Pumpkin Patch

• Leyton visited Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead this weekend with mommy and daddy. Boy, what fun! They have everything from playgrounds to petting zoos, chickens, cows, goats, horses - you name it, Deanna Rose has it.
• Pumpkin Hollow is a small area of the farm that is accessed by hay ride and features a corn maize, all sorts of halloween games, and a small pumpkin patch.
• Leyton makes a trip to this place each year, and each year it gets more fun. We hopped on the hay ride, rode out to Pumpkin Hollow, played for as long as we could stand the col (it was in the 40's while we were there!), and then fed a sheep before heading out of the park.
• We had a great time and have added three pumpkins to our side porch. It was a fun morning.

Scottsdale trip

• Leyton had a great trip to Scottsdale this past weekend for Lindsey's wedding, otherwise known as "the party." We had an early Thursday morning flight, but Leyton was ready to go. He woke up at 3:30 a.m. and was ready to start wheeling his new suitcase around. He looked adorable toting the cool suitcase around, which was literally about twice his size!
• We arrived in Scottsdale on Thursday morning, he did great on the flight out to Scottsdale. With the two hour time difference, it took us the rest of Thursday to get back into somewhat of a schedule. Leyton was able to get some pool time in on Thursday and begged daddy to never leave the pool - he is a little fish! By the time Thursday night rolled around, we were all exhausted!!!
• On Friday morning, we ventured back to the airport to pick Grandpa up and to party some more. There was a half-basketball court at the hotel, and Leyton had been dying to play. So, game on! Leyton and Scott were skins, and they "scrimmaged" against Grandpa who was the shirts team. What fun. Leyton, after being in the Arizona heat for only a few minutes, was beat red in the face moments after getting outside.
• Leyton had a great time collecting rocks and making cupcakes (a.k.a baby rocks mixed in with lime green play-doh!)
• On Friday night, the wedding was on. The evening started with a cocktail hour, followed by the ceremony - both of which were outside in the 108-degree Arizona weather. The place was beautiful - on Camelback Mountain. Leyton did great and was very well-behaved during the ceremony. Leyton made a little friend, Owen, who was a few months older than him and who he had fun collecting and throwing rocks with and also watching for the "rocket ships" in the sky. Owen saw the aircraft and yelled "Look, a rocket ship." Leyton turned around and looked at us and said, "that is not a rocket ship; that is an airplane." It was pretty funny, and he was exactly right.
• After the ceremony ended, and after a very long day in the heat, the traveling had caught up with Leyton, and just before we were able to get into the dinner buffet line, he exploded and turned into a wild man. Scott took him home, and Leyton went night-night before all of the fun began. (He did manage to turn a few circles on an empty dance floor, but high time before any of the music started.)
• Leyton did make a new best friend on the trip - an imaginary one named Gordon. Funny thing - even yesterday, Leyton said "I am Gordy." Who knows where any of that came from???

Shaving Cream Fun!

• Leyton's school sent this photo this morning. My buddy is up to his elbows in shaving cream today....how much fun!
• This week has been an eventful one. Scott turned 30 yesterday, and Leyton is sleeping in a BIG BOY BED since Sunday night. Pretty big stuff...I have some more photos I will try to upload and attach later today.

Snack time at Union Hill

Got this photo yesterday from Union Hill. Leyton loves his apples. Looks like someone decided to put him in charge of doling them out :)

Leyton's funny Tuesday!

So, today was Leyton's 2nd official day as a pre-schooler in Mr. Ray's class. When I picked him up from school yesterday, Mr. Ray had a newsletter ready for all parents with a welcome and an overview of the schedule and curriculum for the coming week. This week's curriculum is dedicated to learning about plants and to the letter "Ss." Oh, and Leyton has a helper assignment...he is the DOOR HANDLER for the week! I am so proud of my big boy.

• So, a funny thing that I learned this morning when I dropped my little man off... Apparently, during circle time yesterday, Mr. Ray asked everyone in the class "What do you know about plants?" Below the question on the flip chart was the names of the kids and Leyton's class along with their response to the question. I took a picture of the flip chart - couldn't resist. Definitely thinking uniquely about this with the response he gave....oh my! Mommy is not sure what to think.

Mr. Ray said Leyton had a great first two days! Here's to hoping that he does not wakre up again at 4:30 tomorrow morning...

Daddy's back!

