The Final Countdown.

With Baby Leahy's arrival coming up soon, we've started the final countdown and preparation for our new addition to the family. Here's a little inside scoop as to how we are each preparing for the baby...

Jami: The weekly doctor visits have begun, and the only news is that she's dilated to 1 cm with no effacement yet. The Braxton Hicks are becoming more frequent though. Long morning walks in the now much cooler AZ morning air are still a highlight although these are now less for fitness and more focused on bringing on labor!

Scott: Dad has turned into Mr. Clean and is Jami's right hand man with house chores that are becoming a little too difficult for her with the bowling ball belly. He's also kicked into protective husband mode ensuring that Jami doesn't overdo it. Scott is getting in lots of extra R&R before the little one arrives and imposes on his normal sleep routine.

Luke: He can hardly wait for his little brother to arrive. Today at Babies R Us he picked out a special toy for the baby just from big brother. He also loves to hang out in the nursery ... although not sure what the baby will think of him playing legos in there while he's trying to sleep peacefully!

Here's the latest pregnancy pic taken this last week.

So Long to Summer.

With fall officially beginning this weekend, we bid farewell to summer today with some backyard splash time. We filled up the kiddie pool and got out the slip 'n' slide. It's hard to say whether Dad or Luke had more fun sliding! Check out the footage...

Superman on a skateboard.

Luke has taken up a new sport ... skateboarding. Our neighbor Justin who's in 5th grade had an old skateboard he was going to get rid of because he got a new one. Well, the Pokemon skateboard found a new rider in 2 1/2 year old Luke! Justin showed Luke all kinds of good tricks for "beginners." Check out the video!

Lunch with the ladies.

Jami's friends hosted a lovely lunch at Grayhawk Golf Course in Scottsdale to celebrate the baby's upcoming arrival. We lunched outside overlooking the water and enjoyed the nice cooler weather. Jami and her playgroup pal Jen show off their 'bumps'. Jen is due any time now and Jami in 3 weeks ... both with boys!

Charity's birthday.

We celebrated with Charity, the birthday girl, today! Her birthday is actually next weekend, but we enjoyed celebrating a bit early. Jami and Charity enjoyed a girls shopping trip at the mall in the morning and then met up with the boys for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. What fun!

Ready for move in.

Here are some recent pics of the nursery. The paint is "retro colonial blue," and the theme is zebras. The accents are white and black. You'll notice a few Luke toys in the room for the time being. We only have one finishing touch we need to add ... the name in white letters above the crib. But of course we have to decide on a name first!

Time for tea to celebrate baby!

Today Jami was treated to a baby shower tea with the Poker Group wives. We enjoyed high tea at Abbey Gardens Tea Parlour complete with fancy teacups, tiny tea sandwiches, apricot scones, and a stunning Tammie Coe cake with green and purple zebra stripes. What a fun girly afternoon to celebrate Baby Leahy's upcoming arrival! Here are a few pics.

Eva, Lori, Jami, Ginger, and Liz at Abbey Gardens.

Jami with her favorite of all cakes ... a delicious designer Tammie Coe cake.

M-I-C-K-E-Y

We took in our first big-scale live kids' performance today with Mickey's Magic Show at Dodge Theater. We joined some friends for the Disney fest. Luke loved all the entertainment, and we snapped this photo with Luke's pal Robby afterward.

Enjoying each day...

We are really enjoying our final days with "just Luke" and as a family of three before we welcome the baby and look ahead to days with the four of us. It's cooling off slightly. This week it's been right around 100, which is kind of the breaking point with the heat. So more time outdoors is just around the corner. As we wrap up the swim season, we've been squeezing in a few more days at the pool. Luke is now a pretty self-sufficient swimmer. He's able to jump off the side, swim back to the side, and pull himself out with no assistance. Mom is not needed as much now in her role as swim coach since he can do it all on his own!

Short cuts.

