Letters to Leo...11-12 months

Dear Leo,

I feel so lucky this morning to have the opportunity to sit down and write your post.  Daddy asked me what I wanted to do on this Mother's Day and I said that I just wanted some time set aside to write about you.  These past few weeks have been extra special as you recently turned 1! I can't get over how quickly your first year of life went.  I was always told, "Life goes so fast once you have kids." I never realized the extent of just how fast this time goes. It's hard to explain as I love all of my kids the same, yet you each own a special place in my heart.  You're definitely soaking up being "my baby".

 King status by far

Wagon ride 

Newfound climbing and getting into everything skills

 Big boy at the picnic table

Banana cream ice cream

Milestones/Special Firsts:
*You celebrated your first St. Patrick's Day! We stayed overnight at The Plaza in Milwaukee for the weekend and went to the parade downtown.  You were pretty mesmerized by all the activity and even snuck out of your snowsuit for a few minutes to soak in some sunshine.  The following weekend we went to the Erin parade, which was a bit underwhelming in comparison.  Someday I'll tell you all about the fun your daddy had that day. After the parade, we came home, played outside and Nonee made her famous corned beef!

Parade downtown 

*You have 7 teeth now! The seventh one popped about a week after you turned 1.  You continue to have a big ol grin, everyone tends to comment on your cute lil teeth.

Excited big brother and sister are napping

*No more bottles! You made the transition to whole milk without a hitch.

One of your last bottles

*You are quite the talker! You say: mama, dada, all done, noni noni, hot, Buckwheat, Nouna, nonee, papou, Ari, Elle, more, please, banana, one, milk
*You wave goodbye now when someone walks out the door.  When you notice me getting my things gathered for work, you even start waving anticipating I'm about to leave.
*You celebrated your first Easter. I believe your sister may have helped you find your basket.  Mommy may have accidentally ordered you a basket that is about twice the size of your brother and sisters. Whoops! I don't think you minded though.

* My highlight this post was definitely celebrating your 1st birthday! We started the day with a family hike at the Ice Age trail on Funk Road.  It was wonderful being together to not only celebrate your birthday, but also to celebrate the arrival of spring! Afterwards, we went to the PHFB for lunch, cake & presents.  We spent most of the afternoon hanging out on the deck. When we ask you, "Leo, how old are you?" you say "One" and hold up your pointer finger.

 New sandbox for summer!

 This card may have been your favorite gift 

 One of my fav trails

Loving Nouna & Nouno

Things You Like Right Now:
*The weather has started warming up and it is safe to say you are obsessed with being outdoors. You love crawling around outside to explore, eating sticks, playing with balls, going for wagon rides, Burley rides and riding your strider! I'll ask you, "Leo, do you want to go outside?" and you nod your head repeatedly smiling and bouncing up and down.
*Clap, clap, clap! You're always smiling and clapping.

Always happy to get some Strider time

*Sleeping! I will ask you, "Leo, do you want to go noni noni?" and you will shake your head yes.  You know when you're tired and you always go to bed with a smile, at night time or even for a nap.

*Putting the play phone up to your ear and pretending to talk to someone.
*Singing & dancing.  When mommy puts on music in the morning, you start bobbing up and down. There are many songs that you sing "ooooo" during certain parts.
*You like when Daddy brushes your teeth.  When we say it's time to brush your teeth, you take your hand up to your mouth and start making the brushing motion smiling. In your mind, this brings you closer to a big boy status like your siblings and you enjoy being a part of this bedtime routine.

 
Your Current Dislikes:
*Now that the weather is so nice, we've been outside quite a bit.  Anytime we are not outside, you are thoroughly disappointed.  You stand at the sliding glass door to look outside, which is then accompanied by a turn around to look at me and whine.  "Leo, do you want to go outside?'" You nod your head up and down and smile. I think you're dreaming of the day that you can walk so you're able to keep up with big brother and sister outside even more.

