Category Archives: leo

Leo // 9 Months

March 8, 2016

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Leo is 9 months old today! He’s such a sweet boy and I just LOVE to cuddle the bejeezus out of him! He is pretty much the best. I am so thankful for him every day. I love you so much Leo!

He’s 29 inches long (85%), weighs 20 lbs 14.5oz (72%), and his head is 18.5 in (94%). Still a big happy boy!

This month was big for him! He started crawling! Yay!! He woke up from a nap one day and BOOM. Took off. And now he is ALL OVER THE PLACE. He gets into everything now! But it’s fun to see him get adventurous :)
Leo9months-3 His personality has really come out this month! He went from pretty quiet to BABBLE BABBLE BABBLE. I am pretty sure we have another Ivy on our hands… NON-STOP TALKING. EEEK! The babble is adorable though. His favorite is DA DA DA DA DA DA. All day :) So cute.

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He also REALLY thinks he’s funny now, it’s pretty hysterical. While trying to change his diaper, he thinks it’s a funny game to try to flip over onto his tummy so that I can’t change it. He does this REPEATEDLY and laughs and laughs as I say “LEEEEOOO!!” and flip him back over. It’s pretty funny. He also loves to boom on his chest over and over, it’s so funny. Like a gorilla!
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He’s really loving food. My gaaawd this boy can eat! He INHALES mac-n-cheese! That’s his favorite. He also loves toast, cheese, cheerios, steak, yogurt, goldfish, and sausage. He could eat yogurt ALL day long. Loves it. Leo9months-12 And now he’s sleeping through the night, yaaaaay! He was only getting up once around 4 or 5am to nurse then back to sleep. But now he’s a straight 12 hours! 7pm-7am! YAY! Happy Mama around here :)

Button down shirt // pants // Monthly stickers //Crib Sheet fabric then custom made by Iviebaby // Jellycat Bashful Calf //

Here’s a video of him crawling his very first crawls!

Here is a recap of the last 9 months

Leomonthlycollage Leo in Months – 1 month // 2 months // 3 months // 4 months // 5 months // 6 months // 7 months // 8 months

And here are my favorite shots of Leo this month. So cute!

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Can’t forget about sissy Ivy! He likes to get into all of her books and rummage through anything of hers :) She loves to say “NO LEEEEOOOO!!” And I’m seeing many sibling quarrels in our future :) Regardless! He absolutely lights up when she’s around and loves to watch her every move. He tries to be silly to make her laugh and it’s the funniest thing ever. Love this sibling thing. So awesome :)

IvyandLeo9months

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Happiest At Home

February 24, 2016

Since becoming a stay-at-home Mom, it’s been such a whirlwind. Leaving my teaching job to be able to stay home with our kids was a difficult decision, but watching our children grow up right in front of me, and me being able to raise them each day, has been the greatest gift I could receive (thanks Hubs!). I am soooo very happy that I get to spend so much time with them and teach them about life. Being with them makes me so incredibly happy.

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Getting the chance to see their personalities take shape has been the highlight. We had the opportunity to take in-home photos with Amie Hansen Photography. I was so excited to be in our natural environment at home and for her to really capture what it’s like in my daily life with Ivy and Leo. I’ll have to say I am SO happy with the photos! There are so many special moments captured from our days at home and interactions between the kids and I and Ivy and Leo together. They turned out AMAZING! She truly captured Ivy’s spunk and hilarious antics, while also capturing sweet Leo and his loving side. And the biggest capture… a Mother’s love. I think they are PERFECT! We are definitely HAPPIEST AT HOME :)

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Ivy has become so spunky and is a gazillion miles an hour! She’s so hilarious and I just can’t get enough of her! I mean, that smile is contagious :)

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And then you get her to sit for like two seconds and get a tad of a cuddle, and then I’m drawn in even more. LOVE.
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Sibling interaction… I CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF IT!!! Ivy is pretty sweet on Leo and she is always trying to copy him, it’s so funny! The baby things she does are hysterical!
koch0017 koch0014 Then, there’s LEO. My boooooy, so sweet. Just loves kisses and close holds from his Mama. And his two fingers :) His tired signal.

