Leo's latest checkup

Leo had his 15-month appointment last week (even though he's technically 16 months). His latest stats are:

• Weight: 21 lbs (15th percentile and back in the "healthy" range)
• Height: 31.5 inches (50th percentile)
• Head: 18.5 inches (50th percentile)

The doctor is very pleased with his development overall. He's ahead of the curve on fine motor skills, is right on track with language, and is a little slow on gross motor skills like walking. She mentioned that its pretty common for laid-back, relaxed babies like Leo to be a little slow developing gross motor skills, since they are generally content to be where they are and don't feel the need to zip around.

There was a little fluid in Leo's ears that threatened to go full ear infection, so we got some antibiotics just in case. Leo got six shots on this appointment--the four usual vaccinations for 15 months plus his boosters for flu and H1N1. I was concerned about it being a lot of shots at once, but our doctor talked me through the risks, which were very minimal, and in the end we did all six. He recovered quickly from the shots and was a little cranky for a couple of days. We weren't totally sure if it was the ears or the vaccinations, so we gave him the antibiotic just to be safe. He's fully recovered now and doing well.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving dinner was at our house this year so Mom and Dad came down from Ogden.
Before dinner, Dad and Mike introduced Leo to "carrier landings". As you'll see in the video, it requires sliding along a table on one's belly. The original version that Dad did in the Air Force was a drunken slip n' slide which involved dress uniform (preferably whites), a table soaked in beer or red wine, and stopping without using your hands before you slid off the table (like on an aircraft carrier--hence the name). Our version was a lot less messy, but still got a lot of laughs from everyone.

Dinner, featuring Dad's amazing smoked turkey, was delicious. Leo ate a bit of everything, and loved the garlic and artichoke dip that was our appetizer. He is constantly surprising me by how many foods--even strongly-flavored dishes--he likes! We got some video of pre- and post-dinner with Leo (see below). Leo decided that gravy could do double duty as a styling product, which explains the state of his hair.

Swinging and Dancing

Here's two new videos.

1) Leo learned how to dance a couple of weeks ago. His signature moves are swaying side to side and sometimes doing "happy feet" (a quick run in place move). He'll dance to any music, but especially loves the songs from the "radio" on his playhouse.
2) "Swing Time" is from our trip to the park this weekend and includes Leo's first time solo on the swings.

Leo's first haircut

Leo was starting to look a bit shaggy (see the "before" pic at top) so it was time to get his first haircut. We went to a place that specializes in kids' haircuts, where he got to sit in a seat shaped like an airplane and watch an Elmo DVD (and the other kids in the salon). He took it in stride--no tears, no fuss--and now he looks even more handsome!

Walking (almost) and talking (nearly)

Leo has developed so much in just the last couple of weeks. Here's a summary of what he's been up to.

• Walking: Leo "walks" very well when he's holding onto a push toy or somone's hands. He's still not sure about pushing away from support and standing/walking on his own.
• Talking: Leo's started to mimic sounds and has a few new words in his repertoire. Just yesterday he said "book" very clearly while pointing to one. I forgot to get my keys out before loading up with baby, bag, etc. and said out loud at the door, "Mommy was dumb and forgot her keys." Leo looked right at me and said, "Dumb, ma ma." :o)
• Eating: Leo's developed some interesting new food "likes" (like chai) and some usual ones (hot dogs).
• Dressing: Leo helps me when I dress him by putting up his hands, feet, etc. He also attempts to brush his hair.

Leo's latest checkup

Leo had his 12-month well child checkup yesterday. He is now

• 30.75 inches long (75th percentile)
  
• 19 lbs 3 oz (5th percentile).
  
• His head is 18.1 inches (25th percentile).
  

The doctor said that Leo's weight has slightly slipped off of the "curve" to maintain for optimal health. However, Mike was a skinny kid and so were both of our Dads, so it may be genetic. We were instructed to keep doing what we are doing: let him eat pretty much everything (except nuts, peanuts, and any seafood until age 2--due to my shellfish allergy) and lots of it.
Other than a little fluid in his ears that we'll need to watch, he is otherwise perfectly normal in health and development. The doctor noted his good-natured acceptance of her examination and he recovered very quickly from his three immunizations with the help of a graham cracker and a snuggle from Mom.

Three new posts today!

I uploaded three posts with pictures today--scroll down to see them all!

Leo in the morning

Mike caught these pics of Leo about a month ago.

Chicago, my kind of town!

