Family Retreat

Every year, our church has a Family Retreat. Mat and I have never been, but we decided this was the year to go. I have to admit though, last week, as I was trying to finish report cards, keep the house cleaned and the laundry from piling up, and get all of our stuff packed, I thought we should just cancel.

I'm so glad we didn't.  This was just what I needed.  We had a great weekend spending time with our Church family and worshipping!

Levi had a great weekend too!  He slept well and loved exploring the campground.  Because of Levi's age and schedule, we were thankful to get a family cabin.  I think Mat was especially thankful for this because he would have been responsible for Levi in one of the guys cabins.

Friday night we got there late, so we put Levi down at the same time we went to sleep.  I was nervous about how this would work out, and Levi was very confused!  I laid him down and then turned off the lights.  He stood in his crib and watched Mat for a minute or two, then sat down and eventually fell asleep!  I was pleasantly surprised with how well he did.

This is the ONLY picture I took the entire weekend.  Thank you, Megan, for sharing your pictures with me!  

It was so beautiful there, and we had great weather.  We were there a month earlier than usual so there was lots of talk about whether or not it would be warm enough to swim.  We were so thankful to have a beautiful (warm!) Saturday.  

I don't think Mat intended on getting all the way in, but Levi LOVED the water.  :)

All the mommies enjoyed sitting in the shade talking!

We loved having a weekend away from all electronics and the hustle of our normal days and having the chance to focus on some of the most important things in our life.

My Little Helper

This is how Levi helped me get ready for the family retreat this past week...

More to come on the retreat later...

Spring Break

This year for spring break we were able to spend a few days in Oklahoma visiting some family and our friends, Rob and Sarah.  We headed out Friday evening after work, and it was a looooong trip.  Our time in Oklahoma was worth the trip though!

We spent a lot of time eating, teaching Rob and Sarah one of our new favorite games (Ticket to Ride), and hanging out at their cute new house.  Levi loved exploring all of the un-baby proofed things in their house.

(What's a trip to visit old college roommates without a fight with pot holders?!)

We ate at lots of yummy restaurants- some of our old favorites and some new places too, and got to see all of the changes they've made to Bricktown since we were there last.  One afternoon we drove to the lake and Levi got to enjoy the playground.  He loved the swings!

Mat and I were also able to spend some time with his Aunt Kay, Uncle Rick, and Grammer.  It was so good to see them and let them see how much Levi has grown since they last saw him.  He loved Kay and Rick's house!  He ran all over finding new things to explore.  He especially loved a ramp they have from their living room to their sun room.  He ran up and down that ramp!  

Mat and I are truly blessed, and we were thankful to have time to go back to Oklahoma for a few days.

Seventeen Months

Dear Levi,

Your seventeenth month is off to a fun start!  I am enjoying having lots of time to spend with you while I'm home on Spring Break.

You seem to learn new words every day.  You've started calling your dad "Da-ee".  I love when he comes home in the evenings.  You hear the garage door open and run to the door saying "Da-ee".  I know he loves it too!  You can recognize your eyes, ears, mouth, nose, face, teeth and belly button (Although you don't say belly button...you say butt-  I try not to laugh and to say belly button very clearly, but it's just so funny.  I could see a very embarrassing situation coming from this)

I love watching you with George.  As soon as we walk in the door, you run to his kennel saying "Dordie!"   You love to feed him treats, play with his toys and jump around in his kennel.  You also like to pull his tail...and sweet George puts up with it all!

You hate having your teeth brushed, and you usually end up screaming (which actually makes it much easier), but you do like to suck the toothpaste off the toothbrush.

You are becoming more picky about what you eat, but you will always eat a "cracker"  You use the word cracker for pretty much any carb (tortillas, animal crackers, real crackers, cookies, bread...)  If someone is in the kitchen, you walk in saying "cracker...cracker..."

You have a new love for your legos.  You like to stack them up and build towers and then knock them over, but you are very particular about which ones you choose- the short green and orange ones.

You still love bath time.  You come running as soon as you hear the water running!  You have no fear- especially with the water which scares me to death!  You love to splash and you even like to dunk your head under the water.  I know you will love swimming this summer even more than you did last summer!

You like to "rough-house" with Daddy.  He will count to 3 and throw you on the bed and you scream and giggle.  Just the other day we noticed you were helping him count.  He'd say "one..." then you would say "toooo" and then you'd both say "three" together.

My time home with you for Spring Break has made me so excited for the time we'll have this summer!

We love you, Levi!

Books!

This is one of those posts that's probably only interesting to me and the grandparents, but it's the little things Levi is doing right now that I want to remember forever...

In the last few days, Levi has started sitting and listening to entire books.  He especially loves Hop on Pop. He brought it to me today and said "hop."

He also loves to sit on the ottoman and rock back and forth...wildly!  Before he gets up there, he gathers all of his supplies- milk (if it's around), books, and this heavy blanket.  He picks it up out of the basket and grunts as he carries it over to the ottoman.  Then he stands beside the ottoman and says "help...up...up" all while trying to climb up himself.

Rock-A-Bye Baby

Levi loves playing with Mat's guitar.  Sometimes Mat will sit and play in Levi's room while Levi plays with his toys, and sometimes they'll sit together and Levi will "help" him play.

I love my two guys!

Diaper Changes

Lately when I go to change Levi's diapers, he starts screaming for a book. 

If it makes diaper changing easier, I'm all for it!