Happy Birthday!

Today is Leon's birthday!  I feel like he was just born.  He is the most handsome little guy with his big smile, bright blue eyes and blonde hair.

He has grown into such a little man.  He doesn't go around the house like a baby but he acts just like a little person.  Leon likes to do just what everyone else is doing and he has no problem bossing his older siblings around... or at least trying to.  He will shout at them "time out" or "to go away".  It is pretty hilarious to watch.  It is so fun to watch him stumble around trying to put his boots on or climb up the ladder just like the older kids do.  He has these huge feet that just look so beefy it makes me wonder how tall he is going to be. 

We went to the park to take these pictures and I thought they were going to be super cute with the wagon, but the sun wasn't cooperating.  Leon did love the wagon though and insisted on pulling it around.  We borrowed it but now I'm thinking about actually getting one.  He loved it!

Leon loves any sort of ball.  One of his favorite things to do is to play catch, which is so cute because he rarely ever catches it.  Usually it just hits him in the chest and falls down then he laughs and chases it to pass back.  He is pretty good at throwing and kicking.

Leon is a great eater and a pretty good sleeper.  He eats mostly everything and isn't too picky.  He gets about 11.5 hours at night and a three hour nap during the day.  He usually doesn't cry when we put him down although he does make a sad face and sometimes tries to run away or not let us pick him up to put him in his crib.  But for the most part once we get him in bed he sleeps and then just hangs out until we get him out of the crib.  Tucker is big enough to pull him out in the mornings which is great because if they wake up early I don't necessarily have to get up yet.

Leon is pretty happy and very ticklish.  He is also super playful and is weary of strangers but doesn't take too long to warm up.  I would say he is a low maintenance child, although that will probably change soon as he starts to get into more things.  He does fight with Scarlett a bit but usually over toys or who gets to sit next to mom.

Leon takes his shoes and socks off all the time.  It is kind of a pain because he always does it in the car while we are on our way somewhere.  In the next picture he thought he was pretty funny for undoing the straps.  I played it up because it was making him laugh.

One thing I love about Leon is that he will copy anything I say.  I'll go say no hitting and he will go "no  hitting," in his little voice.  Sometimes we try longer sentences or bigger words and it is pretty funny listening to him trying to repeat us.  My other kids seemed to refuse to copy us, but Leon will pretty much do it every time.  He knows a good amount of words, I would say his language skills are pretty average for a boy his age.

 I just love this little guy and am so happy we get to have him in our family!