• Daddy got back tonight.  Leyton was so excited to see him.  We had a busy evening before daddy made it home.  We made a quick trip to Taco Bell for a taco and some Spanish rice, took a bath, watched Nemo, made 4 dozen mini-cupcakes for both of this classes at school, and then partied when dad got home.
• When I picked Leyton up from school today, Michelle found me to tell me that Leyton had flooded the bathrooms this morning.  Apparently, Miss Michaela turned him loose to go poo-poo by himself in the big boy bathroom.  After he went, Miss Michaela peeked on him and asked him if he had wiped good.  Apparently, Leyton thought he hadn't done it well enough.  He came out of the bathroom, and a short while later, Miss Michelle said the entire floor was flooded with water and she found nearly half a roll of toilet paper wadded up in the toilet.  Oh my, Leyton.  We will have to work on using our squares more sparingly.  Geez!

Who passes up a cupcake?

• I swear that my child is the only one in the world who will pass up a cupcake. Leyton and I took a trip to the cupcake shop yesterday to pick up some goodies for mommy's work and to treat ourselves to a couple of cupcakes as well. The furthest Leyton managed to dive into the cupcake was no more than putting the fork into the icing and saying, "I don't want it." More for mommy, I guess!
• Leyton has had a good week at school. When I picked him up yesterday, I noticed that his cubby was no longer in Miss Michaela and Miss Michelle's room. I almost shed some tears. Somehow, the thought of him moving up into a big boy classroom made me kind of sad. It will be hard to leave his teachers, whom he has been with for a year now. He is super happy in Mr. Ray's class, though, as far as I can tell. He showed me his new cubby with all of his things moved over, and Miss Michaela said yesterday that Leyton walked all by himself over to Mr. Ray's classroom (which is on the total opposite side of the building). Our little man is becoming such a big boy! His official last day in Miss Michaela and Miss Michelle's room will be this Friday, although this entire week he has only been in the classroom with them until 10 a.m. and then with Mr. Ray's class the rest of the day. I am thinking this is going to be more of an adjustment for mommy than it is for Leyton - funny how that works!

Miss you daddy!

Mommy bought Leyton a new map to keep track of daddy's whereabouts. Leyton is getting pretty good at saying "Minnesota," and so now we are learning where exactly Minnesota is :) We got out our map first thing this morning and put a star sticker on Minnesota so that Leyton can see where daddy is. We miss you, daddy!

Mr. Ray's class!

Leyton continues to be such a big boy. His first visit to Mr. Ray's class was last Wednesday, and the school sent the top photo of this first visit. A new e-mail just popped up this morning with another photo of Leyton spending time in Mr. Ray's class. There is nothing better than receiving and seeing a picture of my little guy at school. I miss him!!!

The week in review.....

So, last week turned out to be a busy one. Scott was in North Carolina for work, and Leyton and I were holding down the fort at home. On Wednesday of this week, Leyton got to visit Mr. Ray's class for the very first time at school. He visited for only about an hour and a half, but he was able to eat lunch with Mr. Ray, and the school even sent me a picture of his first visit - which made mommy feel better. Miss Michaela and Miss Michelle said that Leyton did great during his visit. On Thursday, Leyton again visited Mr. Ray's class, and he is excited that Thea and Justin (friends from his old class) are in his new class. For Friday, Leyton spent most the entire day with Mr. Ray, and, as far as we can tell, he is enjoying his new surroundings. Daddy was back on Wednesday night, and Leyton was excited to see him. We bummed around last night and took it easy. Went to Spin Pizza for dinner and then came home. Mommy crashed and fell asleep even before Leyton did. It felt like a long week. Saturday is here, and we decided to pick up lunch and picnic at a location near the KC Air Show. We ventured to the top of the rooftop at KCUMB, joined LeAnn and her family, and watched the planes and jet soar through the air. I am not sure we saw the best part of the day, but it was fun to see a little bit of action in the sky. Something funny that happened this morning: Leyton picked up an empty paper towel roll, put his arm through it, and said he broke his arm like Papa. It was really cute! p.s. - for those of you who haven't heard, Scott somehow got bed bugs during his last trip to Minnesota. It looks just awful, but we have had many a laugh about it. He is about to jump down the throats of the hotel management. We'll see how far he gets!

Pictures of baby!

