Leo's 1st Birthday

When I first started thinking about Leo's birthday party I first was truthfully was only concerned about pictures.  I didn't think much about inviting people or decor or any of that.  Is that terrible?

I mean I thought a lot about him turning one and not really being a baby any more, although I think that I might have had an easier time with this transition than some others due to the fact that Leo has never acted much like a baby.  He's always been in a hurry to grow up.  Even when he was itty bitty he didn't want to be snuggled and held constantly.  I think that's also part of why I'm holding onto breastfeeding because it's the only time of the day that I get to hold him and get his undivided attention. But anyway.
I'm also really embracing Leo turning 1 because he is honestly more and more fun each day.  I love that he looks me in the eye with an intelligent look and communicates with me and is such a sponge learning something new literally every second.
I love holding my sleeping baby and kissing his squishy little cheeks, but I also love helping him develop into an independent person with a purpose.  I still can't believe that I actually get to be this little boy's parent and Lee and I get to have such an influence in his life.  It's a lot of responsibility.
whew.
back to the party, right.

So I knew my sister Molly would be here and I thought about inviting like 2-3 other couples we know and somehow it began turning into this entire event.  I started inviting everyone. haha.  We have been so blessed with a great church family here - a lot of whom have become like family, so there wasn't any way I could not invite them to Leo's party.  They feel like he is their grandson or nephew.  Then Lee began talking about it at work and before I know it I get a text saying that he invited the entire residency program.
To our house.
Our little condo.  With seating for like 10 people, maybe.

AND we had to have the party on a Tuesday evening, which is weird right?
But because of the dates my sister was here, Lee's schedule, and church on Wednesday night we ended up with a Tuesday... and you know what?  It turned out awesome.
We had plenty of food (pizza, fruit, veggies, chips, cupcakes), almost enough space for everyone - people in the kitchen, the hall, and all over the living room floor.
We ended up with like 25-30 people here and it was so much fun.  My sister and niece, church friends, Lee's co-workers (even his attending and program director came!), and our neighbors. Everyone came because they love Leo and were excited to share this life event with us and it was awesome.

His party was sort of a music theme, but really just his cake was a drum, haha, and I used primary colors.

Happy Birthday my Leo!!! 

12 Months

Leo is 12 months and 2 weeks today!!
A one year old!
What?!

He is such a lively, rambunctious child... haha, that's a mom's sweet way of saying my kid is WILD.
From sun up to sun down he's on the go and into everything, exploring and climbing.
He is so much fun though.

He turned 12 months while my sister Molly was here visiting and we had a party for him with a lot of our friends.  I'll do a post about the party.
For real.  The second this one is done (and as long as Leo is still napping....).

I was reading back over Leo's 11month post and right after he turned 11 months old he said Mama!! January 29th.  I wrote it down.  Sorry Lee... no idea the date of when he said Dada.
For a couple weeks he said it all the time and has regressed to not saying it again. Grrrr mean kid!
He is babbling and they say boys talk later than girls... but come on Leo!  Talk to your mom!
His favorite thing to "say" is this weird lubalubaluba sound he makes while sticking his tongue out. He and Lee do it to each other but I can't make the noise properly... so it's "their thing" haha.
He's also getting some sign language now!  He can sign milk and he tries to do more and all done.  The milk is the cutest thing of all time.

We're practicing body parts and he touches his ears, nose, and eyes!  It's so sweet! He also figured out his finger can go up his nose right before his party and I have several pictures of my sweet baby with a finger shoved up his nose. awesome.

He is following commands really well these days.  I can tell him to go get his Elmo and push his foot to make him sing and he can do it.  It's so amazing watching him figure things out.

I think this has been in the past couple days, so technically on his 13 month post... but he now knows how to sit down on his little bike or train and make it move while sitting down!  It might not sound like much but after weeks of watching him climb on and then push the handles and have the bike slide out from under him makes it a big deal! haha!  He "walks" it with his knees bent.  So cute.

