Fail :(

So one of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could keep up with what Levi was doing: milestones, new words, foods, etc. I realized last night that I haven't done that very well.
Big time fail! :(



I guess it could be worse...




Yeah, it could be worse.

So, in order to not feel like a failure, here are some 14 month facts (he just turned 14 months yesterday, so see, I'm not horribly behind):

• He is CONSTANTLY on the move! I'm not kidding, even in his sleep, he moves. This boy can not stand to be still. (For proof of this, please see yesterday's post of me trying to get his picture.)
• He is now wearing size 5 diapers all the time. We've previously discussed the "why" my 14mo son needs size 5. I will not go into that again. :)
• He is wearing a size 6 shoe, size 18 or 24 pants/shorts, and size 18 or 24 shirt. This is my new favorite outfit:

        

• He roars at people, or himself, or the tv, or a stuffed animal. Yeah, pretty much everything gets this adorable roar now. He even roared at the people behind us in church the other day while playing peek-a-boo over the pew. We're not sure where it came from-possibly from Jeffrey trying to scare him. Wait, that sounds bad...he likes it, really!
• He plays peek-a-boo. He loves to hide his face then uncover it! He grins so big. He'll also cover himself with a blanket and pull it down. His favorite thing is to hide to the side of a door frame then peek out. Love it! :)
• He LOVES music! He will start waving his arms, stomping his foot, and occassionally "get low" if he's in the mood. I have no idea where he learned the last one, but seriously, he bends his knees and bounces up and down. I'm still working on that video for you...
• He still loves trains, balls, balloons and stuffed animals. His newest loves, wagons and umbrellas.
• After nap, he has to hand me everything in his crib (usually a stuffed animal and blanket) one by one before he raises his arms to get out.
• He's started "kissing" me and Jeffrey by putting his face on ours and letting our foreheads, noses and mouths touch. He doesn't move for several seconds, then grins super big and sweet. :)
• He will possibly be moving to the toddler class at church. He's just too uncomfortable in the baby seats. Tomorrow is the first night for that. I will report back on how that goes...
• He will eat pretty much everything. He definitely has days where he doesn't want certain things, but who doesn't? He loves yogurt smoothies, chicken nuggets, soups of all kinds, and cauliflower with cheese.
• I'm trying to keep track of his vocabulary, but not doing a very good job. Not to mention, a lot of his "words" probably don't sound like words to anybody else yet. The ones that are clear: ball, cup, go, hi, bye, nana (banana), milk (once or twice), uh-oh, Daddy and Mama. Things that we know he's saying but aren't super clear yet: thank you, duck, balloon (sounds like a drawn out "balll"), yeah, and Hi Daddy. He knows the word "outside" very well! He runs to the nearest door as soon as you say it. :) He also holds his hands out to the side when you ask him a question, signifying "I don't know".
• He loves to brush his hair and his teeth. He's usually running around the house with a toothbrush or my hairbrush. Other than bathtime, brushing time is his favorite part of the night. :)
• Speaking of teeth, he now has 10 of them! Several more are going to pop through any day now.
• He is still trying to decide if he likes dogs or not. He loves to look at them, talk to them, and sometimes pet them, but if they get too close, he becomes unsure. Now if they're on the other side of a glass door, he could play all day! 

I could proably keep going, but I don't want to lose my dedicated readers to sheer bulletin-point boredom. Hope you all have a great day!

Nap Please?

Do you ever feel like you need another weekend to recover from the weekend you just had? That is me this morning. I am so tired! It was go go go for us from the time we woke up Saturday morning to the time we went to sleep Sunday night. It was so nice to spend time with my little man doing fun things and hanging out with our family and friends. And the best part of the whole weekend? Jeffrey was off yesterday!! Yay! It's so rare that he gets a day off on the weekend, and I really wanted him to have Sunday off because of the Easter egg hunt. Thank you Lord for making that happen!

Alright, a quick recap...

Let's start with Saturday morning, VERY early Saturday morning. Levi and I met Lori at Home Depot so we could ride together to Brentwood for The Walker Run. Since this was the first year for this, we weren't really sure what to expect. We got there right around 7 like we were supposed to (I know, shocker huh?), and there were probably 40-50 people milling around. By the time we made it in and out of the restroom, people were EVERYWHERE! They just kept on coming! They said over 1200 people had registered for the event! Since a lot of them were from different states (some even from New Zealand-her birth place), not everybody was there in person to walk. The guesstimated total (those that signed up) is around 720! Amazing! They were able to give the Walker family a check worth $32,000. It was a truly heartwarming moment when they handed her the check. She was so humble and gracious.

