Whoa ... the big 3-0.

Jami celebrated the Big 3-0 on Saturday, and it was just one birthday surprise after another! The first surprise arrived on Friday morning as Jami's best friend Kellie Jensen flew in from Oklahoma to surprise her. She was so excited to spend time with Kellie since it had been 2+ years since they'd last seen each other. We had a blast shopping, dining out, and playing with Luke and Reid!
What better birthday gift than to spend the big 3-0 with our dear friend Kellie!

But the good times kept on rollin' through Saturday night. After returning home from an afternoon shopping trip to Chandler Mall, another surprise was waiting in the Leahy kitchen ... a cooking class with Chef Rachel from the Garden of Eating. She is a whole foods chef who fixed an amazing dinner and shared some wonderful healthy eating tips. Several of Jami's friends had gathered to surprise her and share in the celebration. We dined on baked Wild Alaskan salmon, parboiled vegetables with a duo of dips, dark chocolate-dipped date-nut truffles, and several other savory favorites. To top off the evening, Scott hosted a round of toasts that left the birthday girl absolutely speechless. It was a 30th birthday weekend perfectly planned. Scott orchestrated so many surprises, and Jami had absolutely no clue ... the best part! Here's to a great decade ahead. May our thirties be as good as our twenties!
Cheers! A toast to 30!

Scientific findings.

Tonight we enjoyed an evening out with Eric and Charity to the Arizona Science Center. Eric's company General Dynamics hosted a special family night out at the Science Center for its employees. We checked out some exhibits and then enjoyed the planetarium show. We are quite up-to-speed on our galaxies and constellations now! What a fun night out with the fam!

In the news...

Last semester, Jami served as a mentor for several students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at K-State. Most of the mentoring was via email or over the phone and related to job interviewing, writing resumes, and starting out in a communications career. The JMC School has an alumni publication and this article was featured in the latest issue. You'll see a familiar face at the bottom of the article!(You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

Father/son smiles.

Scott had Monday off for Martin Luther King Day, so he and Reid enjoyed some quality father-son time. Reid is showing off his strong neck here. Whenever he does tummy time now, he never wants to lay his head down ... he's too busy lifting his head up and looking all around. There's too much action he doesn't want to miss!

White out.

Today Jami walked into the family room to discover there was a "white out." Luke decided to conduct a test to see how much baby powder is necessary to cover your legs. The results are published below...

Clap on. Clap off. The Clapper.

For Christmas, Scott received a Clapper -- that device you've seen advertised on TV that turns lights on and off by simply clapping your hands. While it's very useful, we've found it to have a few issues not stated in the instructions. Perhaps these things should also be noted about this handy dandy device, based on testing performed by the Leahy family.

1. Small children may try to activate the device to wake up parents in the morning. Luke often comes downstairs and wakes his dear mother and father up in the morning. If at first you don't succeed ... well, then Luke turns to the Clapper. Nothing like a bright light to get your parents up! One morning, he walked over in front of the outlet where it was plugged in and very deliberately clapped and said, "One, two." Sure enough, the light beamed on followed by the joyful squeals of a 3-year-old shouting, "I DID IT!"

2. Infants crying may result in a disco-like strobe light effect. If Reid is resting on our bed and begins to get a little irritated, his crying can activate the Clapper. While trying to calm him down, we have witnessed the light turn on, off, on, off continuously. We have joked that the disco light makes him even more upset!

3. The Clapper may be sensitive to certain side effects of respiratory illnesses. Jami had a very bad cough/cold a few weeks back. When coughing ... yes, you guessed it ... the Clapper turns on. Nothing like a bad coughing spell in the middle of the night to trigger a bright light that jolts you awake when you already feel crummy and need extra rest!

A preposition for you...

The English language can be difficult to master, especially when it comes to prepositions. Luke has a few funny quirks when he talks that get us chuckling every time. I italicized the way Luke twists the phrase around.