His cousin Rynnlee (17 months old) was here for a few days and it was really fun to watch them play.  Leo would put his hand on her back, sort of gently, and guide her around to where he wanted her to go.  It was so funny.  He was like come on Rynnlee we're going to go play with the trucks now.

He still loves music, drumming on everything, playing his ukulele, piano, and whatever else he finds.
He loves trying to get into the fridge.  When the door opens he darts for it and always goes for my vitamins and salad dressings in the door.
Actually, weirdly, his favorite thing in the entire kitchen to play with these days are these packs of instant oatmeal that someone left here when they were visiting (because ugh gross instant oatmeal...) and he gets them out of the box and scatters them around the kitchen, tossing and kicking them.  And I'm not sure how I know this............. but he thinks its hilarious if you throw them at him.

Let's see what else....
Basically he can do anything physically.  He can climb (even on top of and stand on the toilet while I'm putting on make up as I found out the other day), he can go down the slide at the park now - as long as there are two people  with him, one to send him and one to catch haha, he can run, even though he sometimes gets ahead of himself and trips, he can dunk ANYTHING in his basketball hoop, he is crazy strong - like as strong as me I think, he is a big kid and can play at the splash pad, and he can easily get off the couch and bed now!

He knows how to open doors and thankfully at our house the door knobs are just about an inch too high for him.  He also knows that keys go in the door and tries to unlock everything when he gets his hands on the keys.  It's precious.
He figured out his car track tower and can put the cars on the top and watch them go... sometimes he sticks them wheels down and they actually make it to the bottom. haha.

He's eating well.  Still loves yogurt, guacamole, grapes, oranges, and hummus the best.  He likes macaroni and cheese a lot, but I'm really trying not to have that be like my go to food because let's be honest it's not that healthy.  When I make it at home I just do noodles, sprinkle some cheese, and then sneak in some black beans and peas or something with each bite.
I'm finding that restaurants do not have healthy kids options at all...  it's like grilled cheese or mac and cheese, oh or a cheese quesadilla. lol.  And unfortunately I tend to like weird or spicy things when we go out so it's hard to share with him!  I have to decide what to order based on what I can share with Leo... dude's cramping my style. haha. jk. I love you Leo and will let you eat whatever you want off my plate. promise.
It's also really hard to have like snacks constantly in my bag and not buy crap.  Like Leo loves peanut butter crackers and it's super convenient to just buy the premade packs, but those are actually like full of crap.  It's annoying.  But whatever.
We eat a lot of grapes, avocados, strawberries, peanut butter, cheese, beans, pasta, potatoes, chicken, yogurt, sweet potatoes, peas, broccoli, and apples around here.

And with all that eating my baby is up to 26.5 lbs and just a little over 32 inches.
Off the growth chart for both height and weight now!!
His 12 month appointment went great and the doctor said he's as perfect as we think he is.  Well that's sort of what she said.
We switched doctors since his 9 month appointment and I'm SO happy we did!  It was much, much better.  And it's in Lee's office so we were able to have him come join us for part of the appointment and visit him at work looking all handsome in his white coat... like maybe a little too handsome, but anyway.

I'm still nursing Leo.  I've tried giving him milk (cow and almond) and he hates it.  He dislikes the almond milk a little less than the cows milk but he doesn't prefer either... so we'll keep trying.
My doctor recommended pumping and doing like half regular and half breastmilk but I haven't pumped in months and months and seriously nothing comes out.  So.... scratch that plan.
Any other tips?  I've tried all temperatures.
I'm not set on weaning him soon, but it would be nice to have the option, you know?

Alright so here's some pictures of this sweet boy!!

and a special little Valentine's Day photo shoot

And his 1st Birthday Photo Shoot

Leo's current favorite books

I thought I'd do a post about Leo's current favorite books before they get pushed to the wayside with all the new books he's getting for his birthday!  We love books!! That's pretty much all I've bought for him for his birthday. And I can't pass the book section at the thrift stores. Last week I got some for .25!! What!?

Leo has lots of favorite books. Some he likes to carry around the house, some he likes to chew, and some he likes to sit and read! 