Friday was our 20-week ultrasound, and our chance to see the baby peanut again. Mom, dad and Marilyn came down for the big appointment and were able to share in the sneak peek. We all squeezed into the small exam room, and we waited for the screen to show us the tiny little body parts. (The pictures posted are of the feet; they were moving around like crazy!) The first thing Scott told the ultrasound technician was that we didn't want to know the sex of the baby; that we wanted to be surprised. She started the exam and was careful to tell us when images of the baby's bottom were going to appear on the screen so that we would know to look away. So, we did - we looked away when she warned us. The rest of the exam was spent looking at all of the baby's anatomy - everything from the tiny feet to the femurs, the flailing legs, and arms, the kidneys, the lips and everything else. All looked good! The baby weighed 241 grams, or approx. 8 ounces in weight. So tiny. The measurements and calculations from the ultrasound indicated a due date of one week later than what the doctor had estimated - January 11th. (Oh no, Leyton does not want to share his birthday!) The ultrasound technician, after dad asked her, admitted that she was able to tell the sex of the baby. She knows, but the rest of us will have to wait and see....We are excited for you, little one!

Lots to catch up on....

So, there are few things to catch everyone up to speed on...It was sort of a wild week with daddy gone, and mommy didn't have a ton of extra time to keep up the daily blog. Here is a recap! Leyton is still doing great with the potty training. Until yesterday, he had not a single accident at school, and they were all saying how well he was doing with it. It was the same in the evening after I picked him from school - he is really doing well about telling me before he has to go potty or poo-poo. His sticker poster is filling up, and I couldn't be more proud of my little man! Yesterday, when I picked him up from school, his teachers mentioned that he had an accident - but only because one of his friends was taking too long on the potty when Leyton had to go at the same time. Leyton couldn't hold it, and so he had an accident on the floor. Poor Leyton! Aside from the one accident, Leyton is doing good that his teachers talked with me this week about moving Leyton to the big boy classroom on Sept. 8th. This will be his official start date for full days in the new pre-school classroom, but during the weeks between now and then - he will be transitioning into the new environment and spending a couple hours each day with his new teacher and new friends. (Leyton was happy to hear that Thea, Lucy and Justin were in his new teacher's class.) Mr. Ray will be his new teacher, and we think this will be a great match. Sort of bittersweet to see him moving up and getting to be so much more independent. :) For the past couple of evenings, Leyton has been pretty rambunctious around the house. He is a dancing fool, and our favorite game right now is "football" with the balloons. He lines up all of the balloons, calls me onto the field (a.k.a our living room floor), says "ready?", and hen he yells "Go Cardinals - Go Elmo - Go Mommy. Game on!" This routine happens after every time-out, and the newest twist happened when he broke out into song and began singing "Take your legs off, take your legs off." I have no idea where he picked up this catch-phrase, but he is fairly certainly that if you sit down, yank on your ankle, you can take your legs off. It was one of the funniest things I have ever heard him say. Daddy came back home last night after spending the week in Minnesota. Leyton couldn't have been happier to see him - squealing for 5 minutes after he walked through the door. Things are back to semi-normal for the weekend, and Leyton is excited about it! This week at work has been a bit unusual. We have had an Influenza A outbreak (most likely Swine Flu - we don't find out officially until Monday), and the University has been taking all necessary precautions to advise students and to keep anyone with a fever away from campus. It has been quite interesting to see all of this unfold.

• Photo # 1 above: Leyton taking his legs off...
• Photo #2 above: Leyton's ow-ee from school this week. He took a tumble on the playground and skinned up his knee, elbow, and ankle.
• Photo #3 above: Leyton's favorite new accessory - his goggles. Can be worn while eating, playing and taking a bath.
• Photo #4 above: Leyton enunciating his favorite new command - "Mommy, look at me. Look at ME."
• Photo #5 above: This is what happens when mommy's face is behind the camera and Leyton wants her attention. "Mommy, put it down. Look at me."

This afternoon is our 20-week ultrasound appointment. Mom and dad and Marilyn are coming down to see baby #2, and we cannot wait! I hope there is lots of movement and good images! Keep you posted...

Just like daddy!

     Last night for dinner, Leyton and mommy were eating some cold veggie pizza (Leyton's version of eating it is to hand-pick off the veggies on the top and eat them one by one.  Olives and peppers are his favorites!)  I turned away for a few quick moments, and by the time I looked back, there it was......a pile of green onions.  In true Scott style, Leyton had picked off all of the tiny green onions pieces and put them to the side.  He said, "These are bads.  What are they?"  After I told him they were onions, he replied - "I don't like onion."  Go figure!  I thought Scott would get a bigger kick out of this than anyone.  I think they are the same person sometimes!

Accident-free!

