From Pills to Bottles

It's A...

2012-01-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

So, I usually like to post news here before facebook, but I failed this time. Sorry. But, without further adieu,

IT'S A BOY!

Little Levi will have a little brother. We are so excited and can't wait to meet this little boy.

And speaking of little boys... People don't often believe me when I say Levi is a crazy kid. Well, here's some more proof. 1) I've learned that Levi will NOT say words on command when in front of the camera. 2) Matt does NOT like it that Levi is doing this splits. Not sure why.

The Best Day

2012-01-26T15:45:00.000-06:00

Thursdays are my favorite day. I love only having to be at work a half day, then rushing to Sarah's to get Levi. The past two nights when I have picked him up, he runs to the door and wants to get in the car. So cute. He has even figured out which door to (try) open to get to his seat.

Not only is it a half day, but tonight is mine and Matt's weekly date night. I look forward to these every week. Even when it's "boring" like going grocery shopping, it's still so nice to be together. I really appreciate the fact that Matt has worked so hard at setting aside this time every week. He comes home from work about 20 minutes early. And we will pinch pennies and do whatever it takes so we can go out each week. I've already been thinking about how soon is too soon to leave a newborn baby at home with a sitter...

I have been overwhelmed with thankfulness lately. I think it's part hormones, part being hit in the face that this baby will be here before we know it, and part that I have talked to some patients with really rough/hard things going on right now. And I can't help but be overwhelmed with all that God has given us. On the way home the past two nights I just can't WAIT to see Levi, whiny/clingy stage and all.

It's helped that the past few evenings it's been warm enough to go play outside when Levi and I get home. And we are loving it. The cat has gotten very quick at sneaking in whenever any of us open the door. We usually find her on Levi's changing table, which makes him so excited. He loves "itty" and spends a lot of time chasing her around. The fact that she is now at his mercy is something he takes full advantage of.

Thank goodness "itty" is patient.

Last night after we threw balls to the dogs and walked all over the backyard he came inside and had a snack while I fixed dinner. This kid will eat ANY snack if you put it in this Froot Loops tub. It's great for tricking him into healthy snacks.

It's amazing what kids learn from watching adults. Levi is now eating two of these oranges a day. One for breakfast and one for supper (which is why I've just started leaving the box out on the table, we fly through them). He's watched me use my teeth to start peeling it, so now he'll pick it up, bite it, and then look at it like "umm, now what?"

And after dinner, Levi had his first pickle. His face is priceless. Despite the face, he loved it. Today for snack he had another one. Lucky for him I'm flying through pickles right now, so we'll always have some on hand.

Oh, and another good thing about Thursdays? It's the day of the week when I "change weeks" with my pregnancy. So Baby #2 is now 18 weeks old! Again, crazy fast. AND on Monday we find out the sex of Baby. I am split 50/50 on "what I want." A little baby brother would be so great (later, after years of smells, bugs, and wrestling matches) for Levi and this baby to have a brother, and I pray, a friend so close in age. But at the same time, I would love to have a little girl. Growing up, I always wished I had a big brother. And let's face it, this house could use some more girl power 'round here. So, either way I will be elated (albeit a boy would be so much cheaper because we already have all the clothes...)!

Hilton Head

2012-01-22T20:37:00.000-06:00

This weekend Matt, Levi, and I used an incredibly cheap Groupon and headed to Hilton Head, SC. It's only 40 minutes from Savannah (where we both went to college) so we decided it was worth the drive.

Friday we went to Savannah first. We couldn't check in until 4pm, so our goal was to tire Levi out as much as possible. We did this by letting him run in the only fenced in place in Savannah, the grave yard. I know. But he loved it. He even carried his puffs around. I guess he was eating the calories as he ran them off.

Whenever he got tired, Dad was quick to give him a lift. We actually didn't use the stroller most of the weekend. Levi walked, and a few times he hitched a ride.

Then we learned a few lessons about how to entertain a toddler in a hotel room. This is one of them. Running up and down the halls was another.

Saturday we decided to stay on Hilton Head all day and we loved it. We spent a long time at the marina and on the playground there. I was sitting in a rocking chair (we walked a LOT), when this happened. Don't worry, I was biting my tongue not to act like the "mom" and yell at Matt to grab onto him!

And this was Levi anytime I pulled out the video or regular camera. Running towards it with mouth wide open.

After lunch we rented bikes and went for a drive around the ocean and some of the neighborhoods. It was gorgeous. Levi did really well, most of the time.

Levi had fallen asleep. I was amazed. Whenever Matt turned, Levi's head would move side to side and he wouldn't wake up! At least he is learning to sleep wherever he is.

Needless to say, after 9 hours of being on the road today we were all glad to be home, Levi included. He was so excited to be in his bed he was trying to climb into the crib 20 minutes before bedtime. I put him in, thinking he would try to get out immediately. But he sat down and was just so happy! It was so cute, but so sad at the same time. The picture below is one he will kill me for when he's a senior in high school and I try to turn it in for the senior slide show, but man is he adorable.

