11 months.

On April 19, Leo is officially 11 months! I decided to post some random recent pictures of him that make my heart melt with happiness. I am in complete awe of how much an 11 month old can learn and retain. Leo surprises me everyday with something new he has learned. Right now, he likes to go through the alphabet and we help him with the sound each letter makes. His favorites are B,D,G,K,S and X. He can point out mommy, daddy, and baby Leo in pictures. Leo likes to touch his nose and ears, when prompted. This little puppy learns new tricks all the time. He is getting so big! Happy 11 months Leo! Mama loves you.

teaser

the sun peaked out and warmed up the day to almost 70 degrees! we decided to go to the park to celebrate. leo was able to touch the grass, wave to all the passerby's, point at the bikers and go carts, eat bark, and get grass stains. he loved his first trip to the park. can't wait for more sunny days like this one.

one short day in the emerald city

wicked fans? anyone? anyone?

i love me some wicked, but i am talking about the real emerald city... seattle. ahhhh i love that city. we decided to head down there last minute. in celebration of our anniversary but mostly just to get away for a little bit. we visited some amazing malls and went to the seattle aquarium. we had a great time, even though nothing beats sea world.

wohoo for 3 years of bliss. i love my braden. i wont bore you by confessing my undying and forever-growing love for my husband. i prefer to tell him to his face, since he is sitting next to me. cheers.

10 months

10 months!!! wow. we are on the brink of toddler-hood. lately leo has been doing some things that make that very clear. such as experimenting with the law of gravity. he loves to drop food, spoons and sippy cups over the edge of his high chair. he also likes to throw toys.

this has opened my eyes to a new chapter of motherhood, which scares me. for the past 10 months i have been a mother to a baby, which requires providing the necessities of life, lots of love and attention. i can do that no problem. now, here comes the parenting part of motherhood. the part where "no" is more frequently said. leo doesn't quite understand this word yet but he does understand the word "clap."

as i see him grow i feel my brain scramble with ideas of how to learn to parent; articles and books that need to be read, questions that need to be asked and many prayers that need to be said. i hope that leo will be patient with us as we learn what kind of parenting works best for us.

leo's activity and energy levels are increasing by the week. so fun and so exhausting. leo loves to talk and experiment with making noises with his mouth and tongue. yesterday i was in the car with my friend, jannica and her nephew, tobie, who is 4. tobie and leo are in the backseat together and leo is jibber-jabbering away like usual. after a couple minutes of listening to leo, tobie asks us, "does leo speak spanish?" jannica and i busted up laughing. it was a very logical question. tobie could not understand leo so therefore he must be speaking a different language. so cute.

leo is curious; no longer afraid to crawl in to unknown places, open cabinets, open drawers, and open and close doors. leo loves to dance and clap. he knows how to shake his booty. he keeps me laughing and smiling all day long.

thank goodness for this adorable hunky-chunky boy.

9 months.

My sweet baby boy,
I can't believe you have been outside the womb for just as long as you had been inside. I blink and you grow by leaps and bounds. You are constantly picking up new tricks. You mimic a lot of what mommy and daddy do. We love watching you learn and interact. You can click your tongue, smack your lips, wave, give kisses, clap, sign "more", shake your booty, climb up furniture, walk along furniture, crawl ALL over the place and pat mommy and daddy on the back (my favorite). You love to play! I giggle as I watch make your rounds around the living room. Picking up toys one by one as you lap the room 2-3 times.You love to be chased by mommy and daddy. I crawl up behind you as you squeal with excitement, the greatest sound in the world. You have brought so much meaning and purpose to our lives. Practically perfect in every way. Measuring in at 20 lbs. and 28 inches long. That's 50th percentile across the board. A textbook baby is what you are. Which we are so grateful for. We love you to infinity and beyond. (Sorry for all the Disney references- can't help it, it's in my blood) Happy 9 months Leo Thomas!!
Love always,
Your mommy

a great weekend.

We had a great weekend. These are some of the things we did.

went for a drive and enjoyed the view. stopped to take pictures of the view.

took a picture of us and the view.

took pictures of horses and the view.

kissed the baby.

played the guitar.

bit mommy.

watched some awesome fights at the hockey game.

ate some yummy cupcakes for my birthday.

almost took a cute picture of all three of us. leo is laughing in this pic i sware.

(not pictured: spending time with some awesome friends-Blaine, Jaqui, Lane, and Jannica, Leo making a new friend- Cooper, & getting a mani/pedi with Jannica)

our day in photos.