You say it's your birthday...

October is a big birthday month for our family. We celebrated 2 birthdays this past week with Eric's birthday on the 13th and Scott's on the 14th ... and what better way to party it up than with Maggie Moo's ice cream as seen above!

Scott celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday. His closet had a major overhaul with most of his gifts being new work clothes. He's sure to be voted "Best Dressed Engineer" at Motorola this season! Luke's treat was to take Dear Ol' Dad out for pizza.

A Mass to Remember

We usually go to Mass on Sunday morning because they provide a nursery at the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services. Luke enjoys the hour in the nursery playing with the other kids, and we are able to focus our full attention on the Mass (rather than on keeping Luke quiet and out of trouble).

We decided to go to Saturday evening Mass this week. We knew it might be a little challenging because Luke usually gets fidgety once the homily starts, but we decided to give it a try. We even decided to bypass the cry room and sit in the regular sanctuary. And as luck would have it, we ended up sitting in the middle of a long pew. So there we were ... sardined in ... with a ticking time bomb who we just knew might create a ruckus in the middle of Mass.

Much to our amazement, Luke was so well behaved. We made it past the homily with no loud outbursts. When it was time to receive the Eucharist, the row in front of us stood up to file out of the pew to go up front. With a hearty wave, Luke bid them farewell saying, "Bye, bye. Bye, bye." Snickers all around us. We got the flapping and waving and bye-byeing controlled, but yes, we too were chuckling at his innocent gesture.

After returning to our seats, we were kneeling and trying to keep Luke somewhat still. A man near us sneezed. In the midst of quiet prayer, a tiny little Luke voice rang out, "Ahhh-choo." Again, chuckling amidst the pews.

This is sure to be a Mass we will remember for a while, not only because Luke hung in there for the duration of the hour-long Mass, but he also cracked a few smiles in church.

The Great Pumpkin

We went to Dewey, Arizona, today to Young's Farm to enjoy a fall festival. It's a tradition of Eric's girlfriend Charity's family to go there every fall, so they invited us to go along this year ... and what a great time we had! Luke was a little afraid of the pony rides, but he did brave the big inflatable bouncy with his dad and Uncle Eric. We stocked up on some apple butter, sampled some cider, and picked out the biggest pumpkin we could! It's still in the 90s in Phoenix, but this spot about 1 1/2 hours north of Phoenix near Prescott was a nice breath of autumn air!

The Parrot

Our computer was recently in the shop for some major repairs ... which explains why it's been a while since we've blogged. So here we go.

Luke has been talking up a storm lately. He's getting really good at repeating words back to us ... just like a parrot! His latest favorites are -- up, down, ball, Thomas (for Thomas the Train), Dee Dee (our neighbors' dog), blue, bear, key, truck (actually he refers to all trucks as tow trucks), car, and the list goes on.

One of our favorite evening activities now that it's cooling off is to head to the park for a little soccer action with the Leahy team of 3. Luke is really good at running and kicking the ball, and he throws a great overhead pass, too. It's amazing how much he just likes to run around ... and chase after us!

Long-haired men scare Luke.

Luke is terrified of men with long hair! This phobia first surfaced when we were back in Kansas. Grandpa Jim has this funny Billy Bob hat with a wig attached that he likes to wear when he's in a crazy mood. As soon as Luke spotted Grandpa in that hat, he didn't want to get too close ... and then he even started to back away! We all thought it was rather funny at the time, but little did we know this was actually going to be a much bigger deal for Luke down the road.

Since then, we have noticed that Luke freaks out any time he sees a man with longer hair. He freezes in his tracks and won't budge an inch. And if you can even imagine the look he shoots the offender ... as if to say, "I'm not sure about you and that long hair! Just keep your distance."

Another related incident happened at the mall play area one day. Luke was having a wonderful time running around and climbing and jumping and expending a lot of energy, until he spotted a man with longer curly hair sitting on the side of the play area. Luke completely froze for about a minute ... long enough for other parents to point and comment and notice the look of sheer terror on his face ... and long enough for the poor man to realize that something he was doing (little did he know it was just his hair) was the cause of this poor child's fear. Luke just stared at him until rescued by good ol' Dad.

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Pita Jungle. It's sort of an artsy, ecletic crowd ... and yes, our server had long hair and was wearing a knitted hat. We were sitting inside, and immediately, we noticed that Luke was a little antsy about things. When we figured out why and saw that he kept a close watch on this waiter, we decided to move to an outside table where the waiter wouldn't be in such clear view. We couldn't help but chuckle about Luke's little quirk.

Poor Luke ... and all because of Grandpa's Billy Bob hat!

