Simple Saturday.

Dad and his boys.

Today, the Leahy crew enjoyed a laidback Saturday. Nothing official on the calendar but lots of fun to be had! We spent much time outdoors ... running errands, going to the park, cleaning the car, playing soccer, going to a different park. Yes, Luke and Reid have their "errands" also, which involve testing out different swingsets and slides. Ha!

Mom & Luke slide side-by-side.

Spring Break: Part 2.

Leahy Spring Break '08 has continued in full swing. Wednesday and Thursday were both filled with park outings. Since some nasty sleet/snow set in on Friday, we had to take the fun indoors. Today we met a Junior League friend Sharon and her 3 boys at an open gym session at ArtSports. This place was like nothing we've seen before ... AMAZING! The entire gym floor was a series of trampolines with several foam pits. Luke and his new friend Jack had a ball tumbling, jumping, swinging, diving ... you name it! Reid and the twins Sam and Ty just enjoyed exploring the gym floor, running everywhere, and crawling around in the foam pit. Below is a video of Tarzan Luke swinging over the foam pit.

Spring Break.

Luke has Spring Break this week, so he's enjoying some time off from school and extra time with the family. The weather has been gorgeous here, so we're taking full advantage with lots of outdoor activities.

Spring Break / Day 1:
Luke spent Sunday night at Mimi and Papa's, and Jami and Reid joined the crew in Denver on Monday. Luke got a glowing report from his grandparents ... guess he'll be coming back for another overnight again sometime. Also on Monday's agenda was park time.



Reid helps Papa raise the training wheels on Luke's bike.



Luke jets home from the park.






Spring Break / Day 2:
We headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo ... along with the rest of Colorado Springs. The zoo WAS a zoo with all the people there! We waited 30 minutes to get a parking spot, but it was well worth the wait as we got to use our zoo membership for the first time, an Easter gift from the Nelson grandparents. The giraffe exhibit was our favorite, and the bird house was super smelly (we might have to bypass that one next time!) What better way to spend the day than with our animal friends!


Luke feeds this giraffe a cracker. He was pretty brave. Reid was content just watching Luke take the risk of getting his fingers licked.

The boys enjoyed time at the zoo playground ... and climbing on this metal bug. It's not everyday a bug is the same size as you ... thank goodness!

Easter Dinner.

This morning we headed to Mass and then hosted Easter dinner with all the trimmings. Mimi & Papa joined us for the festivities, too. The menu included Mediterranean lamb chops, lemon oregano potatoes, asparagus with parmesan and pine nuts, walnut pesto stuffed mushrooms, and bananas foster for dessert! Afterward Luke made the trek back to Denver with Mimi and Papa for an overnight visit to kick off his Spring Break!

Hippity Hop.

The Easter Bunny wasn't the only one hopping around this Easter Sunday. Reid figured out how to jump this morning! He doesn't have a lot of hangtime, but he's sure got the motion down. Check out the video. Happy hopping.

A-hunting we will go.

Kicking off the Easter weekend with an egg hunt in Black Forest.

This morning we took a family outing to Black Forest for their community Easter egg hunt. It was advertised as a "free-ranging" egg hunt. Hmmmm ... how intriguing! After the boys steered clear of the Easter Bunny once again and we checked out the ambulances and fire trucks (courtesy of the event sponsors -- the Black Forest Fire Department), we tromped around in the woods and gathered a few eggs for the boys' baskets. This Easter outing was topped off with a spring snow falling during our egg hunt ... and the boys crying because they were cold!

From the mouths of babes.

Perhaps it's time for another post about funny Luke & Reid-isms.

