MayJune 2011

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Photo Update

So I finally found my uploader and now can show you all of the thousands of pictures I have been taking. I won't though, don't worry.

Here are just a few

2 Months

Wow time flies by fast. Our little Levi is 2 months old already! I really can not believe he is already 2 months. It seems like just yesterday he was screaming in my arms and I didn't know what to do to make his stop. Oh ya, that was yesterday :) But seriously, it seems like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital and I was terrified for what was to come. Two babies under my supervision, ahhh! was all I had to say. I had no clue where to even begin, but I did it. Thanks again to Grandma's everywhere, they truly are wonderful to have around when you need a hand. Those first two weeks would have been dreadful without them. But, here we are week 10 and 2 months old, and we have made it. We are surviving and loving it. The boys and I have so much fun at home, despite the crying; and you know someone cries everyday, whether it's Levi, Barret, or Mama you never know, but usually two out of three is a good bet :) I've loved my little Levi to pieces and I enjoy Barret's nap time when the two of us get to spend a little extra snuggle time. I don't even care anymore if Levi's awake or asleep during that nap time because all that matters is that I'm getting my Levi to myself. I don't have to worry about making sure both boys are getting the attention they need, I don't have to worry about Levi taking a Barret knee to his face, all I have to do is sit and relax and enjoy the little moments I get to spend with him and only him. Don't get me wrong, I love Barret too, and we get plenty of time to ourselves and go on many adventures each day.

So are you ready?

Drum roll please.....

dudududududu

(that is my attempt to make a drum roll)

Levi is now weighing in at 12 lbs 1 oz

at a new height of 23 inches

He is in the 50th percentile for his weight and near the 60th percentile for his height (come on baby keep growing; we like our children to be abnormally tall, and aim for them to be unoriginal)

So, here's to another month of squeezes, cuddles, smiles, and coos! Wishing you a wonderful weekend to come :)

Accomplishments

Well, Tuesday brought a lot of big feats in our house. One of those being that I finally caught a video of Levi smiling (it's not the greatest, but hey it works). Levi is becoming quite the smiler and I love it. His smile makes me smile and I just can't get enough of it. I can't wait for his gummy smile to be even more frequent and for them to last a little longer.

Levi has also been doing a great job the past week or so putting himself to sleep. He has become more accustomed to being swaddled, which makes me happy, and will now go to sleep by being laid down, swaddled, and having his pacifier (if not in his mouth then just near him). I am so proud of my baby boy and am loving all of the wonderful new things he is learning to do. I give him a gold medal in sleeping. He has already done so much better sleeping through the night than Barret ever did (is there anything lower than bronze, because that's what I would give Barret) Levi has only woken up once in the night for the past month and every once in a while he will surprise us by not waking up until 4am! I love it.

On another note, my boy jumped yesterday! That's right, he jumped, like feet off the ground, arms in the air, mouth open wide, jumped! I loved it, he loved it, and he couldn't stop trying it. Granite only one in every 40 tries was an actual jump, but he did it. He was even able to show Daddy when he got home from work. I can't explain how excited I was for him or even how excited he was for himself. His smile was HUGE and his laugh was so loud. I just kept saying do it again, and he'd try it again and he'd laugh and he'd smile and it was wonderful.

He even sort of jumped into the pool last night too! He's getting so big!

Bear man, or should I say men

I love watching Barret when he is with Daddy because he always tries to make him do silly things. Barret does this with me too but it is more fun to watch that to do sometimes.

Yesterday when we were at the pool Barret decided that he was going to walk like a bear. GRRR, apparently he ran up to Daddy and grabbed his arms and pulled them down to the ground. Barret then ran back to the shallower part and started walking like a bear, showing Daddy just what he needed to do too. And of course, Daddy played along and together they walked like bears.