Our Animal Expert

Lately, Luke has been brushing up on his knowledge of recognizing various species of animals. He has a book that he loves to look at during storytime that has many colorful animal pictures. We started asking him to point to different animals. At first, he knew the basics ... dog, cat, duck, fish, etc. Now he's graduating to wildlife often found in the zoo ... elephant, rhino, turtle, giraffe, and more. He can't say all their names yet but soon! Overall, he can probably identify by picture about 10-12 different animals. Perhaps he's on the path of being a veterinarian like his Grandpa Nelson!

Choo, choo!

 

Luke LOVES trains! "Choo, choo" was one of his first words, and since then, he's always on the search for a train. In the morning when he's eating his breakfast, a train goes by about a mile away, and he stops to hear the faint whistle of the train in the distance.

Great Aunt Janette and Uncle Dick gave Luke a train set, and he runs that train around the track for hours. On a daily basis, Dad has to reconfigure the track so it can run a new "route."

The Entertainers

We have been entertaining a lot lately ... now that our house is finally in order! Jami hosted a meeting with the sorority advisors on Sunday afternoon. This evening we had some friends -- 9 adults and 3 kids -- over for dinner. On Thursday, the Leahy house will once again be the hotspot as Jami and Luke's Thursday playgroup is meeting at the house for playtime and lunch. It's so nice to have more space!

The other "entertaining" that's been going on in the house is Luke and his acrobatics. Tonight, he did a somersault for the first time. He's been trying to figure it out for a while, but it finally all clicked and over he tumbled! Of course, he had to show off this milestone in the middle of when our company was over. What a performer -- perhaps he just needed an audience!

Arsenio Hall joined us for dinner

Remember the talk show from the early '90s called the Arsenio Hall Show? Well, it resurfaced at the Leahy household tonight.

I tried a new recipe for dinner -- sausage stuffed manicotti. When I asked Scott what he thought of it, he replied with a rather funny yet positive response of, "I have this to say about it -- Woo, woo, woo!" Now imagine with that last sound, the gesture of great approval that Arsenio Hall used to do on his show. Arm up, 90 degree angle, in a rah, rah arm-pumping motion. This was one of those "hey, I forgot about that" moments that made me just stop and laugh (and try not to spit my manicotti all over the table!)

Well, apparently, the youngest Leahy also saw the humor in this and started laughing, too. Scott repeated it a few more times just to make Luke laugh, and before you know it, Luke busted out the move, too. So there we were at dinner, just me and the 2 Arsenios hooting away!

Moral of the story: Be careful when you ask your family what they think of your cooking!

It's all Greek to me!

With the school year starting at Arizona State, things are heating up for us in our roles advising our respective Greek organizations at ASU -- Delta Upsilon and Kappa Alpha Theta.

Last semester, Scott and his younger brother Eric started to get more involved with advising the DU chapter which is re-establishing itself on the ASU campus. The wisdom of these 2 former K-State DU presidents comes in quite handy for the chapter here!

Jami is starting her 2nd semester as the Advisory Board Chair for Theta. Between Monday night chapter meetings and an inbox full of Theta-related emails, there's always something new to keep things lively. The one great perk of being a sorority advisor is that there's a pool of more than 100 babysitters to choose from for Luke!

Corn on the cob -- Deeeeelicious!

Gotta put these teeth to work now that I have them! 

Another new first for Mr. Luke this week ... he tried corn on the cob for the first time! It took a little teaching from Mom to figure out the technique, but it wasn't long before he was chowing down on that ear of corn. Another new item on the menu gaining Luke's approval -- black licorice. Go figure!

Luke's other new trick is to ask him, "Where is your nose?" He grabs his nose and says, "Right here!" He has also figured out to pat the top of his head for his hair, but so far he hasn't figured out where his ears, eyes, and mouth are. Soon to follow I'm sure!

What's in a name?

Luke has decided that rather than calling me "Mom" he'll just refer to me as "Jami" from now on! We noticed some jabber a week or two ago that sounded something like "Jami." Now he walks into the room, sees me, and shouts "Jayyy-meee." Scott and I crack up about it every time. So grown up!

Kansas Whirlwind Tour

We just returned from a whirlwind tour of Kansas and had a blast. Here are the highlights...

Manhappenin' -- The Little Apple
We spent several days in the Wamego/Manhattan area for a family reunion with Jami's side of the family. We planned an early surprise celebration for Jami's parents who will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary next month! Luke enjoyed running laps around Aunt Briana and Uncle Craig's house and spending time outside in the cooler weather. Jami braved her first 4-wheeler ride ever!

On to Salina
We attended the wedding of our good friend from college Will who got married in Salina on Saturday. Scott was the best man, and we enjoyed celebrating Will's big day.

Goin' to Kansas City ... Kansas City here we come
The last leg of our trip we spent in KC with Scott's side of the family. Luke enjoyed time playing with his cousin Sawyer, who's about 2 months younger. The boys took a trip to the Deanna Rose Petting Zoo, went swimming, and stopped by for a visit with Chuck E Cheese. Luke hit another milestone and learned how to jump with 2 feet while in Aunt Juli and Uncle Paul's backyard. I'm sure they'll be placing a historical marker there soon! Ha!