Luke has developed a habit when watching TV, thanks to those toy-makers and their subliminal messages in commercials (okay, just kidding). As he's watching his morning kiddo shows and eating his Daddy's cereal, he will ask the following question in response to every commercial that comes on TV: "Mommy, can I have that TOYYYYY?" He's not a greedy kid, but he just always asks ... for the heck of it perhaps. Why not?! The good thing is that he never holds us to actually buying it for him and he seems to forget that he's ever asked us, so we've just started answering him simply with, "Yes, Luke." He goes on and and then another commercial pops on the tube ... same story. The kicker is that regardless of where you are in the house you MUST answer him if he asks about the toy on TV ... or else he starts screaming, "CAN I HAVE THAT TOYYYYY???" until you answer with the obligatory "yes." You can be far away upstairs in the other corner of the house and hear him yelling and think he's hurt. Nope. Toy on TV. "Yes, Luke, you can have that toy."

Reid's language continues to develop and his signing is in full force, too. He has become quite emphatic when it comes to signing "more" and "please" particularly when it pertains to requesting a drink. Today, he dug through the trash can, pulled out the empty milk carton, brought it over to Mom, plunked it on the table, and began motioning with moves rivaling a 3rd base coach. If you can do babysigns in bold type, he'd be saying "MORE PLEASE NOW!!" Reid also likes to play a funny game by insisting on calling Jami "dada." Reid clearly knows the difference, but he's quite a little tease and gets a funny smirk when he says it. Of course, if he's in dire need of something, he's quite capable of saying, "Maaamaaa." Funny kid.

Egg mania.

Luke & Scott showcase their egg-cellent artistic talents!

Dear Spring...

Dear Spring:
We've not formally met because you didn't visit us really at all when we lived in Arizona. People talked about you, but we really got to know your sister Summer. Whew! Does she ever have a hot temper! We have heard great things about you, so let's hope you live up to your reputation with your green grass and blooming flowers. You seem to be a little indecisive sometimes with snow one day and sunshine the next, but that definitely keeps things hoppin'. We are just glad to have you around finally so we can venture out to the park, even on your gusty days. We look forward to many great days ahead with you, Spring.
Hugs,
Luke & Reid
Photos: The boys enjoy a spring day at the park in Palmer Lake.

St. Pat's with the Provisional Class.

Tonight Jami's Provisional Class from Junior League gathered together for a shamrockin' good time! We met downtown for a scavenger hunt taking us through some of the well-known establishments of Downtown Colorado Springs. We certainly had a fun time decked out in green and celebrating St. Pat's with the provisionals!

The Junior League Provisional Class on St. Patty's Day.

Luck be a Leahy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2008
from the Leahy Leprechauns!

Kids in the Kitchen.

All smiles at the registration table.

This morning Jami volunteered for her first big Junior League event called Kids in the Kitchen. The event focused on teaching kids about healthy eating and exercise. It was fun getting to know other provisional and active Junior Leaguers and seeing the kids run around in their chef hats!

Cereality.

This afternoon we had one of those 5-minute scenarios that truly illustrates the humor and dynamics of life with two young boys. Before viewing the series of photos below, you should be aware of the following...

• We have a rule (it's a joke) that both boys cannot be crying at the same time. Only one at a time. So if your brother is crying ... wait your turn.
• We should expect a personal thank you letter from the people at General Mills for the umpteen boxes of Wheat Chex we purchase each month. The boys love eating cereal (yes, the same kind over and over again) as much as Scott does ... so much so Wheat Chex is known in our house as "Daddy's Cereal." Jami has gotten some strange looks at the store when buying 5 boxes of Wheat Chex. Yes, the people in my house like it THAT much.
• When eating Wheat Chex, thou shalt not covet thy brother's bowl. Eat your own.

"Hmmm... Wonder if Luke cares if I sneak a bite? Mom gave me Cheerios, not Wheat Chex. NOT what I really wanted. Oh, Luke won't mind..."

"Uh-oh. That plan backfired. Luke's upset now! Maybe if I cry, too, Mom will give me my own bowl."

Problem solved. Eating peacefully in unison.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Fursday.

Bugs.

Bugs. We've been bombarded by bugs for sometime now. And not insects, but illnesses. Most of February we battled some version or another of a respiratory bug ... all of us ... at different times. So when March came, we hoped for a fresh new month of health and wellness. Nope. It roared in like a lion. Jami ended up with next-to-strep throat. But the grand finale (at least we hope it's the end) was both Luke and Reid coming down with the stomach flu at the same time. The past several days have been spent at home trying to nurse them back to health, taking naps, and drinking lots of clear fluids ... oh, and spraying a lot of Lysol.