Luke and Dad had both been growing their hair out lately but recently got their locks shaped up a bit. Here are the finely groomed Leahy men ... looking good with their new cuts.

Baby update.

Big news on the baby front. In the last few days, we think the baby may have "dropped" and is now head down. Jami is only at 35 weeks, but the baby appears to have settled a little lower and her belly is sticking outward more than ever. While she has a bit more breathing room, the down side is the hip and back pain ... and the waddling that's beginning. Good progress though. We'll see what they say at the doctor's appointment next week!

Labor Day.

Our Labor Day weekend plans were pretty low key. Luke had a bad cold so we lounged around home a lot and followed him around with a box of Kleenex. It's amazing how children can show some pretty bad illness symptoms but still run around full steam ahead like nothing is wrong. Jami also spent much time this weekend at ASU with her Theta advisor duties. The chapter had recruitment so it was a busy weekend with a few late nights. Scott's highlight was completing a few projects around the house.

Luke is ready for Lil' Bro to arrive.

The other evening we were sitting around reading books before bedtime with Luke. Jami asked if he wanted to talk to the baby. He had his normal dialogue with Mom's belly, "Hi, baby ... What you doing? ... Baby sleeping." But then he surprised us with the next comment showing his obvious anticipation for Baby Brother's arrival, "Baby, get outta there." Guess he's as ready for the little guy to arrive as we are! It's probably a perplexing thought for him as to why Mom is harboring another child in her tummy, when he's ready for his playmate to get here NOW. All in due time.

Chill out.

The Leahy family enjoyed an evening just chillin' out with a popsicle treat. Luke loves to eat popsicles but dislikes when they start to melt and get "kinda drippy."

Locked out.

Luke has discovered how to lock doors. At first, this new skill was only used on his bedroom door. Luckily, he has a jack-and-jill bathroom that adjoins to the other bedroom upstairs, so Mom and Dad always have an alternate route for entering. However, he's decided to apply his technical expertise to the master bedroom door downstairs. Small problem ... there's only one way in and out there ... no back-up plan. The first day he mastered the "lock-out" Jami was able to find the humor in it. She tried to unlock the door using various means, but to no avail. So she had to complete dismantle the door knob and remove it to get the door open. Luke received a short lecture about not locking the doors. We thought that was the end of the silly game.Nope. The next day Luke exercised his right to lock the door again. This time Mom didn't find it nearly as humorous, while Luke didn't find the fun in the extended time-out period in his room following the lock-out. Let's hope the lesson is learned on both accounts -- no more random lock-outs for Luke and that Mom and Dad fix the doorknob so he is unable to lock it going forward.

Nice ride, baby.

What better way to spend a rainy day than with the playgroup pals at Chuck E. Cheese! We originally planned to go there because it's still so hot, but it ended up being a good plan because of the rainy morning. The kids enjoyed all the games. (How can they understand the concepts of tickets and tokens at such a young age!!) Luke and Lucy took a spin in this hip roadster.

Better get out the boat.

Because it rains so rarely in Arizona, it's a BIG deal when it does rain. This morning we had quite a thunderstorm and downpour. On the way to our playgroup outing in Scottsdale, we drove through this completely flooded area. Luckily, people were driving cautiously ... except for Jami who was taking pictures of the deep water while driving! Drainage systems weren't a big concern obviously when the city was expanding, so there are a lot of areas that don't drain well when it does rain a lot. Better get out the boat!

33 and 7.

This marks Jami's 33rd week of pregnancy with 7 weeks to go. It's getting a little harder to stay active and chase after Luke, but Jami is still feeling great ... although she's ready for the hot, humid weather to be over. Unfortunately, it doesn't cool down in Phoenix until right when the baby is due. Luke has been talking more about "baby brother" lately, and Dad has been hard at work painting the nursery a great shade of slate blue. We've chosen a zebra nursery theme! The whole family is getting ready for the big arrival!

Kick it!

