Save me!

"Why does this big kid always try and get in the swing with me?! Doesn't he know this is a solo swing? He's cramping my style!"

Hangin' around.

One of Luke's favorite things at the park is to ride the zip line. He's watched the older kids zip down and back, so he's perfected the skill after much research from watching the big kids! So here he is ... just hangin' around ... mid zip!

Harvest Fest!

This weekend we attended a fun gathering at our friends the Herndons. Good grilltime, good socializing, good weather ... what more could you want!

Luke and his pal Owen survey this pile of freshly picked oranges to determine what kind of trouble they could stir up with that many oranges. They had to be reminded a few times to not throw them!

Reid is a fun date for Mom at this party! He was on his best behavior!

Rollin' through the zoo.

The zoo has been our 2nd home lately. We're really putting that family membership to use this spring! We took a trip today with our friends the Glanvilles and enjoyed the 85 degree temps. Here are the little monkeys as we rolled through the zoo.

Robby, Ethan, Reid & Luke take the grand tour of the zoo!

The Music Men.

The boys received a care package from Papa yesterday, which contained enough instruments for the boys to start a rock band. So we've been enjoying the musical interludes of our newly discovered talents of playing the drums, kazoo, castanets, maracas, harmonica, etc. When Luke and Reid make it big on the rock band scene, be sure to get in line for autographs.

Little drummer boy ... Reid takes a seat inside the drum.

Luke gets ready to shake, shake, shake!

Take me out to the ballgame.

March is one of our favorite months in Arizona because it's spring training season! Being the big baseball fans that we are ... okay, some of us in the family are more so than others but who doesn't like to catch a few innings from time to time ... we look forward to catching a few games during the month when Arizona weather is at its finest. We were especially pleased when the ol' home team of the Kansas City Royals moved its spring training to AZ several years ago. We wish the boys in blue were right in our backyard, but no such luck. Their home games are played in Surprise, AZ, which is a good hour trip to the west side. But we try to at least catch one game on their home field each spring. Today was that special day for Scott and Luke. They met up with Eric and some of his friends to catch the game against the Rangers. Go Royals!

Scott teaches Luke the basics of being a Royals SuperFan!

Rub-a-dub-dub.

Leahy boys are in the tub! Luke and Reid love to splish splash around in the tub. Luke was even generous enough to share his ocean animals with Reid, who took quite a liking to chomping on this octopus. And yes, crazy bath hair was required for this photo!

A fishing expedition.

Today we enjoyed our first fishing expedition! We went to Target to carefully select the appropriate equipment for this venture ... a $15 all-in-one fishing pole set including rod and reel, lures, and bobbers. After getting our HOA fishing license, we chose the perfect fishing spot on the lake by our local park. We spent about an hour fishing but no bites. (Side note: that's probably a good thing considering that the fish in our community lakes are these gigantic carp no less than 12 inches long ... so not sure how Mom would have gotten that one off the hook to throw it back in the water.)

While our first fishing adventure didn't land us the "big one," we do have some good stories to share and some good lessons learned by Luke (Mom had to make up these rules as we went along.)
1. The end of the fishing pole is not used to bop ducks on the head.
2. When reeling in the line, you need to go slowwwwwwwwly.
3. The fishing pole is not used as a sword.

Down on the Farm.

Our friend Terese met us for a fabulous Sunday lunch out at the Farm at South Mountain. We've been having the most amazing weather lately, so better take advantage of it before the heat wave hits! We enjoyed a picnic lunch, toured the property a bit, and played some tee ball.

Wine & Dine.

On Saturday night, we joined some of our Poker Group friends for a night out at Postino Wine Cafe. Delish food and divine wines ... what a great date night out for us! The boys enjoyed their own date night with our ASU Theta babysitter Sara!

Friends on our street.

This morning we hosted some neighborhood friends at our house for some warm beverages and breakfast! The moms enjoyed chatting, the boys enjoyed playing, and the babies ... well, we just enjoyed holding them! Here are a few pics.
New kids on the block. Reid (4 mos.) and Danielle (almost 2 mos.) lounge together on the couch.

I scream, you scream, John and Luke scream for wagon-riding!

Sitting Up!

Reid has a new skill ... sitting up! He's been really into doing "carseat crunches" as he tries to sit up and see the world from his carseat carrier. Today we decided to see how he'd do on his own sitting. He can sit unassisted for about 30 seconds, but then, well ... here's the sequence of events to follow. Going, going, gone!

Me and my dad.

The other evening, we took a family walk over to grab some dinner at the local pizza place Nicantoni's. Scott and Luke look as though they are in a deep discussion, but it's most likely about what kind of pizza to order!

The boys.

Good morning, world!

This morning Reid greeted the world with the biggest grin ever. He woke up super happy! This also shows how much he wiggles when he sleeps. When he went to sleep, he was swaddled up with arms in the blanket and settled into his sleep positioner. You can see the blanket is now a belt and he's wiggled way down. But hey, he's happy after a good night's sleep!

Then and now.

Today was a great reunion with a blast from the past! We met up with Jami's sorority rush roommate Sara Swan Busse who now lives in Montana. She and her husband Ryan and 2-year-old son Lander were in town with some friends and for a trade show for her husband's work. What better place to meet when you have little ones than at the train park! Thought it would be fun to show this "then and now" photo. It was great to catch up with her since she, Scott, and I all knew each other in college and have kept up with different people since then.

Mardi Gras 2007.

We went to a Mardi Gras party last night at the home of our friends Tony and Heather. The theme was Pop Music, so many pop star chart-toppers from several decades showed up at the party.
Diana Ross, Olivia Newton-John, and Cyndi Lauper strut their stuff!