"Daddy, don't go FOR work." Every morning when Scott is getting ready to go to work, Luke will emphatically say this phrase followed by "You take your shoes off." Having your shoes on means going for (or "to" ... however you prefer to say it) work.

"You take my coat ON?" If you take a coat off, why don't you take it on, too? Luke thinks you do.

To, for, 6, 8 ... Luke-isms we appreciate!

Reid's First Haircut.

Since he was born, Reid's hair has drawn numerous comments. Most of the time, people comment, "Wow, he has so much hair!" Well, we decided he had a little too much hair and that it was getting too long and crazy and unruly. So Reid had his first haircut today, courtesy of Mom. The Bumbo makes a great barber chair. Below are some photos from this milestone event.

A trio of celebrations.

Catalog Card Generator

Class act.

Today was a small milestone in the Leahy household. Luke started a new Rolly Pollies class called Gymbug Jam that's a kids only program ... meaning he goes solo without mom or dad there. He goes on Mondays from about 1-3 p.m., and the class is a combination of motor skill development, art time, and singing. There are 4 kids total in his class ... 2 boys and 2 girls. When Jami came to pick up Luke, he had his hands full of art projects and was talking a mile a minute about all they'd done in class. The teachers Kyna and Kyle (who are also the owners) gave Luke a great report today. When Jami asked Luke what his favorite part was, he said, "All of it!" He also had to report that he learned the Chicken Dance. Now he's ready to boogie at any wedding reception! This is a great first step toward school, which he'll start in the fall.

The Giggler.

Reid is starting to giggle more and more and show a range of expression. Here's a fun photo from this past week!

All-Star Luke.

Luke loves to play baseball. He throws lefty, but he can bat either right or left (although right seems a little smoother). Here's a clip of Luke and Scott playing tee ball after our lunch today at the Farm at South Mountain.

A train for two.

Luke and his buddy Alec enjoyed playing together after a holiday hiatus from KidSwap. Luke loved checking out all of Alec's new toys, especially this super cool Thomas train. Guess they both wanted a window seat!

Hop N Pop 'til you drop.

Reid has been showing an increased interest in being upright and up where the action is. (Guess lying down on his back is too boring for him!) Luke loved this Hop N Pop toy in his younger years, so we thought we'd give it a try with Reid. We figured it might be a little too early yet, but guess who proved us wrong! Little Reid loves it! Hop N Pop 'til you drop, baby!

A visit from Geovanee.

Today we enjoyed a nice visit with our friends Ben, Vanessa, and Geovanee. We put all the kiddos on the couch for a photo opp. Too cute!

Brunch at the Wild Horse Pass Resort.

We've been having all sorts of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Keary in town this week. Yesterday we hit the mall and did some shopping. Luke treated his grandparents to a movie to see "Charlotte's Web." Today we ventured out to the Wild Horse Pass Resort for a delish brunch before we had to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport.

Holly jolly holiday visitors.

What a special treat to host Grandma and Grandpa Keary for the holidays! They arrived on Monday night and will be with us this week. We enjoyed celebrating Christmas with them and opening gifts. Today we ventured to Camelback Mountain for some hiking and time out and about in the gorgeous weather. The celebrity spotting (for some of us) was Senator Jon Kyl. Here's a photo from dinner tonight ... the boys are so excited to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa!

Jumpin' for Joy on Christmas Day.

The big excitement this Christmas was the gift of a trampoline. Luke never stops jumping, hopping, leaping, and bounding around the house so what better way to entertain (and tire out) our bouncing son than with a trampoline. Here are some before and after pics...

Santa Scott was hard at work on Christmas Eve assembling the trampoline after Luke went to bed. Three hours later after working in the conditions of a cold and dimly lit backyard, the trampoline was assembled and ready for action.

Luke was so amazed at what had landed in our backyard. However, it was a bit too chilly to jump at 7 a.m. Frost covered the trampoline, so we had to wait for the weather to warm up. With 70 degree temps later in the day, Luke was outside jumping most of the afternoon.

Merry Christmas!

Hope your Christmas is filled with many small blessings!

