July 4th

This year we spent the 4th of July weekend in Houston with the Kelsos.  We did lots of swimming, played Ticket to Ride, and watched the kids play.  This was the first time that Levi was actually able to play with his cousins.  Kadence and Cameron started the weekend calling him "Baby Levi" but quickly dropped the "baby" part when they realized he could keep up with them (and take their toys!).  

 Isn't that the cutest little shark you've ever seen?!

Levi also got to go on his first bike ride!  Grandad let Mat borrow his bike, and I think it was a hit!  Mat was a little bit concerned about the pink and purple princess helmet that Levi had to wear for the first ride, so he got Levi a more manly blue soccer helmet to use for the rest of the weekend.  

Levi loved riding on the cycle and  usually asks for a ride whenever we see a bike.  It was a relaxing weekend, and we enjoyed having time to spend with the family!

Colorado

At the beginning of June Mat and I went to Colorado to celebrate our anniversary.  My parents were willing to give up a few days to come watch Levi at our house :), so Mat and I were able to enjoy a long weekend away by ourselves!

When we got there on Friday we spent some time driving around the city and did a little shopping in a neat shopping center in downtown Denver.  

If you know Mat at all, you know he is a fan of state geography and trivia.  We can't visit a capital city without actually going to the capitol building.  :)  While we were there they were having a state quilting contest.  There were about 400 quilts hanging throughout the building.  They were beautiful, and we enjoyed getting to see all of the different designs.

We also went to one of the flagship REI stores.  The building used to have furnaces that burned coal to power Denver's streetcar system.  We've also been to a flagship store in Seattle.  Even though these stores are in the heart of the cities, REI has managed to create a beautiful setting to enjoy.

Saturday we spent the day in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was beautiful, and we decided that if we were to do this trip again, we'd make this our destination and take a day trip into Denver.  We spent the morning in Estes Park.  We shopped and ate at this cute restaurant called DeLeo's Deli.  The owner was there working the register and greeted everyone happily.  He loved talking to people and finding out where everyone was from.

After lunch we drove into the national park.  It was absolutely beautiful and the perfect day for spending time outside.  Our first stop was a hike around Bear Lake.  We knew it would be cooler up in the mountains, but we were not expecting all of the snow!  There were huge snow drifts and about 5 feet or so of snow piled up on the trails in some spots around the lake.  The edges of the lake were even slushy and still melting.  We enjoyed our hike and the cooler weather!  (Just a little bit different from the weather we're experiencing here at home!)

After Bear Lake, we drove up and made stops at a few picture perfect spots as we headed up to the top of Trail Ridge Road.  We drove up to almost 12,000 feet.  There was even more snow up here- the drifts stood taller than the buildings.

Another typical spot for a Kelso vacation is the baseball stadium.  Mat is working hard to visit all 30 baseball stadiums, and Coors Field was number 18.  We enjoyed our afternoon at the ballpark and marking another stadium off the list.

Mat and I loved having a few days to ourselves, but we were both so excited to see our little guy!

Funny Kid

Just a few funny things Levi is doing right now that I don't want to forget:

Levi has known and used the word "milk" for a while, but in the last few days he has decided to replace the word milk with the phrase "milk it."  There have been several mornings lately that I've heard the phrase "Milk it, Momma!" being shouted from his crib.  It makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.

Levi has also recently become obsessed with the vacuum!  It sat out in our bedroom for a couple of days last week (waiting patiently to be used!), and at first Levi was scared of it.  He'd walk in our room and very cautiously walk around the vacuum and say "Bacuum Scary!"  Then one day, as we were leaving my room, he looked at it and said "Bacuum Scary!  I touch it!"  Then he reached out and touched it with one finger and ran off.  It was like he was saying "Take that!" to the vacuum.

For some reason he always wants to talk to Mat about the vacuum.  It doesn't matter where we are- meeting Dad for lunch, driving in the car, at church- he'll look at Mat and say, "Daddy...Bacuum off?"  (I can assure you that Mat is not the only one that uses our vacuum!)  Levi is no longer scared of the vacuum- in fact, he loves to play with it.  Mainly for one reason...the cord!

Twenty Months

Dear Levi,

This month has been so much fun.  Summer has started, and I get to be home with you all the time now!  I love your little personality.  You make your dad and I laugh all the time!