The Project.

Scott and his helper Luke have embarked on an outdoor project this weekend. They are clearing a space in the walkway on the side of our house to put the large trash and recycling containers. This project involves moving rocks, digging up some dirt, and using a wheelbarrow (Scott puts rocks in it and Luke likes to ride in it!) Luke is quite the supervisor because whenever Scott takes a break, Luke asks him, "Dad, you wanna do that project again?" No rest for the weary. Here are a few pics of their efforts.

Hey, Dad. Give us a ride in the wheelbarrow please.

Hard at work in the dirt.

Two peas in a pod.

Like father like son. Reid sure is looking a lot like Dad these days.

A Musical Medley.

Luke has been quite into singing lately. This video has a few of his favorite hits - some classics and some from TV. Be sure to turn up your volume. Enjoy!

Boys will be boys.

"Why is that big brother of mine always trying to tackle me? Just wait, I'll be bigger than him some day and will get him back!"

All smiles for the Cats!

Reid sported his purple pride yesterday with this matching ensemble. Go Cats! He also has added 2 tricks to his repertoire ... rolling over from back to tummy and blowing "raspberries."

3 is cool!

Luke recently took some time out of his busy play schedule to do some modeling for his 3-year-old pictures. What's funny about this age is that Luke realized he can make other facial expressions besides smiling, so we got a lot of photos of him smirking, frowning, looking surprised, etc. This was the winning shot! This pic also illustrates what his stats said at his 3-year well check with Dr. Mike. He's a tall, skinny kid -- 75th percentile for height and 35th percentile for weight.

Greek Life Awards.

Tonight Jami attended the Greek Life Awards at ASU for her final hurrah of her 2 years as Advisory Board Chair for the Theta chapter there. The chapter won the honors of Sorority of the Year once again for the 2nd year in a row! The chapter also won several other honors including highest scholarship with a chapter GPA of 3.41! The Delta Upsilon chapter also brought in several honors including excellence in recruitment and alumni relations (go Scott and Eric!) We are so proud of our local chapters!

Chick magnet.

Nothing beats a funny baby tee. His yawning expression says it all ... "Chasing girls is boring. Ho hum. I'll just let them flock to me."

LA & Mimi & Papa.

Mimi and Papa Nelson paid a visit to AZ this past weekend. They spent much time with the boys -- all 3 of them -- in the park, at McDonalds, and jumping on the trampoline while Jami was away in LA for her Theta volunteer position at the District Leadership Conference. Fun times for all!

Asleep & awake.

One day last week the boys took a little cat nap side by side on the couch. Big brother decided to lie down next to little brother Reid who was fast asleep ... and Luke was soon to follow. By the time it was captured on camera, Reid was waking up but still a cute pic! And yes, this is a common way that Luke sleeps with his hands behind his head!

Rice is nice.

We noticed that lately Reid seems to be hungry all the time! As much as we feed him, his liquid diet just doesn't curb his big appetite. So being the rebel parents that we are, we opted to give him some rice cereal a bit early at the 3 1/2 month mark. He loved it ... sometimes it went in, sometimes it came back out as is evident by his messy bib! But regardless, he kept lunging for the spoon so he must have enjoyed his first taste of real food. Bon appetit!

Queen Creek Olive Mill.

We took a little family field trip out to the Queen Creek Olive Mill today. Yes, believe it or not, they can grow olives in the Arizona desert!! This is Arizona's first working olive farm and mill where they use 9 varieties of olives to create extra virgin olive oil. Here are a few fun olive facts that we learned today...
- The olive is actually a fruit.
- Queen Creek Olive Mill does not use any pesticides in the farming of their olives because there are no "pests" in Arizona to harm the crops! Another benefit of our no-bug climate!
- When buying olive oil, the best kind to get is extra virgin olive oil. It's less processed and contains the most natural form of the oil, which in turn has the most health benefits!
Charity, Eric, and Luke listen to the olive lecture before taking the grand tour.

Dad and the boys stand in the olive grove outside of the mill.

Founders Day 2007.

Today Jami celebrated Kappa Alpha Theta Founders Day at a lovely brunch with nearly 200 of her collegiate and alumnae sisters. Five past and present Advisory Board Chairs for the Delta Epsilon Chapter at Arizona State gathered for this photo: Juli, Heather, Stacie, Jami, and Courtney.

Luke Leahy & the Chocolate Factory.

Today we hosted a Willy Wonka / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Party for Luke's 3rd birthday! Luke and his pals enjoyed jumping on the trampoline, watching a bit of the movie, and munching on Oregano's pizza and checkerboard cake. The kids had a blast and left with some chocolate goodies in hand!
Make a wish! Luke blows out his three candles on the cake.

Jami found these shirts for the boys online. What perfect attire for the big party!

You say it's your BIRTHDAY!

Luke celebrated the Big 3 today with a little pizza and lots of smiles. We enjoyed a birthday lunch at NYPD Pizza and opened up some super fun gifts from the family.

I wanna hold your hand.

Last night Luke joined his friend Lexi to celebrate her birthday at the Disney on Ice show. Here's a picture of Luke holding hands with the birthday girl all dressed up for an evening out.

A hiking we will go.

Jami and the boys took off for a hike at South Mountain today. Luke loves to hike and does pretty well for a little guy. Reid enjoyed the trek, too, and slept most of the time in the Baby Bjorn. The weather was perfect! We had a rainy weekend so we were ready for some fresh air and sunshine.

Ivy League.

As you can see, Reid has begun to study up for his Ivy League education. Or maybe he was just dressed in these preppy clothes so Mom had to stage a fun photo opp! He takes his scholastic endeavors very seriously.

Hey, bro!

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.