His very, very favorite is Who Said Moo? He likes when we make all the animal noises (he tries to immitate - so cute!!) and there are extra little flaps that hide the animal sounds and he loves to flip it over. 

Our favorite book to read together is I Love You Through and Through. It not only has a super sweet story, it goes over the body parts and Leo loves when I touch his toes and nose ☺️

He likes books with added features - googly eyes, flaps, Elmo puppets, music, chomping dinosaurs 😂 you get the point.  

Overall he likes books with just a few words on each page and bright colors.  Just like you'd expect from a baby!

I'm interested to see how his preferences change in the coming months as he understands more and more. 

I'm excited for the day when he starts it like Dr Seuss! I read those to him now and he doesn't pay that good of attention, but they're some of my favorites! I got him one for his birthday that is all the really good quotes from all the books complied into one. I can't remember the name of it and it's already wrapped up! Haha! 

We've also become frequent visitors to the library. They have a great set up for babies/toddlers and Leo loves to pull the board books down and sit on the floor level couches and play with the stuff on the walls ☺️ We go to baby rhyme time once a week and play with other baby friends. 

😘 I love this baby and hope that he grows up he'll love books as much as his mommy and daddy! 

Bubble Genius

I've been trying to make a point to write down more little precious moments that happen throughout the days with Leo.

Let me start this by saying of course I think my child is the most amazing, talented, smartest baby to ever live - duh.

Yesterday we went out on our little back patio and on the shelf was a tub of no-spill bubbles that we haven't played with in at least 3-4 weeks.  Leo went straight over and grabbed it, pulled out the wand and BLEW A BUBBLE.
I kid you not.
I was shocked.  This baby is a genius, right?!
He knew not only that they were bubbles but HOW to blow the bubbles.
How is that possible?!

He did it several times too.  It was not just a fluke.  Scouts Honor.

If only my phone's memory wasn't full I'd have video proof! haha!

To prove he is normal after all he did lick the wand and get soap in his mouth...

11 months old

Today is the actual day that Leo is 11 months.
I really, really, really need to write these posts at the correct time so I don't forget all the adorable little details!!

My little guy is so fun and so full of personality.
He seriously thinks he's like a 2 year old.  He loves to be around bigger kids and tries to imitate them... and I mean big kids, like playing basketball with the teens at church or our 6 and 8 year old neighbors.  He gets right in there and tries to take over.
I'm sometimes afraid that I have made him too independent or too brave.  I hope he's not a bully!
At the playground he'll "run" all over and try to climb and if I'd let him he'd probably go headfirst down the slide.
I see many bumps and bruises in my future........

While he is a rough and tough baby he is also becoming a lot more affectionate and sweet.  He gives kisses, hugs, and will come running to you if you hold out your hands for him.
Last night Lee and I were laying in the floor playing with him and he kept coming over and attacking our faces in big slobbery kisses.
He has started this huge smile with a scrunched up nose and it seriously is the best, second only to the little shy, chin to the chest grin I get when I peak at him through the car window or play peakaboo through the back window while I'm getting in the trunk.  My heart can barely handle it!

His favorite things to play with his his daddy's full size basketball.  He gets his little arms around it and "dribbles" and shoots it into his exersaucer! haha!  It is the best!  I'm pretty sure we're getting him a baby basketball hoop for his birthday.

He also still loves music, including his drum, ukulele, and piano.  Ah and he's also learned how to play the harmonica! haha!!

After sports and music his favorite thing to do is read books.  Such a well rounded baby, huh? lol! I love to read to him and let him turn the pages.  His favorite books are pop up books, but they are also his favorite to destroy.... so he only gets to read those under close supervision.

He's so fun to make laugh.  He giggles every time I say - eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww or hiccup! hahaha he even laughed hysterically at my mom the other day when she was choking...... :/ need to work on appropriate times to laugh I guess.

He isn't saying any words that well, but he "talks" all the time. He says Dada and Daddy but not Mama.  Sometimes he'll accidentally make the M sound and I'll get excited, but nope. no mama.
His newest is saying "oooooohhhhhh" usually while pointing at something.  He loves to point.