Sending germ-free hugs your way with hope that you have avoided at least one strain of the winter flu bug...

Rare photo opp.

It's not every day we are able to catch both boys smiling ... and looking at the camera ... and dressed nicely. Too cute! Reid also shared another new word with us while taking this picture: "Cheese!"

Springtime in the Springs.

We have been advised that springtime in Colorado can result in some crazy weather, and we got our first taste of it this weekend.

Saturday -- Almost 70 degrees & short-sleeve weather.

Sunday -- A blizzard all day, yielding several inches of snow.

Monday & Tuesday -- Sunny skies and temps in the 50s. Goodbye, snow.

The warmer temps did provide great conditions for making this snowman. Luke named him "Ned." We got a snowman-making kit from Paul, Juli, Sawyer & Stratton ... so we have the best dressed snowman on the block!

Self-feeder.

Reid thinks yogurt is delicious to eat ... and even better to wear!

Mr. Personality.

Now that Reid is 16 months, his personality is blooming and provides many a laugh these days. Here are some highlights...

• When Reid wakes up in the morning, he is crabby. Definitely not a morning person. This usually doesn't subside until he has "baa-baa" in hand. If you don't get his morning beverage quickly enough, his volume slowly increases to let you know his opinion of your delayed efforts.
• He enjoys mini-pancakes as his favorite breakfast item. However, he is very careful to take one (and only one) bite out of each mini-pancake. Perhaps he thinks each one will have a different flavor?!
• We are fairly certain that someday Reid will join the elite list of individuals climbing Mt. Everest. He can scale ANYTHING. If you leave the chairs pulled out of the dining room table, guess who's proudly dancing on the tabletop? If you leave the door to the office open, he somehow maneuvers his way on top of the desk and enjoys some time typing and mousing around on dad's computer. So the moral of the story is we have a lot of doors closed and items strategically placed to deter Reid's mountain-goat-climbing abilities.
• He has quite the "vocal range." He loves to mimic sounds. If you laugh loudly, he will quickly copy your laugh soon after ... and it's often humbling to hear it repeated through Reid's perspective! He also has quite a repertoire of musical selections which he can sing/hum ... Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, Superman theme song ... yes, we only teach him theme songs.

Jami & Junior League.

One of the most challenging parts of our move was leaving behind our wonderful network of friends in Phoenix. After the holidays, Jami started searching for some ways to get more involved and meet people. She recently joined the Junior League and is a member of the spring provisional class with 25 other new members. This has been a fantastic opportunity with a good mix of volunteer opportunities, chances to explore our new community, and outings to socialize with like-minded women. The group is a great mix of personalities ... stay-at-home moms, career women, outdoor enthusiasts, fashionistas, etc. We always have fun, no matter if we're volunteering or dining out!

Jami & her Junior League small group enjoy sushi at Fujiyama.

Fast forward.

The boys love to act like they can drive. Tonight they were both in Scott's car, and we had this glimpse of what our lives might be like in 12 years. Look out world!

Travel by trike.

On a recent visit to Mimi and Papa's house, the boys were quite excited about the new toy Papa had found -- a red retro trike. Reid couldn't quite reach the pedals, so he and Luke took turns pushing one another!

Dinos & donuts.

Today Jami and the boys took a field trip to Woodland Park to visit the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. It was full of great exhibits and informative displays. They even have a "lab" on site where dinosaur bones are cleaned and prepared for exhibits. Afterward we stopped for a treat across the street at the Donut Mill. Nothing beats a day of dinos and donuts!

Weekend at Snow Mountain Ranch.

Winter sleigh ride at Snow Mountain Ranch.