Luke has mastered the skill of the drop kick. Check out this video! He's also sporting his new fall shoes. What an all-star!

Splish splash.

Luke enjoyed a day out at the Tempe Town Lake Splash Park.

Family pic.

Jami talked the boys into taking this photo one night this week. Cheese!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Lately, Luke's favorite movie is "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Whenever given the choice for what movie he wants to watch, the answer is always the same: "Charlie Bucket." (If you recall that's Charlie's last name in the movie.) We have the original version with Gene Wilder on DVD, and he never seems to tire of it (and we never tire of laughing about Gene Wilder's unruly hair.) We lucked out and the new version with Johnny Depp was on HBO tonight, so we recorded it. The collection is complete now with the old and new versions! Long live the Oompa Loompas!

Terrible twos.

This past week has been an ultimate test of patience and discipline as Luke took every advantage of exercising his right to behave as many young children have before him in the rite of passage known as "terrible twos." Since we were halfway through 2 and on our way to 3, we were thinking maybe he'd just skip the terrible twos. Nope. Not the case. Instead, he decided to save up all his really mischievous antics for one solid week.

There was the one-hour whining and screaming fit one morning. Or the lunch out with friends where Luke proceeded to spend more time under the table than in his seat. Or how about the boycotting of an afternoon nap for several days in a row that led to him falling asleep on the kitchen floor during dinner (while he was lying on the floor pouting in one of his many fits).

What happened to that well-behaved boy we once knew? He obviously checked out for a week and left quite a devilish character in his place. We are finding the humor in it now, which is much better than the 2 days in a row that Jami cried over Luke's defiant ways (not to mention that her pregnancy hormones plus the summer heat amplified it all).

So send positive thoughts our way as we start a new week. This weekend was better, but we're not out of the woods quite yet.

The intellectual.

Is it Super-da-man or Clark Kent in his glasses? Luke decided that wearing these glasses would be ideal for his evening bath. We had to chuckle at how distinguished he looks in the specs ... but no books in the tub for this guy.

3 lil' monkeys.

Luke and his buddies Ethan and Robby Glanville cheese it up for the camera!

10 weeks to go!

The countdown is on! This marked Week 30 for Jami and the baby. Jami is still feeling great ... no swollen feet or back pains to slow her down yet! The baby is moving all the time now and kicking mom in the ribs!

Counting is cool.

Luke has really been into counting lately. So far he can count from 1 to 13 (not sure why he stops there). On this particular occasion, he gave 4 and 5 the cold shoulder and skipped them. He'll get them all filled in eventually in the right order! When prompted by Dad about the missing numbers, Luke avoids the subject and asks for a photo by his fans! Too cool for counting.

Luke and Lexi.

Today we went to a birthday party for Luke's girlfriend Lexi. She actually turned 2 right around Christmas, but they celebrate her birthday in the summer so it doesn't get lost among the holidays. Hugs for the birthday girl!

Moms Night Out

The moms of our Thursday Playgroup enjoyed an evening out and about with dinner at Cafe LaBella, a quaint Italian restaurant in Downtown Phoenix. Pictured are Sandy, Misty, Mandi, Stacie, Rachel, Amy, Anne, and Jami.

Super-da-man!

We have a new superhero in our family ... Super-da-man! He's a step up from regular Superman. For some reason, Luke throws in the extra syllable for some added pronunciation flair! When Grandma Dixie found out about his interest in Superman, she set forth on a secret project. The end result was a specially sewn red cape and these stylin' Superman pajamas.

All aboard the Georgetown Loop Railroad!

Today we took a road trip to the mountains to ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad. This 1 hour train trip took us from Georgetown up to Silver Plume and then back. This was Luke's 2nd trip on the Georgetown train, and he loved it as much as the first time! Afterward, we enjoyed lunch in Georgetown at the Happy Cooker and then checked out the town. A great day spent in the mountain air!

