Holiday Wrap Up

This year's Holiday festivities seemed to start as quickly as they ended. I would have enjoyed them more if I had not been struck with a nasty stomach bug the day before Christmas Eve. I had been heavily involved in the planning and performing in our Church's Christmas gathering this year. I had never been a part of it and was looking forward to it for weeks but...

I was up all night with stomach pains and on the morning of the gathering I had a fever and a bad stomach ache...and other things that shouldn't be talked about in detail...this completely took me out for the entire day, and left me so-so for the remainder of the weekend. However, I am probably one of the few people that lost weight over the holidays :)

Our family Christmases were both on Christmas Eve. The Ferris side was in the morning and the Hymes side was in the evening. It was a lot to take in for one day, but the kids had a great time. Levi is still fuzzy on the grand picture of Christmas. He gets that it is Jesus' birthday and that we give presents, but the Santa thing is not something we ever talked about before. We don't really like the idea of that aspect of the holiday...but the awe and wonder of it is unforgettable even as an adult...so we are still undecided as to how much of that to allow. Anyway, the kids received some nice things and liked hanging out with all their cousins. We didn't take pictures though this year...not sure why. We also got a chance to spend time with my grandparents (my Mom's Dad and his wife) on Christmas day. It kind of gives me a double dose of my family since both my siblings and my parents gather there on Christmas afternoon.

Our Christmas was at the traditional time. We still have the luxury of making Christmas happen when we want to and we took advantage of that. We started around 9am...after breakfast even. We did video tape our own Christmas and it was full of little moments I am sure I will cherish. If I can edit some of the video to a short snip-it, I might share on here.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the fact that Levi got more enjoyment out of passing gifts to others than he did opening his own. He kept asking, "Do we have any more gifts to give people mom?" I hope he continues this attitude. Not to say that he didn't get a thrill out of opening his gifts. As a matter of fact, I don't know whose toys he is enjoying more his or Rachel's?

He received his first real bike from us this year and has been riding it a bit in the house. I have made it clear that it is only because it is new and we will be putting it away soon...I hope that works. He also got a large set of Geo-Trax to add to his starter set her received for Christmas last year. He has been really enjoying it!

Rachel received a few Little People sets (roller coaster, airplane, and mini van). Levi is really glad we bought these for her...however, she enjoys playing with him. It is neat to see them do this more and more.

Thanks to ebay for making my gifts so stinking affordable!

Our New Year's plans will be different this year. We typically go out of town the that weekend, but we will be going to the Colts game on the 2nd and just didn't feel like traveling this year. We will probably do some special stuff with the kiddos and then change the clocks and celebrate the New Year at 8:00pm instead...this is for (Levi) the kids and then Matt and I will make a point to spend quality time with each other in the last few hours of 2010. There will still be the tradition of planning our trips for the following year and discussing other life goals for 2011. It may sound nerdy, but I look forward to that every year...the goals immediately give me something to look forward to in 2011.

I hope all who read this have a safe and Happy New Year and may God bless you and your family! But even more so may you and yours find new ways to bless God in 2011 : )

Look at me!

I'm Three!!!

It's is hard to believe how fast he is growing up. Three years ago we were holding a squishy little infant that, in all honesty, we barely knew. Now, we have this awesome three-year old that has a personality all his own. This post is all about him, and why we feel we have the coolest little boy around!

Levi has been such a blessing to our family. He is smart, funny and very in tune with everything that is going on. He has a mind like a steel trap. I mean this kid doesn't forget a thing! He has an impeccable sense of direction for someone his age. He knows his right from left most of the time too. I could go on and on, but I know that I am the only one that could tolerate this for much longer.

(He was actually really excited about the balloons)

We let him decide what to do on his birthday and he chose Monkey Joe's and Chick-Fil-A. I bought a very small cake and three balloons to celebrate with and he loved them. He wanted to take the balloons everywhere we went. We convinced him to leave them in the car instead of bringing them in everywhere. We went to MJ's first and then met Grandma Judy at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. (Levi really likes to play at the play place at the Carmel Chick-Fil-A because they have a toy car you can crawl in). We ate lunch, sang "Happy Birthday", ate cake, and opened presents there, then went home. He crashed about 10 minutes into the ride home...that's when you know it was a success :)

It's a bird, it's a plane, no its Super Levi!

