Follow the Leader

Leo's friend Mary Harper came over today for a playdate. Their favorite activity has been carrying around this green snake from both ends. They have been running back and forth, from one end of the house to the other, laughing and giggling the whole time. So cute!


You'll have to watch the video to get the full effect of their cuteness...

Watermelon

Jack loves watermelon. Seriously. On his list of top 'loves', it would have to be me and Leo at the top, and then watermelon would be a close third. During the summer, when watermelon is in season, we buy 2-3 a week. Jack will cut one up, and fill one of our large tupperware containers with the large ruby-red cubes. And then he will eat it, all day long. You've never seen watermelon disappear so quickly.

When I was at the store yesterday I saw them. A giant pallet bin-- filled to the top with the large green orbs. And I'm not going to lie- I felt a lump in my throat, and I had to choke back some tears. It made me sad to think that Jack won't be home for watermelon season this year.

I bought one anyway. And today I cut it up into large cubes, just like Jack does. I filled up a giant tupperware container, and I have been eating it all day. And guess what? Leo LOVES watermelon too. Just like his daddy.

Another One Bites the Dust

I don't know what it is about 16 month old boys... but they can get into trouble in the blink of an eye. Here are just a two examples from a week in the life of Leo:

Tuesday: Mom was on the treadmill in the family room. Leo was playing in the same room, on the other side of the barrier mom made to keep him out. Leo decided to break through the barrier (which he has never done before), and in a split second was climbing onto the back of the moving treadmill. He planted one hand on it and was instantly spun backwards, doing a faceplant on the moving belt as we went down.  Result: Raspberry on the end of his nose, and a big fat lip.

Saturday: Leo scratched himself when he was playing, with an unknown object. Result: Scab on the side of his nose.

Sunday: Leo was playing in nursery at church.  He tripped and hit his lip on the back of a kiddie chair. Result:  Lip cut open from one of his teeth, and LOTS of blood. Mom and nursery leaders very freaked out.

Needless to say, I felt like a horrible mom most of the week...   I hope I can keep Leo alive until his next birthday. Should I keep a football helmet on him, or what?

Swim Lessons

Leo had his first swim lesson last week. He was definitely the oldest one there (16 months), and the other babies were all about 5-9 months old.

We sang songs and splashed and twirled around in the water to get the babies accoustomed to the water. Leo swam a lot last summer, so he was perfectly comfortable in the water. But he did enjoy smiling and laughing at all those babies!




 
 
 
 
 
I know his eyes are closed in this photo, but the expression on his face is just adorable. What a cutie.

The Places We've Been

***Update:  I'm now making these shelves, due to popular demand!  You can find them here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SouvenirSand?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Jack and I love to travel. We have been collecting sand from the places we visit since we got married almost 8 years ago. (It actually started before that, when I brought home a little bottle of sand from the beaches in Southern France, where I served my mission) Our little sand collection has grown over the years, and I searched in vain for a way to properly display our collection. I eventually made my own wall shelf, and filled it with small glass vials that I ordered online. This project is finally complete! I am so pleased with the results.

As I retyped the labels for these vials I was reminded of all the places we've been, and all the memories came flooding back. I had to call Jack so we could reminisce together. We laughed at some of the memories, and shook our heads at some of the 'adventures' we had along the way. It was so much fun to remember all of those experiences.

In short, this collection has done what we hoped it would. It stands as a reminder of the places we've been, and how life is "always an adventure"...

Our Funny Boy

Our funny little Leo. What a cutie!  I had to share some of his photos from the last month.  This first one show how his 4 top teeth are coming in.  It took him a while (14 months) to finally get some teeth, but they're coming in strong now.

He has recently discovered the power of those front teeth and so he likes to bite off big chunks of food, which fill his little cheeks to capacity.




We went with some friends to a nearby park and Leo had a great time on the slides and the swing.  He also got a hold of mom's hat, which was a fun new toy.



 

 Lastly, a friend gave us this play lawn mower, which Leo has enjoyed pushing around the yard.  (It might be fun for him now, but we'll see how he feels about mowing when he's 15.) I'm not sure what he's pointing at in this one, but I think it was a plane flying overhead. Leo is getting more and more interested in airplanes, which thrills his Daddy. I think Jack is already planning some trips to the Air and Space museum with Leo when he gets home.

This place is a Zoo!

Leo had his first trip to the zoo this week, and he loved it. The National Zoo, which is here in DC, is on the smaller side but it has free admission, which is great. I think it will be a popular destination for us this summer.

Leo can only say 'dog' and 'cat', so he called the lions and tigers 'cat' and eveything else was a dog. I think his favorite was the monkeys and gorillas because they swung around on the ropes and bars, which was pretty exciting to Leo. He also liked the elephant, which I'm sure is the biggest animal he had ever seen.

Leo has always enjoyed pointing at things, from the time he was a baby. And the zoo sure gave him a lot of things to point at...

Dogwoods

DC is known for it's famous display of Cherry blossoms, but I have to say that the real show stopper around here is the Dogwood. The beautiful flowering Dogwood- which is a tree, but happens to be Virginia's state flower- comes in many shades of pink and white.

We are lucky enough to have two of them in our front yard, and hundreds of them throughout our neighborhood. They are spectacular, and I just had to show them off!