Scott enjoys many perks about his new company -- the latest one being a weekend get-away for all the employees and their families to Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park. This weekend we enjoyed 2 nights in a large cabin that housed 8 families including 16 kids. Yes, it was a rowdy good time with most of the kids under the age of 6. Reid was the youngest kiddo in our cabin, but he kept up with the big kids just fine. We cooked meals there and ventured out for a few winter activities (where we also caught up with some other employees and families who were staying in separate cabins). Here are the highlights of our winter weekend with our RT Logic friends.

Jami & Reid brave the tubing hill.

The sleigh ride included a stop for cocoa and roasted marshmallows. Yum!

Luke fed this friendly horse named King an apple.

Interesting trivia: King is the 2nd largest horse on record in the US. He's 23+ hands high and weighs nearly 2400 lbs.

All that & the kitchen sink.

Scott started to do dishes after dinner.

Reid was helping.

Reid climbed in the sink.

He ended up getting wet.

Reid opted for a kitchen-sink bath.

Moral of the story: Dad was in charge.

Mountain out of a molehill.

Our snow has nearly melted except for a small strip in our backyard, which proved to be perfect for sledding this afternoon. Leave it to Luke to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Walking down memory lane.

When we were in Wamego, we spent part of Saturday checking out the old stomping ground in Aggieville and ran into two Theta friends. We saw Erin Fisher Wertenberger and her baby Rhett dining with her family. Then we walked over to Varney's so Luke and Reid could play trains in the kids' section. We ran into Jenny Hoit Payne and her daughter Lauren there. What a small world! Both Erin and Jenny were in Manhattan for a Theta House Corporation Board meeting, and what a fortunate thing that our paths crossed that day! It was so good to catch up!

What fun to reconnect with friends Jenny & Lauren Payne ... a great surprise to find in Varney's Bookstore!

Mom-n-Sons Road Trip.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but we've been busy travelers with a Tour De Kansas road trip. Jami, Luke, and Reid left Monday, Feb. 11 for a week-long trek. That's right ... Scott had to stay behind for work ... and yes, that's 10 hours of driving solo for Jami. Audio books and DVD players rock!

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Our first stop was in Kansas City to visit the family there for a few days. We kept Juli, Sawyer & Stratton company while Paul was away on a medical mission trip. We enjoyed a belated birthday party for Jami & Luke, some Valentine festivities, a fun afternoon at Wonderscope Kids' Museum, and visits with Grandma & Grandpa Keary, Aunt Mary Ann, and Jami's friend Heidi. The cousins had a ball playing together!

A line of Leahy cousins.

With these two behind the wheel, look out!

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Our next stop was Wamego for our nephew/cousin Dalton's 1st birthday party. We enjoyed a farm party complete with a red-and-white checkerboard cake. What a special celebration to share with the family, including Great Aunt J and Great Uncle D from Chicago, Great Grandma Eleanor, and Mimi and Papa, too. All in the family were down on the farm!

Birthday Boy Dalton & Aunt Jami

Craig and Briana sing "Happy Birthday" to Dalton.

Happy Heart Day.

Superheroes Unite.

For some time, Luke has liked Superman. This soon grew to include all things Spiderman, too. Now it's spreading and little brother Reid is in on the superhero action, too.

Luke was a little under the weather this week, but he used the downtime to read up on Spiderman while resting on his Superman pillow.

In case you can't name that tune, it's the Superman theme song!

Theta Trip to LA.

Jami continues to volunteer for Kappa Alpha Theta as a Director of Risk Management for her district, which encompasses 16 chapters in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. This Theta volunteer position involves occasional travel opportunities, one of which was this weekend to LA for the District Leadership Conference. Jami spent the weekend facilitating educational sessions for the chapters' executive officers and advisors discussing topics of social events, liability, and Theta policy. It was a great weekend with her District Team friends (see below) and the chapters she advises.

Reid-ito.

This week we tried out one of the new Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood, as we continue the quest to find our favorite spicy fare. Reid gave the chips and salsa (very mild) two thumbs up. He also likes black olives and refried beans. Strange combo ... we know.

Ski bums.