Insights from Big Brother Luke

Luke is so excited to be a big brother!! With the excitement and anticipation of welcoming his younger brother, he's also developed some pretty funny insights about the baby. Here are a few...

- Luke enjoys talking to Mom's tummy. When we ask what he thinks the baby is doing in there, he says, "Shhh. Baby sleeping."

- The other day Luke gave Mom a hug and then emphatically announced, "Mama has a BIG tummy."

- While Grandma and Grandpa were watching Luke, they told him they were going to see someone very special (meaning Mom & Dad who'd been gone overnight). They asked Luke who he thought they were going to see. He contemplated it for a bit and then said, "Baby brother?" Too sweet. Sorry, buddy. He's not here quite yet!!

Parents' Night Out

For a bit belated celebration of our 7th anniversary, we enjoyed dinner and an overnight trip to a nearby bed and breakfast on Friday night, while Grandma and Grandpa watched Luke. The B and B was located about 20 minutes from Jami's parents between the towns of Morrison and Aspen Park. The Meyer Park Ranch was a great spot for hiking nearby the B and B, so we enjoyed an evening hike on Friday and an even longer hiking journey on Saturday morning. We took full advantage of the great outdoors and the cooler temperatures ... and the fact that Jami's still feeling active at 7 months pregnant!

On the Moooove in Downtown Denver

Today's Colorado adventure took us to Downtown Denver to see the CowParade exhibit. We rode the lightrail downtown and hopped off to see the brightly painted herd of cow statues. Each cow depicted a different theme as determined by the artist. We're pictured behind the "Rhythm and Moos" cow!

Luke Armstrong.

Colorado here we come! We are enjoying a nice vacation in Colorado. We bid the 110+ degree heat goodbye and swapped it for some cool mountain air. Luke is loving the time outdoors, especially since he discovered the bike that Grandma and Grandpa Nelson got for him. Last night, he rode up and down their front sidewalk and entertained the neighbors. Scott had to jog several times to keep up with the lightning pace of Luke Armstrong!!

Cheese!

When Jami was a little girl, her family used to tease her because she would smile "too big" for the camera. Usually, she was grinning from ear-to-ear so much that she would squint her eyes. Now many moons later, that same smile-for-the-camera cheesy grin is surfacing in Luke, as he loves to get his picture taken and belt out a loud vocal "cheese!" He also likes to take people's pictures with his ViewMaster slide machine or this nifty camera that Dad made for him out of Legos. You outta be in pictures, baby!!

Nap wherever whenever.

In preparation for the baby's arrival in a few months, we have begun to transition things to the new nursery downstairs. We have already moved the changing table/dresser, crib, and rocker to the new baby's room. Scott still needs to paint and we need to pick out a theme, but at least the big ticket items are moved in and ready to go! Since this furniture is no longer inhabiting Luke's room, he now has found great joy in treating it like a jungle gym ... climbing on the changing table and crawling under the crib for his new hiding place.

Today like many days, he was playing in the nursery. It got very quiet very quickly in there. I walked in to discover that Luke had found his new perch in Little Brother's room. He was fast asleep in a pool of drool on the changing table!

Lucky 7.

We celebrated our 7th anniversary on Monday, July 10! Where has the time gone?!! We enjoyed a nice dinner out to a restaurant called 98 South in Downtown Chandler, complete with a jazz band. Luke enjoyed a nice "date night" too with his babysitter Maribeth, a Theta from ASU who also happens to live in our neighborhood. With our 7th anniversary comes several other milestones just around the corner ... 7 years living in Arizona and of Scott working for Motorola.

Seeing in 3D.

