Our Girl Gracie...

It has been quite sometime since I updated this little blog on the happenings of the Leeper family. My last post featured our two little monkeys in their Halloween Ninja Costumes and ended with the question of whether we would have a third little pink ninja before the big night. As it went, our little girl didn't arrive before Halloween but waited patiently until her scheduled date of November 3rd.

Cecelia "Grace" Leeper

Nov. 3rd 2014 - 7lbs 6oz

Gracie was instantly loved by her brothers (a little too aggressively by Henry) and has taken to the role of little sister very well. She tolerates being held by both of them and recovers well from their less than gentle affections.  

Andrew is already one of her favourite people. She has an endless supply of grins and giggles for him and he is absolutely smitten with her.

The last two months have been a bit of a whirlwind and when people asked me how we were adjusting to having a third child I would respond with comments like, "it's going really well" and "so far, so good"! It all seemed a bit too easy... until we left the comfort of our home and made the trek to Canada for the Holidays. Having three kids, and traveling with three kids are two very different situations!! But we all made it back alive and have settled nicely into the New Year with our new girl, and our new normal!

(typical Henry!)

Gracie is perfect. She eats well, she sleeps well and her personality seems to fall somewhere on the spectrum between her all too serious oldest brother and her all too silly older brother. I feel so blessed to be the one to watch what kind of little girl she becomes!

Photo credit: http://www.monicaridgely.com

A Weekend in NYC!!!

This weekend found the Leepers on an impromptu trip to New York City! We realized midweek that Rob had an entire weekend off and we had no prior commitments... a rare thing around here! Our amazing friends have just moved to NYC and we had been hoping to find some time this summer to visit, so away we went!

The boys were amazed with our hotel. Andrew couldn't believe the "beautiful stuff" outside (NY construction) and was amazed at how high up we were (6th floor)... doesn't take much to impress this guy!

We spent all day Saturday travelling around Manhattan, and were impressed with how much we were able to fit in! Brunch with Friends in Tribeca, the World Trade Centre Memorial, a trip around Staten Island, a tour of Central Park, the beautiful view from "Top of the Rock" and a quick trip to the Lego Store. I have so much respect for moms who schlep their kids around this city everyday!

On Sunday we took things much slower and spent the day exploring Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Drummer's Grove was incredible, the kids had so much fun showing off their moves. The parks new splash pad and roller skating rink is also pretty impressive!

It was an incredible weekend. I was thrilled to spend time with a great friend that I have been missing here in Baltimore and loved watching how excited our kids were to be reunited. Getting to spend some "pager free" time with this guy was pretty awesome too!

These days...

Life has been hectic (as it always seems to be) in the Leeper House. In the month (!) since I've posted, we've had special visitors and travelled for the better part of 3 weeks! It's been a fabulous time and before I get back to sharing some projects that are in the works, I thought I would share a few photos of our adventures!

My best friend Sara and her sweet son Jake came to Baltimore to visit for a week in March. We had a lot of fun showing them our favourite spots in our new city and loved every moment of playing at home pretending that we don't live so far away! Jake and Henry are only a month apart in age and after an hour or two of testing each others limits they are the best playmates. 

We travelled to Oklahoma City for a family wedding and spent 5 days visiting with family that we don't see enough and enjoying our favourite OKC restaurants (the "barbecue" is like nothing I've had before!). We finally met a second cousin (adorable Isaac) and the boys were fast friends. Every time we leave we vow to make it back sooner, life needs to slow down!

And finally, the boys and I travelled back to Canada and spent two amazing weeks visiting with family and playing with friends... babies grow so fast when you live far away! I was lucky to have lots of help with the boys, which afforded me numerous nights out with my girlfriends and a chance to celebrate my "soon to be sister-in-law" at both her shower and bachelorette party!

It was an action packed month and I am so grateful that everyone takes so much of their time to be with us when we travel. We miss you already!

A Holiday Recap...

Happy New Year!! I hope that you have started this New Year happy and healthy! After a wonderful and busy trip to Canada we have begun to settle back into our normal routine here at home... regular meals and bedtimes are being enforced and we are all better for it!