The grand finale of the January birthday extravaganza was this weekend's ski trip to Monarch Mountain, a very family friendly resort about 2+ hours from Colorado Springs. We were lucky to have Mimi and Papa join us for this roadtrip adventure. (They also were great Reid-watchers while the rest of us were skiing!) This was Luke's first time to ski, and he spent the morning in ski school learning some new skills for the slopes. Jami and Scott (who had taken an 8-year hiatus from skiing) really enjoyed the great snow conditions, bright sunshine, and short lift lines. Monarch Mountain lived up to all the rave reviews we'd heard about it, and we're sure to return again!

We're trying out a new option to post online photo albums. You can check out the album link here for our Monarch Ski Trip.

4 candles on the cake.

Our little Luke celebrated his 4th birthday today. What a great year it's been for him! He's taken some major steps in life with starting pre-school, moving to a new state, and being a good role model as his little brother gets older. We are so proud of him!

Luke celebrated the Big 4 with a ski cake.

Gymboree fun.

Reid received a very special birthday gift back in October from our AZ neighbors to attend a Gymboree class for a month at the Colorado Springs location. He's been loving the class ... especially the climbing opportunities, bubbles, and parachute time. It has been interesting to watch Reid's personality on his own among his peers (since he's usually tagging along after Luke!) He's very fun-loving, adventurous, and gets the other kids giggling, too.

Foxy.

Two interesting facts about our neighborhood ... 1) ice harvesting was a major industry here years ago and 2) fox farms were common, too. We learned these 2 tidbits from our realtor Ray when he was showing us around back in October. He also mentioned that every once in a while we may see foxes running around. Hmmm. Interesting.

This week, we've had 3 different fox sightings! One was by our mailboxes trotting across the street toward perilous I-25. Wrong turn, buddy. The other sightings were 2 different occasions while driving through the Gleneagle community near us, and they were roaming around in people's yards (not ours). It's likely the snow has them looking a little harder for food these days.

What's up, doc?

Today we ventured over to Monument to see our new pediatrician for well-checks for both boys. Here are their stats:

Luke (4 years)
Height: 41 inches - 60th percentile
Weight: 36 lbs. - 75th percentile

Reid (15 mos.)
Height: 32.25 inches - 90th percentile
Weight: 22 lbs. 15 oz. - 30th percentile

A few other notes of interest...

• Luke took his first vision test today. The nurse asked if he could recognize letters (yes) so she decided to test him. Luke was identifying letters from the eye chart while standing 25 feet away that Mom could hardly read (maybe she needs glasses!)
• Luke has gained 3 lbs. since we moved in November. Colorado agrees with him!
• Part of Luke's well-check involved some coordination exercises. He passed those with flying colors and enjoyed jumping around with our pediatrician!
• Reid had 2 shots. Luke had none. The little guy always gets the short end of the stick.
• Reid decided halfway through that he'd show the doctor his excellent vocal talents of screeching. Lovely.

A clean bill of health for both boys!

Homework.

Luke recently had a take-home class assignment that required a little help from Mom and Dad. The task at hand was to trace a life-size Luke on paper and then decorate it. Here's the finished masterpiece and below is a description of how it was decorated (as told by Luke to Mom.)

"The hair is macaroni and cheese because I like to eat it and it's yellow. The shirt is my favorite color green. I'm holding a cupcake because I'm turning 4 years old. The picture in my other hand is of me and my family. I like to do stamps so I put some on my pants. The stickers on my shirt are for Superman and Jesus."

Birthday breakfast.

Breakfast at Snooze. We enjoyed a visit with our friend Megan, too.

Jami's birthday treat of turning 31 was enjoying breakfast at Snooze, a hip a.m. eatery in Downtown Denver. Snooze is owned by the husband of one of Jami's Theta volunteer friends Megan. So we loaded up yesterday morning, road-tripped north to the Mile-High City, and enjoyed the BEST breakfast ever! We ended up with a full spread of eggs florentine, an omelet, a pineapple-upside down pancake, a sweet potato pancake with pecans and ginger butter, and a peanut butter/chocolate pancake (this was our dessert - ha!) As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day ... better do it up right for your birthday! Afterward, we spent some time celebrating Jami's birthday with her parents and took a trip to the YMCA for some playtime and pooltime. What a fantastic day!

