20 Months

1- Leo jabbers all day long. He talks to you like he's having a real conversation except you have no idea what he's saying. Its adorable.
2- Whenever Leo goes into a room he turns around and shuts the door and then locks it. He frequently does this in the downstairs bathroom and I have to rescue him.
3- When you ask him what a kitty says, he will give a little high pitched squeal. It sounds nothing like a kitty.
4- When I talk to him he says "ya" after everything that I say.
5- He can sign "more" when he wants more of something. I have no idea where he learned it since I never taught it to him.
6- When something is all gone, he raises his right arm and says, "gone".
7- He still drinks a bottle and refuses to hold it himself.
8- He loves cars, trucks, trains, and anything else that has wheels. He makes a car sound whenever he sees or hears one.
9- He loves to hit Lilly. If Lilly gets anywhere close to his face, he smacks her. We are working on teaching him to be nice and gentle.
10- He really hates getting his picture taken.

Leo is 2!!

He is here because they left us. I have so many emotions about Leo turning two. We worked SO hard to get this little guy here. He is a miracle in so many ways. If his brothers had lived, he never would have joined our family. It makes losing our twins feel not so horrible, because we have Leo.

He loved his train cake with a small picture of him in the front.

But his favorite part of his birthday was the train table he got. He ripped off that wrapping paper and he immediately got to work playing. He didnt even look up for a good hour.

We sure love this sweet little boy and are so glad that he joined our family!

Halloween 2013

I love being able to coordinate these two's Halloween costumes! Last year we did Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. This year we have a pirate and her parrot.

We attended our neighborhood Halloween parade and Leo won 3rd place and Lilly won 2nd place for best Halloween costumes. We also attended our church Halloween carnival. They had a fun dinner, tons of carnival games, and a trunk or treat. Then on Halloween night we went trick or treating with two other families from our ward. We had SO much candy by the end of Halloween!

We also let Lilly carve her very own pumpkin. She was so excited and only needed a little help from daddy.

Lilly Turns 7!!

Lilly turned 7 on October 18th! This year we implemented the friend party to every other year. So this year we celebrated as a family.

Lilly ate a birthday breakfast of her favorite cereal, Trix before going off to school.

We brought cupcakes at lunchtime for her class. It was fun to meet all her little friends! She was so excited to show everyone her little brother. After lunch, we brought Lilly home with us to open presents and get ready to head downtown for family pictures.

Lilly loved all her gifts. We gave her the movie "The Croods", lots of art stuff, a Rainbow Loom, her favorite caramel candies, and a feather bed comforter she has been wanting forever.

Then we headed downtown for family pictures.

Afterward we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner with Aunt Emo and Aunt MJ. Lilly loved it when they gave her a sombrero, ice cream with a candle, and danced around the table singing to her. Actually, she was pretty embarrassed!

We are sure glad this sweet and sassy 7 year old is in our family!

Visit from Grandpa and the Boys

In early October, my dad, James, and Brayden stopped in for a visit while on their east coast vacation. They only stayed one night but the kids loved it! The boys were so sweet to play with my wired children.

They loved jumping on the trampoline with uncle Brayden. Whenever they would come in from one of their jumping sessions, they would be drenched in sweat.

Leo really loved his grandpa. He has this thing for his grandpa's. Dont get me wrong, he loves his grandma's, but he has a very special connection with both of his grandpa's.

When it was time for them to leave we were all very sad. It's so fun to get visitors when we live so far away from family!

First Grade

19 Months

1- He hates chocolate or peanut butter.
2- He throws tantrums. If he doesn't get what he wants he belly flops onto the floor and sobs.
3- He will go up to anyone with food (even complete strangers) and beg for food.
4- The first time we went to the pool this year, he was terrified of the water. But the second time he loved it! Now he is obsessed with the water!
5- He loves being outside. If you open the back door or patio door he will come running!
6- Whenever he hears music, he runs to the back wall "his stage" and dances.
7- He loves getting a free back scratch. He will climb into your lap and lay his head on your shoulder and wait for you to start scratching.
8- One day I gave Leo a little bowl of fruit snacks. When he finished them he came running back with his bowl wanting more. I didnt want him to have any more fruit snacks so I gave him a handful of goldfish crackers. When he saw what was in the bowl he flung it across the room, belly flopped onto the floor, and sobbed.
9- He loves watching movies on the iphone. It is a wonderful distraction for him while we are at Lilly's swimming lessons, waiting at Lilly's dance, or even when we go out to dinner.
10- He loves to play chase with Lilly around the house. They just run in circles and scare each other.

Leo's New Words:

"Hot"
"Oh mo" for "Oh no"