This holiday season was extra special for our family! Returning to Canada to spend time with loved ones after being away for 6 months was full of joy and excitement! We kept things simple... lots of play time with cousins, coffee dates with best friends, and meal after meal of our favourite foods. I was thrilled to spend so much time enjoying these luxuries, the things I miss the most from home.

The boys were ecstatic. Everyday details seemed like full out events for Andrew:
"Want to go with Auntie to pick up Alana and Jacob from school?"
"Want to help Uncle TJ feed his cats?"
"Want to have a bath in Nana's tub?"
"Want to sleep in Daddy's bed from when he was a boy?"
All questions that were met with enthusiastic celebration! It was so nice to watch them get so much joy from spending time with family.

I tried to take lots of photos, but as always realized that many were missing. No shots of the boys with their grandparents, no obligatory shot of all four cousins in front of the Christmas tree and none of the boys with their buddies:( It's so difficult to get them all!

 Henry got his first haircut from our favourite stylist;)

Andrew and his two favourite people

 Christmas morning with their favourite gifts.

 There seemed to be a bit of a costume theme this year!

Go team Canada!!

We loved every minute of our time in Canada, but I was pleasantly surprised to be content and ready to return to our home in Baltimore. It's nice to know that after 6 months, this place really does feel like a home to us, and that the relationships we are building with new friends will sustain us throughout this adventure!

Happy New Year!

Apple picking...

Apple picking in the fall has always been one of our family's favourite traditions. I can remember loving this outing as a kid and it's even better as a Mom! Hayrides, corn mazes, petting zoos... what's not to love?!

This year, we travelled to a nearby orchard with some new friends and had a wonderful time. Rob's been quite busy at work, and wasn't able to join the fun, but he's been enjoying the apples we brought home!

Our little red wagon made the trip again, and Andrew had fun pulling Henry up and down the rows.

This little hay maze was the perfect size for Andrew... "peekaboo!"

A week at the shore...

This past week an incredibly special Leeper Family tradition was relaunched! For years (and years) Rob has been talking about taking our family on a trip to Ocean City, NJ., a destination which holds years of memories for him.  As a child, Rob returned to Ocean City every year (for 20 years straight!) with his Mom, Dad, Grandma and brother. Each year they would make the drive from London Ontario, and enjoy their days at the beach and nights on the boardwalk.

We rented a small beach house with Rob's brother, T.J.,  and his fiancé, Laura.  Rob and T.J. were so happy to see that little had changed from their childhood memories and they spent the week immersing the rest of us "first timers" in all things Jersey Shore!

The boys enjoyed the beach, playing in the sand and splashing in the waves.

We spent countless hours strolling the boardwalk and giving into pretty much every 

plea and request for rides, games and treats...

which can be quite tiring when you are three and a half!

And we ate... a lot! The boardwalk is chalked full of insanely tasty food. The boardwalk itself is at least a mile long, with some form of deep fried goodness in every other shop. The pizza and ice cream shops alone could have kept me going for months! Luckily, T.J. shares my love for pizza (and all food in general) and we spent one evening sampling a slice from every vendor going. It was incredible! 

We had a fabulous week and will be excited to return for years to come! Here's to the new generation of Leeper family tradition!!

The best day of Andrew's life...

Last week, Rob and I had the opportunity to make all of our son's dreams come true... The Wiggles came to town! Andrew is an unbelievable fan. He has watched his colourful friends every night, before bed, for about two years and talks about them nonstop.  "Wiggles" was even one of his first words, he pronounced it "Deedos"... but we knew what he meant.

Needless to say, when we had the chance to snatch up some VIP tickets we jumped pretty quick! We even took our dedication one step further by dressing up like the band! Some long sleeved coloured t-shirts and iron on transfers made the Leeper's a big hit amongst the crowd (we over heard a few mom's saying "No honey, thats not him. That's just somebody's daddy.") This extra effort really paid off when Anthony spotted us in the crowd and gave Rob a big thumbs up!

Here are a few pics of Andrew's big night!

A trip to the park...

This past week has been absolutely beautiful! The humidity is gone and the air is crisp. This is the perfect time of year for after dinner excursions. One night this week I took my camera to the park, hoping to get some nice outdoor shots of the boys. However, Henry was too sleepy... so we played and I managed to get some good pics of the "big boys"!