It was awfully early for Levi (heck, it was early for ME), so I wasn't sure how he'd do. He got a little fussy towards the end, but as soon as he was "freed" from his stroller, he was a happy camper. I'm so thankful I was able to participate in this event. I got to meet Sara, and am just amazed at her courage and strength. I have truly taken to heart her motto and slogan for the event:

Striving to savor the sweetness of life one day at a time!

Pre-walk nourishment :)

He wanted to cross the finish line on his own :)

We did it!

Matching kicks :)

We were supposed to take a nap after that so we'd be well-rested for Lily's party that afternoon. Well, Levi napped all the way home then was ready to go when we got there! So, Mommy got no nap-as usual. Go ahead, feel sorry for me. :(

So after my no-nap, we met Mom and Courtney at Steak-and-Shake where we got THE slowest server ever! I'm not kidding, it was so bad we felt sorry for him. We finally made it to Lily's party a little after 2, ok, a lot after 2! But thankfully we hadn't missed any major events. As typical for my son, he ran around the house the whole time. So, I didn't get a lot of pictures. I did manage to snap this one of my adorable little cousin:

Derek trying to teach Levi how to give "knucks" :)

Levi looked so cute in his plaid shorts outfit, I just had to get a picture. Yeah, that's not the easiest thing in the world to do...

Ok, I'm worn out just from telling you all that, so I know you're tired of reading. Sunday will just have to wait... I have a lot of pictures from the egg hunt, and I don't want to overload you in one post. :)



Do A Little Dance!

This is me, doing my happy "It's Friday!" dance. :)

Whew, it's been a long and busy week! And it doesn't look like my weekend is going to be any different! That's ok though, because I'll at least be outside (hopefully) and with my little man. :)

Tomorrow morning, bright and early (and I do mean early-like, have to be in Brentwood at 7am), Levi and I will be going with our friend Lori and her mom to the Walker Run. Sara Walker is this truly amazing woman who I came to know about through Facebook. Ironically enough, several weeks later, I found out she was married to Lori's cousin. I have been following her story through her CaringBridge site, and it's truly uplifting. You might find it strange that I say that once you know her story, but after you read her entries, you'll understand why I've come to love and respect this woman.She is truly an inspiration, and I can't wait to walk for her tomorrow. You can read her story here and see the info for the run here.



Tomorrow afternoon, we're going to Levi's future fiance's very first birthday party. Lily Tuggle (his betrothed) is the beautiful daughter of Amy and JP. Amy and I decided very early on that these two would be married. I mean, come on, how cute does "Lily and Levi" sound? :) This will actually be the first time they meet. I hope it's love at first sight. Haha. My son would be crazy not to like her. Look at this face!

Sunday might or might not be Levi's first Easter Egg Hunt! A group of friends are getting together with the kiddos for some Easter fun. IF (big IF) Jeffrey can get off work, we'll go. If he can't, we won't.

:( He doesn't want to miss Levi's first hunt, and I don't want him to. I just love that about my hubby. He WANTS so badly to be a part of everything Levi does. His schedule makes it hard, but I try my darndest to make that happen! :)

I'm tired just thinking about tomorrow, but excited too! It should be an action-packed weekend. Hope you all get to enjoy your families and get out in the gorgeous weather!

Just to start my day off right, some pictures of my little guy. :)

I don't even know what to say about this one...

After playing in the mud

Kisses for Tigger

Love this sweet face!

See, I Told You...

Don't say I didn't warn you...now that I'm done with the challenge, this really is a free-for-all. And today, well, I don't have anything specific to talk about, but I feel the need to blog. So, enjoy the randomness... :)

Last night, Jeffrey and I took little man over to spend some time with our friends Ben and Lori. We were a little nervous because Levi (and Jeffrey) both needed naps but didn't get them. Thankfully, they only live 8 minutes (5 if Jeffrey's driving) away, so we knew we could just go right on home if the fussiness started. But he was in rare form last night. Maybe it was the sleepiness, but he thought everything was hysterical! And we laughed all night just watching him! Here's a video of him sticking his toothbrush to the table, then popping it off (it has suction cups on the bottom), then throwing it on the ground. Not sure why this was so amusing, but I love his little laugh! :) He also plays peek-a-boo for a minute. (Sorry they're long, but his laughing was random so I kept videoing.) Also, ignore the 2 fogeys in the background talking about their complete disdain for facebook and people who don't answer their phones. :)

I know...he doesn't have a shirt on. He randomly spit up on it, and it was in the washer. Weird...