Earlier this month, Leo and I traveled with my Mom to Chicago for a visit. We had a lot of fun hanging out with our family: Great Grandma Gert (aka Triple G); Uncle Dave and Aunt Marianne Schiavone; Brett, cousin Sarah, and Kate Hampson; cousin Mark Schiavone; and cousin Paul Schiavone and his girlfriend Katie. We stayed in a guest apartment at Triple G's retirement community, which was wonderful and gave us plenty of room and a kitchen. Highlights included a visit to a wonderful family-run Italian restaurant, a fun street party, and an Italian beef dinner at Dave and Marianne's. Leo was a very good traveller and tried lots of new foods including rigatoni, sausage, and Italian beef.

Out and about (Leo ages 9-12 months)

These are a bunch of pics that we took on my cell phone that I thought I should put together.

The first three pics were taken in Home Depot when Leo was about 9 months old. He grabbed that piece of pipe and we ended up taking it home with us. Who needs toys when there are 35-cent pieces of pipe to be had instead?

The next shots were taken in mid-July in the Blue Plate Diner. We were there with my parents and Uncle Gerry. We were pretty cramped in a booth, so Leo had plenty of chances to try to grab Gerry's roll. Gerry finally just gave the roll to Leo, who promptly started to chow down on it even though it was nearly as big as his head!

We encountered an unusually pretty pigeon in the duck park about a month ago and had to take her photo.

Finally, the last set of pics were from today. We had an hour to kill before the photo studio opened to get Leo's 12-month portraits taken, so we went to lunch at Dee's (a local diner). We had fun and Leo charmed all of the waitresses.

Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades

Leo loves to grab for my sunglasses and Mike's glasses, so I got him a pair of his own from the dollar store. Combine the shades and his new high chair in black "leather' with red trim, and he's one cool baby. The food stains on face and clothes are his own "personal style", of course.

Applause!

Leo clapped his hands for the first time yesterday and now does it often. Its so fun to see how pleased he is with himself. He's also learned to drink from a sippy cup and has a new high chair (the old one was off-kilter and he always sort of fell sideways).

New favorite foods this week: green beans, scrambled eggs, and well-watered-down juice (from a sippy cup, naturally). We tried chicken and potato, but neither were hits.

Burninating the countryside....

Aunts Jill and Carrie from LA have waited almost a year for this....Baby Trogdor! Sorry its a fuzzy picture--he only held still for a moment before he crawled off to...burninate all the peoples and their thatched roof cottages!!!

(Thanks, Aunties--seeing Leo in this onesie made my day!)

Lost? Watch the video and read the lyrics--and thanks for indulging this bit of silliness:
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/s/strongbad21993/trogdor567838.html

Morning play

Leo took his morning lap around the pack n play, which Daddy managed to catch on film. He also got silly with Mommy.

Bonus: Leo' s current favorite toys are an empty Kleenex box and a bamboo back scratcher. His new favorite food is grapes.

Leo's new favorite things

Leo hit two major milestones in the last few weeks--he can pull himself up and he can feed himself finger foods.

Leo pulls himself up to a full, upright standing position just about every chance he gets. He also "walks" around the edges of his pack n play, holding onto the edge as he goes. It is such a thrill to watch him push up with his legs and be so pleased with himself when he realizes he's standing up. This, of course, has opened up a whole new world for him and new levels of caution for us!

Leo entered the wonderful world of finger foods and there's no looking back! His favorite by far is cheese, with bread, peas, and diced fruit in close second. The surprising thing is that he seems to be OK with some strong flavors; I got a sample of sheep's milk cheese at Costco last weekend and offered him a bite. He loved it and ate the whole piece! He's still working on mastering the sippy cup, but he's slowly getting the hang of it.

Leo 10-month pics

Recent photos of all three Napolitanos.

Growing fast!

Leo's growing so fast now that its hard to keep up. His latest accomplishments include:

• Last checkup earlier this month revealed that Leo is 29.75 inches long (89th percentile), 18 lbs 10 oz (12th percentile, but healthy), and has a head circumference of 45.5 inches (50th percentile). Other than his eczema, which we usually manage to keep under control, he's a perfectly healthy baby. The doctor noted that his skin was a bit yellow, but determined that it was due to Leo's love of sweet potatoes and squash and nothing to be worried about.
  
• Is still "army crawling", but has started to pull himself up to a kneeling and standing position (which is more like downward-dog pose in yoga). We're in for it now!
  
