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!

On the hunt...

Luke is on the hunt for more Easter eggs while he masters the art of carrying two eggs in one hand at our Islands neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Keary!

Grandma and Grandpa Keary visited us over Easter weekend, and we were hopping with fun activities! Here are the highlights from their visit:

- Hiking at South Mountain
- Relaxing in the backyard while watching Luke and Charity's nephew Morgan splash around in the kiddie pool
- Scouting out Easter eggs at a neighborhood hunt. The Easter Bunny arrived by boat on one of the lakes!
- Watching Dad and Uncle Eric play soccer
- Dinner out with Charity's family at a fun Mexican restaurant called Tia Rosa's
- Putting around for a game of mini-golf

We love having our family here ... especially when we can enjoy so much time outdoors!

A-hiking we will go!

We are enjoying a nice Easter weekend visit with Margie and Ted. Today we ventured over to South Mountain for a hiking expedition. Luke hiked some on his own and rode part of the time in the backpack. What a great day for a spring hike with family!

Splash Fest!

Luke's buddy Alec came over for KidSwap this week, and the boys had a Splash Fest in the backyard. Every toy ended up in the kiddie pool, and this truck was well washed! The boys also decided to run a bucket brigade to the backyard plants, so they had fun running all around the yard dumping water on the plants and trees!

BUNCO!

Each month, Jami has a fun night out with the girls to play Bunco ... only thing is the group has yet to play Bunco!! We usually end up socializing more or playing some other board or dice game because we're short of the necessary 12 for Bunco. But that doesn't stop us from having a good time! Each month the hostess chooses a theme. This month's was a pajama party. Here are the Bunco girls in their finest sleepwear!

What's hoppin'?

On Saturday we spent the morning at the City of Chandler Easter Egg Hunt with our friends Liz, Lee, Robby, and Ethan. The boys hopped on up to see the Easter Bunny, and then they loved picking up the eggs in the Easter Egg Hunt. They traded in the traditional plastic eggs for a bag o' candy ... what a treat!

It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's a flying Luke!

Luke and Scott just finished their 9-week session at the Rolly Pollies kids gym by our house. Luke's weekly classes have really improved his coordination, balance, and strength ... and he and Scott enjoyed the father-son time together! At the last class, the kids enjoyed a special treat and rode this zipline into the foam pit.

An artistic adventure.

We ventured out to the Tempe Arts Festival on Saturday. Not that we were looking for any new artistic masterpieces for the Leahy household, but it was fun to walk around and check out all the booths with everything from wall art to jewelry to pottery and more. Eric and Charity joined us as well. There were some fun street performers milling around, too. Luke met these 2 very tall women ... and even on Dad's shoulders, he couldn't quite measure up!