NINE MONTHS OLD

ONLY 3 more months till Leo's 1st Bday!
the proverbial time is flying and Mimi, once again,
was flying Southwest to see her boy!
Sam was in Ohio this past week on business,
so Jenna flew me down to do daycare duty ---
It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!!
Such a fun 3 days.....

Leo LOVED pushing this little plastic container all
around the house. I couldn't figure out the fascination.

Right now --- EVERYTHING goes into the mouth
& that gets a little scary- - - -
It's amazing how many little things Leo can find.


Leo is WAY more interested in playing with non
toy-type things - and you had better keep your eye
on him & know what he's into ALL the time ....
Let's see -- do you think MiMi will miss her pliers?


This was the week that MiMi introduced several new
food items to Leo's repertoire -
much to his mom's chagrin!
We tried avocado (mmmmm not so much), cheese,
kidney beans, chicken & Leo's new personal fav ---
Corn Chex soaked in milk!!




Every morning Leo took a sink bath while MiMi had
her coffee & toast ...... and then it just seemed the
perfect time to allow Leo to help feed himself .......
with spoons --- NO MESS TO CLEAN UP!


Don't you LOVE baby feet? And let me tell you ---
these feet are busy!! This boy is everywhere!!
The fun part is watching him assess everything ---
you can just see him processing as he makes
different attempts at controlling his world --
----from "is this wobbly chair going to support
me if I try to walk around it?" to "how many things
can I possibly put in my mouth at once?"


Leo loved pulling this stack of red cups out of the
cupboard and watching them do 'circles' on the floor

At one point, as he leaned over on one, it just
ricocheted out from under him ..... he was shocked ...
and the look on his face was classic!
..... almost like "how could you do this to me?"


It'll be only a week till I get to see him again ---
this time I'll take Grampa Ken & Great-Uncle Pete
back with me!!!
Can't wait ........... see you all soon!

HEATHER (my niece) & DANIEL'S EUROPEAN ADVENTURE

For all our friends who might be interested --- I've added a link to my niece, Heather's new blog. She and her husband, Daniel, have just moved to Frankfurt, Germany for 3 years ...... WOW - what a cool opportunity! Our family bugged & bugged her to blog about their time while there & VOILA' (that's FRENCH for instant magic!) she has!

Heather & Daniel both graduated from Annapolis - Heather served in the Navy, stationed in San Diego, is now a civilian & just finished up her Masters. Daniel is currently a Marine, posted to Frankfurt, having done 3 tours in Iraq.

This might be a way for all of us to experience Europe since most of us won't be headed there any time soon!?! AND --- she loves to take picturess --- even better!

Hop on their blog every so often to see the sights/sites!!!!!

ENJOY...........

A WEEK IN MURRIETA - HEAVEN!

What's not to like about spending a week with
this handsome boy? 8 months old already &
as entertaining as can be! -- He thinks he's SO
cool in his "leo-mobile" (walker) -- it's amazing
how he manuevers all over that house -- it helps
to have wood floors too. In another few weeks he'll
be pulling himself straight up -- he's already tried by
holding onto our PJ legs .... a little precarious.



Leo was like - "it's about time you came to see me Grampa!"

My two best boys!!! They're buds now!!

We never knew you could love anyone more (?)

than your own kids ---

then Leo came along! (sorry Ra&J)

PRACTICING FOR THE 2025 OLYMPICS?

Hopefully, Leo won't be competing without a suit if he makes it to the Olympics!
Isn't a swimming naked baby just the cutest thing?
Grampa has always loved having a pool -----
it's the one thing he really misses about our
new house ......
He's hoping to pass on that love to Leo ....
so far, so good!


For some reason, Leo thought the concrete tasted good?!


NOT! -- but he kept doing it over & over!! Funny Boy!

THE MAIN EVENT

Grampa Ken was 'in his element' ----
with a PROJECT to tackle!!!
With a new house, there's always a project to be
done & that's just right up Ken's alley --
He LOVES it.
Ken & Jenna headed to Home Depot
for all the paraphernalia:
(that's decorator talk for 'guy supplies'!!)
I know it was good for both of them to be able to
work on this together.


Ken fixed a bunch of sprinkler issues for Jenna &
Sam -- but here's the MAIN EVENT ---
building some sort of support/retention at the base
of the back fence - so the neighbor's yard doesn't
end up in the pool! . . . . . .
AND DOESN'T COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!



Sam got a good start on digging out a channel in
dirt that's like concrete!


Don't let this picture fool you ---
Jenna is definitely more than cute support!
I think she single-handedly completed one of
those fence sections!


It's an on-going project --- but I'll post the pics of
the piece de resistance when they finish!
Talk about blood-sweat & tears!!!

PigE & Heffe show up to help ?

Well.............. at least they THINK they're part of the helper crew!
They do add a lot of energy to the mix tho!


Trevor REALLY wanted to help from the comfort of the pool area
To his credit -- he did expend a good amount of sweat on the project.


Ra kept Leo entertained & the pups in line - while Mimi made dinner!


Is it just me or is Leo starting to imitate Auntie RaRa's pout?!


This is the life --- thank the Lord for a pool!!
Murrieta can get pretty hot ---
& all of you in YubaDuba think it gets hot up there!!?

Perfect Ending .....

to a perfect trip .....

Our last evening - Mimi & Grampa took Leo with us and spent the afternoon with Rachel & Trevor and the dogs at their apt. We headed over to a new sushi restaurant - called "BAMBU". It was a beautiful night & the restaurant had a lovely outdoor seating area with a fire pit that absolutely mesmerized Leo. What a great baby he is -- he just loves 'people watching'.

We headed back to Murrieta just as the sun was setting --- and were surprised by the balloon races along the way. Ken & I celebrated an anniversary some 10 years ago (or more?!) by booking a morning champagne flight in Napa --- one of the most memorable things we've done .... so watching these silent giants travel across the sunset sky just makes me feel so peaceful.