Leo is Walking!!!

Well, he's starting to walk.  He has been taking 2-4 tentative steps here and there, but this morning, he intentionally was walking in the play room.  He took about 6 steps.  I got a little video of another little walking attempt.  I'm sure he will really start taking off now!  Oh boy!!!
He's a little more on Leo as a one-year old.  He has been doing great feeding himself.  He uses his utensil for a while but gives up towards the end of the meal to use his hands.  At least he knows what he's supposed to do.  He has also been leaving his bowl or plate alone during meals.  He used to just dump them right away, but now if he does it it means he's done.  We'll get him to be a civilized eater yet!
Leo continues to be a good eater, aside from when he's sick, and eats just about anything.  Last night he had two bowls of stir-fry with bok choy, tofu, and mushrooms.  He loves fruit, cheese, and cereal.  He is now off of formula and drinking rice milk.  He likes that, too, but rice milk is rather sweet, so I'm not surprised.  Even Flora prefers it to cow's milk, of course unless it's chocolate milk!
We have been teaching Leo Baby Sign language, like we did with Flora.  He thinks we're funny, for the most part, but yesterday he did the sign for "milk" with out me prompting him. :)
Leo sleeping has gotten a little better.  He was doing really well for two weeks and then had a set back because of another pesky double ear infection(his 3rd in 3 months!).  Lately he sleeps through every other night.  We had been getting him up and giving him a snack, but I think we'll go back to staying in the crib and patting/rubbing his back method.  Someday he'll consistently sleep through the night.
As for naps... he usually takes two, but lately he's been taking one three hour nap after lunch.  This makes things easier for me to run errands and such, but I'm not sure how it suits him in the long run(babies who nap well sleep well at night). So I try to give him two when I can with hopes that we can sleep through the night.
Leo is still a happy-go-lucky guy who goes with the flow, for the most part.  Sometimes he gets pretty whiney and clingy when he's hungry and I'm making supper.  When he's tired he's been getting destructive.  He whips the magnets off the fridge or the toys off the shelf.  I call him a "trash-a-sorous".  Tom says, "destruct-o, change-o, Leo-range-o" or for short we say Leo's "Leo-ranging".
Flora is still adapting to Leo's new mobility and likes him on and off.  I'm sure it will be that way for the rest of their lives.  Sometimes she says she doesn't love him and other times she wants to be by him in his crib or in the play pen or is laughing and goofing with him.
Here's the lowdown on Flora:  She may be out-growing naps. :( The only day this week that she took a nap was yesterday.  That was because Leo had us all up the night before.
At any rate, she will still have a nap time in her room, even if she doesn't nap, it's good for her to have some quiet time, so I can have some, too!  I'm sure she'll end up napping here and there on the days she needs it.  Like today.  Last night she and I went swimming at a friend's hotel pool b-day party and didn't get n=home until 10.  She had a lot of fun swimming. There was another little girl there her age who was swimming on her own with water wings, so that encouraged Flora to want to swim with her swimmy wings, too.  Sorry, I didn't get any pictures, because I was swimming, too.
I guess not much has changed with Flora.  She is good at going potty on her own, but prefers her little potties to the big one.  She can also go on a big toilet with out a seat, or anyone behind her, so that makes stops in public rest rooms easier!
Flora, as you may know, is all girl.  She LOVES to wear dresses and is very interested in princesses, marriages, and happily ever after.  Last night when we said good-bye to Tom, she said something like, "you need to say thank you for marrying you".  So Tom and I looked at each other and both said at the same time, "Thank you for marrying me!" and sealed it with a kiss.  She really likes that stuff. ;)
She also has been coloring and cutting a lot.  She loves to paint, too.  She really does a good job staying in the lines coloring, although, I haven't told her she has to, she just does.
Flora can count to 13 and know the ABC's.  She likes to sing and make up her own songs, too.  She is really starting to take an interest in letter recognition, which is good!
We'll be heading to Eau Claire for the weekend.  Tom has to go there to meet with a supplier, so we're going along to hang out with him at the hotel and use to pool.  We'll probably head to the Mall of America and/or Ikea (yay!) since it's not too far from there!  Two kids in one hotel room will be an adventure!
Blog Stuff:  I put a couple new videos on You-tube.  They are on the right side under "Enz-a-vision".  Enjoy!