We celebrated our third anniversary on June 24th. So we decided to take another picture in the same spot...things look a bit different huh?

We had a lovely dinner out without Levi and we spent the previous weekend in St. Louis. We had a blast! It was our first (and last for a while) vacation without Levi. Now with just a little over 8 weeks til my due date, I am glad to stay home and prepare our house for the new arrival. Which brings me to my next project...the kids' rooms. There will be a post dedicated to those in the coming week.

July started off great and I hope it continues! We went to Chicago for the Fourth and spent some time with some of our cousins. Levi had a great time trying to keep up with all of them.

Also, one of his new things is being like us. He sees that Daddy wears his glasses on top of his head when he doesn't need them, so he started doing the same. They are almost always backwards, but it is soo cute!

More to come, but I forgot to upload the pictures from the camera...baby brain strikes again! :)

Got this tonight and thought I would share. I am too tired to do the full post today. We had a busy day of shopping, swimming, and playing...I am pooped!

We are amazed at how much he wants to play basketball...
it is ALL THE TIME!!!

I'm Finally In!!!!!!!

I have been trying to get into my own blog account for a while now. I forgot the password and had to do a bunch of back tracking to get it! Phew!! Anyway I don't have a whole lot to post but the coming month is going to be a big one.

We are currently working on getting the kids' rooms ready. I have chosen the bedding for both and Matthew has been diligent about getting ceiling fans in all of our bedrooms. We have two down and one to go. I will post pictures when I have a finished product.

Here are just some cute pictures of Levi to tide you over until a proper post can be made.

April and May...many firsts.

So I think this is the longest I have gone without an update...so much has happened and I hate that I haven't been keeping you all updated. I hope to make shorter, more frequent posts from now on. Anyway, enough excuses! Let's get to the good stuff.

Levi had his first "big-boy" black eye in April. He fell and hit his cheek bone/bottom of the eye  area on a single step. He does stairs fairly well, but a fall was bound to happen. He on fell no one stair and the wound was pretty small, but as it healed it turned into a black eye. It took about 2 and a half weeks to completely go away.

He also got to go to the Indy Zoo for the first time. A friend of mine and her son , Tommy invited us to go. The boys had a lot of fun and Levi slept like a rock after we left...we wore him out!

Levi and Tommy playing in some water.

Levi distracted by a butterfly.

During the day, Levi likes to sit at our computer and pretend he is "working" (I guess that is what he is doing). He calls it "sitting". He will sit and play on the computer for a good 10-15 minutes straight.

Apparently, he thinks he is an angel...there are days I would agree...there are days I would vehemently disagree.

This past weekend we also spent time with ALL of our immediate family. Matthew's sister and her family were in town from NC so we were able to spend some time with them. Also we had a get together at my parents' house. So Levi got to spend some quality time with all of his cousins. We weren't able to get many pictures of the cousins on Matt's side, but they will be here this weekend and that will be a priority.

Levi and Natalie doing a beautiful duet on the piano at Mamaw Debbie's

Mamaw, Levi, Natalie, and Lilly got a chance to explore the neighbor's Coy pond. 

Levi also got some quality time with Aunt Sammy.

We had a house-church (like a small group) party at our house on the Friday before Memorial Day. Levi had a great time running around with all the other kids. He partied until about 10:30 that night.

Levi actually took this picture. Otherwise I wouldn't post it. 

Maybe he has a future in photography.

Finally, we started a garden this year. We are very blessed to have a raised-bed garden built in our back yard. Levi is able to be out back with me while I plant. So here is where I stared on Tuesday. My helper was ready to get dirty!

After about an hour I was finished planting...

I had lost my helper to a game of ball, but he put in some hard work. Well, I guess that is what you would assume by the dirt on his face/hands/clothes/feet.

This close up is quite a sight. From the dirt around his mouth I have to assume that he probably at least tried some dirt...or maybe he just wiped his nose a few times...who's to say?

One last thing I have to mention is that Levi went pee pee on the potty today! I have to mark it before I forget. We started potty training this week. We are just trying to introduce it to him in the morning. I want him to get into the habit of waking up and going to the potty. We have been trying to get the timing down all week and finally today he did it! We have a long road ahead, but so far, he is receptive to the idea. Just keep us in your prayers that we would be aware of the right steps to take in this BIG process.