Your Brother & Sister:
*Well, all Elle wants to do is pull you around in the wagon outside and go for Burley rides with you.  She loves showing you the ropes and being able to explain how things work.  She also is still adjusting to your desire to destroy any of her creations. I keep explaining to her that is what babies do and that you don't mean any ill harm by it.  Definitely a learning curve for her!

 Elle in her glory as big sis

 Snack on the deck!

 All day, every day

Elle's not thrilled about you climbing over the puzzle

*Ari has been busier than ever with school, soccer and chess club.  He's counting down the days until summer break, just so anxious to be home to play with you everyday.

 You're on your way Leo!

 Bday cupcake!

Family bike ride

Your Daddy:
*Daddy, too, is anxious for summer break! We all are. As I've been approaching the end of the semester, my workload has increased.  Daddy has stepped up and truly been there for you all, so I have some extra time to get work done. The past few weekends we have set aside one day for me to work and the other day is devoted to spending time all together as a family. In just a couple of weeks, Daddy will be off of work for two and a half months and we can't wait for our adventures together this summer.

 Birthday cake #1 

Friday night fish fry - our fav, Kegel's

Your Mommy:
*As I mentioned above, I've been busier than normal with the semester coming to a close. It's really difficult being away from you, although I do feel comfort knowing you're soaking up Nonee's love while I am gone.  I find myself squeezing you every day requesting that you stop growing up so fast.  Your hugs & mockeys melt me.

 Early April hike

Best Mother's Day gift ever, sleeping in and waking up to the three of you

Even though you're now the big "1", I ask that you'll agree to always remain my baby. I love you!

Love, 

Mommy 

Letters to Leo...9-10 Months

Hi sweet boy,

I feel honored to be here this afternoon writing about YOU! I'm literally sitting at the Perc Place with my chai latte thinking about you and smiling.  I have yet to be around anyone that doesn't smile when they interact with you.  I keep thinking to myself how fitting picking 'Aristotle' was for your middle name.  Your Nouno has the same infectious smile and I'm proud you're taking after him.

Milestones/Special Firsts:
*You have had your fair share of playing in the snow the past couple of months! The snow doesn't stop you one bit as you attempt to crawl all around the yard, stopping here and there to pull yourself up at the base of some tree trunks.  You've even had lots of fun sledding with your brother, sister and Buckwheat! We've went on many hikes...some chilly hikes and some hikes that have left us dreaming about spring.  You've continued to uphold your reputation of being a little boy that loves the outdoors.

58 degrees in February! 

*You just finished your first swim class - a true Polliwog at his finest.  You're very comfortable playing in the water.  You went underwater and love laying on your back. The goal at home is to practice blowing bubbles in the tub.
*You continue to cruise all along the furniture.  You've also become skilled at escaping the living room when we have you fenced in (literally).  The barricades don't stop you...you're fixated at getting out and having free reign of the whole house. Buckwheat is your favorite road block to climb over.

*Master stair climber these days!
*You just started standing without holding on to anyone or anything.  If you keep this up, it sure won't be long before you're walking.
*You've transitioned to being in control of your own sippy cup. You don't even need mommy to give you drinks anymore...sigh.
*You have weaned yourself off the breast. Ari and Elle both were "cut off" whereas you made the decision on your own that you were ready to be done.  You just became less and less interested. You were more interested in biting mommy and looking around to see what everyone else was doing.  Even if we nursed alone, it became more of a playtime session for you (ouch!). While I'm very sad this stage has come to an end, I have so many pleasant memories of our nursing time together.  You drink 4 bottles a day now and soon we will start transitioning to whole milk.
*Disneyworld! Gosh, what a lucky little boy you are. Two trips to Disney before your first birthday.  Hands down your favorite ride was "It's a Small World".  You were mesmerized on our whimsical boat ride as you watched the many singing children from around the world. Your legs were kicking away and you were cooing the whole time.  You traveled like a champ from start to finish!

