Balloon

This is how Marshall ate breakfast this morning. He didn't let go of that balloon once the whole meal.

Marshall Moments

Marshall has loved balls for quite a while now, but just this week, he found the real football and basketball. He has been playing with them all week long. He has taken the football out for walks and just this week has insisted on sleeping with the basketball. I am loving this obsession as I have many friends who have kids that have been been obsessed with everything from Playdoh to umbrellas, to hair flowers. Hence, I have had no objection to putting Marshall in his crib with the basketball. In fact, his first night with the basketball he woke up in the middle of the night and surprisingly refused both his blanket and binky and didn't lay back down until I gave him the basketball.

Because of this interest in balls, he now also loves anything that is round. This week we had to hide a cantaloupe because he thought it was a ball and he wanted to play with it. And, today we went to a birthday party and within five minutes of arriving Marshall had wandered around the apartment and collected all of the balloons.



Marshall has also developed a love for cookbooks. Every morning he takes all the cookbooks off of the shelf and proceeds to look at them throughout the day.



Marshall also loves blankets-gotta love lazy Saturday mornings!



Love those eyes!


And lastly, Marshall on the computer. He loves typing and here he is identifying the "Y" in the upper right corner of the screen. So smart. :)


And a video of the whole thing. Excuse the music, it is a little loud. Just enjoy the BYU Band in the background.

54 Days and Counting...

In 54 days we will be basking in the sun of Florida and the magic of Disneyworld. We will enjoy this trip for less than 48 hours, but it is bound to be wonderful!

About a month ago Richard was invited to present the research he has been working on at the American Geriatric Society's national conference in Orlando. When he received this invitation we toyed with the idea of all of us going, but decided it would be too expensive especially because the school was not able to fund any of this trip. So, Richard bought his airline ticket and we called it good.

Well, earlier this week Richard's parents decided that they would like to meet him in Orlando and then the American Geriatric Society informed Richard that they would be giving him a nice sum of money to cover his expenses for the trip. Perfect! So now Marshall and I are joining Richard for this important and fun weekend-hooray!

I am so excited! I am glad I can be there to see Richard present his research at this national convention. I am excited to spend a weekend with Richard's parents; they are so great and they will love their time with Marshall. I am excited to go to Disneyworld-I've never been there. I am thrilled to be going somewhere warm and sunny. And, with this being the weekend after our five year anniversary I'm counting this as a fantastic five year anniversary extravaganza!

Orlando here we come!

Excitement in the Cul-de-Sac

On Thursday morning at about 10:00 I looked out our living room window and noticed that a police SUV was driving down our street. When he got to our cul-de-sac he flipped around and then turned his lights on as he drove down the street. I didn't think much of it, just figured he got a call and was off.

I continued about my morning and was in the kitchen washing dishes when I noticed that Marshall was pretty quiet. I poked my head into the living room and saw him just standing on the couch looking out the window so I went back to the kitchen. A few minutes later I heard him say "oooo" so I came into the living room to find what he was looking at. Well, let me tell you, it was quite a scene!

The same police SUV I had seen earlier was parked at the top of our cul-de-sac, lights flashing, blocking the entrance into the alley. There were four police cars parked on the street that runs by the cul-de-sac. And, just as I looked out the window an unmarked police car pulled up in the cul-de-sac, the officer got out of the car and pulled his gun. Then there were multiple officers running along the sidewalk all with their guns pulled, yelling "Get down! Get down!" (I could hear all of this because we had our windows open.) The officers ran behind one of the buildings in our complex, so I couldn't see what they were doing or what was going on.