Two mischievous monkey bottoms!

Keeping it Real

2012-01-13T10:30:00.001-06:00

I don't want to look back years from now and say "Wow, I really did so awesome eating healthy during that 2nd pregnancy." Because that would mean that I would forget nights like this:

Yes. Two nights ago (and last night) Matt had to go back to work. He left around 8:30pm and gets back between midnight and 2am. He was all set to get into bed with me when he saw I had replaced him with a bag of Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles. I know. Wife of the Year award.

On another note, I am so thankful we have had company last weekend, today, and tomorrow. One, because I love getting to spend time with family and friends. Two, because I clean under pressure. Last weekend we had Matt's cousin spend two nights and today my parents are coming to spend the day (they are almost here). So, I better go get busy.

Second Trimester

2012-01-09T20:32:00.000-06:00

I find it really hard to believe that I am almost 16 weeks. And it's so funny how different I am during this pregnancy (I feel the exact same, crave the exact same foods, my guess is a boy).

First of all, all the pregnancy details: I will be 16 weeks on Thursday. I went to the OB today and the baby's heart rate is 149. I don't know if that means boy or girl. And I can't remember whether Levi was in the "boy range" or not. I have had a really weird sugar issue this time around (which is really a blessing). I cannot eat sugar. Believe me, I try. Because I LOVE sugar. Like this past Sunday I made 3 HUGE cookie cakes for youth group and had a SMALL corner to test it. After I ate it I felt so sick for at least 2 hours. So, while I can eat sugar, I have learned the hard way that it is in no way worth it, for how miserable I feel afterwards. I'm hoping by the time this 40 weeks is up I'll be so use to not eating sugar that I can continue this trend!

Mainly, I'm eating lots of Greek yogurt with granola, salads, MEAT (lots of meat), vegetables (I had to put the veggie tray for youth in my car after I ate almost half of it at our house...), fruit, and smoothies. I LOVE smoothies right now. I need to stop being lazy and spending $5 every time at Planet Smoothie and just go buy the ingredients. But I haven't. The only bad thing I'm eating is bread. Oh bread. I love it. Specifically pizza and the bread that comes with Mellow Mushroom's spinach and artichoke dip. I have had dreams about how good it is. Seriously.

I have felt the baby move several times. Just flutters and rolls, nothing huge, but makes me smile and so eager to meet this new little one growing inside me.

Now, for how different I am mentally. I've heard a lot of moms talk about how they were so much more anxious the second time around because they realized what all could go wrong this time. That has been the opposite for me. Working in the NICU while in school, and having Sam (a NICU nurse) as a best friend, I know the absolute worst cases of what can happen, and knew that while I was pregnant with Levi. So worrying about all the worst case scenarios is just not an option, I don't let my mind go there. I think the difference this time around is because of the way God has worked in mine and Matthew's lives over the past two years.

I am just so much more content this time around. Granted, a big part of that is having Levi keep us so busy, that we both honestly forget that I am pregnant. And it is amazing how much faster the time goes by when you're not counting down the days. It's crazy, but we really realize now, how much more free time you have when you don't have kids. And when you're pregnant for the first time, you spend all that free time thinking about the baby.

The second part is a heart change. Matt and I have been talking about this before I even got pregnant. We have realized more and more how every day is a gift, a blessing. Every day with Levi, every day with each other. And every single day of this pregnancy. Granted, if I were to lose this baby tonight, my heartbreak would be inexplainable. But, Matt and I both know, and rest in the fact, that that was God's will from the beginning. Every day of this pregnancy, and this new baby's life, is a gift. And we are trying so hard to treat it as such. When I am tired, to not complain, but be thankful that my body is able to hold this baby, etc.

People keep asking me am I anxious, can I just not wait to find out whether it's a boy or girl, am I just dying for the end of June to get here? And the answer is no. I really am not anxious or worrying this time around about any of that. I am just enjoying every day with Matt and Levi. I know our lives will be so much more enriched and exciting with the addition of baby #2, but I am going to soak up every day of Levi's "only childhood" while I can.

A Day at the Park

2012-01-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

So it's been awhile. I've gotten out of the habit of blogging so it's really hard to get back in. But I want to. Because this is our scrapbook (you know, one of these days when I print out all of these...). So I "resolve" to blog more this year. I have let my tiredness be my out. But today, my house is the cleanest it's been in the last 10 weeks, which is a huge motivation to get back in the swing of things. Funny how a clean house makes me feel so much better. Sad, but true.

So, I'm slowly dipping my feet in the pool, so to say. Here is how our day went. It was wonderful. Matt has a "man-cold," but he sucked it up long enough for us to go to a nearby middle school's football field. Levi walked/ran all over the place while Matt got to play with an airplane his parents got him for Christmas. It was so much fun. And the best part is Levi came home and took a 2 1/2 hour nap. We had to wake him up at 5pm!