Today we ventured out to the IMAX movie theater for Luke's first 3D movie. The feature film of choice was about the deep sea. Turtles and sharks and squid ... oh my! We explained to Luke beforehand that we were going to a special kind of movie where you had to wear glasses. He likes wearing glasses so we figured he'd like wearing the 3D specs. We settled into our seats and put on our 3D glasses, which resembled something that Bozo the Clown might sport because these spectacles were gigantic! Luke debated back and forth whether to wear them or not. At one point when he was pro-glasses, he hopped off Scott's lap and started flapping around in the air in an attempt to catch the swimming fish who looked to be a mere two feet before us. He must have been quite intrigued ... until he experienced the downside of these magical glasses. A shark quickly swam on the screen and toward the audience. Luke jumped back in fear and ripped the glasses off his face ... gasping and his heart pounding. Of course, Scott and I were laughing it up because of his funny reaction. Soon after that, Luke tried to take Scott's glasses off. Perhaps he was worried Dad might get scared, too. Objects in the 3D glasses may appear closer than they are!

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th of July by having our friends the Wellings over with their 7 kids plus Jami's parents who are visiting. Eric and Charity also joined us later. What a fun evening! The kids splashed around in the kiddie pool and slip-n-slide, and we enjoyed root beer floats with homemade root beer and homemade ice cream. Luke and his buddy Nate especially enjoyed the dessert treat!
We walked over to the lake area to watch the fireworks from a show at a high school about a mile away. It was a perfect view to watch the grand fireworks display over the water with palm trees in the skyline and ducks paddling across the lake. A storm started to blow up during the fireworks show so we got double the entertainment with some far-off lightning, too, and not to mention a personal mister system with the rain sprinkles that started falling toward the end. Last year at this time we were just getting moved into our house, so this ideal firework-watching location is another great recently discovered perk of our community.

When Grandpa babysits...

We left Grandpa Jim in charge for a bit one morning. When Luke was hungry for a mid-morning snack, what better thing to eat than leftover pizza with chips and salsa! Two peas in a pod!

Ruling the pool.

Luke has achieved another pooltime milestone ... jumping off the diving board. This feat was accomplished at Uncle Eric's pool last weekend with some assistance from Dad. As you can see, there's little hesitation in the warm-up and approach to jumping in the pool. Ready ... set ... JUMP!

San Antonio Travels...

Jami spent the last 4 days in San Antonio for the Kappa Alpha Theta Grand Convention. Nearly 500 Thetas from across the United States and Canada gathered together to meet regarding Theta policy and planning for the years ahead. The trip started off a bit rocky as Jami was without luggage for the first half of the conference since her bags were somehow mistakenly sent to Ithaca, NY, by America West!! But things started looking a bit brighter as the chapter that she advises at Arizona State won fantastic honors as the top Theta chapter internationally! Here's a photo from the awards ceremony: College District President Stacy Rini, Jami, Fraternity President Karen Ledbetter, Current Chapter President Katie Hernandez, and Past Chapter President Jackie Vollmer.
Here's another photo of Jami with her friend Heidi Pollmann, who's the new president for the Greater Kansas City Alumnae Chapter ... and also a K-State Theta.

Flying mattresses.

With the arrival of the bunk beds this afternoon, we decided to scout out some mattresses tonight (unfortunately, those weren't included!) We founded a great deal at a nearby bed store, so we loaded up the 2 mattresses on top of the Tribute, tied them down, and headed home.

Well, Arizona is known for its dust storms that suddenly blow up out of nowhere ... no rain, just blowing dust. Lovely. We left the store and the weather was fine. Not more than 10 minutes and less than a mile from home, we were in the midst of a brewing dust storm. The mattresses turned into windsails, popping the twine that was securing them. They toppled off the car. Luckily, no damage was done to the mattresses or any cars behind us, and fortunately, we were on a side street. We surveyed the situation and determined that we could shuttle the mattresses home one at a time inside the car if we crammed them in there. Luke had to be a little cramped, but he found the whole experience quite humorous. But this also meant that one of us had to wait in the blowing wind with the other mattress alongside the road. Scott was the lucky one.