Dino-snores!

Luke and Reid received some snazzy new pajamas for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson. Luke's pair has big dinosaurs, and Reid's has baby dinosaurs. The dinosaur duo are definitely ready for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve Day with the Dittos.

Jami's aunt and cousins Marcia, Mark, and Matt Ditto are in town for the holidays. We enjoyed meeting up with them today and dined for lunch at the Greene House at Kierland Commons. What a treat to make our Christmas Eve merry and bright!

Bjorn to be wild.

Yesterday was a day of rain for us so we lounged around inside for most of the day. This morning we awoke to a thick fog, which is so unheard of here. (We had to teach Luke a new "word of the day" because he'd never seen fog before.) After the fog cleared, we were anxious to get out and about. We ventured to the train park this morning, and then Mom took Reid on a long walk in the Baby Bjorn. Here are the happy walkers!

Zoolights!

Tonight we went to one of Phoenix's finest holiday traditions ... Zoolights! The zoo was decked out in a bzillion Christmas lights. Luke was a little concerned before we went that it was too dark to be going to the zoo to see the animals, but he quickly figured it all out when he saw that the Christmas lights outlined a lot of animal figures and that we were just walking around looking at the lights. (We didn't see many of the real-life animals except for the zebra.) Our friend Terese joined us, and we had a ball all bundled up at the zoo on this chilly evening. Here are a few pics.

We don't often get to bust out the coats and hats in AZ, but tonight we did! Brrrr!

Terese and her little buddy Reid.

Member of the Year.

The Leahy household is quite privileged to have a two-time winner of recent "Member of the Year" honors. That's right ... it's Scott! He was recently named Member of the Year at the Motorola Gym where he works out. Apparently, there's an obnoxiously big picture of him by the door where you enter the gym, so his work friends have been kidding him about that! His second distinguished honors were earned last night at the end-of-the-year party for his Toastmasters Club, where he was recognized for Member of the Year, Best Evaluator, Best Table Topics, and Best Attendance. Maybe we should name him "Family Member of the Year" so he could sweep all the categories! He definitely deserves it! Way to go, Scott!

4th and Final Holiday Fest

Tonight we had the last of our weekend holiday happenings. We hosted a baby shower/dinner for our neighbors Jason and Laura. About 12 people and 3 kiddos were in attendance, and we munched on bacon wrapped chipotle shrimp, pork tenderloin crostinis, cranberry pecan stuffed mushrooms, and even peppermint chocolate cake for dessert. The proud parents-to-be were so excited and received some wonderful gifts for Baby Danielle. Can't wait for the little girl next door to arrive!

Yuletide Gatherings #2 & 3

Last night, we hit two more seasonal soirees. The first party was with Eric and Charity, who had gone all out for a cookie-decorating, eggnog-sipping good time. The guys also enjoyed playing Eric's new Nintendo Wii ... even Luke got in on the action!
Luke and Scott create their cookie works of art.

Charity takes a turn at holding Reid. What a treat!

Our second event was with some of Jami's girls' night friends. We enjoyed catching up with these friends, most of whom we've known for the majority of our time here.
A holly jolly grin from the girls' night group and their guys!

The other big highlight of the night was that we left both boys with a babysitter (other than Mimi and Papa) for the first time -- an ASU Theta named Jessica. They had an A+ report.

Holiday Party #1

This is a big weekend of holiday parties for the Leahy family. Our first holiday party was tonight with our poker friends and their families at the home of our friends Rob, Lori, and Lilly Zienkewicz. Here are a few pics from the festive occasion.

The next generation of the poker group: Zach Kitchen, Lilly Zienkewicz, Luke and Reid, Robby and Ethan Glanville, Kaitlynn Deakins, and LeAira Kitchen.

Reid and his gal Lilly ... and yes, they're holding hands! Too cute!

I get by with a little help from my bro.

This morning Reid was a little fussy, so big brother Luke jumped to the rescue. I walked into the nursery to find Luke had scaled the crib and performed this stunt maneuver for feeding Reid.