Forgot to take a pic before I started cutting it...oops

Here he is with his favorite gift from us. Cars are still a pretty big deal in this house. The movie Cars hasn't been requested in several weeks, but the toys get played with almost daily.

He ate some cake before opening presents...good thing too because once he opened presents...

~~The cake thief seized her opportunity to snag an extra piece as soon as all the adults were distracted with the gift opening...she later made her parents pay for this by being on a sugar high that lasted until about 3:00 that afternoon! Keep on the lookout for this bandit at your next birthday party.~~

(This has been a public service announcement)

It was so nice that both of the kids' birthdays fell on Tuesdays this year because we were able to spend their actual birthdays together as a family. We did have a relatively small birthday party the following Saturday. He got to invite three friends and the rest were family. I made cupcakes that he requested (funfetti) and I took him to the party store and let him pick out all the decorations. Most didn't match, but it was Levi through and through.

Levi and Daddy were in charge of decorating the cupcakes.

There was cake...again

and presents

and more presents

and even an after party where the guest of honor got a little silly

But all good things must come to an end

and no one really likes when their birthday party is over.

The days that good memories are made of

The month of October was spent doing nothing productive and everything fun! I have to back-track and catch up on Rachel's birthday party and the end of September then I can give a small play-by-play of the events of October, of course ending with Halloween.

We had Rachel's first birthday party the weekend following her actual birthday. We invited family and a few friends. She did well with the day and sort of played with her cake. She also enjoyed her presents. She got some baby dolls and clothes which were much needed. I also carried on the tradition of giving her a piggy bank and having everyone that attended the party sign it. We did the same thing for Levi. Her pig is a metallic pink. Anyway, the day went great and it is hard to believe that she will be 14 months in just a couple weeks...I still haven't gotten her 1 year portraits taken, eeek!

Round 2: success!

I've got my gifts and am ready to roll

So, on to October

We spent every weekend doing something fun. We went to Monkey Joe's, Stony Creek Farm, Tuttle's Orchard, Conner Prairie, down to Columbus, IN to visit Aunt Melissa and the boys, and of course we went trick or treating dressed as Tigger and Piglet. The month went by at a nice pace and gave us some great time with our kids. Rachel is getting big enough to participate in some of the festivities. I can only imagine that these types of things will become even more fun when they are old enough to anticipate them and look forward to them like I do.

Monkey Joe's

Stony Creek

Bumping into the Summerfields was a great surprise.

Who says pirates can't drive tractors?

Levi being a big brother and helping Rachel pick the perfect pumpkin.

Crazy Cousins

We also had the pleasure of having Jeremy and Amy's kiddos over for an afternoon. The kids are starting to get to the age where they play really well together and watching them is more fun than work :)

~Funny Story~

Levi came over to me and said, "Mom, will you help me put

this [crayon] behind my ear like Hanny Manny?" (Handy Manny)

(note the pencil behind his right ear)

Now if only he could fix things like Handy Manny...

HALLOWEEN 2010

Levi and I had some fun carving our first pumpkin. We usually just let him paint one, but last minute, I thought it would be fun to scoop the goop. I was not disappointed. While we were scooping we discussed the insides of a pumpkin.

Here is what I learned (thanks to Levi for the enlightenment):

Pumpkins are full of cheese and seeds. The stringy stuff (cheese) should taste like mango...upon tasting a piece it was discovered that it in fact did not taste like mango. Aslo, the seeds sound good in theory...but only in theory.

The finished product!

Tigger was such a helpful friend

Tigger, Piglet, and the loot

A milestone has been reached!

Little Miss Rachel Turned One Today!

In just one year...