After Jami unloaded the first mattress at home, she headed back to rescue Scott and the 2nd mattress. Only 5 minutes had passed, but 2 good Samaritans had stopped and offered their assistance to Scott while he waited. Nice neighbors. We managed to get home all in one piece with 2 mattresses, one laughing Luke, and a first of many good stories to come about fun times with the bunk beds.

6 months and growing.

Jami just marked the start of her 6th month of pregnancy. She's feeling great and has become an expert at beating the summer heat. The baby has taken up early morning karate, which is Jami's new alarm clock. Luke loves to talk to the baby and give Mom's tummy a little pat every now and then!

A visit from the Cappos.

What a treat for us to spend time with the Cappo family over the past few days during their recent vacation to Arizona! Uncle Bruce, Aunt Mary Ann, and cousins Michael, David, and Emily ventured down for several days. Highlights of our time together included an afternoon swimming at Eric's pool, dining at our favorite restaurants, a trip to the mall, family game night, IKEA tour, and laser tag. They also took a day trip to see the sights of the Grand Canyon. Here's Luke with Bruce and Mary Ann. He was all smiles about our visitors ... more people to entertain ... and to entertain him!

Family Night Out

We've started a new Leahy family tradition for the summer months -- family night out once a week. With it being so hot in evenings, it's a good excuse to get us out and about ... and an activity to look forward to for all of us!

Last week, we enjoyed dinner and a movie. The feature film of the evening was "Cars." Luke LOVES going to movies! During the opening trailers when one clip would finish, he'd shout out during the pause, "Where'd it go?" He sat on the edge of his seat throughout the movie and interjected funny comments here and there.

Tonight we ventured out to an inflatable playland called Bounce U. Dad and Luke were hopping here, there, and everywhere. They zipped down the slide, climbed through the obstacle course, and even played some bouncy basketball.

We'll see what's in store for next week...

Happy Dad's Day!

To celebrate Father's Day, we treated Dad to brunch at the Ocotillo Golf Resort, which featured his favorite ... an omelette station! We dined al fresco and then took a short stop to check out this practice putting green. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing with a grand finale of playing legos with Luke! What more could Dad ask for!

No more secrets.

Up until this holiday, we've been able to trust Luke with keeping a secret ... but no more! He managed to let the cat out of the bag on several occasions about Dad's surprises for Father's Day.

The Presents.
Earlier this week, we spent some time wrapping Scott's Father's Day gifts. When we were done, we neatly tucked them away in the closet to hide them there until Sunday. When Scott came home from work that evening, Luke began talking all about the "presents" and then opened the closet to show Dad where they were hidden. Good thing they were all wrapped!

The Pictures.
Another part of our surprise for Father's Day was to take some photos from the "3 of us" to give to dear ol' Dad. When we took the photos on Wednesday afternoon, Mom had to persuade Luke to cooperate a bit by explaining these pictures were for Dad from Mom, Luke, and Baby Brother. That night Luke started telling Scott all about the pictures. "Go see pictures. Now." Scott thought he wanted to look at photos in an album or stored on the computer and was a little confused when Luke wasn't interested in that. A bit later, Luke resumed talking about the pictures even more. Luke's secret-keeping skills need a little work. He had spilled the beans once again. So we ended up giving Dad this Father's Day gift a bit early ... since he'd already heard all about it anyway from the little monkey! Below is our favorite photo.

Quotable quotes from Luke.

Now that Luke's vocabulary is booming and full sentences are coming out, here are a few of our favorite phrases:

"Let me show you something."
This phrase is used at least 20 times a day to show Mom or Dad the amazing discovery that Luke has found, which really turns out to be not all that exciting and sometimes the same "discovery" that we were shown 20 mins. ago. But we always play along with great enthusiasm. Perhaps this phrase will come in handy when Luke becomes a car salesman someday.

"I do it."
The independence of a 2 1/2 year old is best stated in these 3 words. Whether it's crawling in his car seat or twisting the lid on his cup, Luke is finding his way into the world of doing things on his own.