You have been more interested in reading books lately.  You will sit by the bookshelf (pull ALL the books off) and read through your favorites- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Wooly's Walk, and Gallop!  I love listening to you read- especially in the car.  You always have the same conversation and it almost always includes the phrase (over and over again) "Stop the book!" and you slam the book closed.  I don't know where you got this, but it always makes me laugh!

Your vocabulary continues to amaze us, and you are learning new words every day.  Some of my new favorites are sorry, excuse me, zebras (which is often confused with Jesus as zesus), and Amen.  You are good at putting 2 words (and sometimes more!) together.  You especially like the phrases "Show me.  Have it.  Hold it, and want it!"  The other day, I was in the living room and heard you playing in your room.  A few minutes later, you came out of your room pushing your rocking chair and saying "Scuse me, Scuse me..."  It was so precious!

Your newest fascination is with puzzles.  I have a few out on your table and when you walk by you always say, "Oh puzzles!" like you're surprised to see them.  :)  You love the shape puzzle and the animal puzzle that makes noises.  You like to name shapes- triangle, square, circle star and even "obal"- but we're still working on identifying them correctly.

You also love babies.  You point them out if we see or even hear them in the store.  Yesterday we were at Target and you told me, "Baby cry."  Sometimes you even call kids that are bigger than you babies.

You are a hoot and FULL of energy!  You run everywhere you go and from the minute you get up.  You love electronics, cords, climbing and hiding!  Sometimes you just run laps around the living room yelling "Whoa! Whoa!"  You like to shut the door behind us whether we're in your room or getting a towel out of a closet.  The other day you shut the door as I walked out of your room.  When I tried to get in, you were sitting in front of the door and you said, "I hide, Mommy!"

You are very independent.  You've recently started eating cereal with milk all by yourself.  This stresses Mommy out a little bit because you always end up SOAKED!  You also like to help.  Today you helped me move wet laundry to the dryer and then "helped" me fold... and by help, I mean you rolled around on the floor in the warm sheets.

You keep us laughing, Levi, and we love you so much!

Good Morning

This morning, I woke up to Levi talking from his crib.  (I love summertime and not having to set an alarm!)  When I went in to get him, he jumped up and ran to the corner of his crib smiling and giggling.  He grabbed this caterpillar that sits on the back of his crib and sat down.  I asked him if he wanted to get out and he said, "NO! Airpane, books!"  So, I handed him his airplane and books.

It's been 30 minutes and he's still in there playing!  Crazy kid!

 

The Baileys

Mat and I have been friends with Katie and Chad for a long time.  In fact, Chad and I have been friends since we were about 8.  Katie and I became friends in middle school, and Mat joined in on the fun in middle school and high school through church and band.

A couple of weeks ago, we spent a day celebrating some very important events in the Baileys' lives- the upcoming arrival of their twin boys, Ian and Spencer, and their daughter Ella's 2nd birthday.

Katie's sister, Caroline, and a friend from college, Kristy, and I threw Katie a "Thing 1 & Thing 2" themed birthday party.  It was a fun, colorful afternoon complete with cupcakes topped with blue cotton candy!  We had a great time celebrating Katie and the boys.  I can't wait to hold the little guys!

Later that evening, we headed to the park to celebrate Ella's birthday.  We had a great time eating cake, chasing the little ones around and watching Ella open her presents.  Levi especially loved the playground and the buckets of ice.  :)

Levi and Ethan filling their pockets with ice.  

 Trying to get a picture of all the kids...Guess who tried to escape?

Catching Up

A lot has happened since I posted last:

- End of the school year...It was a great year, but I am glad for some time at home with my little guy!

- Memorial Day weekend in OKC- We headed up to Oklahoma to see our friends from OC.  We had a great weekend, but I didn't take a single picture!  We played games, caught up on each other's lives, the guys had a few political debates, and we ate at all of our favorite places.




- We spent a day celebrating with the Baileys...more to come on that in a later post

- Levi and I spent most of last week at our church's VBS- Camp Agape.  It was a busy week, but we both enjoyed it.  This year, camp had a western theme, and each morning we watched this video.  It got the kids pumped up and excited about the day.  Levi loved it too!  He would ask me for the "hee haw" song.  He loves to sing and clap while he watches it.  Mindi and I worked with the 5th grade girls this year.  It was fun to get to know this group of girls and spend the week with them.


I'm excited about all of the other adventures we will have this summer!