July 4th Weekend

We headed to Twin Falls the Saturday of the fourth weekend. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time with my parents. We spent a lot of time in the backyard, my parents have an incredibly peaceful, beautiful backyard. And my Mom just got new patio furniture that is so comfy!


Leo enjoyed hanging with my parents and all the pups.

He especially loved the water fountain, which the dogs also love and use as their drinking bowl. Pretty cute watching Leo learn from Lucy how to lap-up water.






Oh, and Leo got to sit on Grandpa's Harley Davidson motorcycle, pretty cute.

Sunday we all loaded up and went to the city park for some music and frisbee. It was such a great time. Leo took a little nap outside and we relaxed on a blanket in the park.

Then it was back to Boise for a July 4th barbeque with the Brandt, Parsons, and Krouse families!

Leo was the only boy old enough to get into the pool, but he was not shy around the ladies. Landon and Cole are much too young at 3 weeks! They slept pool side in their double stroller.

It was a happening pool party! Audrey, Natalie, Emily, Emma, and Leo all rotated in and out of the pool. Miss Claire spent most of her time at the standing water play station... I didn't snap a pic of her in the pool!


We did not have a swim diaper on... and let me tell you Pampers can take on some serious water! Even Leo couldn't believe how big his diaper was.



After pool time it was dinner time. Here's a picture of either Landon or Cole, I'm not sure which. So tiny and sweet these little twin brothers... very precious.

Leo ate his first salmon and loved it. He also loved pushing a chair back-and-forth across the floor.... soon he will be walking by himself, or should I say running!

Playing Catch-UP

June flew by. I was lucky enough to fulfill my civic duty and be called for Jury Duty. It was two long weeks, and a few sleepless nights. Being in court, trying to juggle work, then keeping up with home life was a full platter - more than a plate full.


So, to re-cap some of the fun this will be an all you can eat buffet of pictures and quips from our early summer fun!


First, we bought a Chariot... I feel like I've mentioned this before... if I have I will likely be the only one to remember :) Or it would seem not. Leo loves to ride inside and often naps soon after we're pedaling down the road.


Also, Ra-Ra (Grandma JoAnn) sent Leo a very stylish pare of summer sandals by Robeez. We love Robeez! Just look how cute these are.



Drew came to help out and nanny for us while our babysitter was on vacation and I was on jury duty. He and Leo had loads of fun, walk in the morning bike ride in the afternoon. Lots of play time in between, couple meals and a naps.... first day Uncle Drew thought this was a piece of cake, second day a little tired, third day he would not say he was pooped but lets just say he appreciates the energy involved in being a full time caregiver. Drew is awesome with Leo.... I love watching them together.


The Friday night that jury duty wrapped up I was pretty wound up. Hardly slept and woke up at 3:30am because my eye was itching. At first I thought it was just stress, then my eye swelled up h-u-g-e so I thought it might be allergies. Saturday I was helping host a baby-shower for Desiree and so I called Kristin to tell her of my Quasimodo eye, she suggested a saline flush and some allergy eye drops. So I sent Kevin to Walgreens to fetch my the goods while I finished making brunch items. I followed Dr. Brandt's prescription and the swelling did start to go down. Later saturday evening I realized I had a little red mark on my cheek and eyelid... yes you guessed it - bites which I hesitate to say are most likely from a spider. I have arachnophobia, so the thought is horrifying to me. Let's move on....

On my first Monday off jury duty and home with Leo it was a beautiful sunny day. We spent sometime in the backyard just relaxing, playing, and enjoying being together. I know I've said this before but I LOVE MONDAY'S HOME WITH LEO!

Pull Ups

Leo started pulling himself up to standing. At first he was a little clumsy and cautious, but now he has the hang of it and does it frequently. His favorite spot is the coffee table, loves to walk around it, pull things off the surface, pat his hands on the top and jabber. He also likes to cruise over to the kitchen table and pull himself up using one of the chairs. And to round out the view Leo heads to either the front door or back door and checks out what is happening outside.

One other benefit of the screen doors that Leo enjoys is making a blow fish face!

Behind the Times

So much has been going on and I have not been diligent in blogging. May has been a full month for our little family. Kevin made a trip to Denver and Taos. While in Denver he did some networking for work at a Colorado Rockies game. The image below is the view from the Executive Box they had.



Kev then traveled on to Taos, New Mexico for his annual visit, house rehab, and vacation. He and Mic worked on Pod 1, updated the tile in the bathroom and did some fixin' to the rain gutters... there was a long project list and they knocked out quite a bit. Kevin sent me the image below... love it!

