Safety Leo

Whenever Leo gets on his tricycle, he insists on wearing his helmet. He definitely takes after his Uncle—Safety Dave!

Good thing he’s wearing the helmet; he’s going at least 1mph down the driveway.

And aren’t these Polaroid style photos cool?

 

Speaking of cool, blog to come about Leo’s obsession with his shades!

How to be a good boy

According to Leo, all it takes to be a good boy is to hold your hands in this position and smile:

I asked him the other day, "Can you be a good boy?" He said, "Yes!" I asked, "How are you going to be a good boy?" I expected him to say, "I share" or "Be nice" or "Be quiet" or "I pick up toys." Instead, he put his hands like in the picture above and said, "Like This!" And with his two-year-old accent, it sounded like, "Like Dis!"

Here, he demonstrates it:

If only it were that easy!

Prom Practice

Leo’s friend Olivia came over to play yesterday. Since we have a surplus of boys in the neighborhood, all the two-year-old boys are after this lovely lady.

Apparently, Leo is really thinking ahead because he’s already trying to convince Olivia that he would make a great prom date. As you can see in the video above, he tried to impress her with his dance moves.

He really came on strong when he insisted she pose for a prom style photo with him:

 

 

She eventually gave in:

Don’t worry, Dawson, John and Etienne.  You still have a chance. Leo may have wowed her with his dancing skills but he was not very polite when it came to sharing toys. And who wants a prom date who screams, “NO, THAT’S MY CHOO CHOO TRAIN!” ?

Smoothie Operator

 

 

Now that Leo can drink through a straw (he was a late straw-sucker), I thought we could try smoothies. This, I decided, would be a great way to  sneak in some vegetables. I mean, even if you don’t like to eat carrots, you’ll drink them when mixed with sugar and milk, right? We didn’t start with veggies though. I did your traditional fruit-based smoothie. I got Leo all involved too. He loved helping me make “mooeys.”

Here we are, getting ready for our little project. By the way, the apron…cute or cruel?

 

Leo’s reaction to the blender:

Enjoying our fruity drinks—a blend of frozen berries, milk and Yo Baby.  He took a few sips but the novelty wore off fast. He quickly pushed it away, saying, “Mama, please take.”

One thing he didn’t want me to take? The apron! Guess that’s a keeper.  Sorry, Daddy!

Playing Potty

Our pediatrician told us that he wants Leo potty trained by kindergarten. So with the pressure off, we just put a potty in our half bathroom and let Leo take the lead. For awhile he talked about it, played with it and even said he wanted to use it. But he didn’t.

Last week though, a breakthrough. He sat on it. Well, he’s sat on it before but this time he put the lid up and sat on it. Now since I took this picture and video he’s actually sat on it with his pants down but didn’t leave any gifts for us in the potty.

 

The best part was when he asked me to leave the room. No problem. Shall I give you a magazine too?

"Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!"

I can't believe that last year Leo had just learned to say "Mama" on Mother's Day and this year he says, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" It's so cute, especially when he says, "It be mommy's birthday!"

We went to the park for a little picnic:

"I don't see ducks!" "Where are the ducks?"

Frank said, "The ducks are over here, Leo!" And that's how we got him to look at the camera. So cruel!

Two-year-olds forgive easily though.

Out of the blue he said, "Thank you, mommy!"

We never did find ducks but we eventually saw turtles:

Also, a shout out to our other favorite mommies: My mom (Rah Rah), Frank's mom (Granny Jo), Nana and Great Grandma Valerie!

Birthday Weekend

People came from far and wide (well, mostly from Texas) to celebrate Leo's 2nd birthday. The festivities started Friday and went through Sunday:

First, we had the annual "picture of Leo with mommy while mommy wears her Leo 08 shirt." This tradition was started by Jacquie and somehow hers always turn out perfect. Weren't any of her kids ever terrible two-year-olds? Cause this was the best I could do!
Then off to lunch at Party Chic with mommy, Granny Jo and Rah Rah.

And if taking him to a girlie lunch place wasn't bad enough, we took him to a girlie store to shop afterwards. Luckily, he found the one boyish item and just like most men, sat while we shopped.

That night he opened presents (this would continue into the next week)!

On Saturday we had Leo's birthday party in the park. It was a sports theme so we brought his basketball hoop along. He dribbled while waiting for his guests to arrive.

He shoots, he scores! (And how do you like his custom t-shirt by the way?)

You know that whole saying about herding cats? So much easier than getting two-year-olds to pose for a group picture!

Had to get a picture of the picture-takers!

The three musketeers--all two years old now!

The pull-apart cupcake cake tasted as good as it looked!

Sugar rush!

On Sunday Leo went to his first baseball game--the minor league team for the Braves.

Playing catch with Popsy:

Sharing a frozen lemonade with Popsy:

Leo and Grandpa Ron playing ball in matching caps:

It was John's first baseball game too so the boys celebrated with a hug:

Singing "Take me out to the ball game!"

A rookie no more!

Happy Birthday, Leo! If this is anything like Christmas, you'll still think it's your birthday in August.