At my MOPS group he was moved up to a classroom with the bigger/walking kids.  He went right in and started playing like it was no big deal.  He was the youngest by several months but you'd never know it.  I've been running into people not believing me when I tell them how old he is a lot lately.  Like I would lie about the age of my baby.  I might lie about MY age... lol, but not Leo's... not yet anyway.  Maybe like when he's 2.25 and under 2 is free, hahaha. ok not even then. promise.
I just have a unusually huge kid.
I baby sat for a 2 year old yesterday and Leo is the same height.
He wears 24 month clothes and size 5 shoes now.   Thank goodness for Once Upon a Child or else I wouldn't be able to afford to keep this kid clothed!
I really hope he's not like 7 feet tall.  About 6'6 maybe 6'7 would be ok.  But taller than that it's like he HAS to be good at basketball or else he's just weird. haha.  I mean obviously he'll be good at basketball............ but just in case ;)

And in true big boy fashion he loves to eat.  His favorite by far is grapes.  He could eat pounds and pounds of grapes if I'd let him... but have you seen the price of grapes? haha.  He gets like 10 a day ;)
He loves yogurt, oatmeal, peanut butter, and fruit - clementines, bananas, apples, grapes, kiwi, watermelon, and strawberries are his favorites.  I've started mixing chia seeds soaked in almond milk in his oatmeal and he eats it right up.
He likes chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes, cheese, spaghetti, pizza, veggie burgers, hard boiled eggs, and any kind of bread or cracker.  He will sometimes eat fish, beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, and other veggies but not consistently.  He will eat ANYTHING if it is dipped in guacamole or hummus though. hahaha!  Baby loves those two things so that's how I get some extra vegetables in him. Sometimes I just feed him it by the spoon full, especially in restaurants.  I'll order guacamole and this baby eats it all!
Oh and green smoothies!  He loves to drink through a straw and drinks a couple cups a water a day and so whenever I make myself a smoothie I give him some  too and he has no idea it's healthy :)
I usually put - spinach and kale, frozen fruit - like pineapple, banana, peaches, strawberries, blue berries, flax seeds, and almond milk.

I'm still nursing Leo (yay!!!! I feel like I've won an Olympic medal for this) and plan on continuing to nurse him for a little while longer.  Right now I'm feeding him 3 or 4 times a day depending on what's going on. I will probably gradually go down to twice a day after he turns a year old.  I don't know why, but I'm just weirded out about giving him cows milk.  Lee and I have completely stopped drinking milk and only do soy or almond, but they don't have enough calories to switch him straight over to that after he stops nursing.  Lee thinks I should just give him cows milk, but I know breastmilk is better for him so I figure I might as well keep doing that for a while and giving him almond or soy milk here and there.  If you'd asked me when he was first born I'd have said I'm JUST trying to get to 6 months.  And then at 6 mos I'd have said JUST until a year.  Well that year came fast!
Part of me would like to keep nursing him until the next baby comes so that I won't have a terrible transition back to nursing.  It was SO painful, but then I'd have to deal with him being so sad and jealous that a new baby would be nursing... so scratch that plan.
I guess I'm just playing it by ear.

He's sleeping through the night really well again.  Thank goodness!
He still wakes up at about 6am though and most  days I can nurse him and put him back in bed and he'll sleep for another hour or 2, but some days our day starts at 6am.  ugh.

His schedule has been SO chaotic with the continual rotation of visitors we've had at our house and my job as tour guide.  He's taken so many naps in the car, in his stroller, in my lap, etc that it's actually be hard to get him to sleep at home.
We have 2 weeks (whoopie) with no one at our house and I'm really really hoping to get him on a decent nap schedule and have him want to sleep in his bed.

Alright so enough talk.  Here's this month in pictures :)

Hanging out with his uncle Torrey 

basketball baby 

He loved motorcycles!! He loves to see them when we're out on a walk! 

Nanny came to visit us for 10 days!

(I told you we had visitors like crazy)

we're finally getting to the point where he doesn't just shove hand fulls of sand in his mouth.....

My sweet happy Leo!