It's always good to return back to the old stomping ground to see our family and friends. Luke gets an A+ for traveling on this trip. He was such a happy camper the whole time.

Turn up the heat...

Even the dry AZ heat has been a little humid lately because we are technically in "monsoon season," an exaggerated term for "short rain storms and occasional wind gusts." I thought this was the funniest term when we first moved to AZ -- so dramatic! We've started the at-least-2-showers-a-day rule, and the water is cranked on cold. It's a bonus day if we squeeze a swim in there, too.

All this swimming has been good practice for Luke. Today he went underwater for the first time and held his breath!! He's also perfecting his technique for pulling himself out of the water on the side of the pool. It's amazing to watch him learn how to swim -- he is fearless!

The Arizona Kid

Luke is starting to show signs of how his upbringing in the Southwest is influencing him. First of all, he LOVES chips and salsa! If we go to a Mexican restaurant, he is the first one to reach for the chip bowl, dip his chip in the salsa, and gobble it up. And he doesn't shy away from the spicy stuff either!

He is also our own official weather man for our 116 degree days we've been having lately. As soon as you step outside, he starts saying, "HOT, HOT!" You can't help but laugh at how dramatically he expresses his disregard for the heat ... it has a very crisp "t" sound at the end.

What better way to cool off when it's hot than with a nice dip in the pool! Luke really enjoys the pool and is becoming quite a little fish. He can jump off the side into our arms, and he can put his face in the water and blow bubbles.

Send cool thoughts our way!

Moving Mania

We've been in the midst of "moving mania" during the past week. Our furniture and other heavy items were moved over last Saturday. Since then, we've been getting settled and finding a new place for everything. Our neighbors are very friendly, and two of them have already invited us over to swim!


It's moving time! 

Stop .... Go!

Luke has a new favorite game that he likes to play in the empty living room in our new house. We refer to it as "Stop and Go." He runs around crazy, giggling and flapping his arms until you say "stop." Then he stops in his tracks all quiet and gets a funny little smile on his face as he anticipates the next cue. As soon as you say "Go!" he is off and running again. He could play this game forever! His energy is endless.

Left-handed Luke

It looks like Luke is probably going to be left-handed. We've observed his skills as a lefty when he writes, uses a spoon, and throws a ball. However, Grandma and Grandpa Keary gave him a tee ball set, and he bats right-handed -- go figure!

Luke's words

As a follow up to yesterday's post, we thought we'd expand on Luke's ramblings. Luke has been saying words for about 3-4 months now (maybe a little longer - it's hard to remember now), and his vocabulary includes the following words in the approximate order that he began saying them:

Dog - [dah]
Dad - [dah] (amazingly similar to dog)
Ball - [bah]
Mom - [ma-ma-ma...]
Shoe - [very clear shoe] (heard every morning at ~6:30 AM. Luke will pick up Dad's shoes, bring them over to him and say "Shoe, shoe, ..." until he puts them on. He'll then get his own shoes and repeat this process. The final step is to go to the back door and whine until Dad takes him outside to play.)
Choo Choo - [also very clear choo choo] (anytime a train or a large truck is heard/seen. Also sometimes used as a sound effect when Luke is pushing around a toy car)
There - [deh] (as in, "There, I finally have both shoes on," or, "There, I've climbed the next stair.")
What is it/that? - [wha-ISS-it + finger pointing] (probably the most frequently used word currently)
One, Two, Three - [too-too-DA] (when prompted by Mom and Dad)
Tornado - [ta-DA-da] (see yesterday's post)
Fast - [fass] (only used once so far, when Grammy (Nelson) was taking too long bringing Luke down the stairs to Gramps)
Hot - [tot] (probably the 2nd most frequently used word. Used in two situations: 1. It's really hot outside or the ground is truly hot or something, or 2. We've just told Luke no, and he says [tot] assuming that whatever we've told him not to get into must be too hot for him, (which is often a correct assumption, but also often not))
Hi - [hi + beauty pageant hand wave] (used anytime a cute little girl walks by)

There might be more we're not thinking of right now, but these are the most common.

On the Move

It's official! We closed on our new house this week! It's less than 2 miles from our current house, and it offers about 900 more square feet, 4 bedrooms, a great backyard, a newly remodeled kitchen, and the list goes on. You'll have to visit to see it for yourself!

Luke has been talking up a storm. His newest word is tornado. Scott showed him the swirl that the water makes when the tub is draining, and he taught him to call it a "tornado." His other favorite phrase is "What's that?" You can only imagine how many times a day we are answering that question!!


Welcome to the new Leahy residence!