• Starting to feed himself some finger foods, but doesn't show a lot of enthusiasm for it yet.
• Loves to play peek a boo and patty cake, but doesn't really seem to "get" the So Big game. He doesn't clap either, although he loves it when we clap for him.
• Has learned how to hug--he throws his arms around my neck, squeezes, and I turn to mush. He also "kisses" occasionally, although its more like he's just putting his partially-open mouth against my cheek.
• Chatters a lot, and uses some syllables and sounds repeatedly, but no discernable words are coming yet. He seems to use "da" interchangeably for both Mike and me. He also clicks, raspberries, and makes other "mouth noises" often.
  
• Has both center bottom teeth, and we're expecting more soon since he appears to be teething like crazy right now.
• Although we generally don't let Leo watch TV, he loves the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb (which is hysterically funny for grownups too).
• Loves to be outside, especially when we go to the park to feed the ducks (and ducklings!).
• Loves books and being read to. Pat the Bunny is a new favorite, but Goodnight Moon is still the best.
  

Who needs toys?

Leo is proving the old adage that kids can turn any regular thing into a toy. Here's a list of some of his fun, favorite non-toy things:

• Baby wipes packages: they crinkle and have a baby's picture on them
  
• Wooden spoon: fun to gnaw and bang on things
• "Jingle ball" cat toy: Leo stole it from the cats and won't give it up
• Any strap, cord, or string: the drawstring on Daddy's pajama bottoms is a favorite.
  
• Anything round (buttons, screws, etc.)
• Our cats: Leo adores the cats and has a special squeal he uses when he spots them. He enjoys chasing, tackling, and giving "loves" by rubbing his face in their fur.
• "Squishy" pillows (see pic at right): Leo tackles them and uses them as a "roller" under his belly to move faster when he crawls. I think they're also cat-capturing practice.
• Any tiny object on the floor: There's no problem with Leo's eyesight--he can spot minuscule items on the floor from yards away and usually hustles himself over to whatever catches his eye.
• Cardboard boxes: I got something in a Priority Mail box the other day and Leo immediately commandeered it.
• Magazines: Leo loves to turn the pages--and eat them.
  

Candids

These pics are from the last couple of months (7-9 months).

Easter with Rachel

My sister Christina and niece Rachel came to visit for Easter. Here are the late-coming but still adorable pics.

Leo's 9-month portraits

New stuff

It seems like Leo's acquiring new skills and fascinations by the week. Here's a rundown of the latest:

• Favorite new "toys" are his exersaucer (a circular baby seat with toys attached), his Laugh and Learn Puppy (see picture), and baby wipe packages (which make a "crunchy" noise and have a baby's picture on them, which is doubly awesome in his book).
• Learned how to turn the pages of books while I'm reading to him, and usually waits until I say "turn the page" to do so.
• Has mastered putting his binky into his mouth by himself. Has also started sucking his thumb when a binky isn't available.
  
• Moved into his room and loves his new crib. He somehow manages to work his way across every inch of it during the night.
  
• Mastered the "army crawl". He acquires a target (like a baby wipes package, or one of the cats) and scoots his way to it in record time.
  
• Gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, sometimes scooting both knees forward. Might not be long until he figures out how to crawl.
• Can sit up unassisted for a few minutes at at time.
  
• Now that its spring, we re-introduced Leo to the outdoors. He loves playing in the grass.

On the health front:

• Weight at the doctor's office this week was 17 lbs 5.5 oz.
  
• Leo is getting his first tooth: the front left lower central incisor.
• Had an abscess on the back of his head that lasted for a couple of weeks. It was quite a medical mystery to the doctors, and we ended up going to the pediatrician's office several times, but it resolved itself this week and he's back to normal.

At the Children's Museum

We had a wonderful time over the Easter weekend with my sister Christina and our niece Rachel. One of the highlights was this visit to the Discovery Gateway, Salt Lake's children's museum.

Leo's "tricks"

This video from when Leo was 6 months old contains many of his "tricks":

• Happy hands: when Leo is happy or excited, he turns his wrists in circles
• "Stevie Wonder": Leo's soothing/happy movement is to move his head in a figure-eight pattern (hence the name)
• Glasses grab: Leo loves to grab Daddy's glasses.

Bouncing and babbling

Here is a video from January. These days, Leo tends to babble more in "ba ba ba" sounds than the squeals he emits here. Enjoy!