This picture has nothing to do with today. This was taken last night. Levi got slippers for Christmas and he loves them. Every time he looks down at his feet he gets so excited to see cars down there!

I'm so thankful this "rainy day" turned out to be so beautiful!

This is how Levi runs, with his arms flapping in the wind.

Matt tinkering with something. He loves the remote control plane, and it's a great excuse for all of us to get outside.

Levi carried these cones everywhere. One set was a STACK of cones. He was in heaven stacking and un-stacking them.

I love this picture. And Levi loves his daddy. Wherever Matt went, Levi was not far behind. Including climbing up on this bench.

It was a beautiful day. Hopefully tomorrow will be just like it. A good mixture of productivity around the house and quality family time with memories made.

The Christmas Bug

2011-12-26T09:18:00.000-06:00

Facebook has been rampant all week with posts of different people and their kids getting the stomach virus. "Aw, how sad for them, the week of Christmas." I would think.

And then it hit. Thursday morning at 1:30am we heard piercing screams from Levi's room that had us both up and running. We walk into Levi's room and there is vomit everywhere. That was his first time to throw up so he was freaking out and this was my first time to have to clean it up, so I was freaking out. Thankfully Matt and I double-teamed it.

Thankfully, it was a very short bug. He threw up a LOT in between 1:30 and 4:30, but stopped after that. So he and I slept on the couch (we were sitting up watching TV with a bowl in my lap while he was on a roll) until I had to get up for work at 6am. Let me just interject that when Levi was a newborn, if I went 3 nights in a row with 4 hours of sleep or less, then I would get really bad "exhaustion headaches." You can tell I am spoiled by Levi sleeping so well now, because just one night of dicey, vomit-smelling sleep and I had an exhaustion headache all day. I better get used to it with #2 on the way...

So, I left Levi with Matt in the bed and headed to work (when he's sick Matt and I split the day at work and at home with sick little man). I hadn't heard from Matt by 9, so I called to make sure he knew not to give Levi any food, only clear liquids, maybe some applesauce, etc. I called him at 9 and Matt said "Oh yeah, we just woke up and Levi has had 2 milk cups and a cookie. He seems all better!" WHAT? Thankfully Levi was better, so he didn't throw any of that up.

So needless to say, that 3 hour bug taught us both a lot about kids and stomach viruses. We were all new to the game. We both thought, ok we learned our lesson, now let's get Christmas under way.

We had our little Christmas morning Friday as we planned to go home Saturday (that would be 48 hours after Levi started/stopped being sick) & Sunday for our families Christmas'.

Needless to say, Saturday morning at 4am, the virus hit me. Unfortunately, since my immune system is weakened from pregnancy, the bug lasted a lot longer in me. It's just today (Monday) that my stomach has calmed down and I can eat regular food. Yesterday Matt felt weak and nausea all day but never threw up. So I'm hoping that his immune system had time to build some antibodies while Levi and I were sick and that is all he is going to have.

So, the biggest/saddest part of this weekend is we weren't with family. But boy did God provide, as always. I didn't tell too many people that Levi was sick, or I was sick. I got a call from our small group leader on Saturday. She had heard I was sick and we couldn't get home (I still don't know how she found out) and they wanted to bring us a Christmas dinner. That meant the world to us.

When I called my mom Saturday morning to tell them we couldn't come home, I didn't cry. But as soon as I hung up the phone with Shari, the waterworks started. I was just so thankful. So that night they brought over a huge dinner for us, that we are still eating on! And then Sarah came by Christmas morning with some delicious pumpkin bread that we ate for breakfast (well, I had popsicles).

And to be honest, this really made Matt and I sit down and talk about the reason for the season. We are so thankful, that all in all, we are all 3 (really, 4) healthy. That we are all together. And that this is the day we celebrate that Jesus was born to save us from our sins. We missed going to church to celebrate this with our church family, we missed seeing and spending time with all of our family in Ringgold, but we are so thankful that God used this time to slow us down. He showed us His provision, His love for us through others here in Birmingham. And He made us sit down as a family and really talk about why we celebrate Christmas.

But I'm not going to lie, I'm so thankful as well that Levi won't remember this Christmas. There wasn't the usual hoopla, but we did share lots of snuggles, stories, and Christmas movies. Now that I think about it, it would be a good Christmas for him to remember as well!

Emotion Induced Post

2011-12-19T09:38:00.001-06:00

Last night our church had it's annual "Lessons & Carols." It's this beautiful Christmas program that has been one of the best parts of my Christmas the past two years. Last night I couldn't help but pray while I watched those precious children singing "Lord, please please find a way where I can stay at home full-time, I can't do this anymore."

It's not only those kids singing that got me to praying that, it was a culmination of things. The majority of it is exhaustion. Absolute exhaustion. Christmas this year has been a complete let-down on my end. Today I am doing my Christmas shopping. Seriously? How late is that? Even last year with a newborn (-ish, he was 3 months old), I was so ahead, so together.