Easter 2011

For Leo's first Easter we enjoyed brunch and egg hunting at the Rausch house. Leo participated in the egg hunt - well sort of. Kevin found an egg for him and Leo enjoyed rattling it. We had to fend off the other little egg hunters many times, as they were hunting and would see that bright green egg in Leo's hand and want to snatch it!

It was a great way to spend the day, here are a couple of pictures.

Little Things to Laugh About

Oh how serious I am... not sure about you folks but I oscillate between the playful, spirited, child inside my mind and the rule following, process oriented, serious woman. Both of which get plenty of air time in my new roles as mother. My inner child now has someone to be totally silly with! And my serious side has much to do right, read about, analyze and consider.

One resent opportunity for these two to hash-it-out presented itself this week. We are getting new cellular blinds in Leo's room that are also light blocking (thanks for the tip Kristin). I received the color samples in the mail last night and undertook the decision making process. Here's a little clip of how that went....

First, envision me trying to hold open multiple accordion-style samples next to the wall color, the window trim, and the valance. I ask Kevin, "Which one do you like?" and him saying, "I really can't tell the difference." To which I reply, "Are you kidding me, this one has more tan and this one has more gray." His final input was, "I like the white one, which one has more white?"

As I started to feel Ms. Serious Business take control of the situation.... I reminded myself, life really is too short to be overly invested in slight color differences and how invested my husband is in choosing one.

And to balance this post off I will share that my inner child had a great time with Leo splish-splashing in the bath! That kid can kick! Water all over the floor all over me, and one happy, beautiful, baby boy.



I do love my boys.

Seven (and half) Months

I just read on the Brandt blog that per Team Parsons sleep improves at 8 months... yet another wonderful thing to look forward to.

Leo has what we like to call a sleep cycle. A week of wonderful sleep followed by a week of waking up every 2.5 hours. He generally goes to bed about 8:30. We have a really nice bedtime routine and he is off to dreamland pretty easily most nights. On a good week I won't hear a peep until 2:00am, then a feeding and it's sleep time until 6:30 or 7:00am.

Currently we are in the "Wake cycle." When this happens he goes down at 8:30 wakes at 10:30 or 11:00, back to sleep then wakes at 1:30, "nighty-nighty's" off to sleep and wakes at 3:00 happy and social ready to tell me about his dreams.... so after some serious "sleep time looks" and rocking from Mom he dozes off to dreamland until 6:00 or 7:00am. Whoa, you can count the sleep hours there my friends and understand that we are some tired peeps!

Leo also has a pretty stuffy nose, and does not like when I use the aspirator to give him relief. At first he didn't mind, then he thought it was a funny game (literally giggling) of keep my nose from Mommy. But now, I think he'd rather struggle through the snot :)

I'm not sure if he's getting another tooth, having a growth spurt, dealing with acid reflux (which was a popular theory because when he wakes you can distinctly tell he is uncomfortable - back arching, leg flopping, whimpering), or if it's a cold. But we are lovingly working through it! Kevin and I usually tag-team these nights so that not just one of us takes the brunt of it alone.

AND I hope that B. Parson's 8 month prediction holds true for us too!

Now fun kid-bits:

Leo has a great laugh. He laughs at Pixie, laughs at Mom, laughs at Dad, laughs at himself. He is a happy boy.

Leo loves to shove his left hand so far into his mouth that he gags - repeatedly... never gets a clue.

Leo gives g-r-e-a-t hugs. Serious lean into you hugs! And if your lucky he'll open his mouth on your cheek, chin, or jawbone to share a "kiss." If you're unlucky he'll open his mouth on your chin, cheek or jawbone and bites down with his two teeth. Ouch!

Some of Leo's favorite toys are Pixie's toys, and vice-versa. Seriously sometimes I can't tell the difference with the way they makes things.

Leo is in awe of Honda bear... if she comes and stands next to him he coo's and stares at her.

Baby Einstein music makes Leo freeze like a statue. He can be laughing, jabbering and bouncing in his seat and when Kevin turns on the music - freezes like a statue!

With the exception of zucchini, Leo does not like green vegetables (so far).

Soon our little Leo will be crawling... he has the pseudo-scoot down, and the roll-along. It's only a matter of time.

Even sleep deprived I love being Leo's Mom. When I wake in the morning, for the last time, and see his smiling face, listen to his enthusiastic jabbers and squeals, and feel one of his hugs -it is all worth it. I'm also happy to be Kevin's wife. On nights when he sleeps through his "shifts" he is always so thoughtful to help make the waking hours easier for me - making coffee, doing laundry, cleaning the house. And on the nights where we share duties, I get to sleep more :)

Cheers!