Happy birthday Leo!

Okay, okay yes he's almost 17 months now but doesn't mean I love him any less :) This is dedicated to my sweet boy, Leo Robert, and all of the things he has done and accomplished over the last 6 months or so.

For Leo's first birthday we went to Florida with my mom and Gram.  Leo was born 89 years and one day after my Gram so it was an amazing moment in MY life to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday AND my son's first birthday.  Especially in a place that means so much to me.  Oh yeah and I turned 31 a few days before :|  Seriously, where does the time go?!

So here are a few of Leo's quirks at age one:

*His favorite toy is any ball.  He loves playing "catch" and he has an amazing arm!  At 17 months, this is STILL true.  When we go to the gym, the ladies at kid watch know to take Leo straight to the balls to play!
* He has such a cute sense of humor.  When we are laying on the floor playing, he will crawl over to me, PULL UP my shirt so he can blow raspberries on my belly!  Where he picked this up, I have no idea but he thinks it's hilarious...and so do we!

* At one year he had 5 teeth.  Now at 17 months, he's up to 8.  The bottom cracks me up...he has the front two and two molars!
* Super picky eater which is super annoying AND probably why he's a shrimp...weighing in at 17lbs 13 oz at one year!

* A little before a year he busted out his first "word" daaaaa.  Which could be interrupted as 'Dad' or 'dog' depending on who's in the room.  Months later, he finally gave me a 'mama' (which can also be confused with 'more' depending on the circumstances) and Jack is 'Ack'.  Most frequently used work is 'ball'.
* He has THE most expressive eyebrows.
* I finally got my snuggly baby!  Sometimes while sitting on the floor, he will crawl over, lay his head on my lap, roll over and smile up at me.  Absolutely.Melts.My.HEART.

On Saturday, December 13, Leo decided it was time to start walking!  It was a Saturday morning and J had gotten up with the boys.  He woke me a short time later by showing me a video of Leo sitting in the middle of the floor, standing up and taking a few steps.  In absolute shock I ran down stairs and for the next 10 minutes with a look of determination Leo stood, stepped, fell and repeated.  It was amazing!  A mere two weeks later, he gave up crawling and became an amazing little walker :)

We spent Christmas in Illinois for the first time since 2009 and Leo was such an amazing traveler (however he needs a little work on the airplane).  He was charming and adapted to new surroundings really well.  He was a little overwhelmend with all of the people at times but he would just crawl over and seat himself in my lap and enjoy the show.   I think his favorite gifts were a ball (kid loves balls!) and an elephant ride/push toy.

I've said it before and it continues to amaze me but Jack and Leo are SO different.  Jack is my little maniac who challenges me every step of the way.  While Leo, is so relaxed and good natured.  He's very go with the flow and adapts well in new environments.  Once we wised up and just gave him a bottle in his crib at bedtime he's been sleeping like a champ (7pm-7/8ish am).  He is very social and doesn't have a fear of new people, especially men.






We went to visit J at work.  I was holding Leo and we were talking to a group of women.  One of J's male co-works walked into the room and Leo instantly reached his arms out.  The man wasn't really a baby person but he obliged and Leo sat happily in the stranger's arms.

Both times I have become 'mommy', my first instinct was to protect my babies and then I learned to love.  I loved because this little person was a part of me.  But over time their personalities emerge and I fall in love all over and for new reasons.  It's such a wonderful part of being a mother.

While I wouldn't change a thing about Jack's strong personality, having Leo's sweet and calm dispostion is like a breath of fresh air and gives good balance to our home.

This may be my favorite picture of Jack and Leo for 2014.  It's slightly deranged (completely NOT posed, totally reminds me of an early episode of Weeds) but perfectly captures this dynamic of brothers.  

Happy belated birthday, sweet boy!
I love you,
Mom

Sweet Boy Is 10 Months

(Only about 6 months late, who's counting!)




10 months...wow!  I guess it's time to start thinking about a birthday party!

So much has happened in 3 months.  Shortly after 7 months, his two bottom teeth popped through.  And oh my word, he is a terrible teether :|.  Teething never bothered Jack but now that we are four teeth in (the top two came in around 9 months) I have discovered that a new tooth will take Leo out of his A game for at least two days.  He has a non stop fever, won't eat, only wants to nurse, is super fussy and will only sleep while being held.  It's rough.  Only 16 teeth to go...can't wait for the molars to come in (cringe).

The whole family took a trip back to Illinois during the first week of June.  During that week Leo learned how to go from sitting to hands and knees and back.  Sure enough, the next week, at 8.5 months, he was crawling like madman.  Within the last week, he has figured out to pull himself to a standing position which means those first steps are just around the corner.

 (Leo received lots of love from the ladies while in IL.)

(9 months in, 9 months out!)

I think I have reached a heartbreaking decision...it's time to stop breastfeeding.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE nursing my babies.  I nursed Jack for a year and I had every intention of doing the same (if not longer) for Leo.  I love our quite moments together and the memory of nursing both of my boys will be something I will cherish forever.

Ever since his teeth started to pop up, he has been nibbling on me regularly. I figured it would pass as I never had this issue with Jack.  However, with each new tooth the biting has become worse.  Last weekend, the four little razors did a serious number on me and removed a good chunk of skin on an incredibly sensitive part of my body.  Bandages and Neosporin have not been able to heal it due to the fact that I still have to nurse.  I even resorted to only pumping on the one side.  Either way it is extremely painful and has left me very hesitant to put anything near his mouth!

It's heartbreaking because there is a very good chance that this it.  My last baby.  The last time my body will do what it was truly made to do, grow and sustain life.  I feel like I was just pregnant yesterday and now I am severing the last thing that connects me and Leo in the intimate little bond we have shared for the last 20 months.

Sweet boy, getting to know you over the last 10 months has been a joy and privilege.  Thank you rounding out this family!

Mama