Today I was thinking about all of that (as I finished my baking and made my enormous list of stuff to buy) and it hit me.

I AM BEING A HUGE BABY.

This is my 2nd pregnancy. Which means I can't rest as much as I did last time. And there's way more laundry and way more messes to pick up when I don't want to. But, it's not going to get any less. It's going to get more. And I'm getting 8+ hours of sleep right now. So it's time to buck up. Time to realize I have to stop wishing for what could be and to enjoy what is now. When Levi and I are running all over creation today, I can focus on how stressful it is and how long the lines are. OR I can enjoy this time with him and be thankful for it.

I read this article today and have been in a crying mood all day. Hence the emotional post. Shoot, everything is emotional these days!

And this is what made me cry:

"And this is what I feel compelled to say: Tonight, stop and take a really good look at your spouse. Next, look at each of your children. Look really, really long and hard. Take a moment and thank God for every whisper of a moment that God has given you with them. Thank God for the little kisses offered, the stories told, the tickles dispensed, the games played, the readings shared, the silent moments cherished, the victories experienced, the losses endured, the kind words presented , the songs sung, the glances exchanged. These moments not only count for eternity, but they will be remembered for the next billion years after you leave this minuscule moment in time called “life.” Every moment with your loved one matters. Someday they or you will be gone. Every conversation matters. Every kind deed in the name of Christ matters. It all matters."

So. My internal whining is stopping. I am thankful for every minute I have with Matt and Levi and I will make the most of it. Whether we're playing outside or running through Sears looking for that evasive "perfect gift" for my dad.

*I know I have one of these break-downs every few months, but thanks for putting up with me through them all!

From November

2011-12-12T09:21:00.000-06:00

It's sad that today I finally put all the pictures from November (which weren't many) on my computer. Which means you get an overload of the past month.

Levi loves to put sunglasses on and take them off. I have not been able to get a picture with them on because he moves so much. Here's an action shot.

He also loves to squeeze into tight spaces. This is where I store sheets in my bathroom closet. Don't worry, he pulled all the sheets out, and unfolded them. THEN he got in the container. There is no activity that doesn't cause a mess.

I was trying to copy this picture on pinterest where the big brother is holding the ultrasound of baby #2. Of course, Levi doesn't sit still like the perfect child on pinterest. So, this is the best we got. I have my 12 week appointment today (is it freaking anyone else out how fast this pregnancy is going by????). I have had a few worrisome events, so once/if everything checks out ok, then I'll use this "picture" on facebook tonight to announce I'm pregnant. Because you know it's not official until it's on facebook...

IF I had not been so lazy and took the pictures off my camera earlier, I would have used this picture on our Christmas card. But I didn't. So it's going on here instead. We're all 3 looking in the direction of the camera which usually doesn't happen.

Here is Paul (my brother) and his wife, Whitney. They are having a little boy due in April. As you know, I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers. So, the boys in our family has always been sorely out-numbered. Thanks to the Matts, Levi, and now this new baby, the boys have almost caught up. If it turns out we are having a boy as well, then for the first time ever, there will be equal numbers of boys and girls! I'm sure my dad is excited.

And here is the whole gang. It's hard to believe that this time next year there will be 2 more babies added to the mix!

And here's all the girls!

Today is the first day I feel like a normal person, so I'm taking advantage and doing LOADS of laundry, dishes, and cleaning the bathroom. Here's hoping Levi takes a LONG nap!

Procrastinating

2011-12-09T21:20:00.000-06:00

Even with a newborn, last year my Christmas cards were out by the first week in December. This year, I ordered them... tonight. Matt and I did our first bit of Christmas shopping on our date night last night.

It was quite embarrassing as we checked out with Target. We had gone with a budget (that we talked about beforehand) and spend exactly HALF that budget. Despite that victory, when the cashier announced our total Matt yelled (yes, yelled) "WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Nice. Note to self: handle Christmas shopping while alone.

Anyways. So today I was looking through pictures from the past year for the Christmas card and some gifts. And I came across pictures like these:

Hmmm. These make my heart hurt. I LOVE the stage he's in now (well, not tonight. He's teething 3 or his 4 incisors now...) but I miss Levi as a baby. I can't wait to meet baby #2 and to go through all these stages with him/her. But it just hit me tonight. My baby, my FIRST baby, won't be a baby forever. So I just looked at pictures tonight until my laptop died. Then I went into Levi's room and patted his back for a good while (he was asleep). So sweet.

On a side note, Levi went to the pediatrician for his 15 month check-up. His measurements were 45% in weight, 80% in height, and 90% in head circumference. That's right, my massive head genes were passed right along to Levi. Poor kid will never be able to wear those fitted baseball hats. At least he can come to me for sympathy.

Christmas & Crayons

2011-12-05T20:18:00.000-06:00

We played outside this morning, but after his morning nap it was nothing but rain. So for the first time, we pulled out the crayons. He did great! And did you know, that crayon wipes right off of glass coffee tables? Thank goodness it does.