Catching up

I am finally getting my act together enough to post an update on the last couple of months with the Napolitano clan.

January:

• It snowed. A lot.
• Leo started daycare and absolutely loves it. He is the youngest child there and most days when I go to pick him up there are 2-3 new friends among the older kids hanging out and playing with him.
  
• Leo turned 6 months old on January 28. Its so hard to believe that it's been only half a year since he came into our lives--we can't imagine life without him.

February:

• Still snowing.
• Leo started really "talking", offering babbled commentary on most of his activities during the day.
• We went to visit our wonderful friends the Kelleys in Berkeley. Leo did very well on both flights and handled traveling and new surroundings like a champ. We got to see lots of our friends and Leo's "cousins" Eli, Yael, and Ari Kelley had a great time playing with him. Mike and I enjoyed having some downtime and seeing the color green on trees, grass, etc.
  
• Everybody got sick: Leo got a cold, Daddy got the flu, and Mommy got pneumonia. Fun times.
• Leo moved to formula and starter solid foods. He's generally open minded and will try almost anything once, although peas were his first (and so far, only) "instant reject" food. Fruits and oatmeal are favorites. Veggies other than carrots are less enthusiastically received.
  

March so far:

• Still freaking snowing, after a taunting warm spell.
• Leo had his 6-month checkup. He is now 16 lbs 5.5 oz (20th percentile) and 27.75 inches long (75th percentile). His head measurement is 17.25" (50th percentile). He is doing very well developmentally.
• Leo got his first ear infections--both ears at once. They're clearing up now and he's mostly back to his normal self.
• Leo has learned how to: stick out his tongue (and mimic others who are doing so); "sidewinder" crawl on his belly; and sit up very briefly on his own. "Peekaboo" and "This is the way the Lady/Gentleman/Farmer rides" are his favorite games.
  
• We had one of our "hootenany" sessions at our friends, the Holts, home. Leo enjoyed singing along, in his own special way.
  

Leo's 6-month portraits

I know I am a month late getting these posted--bad Mommy!

More Leo notes

Leo is growing so fast that it seems like there are new little discoveries every day. Here's some examples:

• Leo is starting to notice our cats. He watches them very closely when they are nearby and has reached out to touch and "pet" Bella several times. Bella is very patient with him.
• Our house has turned into the Tower of Babble! Leo has gotten very vocal in the past few days. He is making a wide variety of sounds and it is delightful. (I'll post video if I can overcome the technical difficulties I had before).
• Leo has outgrown many of his 3-6 month clothes.
  

Tarnation!

I had a bunch of videos ready to load and something happened with my computer and they all appear to be deleted, both from the camera and my PC. I don't know if I did something or if it is a technical glitch, but its a bummer either way. :o( Sorry everyone.

Time flies when you're having fun!

It's been a busy December and I apologize for the huge delay between posts. Hopefully this "mega-post" will catch everyone up on Leo's latest goings-on. I'll summarize the last few weeks here. Check out photos below.

We are in the process of converting the office into Leo's room. All of the furniture is on order, so he should be in his nursery by the end of January. Hooray! Leo had his second sleepover at Nona and Grampa Rocky's house so that we could get the work done to clear the room out.

We all had a lovely holiday season. Mom and Dad came to our house for Christmas Eve supper and we all enjoyed opening presents and watch Leo play with his favorite toy--curled gift-wrap ribbon. I unexpectedly got to take the week after Christmas off, so it was a great break and a chance to spend really good quality time as a family.

New Year's Eve was a quiet affair. We stayed home and had our friends Amber and Mark Anthony over for drinks and snacks. We watched Tropic Thunder, which was hysterical.

Leo started daycare (and Mike went back to work) on January 5th. Leo loves daycare--no crying or separation anxiety on his part, but I was a total mess the night before.

Here's some quick facts about Leo:

• Leo's eyes are definitely brown, and his hair is turning blond.
• Leo is eating formula regularly now, but we're still challenged with getting him to eat rice cereal (his first semi-solid food).
• An unofficial weigh-in put Leo at over 15 lbs. last week. He's also getting much taller. It will be time to graduate to size 3 diapers and a new car seat soon!
  
• He loves the "Jumping Jumperoo" horse that his daddy got for him. He stays in it for a half hour at a time just bouncing away!
• Leo also enjoys watching television. (Not sure if this is a good thing.)
  
• Leo hasn't quite mastered rolling from front to back yet, but he can roll from back to front like a champ.