Shrug and a Haircut... two bits!

Leo's latest trick is shrugging his shoulders. Unfortunately, we haven't captured it on video yet, but is really is the cutest thing. Sometimes he does it when he is mad or frustrated, but sometimes he just gives you a funny look and shrugs. It's hilarious.

And last week, when we were in Carpinteria, we took Leo to get his first haircut.
We took him to the little barber shop in town that Marty owns. ("Marty the one-man-party")

Here is the "before" photo. Leo sat patiently in my lap while Marty cut his hair. What a trooper. And Marty was great. Leo posed with him for the "after" shot.

Doesn't Leo look handsome? So grown up! He doesn't look like a baby anymore...

Thanksgiving at the Beach

We flew to California to spend Thanksgiving week with my family at the Carpinteria State Beach Campground. All of my extended family was there, as well as Jack's parents, who drove down from Utah. We had a great time!

This was Leo's first beach experience. He loved playing in the sand, eating sand, and splashing in the water. We had so much fun playing together, digging sand castles and moats, and just watching Leo explore. What a cutie!

Leo also enjoyed getting to know his 2nd cousins, and their kids. We all just love Carpinteria! It's a great little beach town. We had campfires every night, went on long walks along the beach, explored the tide pools, watched the sun set, and rode bikes all over town. These have been some of my favorite things to do since I was a kid, so it was wonderful to share these experiences with Leo. I hope he grows to love that place as much as I do.

It's a walker?

Jack and I were sitting in the living room tonight, talking and watching Leo play on the floor in the dining room. He was holding onto the legs of his high chair when all of a sudden he started walking forward! (Like an old man with his walker) Our chins hit the floor as we gawked at Leo's new-found ability. Luckily, we were able to quickly duplicate the feat, and capture it on video.

Wow. We've almost got a walker on our hands.

Arlington National Cemetery

We went on a tour of Arlington National Cemetery last weekend. It's such a beautiful place. With it's serene hilltop location and stunning views of Washington DC on the other side of the Potomac, it was especially pretty with all the trees in their Fall colors.

We saw the graves of JFK and Jackie Kennedy, and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the changing of the guard happens every hour. This tomb is guarded 24/7 by a soldier in full dress uniform. It was pretty moving to think about the thousands of men who have died in war, and whose remains were never indentified. We are so grateful for these brave men that gave their lives to defend our nation and protect the freedom of people around the world.

Leo's top 10

In honor of Leo's 10 months of life, I decided to make a list of his top 10:

1) Crawling on, over, or on top of Mom & Dad
2) Putting things in his mouth (toys, paper, socks, dirt, leaves, dead moths, etc.)
3) Crawling/Exploring/Getting into stuff
4) Sightseeing in DC/People watching
5) Watching other kids
6) Babbling/Talking/Singing
7) Swinging in his backyard swing
8) Going for walks in the stroller
9) Dancing with Mom in the kitchen
10) Gumming new foods (cucumber, apples, breadsticks, carrots, celery)

Leo makes us laugh every day. He is so active and curious about everything. We can see his mind working as he tries to figure out something new, or something he hasn't seen before. And when he finally 'gets' it, his face lights up and he smiles with that beautiful toothless grin! We adore him. We are so grateful for our sweet baby boy.

Here are a few of our favorite photos from the month.

1st Halloween

Leo made a very cute tiger cub for his first Halloween.

He looked especially cute crawling around...

(The heavy breathing in the video is actually me trying to contain my laughter.

He was so cute, I just couldn't keep from giggling.)