Leo's First Birthday

July 20 was Leo's first birthday! I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone bye, and how much our little man has grown. I'm sure I will feel this each year...

My parents drove up from Twin Falls the Sunday before Leo's birthday and we barbecued in the backyard. It was a warm sunny afternoon and we all enjoyed the time together. Kevin cooked delicious salmon, then there was potato salad, corn salad, melon and strawberries...

I made an apple bake (gluten and sugar free), this was not a birthday cake but a dessert that all - including Leo - enjoyed.

Grandma and Grandpa Sellers surprised Leo with balloons and birthday hats.

Kevin enjoyed these too! Leo did get to open a couple of presents, he enjoyed tearing off the wrapping paper. Leo received cards and gifts from everyone, he is spoiled! Grandma RaRa and Grandpa Joe, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Mel, Aunt Donna, Uncle Drew, Aunt Lisa and cousin Chloe, The Rauschs, and more!

Wednesday was Leo's actual birthday and he enjoyed celebrating his birthday with friends at daycare. I made cupcakes for the group (gluten free, dairy free, egg free - one of Leo's friends has food allergies but I wanted him to enjoy the cupcakes too!). I asked Kristen to take pictures, she said Leo loved it! While I did miss not seeing the cupcake event, I love looking at the photos.



As for our family celebration, we sang to Leo in the morning and just had a quiet dinner and reflected on the events one year ago.

Thing Leo is doing as of his first birthday:
- Spider crawl: this is hands and feet, butt in the air, close to walking
- Jibber-jabber: warming up his vocal chords for sentences
- Laughing: tickle spots are his neck and collar bone area
- Sleeps through the night
- Gives awesome hugs
- Leo loves to be outside, and he likes to smell and eat flowers... bark (so far I have removed all pieces before swallowing occurs)... and has attempted rocks
- Hugging Honda, lays on her - so cute. He has tried this with Pixie, but she doesn't really like it


At Leo's doc appointment we found out that he weighs in at 20lbs 8oz and is 29inches tall. I was told he would triple his birth weight by his first birthday, and he did! Leo also has 2 bottom teeth and three top teeth.

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.