SOOO BIG!!!

Ok, so I know we've all seen this, we've all done it... or attempted to get our child to do it... But, it never really ever gets old especially when your own child is the one performing. Actually, Taylor would never do this.. so it's a first for us. Anyway, so cute and cracks me up everytime we ask him now... How big is Zachie? Please note we had the entire family over while recording this, so the poor child was bombarded by many voices saying.. How big is Zachie?

It's finally over... for now

Well, we stuck it out... Zach has finally overcome his month long fear of the bathtub. I decided to start giving him a bath every day instead of every other day or so- and after weeks of screaming and clawing.... he is finally past it. Now, we have the opposite problem.. he kicks and screams when it's time to get out. Now that he is past his fear... Zach and Taylor have also starting takes baths together. They are so cute, and it really cuts down on a lot of time for me! :)

Cousins

Saturday we had Taylor's cousin, Bailey over while Bailey's Dad upgraded our electrical service on the house. Taylor adores her older cousin, and they had so much fun playing together.

Water Bug

Waiting for instructions..

Kids always get into the kicking part!

Lining up ready for jumps!

Hi Mom!

Every time I come around with the camera- she say's CHEESE!

When we told Taylor she would be in the "Water Bugs" class for swim lessons this year, she told us she would like to be an Ant. Ok, we'll go with that.

Tonight was our 2nd night for swimming lessons, it didn't go quite as "swimmingly" as the first night. I'm not really sure why.. it could be the cold she has had for the last week, or just because she has been a little out of sorts today- but she had a melt down about half way through class complete with screaming, tears and she said she was scared. I bribed her with a special treat for after class, and she was back in the pool in no time.

House Update

As you can see in the first picture... all of the old shingles have been removed (they were a light gray).... ON the left side of the roof they have started to put up the new shingles.

The second picture is something I did with some software to see the potential color of our house. The door color is off, it's acutally supposed to be quite a bit darker, so it's hard to tell how that is going to look.

Send me your opinions.. please! Do you think we should go darker? Lighter? Do you like the proposed colors? Please note the roof in this proposed picture is the old roof, ... The house, trim, and shutters are accurate... The door color is actually called sweet rosy brown....

WARNING! WARNING! Danger.. Danger

Here's my little monkey on the stairs. Today he made it all the way to the top. Of course, he has NO concept of turning around, backing down, or the DANGER involved with any of this. Here we go... I guess it's time to break out the gate for the bottom of the stairs. I wonder if he will beat his sisters record for number of falls down these stairs?

What Mom? What are you so nervous about?

So excited by his accomplishment he was jumping in place.

Who can say NO to this face?

10 months old today....

Here are Zach's 10 month Stats:

1. He has 6 teeth (2 on bottom & 4 on top), and he is working on his 7th.

2. He sleeps 11 hours at night from 9p.m. until 8a.m. (give or take a half hour), and 3-4 hours during the day.

3. He is crawling everywhere, pulling to a stand, stands briefly without holding on to anything, and is cruising/walking along furniture. He has also recently taken to walking behind his activity table as it slides across the wood floor.

4. He can say Mama & Baba.. and appears to know that Baba is his bottle, although he doesn't ask for it by name.

5. He loves to play chase... he will crawl as fast as his little legs will take him, turn around and see if you are still after him, and then crawl some more. All while cracking up.

6. He has disliked baths for the last month, and will scream & claw at you through the entire thing.

7. He has made the sign for more a few times, can clap his hands together, and bang to objects together.

8. His entire face lights up whenever his sister is around. She can always get him giggling.

9. He is a picky eater. I'm a little worried about what the future may hold for us with this. He HATES his bottle, and pretty much has to be held down to drink it. If he decides he doesn't want a particular food, he will start gagging at the sight of it. For example, he has decided for whatever reason the Gerber Graduates Apples are sickening to look at , so he will gag until he pukes if you try to even put one on his tray.

10. He doesn't like to be restrained, sit on your lap, go in an exersaucer, pack n play or high chair. He wants to be free, to crawl, to move. He loves the fridge, the bottom of the stove, VCR, cords, fireplace poker & candle.

11. Zach loves "hiding" things under the couch. He will make a game of putting all of his toys under the couch, and then lifting up the flap to see where they are. He also likes to line things up on the window sill, take all of the objects out of a container and then put them back in.

