Mornings are the best

If you know me at all, you know that I am NOT a morning person.  I'm the groggy, hit-the-snooze-button then still sleep in, wait til the last second, always forgetting things at home morning person.  But this little nug has made my mornings so much better.  Don't get me wrong - I'm still sleepy and groggy and forgetful, and add to that now I'm way more sleep deprived (hellooo middle of the night pumping sessions) and the fact that I'm getting two of us ready in the morning, but the mornings are so much more enjoyable with Leo around.  Let me guide you through our morning today.

Leo was rolling around just before 6am so I went and rescued him from baby jail.  I fed him in our bed while Brad slept, then he and I hung out and played and watched the fan (#1 favorite activity) and watched Brad get ready for work.  Then Leo decided he wanted to lay down, flip over, and suck his thumb:

Then we snuggled:

I got Leo ready for the day in my favorite "shortie" outfit, and I hopped in the shower.  While I was in the shower, I watched on the monitor how he slowly inched his little foot further and further through the slats of his crib.  By the time I got out, he was passed out like this:

Since it had already been an early morning, it was time for Leo to eat again.  This is my favorite time of the morning - he's just such a sweet, gentle-natured little guy.  All he wants to do is eat and snuggle.  And when he can do both at the same time, well that's like heaven (for  both of us):

While I got our breakfasts and lunches ready in the kitchen, Leo hung out in Puppy Chair.  He was SO smiley and sweet this morning - even more than usual.  Check out this happy guy:

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, Leo does The Dance of a Thousand Burp Cloths:

(as a reminder, videos cannot be watched via email, so just go to the blog on the internet to watch the video)

Leo is 5 Months!

Leo is 5 months old as of last Saturday, and boy of boy is he a big boy.  

He is going things like trying to sit it this big boy chair (with some help being propped up):

He has been rolling and rolling - from tummy to back, from back to tummy, he's on the move!  He rolls around in his crib all night long.  Sometimes he cries if he has wedged himself in the corner.  Last week he didn't mind when his head was squished against the crib's slats.  He is now sleeping for about 12 hours a night, so he has plenty of time to squirm around.  This is how we usually find him in the morning.  When I come into his room, he groggily lifts his head, finds me, and gives me the sweetest morning smile:

Leo's newest hobby is playing in his cool activity center!  There is just so much to look at at touch.  And figure out how to use his dancie little feet.  

Here, Leo shakes the maraca.  He got it from the craniofacial specialist - we are supposed to use it to practice moving his head by tracking the maraca, but he decided that he wanted to be the shaker today:

Check him out, check him out.  Leo is in the bumbo chair with his friend Sophie!

Leo is getting to be more of a person every day - his personality is really coming through and he is loving to explore with his hands, by putting things in his mouth, and my getting facial reactions.  Our little man is 5 months old and we are having so much fun!

The 4th of July

Happy (belated) 4th of July!  We had a really nice, relaxing day with gorgeous weather.  We decided to go to the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center where they had bounce houses, carnival games, snacks, music, and general kid-friendly fun.  Leo is still a little small for the bounce house, so we walked him around for a while and then found a shady spot under a tree to camp out while Erin and her boys played the games and jumped on all of the things.

Here we are relaxing in the shade:

Leo had a selfie photo session:

Riley wanted to relax with the boys but we didn't have any more blankets so he used a (clean) burp cloth as a pillow:

 

Here is the whole 4th of July crew in our spot (please note Asher's adorable outfit):

And finally, here is Leo celebrating the 4th in style:

A quick visit from Grandma Carol and Poppa

A couple weekends ago (yes shortly after we saw them in New Jersey) Grandma Carol and Poppa came to Pittsburgh to get their Leo fill in over a weekend. We got to take them and Leo to Double Wide (a tasty BBQ joint in Pittsburgh) for the first time, hung out with them debating who got to hold him more, went down to the Strip District for brunch and to walk around and Stacey and I even got out for a date night while we had some of the best baby-sitters around watching Leo! Since they had last seen him a few weeks before in NJ he had started to smile and giggle so much more, and they just couldn't get enough of it. It was a short visit, but everyone had fun and tons of pictures were taken. Below are just a few and a really cute video of Poppa with Leo!

A Very Princeton Weekend

A few weeks ago (sorry for the delay) Stacey, Leo and I made the trek all the way across PA to go to Princeton to visit Alissa, Merle and the twins to be! We all had a great time hanging out at their apartment, walking around campus, eating awesome pizza (yum) and Grandma Carol and Poppa couldn't resist seeing Leo (and us I think?) when we were only a few hours away. Uncle Merle taught Leo a new trick on how to get him to smile (video below). We went to this very cute consignment store and found an adorable jacket for Leo that I'm sure will make an appearance on here when he wears it! We even took Leo on his first brewery tour and he loved it. Below are a handful of pictures from our fun long weekend in New Jersey, thanks again Aunt Lissie and Uncle Merle for hosting us!