These boots were made for walkin'

Leo has been perfecting his walking skills all month. He would usually take 4 or 5 steps and then decide that crawling was faster. But yesterday seemed to be his breakthrough. He kept walking and walking and walking- a little further each time. (I think he was actually showing off my for my friend Margret and her 7 year old son)

He's been talking and babbling a lot too- you can hear a bit of that in the second video. It's so cute.
Just look at him go!

Recap of Leo's 1st Year

Leo's 1st Year

He's been on 15 flights.

He's lived in 3 states.

He's been to 9 states. (UT, CA, AL, GA, VA, MD, DC, PA, NJ)

He's been to almost every Smithsonian and monument in Washington DC.

He's been to the White House.

He's been kayaking on 2 rivers and 1 lake.

He's been to the Pacific ocean.

It looks like Leo is getting a running start to a life full of fun and adventure.

We love our little adventurer!

Happy Birthday Leo!

We had a birthday party for Leo today. And since Leo was born on Elvis Presley's birthday we decided to go with an Elvis theme. We ate some of Elvis' favorite foods: grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches, fried chicken, mac n' cheese, biscuits, glazed donuts and orange soda. And we had cupcakes for the birthday boy, of course!

We had just a few friends over, and Melissa flew out from Utah. It was great having her here to celebrate Leo's birthday.

Leo really went crazy with his cupcake. He started by sucking off the frosting, which gave him a fluffy white beard! Then he just picked up the cupcake and ate it in about 4 bites! He seemed to really enjoy all that sugary goodness. (We included a short video below, if you want to see the carnage)

We can't believe that our little baby Leo is such a big boy now. He is growing up so fast! We are so grateful that Leo came into our lives a year ago. He has brought us so much joy and happiness. We just can't imagine life without him.

12 months of Leo

Leo turns 1 this week-and here is his year in review.

It's amazing how much he changed from month to month. We sure love that crazy hair and darling smile.

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Happy New Year

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, and what a year it has been. Leo was born almost a year ago, and he has grown so much! He is the joy of our lives. Jack finished up his year of school in Alabama, and we moved to the DC/Northern Virginia area. We spent several months on home improvement projects on our new house, and have been making new friends and exploring all there is to see in Washington DC. We are sure that 2011 will be another great year, and we look forward to all the adventures ahead...

We flew to California last week and spent Christmas with Mandi's family. We had a huge French dinner on Christmas Eve, with about 35 members of the family. And of course, the evening finished off with a fun white elephant game and several viewings of "A Christmas Story." (our very favorite movie--it's hilarious!) All the little girl cousins loved toting Leo around like their little mascot. We think he really liked having so many playmates.

My sister Jen and her family were there all week, also. Leo had a great time playing with his cousin Bridger, who is just 2 months older than Leo. But no matter how many toys were around, they always wanted to play with the same toy, at the same time.

Leo is getting better and better at walking. He walks behind his little airplane like a real pro. His balance has really improved, and so has his confidence. I'm sure that he will be walking on his own any day now... yikes.

We made a visit to Mandi's grandma Lucy, her dad's mom.
And here is the picture, of 4 generations!

Our last night in California we stayed in LA, so we could make it to our early flight the next day. We drove over to the beach, and made it just in time to see the sunset, and for Leo to play in the sand for a bit. He loved crawling around and getting really sandy. That kid sure loves the beach!

After that we walked around on the Santa Monica pier, and took Leo on the Ferris wheel. Even though it was already dark, the views from up there were pretty amazing. All the lights of LA on one side, and the foamy white waves of the ocean on the other side. Leo loved the flashing lights of the rides, and having all those people to look at. (People watching is one of his very favorite activities.)

The next day we flew home. Luckily, there were no weather issues so we made it home without any delays. Leo is such a good traveler. He did great on the plane, and even took a nice long nap, curled up on the seat with his favorite giraffe blanket. What a cutie!