12. He is still a Momma's boy. He won't go to many people outside of Ben & I.., my parents, Kim at daycare and an occasional Nursery worker at church. He always greets me with a smile in the morning & loves to bury his little head in my neck!

13. His smile brings such joy to our family, and we can't even imagine life without him!

3 year old humor...

So, I thought I'd share some recent happenings with our 3 year old. As most of you know, this is the age for embarrasing moments (for the parent that is...) since the typical 3 year old doesn't quite understand tact.

As Ben and Taylor were going through Meijer yesterday- they passed by a man who was evidently a bit of a downer. Taylor proceeded to say as loud as possible- " Ohhh Nooo Daddy! That guys sooo SAD! " She says this while pointing her finger at that man as they passed by him in the aisle. Ben said he looked over, and the guy did look kind of sad. Hopefully a 3 year old pointing that out didn't make things worse!

As Ben and Taylor were leaving Meijer and getting into the car, they passed by a man smoking a cigarette. Taylor said "Daddy, that guy has a candle in his mouth. That's not good. It will hurt his tongue". To which Ben responded, "Yeah, that's bad."

While I was giving Taylor a bath last night, I asked her to stand up so we could wash her bottom. I handed her a soap covered washcloth, and told her it was her turn. After she was finished, she proceeded to stick her little behind in my face, and said "I'm done... want to smell"?

Where has June gone?

Here is an update on our crazy month! We have had so much to do, and so much fun doing it all. I can't believe July is almost here. Here is a snapshot of some of things the Leonard family was involved with this June.

First and foremost, Happy Fathers Day to our Daddy's! Zach & Taylor love their Daddy so much. I'm so thankful my children have a Daddy like you Ben. You are fun, kind & so loving. You are truly teaching them about God's love by your example, and I love watching you with them.

Being tickeled by Daddy!

We had promotion Sunday at Church. Taylor wasn't promoted this year, but she got up with a few other kids her in class, and they sang a little song. We were so proud, and smiling ear to ear! They called each child by name, and they had to head up front. Taylor stomped up the steps.. it was too cute.

The Carnival at a local Catholic Chuch & School. Zach just waking up from a nap, and taking it all in.

Taylor & Daddy on the Spin The Apple Ride.

Ben & I took this kids to a local carnival, and Taylor was able to experience a few rides for the first time. She was too scared to go on anything alone, and I made the mistake of volunteering to go on the tilt-a-whirl with her. She did fine, but I was about to lose my lunch! Seriously, that thing was intense. This carousel was much more my speed.

The Doo-Daa Parade. We went downtown Kzoo for the annual Doo-Daa Parade. Taylor had a great time collecting candy, and watching the parade go by.

Taylor & her beloved Grammie!

Taylor was excited to see the doggies marching by.

Zachie and Taylor both had a bought of herpangia at the beginning of the month... Not a fun time. They had sores in their throats & fevers. Taylor handeled it like a champ, but Zach had a much harder time. We had about 2 weeks free from sickness, before landing another cold this last week.

We enjoyed some time in the pool this month, although it's hard to believe with all of the rain we've had! Seriously, will it ever end? Bring on the heat! I'm ready!!

Having fun splashing!

Taylor Anne... becoming more and more confident in the water every day! She started swim lessons, last week. I will make sure to post with some pictures, but my battery was dead on my camera the first week.

Zachie... almost 10 months old. Hard to believe.. it has really gone by so fast! He is now saying baba & mama like a champ! He also has 6 teeth, and is working on getting the 7th on the bottom.

We headed up to Muskegon this month to celebrating my friend Lesley's 30th birthday! It's about time she joined the rest of us in this club! It was an amazing night at her parent's house on Lake Michigan. Thanks again for having us Les. It was so much fun to celebrate your 30th with you. Happy Birthday! Love you.

Here is a picture of my college roomies- Lesley & Julie. (Pictures courtesy of Lesley, because I forgot my camera)

We had an awesome visit with Jen & Gavin this month. They came down for a Wednesday night & Thursday playtime. Here are some pictures of Zach & Gavin together.

Gavin hamming it up!

So cute to watch our boys together! Thanks for coming Jen & Gavin, we can't wait to see you again soon.

And last but definitely not least... we are in the process of doing some major updating on the exterior of our house. Within the next month, we will have a new roof, new paint, new doors and new landscaping. This picture above is a before picture (minus one bush)- since this picture was taken, Ben has taken out all of the bushes. I will make sure to post an after picture. They are starting on the roof tomorrow!