Ho, ho, ho & choo, choo!

Last night we enjoyed a festive night out with the playgroup families. We hit Patsy Grimaldi's in Old Town Scottsdale for some delish pizza and then zipped over to the train park to enjoy its holiday light display. Luke LOVES Christmas lights, so he was amazed by the combo of a train and lights together!! He and Mom even stopped for a quick pose aboard this caboose.

Cruising the mall.

We did a little Christmas shopping this week at the mall and met Dad for lunch. We decided not to get a double stroller when Reid was born because we knew Luke would never sit still in it. Usually, he runs alongside or way in front of us, but sometimes he loves to hitch a ride on front of the baby jogger. Hold on tight, boys ... here we go!

Ho-ho-holiday boat parade.

This weekend our neighborhood held its annual holiday boat parade. Most of the people who live on the lakes have a boat (nothing fast, more leisurely). At Christmas, they deck them out with lights and decorations. Here's one of the boats complete with Dasher, Dancer, and Prancer (not sure where the other reindeer are!) On top of the boat is one of those big inflatable snow globes.

Sweet dreams.

We have been super spoiled this week, as Reid has decided to sleep through the night for the last 4 nights! The first night we thought it was a fluke, the second night that it was luck, etc. but we would be far too lucky if this continues. Now on the flip side, he does get a little cranky in the evenings and eats A LOT so he's pretty much tanking up for a long night's sleep. He wakes up fairly happy and hungry in the morning bright and early at 5 a.m., but that's been a good way for mom to rise and shine and get things done! Cross your fingers that this continues ... and that we didn't just jinx it by blogging about it! Ha!

New developments for the Greeks.

As you may know, we both have been involved in advisory roles at our sorority and fraternity chapters at ASU for the past several years. We recently have switched gears a bit with our commitments ... still involved just in different capacities. Scott will be heading up a committee to look at housing for the Delta Upsilon chapter, which currently does not have formal housing on the ASU campus. Jami is finishing up her second year as Advisory Board Chair for Kappa Alpha Theta and is trading in her hat for a new one in Theta land. She recently was appointed as the Director of Risk Management for District 7, which includes 15 schools in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. We both still very much enjoy these volunteer opportunities, but there are times when we feel very old compared to when we were in school! Keeps us up on the changing times!!

Sting Ray Bay.

Today's playgroup outing was to the zoo to check out the new exhibit Sting Ray Bay. The kiddos enjoyed rolling up their sleeves and sticking their hands in the water to touch the sting rays (yes, this was what they were supposed to be doing and they weren't breaking any rules -- it was all safe as their barbs were removed).

Bathtime with the boys.

The other evening we decided to put the boys in the tub together for bathtime. Luke was in the regular tub and Reid in his baby tub inside the regular tub. Luke provided the entertainment by singing the theme song of "Blue's Clues" while splashing around. This picture shows what Reid thought of the whole event ... it was a hair-raising experience!!

The trials of taking a family photo...

We recently attempted to take some family photos in the backyard to use for our Christmas cards. It was a major feat to get everyone looking pleasant and at the camera. This photos says it all! (This was not staged but rather real life. No stunt actors were used.)

Chilly Willies.

It's been a little colder here lately so the boys had to bust out their hats one day. Luke loves to wear hats, but Reid could take it or leave it sometimes.

Guy Smiley.

Check out the live action footage of the littlest Leahy smiling!

A day out with the fam...

With Jami's family in town, we've been enjoying showing them the sights. Today we ventured out for breakfast at the Farm at South Mountain. It was delish! Afterward, we headed over to Rawhide (an old Wild West town) to see what kind of trouble we could rustle up. Here are a few photos from the morning.

The fam at the Farm.

Luke is serious business about covered wagons.

Just one of the guys.

Gobble, gobble.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Leahy Family! For Turkey Day, we hosted a whole flock of family members for the big meal -- Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, Briana and Craig, and Eric and Charity.

Reid, the littlest gobbler, enjoys his Thanksgiving meal.