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Come on Leo, crawl crawl! Milestone captured! CHECK!
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Mama and son moments. So cherished.

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Hehe, Ivy being her silly self. Quite the entertainer! All eyes on her! Passing time with an easy game of peek-a-boo full of laughter :)

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And then there’s “Mama’s bed,” as Ivy calls it. A warm naturally lit room where everyone can cuddle and play together in a comfy spot. koch0101 koch0104 koch0097 koch0099 koch0066 koch0105 koch0079 Onbed

And that’s why I love being a Mom. The hugs, kisses, cuddles, and laughs are what makes my days joyful. I can’t get enough of these two and indeed, I’ll cherish these captured moments between mom, daughter, son, sister and brother… forever.

Photos by Amie Hansen Photography

My white tee // Ivy’s dress (old from Tea Collection, similar here and here) // Hairbow // Leo’s onesie // Leo’s pants

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Leo // 8 months

February 8, 2016

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Leo is 8 months old today! He’s so so so so sweet and cuddly and loveable. Just a chunky ball of happiness! I love him so much! The cutest lil blonde hair blue eyed baby boy :)

This month was big with food! I’m a big fan of baby-led weaning (read this book if you’re interested) and he’s gotten MUCH better this month. He’s full on eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us now, all while still nursing. He is going to be an EATER, I can tell. Hello grocery bill! : / EEEK! His favorite meal was probably my mom’s roast beef with gravy and squash. He devoured the squash! He also LOOOOVES mac and cheese, like whoa! Leo has totally gotten the hang of eating, and he loves it. Fun for us to watch how much he can really eat. Big boy!

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Leo is SO close to crawling! He is getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Very close. I looked it up to see when Ivy started crawling, and she was in her 8 month old post (see here, and wow she was so chunky and cute back then!), so Leo is a tad behind, but not much. That’s ok with me, I don’t mind him staying put for a little longer :)

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Also, he has FOUR teeth now! His top two just popped through last weekend, so now he’s got some good chompers for eating. Perfect for him! I love to see the lil teeth. They’re so cute and white. And he still loves chewing on everything. Straight to the mouth! He’s super good at a straw already, which is funny. He hasn’t mastered the sippy cup yet, mostly just gnaws on it, but straws, bada bing!

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Monthly stickers //Crib Sheet fabric then custom made by Iviebaby // Jellycat Bashful Calf // sweater one-piece

My favorite thing about Leo, is how cuddly he is! When I’m putting him to bed, I hold him close for a little bit and he will tuck his wittle legs underneath his but and lay his head on my chest and suck his two fingers. It’s so sweet I love how he tucks in his legs! Just like how he sleeps, with his butt in the air. It’s pretty much heaven when we get to cuddle for a few minutes. I LOVE IT.

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Tehehe, I had to get a naked baby picture! I wish I had been doing this since the beginning! Shucks. Something about a nakey baby in a diaper, love it.

Here’s a recap of the past 8 months with Leo. That one month pic, so teeny!! I think month four is my favorite picture, his chubby face is too dang cute!

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And here are some of my favorite pictures of Leo from this month. Fedora picture, my favorite!!!

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And he’s still obsessed with Ivy, she’s a maniac and he loves all the commotion!

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Love you Leo, xoxo

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Leo // 7 Months

January 8, 2016

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Leo is 7 months old today! He is such a happy boy and smiles all the time! This month was big with FOOD! I’m a big fan of baby-led weaning (read this book if you’re interested) and he’s gotten MUCH better this month. Really chewing and swallowing and picking up the food to bring to his mouth. His favorite this month was probably the potato ham soup or short ribs that I made! Oh wait! OR probably the donut my Mom gave him! :) Ha! So he’s moving right along with that. He really loves to sit at the table with us (we got him this high-chair) and he is mastering his pincer grip.

