Where's My Baby?...

Ok, so it's been this way for a while (since Leo was about 19 months) but I haven't really talked much about it on here.  Leo is no longer a baby.  He is officially a little boy.  Not sure why I feel the need to blog about this.

Tonight we rocked for quite a while and he was so content to sit there with me and cuddle.  He'd point to things around the room and name them.  And he's saying things like "light's on" and "look at birds".  He pointed to my shirt while we were rocking and said (what sounded like), "this is mommy's shirt".  So sweet.  I swear I cannot get enough of him.  He's so much more content since he's had his tubes and he can obviously hear so much better.  He will sit with us on the couch and watch Yo Gabba Gabba.  That never happened before-the only time he'd sit still was when he was in his high chair with food in front of him.

He loves fruit snacks.  He still also loves bananas, grapes, cheese, carrots, and tomatoes.  We have yet to find a food he doesn't like.  He also loves his stuffed animals and blankets (night nights).  His Monkey pillow pet his still his favorite though (he calls it "Money"). 

He's so happy in the mornings and just looks so sweet when I come in to get him and he pops up from under his blanket.  He's a hugger and a kisser and loves to jump and skip around the house.

Ok, just a quick update tonight.  His two-year well-check is soon and I am eager to see how tall he is...

Here is a picture from the other night, he was helping me in the kitchen:

He lined them up himself and found the matching lids.

Summer's End...

It's been a wonderful summer.  Busy, like usual, but wonderful  We've had just the right amount of out-of-town guests, vacations, and stay-at-home time. 

Leo is such an interesting little person.  He seems so grown up all of a sudden.  Since his tubes have been in I can tell he can hear so much better and he repeats words so much more accurately.  His speech is clearing up and he just seems calmer. 

He will repeat just about everything we do or say and it's really funny.  He still says things like, "Abba (Gabba), where'd it go?  Bye Bye Abba."  He will do that with everything.  He's also started saying, "What happened?" "Here ya go," and "It's getting dark."  We have to look at two books each night while we rock, he holds one and I hold one.  He is actually enjoying listening to books now, too, and I think it's because he can hear so much better.  He has to give everyone hugs before going to bed and usually tries to leave his room for more hugs after we've started rocking.  When I go to put him in his crib after we rock, he always says, "rock, rock!".  Tonight while we were rocking (after my bath) he kept feeling my hair and saying, "hair's wet".  He also says cute things like, "I did it," "Awww man," and, "alright!" 

His favorite show to watch is Yo Gabba Gabba.  He absolutely loves it.  It's actually a cute show and I know he loves it because of all the songs and music.  He's started saying, "Foofa, Foofa" when he sees all the characters.  It's really cute.  Sometimes he calls her "Poopa" but after I say Foofa he gets it right.

I just wanted to make a post because I am heading back to work tomorrow.  I remember feeling so emotional at the end of the summer last year.  It was because I knew no summer would ever be that way again.  Leo was still a baby last summer and I knew that he would grow up so fast.  I feel emotional this summer, too, but not nearly as much as last.  Leo is so much fun and we have such a sweet, happy, beautiful relationship.  He loves his mommy and he fills my heart with so much happiness I can't even put it into words. 

His birthday is next month.  I can't believe he will be two.  He gets better and better with each day that passes and I hope he feels the same about me.  He goes back to Miss Stephanie's full time tomorrow and he will have fun seeing his friends and learning new things.  I will certainly miss my alone time with him, but I know it will be a great year.

Lots of Fun and Other Stuff...

So we've been our usual amount of busy this summer.  I will start from today and go backwards...

Leo got tubes in his ears this morning.  He was a champ! Here he is in his little tiger gown waiting for surgery...

 Dr. Chicola said that he had a lot of fluid in both ears that had been in there for a long time.  I am so happy we put the tubes in now.  Leo will feel so much better!  After surgery, his Dr. came to talk to us and said that after they brought Leo back, he was very calm and just sitting on the bed watching everyone do their thing.  Then when it came time to put the anesthesia mask on his face, he held it over his nose and mouth and within a few seconds he fell over to the side, asleep.  Dr. Chicola said he was surprised how calm Leo was.  They warned us that it would be typical for Leo to cry coming out of the anesthesia, but he didn't cry or fuss at all.  He was groggy for a few minutes and seemed a little loopy, but never fussed and sat with me while I rocked him for about 30 minutes.

He was ready for that milk!  He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since 7 pm yesterday evening.  I am so proud of my little man.  He seemed to feel just fine today; you would have never guessed he'd had surgery this morning.

Leo is talking all the time now and it's really fun.  That's another reason I am happy he has tubes, it should help clear up his speech.  He's started saying things like, "Helicopter...where'd it go?" and "Daddy...where'd he go?"  He is still very polite and uses "Thank You" quite often (and appropriately).  He also loves to say Bye Bye to things and people, "Bye Bye Daddy", "Bye Bye Mommy", "Bye Bye Spring", "Bye Bye Minnie", "Bye Bye Outside", "Bye Bye Helicopter".  And we also get a big happy greeting every morning" "HI MOMMY", "HI DADDY".  He requests to talk to "Amaw and Popo" (Grandma and Papaw) all the time and loves Skype.  The other night before bath time he said,  "I go peepee in the potty."  That's probably his longest sentence to date.  And he has, in fact, been going pee in the potty on a regular basis after his bath each night.  We are so proud and he is proud of himself. 

Our trip to St. Pete Beach was totally awesome and relaxing and fun and perfect.  I had so much fun and I think we all did.  Kendra and I had fun recreating the good ole jr high days...playing in the gulf and pool like we did when we came down to Panama City.

Only this time we were of legal drinking age which made it extra fun.  Chae and Leo had fun hanging out and James found a nice little internet cafe to work in, so his days weren't too unpleasant either.  Ken and I also had a blast taking drives with my mom and listening to stories of when she used to vacation down in Treasure Island with her family and friends.  (Don't worry Mom, I won't post any of your secrets!)  We also went to the Tampa Rays vs New York Yankees MLB game.  It was rather enjoyable and Leo lasted 7 innings which is more than I expected.  Here he is watching a home run...

Here are some other pictures from our trip.  I had to steal these from my mom because I only took two pictures from my camera phone (and zero pictures from my camera) while we were there.  Woops.  Guess I really was having too much fun. 

What a wonderful trip.  I think we are going to try to figure out a way to do a family vacation like this every summer (with Katie and Brett, too!) instead of making the Indiana/Cincy trip each summer.  I don't know if we'll be able to swing it, but I sure hope we can.  It was so much fun.

I am leaving you with my favorite picture from the trip.  It's one of Kendra's so I'm stealing it from her. She is a wonderful, wonderful photographer.  (Check out her blog: Krantzography).  She took so many beautiful pictures, but I am only going to post one...

Watching the sunset on our last evening in St. Pete.  It was simply perfect...