. This morning he was eating applesauce and it looked like he had an applesauce goatee : )

  I know I talked a little about Leo's emerging vocabulary already but just to give you an idea of where he was at before these new words appeared on the scene...
 mama, dada, mimi, papa, nana, pap, eas (peas), isps (snow pea crisps) nanas (bananas), ples (apples), ce (ice), egg... are you noticing a trend with his usage of the word's ending?  

I think the only thing left to say is how incredible life seems right now, viewing it through Leo's eyes.  It is just a thrilling whirlwind of new adventures and I love that.  He is such a sweet boy and despite testing his (and my) limits sometimes he is very affectionate.  The other day we were running errands and periodically throughout the day he would lay his head on my shoulder and in a sweet singsong voice would say "Mama" then smile and pat my back.  Very random and very brief but I could hear and feel his love for me pouring out of his gestures and that one magical word "Mama".

How time flies...

Wow!  Is Leo already turning 14 months old?  It seems like just yesterday that he turned 2 months... actually, I take that back.  I gave up dairy when he turned 2 months and in cheese years that is about a million so it feels like forever ago ; )  The past 2 months have whizzed by.  We have been keeping busy with a 6th anniversary trip, birthday parties (because Leo's little friends are also turning one!), and trading off date nights/sitting with Emily and Steve.  I also had a couple of movie nights in there. 

Leo is changing so quickly and it seems like things I was meaning to write down (things he was saying or doing)  are already just a memory. He is moving through sounds, expressions, and physical achievements at a rate that makes my head spin!  So while I can still remember let me try to write down some of these adorable things my baby Leo does...

Let's take it back to 2 months ago, Leo was saying bip bip bip bip ALL THE TIME.  That quickly turned into bup bup bup bup bup ALL THE TIME.  Now it is rare that I hear a bip or a bup from him.  It was so cute and I am so sad. : /   

Leo definitely lets us know what he wants... he started with simple pointing and a bip or a bup, then moved onto "dat" aka "that" and pointing.  His favorite foods usually reside on the top of the refrigerator (bananas, apples, and snap pea crisps) so he took to pointing up there, saying "dat", and signing hungry.  This was cute and annoying all at the same time because I really shouldn't be feeding my 1 year old only three things.  We had to get creative with where to put his foods and hiding them from sight as once he get it in his mind to have something he will not eat anything else.

Sometime in the past month, Leo started giving hugs and as he got faster on his feet he would come over and sorta rush me and give me a big hug.  I started encouraging those wonderful embraces by calling Leo and spreading my arms open and smiling.  If I caught his eye, he would come running (or fast walking) and give me a hug that melts my heart every time.  He loves it and so do I and he will even do it when we are in a crowded room (just as long as I catch his eye and he is not super interested in something else).  Evan takes part now and we will sit across from each other and Leo will run back and forth between us giving us hugs.

We got Leo a bike seat!  Can't wait to take a longer bike ride because so far he loves it.

Leo often wakes up saying a word "ball,ball,ball" "cat,cat,cat" "dat,dat,dat" or "da,da,da" in a continuous stream until the light comes on and he can go find whatever it is is on his mind.  In the past week he has added "book,book,book" to this habit and we often start our day by reading some of Leo's favorites. :-). On that same note, Leo will now "sit in your lap" and he does this by first handing you a book than turning around and backing up then plopping down.  It is so cute!

 

I started working on blowing kisses with Leo in January and it took him awhile as he really only started mid February to blow kisses but now he does it quite often and we usually send Dada to work with a hug and lots of kisses blown in his direction.   He has also taken to talking about Dada while at work and has even pointed to his picture we have on our wall shelf.  The other thing he does occasionally is say Dada when he gets my phone... I take that as meaning he wants to Facetime with Dada (which we do once a day generally).

Leo has learned about stomping his feet and will do so while dancing (that was the first place he did it in some miniature rendition of Flash Dance) and now will do it if I sing "If you're happy and you know it..."  or if I am reading a book and say "Look he is stomping his feet!"
This brings me to Leo's dancing... this kid LOVES to dance.  We have "dance parties" and he just loves it.  He recently started requesting it by pointing to our tv and dancing (our music comes out of the speakers).  Evan has started a playlist on Spotify of Leo's favorites. How do we know if a song is one of his favorites, you ask?  Well, a Leo favorite will stop him in the middle of whatever else he is doing and require some booty shaking, knee bouncing, and head banging.  The funniest is when he is in the other room and he hears a song come on that he loves.... he tries to walk and dance at the same time so that he can get closer to where the song is being played (he also used to do the same thing while crawling :)

I mentioned earlier about Leo learning to sit in your lap after handing you a book.  Well, he LOVES being read to now.  He used to be wiggly (still is sometimes) and not very interested but now it is evident that he gets books.  He points to things in all the pictures, wants books reread multiple times, will sign when he recognizes something, and ask "dat?" when he wants to learn about something,  he even remembers what Evan and I say or what sounds we make and will mimic us by pointing or making a sound on the pages we make them on (usually on the 3rd or 4th go around).  My friend Megan (she has a 8 month old boy) gave Leo a book called Hello Florida and even wrote a message for Leo on the back of the book, which I usually read to Leo at the end.  Leo loves this book and has been requesting it a lot lately by name.  He waves hello and signs more (or says "mor" because that is a new word this week!)  :)  Well a few days ago we got to the end of the book with Leo turning the pages and he closed the book to the back cover and points directly at the message from his friend and says "dat!"  I read the message, he smiled, he turned the book over and we read it again then... "dat!""dat!" (while jamming his finger at the message).  It was so cute I recorded it and sent it to Megan and now I get to share it with you.  This was our 6th time reading it in a row and Leo was getting tired but he still was doing some of his normal antics (he usually gets really animated while reading it with lots of signing and sounds from him) but he didn't disappoint when we got to the back page.  

This past week Leo has really started to climb... into his toy box, onto the cat tree, onto his toy piano then onto the chest it sits beside, the kitchen chairs... I could go on but I'll stop.

It is such an exciting time in Leo's life as everything he sees and hears is just absorbed and a couple of days later he can say a new word or make a new sound (just started "mooing" tonight!)  Or he makes a new connection with something I and/or Evan have been repeating to him for months.  He started saying "ice" last week... it sounds more like "ccccc" but he has done it when I ask him if he wants ice and he goes to the freezer and starts in on the sound. I love it... every day is a new adventure.  Some days are not as much fun because one of us is sick or just in a rotten mood but it is always an adventure.  I'm adding additional pictures to share with you below... Enjoy!