The Lake

A couple of weeks ago my parents rented a lake house for the week.  Levi and I were able to spend the entire week with them relaxing.  Mat sacrificed a lot and commuted 3 hours (round trip) each day to be there with us in the evenings.  Blair and Kyle were able to come down for the weekend, and we enjoyed having the entire family there for a few days.

It was a wonderful week!  We spent a lot of time lounging by the pool, playing games, and relaxing.  Some of my favorite memories of the week:

- Feeding the Cows- There were 5 longhorns on the property that would eat out of your hand.  The owner had a bucket of cow cookies (not to be confused with cow patties) that you could feed the longhorns.  Levi would go out with Grammie and say "C'mon Cows!"  He had absolutely no fear of these huge animals!  He got right in there and stuck his hand INSIDE the cow's mouth.  He also thought it was funny to try and stick the cow cookie in the cows' noses.

Levi walked right up and said, "Hello, Cow!"

No fear!

- Landry's Birthday Party- We were close enough to drive down and meet my cousins and their kiddos at the zoo to celebrate Landry's birthday.  It was a hot day, but the kids did great.  Levi wasn't really interested in the animals, but he did love trying to get the doors and windows to their cages open.  :)  He did enjoy the elephants and the anteater. 

 "Hmmm...How can I get this open?"

Levi's favorite part of the day was the train ride.  As long as it was moving, he was happy.  He sat so still and took it all in.

 Happy Birthday, Landry Beth!

I love his little tongue sticking out when he's concentrating.  :)

- Having a pool right outside the door- Once I got over my fear of it being so close, I loved being able to walk out the door and jump in.  My mom and I spent some time in there talking "school" and both ended up BURNT!  Levi loved swimming!  He practiced jumping (or falling) in, played on the steps, and of course played with the vacuum. 

Pops and Levi in their matching hats.  Levi would also want me to point out the vacuum cord in the background.  :)

Levi's first popsicle- I took a strawberry popsicle outside for Levi and a lime popsicle outside for me.  He ended up with both, and I think the lime one was his favorite.

The lime popsicle is really tart after the sweet strawberry one! 

Levi had melted popsicle everywhere!  It had even filled up his belly button, but he was so concerned with Grammie's messy hands.

Hunting for rocks- Levi loved being able to roam, dig and just get completely filthy!  Every day, Grammie took him rock hunting and he LOVED it.  He carried around sticks and searched high and low for the best rock.  He also practiced balancing on the curb and walking with his hand in his pocket.  Such a little man.  :)

There's that little tongue again.

- Saturday, we rented a pontoon boat and spent some time out on the lake.  We had so much fun, and Levi loved the boat!  He didn't really like jumping off and actually swimming in the lake, but he ran around while we were stopped and helped Pops drive the boat.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a fun week!
(If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me!)

21 Months

Dear Levi,

  You are a little ball of energy.  I have loved having so much time to watch you and play with you this summer.  Here are a few things about you right now:

• You weigh 28 pounds, wear size 5 diapers and 24 month clothes. 
• To say that you love cords is the understatement of the CENTURY!  You go to sleep talking about them and wake up asking about them.  You carry any cord we'll let you play with around like most kids carry a lovie, blanket, or stuffed animal.  

• Really you love just about any electronic you can get your hands on- including phones, computers, and iPads.  When we were at the lake with Pops and Grammy, you would ask to see the vacuum on Pops' iPad.  You know how to unlock the iPad, click on the Photos app, and open up the 2 pictures he has of you and the vacuum.  You also tried to unlock the TV by sliding your finger across the bottom of the screen.
• You talk all the time, and you speak very clearly.  You are a little parrot too!  When you have a stinky diaper I usually say "Goodness Gracious!" when I open it up.  You've started saying "gracious" now when you have a dirty diaper.  I also say "I know, I know" when I am comforting you.  The other day, you had a little bit of diaper rash, and as I was cleaning you, you were saying "I know, I know"  You were also saying it while Dad clipped your finger nails the other night.

• You love to count.  You can usually get 1, 2, and 3.  Sometimes you go beyond that, and a few times you've made it to 10 with a little bit of help.  The other night, Daddy was jumping into the pool and told you to count to 3.  You said, "1, 2...4!" and looked around laughing.  It was pretty cute.
• You can spot shapes and love to point them out.  Your favorite is oval, and you love to point it out in lettering on shirts.  You also know triangle, square, diamond, and sometimes star (sometimes stars are triangles too)  
• George is still your best bud, and you love to try to sit on him.  You laid your head on George while you watched your new favorite show, The Backyardigans.

• You can throw a good fit!  Most of the time, taking to your quiet room and sitting you in your chair with your dinosaur will solve the problem.  If your dinosaur isn't there, you look for him.  In fact, I just took you to your chair, but your dinosaur was in the living room.  You came in here, got the dinosaur, and went back to your chair.  
• You love to play "Night, Night".  You will grab a blanket, lay down on the floor, and sometimes even pretend to snore!  You also love to collect your favorite treasures, your keys, and pretend like you are leaving.  You walk around saying "Bye, Bye!"

We love you, Levi!

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!