Easter!

Baby Leo added laughing to his bag of tricks - he has a huge wide mouth smile and is super cute.

Mommy time

Hmmmmm - Leo is a thinker

It will be awhile until Leo joins Mommy for a Coke

He didn't seem to mind his Easter Bunny outfit

Grammy french braided my hair for the Hunt

I never actually saw the Easter Bunny, but my guess is this was not him or her!

I was quite skeptical that ALL my eggs would fit in here

Jelly Beans?

Using Grammy's butterfly binoculars to find all eggs possible

Our first family Easter picture!

Me and my buds

Last one!

Dad was hunting for wabbits

I have a great imagination and love of hats

And of course a huge love for my fluffy best pal - what a fun Easter weekend!

My Friend

Mommy and Daddy went into the city with Leo and Leo got to meet one of Mommy's best girlfriends, Idil. He got lots of cuddles.

Little Flea

This is one of my favorite songs I learned at the library and I wanted to teach Baby Leo.

Bathing Ducky

I have started to help give Baby Leo a bath and I am very gentle. He keeps warm and happy in the tub with his ducky washcloth.

Pictures Galore!

Mom finally got her act together and put all our pictures on Snapfish. That way, everyone can see all the pics other than what we post on the blog. If we've taken a picture, it's there! You can order prints, too. Enjoy all the Leo pics and you even get to see the pics all the way back when I was a baby!! Oh, and if you have pics you've taken and would like to upload to Snapfish, we would LOVE that!

address: http://graceandleo.snapfish.com/snapfish/otsc=SYE/otsi=WCR

Little Gardener

Leo & me and Mommy spent some time in Dubuque. Poppy really needed gardening help! And Leo was doing a lot of smiling.

Curious George!

I got to go see Curious George today with my bud Dorothy. We were troopers - we were happy to meet him, but notice we didn't attempt to sit on his lap! Meanwhile, my brother keeps getting cuter.

Breaking Out

The weather was somewhat nice today and I decided to break out the little guy for his first walk! We had to test out our fancy new stroller. I even got off of my perch and helped Mom push. Mom thinks our summer walks will be way too long if I continue to do that, but at least I want to help!

Big Sister

I've been doing a great job being a big sister. Leo is pretty easy going - he sleeps a lot, eats a lot, and does not wake up at night much. I think he can stay.

Cuddle

Leo on his second day home in my pink bouncy seat - he does not seem to mind the pink...

Home Sweet Home!

Today my baby brother came home! We are so happy that he's healthy and doing great. I wanted to read him a story before bed, so I think I'll let Mom and Dad keep him.

There are fantastic things ahead for Leo says Mom and Dad and our family has learned so much in the past 13 days since he was born. 1 in 600 babies are born with a Cleft Palate and it's more common than we thought. There is nothing we could have done to prevent it, but we know Leo's going to get the best care possible and grow into an amazing boy who is 1 in a million. We've also become even more grateful for our friends and family than ever before. Watching people pull together for a baby who just arrived is truly inspiring and we couldn't have gotten through it with out them.

Meanwhile, I've discovered Barney on Netflix. Mom and Dad will have a harder time adjusting to that than what we've gone through already! And they promise that they will finally get to returning all the phone calls and e-mails. Silly Mom and Dad.

Baby Leo

My little brother Leo is still resting at the baby hospital. He's doing pretty good and just needs to gain weight two days in a row and we can bring him home. He'll need to have a monitor for his breathing because of his cleft palate, but Mommy & Daddy say it we're fixing it for him so he can talk as much as me! He's already starting to grow more hair, make more baby noises, and be awake more. We just want him home soon.

Meanwhile, I've been having fun with Mom & Dad. We had a lunch date. I've also been riding my dog/horse Uli to pass the time. And tomorrow I get to go to the Zoo with Sophie!

Mom and Dad say thank you to everyone for their thoughts. I am telling them to reply and call back everyone who has called, emailed and followed us on Facebook, they are just a little busy but promise to get back to everyone as soon as they can - love you all!

Sleeping and fattening up his cheeks (more)

Hiccups

I requested Mac n Cheese from the waiter all by myself. Surprised?

Forget pulling a sled, I think she makes a great horse!

A lot to Celebrate

On Monday, I turned 2 1/2 and my baby brother Leo turned one week! Over the weekend we had a lot of family come and help my Mommy & Daddy while we await Leo's coming home. Before that Grandma T hung with me while Mommy & Daddy were at the hospital. We had loads of fun. We have such a great family! As my nutty daddy said at dinner Saturday night - "Nothing brings family and friends together like a kid with an extra hole in his mouth." And yes, he got laughs with that cheap line. At least we are all keeping our sense of humor! Leo is doing great and gaining weight and should be with us at home by Wednesday or Thursday - we can't wait!

Auntie got Leo a fancy hat

Grammy played with me & Soph - lots!

Grammy meeting Leo

I got to see my baby brother face to face! Thanks Unky Will for your shoulders!

Grandma T sharing some awake time with Baby Leo

Leo's first video!

Baby Brother Report

Going Home – Part One

Grace has agreed to share her blog because she’s so excited she’s finally a big sister!

We wanted to check in and give you all a baby update as I know many have been eagerly awaiting pictures since hearing the news when he was born on Monday. It’s been a tough couple of days for our little family, but we are in a good place are grateful for our family and friends. The amounts of emails, phone calls and Facebook activity expressing your words of support, love and offers of help have been amazing. We are truly lucky to have you all and if we replied to everything we’ve received in the past two days, we’d be on the computer for a week! We look forward to talking to each and every one of you, and we will, when things calm down a bit more.

Leo William was born two days ago with a cleft palate and other concerns which took us by surprise; having to send our baby to the NICU without even holding him or knowing the extent of his difficulties. We started our journey two days ago scared of feeding problems, breathing problems, speech problems, plastic surgery, and worried our new little guy wouldn’t have a normal life. A feeling we never want any of you to have. But just two days later, our little champ is eating like a rock star, surprising nurses in the NICU who have been there more than 35 years with his progress, has no IV anymore, is sweet as can be and with the cleft palate localized to just the roof of his mouth – he’ll have a surgery or two in his first year and some special care in feeding and that’s about it. Not bad as far as we’re concerned. He’s a big healthy boy that has surprised us with his determination to assure us that everything is going to be fine. And he’s terribly cute to boot.

Mommy will go home tomorrow and Leo will stay awhile longer in the NICU until he proves to us, which he will, that he can continue to be a good little eater who won’t give up. He’s looking forward to seeing his Big Sister outside of a glass window.

Love you all and enjoy some pictures.

Leah & Tom