But after awhile, it got a little while, it got weird. His inherited OCD kicked it and he started making piles of crayons. If the crayons started rolling away, he would yell "No NO NO NO!" Grab the crayon and put it back in the pile. This lasted longer than the coloring...

After the coloring we (and I use that word lightly) finished decorating. I had a cute little Target bucket full of little ornaments. That bucket got dumped out and then filled back up at least 7 times today. And I learned the lesson I've read about over and over. Expect the ornaments on the bottom of the tree to be pulled off. And then thrown against the couch. BUT, the tree still looks good, and it hasn't been pulled over yet. That's all I'm asking for this Christmas!

And here is Levi in his other hobby, climbing under chairs where he gets stuck. All in all it was a great day off, and we both really enjoyed it.

Stories

2011-12-03T09:45:00.000-06:00

We have been working with Levi on picking up his toys. It's a LONG process, one that sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it right now... Well yesterday we were outside playing in the yard and he had a small cup of cheez-its. While he was walking he stumbled and some fell out. He immediately stops and starts picking them up and putting them back in the cup (leaves and all). So, did the lesson sink in or is he just crazy about food?

Crazy about food. Because we were watching the news station Matt works at while he was drinking his morning milk cup. They were doing a special on this new cook book and had a close up of a cake on the screen. Levi jumps out of my lap, runs for the tv with hands extended and grunting for the cake. Uh-oh...

Over the last month I have been so tired that our house has been basically disgusting. So yesterday I finally started cleaning. And even though there is so much left, it feels so much better having SOME of it clean, and having clean clothes. My goal is to finish it all today. Ha!

This pregnancy I have been REALLY good at eating better. To be honest is more because I have no other choice. Sugar (especially in large quantities) makes me feel terrible, so I've been sticking to fruit (not that much), vegetables, meat, beans, and salads. Wednesday, though, wasn't that great of a day. I had a bowl of cereal before I left for work. At work someone had brought fresh doughnuts from a local shop, so of course I had one. Then for lunch I had leftover pizza from last night (I do love me some pizza) and a handful of life saver gummies. Then I got busy at work and forgot to eat anything else. By the time I was headed home to pick up Levi, I was shaking. My blood sugar had crashed and I felt TERRIBLE. The only thing I could find in my car was some skittles leftover from Halloween. So I downed them. After I picked up Levi I started feeling AWFUL. On the short ride from Sarah's house to ours I called Matt and started crying about how bad I felt, and it was getting... worse. So I pulled into the garage (left Levi in the car) and ran out to the driveway and threw up skittles. Lovely. I had told a friend from work and she made some comment on my wall about it. A few back and forth's later Matt commented "Yeah, she really tasted the rainbow."

SOOOO, at that note, I'll end this post. Aren't you glad I'm back :)

My Silence

2011-12-01T14:36:00.000-06:00

So, I was going to post this last week, but then I figured, I haven't blogged all of November, so let's just take the whole month off. So, here on December 1st, I'm here to announce that:

We're having baby #2!!

Hence my silence. I am 10 weeks along today and so tired. Thankfully I haven't been too sick (even though I threw up yesterday, that's a whole 'nother story), just exhausted. The baby looked perfect at our appointment (the Monday before Thanksgiving), and I go back December 12th to hear the heartbeat, which I am very anxious to hear.

I am REALLY ditzy this time around (more so than last time, definitely), and left the ultrasound pictures at work, I'll have to post those later. Now that I'm back in the swing of things I'll definitely be posting more often and updating you on Levi. He has changed so much and is a lot of fun, but definitely a lot of work as he has learned the word "No."

Halloween

2011-10-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

Guys, I have lost my camera. Which is really really sad because I have a lot of awesome pictures from our church's Trunk or Treat from last night. Matt has sent me some videos from tonight. Two other local churches put on this big fair in the parking lot of the Winn Dixie right next to our house so we went to that tonight. I played the "my child is too young to remember this" card and didn't dress Levi up again tonight. He can bill me for the therapy later...

This is one of those huge inflatable slides. All these little kids were lined up and Matt wanted to take Levi down it. My stick in the mud personality kept saying "No, No, Matt you're too big. Don't do it." And he just said he had to ask and to not worry. I'm so thankful he did. I'm so glad he is adventurous. I'm so glad that he makes ME be more adventurous and that Levi has such a fun dad! This is Levi and Matt going down the slide:

They also had a small kiddie bouncy house. They would only let two toddlers in there at a time, so it was perfect for Levi's first bouncy house experience. He wasn't so sure at first, then he really got into it. After awhile he just went and chilled in the corner. Eventually Matt had to go in after him We had "that" kid you have to pull kicking and screaming. Have I mentioned I'm dreading the "terrible twos?"

After the festival we headed into the Dollar Tree (next door) just to let Levi run a little bit more energy out. He loves ornaments (he plays with the tubes at our house as well). He carried these all over the place.

