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!

Snowshoeing

Kev and I had decided that we needed to get out for some family fun and enjoy some snowshoeing before all the snow was gone. As luck would have it, Sunday there was fresh snow and it continued to fall well into the afternoon. We collected our gear, loaded ourselves up and towards Bogus we went. There is a trail before you get to Bogus that you can pull over off the road and snow shoe for free. Sometime the area to park is full and you find yourself too slow and off to the Nordic Center you go, we however were able to park and had a wonderful trek.

Here we are at the trail head, Kev has Leo strapped in for the ride. (note the piece of trash... we snag that and brought it home. Some people)

Ever the Ham.. here is Kev being goofy :)

We struggled to keep Leo's hat over his ears yet not covering his eyes. Every few stops I had to readjust to keep him warm.

Seriously adorable....
The snowflakes were amazing! You could actually see the detail in the crystal formations....

We managed a family portrait. One with shades and without!

Fun Moments

As a continually sleep deprived Mom I am focusing my thoughts on the fun waking moments rather than my want for sweet slumber! Leo has been sitting up and developing his core muscles. Kevin likes to prop him up on the couch and snap cute pictures of him... here's an excellent example.

Leo also has really got the hang of this rolling back and forth as a mode of transportation. He is able to entertain himself by rolling around the living room floor and collecting various toys, shaking them, talking to them, and then discarding them for something else that catches his eye just an arms length away.

He is really working up to chasing Pixie and Honda one day. I can see this mischievous idea taking shape in his big blue eyes. But for now he'll settle for fetch with Pixie and what I call Big Love for Honda. Big Love entails rolling over to Honda, grabbing two fist fulls of fluffy fur, and pulling while squealing with delight. Our gentle Honda Bear just calmly sits there panting... occasionally she'll throw a glance over her shoulder as if to say, "Hey, loosen that grip Kidd-o."

Here's a photo of Leo's first round of fetch with Pixie. Notice the motion of Leo's right hand and the intensity of Pixie's gaze... hilarious!

Another special time I enjoy with Leo is reading books. We don't have too many so I made a trip to the bookstore this week and collected a few. Leo really liked the "How you make a Rainbow" book... could be that he's teething and loves anything that goes into his mouth too. When we read to Leo he gets so excited, he pats then pounds the books with his palms. He'll get very animated and start kicking his feet too. I love his joy! In addition to the rainbow book we read two of my favorite Dr. Seuss books - Go Dog Go!!!! (of course) and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?


The End.

6 months!

Leo had his 6 month checkup... he is a happy healthy little man who weighs in at 18lbs 10oz and 27 inches long. He is getting both of his bottom front teeth, one has cut through and the other is almost there.

Rolling is Leo's latest mode of transportation... see that ball over there, roll to it, pick it up, shake-shake-shake it! Oh, look Pixie is over there... roll, roll, roll, squeal with delight - Pixie walks away - another squeal!! Leo loves Pixie, she makes him laugh, smile, and her least favorite - the high pitch squeal.

He is also very good at pushups. Pretty impresive how he holds himself up, takes in the world around him, does a little superman actions with rapid arm and leg movements. Kevin and I think he will crawl soon, and faster than the speed of light!

Leo is sitting up on his own, he's a bit wobbly so he needs spotting. He gets very excited and makes loud vocalizations, he'll tell you a gibber-jab story if you listen, and he has the brightest big smile that I guarantee will melt your heart.