Monday Monday Monday

So I've had this post in my head since mid morning Monday and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and type it.
Wow was Monday a rough day. There is that saying that people say all the time, "she must have a case of the Monday's" I've never really understood it. It's just a day, yeah you might be a little more tired because it's the first day back to work after the weekend, and you might be a little crabby but still, it never really seems much different from any other day of the week. You don't hear people going around saying, "oh she must have a case of the Thursday's," that just sounds silly.
But seriously, my boys had a case of the Mondays. It all started about 6:45 am when daddy left for work. Barret started crying and Levi was already awake. After Barret got over it realizing that Daddy leaves every morning and comes back every evening he was fine. Caroline showed up and she was a bit sleepy already too. After we put her down for a nap I looked at Barret and asked him if he was ready for a nap too. He said no, of course. Levi was just having an all around bad day. He wasn't satisfied eating he wasn't satisfied sleeping, he just wanted to cry and let it out. I don't know if he was shouting about something in particular but eventually he wore out and fell asleep. Barret was the same, he wasn't happy playing, he wasn't happy eating, the 'doggie' was always in his way, he wanted to be held every second. I was going crazy and it was only 8am. Barret finally went down for a nap about 9am at which I had no peace because Levi woke up screaming. I nursed him and rocked him and played music for him. There was no pleasing the kid. Around 10 when Caroline woke up I was pleased to get a smile from her. She was literally my saving grace. Such a happy little camper amidst crabby little men. At lunch time I made Mac n Cheese, knowing that it was Barret's favorite and hoping that he would want to all of a sudden start talking and tell me how much he appreciated that I remembered what his favorite meal was and that would make everything better. Of course that only happens in my dreams and this meal was unlike any other that I have ever seen. I scooped Barret up and plopped him in his seat, served him his lunch plate and sat down beside him with my own (we eat the same thing because otherwise he just wants what I have on my plate). Well, as soon as he saw the plate he began to scream. I told him that it wasn't that hot and we could blow on it. So I picked up his plate and I blew on the macaroni to cool it down (it wasn't hot enough to scream about) and then put some on his fork and blew on that too. He didn't even have the fork to his lips before glass shattering screams ensued. I had no idea what was wrong. I offered something different, I gave him a drink, I got him out of his chair and he just wanted back up. I offered him my macaroni, I sat him in my lap, I got him out of his chair, and again he wanted back up. No joke this boy had tears dripping off of his cheeks and snot dripping off of his chin. I wanted to yell and scream and stomp around the kitchen, but I didn't. I couldn't get him to stop. This went on for a half an hour, and all about a simple plate of mac-n-cheese and yogurt! Finally I just picked him up and took him out into the living room. I sat him down on the couch and I gave him his bear and I said, "Barret, we don't act like this, if you want something you need to tell me with your words. I can't help you when you are screaming like this." And of course you know he understood every last word that came out of my mouth :) Right, he was still crying but it wasn't that ear piercing cry any more it was more of a rhythmic drum beat with loud and long wails but spaced very appropriately so he could sniff up his snot and smear it all of his face. I don't know what made him stop crying, but once he stopped I gave a long sigh of relief that's for sure. In the meantime Caroline was such a peaceful little soul and didn't wake up from her nap. I was shocked. Of course it was then Levi's turn to go crazy, and crazy he did go. That boy has a mind of his own and I really don't understand him. One day he loves to nurse and does it well and loves to smile and just is such a great little guy going with the flow and all, and the next he is screaming after every minute of nursing, frowning, screaming, and nothing makes him smile. This was the next day for sure. By the time Daddy got home Mama was ready to go on a vacation all by herself. It had been a long, long, looooooong day. We ate dinner really quick and then headed to the pool. Of course if you know me you know that the pool makes everything better; and it did. We enjoyed watching our little water bug run and play in the pool. He loves the water so much and he surprises us each time we go with something new he has discovered he can do. Oh course Levi isn't too big of a fan of the pool yet, I think he's just a little too young and the water is a little too cool. I'm hoping by the end of the summer he will be able to enjoy it more. In the meantime I love watching him sit in his car seat with nothing but a diaper on and his bucket hat taking in the sights. He really is a trooper.

So, a bad case of the Monday's can be easily fixed with a relaxing and spirit filled trip to the pool with my favorite boys (and of course some fusion brew to take home tops it all off :))
Enjoy your week!

Oh sweet Caroline

We have added Miss Caroline to the bunch during the day now. Yesterday wrapped up our first week together. And I have to say it went very smoothly. She is such a little cutie and I love having a little girl in the mix now. I think the boys agree with me too. Barret was loving on her the moment she arrived on Tuesday. He gave her hugs and kisses and he was just so sweet to her. I couldn't get enough of it! Barret also became quiet the big helper this week, picking up pacifiers (of course he wanted to use them himself) trying to feed Caroline her bottle, yelling at the "doggie", and even telling me when he was ready for a nap. Levi loved on Caroline too. The two of them would lay on the play gym together head to toe, Levi would try to tickle her toes and she would retaliate by attempting to roll over and inevitably kicking him in the face. She's not messing around :) Yesterday I had them laying next to each other but this time face to face and the cutest thing happened. Caroline grabbed Levi's hand and wouldn't let go. I think it's time to have the dating talk with the two of them, haha.

Our week started and ended smoothly and I am not worried anymore about having three little ones during the day. I now know that I can handle it, even if the doggie ran away twice (she came back don't worry).