Luke-isms.

As Luke approaches the Big 4, he's been spouting off some pretty funny sayings. Here are a few of the latest...

• One day this week we picked Luke up from school. Jami said to him, "Hey, Luke. We missed you today." His response: "Well ... I didn't miss you! Not a bit. We had a snowball fight at school today. It was fun!" Guess he likes school, eh?
• Later that day, Luke shared this piece of wisdom with Mom ... "Tootsie roll, tootsie roll, lollipop. We were talking. Now we're not." We love a teacher who incorporates a little song and dance into classroom lessons!

Swinging in the snow.

Since we've moved to the mountains, it seems like we're averaging one snowstorm per week. It's actually quite nice to see the big flakes falling, play around in the powder, brave the slick roads for a day, and then it all melts back to normal. One day last week, the boys were itching for some park time so we enjoyed an afternoon swinging in the snow.

A little snow can't keep Reid from the park!

Birthdays galore.

January is a big birthday month. On Saturday, Luke's buddy Levi celebrated his 4th birthday, and we joined him for the festivities! Then we journeyed up to Denver later in the afternoon and celebrated with a much more seasoned birthday partier ... Papa is turning 65 on Monday! We also enjoyed dinner out last night with our friends Joe and Mary Fran, while Mimi and Papa watched Luke and Reid. A fun weekend socializing and celebrating!

Celebrating 3 generations of January birthdays!

Indoor slide.

One of the greatest things about having a brother is scheming up random games. We bring you the game of "Slick Leather Couch." Reid designed this game, and Luke caught on quickly. Thank you to our friends at IKEA for developing both a quality leather couch and a playground all in one.

What's in a name?

School is back in session for Luke, and he's happy to be back with his friends. Here's a recent convo about his school pals.

Mom: Hey, Luke, what are your friends' names at school?
Luke: Well, there's Garrett ... but sometimes I call him "Carrot."
Mom: Why?
Luke: Because I do.
Mom: Hmmm. Okay. Anyone else?
Luke: There's George, too.
Mom: What do you call him?
Luke: Oh, he's "Curious George."

The art of nicknaming begins early. Just wait until he joins a fraternity...

Walk this way.

Jami has joined a moms' walking group that walks along Monument Valley River for 3 miles each Friday morning. Usually, just Reid is along for the ride, but today Luke joined us since he's still on school break. (Visual: Today Mom carried Reid in the backpack as she pushed Luke in the jogger ... talk about a full load!) It's been fun getting to know other moms while getting some fresh air! Jami's friend Torie started this group several years ago, and it's still going strong!

Jami & Torie & all the kiddos after a beautiful morning walk!

Denver adventures.

Today we roadtripped up to visit Mimi & Papa. Denver got a ton of snow last week, so we took advantage of it and per Papa's request we hit the sledslope. (Yes, if you are wondering, we are professional sledders.) A church near their house had a longer, steeper incline perfect for some longer runs ... and louder laughs!

Reid keeps up with big bro and his fence-climbing skills.

Papa and Luke brave the hill!

Late-night talk show.

Now that we're home from our holiday travels and with the new year in full swing, we're working on getting our night routine refined a bit. Reid goes down at 7:30, and Luke hits the hay at 8:30. Sweet dreams from there, right? Some nights -- yes. Last night -- no. But the conversation was priceless.

At 2 a.m. Luke was up for his middle-of-the-night restroom visit and afterward wanted to climb in bed with Mom & Dad. He was pretty persistent and wouldn't let the two letters of "NO!" stand in his way ... but he figured we meant business when we pulled out "go back to bed or we'll take away your new Lego toy." Beeline to bed. No further questions. Peaceful sleep and back to counting sheep for us all.

Until 5:45 this morning. Reid's vocabulary is still evolving, but he's using his words wisely. Our alarm clock this morning was this (repeated over and over for emphasis): "Dada. All done. DADA. ALL DONE!" He usually says "all done" when he's finished eating, but guess he figured out it can apply to sleeping, too!