March was a BIG month for us.

We were so busy that my one update last month was just a little video. So, here is the month of March in one post. I start this post with a picture of Levi with some overdone Botox...we had it removed and he looks normal now, don't worry. This picture is taken at Aunt Kasie and Uncle Aaron's house. He was spending some time with his cousins, Natalie and Lilly.




Then we move on to another event for the month. My grandmother, Levi's Great-Grandmother came to visit for a weekend. It was sort of a last minute thing and we were pleasantly surprised.






Then we went on vacation to visit some family and friends in North Carolina and Tennessee. Levi was a model traveler with the exception of getting car sick in the mountains. (Poor guy). Thankfully, he slept through the rest of the mountains so it only happened once. He was entertaining (to say the least) when he was awake in the car, and we are thankful for his good-nature-attitude.




We also allowed for some monkey business when we could.



When we arrived to North Carolina, Drew (Levi's cousin) and Levi became instant friends.



They shared toys (better than expected).


Which included Lucy (their dog).



Then Drew showed Levi his "turf".




And how to swing like a big boy.




He caught on right away.




We had a wonderful time with Melissa and Quentin (Matthew's sister and her hubby). We had great food, conversation, and weather. The only time it rained was at night. We felt very blessed to get that time with them and wished that it could have been longer. After leaving North Carolina, we headed to Knoxville, TN to visit a friend of Matthew's from chiropractic college. Rasmus and his wife Tiffany were gracious enough to put up with us for a couple of days. We just hung out with them and caught up since it had been about a year since we had seen them. They again had great meals for us. We also played Monopoly the World edition. It is much faster and more fun than the original. We actually finished in less than two hours. I recommend giving that version a try. Plus everything is in the millions so since Matt won, I am now married to a millionaire!!

After spending our Saturday and Sunday morning with Rasmus and Tiffany, we headed another hour west to Crossville, TN where Rasmus' parents live. We had another delicious dinner with them. We felt like we were being treated like royalty with all the wonderful meals we had on this trip! (And as a prego you can imagine my delight to have such wonderful food and I didn't have to prepare any of it!) Levi took a liking to Rasmus' mom and their telephone.


The weekend after we got back to Indiana, our cousins from Chicago came down for a visit. We had loads of fun with them (as we always do), and Levi got a chance to really run around with them. However, he didn't neglect his cousin whom he sees most frequently.


We actually got the kids to pause long enough to get a photo of them...no small task!



In addition to having family in town, Matthew had friends from AU having a get together as well. So on Sunday we had a dinner with all of the guys and their families (the ones that could make it anyway). This is the first group picture that has been taken with the kidos and everything.



So that was the month of March...I know you are tired from just reading it. Well I would be lying if I said I weren't exhausted at the end of all those activities, but they were more enjoyable than they were tireing.

April....16 months for Levi and 16
weeks for the Little One.

Yep, I can only say that for one week. I have a 16-month old and I am 16 weeks pregnant with my second. I feel like it is going fast and yet slow at the same time. I appreciate the latter more, because I am trying to enjoy these last six months or so that it will be just me and Levi. Motherhood is going to change so much when I have more than one child. I know it will take time to get my footing again, but I just don't want to think about any of that right now. Levi and I are having so much fun together. He has started talking so much that we actually communicate quite well these days. We have more of a routine set now (it only took about 3 months) since I have started working part time, I have felt like I was out of sorts and it has taken me this long to get a sense of balance. Anyway, enough about that stuff. I have a cute picture and video to share with you. Apparently Levi is a "Sauce Man". He will now eat raw veggies...as long as the have Italian dressing on them. It is humorous. However, the down side to this new taste is that it is messy (he only feeds himself these days) and it stinks (both going in and coming out), but the up side is that he is eating raw veggies. One of his favorites is red onion...I know, he is a bit odd.






Okay, so here is what happened today. He was getting a bit fussy and it was already 12 o'clock noon. (He is down to one nap a day). I thought he could use some lunch before his nap. However, he felt differently he thought he need some lunch during his nap. He has never done this before, and he faught it for a while, but he finally gave in and fell asleep. I actually watched him struggle and loose the battle in a matter of 3 minutes. It was priceless!

