Bath Toys

I am a pretty neat, organized person, but I am nothing compared to Mat.  He is very meticulous about things...even bath toys!  :)

Not What I Had Planned...

Easter this year did not turn out exactly how I had planned.  Levi spent all last week sick, and I was hoping he would be well enough by Sunday for us to go to church and have an egg hunt... He was, but then this weekend I got sick.

I woke up Sunday morning with a horrible headache/cough/congestion.  I didn't get to see Levi find his basket from the Easter bunny, and I didn't get to spend the morning at church with my family and our friends.  I also missed out on lunch and an egg hunt with some friends.

It was a rough day.  Levi was grumpy, I was grumpy, and Mat was exhausted from taking care of everyone all day long.

This all changed though while Mat was getting Levi ready for bed.  Mat was singing and Levi decided to say "Jesus" for the first time.  What a sweet way of refocusing Mat and I on the most important thing about Easter!

Eighteen Months

Dear Levi,

You are a year and a half old!  April has been a busy month for us with birthdays, visits from special people, and unfortunately, sickness!  You're getting so big, and we love watching you play.

Some things that you love right now: Climbing (you are in to EVERYTHING!), 

playing outside (and WATER or "warrr")

and your table.

(You look so big in this picture!)

The other day, you sat down at your table, looked at me and said "Right back".  Then you ran off to get your milk.  You did this several more times and ended up with a table full of treasures!

You are saying lots of words now, and you're starting to put words together into two word phrases.  Some of your favorite words/phrases right now are:  Kyle, Where's Pops (Pops, Grammy, Blair and Kyle came to visit last weekend), Yeah, and Outside (which actually sounds like southside!).  You've also started using the word please (peeees) and help (helk) more often.

You are starting to talk about lots of different people.  Some mornings you wake up asking for Brooke or Aubrey and other times you wake up asking for Kyle or Pops.  You especially love Pops.  When they were here visiting last weekend, Grammy asked if you loved her.  Your response was "Where's Pops?"  She asked if you loved Pops and you said yeah, but when she asked if you loved her again you sat there in silence.

Your eating has slowed down significantly- with the exception of snacks.  I'm starting to have to get creative with sneaking vegetables into your food, but when we have something you like, you eat a lot of it!

At your 18 month well check, you were 25 pounds and 31 1/2 inches tall.  You haven't gained much weight since your last appointment, so Dr. Spellings said to make sure your diet is full of good calories.  While Dr. Spellings and I were talking, you dumped out an entire tub of blocks.  You had so much fun!

At the doctor's office, I scheduled your next appointment- your TWO YEAR well check!  I can't believe it!  We love you little man.

Love,
Mom

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!