"No please."
Mr. Manners is getting good at minding his p's and q's ... although sometimes they get a little mixed up. Rather than saying "no thank you" Luke likes to say, "No please." It works. We get the idea ... and can't help but smile at his kind gesture.

Night out on the town...

A highlight of the weekend's festivities for Jami was attending a bachelorette party for her friend Jenny. Jami has known Jenny for nearly 7 years since the days when they worked together at Jane Mobley Associates in Kansas City. Actually, Jami hired Jenny as an intern, but they are the same age! She's been a great friend over the years, and we're so glad to have all settled in Arizona.

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

Luke and Dad exchange some looks (and laughs) while at lunch at Pita Jungle.

Jumpin' Jack Splash.

Here's our first attempt at a video blog. We went swimming at Uncle Eric's last night, and Luke was showing off his swimming skills. It's a short video clip, so just click on the play button in the bottom left corner and enjoy!

A record month for RSD...

The month of May proved to be a record-setting month for Jami's company Ruby Slipper Designs! So far 2006 has been steadily busy, but this past month was the best yet in the 2-year history of the business in terms of projects completed and total income. With jobs ranging from small business promotional materials to wedding invitations to birth announcements, Jami has found a great balance of work both creatively and time-wise. Thanks to all the friends and family for the many wonderful referrals!

Monkeys in the bunks.

It's official ... we purchased the bunk beds today! (A sample picture is on the right.) After much searching and deliberating over the best layout, color, options, quality, etc., we settled on this great set from the old standby Sears. Over the past few weeks we've been to several stores to "test out" bunk beds. While Luke really liked the models with the slide option or even those resembling a fire truck or race car, we determined it was in the best interest of a peaceful night's sleep if we opted for something more traditional. In a few weeks (and after some assembly work), Luke will be super excited about his new room set-up ... and we can begin work on the nursery. Luke will start out on the bottom bunk at first, and then move on up once his brother is ready to share a room. Hopefully, there won't be too many squabbles down the road about who sleeps in the top bunk!

Holiday weekend.

We enjoyed both a productive and relaxing holiday weekend. On Saturday, Scott taught Luke the basics of automotive maintenance by taking the young lad with him to buy new tires for the car. We also embarked on a major closet cleaning and organization project to prepare for the little one arriving this fall. Luke enjoyed helping us organize the bins of holiday decorations and old childhood memorabilia. On Sunday, we took a dip in the pool near our friend Terese's house and then walked over to our neighbor's BBQ that evening. We were up bright and early on Monday morning and off to the zoo. The highlight of our zoo adventure was renting a "bike car" ... you pedal it like a bike, but it looks like a car. This was a great way to tour the zoo and get in quite a workout, too! We met Eric and Charity for lunch at Oregano's, and then they came over later that evening for some Trivial Pursuit. What a great weekend ... a good balance of work and play!

Early bird gets the worm...

At least that's what Luke thinks! Luke has started operating by summer hours and now wakes up between 5:30 and 5:45 in the morning. We've attempted to make his room as dark as possible, but it doesn't seem to be tricking his internal clock. When the sun's up, so is he! He's still in his crib, but the railing is down so he can crawl out at his own leisure. He usually trots downstairs and takes a direct path to his sound-asleep Dad, trying to wake him with a variety of questions and vocal volumes. After discovering that his attempts aren't working, Luke then usually 1) resorts to trying to wake Mom up (usually she's already awake and laughing at Luke's antics) or 2) abandons "Operation Wake Up Dad" and retreats to the family room to play trains for a while. While it is early in the morning, it is a pleasant (and comical) alarm clock!

Half way there!

This marks the 20th week of pregnancy for Jami, so we're half way there! Hard to believe we're at the 5 month mark already! Since finding out that we're having a boy, we've resumed the name discussion but no final selection yet ... we're still deliberating. Luke is becoming more aware of his soon-to-arrive sidekick. They will be double trouble for sure!