     So, today was Leyton's first day at school with his big boy underwear.  Mommy admits that she was a little nervous - I stuffed his cube with four pairs of extra underwear, and three pairs of shorts for changing - just in case.  I made a phone call to his teachers this morning around 9:30 a.m. (since they were not yet at school when I dropped him off) to check in, and Michaela said that he had sat down on the potty at 9 a.m. and went right away - like a big boy.  Mommy was so proud.  I picked him up from school this afternoon and heard the best report ever - not a single accident the entire day!  I am hoping this is a good sign :)

     The picture above is for daddy.  We miss you, and I wanted you to have a picture of the nightly routine.  We can't wait until you are back!

Big Boy Underwear!

Leyton is such a big boy.  The potty training trial officially started this weekend, and Leyton is now wearing only big boy underwear.  After going commando and totally naked on Saturday, we have transitioned into the big boy Sesame Street underwear and are moving full speed ahead.  He has done great so far,  pottying almost a dozen times all by himself in the big boy potty and pooping four times.  Only a few accidents to speak of, but for the most part, he seems to be moving along fairly well.  Fingers crossed for his first time out of the house tomorrow and his first day back to school!!!

Where Are You?!

L.J.  

What's been goin on?  We miss you!  I heard you got a pool for the backyard.  That is super exciting!!!!  Have you been gettin a tan?  Love you!

A weekend of firsts!

Memorial Day weekend presented its share of "firsts"  for Leyton.  We spent the weekend in St. Joe with the Grandmas and Papas, and we had a very busy very exciting time.  Among his "firsts" was:

• Jumping into the big swimming pool and into daddy's arms
• Bouncing around on a trampoline with Grandma at next-door neighbor Jamie's house
• Enjoying a crazy pizza party with the cousins
• Playing with the Grable girls
• Riding in a big-boy Jeep while Ethan drove Leyton all around Lovers Lane, cruising to the girls house down the street
• Watching Geoff digging for treasures in the St. Joe sewers
• Mini-golfing at Coolcrest
• Trying out a root-beer float after a round of mini-golf

It was a great weekend!!!  Leyton can't wait to go back, and he loved visiting with everyone.  (We missed you, Adam and Tina!)

     Leyton is now back to school and getting into the normal routine again.  Scott came home yesterday and said that Leyton's teachers commented that he was always the "helper" of the class, and the one who would help the substitutes out by showing them where the toys and snacks were and by helping with the daily routine.  They said he is a great helper!  Mommy was so proud.

Baby chicks

     So, daddy made it back from Dallas late on Tuesday night, and Leyton was thrilled to see him when he woke up on Wednesday morning.  All is right with the world again.  When I picked Leyton up from school on Tuesday, though, his teachers told me that he had been having a rough morning.  They said he had been very angry, throwing fits, and not acting very cooperative (very unlike him for school behavior - that seems to be pretty much run of the mill at home, but not at school).  

     Scott picked him yesterday from school, and Miss Michaela said that he had a good day.  Life is good again!

     So, the excitement at Leyton's school is the new baby chicks.  Union Hill has a new incubator in the classroom, and more than a dozen chicken eggs came to the school early this week.  All but one has hatched, and they are the cutest things in the world.  It is so fun for the kids to watch them hatch and to see them inside the big box eating and moving about.  They are the cutest things ever!

Daddy's in Dallas

     Daddy left for Dallas tonight, but Leyton has weathered the separation better than usual.  We had a fun evening outside playing with Jack and Charlie, watering flowers, playing kickball with Tiger, and moving dirt.  We had some SpongeBob macaroni & cheese for dinner, and then we were back outside for some more fun.  We watched a little Shrek tonight after we came back inside for the last time, and we read Henry & Mudge and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  

     We miss you, daddy; and, we can't wait to have you back home!   (p.s. In case anyone was wondering, the bike in the bottom picture is not Leyton's new ride.  Daddy's friend Alex left it at our house while they are in Dallas, and Leyton doesn't seem to mind it being parked in the drive-way, either!)

Two Cranes and a pot of flowers

     I dealt with two cranes today.  It must have been a full moon or something in the water, but the boys were a little temperamental today.

     Leyton only slept for an hour during his nap, and when I got back home from the garden/nursery - he was awake and ready to play.   We had a busy afternoon outside:  planted three shrubs on the side of the house and potted and planted lots of flowers.  Leyton helped plant one small pot of flowers, but he was best at moving dirt from one place in the driveway to another and finding worms.  He was also very good at watering the plants after we had them planted.  He kept saying, "I helping, mommy."  He is a very good little helper!