My goal for tomorrow is to find my camera!

Imposter

2011-10-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

The past two posts have been from Matt. He has decided I'm not blogging enough so he's filling in the spaces.

Matt already mentioned that Levi is sick. It's so sad. He has croup. I hate seeing him sick. Thankfully, today Matt was able to take off this morning and be with him, and then I took the afternoon off.

Today I am thankful for Levi's health. He's been alive almost 14 months and the worst thing he's had is this croup. I'm thankful for our jobs. We both have bosses that are so flexible. I'm thankful for family that has helped out so much during this past flooding weekend. I'm thankful for friends here in Birmingham that have become family and have helped us so much.

And on a lighter note, today with Levi so sick and just kind of moping around, I thought he needed his first Disney movie. So this evening we went to Wal-Mart and bought him Finding Nemo. He loves fish, so it was appropriate. Expect the poor boy was so tired he went to bed before we even got 20 minutes into the movie. So I kept watching and ended up crying through most of it. What a sweet movie!

Sick little man

2011-10-26T11:13:00.001-05:00

Levi is home sick today, hope he feels better soon! On another note, looks like he's going to be a great griller one day!

Father son weekend!

2011-10-25T20:15:00.003-05:00

Water

2011-10-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

Matt discovered this Saturday morning when he noticed our front garden was completely flooded. Little did he (we) know that the problem was so so much worse. We now have a flooded crawl space and a washroom full of water. Thankfully, Matt's parents came down Sunday (I was on the youth retreat). Matt and his dad fixed the spraying leak in the picture and did a ton in the crawl space.

This morning (at 6am) when the washing machine pipe spewed water everywhere, my mom talked me through it. Then Sarah and Anthony opened up their washing machine to me and is letting us borrow their de-humidifier for Matt's office (next to the washroom) and the rest of our house (since it's all sitting on water right now...).

So, this is all your getting today. I've taken tons of pictures, so once the plumber gets here and (hopefully resolves all this, I will tell you how much "fun" it is to wash all your dishes in the bathroom sink. And how much I take for granted a kitchen sink, dishwasher, and washing machine. But until then, have a great Monday!

Update

2011-10-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

At first I was shocked that I hadn't posted in so long, but we have been busy. Here is what we've been up to:

DR & Danelle came to Birmingham to go to a concert. We were so glad they stayed with us. It was our typical "Guys go outside by the fire pit and girls stay inside talking" until the wee hours of the morning and it was absolutely wonderful. I still miss the days when they used to live here.

Cally & I are using that McWane membership. AG and Levi are adorable crawling/toddling all over the place. They both love the shark tank as the sharks swim by. I hope we're going to be able to go again this week or next.

My awesome $5 tunnel had to be put up under the guest bed with all the other baby stuff. Because of this boy/walking tornado. Look at him in action.

Another picture from our hiking trip. It was such a wonderful day. Hiking, eating lunch and chilling on a rock. Levi did great and Matt and I really enjoyed getting out and spending time together.

The same weekend DR & Danelle were here, Matt's parents came down for the day. We had such a great day with them. We went to Aldridge Gardens and walked around. It is this absolutely beautiful garden in the middle of the city. We went in the middle of the day on a Saturday and it wasn't crowded at all. We got some great pictures that day as well.

Matt and I have given up getting a picture of all 3 of us with Levi sitting still. This is the best out of 4, and still Levi is trying to get free.

These pj's are at Target right now. They are stinking adorable! They are 2T so they're too big, but Matt couldn't get wait until he grew into them. Target has tons of superhero, Woody, and Buzz pjs. As soon as they mark them down a little bit I'm going to buy as many as they have for all sizes, as I'm sure he won't grow out of the superhero stage anytime soon!

Besides "baaa" (balls), this is Levi's favorite activity. Playing on the cushion-less couch. He also loves my tubes of ornaments. There was a pile of Christmas decorations in the garage and of course Levi went through them all. Because what's the house for, except destruction?

Carly has come down twice in the past few weeks and I have loved getting to spend extra time with her. Angie also came down this past Sunday and Monday (yesterday), but more about that later...

And on Sunday Matt and Levi carved their pumpkins for the year. Last year "they" carved them as well. Matt has informed me this was the "2nd Annual Boys Pumpkin Carving Day." He told me no girls allowed. No loss here, I'm not a fan of the inside of the pumpkin. But I do have a whole bowl of pumpkin seeds I need to roast for Matthew.

My mom, Gracie, Jenny, and Luke will be here tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday, so I probably won't post then. But I will be back with an update on what Angie and I did over the two days she was here (all thanks to pinterest!) and how our time with Mom and the 3 younger ones went.

Fork In It

2011-10-12T21:01:00.000-05:00

Today I was calling a patient and I dialed the numbers in their address, instead of their phone number.

And then when I was leaving, instead of swiping my time card, I typed in my alarm code.

Two signs it's time to stick a fork in it and call it done!

