Summer! Summer? Meh.

Maybe it's because the weather has been, how shall we say, not summery. Or maybe it's because I'm getting older and I find myself more and more being shocked at how much time has passed - "what? It's Christmas already?!?!?!" Or maybe I just lost track of time...whatever the reason it's been too darn long since my last post! Lots going on this Summer so here's the latest.

The asbestos siding has been removed! We did this a couple months ago but I never posted pics. Many of you have seen this up close and personal. I honestly never get tired of looking at the old wood siding that, for the most part, is in great shape.



Leo continues to work hard at getting stronger and improving his gross motor skills. He's sitting better each day, but having a hard time figuring out how to get out of sitting or into sitting. So we've been working on that more than anything over the last couple of months. But we continue to see progress, so that keeps us optimistic. AND, in super exciting news he has started putting a spoon in his mouth! Hooray! Seems like a small thing, but for him this is huge.



In other news, we went to Willamette Valley over the 4th of July weekend. Lots of eating and drinking and sleeping (no baby!). Sigh. It was heaven. Literally. See?



The garden overall has been doing great. We've already enjoyed fennel, greens, broccoli and onions. And just this morning I noticed zucchini coming in. The green beans are twirling their way up the pole, the cucumbers are blossoming and the tomato plants all have lots of fruit on them. Miracle of miracles. Now we'll see if they actually ripen. Fingers crossed.

Ready For His Close-Up

It's begun...we've started selling our child out for profit. Leo had his first gig a couple weeks ago! A friend of ours is a producer and was shooting a corporate ad/video and needed a baby. Being a preemie IS good for something - you can play an 8 month old when you're 14 months! Leo was a champ, only one meltdown. Jay was his handler.


And our backyard project continues to push forward...we're getting so very close to the end, but here's a taste.


Keep sending good vibes Leo's way - he's been working hard on trying to crawl and feed himself (not at the same time) and both are proving very difficult. So hopefully he'll get the hang of both soon enough. Admittedly Jay and I are getting a wee frustrated ourselves. Patience. This time last year we brought him home from the hospital...I can't even believe it. Let's just compare and contrast...and celebrate! Yay Leo!
Then: Now:
Then: Now:

Dog!

I think we have an official second word...aside from the myriad forms of "dad" and "dada" that have been uttered in recent months. Oh, and "dat" - for pretty much anything. But tonight we got "dog!" - and about 3 times at that! So I think we can officially add it to his vocabulary. Hooray.

Speaking of dogs....I'm having the strongest craving tonight for a hot dog. Seriously. Going with the Applegate Farms and fingers are crossed it will be tasty. Perhaps with some arugula from the garden! Check out the bumper crop.

Our mixed lettuces are also going cra-zay. Lots of salad this week.

Happy May! Backyard remodel pictures coming soon...we're in the home stretch.

Spring!

Leo turned 1 on March 23! Happy birthday to our little man. He's hanging out around 18lbs and 29" long. 10th percentile for height and 3rd for weight (not adjusted). Here he is, freaked out at the cupcake (I made coconut, chocolate w/salted caramel and carrot cake cupcakes...delish) that lay before him at his party. He managed to get a taste of it...and seemed to enjoy. Immediately followed by falling asleep. Of course I forgot to take pictures of all the fun stuff like the table, cupcakes...and...cue Mom guilt...the birthday boy. Thanks to Dan for this shot.



And it wouldn't be a blog post without another illness for Leo. Sigh. He caught a cold at some point this Spring and it ultimately turned into Pneumonia. Yikes. But apparently it's pretty common, easily treatable with antibiotics and we caught it early. On a Saturday, natch, so here he is at the hospital. He was quite tired.



He has since bounced back beautifully. And, as is the case every single time he gets sick, he decided to leap ahead on his development. So now he's sitting very well and pulling his knees up under him as if suggesting a crawl. He's also using his fingers and hands more and more and generally making awesome strides. Literally in the span of two weeks. And just in time for our final visit to Swedish PT. We will now be luxuriating in at-home OT/PT beginning later this month. Sweet relief. Here he is sitting, and enjoying the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs - Go Wings!



In house news, we've got our kitchen garden planted. Well, mostly. The heat loving stuff will come later. But right now I've got (from seed!) carrots, beets, brussels sprouts and scallions coming up. From seed! I am astonished. And lettuces, chard, broccoli, fennel and more onions are doing well from starters I got through Seattle Tilth. I love them. Look, proof of seedlings. Plus a pretty shot of our Serviceberry tree flowering in the front yard. Oh, and it's Earth Day today. How appropriate.



In other silly updates, Leo had his first experience with Dick's Hamburgers (a Seattle institution). Here he is confused.



And here he is at our friends' house for Passover Seder, where he had a taste of lamb tagine and was quite a fan. He's holding onto that bottle for Elijah. Oh and beside that is my new favorite picture of him. I mean, come on people. He's the cutest.



And in the spirit of Easter and Spring renewal, I'm making a concerted effort for more updates to this here fine piece of writing. Perhaps not as many Leo updates (that's the beauty of life these days, things are pretty normal with him), so maybe more house and other stuff kind of updates. Hope you like the new format and look. Happy Easter everyone!

2011!!!!

Good gravy I've been lazy! No blog posts since November...hmmm...chalk it up to "the holidays!" Well it was a lovely holiday season for us. Lots of cooking, eating, a trip to Grandma's and a trip to the Oregon coast. See pictures below.

Leo received his first RSV shot in December after months of battling with the insurance company. Very thankful for our dogged Pediatrician. And about a week after getting the shot, he got his first cold! Ha. It's pretty good that he's only had one cold in 9 months. So trying to focus on the positive and not obsess about whether his cold will turn into something worse. So far so good, just a bit of a cough, some snot, no fever, eating fine, sleeping decently - check and check. Jay, however, got hit with quite a beast. Still recovering, but hopefully we're done with the worst of it - for both my boys.

Physical Therapy is going well. After his "fail" in November, he rebounded the next week and did all kinds of grabbing and almost sitting, etc. And that's been how PT has gone for him - up one week and off the next. I think he's going at his own pace, regardless of how much outside forces try to influence. A skill that will surely serve him well later in life.

And speaking of sitting...he's kind of almost sitting on his own! He can go for about 10-15 seconds before flopping over. But his self correcting is getting better and I'm hoping it's just a matter of days/weeks now before he's comfortably hit that milestone. And, as some of you heard last month, he's on the curve! Third percentile for height and weight. Which is pretty darn awesome considering where he's been.

I've gotten into a really solid groove with the homemade food too. It's proving to be rediculously easy to whip up a batch of root veggies or chicken and veg. or fruit puree. And what's made it even easier is mixing my homemade stuff with the frozen Happy Baby stuff. I'm in love with Happy Baby!!! Greens, in particular, are my favorite. One little cube mixed in with my stuff and voila, a perfectly balanced meal for little guy. And he actually likes it! Little victories.

I was reminded the other day that Leo's going to turn one in less than three months. WTF?!?!?! I can't believe it. And my pledge now is to not go crazy with the first birthday. I should be able to meet that goal given that I pretty much forgot to take pictures of Leo in his Christmas sweater. Whoops. Oh well, trust me, it was cute.

I'm also taking inspiration from friends who are purging and organizing in the spirit of the new year. I've been putting a ton of Leo's clothes that no longer fit into either bags to donate or bins to store. Next up, our stuff, and the kitchen/pantry. Nothing makes me happier than a good purging of stuff. Weeeeeee!