*SIX teeth! Even teething hasn't phased you.  I didn't find you to be fussy at all when they started popping through.

Things You Like Right Now:
*I think one of your new favorite parts of the day is right away in the morning when you wake up.  On most days, both your brother and sister crawl into your crib and play with you.  As I'm laying in the room next door, hearing the three of you play together makes me so happy.  On some occasions there may be some arguing as they both want all of your love and attention...but most of the time they do well sharing their time with you.
*You love walking behind your little walker.  You go from one end of the living room to the other, just waiting for mommy to turn it for you at each end.  Your smile while walking is amazing...so proud, as you should be.
*Another one of your favorite things continues to be bath time.  I've recently moved you out of the sitting chair and now you can crawl around the tub searching for your favorite toys to munch on.  Most days you are happy to share the tub with your brother and sister too. We had such a blast one afternoon when I let you take a bath in the kitchen sink. You sat in there and played for close to an hour.

*Knocking over the Magna-Tile towers your brother and sister create!

Your Current Dislikes:
*When Mommy has to prepare breakfast and get your brother ready for school, I put you in your exersaucer.  You are so over spending time in your exersaucer.  You actually cry so hard I have to blow in your face to get you to take a breath again.

Buck attempting to keep you happy in the exersaucer

*You want to put your mouth on everything and that oftentimes comes with bumping your little teeth too hard.
*You have started to show some frustration when I block you off from certain areas.  The closet in your room is probably your favorite place that I rarely let you go.

Your Brother & Sister:
*I need to continuously remind Ari and Elle that you are constantly watching them.  You watch every interaction they have and every move they make.  I can just tell you are so anxious for the day when you can run around and join their fun.  Ari continues to try and teach you things, which basically means he plays football, soccer, or basketball while you watch. Elle is very protective over you.  Even when mommy is watching you, she likes to be the one to tell you where you can and cannot go.  She's obsessed with picking you up and moving you right now, even when you're not into anything.  I can't tell you how many times a day I say, "Elle put him down. Let him play.  He's just fine!" In addition, she likes to lay you down and cover you with a blanket insisting that you need to take a nap.  I remind her often that you are not her doll.  They adore you and watching you all play together is so rewarding as a parent. I'm so happy you have each other.

Happy 4th Birthday to your sis! 

Your Daddy:

Weekly snooze while Ari & Elle have their turn at swim

*I'm almost certain Daddy's major highlight has been taking you to swim class each week. You've spent the last 8 Monday evenings together...just the two of you. Daddy is always so excited to tell me how it went and rave about the new things you tried in the pool.  Your first swim class with your dad... I know he's very proud of you!

*Daddy took you, your brother and sister for a hike on the trail through the woods to Johnny G's. He brought one of the sleds with and took all three of you sledding (at once) down one of the hills.  I was able to see some video clips - thanks Papou - and was just giggling at your cute little face going down the hill.  You were so thrilled to be a part of the gang and get to sled down with everyone.  Adventure suits you well.

*Another highlight for Daddy was traveling to Florida in January!  Your daddy is the master traveler.  He is the king of researching and makes sure we have a plan and a back up plan for nearly everything.  He is so tuned in to everyones needs and makes sure everyone is happy and well taken care of.  Having Daddy makes traveling with 3 young children appear easy.  We make a good team and things do tend to go very smoothly.

Florida bound!

Your Mommy:
*You know Leo...as I sit here writing this, I'm finding myself to be a bit sad.  I'm sad my time with you is going so quickly.  I've said it before, yet haven't been able to slow things down.  I just want to keep you this age forever.  I want to hug you, dance with you, press my cheek up to yours, watch you explore, learn new things, embrace the moments that are becoming your story.  You're becoming exactly who you were meant to be and I'm just sad that I can't keep you little forever.

You light up our world baby boy.  We love you!

Love,

Mommy