Flying mattresses.

With the arrival of the bunk beds this afternoon, we decided to scout out some mattresses tonight (unfortunately, those weren't included!) We founded a great deal at a nearby bed store, so we loaded up the 2 mattresses on top of the Tribute, tied them down, and headed home.

Well, Arizona is known for its dust storms that suddenly blow up out of nowhere ... no rain, just blowing dust. Lovely. We left the store and the weather was fine. Not more than 10 minutes and less than a mile from home, we were in the midst of a brewing dust storm. The mattresses turned into windsails, popping the twine that was securing them. They toppled off the car. Luckily, no damage was done to the mattresses or any cars behind us, and fortunately, we were on a side street. We surveyed the situation and determined that we could shuttle the mattresses home one at a time inside the car if we crammed them in there. Luke had to be a little cramped, but he found the whole experience quite humorous. But this also meant that one of us had to wait in the blowing wind with the other mattress alongside the road. Scott was the lucky one.

After Jami unloaded the first mattress at home, she headed back to rescue Scott and the 2nd mattress. Only 5 minutes had passed, but 2 good Samaritans had stopped and offered their assistance to Scott while he waited. Nice neighbors. We managed to get home all in one piece with 2 mattresses, one laughing Luke, and a first of many good stories to come about fun times with the bunk beds.

6 months and growing.

Jami just marked the start of her 6th month of pregnancy. She's feeling great and has become an expert at beating the summer heat. The baby has taken up early morning karate, which is Jami's new alarm clock. Luke loves to talk to the baby and give Mom's tummy a little pat every now and then!

A visit from the Cappos.

What a treat for us to spend time with the Cappo family over the past few days during their recent vacation to Arizona! Uncle Bruce, Aunt Mary Ann, and cousins Michael, David, and Emily ventured down for several days. Highlights of our time together included an afternoon swimming at Eric's pool, dining at our favorite restaurants, a trip to the mall, family game night, IKEA tour, and laser tag. They also took a day trip to see the sights of the Grand Canyon. Here's Luke with Bruce and Mary Ann. He was all smiles about our visitors ... more people to entertain ... and to entertain him!

Family Night Out

We've started a new Leahy family tradition for the summer months -- family night out once a week. With it being so hot in evenings, it's a good excuse to get us out and about ... and an activity to look forward to for all of us!

Last week, we enjoyed dinner and a movie. The feature film of the evening was "Cars." Luke LOVES going to movies! During the opening trailers when one clip would finish, he'd shout out during the pause, "Where'd it go?" He sat on the edge of his seat throughout the movie and interjected funny comments here and there.

Tonight we ventured out to an inflatable playland called Bounce U. Dad and Luke were hopping here, there, and everywhere. They zipped down the slide, climbed through the obstacle course, and even played some bouncy basketball.

We'll see what's in store for next week...

Happy Dad's Day!

To celebrate Father's Day, we treated Dad to brunch at the Ocotillo Golf Resort, which featured his favorite ... an omelette station! We dined al fresco and then took a short stop to check out this practice putting green. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing with a grand finale of playing legos with Luke! What more could Dad ask for!

No more secrets.

Up until this holiday, we've been able to trust Luke with keeping a secret ... but no more! He managed to let the cat out of the bag on several occasions about Dad's surprises for Father's Day.

The Presents.
Earlier this week, we spent some time wrapping Scott's Father's Day gifts. When we were done, we neatly tucked them away in the closet to hide them there until Sunday. When Scott came home from work that evening, Luke began talking all about the "presents" and then opened the closet to show Dad where they were hidden. Good thing they were all wrapped!

The Pictures.
Another part of our surprise for Father's Day was to take some photos from the "3 of us" to give to dear ol' Dad. When we took the photos on Wednesday afternoon, Mom had to persuade Luke to cooperate a bit by explaining these pictures were for Dad from Mom, Luke, and Baby Brother. That night Luke started telling Scott all about the pictures. "Go see pictures. Now." Scott thought he wanted to look at photos in an album or stored on the computer and was a little confused when Luke wasn't interested in that. A bit later, Luke resumed talking about the pictures even more. Luke's secret-keeping skills need a little work. He had spilled the beans once again. So we ended up giving Dad this Father's Day gift a bit early ... since he'd already heard all about it anyway from the little monkey! Below is our favorite photo.

Quotable quotes from Luke.

Now that Luke's vocabulary is booming and full sentences are coming out, here are a few of our favorite phrases:

"Let me show you something."
This phrase is used at least 20 times a day to show Mom or Dad the amazing discovery that Luke has found, which really turns out to be not all that exciting and sometimes the same "discovery" that we were shown 20 mins. ago. But we always play along with great enthusiasm. Perhaps this phrase will come in handy when Luke becomes a car salesman someday.

"I do it."
The independence of a 2 1/2 year old is best stated in these 3 words. Whether it's crawling in his car seat or twisting the lid on his cup, Luke is finding his way into the world of doing things on his own.

"No please."
Mr. Manners is getting good at minding his p's and q's ... although sometimes they get a little mixed up. Rather than saying "no thank you" Luke likes to say, "No please." It works. We get the idea ... and can't help but smile at his kind gesture.

Night out on the town...

A highlight of the weekend's festivities for Jami was attending a bachelorette party for her friend Jenny. Jami has known Jenny for nearly 7 years since the days when they worked together at Jane Mobley Associates in Kansas City. Actually, Jami hired Jenny as an intern, but they are the same age! She's been a great friend over the years, and we're so glad to have all settled in Arizona.

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

Luke and Dad exchange some looks (and laughs) while at lunch at Pita Jungle.

Jumpin' Jack Splash.

Here's our first attempt at a video blog. We went swimming at Uncle Eric's last night, and Luke was showing off his swimming skills. It's a short video clip, so just click on the play button in the bottom left corner and enjoy!

A record month for RSD...

The month of May proved to be a record-setting month for Jami's company Ruby Slipper Designs! So far 2006 has been steadily busy, but this past month was the best yet in the 2-year history of the business in terms of projects completed and total income. With jobs ranging from small business promotional materials to wedding invitations to birth announcements, Jami has found a great balance of work both creatively and time-wise. Thanks to all the friends and family for the many wonderful referrals!

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.