Here's the family ready for a feast. (A few family members didn't make the photo ... Luke was having a little tantrum in his room, Reid was asleep in the swing, and Jami was taking the photo.) But this thankful crew is ready to dig in!

Polar Express.

On Friday, we took a road trip north to Williams, Arizona, to ride the Polar Express Train on the Grand Canyon Railway. Seven of our playgroup families made the trek, and it was a great way to kick off the holiday season! Here are a few fun pics from the adventure. Luke loved being around so many trains, and Reid was a champ on his first big trip!

Nothing puts you in the holiday spirit faster than seeing a beautiful Christmas tree ... unless you are Reid and are tired of wearing a hat!

All aboard! Time to get on the train!

The boys show off their PJs! Just like in the movie, all the kids (and even some adults) wore their pajamas on the train.

Giddyup!

When he was just a little buckaroo, Luke received this pony from Great Uncle Max. (Yes, it's more of a zebra with a saddle on it.) He recently has been riding the bucking bronco a bit more. He also uses it as a stepstool to climb up on things, which is usually preceded by the phrase, "Need help. Gotta go get the pony!" He's kind of a surfer cowboy in this video with his "beach shirt" as he calls it. You'll hear Reid crying in the background at the end. Perhaps he's jealous that he can't ride the pony yet!

Smilin' Reid.

Look who is starting to smile! This week Reid has started to respond more to us with smiles and sounds like a giggle. What a fun first milestone!

Sitting up is serious business.

Reid is getting closer and closer to being able to sit in his Bumbo seat.

Wonderful Weekend.

We enjoyed a great weekend and are really getting into the swing of things as a family of four! On Friday night, we went to the drive-in movie theater to see the kid's flick "Flushed Away." On Saturday, Mom and Dad both enjoyed a little alone time with the boys. Jami had to do a little 'continuing education' on Saturday morning by attending driving school to dismiss a speeding ticket she got right before Reid was born, so the Leahy boys hung out in the morning. Then Dad took off for Poker Night with the guys on Saturday night, so Mom and the boys got Pei Wei take-out and had a picnic at home. On Sunday morning, we headed to the Farm at South Mountain for breakfast. It's a quaint collection of organic eateries, farms, a pecan grove, and little shops. What a great morning out with the family! Then we attended a birthday party for some playgroup friends at The Little Gym in the afternoon, and Luke honed his skills on the balance beam!

Leahy boys then and now.

Thought it would be fun to look at a baby pic of Luke next to one of Reid. Here's a 'head-to-head' comparison. Both of these photos were taken at about 3 weeks of age. It's fun to look at the similarities and differences!

Yeehaw Yawn

It looks like our lil' buckaroo is saying "Yeehaw." Too bad he's actually just yawning. The Wild West better look out!

Campout!

We decided to have our first Leahy family campout in the backyard last night. Eric and Charity joined us for making s'mores over the toasty fire (courtesy of the grill). Scott and Luke braved the cool evening temperatures and the wildlife in our backyard (our neighbor's cat) to spend the night outside in the tent, which could be considered a 1 1/2 man tent because it was a little short and Scott had to sleep with his feet sticking out the door! Jami and Reid stayed nice and cozy indoors. This is likely to be the first of many backyard camping adventures ... Luke loved it!

Happy 3 weeks, Reid!

The keen observer.

Luke is adjusting quite well to having Reid around. He often has some funny responses and observations. Here are just a few:

- "He's AWAKE!" Luke keeps a keen watch on when lil' bro's eyes are open. Now that Reid's getting a little more alert which means he's awake for longer stretches, the frequency of this phrase coming from Luke has proportionately increased ... as has the volume, too! He's so excited!
- "He's kinda loud." This phrase is accompanied by the action of Luke sticking his fingers in his ears to block out the sound if Reid is crying. Commonly used when riding in the backseat of the car with little brother.
- "His hair is soft." Perhaps Luke is jealous because he didn't have as much hair as Reid does now until well after Luke turned one.