These two

Leo and Livi are the best of friends!  They have a love/hate relationship and most of the time instead of breaking up fights we are breaking up hugs...I find myself saying "Leo, no more hugging!" way too often when we are with Livi!  He just adores her and calls her "my Livi".  I am glad that we live close enough to at least a couple of cousins for his sake.  He asks to go play with Livi almost every day!

One day we picked Livi up from dance and on the way home stopped for frozen yogurt...I just love their expressions in these pics!  You can totally tell that they just love each other!

The Little Gym

When school started this year, Leo was pretty confused and disappointed that he didn't have anywhere to go.  I started to investigate different opportunities for him and we tried a free class at The Little Gym.  To be honest I wasn't completely bowled over with the class...maybe because we are spoiled with having a great nursery?  But Leo LOVED it and kept telling me that he loved it in "his class"...plus the gym does have a lot of cool equipment to play with!  After a quick chat with Dad, we signed Leo up and he was thrilled.  He loves having days we go to his gym ("my little gym") and is doing really well there.  He is one of the oldest in the class (it is still Mommy & Me style until he turns 3) and although he is not the most daring, he definitely can do anything they ask.  He especially loves the bubbles and stamps at the end :)

He loves walking on the beam and is so thrilled that he looks like the commercial before Daniel Tiger on PBS :)  He is getting braver and can even go on the high beam without holding on to anyone...on a brave day!  We have learned how to go forwards and backwards on the beam, as well as wheelbarrow style where he just walks his hands on the beam while I hold his hips up in the air.  He has even started climbing up on the high beam like the older kids do and not using the little stairs that are out for the little kids.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but he isn't a daredevil and it is exciting for us to see him get more confident.

Bars are fun to swing on and he is finally coming around to idea of flipping over it.  And just this week he finally tried walking on the lower bar while he holds on to the higher bar, back and forth.  He did awesome! He is getting better at somersaults and rolling too.

We are always SO excited when the rings are out- the equipment changes from week to week depending on what the big kids are working on and Leo is always disappointed when the rings aren't out.  He loves to swing on them and thinks it is hilarious to let go and plop down on his bum.

His gym class has been a fun addition to our routine.  He loves his class time and the open gym time too.  He likes singing songs and playing with the balls and parachute...and it is helping us both get to know other kids and moms in our area.  Leo loves his teacher, Miss Kierstin, and can't wait to tell and show her things each week.  He even insisted we take her a Halloween cookie when I said we were making them for our friends.  And I am excited that he is getting comfortable in the gym so he will hopefully make a smooth transition to going to a class alone in just a few short months when he turns 3!  My little baby is growing so fast! :)

Pumpkin Patch

We are lucky enough to live really close to this little farm that has a pumpkin patch (and where you can go cut down your own Christmas tree soon!)  Nick and I couldn't wait for the first Saturday in October to take Leo to his first real pumpkin patch experience.  It was still pretty hot but we sweated it out to see the pumpkins and, most importantly, ride the train.

The hayride was also a hit...although not quite as great because we had to sit on scratchy hay.  We have the most finicky 2 year old!  We sat up close to the tractor and eventually Leo ended up on Nick's lap, both of which made the hayride a bit better.

 Seeing the pumpkins really wasn't that high on Leo's to-do list...there was a train don't forget!  But we convinced him to check out a few piles...

He was far too nervous to climb on the pumpkins like all the other kids, but was eventually persuaded with a lot of help :)  He is one cautious little guy!

He had fun chasing Dad around this giant spider...

He couldn't wait to get a wagon to pull around...however he picked the smallest pumpkins we could find!  We looked at lots, but he kept insisting they were too big.  We eventually found some tiny pumpkins by the check out and he was more than happy to pull them in the wagon...all the way out to the car!  

He was happy to pick out 3, one for each of us, and wanted to hold them the whole way home :)  Although it didn't really feel like fall because it was SO hot, we were happy to welcome in my favorite season with something that will definitely be a tradition for years to come!  

Hooks Airport Open House

So one day while we were running errands I saw a sign for an open house at this little airport that is just a couple miles away from us.  I wondered what it would be and was thinking we should check it out...and then I got an email about it from my playgroup leader which solidified my decision.