Date Night Out at the Wrigley Mansion

On Friday evening, we enjoyed a date night out to the Wrigley Mansion. Margie and Ted had given us a gift certificate at Christmas for Geordie's Restaurant at the Wrigley Mansion, and we were excited (and intrigued) to check out this famous house up high on the hill near the Biltmore. In addition to a delicious meal, we also explored the grounds and learned a bit more about the history. What a fabulous view of the city, too! We were happy to return home and receive a glowing report for Luke from his Theta babysitter Cassidy!!

The results are in...

We found out today that the littlest Leahy is a BOY! Our ultrasound went well today, and we are so excited to welcome another boy into the Leahy family. Raising Luke has been such a joy, so we are looking forward to doubling the fun (and craziness) with raising 2 boys. Better start shopping for those bunk beds...

Swim lessons with Mom

Jami has resumed teaching Luke how to swim this summer. She worked a lot last summer to get him comfortable around water, and now Luke is moving on to bigger and better things. He's working on holding his breath underwater and swimming to the side (under the water) from about 5 feet out. With much sputtering, splashing, flailing, and laughing (something about being underwater makes Luke giggle), he is getting better about swimming to the side with little assistance. We alternate playing in the shallow end with working on the more "technical skills," but Luke loves his time in the pool!

Mom's the word!

What a great day for Mom this Mother's Day! After a morning walk, Jami returned home to a bright-eyed Luke saying, "Mom, presents for YOU!" So she opened up a handmade card from Luke and some new silver Silpada jewelry! Then Luke and Scott treated her to the traditional Mother's Day brunch at the Wild Horse Pass Resort. This year was an extra special treat with getting to dine al fresco and poolside! Luke was pretty tempted to take a dip but was easily distracted by a little bacon and yogurt to stay at the table! It's starting to heat up here, so we escaped the 100+ temps with an hour cruising the mall and stopping by the play area. In all, it was another wonderful Mother's Day!

A Day Out with Thomas the Train

This weekend we took an overnight trip up north to Williams, AZ, to the Grand Canyon Railway where Thomas the Train was making a special stop. We ventured up Friday afternoon and spent the night in the hotel that's adjacent to the train depot. Luke loved sleeping (and jumping on) his bed in the hotel! The next morning we awoke bright and early to catch some breakfast with our friends who joined us -- the Hadleys. Then it was off to see all the sights and sounds of the "Day Out with Thomas" event. A few highlights were meeting Sir Topham Hatt, jumping in the inflatable bouncy, and taking the 25 minute ride with Thomas pulling the train! Luke slept the entire 2 1/2 hour trip home.

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with a big fiesta at Casa de Leahy! We invited some friends over for fajitas and fun! The kids enjoyed splashing around in the kiddie pool, zipping down the slip-n-slide, and taking a swing at this boot pinata. The event was BYOS -- Bring Your Own Salsa -- so we enjoyed tasting every salsa from super hot to super sweet (peach salsa). It was a great evening for chilling in the backyard and letting the lil' ones entertain us with their crazy antics.

Here we grow again!

The littlest Leahy is really starting to grow ... Jami at 4 months pregnant. Baby Leahy is really starting to move around. In a few weeks, we should find out if we're having a boy or girl! Dad's hunch is it's a boy; Mom's guess is that it's a girl.

Luke's first camping trip

Scott and Luke ventured out on Friday for their first father/son camping trip. They went camping near some mountains on the east side of the city, but it was still a lot of desert land (and within 45 mins. of home in case any issues arose!) They joined our friend Kenn Welling and his 3 sons Christian, Truman, and Nate and their church group. Luke enjoyed sleeping in the tent, but he got a little tripped up when some jumping cholla cactus balls got stuck to his shoes! Dad to the rescue! They made s'mores, played frisbee, and enjoyed the outdoors. I'm sure it will be the first of many camping trips for Luke!