Within about two minutes police were starting to head back to the cars. I hadn't heard any gunshots and I really wanted to know what had just happened so I grabbed Marshall (we were both still in our pajamas) and we went outside. I wanted to talk to one of the two officers who had parked in the cul-de-sac, but one had already left by the time I got outside and the other was talking to my neighbor. After they talked the officer drove away and I asked my neighbor what had happened. He told me he had noticed some police officers circling the streets surrounding our cul-de-sac that morning. He later noticed, after looking out their second floor window, that there was a grown man hiding in their neighbor's backyard bushes. Thinking that that was a little suspicious he called 911 and then the whole fiasco began. Apparently they caught whoever it was, but I have no idea what this person was wanted for! I watched the 12:00 news that afternoon and I have checked all the Milwaukee news websites multiple times-nothing. I have concluded that in reality it is better that way, that means that it was nothing too serious. But still a little unnerving to see police officers running around your apartment complex with their guns pulled.

Ah, gotta love Milwaukee! It was a real change for me moving to Milwaukee, especially coming from Utah and Davis Counties. But, I do feel fairly safe here and I know that there are bad parts of Milwaukee and I just avoid them. However, over our 2 1/2 years of living here crime has definitely gotten a little closer to our safe little cul-de-sac each year. Also, with so many empty apartments, our landlord has started to rent to people besides students. I see the ruin of this great complex looming in the future and I think we may be getting out of here just in time! But, in the meantime, here's to hoping this summer brings multiple medical/dental/law students our way-we sure could use them!

Love the 60s!

60 degree weather that is! This last week has been absolutely beautiful in Milwaukee. We have been sure to get outside every single day and Marshall is absolutely loving it. We walked to the park the other day and had a grand time.

We played on the swings and Marshall loved it.


Here's a picture of Marshall in the same swing last spring. He's grown up so much-it makes me happy and sad all at the same time!

Anyway, back to this spring...Marshall was completely enjoying the sun and warm weather, so happy!


Marshall has become enthralled with leaves this week. He tries to pick up as many as he can and just starts to laugh when he really looks around and sees how many leaves there are all around him. Ah, the simple joys and pleasures of childhood!


He carried his leaves all around the park until he found these nice big sticks and decided to trade.


After just a couple minutes of carrying these sticks around he tripped and fell and quickly discovered that sticks aren't so nice to fall on. So, he left them on the ground and promptly went back to his leaves. He actually ended up carrying these all the way home and we have had a leaf pile accumulating outside our front door.

Keep Out

Dear Sick Bugs,

Please pack your bags and leave this house. We have been your permanent residence since December and we are ready to move on. I am tired of checking temperatures, dispensing Tylenol every four to six hours, calling the doctor, and canceling fun plans with friends. Also, on your way out the door, kindly take the fog and rain that is plaguing Milwaukee.

Sincerely,

The Leakes

18 Month Stats

Marshall is 18 months old today-I can't even believe it! When they measured him at the doctor today they made the marks by his head and feet and when I picked him up I was shocked at how big he really is. Well, in actuality he is on the short side, but still, he has grown a lot and these 18 months have just flown by!

So, here are his official 18 month stats...
Weight: 22 lbs. 2 oz. (10%)
Height: 31 1/4 inches (20%)
Head: 50 cm. (95%-what else would you expect from those Toney genes?!)

His check-up went really well. The only thing the pediatrician is worried about is that he has had three nasty stomach flues during the last five months. That is just a little more than usual. He said if he continues to get the stomach flu into the spring and summer months they will do some tests, but for now, just pray for good health and be grateful that spring is around the corner!

As for what Mr. Marshall is up to at this great age of 18 months, here are a few things...

*He can say mommy, daddy, up, happy, apple, two, bye-bye, and Y all very well. He will also try to say any word we ask him to and just the other day he almost said his name.
*His current favorite cereal is Honey Bunches of Oats. Besides cereal he enjoys spaghetti, mac and cheese, yogurt, and sometimes fruits and veggies.
*He is a good helper and likes to keep things clean. This drives Richard absolutely crazy, but I love it. Just today we had a bunch of friends over for lunch and after everyone left I was cleaning up. One of the chairs had some chocolate crumbs on it and Marshall grabbed his washcloth and started wiping off the chair. I loved it and gave him a big hug and kiss and thanked him for being such a good helper!
*He is a very happy boy and keeps us smiling and laughing all day long!