The Small Things

2011-10-11T21:01:00.000-05:00

A gmail video chat with Angie
A quick Target trip with Cally, where she bought me a "trophy" for all my hard work this week
A homemade salted caramel mocha this morning at 5:15 (written last Thursday)
A freakin' awesome yahoo radio station (90's contemporary Christian)
Lots of family visits: Matt's parents the past Saturday, Dustin & Danelle Saturday-Sunday, Carly Monday-Tuesday, Angie next Sunday-Monday, and my mom next Wednesday-Thursday.

It is small things that get you through the day sometimes. God gives His grace in a personal, specific way just for me. And I'm so thankful!

Weaning

2011-10-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

I have really appreciated all the posts that Kat has done about breastfeeding. There really is very little "real world" advice/stories of how other people did it. And it's scary thing when you're a new mom.

She has done a great job explaining the how-to's and dos & don'ts. Especially about pumping while working. But unfortunately I had Levi before she had Peanut, which means I had to wean him without her writing about it first.

And if there's hardly anything about breastfeeding, then there is actually nothing about weaning. I don't know what the hold up is.

Now, I NEVER (or very rarely) talk about the actual raising of Levi on here. Mainly because I don't do exactly everything by the book and I don't feel like reading strangers negative comments about it. When I have questions/need advice I go to Matt, Mom, Sarah, Grace, Angie, and Sam. And every single one of them are really laid back, go with the flow. Which, if you've read this blog for more than 5 minutes, you know that I am not. So, all those "first-time mom tendencies" you'd think I would be super crazy about, I'm not, but only because of them.

So I'm saying all that to say that the way I weaned Levi is NOT by the book, persay. I just feel like I need to post this so other moms have SOME kind of resource. So, read what I did, take it, change it a little, or completely ignore it. I don't care, but in case you need it:

Levi started getting really tired of breastfeeding around 7 months old. He was/is an extremely busy baby, so to have to lay there for 15 minutes four times a day was torture for him. He wiggled and squirmed and hit and pushed. And then the biting started. Now, Levi didn't get his first tooth until 6 months, but after that one came in it was a cascade effect and within a few weeks he had 7 in front. (he now has all 8 front teeth and four molars in). And nothing worked to stop the biting. Me screaming, yelling, flicking his cheek, opening his mouth, everything. And he didn't just bite, he bit down and tugged. This reached an unbearable point at 9 months. So I started looking for ways to wean him, but I didn't want to use formula.

And at this point I had a TON of frozen milk through my constant pumping because of work. Background: Levi drinks milk four times a day: 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm. So around 9 1/2 months I started by replacing one feeding (even if I was at home/not working) with a sippy cup. And I'm not going to lie. He learned to drink from a straw early on by us giving him drinks of milkshakes from straws. So the 3pm feeding I would give him a cup while I pumped. The problem was, at this point I wasn't drying up, but when I pumped I couldn't get enough out (as much as he drank. I would pump about 3 oz. and he drinks around 6 oz). So at 10 months I tested something. I added a SMALL amount of whole milk to the 3pm cup (like 2 teaspoons). And every day I added a little bit more. Within two weeks it was half and half.

I also started worrying about me and my supply. I didn't want to be weaning him, but my body still use to pumping. So when I got to the 1/2 & 1/2 point, I stopped pumping at 3pm, and started using reserve. And then a week later I dropped the 11 am cup, and stopped with the pumping at that time as well. By 11 months, I had dropped all four feedings and switched him to cups, one by one.

Now, at 13 months he still gets milk cups at those same times, but as he gets busier and busier, he doesn't always finish all 6 oz (I'm guessing it's 6 oz still, I just fill the cup up a little over halfway). But he knows what he needs and he gets plenty of healhty food and water throughout the day.

So, there it is, just for if you ever need it. And so I have it written down so on the next kid if I forget everything, it's here!

Brain Dead

2011-10-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

When I was typing the title of this post, I actually typed "Braid Dead." That's just further proof, right?

Work has been killer this week. And I almost didn't write killer because when I got home tonight I was talking to a patient on the phone who is dying from breast cancer and crying because she doesn't have her medicine yet. So really, it has been a killer week. It's not just the brain tiredness from thinking all day (my boss is gone, which puts way more on my plate, decision making wise), physical tiredness from standing/running around all day, and emotionally tired from talking to cancer patients all day and hepatitis C patients about their medication which costs $30,000/month.

And the sadder part is I only have four recent pictures on here I haven't posted lately, and I'm too lazy to run get my phone AND the cord to get pictures off of it. So, here's a few pictures and a few captions.

This is his new thing. One finger in the mouth. I've been running with Sarah (she's on vacation so I'm taking a break this week). I missed a morning last week, so I loaded Levi up after work and we headed to the park.

He did great in the stroller. He sipped some milk, ate some veggie straws, and read his book while I ran/huffed & puffed. In the mornings we don't run with the babies so I'm not used to the jogger or the 20lb child inside it. So it was more huffing and puffing then running graciously through the park. But I imagined I was!