A PROUD MOMENT FOR MAMAW AND PAPAW!

It took a little effort, but I got this tonight and had to post immediately.

Just a Little Update

I have been bad once again and have neglected my blogging duties. However, my excuse this time is a good one. Levi had his first bout with the flu. It was awful. the vomiting, the diarrhea, and the fever was enough to wipe him out! He slept for most of 2 days. He was a zombie! We were ready to take him to the doctor the third day and thankfully, due to lots of prayer I am sure, his fever broke the second night and he began recovering by morning. He was still on the mend for two more days and then...I got it! I was sick for 2-3 days minus the fever. NOT FUN! I haven't been sick like that in quite a while. It was compounded by the fact that...

I am pregnant again!

That is probably old news to anyone who reads this blog, but maybe I have not told everyone that reads this. I am currently 11 1/2 weeks along, and feeling pretty good...as long as I eat. We had our first appointment with our midwife today and we heard the heart beat. It was a magical sound that instantly makes me bond with my little one. I am so excited to grow our family.

There will be more updates on Levi and the newest Bitty Baby as I have time. I will also get some pictures of Levi on here soon.

Bye for now!

14 1/2 MONTHS OLD NOW

I am getting worse at my updates or so it seems. Maybe the pace of cool new things has just slowed down a bit...who knows. Anyway, Levi has had a really cool(cold) January. He is getting to experience things that he's never experienced before. He is going to daycare 2 days a week and it appears that he is loving it. He eats better for her than me! He is also enjoying the other kids. I miss him when we are apart, but I enjoy the time to myself to. I have been teaching at Gymboree since November, and I really like it. I am only there 3 days a week and Matthew is home with Levi one of those days, so he gets a Daddy day each week. Levi also got his first taste of snow today. You will see that I mean that literally when you see the pictures down below. I have a couple of cute moments to share with you this time so I will end my babbling and get to the good stuff...the pictures.

Even though he hasn't used his exersaucer correctly in about 6 months, he still likes to sneak in it a remember what it was like to be a baby...ahh...memories. "I remember it like it was yesterday..."

Here he is enjoying a mean meal of mac and cheese.

Just wanted to get a close up of the gooey cheese on his hands and face. It was not fun to clean off, and I think a bath immediately followed.

This is a strange, but cute picture. He is chewing on a rubber-finger-toothbrush. He likes to chew on it and it is to big to be swallowed. I want to take it away from him, but look how happy it makes him.



So in order to mark the date of the biggest snow in Levi's lifetime (so far) we got him all suited up and let him "play" in the snow. He actually seemed to like it. Do to the sunshine we were able to spend a decent amount of time out there.



Okay, before you judge me for taking this picture, I want you to hear me out. I had the camera in my hand and my finger was on the button. He fell, I used my free hand and sat him upright, and simply snapped the shot a second later and then proceeded to quickly put the camera away and wipe off his face. It took about two extra seconds to do all that...but I have a picture for life. And for the record he only wined a little no real outburst.




I know what your thinking...that kid from "The Christmas Story" right?

Maybe he is ready to go in...or maybe he just forgot what cement looked like...without snow and all.




This is just before we went inside. I think it is safe to say he had a really good time.

The Holidays are over and gone...the normality must return.

We had a great couple of weeks spending extra time together as a family and spending time with our extended family. That is truly my favorite part about the holidays. Levi didn't really care much about opening presents this year, but he did enjoy gift bags, tissue paper, and the gift itself. I will have a couple of pictures up soon of him and his new toys. He has been playing with all of them a lot. I don't think he got too spoiled...

I don't really have too much to report except that I am increasingly amazed by how much Levi is changing every day. He is communicating so much these days. It is making things a lot easier. He has been doing a few baby signs (just the ones we taught him) such as milk and more. We will probably try to add "all done" to the list soon, because when he is done now he just spits out the last bite...yeah, its messy and gross. So, with that said, I just have a few cute pictures to share, and that's it.


Levi striking a pose before we sat for our holiday card picture.

13 month picture...he is so darn cute...and I think he knows it.

My son is a bit hooked on McDonald's fries...don't worry, it is a rare treat. He still needs to gain some lbs anyway.

These are the best bubbles, you can catch them and they don't pop right away. This one got stuck right on his face!

This is just a funny face.