Hangin' with the boys

Since Leo turned 18 months last month, I am amazed at how fast he is changing all of the sudden.  I read that this happens once they hit the 18 month mark and it's so exciting to watch.  He's always been pretty verbal but is now saying words and sometimes sentences that make sense.  He loves to greet people, and is often standing at the foot of our driveway shouting "Ullo!" to any passer-bys.  The newest thing for him is to run after the neighborhood boys down the street, wanting to play with the big boys on their bikes and with their cool toys, like remote control cars.  We have actually had one boy (6 years old) come over a couple times to see if Leo could come out and play.  Of course, being only 1 I have to tag along to moderate and sometimes remove him from play that's a little too rough for him yet, and am invariably the only adult there, a pretty common occurrence here.  The boys seem to run through the neighborhood from house to house like a pack of wolves and I often have no idea what house they each live in but am learning slowly.  And Leo just loves watching all the action and I'm sure he can't wait for his mommy to not be so protective, but that may be a long while! 

We, as a family, participated in a 5/10K run through town over the weekend and had a great time.  I pushed Leo and ran (mostly) the 5 K while Kevin ran the 10K.  The weather was beautiful but on the cool side which was especially noticeable once we were sweaty, and we hope to do more throughout the summer.  Perhaps because Kevin is a glutton for punishment, he always chooses the day of a run to do a home improvement project, and this weekend was a front porch area.  He lugged tons (literally) of sand and gravel and pavers to make a nice sitting area just outside our front door, and has become a nice place to spend our evenings as Leo runs about.  

Other than that, we don't have much news from here, except that the weather has turned really beautiful finally and we are outside whenever we can be.  We've gotten some updated info on China that's on Madeline's website.  Leo says "Ullo!" to you all and we hope you have a great weekend.