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Haha, that picture makes me laugh with his double chin! And yes, he’s still a big boy!! Growing so fast. He has started scooting on his belly and he’s all over the place in his crib. Probably going to start crawling this month or next. EEEK! Then I’ll REALLY see what a boy is like with the things he’ll probably get in to!

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He loves to play with his toes and reaches them to his mouth often. Which is so cute! He also STILL loves his two fingers to suck on. He’s really preferring his last two fingers, his pinkie and ring finger lately. But sometimes it switches :)

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He also popped TWO teeth this month! He got a fever and runny nose/cold during the week of teething, but he also had vaccinations that week. So it might have been the teeth. Ivy never had trouble teething so this whole fever/cold/miserable behavior could be new to me if Leo has problems teething :(

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He’s still getting up once a night to nurse : / Buuut, pretty much sleeps from 7pm – 7am other than that one time getting up. So he’s doing good! He also makes a lot of noises! He says “A-da, a-da” all day and it’s funny because Ivy will copy him! Here’s a video of him chatting with me :)

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And he still LOVES his sister! Watches her all the time. And Ivy has gotten quite smitten on him this month. Always kissing and hugging him. SWOON. (PS – Ivy’s skinny legs here! WHOA!)

Here’s a funny video of them!

Monthly stickers //Crib Sheet fabric then custom made by Iviebaby // Jellycat Bashful Calf // snow day onesie // striped pants

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Leo in Months – 1 month // 2 months // 3 months // 4 months // 5 months // 6 months

Here are some favorites of Leo this month

Leo7months

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Merry, Merry Christmas!

December 27, 2015

We had a splendid Christmas indeed! Full bellies, good faith, and surrounded by friends and family. The night even ended with “White Christmas” as the snowflakes softly fell to the ground. It was magical and a perfect ending to a memorable holiday. This year, I was quite anxious for Christmas since Ivy was another year older. She tore through the presents, sang Christmas carols all ~~day~~ month long, and was a jolly little girl all day. Unfortunately, still scared of Santa, buuut, she was happy Santa still brought her presents! Christmas is so magical with children around. It brings me back to my childhood and all of the family gatherings to celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year.” And this year was even better than the last, with two children to wake up to on Christmas morning. To cuddle and hug and wish them a Merry Christmas and sing out with glee that SANTA was here! And to cherish these memories that we make together as a family, pretty special times! Here’s a little glimpse into our Christmas as a family. Hope yours was a Merry Christmas as well :)

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Our fun started on Christmas Eve! John and I hosted and we had a huge ham to cook! We went to church and headed back to our house for a big feast with my family and John’s family. YUM. The ham (recipe here) turned out sooo delicious.

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The table turned out pretty good for working with what I happened to have at home! Here was my inspiration for the table decor and the place setting cards

HAM. Sooo good. The glaze… mmmm. Recipe here

The next day it was Christmas morning! I couldn’t WAIT to get the kids and tell them “It’s Christmas!!!” We had been talking about it every day with Ivy as she would try to take a present from under the tree! So now it was finally time to open the presents!!! Ivy was a PRO! That’s maybe not a good thing ;) And we can’t forget…. it was Leo’s FIRST Christmas! He just got all clothes, since I apparently bought every toy imaginable for Ivy : / #handmedowns

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Cutest little outfit. That reindeer butt. Christmas2015-4

Ivy is obsessed with Calico Critters right now – she got the camper from Grandma and is SO excited about it!
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We also got Ivy this dollhouse, and I finally found the BEST doll family for it! I had been looking forever and they were all so strange looking. They’re from Hape and there is a grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, son, daughter, and a youngest daughter. They’re really awesome and bendable! I really like them!

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We celebrated the morning with the Kochs and the evening with the Keatings (my family) and by the end we were totally completely exhausted AND stuffed from delicious food!!!