Then we went to the playground where Matt met us. It was so fun to see him crawling through tunnels and climbing up slides (he'll get it right some day...). And I'm the mom who's kid was barefoot. I wasn't thinking about the park being at the running trail and wasn't prepared. Sorry Levi.

And it feels SO GOOD outside right now. Let me say it along with everyone else that I love fall. We also love not running our AC for two months. The problem is none of our windows have screens. Sooo... we improvised. Keeping in tune with the redneck theme we have going, we used some screen we had in the garage and masking tape. And BOOM! nice cool bedroom.

And because I felt like I needed one more picture on here. Here is what I am about to be doing, just 22 years later...

Football, and some more Tears

2011-09-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

I mentioned earlier Matt had never been to a football game before. So when our friends offered us tickets to the UGA vs. Ole Miss game this past Saturday, we jumped on it. We were so thankful and so excited. We loaded Levi up and headed west. We were excited because we haven't really traveled around Alabama, and definitely not Mississippi (the game was in Oxford, MS). And, OF COURSE, we were excited to see the Bulldogs play.

Here is Levi entertaining himself in the car with his sword. That lasted about 2 minutes. But really, he did great in the car. He usually does.

Here is our faithful/alert driver. Thankfully he did NOT wear this hat into the stadium...

We really didn't know how to handle the whole baby/baby stuff and a football stadium. So, instead of a stroller we put him in the backpack (which has a small pouch). We took the minimal of everything (a few snacks, 2 diapers, wipes, and 2 cars). The mistake we(I) made is I was sooo worried about following the "rules." Before we left I read all the stadium rules and it said no food or drink in the stadium. So of course I took that to the extreme and was afraid to take a sippy cup for Levi. Looking back I want to kick myself. Especially when I went in the bathroom and in my stall was an empty bottle of vodka and Crown Royal. If college girls can sneak in hard liquor, then surely I could have brought a sippy cup of water for Levi. But you live and you learn. And Levi had a great time splashing in my cup of lemonade...

Levi lasted almost the entire game without flipping out. He really did great. But we both agree, next time we can go to a game, we're calling a babysitter! During the 4th quarter I took him under the stands and let him walk around under the bleachers. He managed to last the rest of the time down there, which was great!

The game was at 11:30am. By the time it was over, Levi was exhausted. Poor guy. He got a little shut eye on the way to the car, as you can tell.

On the way back through Birmingham, Matt stopped at Elvis' birth place in Tupelo,MS. You're supposed to go inside and pay and take a tour, but Matt jumped out of the car, ran up on the porch. I snapped a picture and then we sped off. Classy, huh?

When we got back to Birmingham, we stopped by Little Caesars and grabbed a pizza and then headed to a park near our first apartment. Levi loved people watching.

He's a huge fan of the swings, obviously.

So it was a fantastic day. I really really look forward to our weekends. Two days at home together, no plans, just relaxing. But it was so nice to have something to go DO. Try new things, hit the road running.

And on a side note. While writing this I am watching Parenthood. It's about four adult siblings and their relationship with each other and their parents while the siblings are raising their kids (confused yet). I had to stop writing because I was crying. One of the cousins was in a car accident and everyone came to the hospital to be with her. It was a terrible moment, but just so sweet, everyone together. It's times like that when I see family unite that I want to grab Matt, Levi, and a box of stuff and drive straight to Ringgold. I'd never look back and surround myself with family. Forever. But I know in a few moments my tears will dry and logic will return. But in this moment, it's tempting to grab my car keys...

Family Visits

2011-09-29T20:09:00.000-05:00

*I wrote this post earlier in the day. Tonight for dinner I made pumpkin pancakes. Y'all. Delicious. I can't stop eating them.

Last Thursday night I got a call from Carly asking if she could come down the next day. Ummm, YES. The answer is always Yes! She came down Friday and stayed until Saturday morning. She remembered she had to coach a soccer game early Saturday morning so she left earlier than planned. I was so thankful to get to spend time with her, and Levi loved the extra attention as well.

We spent Friday just relaxing. Playing with Levi and watching The Office. That night we met Matt at the Summit and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Yum. We all ate way more than should be appropriate, so we got our cheesecake to go. We waited at least an hour before digging in to those that night.

Saturday morning after Carly left, we all headed to Oxford, MS to watch a football game. We were given tickets by some friends. That was Matt's first ever live football game, so that will get it's own post!

Then, Mom, Dad, Paul, and Whitney came on Monday for the day. It was so so nice to get to spend time with them. I got to know Whitney better and while the boys helped with some things around the house (hung a mirror, fixed a light, and straightened some pictures that I hung crookedly...) Mom and I got to drink coffee and talk. And of course there was lots of time talking/playing with/absolutely spoiling Levi.

I'm so thankful I had such a great weekend and got to spend quality one on one time with a lot of my family!