That's right, we now officially have a toddler and a preschooler. In the last month, Rachel has "mastered" walking (she started really walking a week after turning 11 months) and is trying so very hard to say a few words (hi, momma, daddy, and others she has only said once). She does all of the signs that I have taught her (about five so far) and she definitely has a personality all her own. I sometimes can't get over how differently I love my children. All the same amount, but oh so differently. Rachel seems to be more expressive than Levi was at this stage. She has a more solid routine then he did as well. She eats 4 meals a day and a snack. She takes one nap starting between 12 and1 and usually sleeps 3 to 4 hours. She goes to bed no later than 8:30 most nights. The great thing is that if we are out and about and her "schedule" is totally thrown off, she seems to be fine with that too. I have truly enjoyed her first year and although I look forward to the next stage, I got a little sad today thinking of how fast time was flying by.

To celebrate her actual birth day, we went to Tuttle's farm and picked apples. Then we stopped by Taylor's Bakery for some cupcakes for after dinner. I know she won't remember this day, But I will and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. As a matter of fact, I had trouble sleeping last night because I was so excited for her birthday...I am not really sure why.

I hope to get another post up soon, but this month is VERY busy for us so it will probably be October before I post anything new.

Here are the pictures from the past month.

"Oh, there is something under this icing."

"I think I like it."

"Don't judge me!"

"Mom, that was fun...can we do it again?"

"Arrested for cuteness??!

You gotta be kidding me!"

Levi and friend Mia learn that being cute isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A transition into the slower pace of fall.

August tends to be more laid back than July. However, the first part of the month brought on more travel and overall busyness. Life is now slowing back into a manageable pace. The kids start Mom's Day Out a week from tomorrow and that is when our routines will once again

dominate our weeks. I hate to wish away the summer, but the last month of summer is my favorite time of year. Usually, the days are still plenty warm, but the evenings are cooler and it makes it easier to take the kids for walks or to the park after dinner. Here are some photos and funny stories of the past month.

~Funny Story~

To preface this story: Lately, when I get upset with Levi he'll say, "Mommy, are you mad?". I usually say, "No, I'm just irritated." Well...

A few days ago Levi was going to the potty and I was helping him get his shorts down. He wasn't focusing on what he was doing and began swinging his legs wildly until his shorts flew off. (This irritates me because there is no reason to kick off your shorts while your on the potty). So I sighed loudly and said "Levi! why do you do that!?" to which he simply looked at me and asked, "Mommy, are you ir-da-tatered?"

~Funny Story~ (With pictures)

So the two pictures below help illustrate this story. One night, about an hour after we put Levi to bed, we could still hear him awake and running around upstairs. Soon, we heard foot steps down the hall...yep he was now downstairs. He came into the living room carrying his fan and babbling about not wanting to be upstairs, yadda, yadda, yadda. When I look up at him though I just burst out laughing! He had gone in our room, found Cate's present (a friend's child turning one) , unwrapped it, and put it on. It was an 18-month girl's outfit! There was a part of me that was impressed that he had dressed himself so well (minus the fact that the shirt was backwards). But the other part of me was irdatatered that he had unwrapped her present and that he wasn't in his bed asleep...however, I now have embarrassing pictures of him in girls clothing.

~~~~~~

~ROY~

Here is our new pet Roy. He was my cat but he lived at my parents' house. He is 7 years old and the newest member of the family. Levi has fallen in love with him and will be quick to introduce you the next time you come to visit.

This is Levi's timeout spot.

Rachel enjoys hanging out here...maybe I should be worried of things to come.

We are starting to do more craft time around here. I love this stuff! We have a few more paintings that I will get pictures of and post soon. I particularly love to paint. I am not gifted in that area, but that is why they have abstract art right?

Time for a workout to get rid of this baby fat! (Just kidding)

She does have a promising future as a runner though huh? I mean look at those legs :)

We also had the pleasure of entertaining guests from Japan last week. Matt has a friend, Aki whom he met in college that lives in Japan. She came to the states for 6 weeks or so and we got an opportunity to have her and her daughter Mia over for dinner. Mia is almost 4 and she and Levi got along famously!