Let the Sun Shine...

We spent a week with my parents in Naples, Florida. It was heaven. The weather was beautiful and we spent every minute of daylight outside. Leo woke up in the morning saying "Let's Go" and he would run outside to push his bubble mower or stroller around the sidewalk. He came inside to eat and nap and would head right back out. My parents were staying in a beautiful development that had a clubhouse with several pools, golf courses, a playground and a yummy restaurant. We spent a lot of time at the pool and went the the beach a few times. Kevin and I even got away for a night alone on Marco Island. We went to the Naples Zoo and saw many different types of animals. Kevin and my dad got a round of golf in and my mom and I spent a morning shopping in Naples. We went to some fabulous restaurants and were usually home by 7:30 for Leo's bedtime! Leo slept great and loved all the attention he got from Ammie and Papa (their new names from Leo). He LOVED the water and had fun jumping into the pool over and over again! It felt great to relax and spend the days being in the warm sunshine. We were very sad to leave and then we were welcomed with a snowstorm and 2 feet of snow in Minnesota :( A big thank you to my parents for hosting us and for taking such good care of Leo. Can we come back next year???

Valentines Day Party

One of the things I miss about being a teacher is the holiday parties! I loved the crafts, the food and the excitement of a classroom party. This year I decided to throw our own Valentines Day party- toddler style! On Monday morning we invited a few friends over and decorated cookies, made Valentines and played with toys. I filled the sensory table with pink heart marshmallows and the kids had a great time playing and eating lots of sweets.

Catching up...

We've had a busy start to 2011! The weather has been less than desirable, making outside activities impossible so we have found lots of fun inside activities to fill our time! Today we went to the zoo and had a great time seeing the indoor animals and walking through the Tropics exhibit breathing in the humid air. Leo was interested in seeing the animals but was even more interested in eating an ice cream cone and running up and down the ramps in the zoo. He also liked playing with the cars in the gift shop :) Did we need to drive all the way to the zoo to do that???

Our house is really coming along and we have set a closing date for March 18th. We were there tonight to check on the progress and saw the cabinets, doors and hardwood floors installed. It is so fun to see it all come together. It has been quite the process- there have been so many decisions to make!!! I didn't realize that we would have to choose every detail and that there would be so many choices. I started out trying to make all of the decisions myself but got VERY overwhelmed and enlisted the help of a decorator. She is amazing! She is able to narrow down the choices for us and help us decide what we really want. We are so excited to move into a bigger space and feel settled. The cabinets in our townhouse are over flowing and something falls out every time I open a door. It will be nice to have space to spread out!

We spent the past weekend in Houston at my cousin Erin's wedding. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful, in the 70's, and the wedding was perfect. My entire family was there and most of the extended family on my mom's side. I was ANXIOUS about the flight, the hotel stay and the big events with a 18 month old but it all went smoothly. Leo was busy busy on the plane but was good and never cried. He spent most of the flight eating snacks, playing with gears and cars, doing stickers and playing peek-a- boo with auntie Molly who was sitting behind us. He did great in the hotel and loved running around exploring. He even ate dinner in a booster seat on the bed in the hotel room! I brought instant Mac and Cheese and made it in the hotel microwave, yummy! My cousin found a babysitter for us to use both nights so we put him down before the rehearsal dinner and were able to enjoy a kid free night! It was great to be able to chat with people and enjoy ourselves. On Saturday, he came to the wedding with us but Kevin brought him back after the ceremony and put him to bed at the hotel and he stayed with the babysitter while we ate, danced and had fun at the reception. It was such a beautiful wedding and we had such a great time. Leo slept most of the way home. I think it took me more time to pack and unpack than the time that we were actually gone. I have learned that traveling with a child is a "working vacation"! Now we are getting ready for our next flight in two weeks when we visit my parents in Florida for a week- yeah for the beach!!!

Sorry about the crazy mix of pictures! Something weird has happened with my blog and it won't let me organize or label my pictures...I'm working on it! Also, I do have more pics from the wedding, they are on my mom's camera so I will post those later...

18 months!

Leo is 18 months old. It is amazing to think that he is a full fledged toddler. At his 18 month appointment we found out that he is in the 95th % for height and 50th % for weight. He had been going through a major growth spurt which would explain why all if his pants are suddenly too short! He is becoming more independent and is having an easier time sepearating at school. He LOVES to interact with other people and says "hi"and "bye" to every person we see. He knows how to get people's attention and likes to show off his "tricks". He is becoming very interested in books and is always bringing me books to read. He loves his cars and trucks and it is so fun to watch him zoom them around. He likes to clean up and sings the clean up song every time he sees me putting things away. He loves to watch football with Dada and points to the TV yelling BALL and calls for Dada to sit by him on the couch. He is obsessed with music and always wants to listen to music, dance and sing. He enjoys being around other kids and will go up to them and hug them and rest his head on them until they squirm away. He knows when is not supposed to do something or touch something and before I can say anything he says "no no no" to himself. He is sleeping longer in the morning and most days he gets up around 7 am (soooo much better than 5:00 am!) He loves to go places and will bring me his coat and shoes so we can go on an adventure. He is sweet as pie and loves to snuggle and cuddle. He is talking more and more everyday and is always saying new words. He is growing up way too fast and is becoming such a big boy. We are having so much fun exploring the world through Leo's eyes and feel so blessed to have such a happy, loving and joyful boy.

Kevin and I took Leo to an indoor park on Sunday. It was crazy packed with tons of kids and parents who have cabin fever like us. The park has a huge indoor playground and an open gym with push toys and balls. Leo LOVED it! He ran, played and kept up with all the "big kids". We spent most of the time chasing after him making sure he didn't take someone out with the scooter. He loved climbing up the wall and sliding down the slide. I think he did it about 25 times before we were able to move on to something else. We will definitely have to go back (maybe on a weekday when there aren't a million people there!)

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We were able to spend time with both families, friends and one another. Leo is at such a fun age and really enjoyed all of the festivities of Christmas (minus Santa). We spent Christmas Eve day at home and then we met my family at the afternoon church service. Leo sat amazingly well and was in awe of the singing, lights and people. He sat on Grammy's lap most of the time and only needed to walk in the hallway for a few minutes. After church, we went to my parents house and had appetizers and had a little Christmas program. When we were growing up, we always did a small Christmas program before we opened gifts. We all did different things depending on our "talents". The program usually consisted of playing the piano, reading a Christmas Story or poem, singing a song, doing a trick or playing a random instrument. This year Leo played the jungle bells, the piano and helped me read a story. After the program, Leo opened his presents and played with his new toys. After he went down for bed, the rest of us opened our presents, laughed and had a great time. We ended up staying the night over there and then had brunch with everyone on Christmas morning. Then Kevin, Leo and I went home and had our family Christmas and Leo got his big gift- a play kitchen! He LOVES kitchens. Whenever we go to someones house to play, he immediately goes to the kitchen and plays there forever. We ordered a kitchen for him online and Kevin spent 4.5 hours putting it together (long story) and when we gave it to him on Christmas, he LOVED it!!! It was so fun to watch his reaction and see him get excited about a gift. Later that day we went back to my parents house for Christmas dinner and games. The next day we got up and went to Kevin's parents house for brunch and we opened gifts together there. Leo and Ellie were the stars of the show and had so much fun opening their presents. It is fun to watch them interact and think about the fun they will have as they grow up together.

We feel so blessed to have such loving and supportive families. We love spending time with them and sharing the holiday's with them! It was a wonderful Christmas. Now we are gearing up for 2011! Happy New Year!!!