It was actually a great day for it...slightly overcast and not quite as stifling as it can be in late September.  It actually sprinkled a little bit while we were there but we just took cover in the main hanger for a few minutes until it passed.  Leo loved it!  It was great that it only took like 5 minutes to drive there...and then it was great to have somewhere to just let him roam free and explore.

He was kind of timid at first- which is becoming a theme lately- but warmed up and loved wandering around and checking out all of the planes, helicopters, and especially fire trucks that were there. 

It took far too long to get him to actually touch the propeller for the picture above...I don't know why he is becoming such a scaredy cat lately!  I mean I would never say that he has been a huge daredevil, but he is way too afraid of silly things now!  Really hoping this is just a phase...  On the other hand, he wanted his picture taken by every single wheel of this fire truck.  We actually happened upon this one volunteer firefighter that was way too anxious to show off the truck and he took us to a big ladder truck that was over on the side, not in the main arena with the planes and other emergency vehicles, so Leo could explore all by himself!  It was awesome :)

Leo loved getting to actually climb in this airplane!  And I will say that Nick and I both had just as much fun as he did looking at all of the airplanes and watching our little man explore to his heart's content.

Leo really loved watching some of the planes take off and land...and especially the one that stopped to get fuel!  (We play gas station about a million times every day at home!)

And the most unexpected thing we saw was right as we were walking out...a PIG!  In a stroller!?!  Pretty sure it was time to call it a day after that!  We had a really great time and didn't spend a dime which was awesome.  Plus it only took a few minutes in the car to get there.  So glad that we decided to check it out!

First Dental Visit!

My hopes of catching on my blog are seeming more and more impossible...so at the moment I am giving up and just moving forward.  Hopefully this will help me to record what is going on more regularly :)

Today Leo had his first dental check up.  We went to Dr. Andersen as he had come highly recommended by the Cosby girls.  Leo was all about it- he didn't seem nervous and told me before we got there that he "loved the dentist".

When we were walking in he said "Mom, you are brave at the dentist?" to which I said "Yes" and that was it.  He loved the toys in the waiting room and was almost disappointed that we only waited like 2 minutes.

A super friendly Texas hygenist let Leo look at all of her tools and then he let her "tickle" his teeth and get a drink from her super cool water gun.  She let him pick a new toothbrush and then we waited for about one minute for the dentist.

He told Leo he was going to count his teeth and Leo was happy to open wide.  Dr. Andersen assured us all was well and said his 2 year molars were no where in sight yet.  Sigh...more teething...wahoo.

Leo chose a kaledoscope out of the treasure box at first, but quickly reconsidered for a jump rope to "help me jump".  I'm not sure if he knows what to do with it but he sure jumps a lot while holding it! :)  We are glad that our first experience with the dentist is #1 a good one and #2 over!!!

Will I ever catch up?

Okay, so I'm a liar.  I said I was going to catch up on my blog and then summer happened...stomach flus, sinus infections, my grandmother passing away equaling a quick trip to Utah, plus the laziness that comes with the heat and humidity...we have spent our fair share of time at the pool this summer.  Anywho, I got a new phone and tried to get all the pics off of the my old one...so here are a few that are way out of date (we are talking pre-move so we are probably talking last fall and winter.)

  

Loving the slide...we LOVE playgrounds and can't wait til it is cool enough to go back!

These were from a playdate Leo had with a friend named Kaden.  Kaden was equally obsessed with cars and building a track to race cars on and a wagon ride suited them both just fine.

Leo is still a little techy...he used to get my old laptop, hide, and push the buttons like mad until I found him.  Thankfully now we have figured out that if he just asks nicely first he can have computer time on my real computer that actually works.  He has mastered the touchscreen and the mouse and loves to type his name as well as navigate through pbskids.org.

And he is just as handsome as ever!  He requested for a long time to wear a tie like Daddy to church...and I finally got him a regular one...which is good because without a tie he resorted to wearing a "jewelry like Mom" which meant he wore one of my necklaces. ;)  He loves going to nursery at church and is the best singer by-far...I promise I am not just his mother saying that!  Everyone comments on his singing and he really does know all the words to a lot of songs!  

I'd like to say this catch up was going to continue, but a summer vacation to Montana calls to us next week so who knows. I want to catch up and talk about far more exciting things like Leo writing his name and learning to go on the potty...at least I have done enough to cross the old blog off my to-do list for today! :)