On another note...we had a new pizza from Papa Murphy's, and it was wonderful! I mean, not as good as your normal pepperoni filled pizza, but still really tasty. Behold, the Chicken Bacon Artichoke deLite:



So, as I'm eating it, I'm thinking what a great healthy pizza this is, and I'm glad that I can eat pizza that's not so horrible for me. Imagine my surprise when I looked up the nutrition facts, and it's the SAME, if not a little WORSE, for you than pepperoni!!! I was outraged! Forget that...bring on the pep! :)



One more random thought of the day...I am loving belts right now! I haven't worn a belt  in forever, and I used to all the time. But I have recently brought them back in my wardrobe, and they make me happy. I don't mean your traditional "hold your pants up" belt. I mean this:







Oh, and the "Michelle Obama":



Well, that's it for today folks. Hope everybody has a great day! :)

Mission Completion!

For those of you who know what show my title came from, yes, I'm that pathetic. :)

Today, Tuesday, April 5th, is my last and final  day of the blog challenge! Woo hoo!! Let's hear it for me!



And thankfully, it's an easy one...

Day 30: Picture

I actually insisted on Courtney taking a picture of just me so I'd have one. Here you go:



And here's a few of Levi since I know that's what you really want to see... :)







Well, I'm done. That means it's pure straight rambling with no direction from now on. Hope you're still interested! :)

Life Remote

Have you ever wanted a tv remote but for life? With a pause, stop, play, rewind and fast forward button?



I've found myself wanting that several times lately. I've been doing something that made me so happy that I just wanted to hit the pause button! For instance...

Last night was girls' night with my friends from high school. Remember them?

So, we were supposed to go bowling. As of Sunday, we were at 5 attending (good crowd for us). Monday morning, Amanda's friend Janet had her baby, so we were down to 4. Monday afternoon, Hannah's husband David got stuck at work, so we were down to 3 (me, Meghan and Doralyn). Well, the 3 of us decided we weren't going to let anything stop us from getting together, so we had dinner at Demos'. Let me tell you something, I had an AMAZING time! I think we could've just sat and talked for hours. There's just something about these girls that even if we haven't seen each other or talked since the last girls' night, we pick right up where we left off! I really wanted the remote to just pause so we could sit and not worry about what we needed to do next-study, see kids/husband, sleep. :) I wouldn't have minded the rewind button so I could enjoy that delicious meal again! Haha.

Another pause moment...Levi woke up about 4am COVERED in pee. I mean, soaking wet! You're thinking this:



But it was really more like this:



In fact, I might start putting him in swim trunks at night...

So poor thing was just distraught. He was so tired he could barely hold his eyes open as I sponged him off. Well, I just couldn't put him back in his bed, so I brought him in with me and Jeffrey. We hardly EVER do this, so it was kind of special for all of us. :) Anyway, Jeffrey pulls Levi up to him with Levi's head on his arm. Then he grabs my hand, and I put my other hand on Levi's belly. You want to talk about my idea of perfection?! If somebody had brought me some red velvet cake, I would have been content to stay there the rest of my life! :) Pause please!!!

Ahh...the rewind button! What I wouldn't do to have that sometimes!

Examples:

I would LOVE to rewind back to the time when gas was less than $1 a gallon. That's right young folks, back in my day (ok, 9 years ago in high school), gas was .96/gallon. Now? It took me almost $80 to fill up yesterday. EIGHTY BUCKS!!! UGH!



I wouldn't mind rewinding back to the day when I could eat what I want and not worry about what it was going to do to me. Pizza=reflux. Mexican=indigestion. Cheeseburger=arm flab...



Oooh the stop button...

Can we STOP the prices from going up on everything?
Could we please STOP Kroger from changing their coupon policy? (No more stacking makes me a very sad girl.)
I'd love if we could stop this crazy back-and-forth weather and just get to the good stuff. :)

The fast-forward button is a little trickier...

I don't want to fast-forward and miss something good. Even if I can't wait for it (wedding, Levi), I feel like everything that happens up to that good thing happens for a reason. However, there are times, particularly bad ones, that make me want to jump ahead and just skip what's happening at the time. Today, I choose not to talk about those bad times. :)

And that, dear friends, is my super-insightful thought for the day! :)

When You Wish Upon A Star...

Happy Friday ya'll! Woo hoo! I am so very ready for this weekend! Up on the agenda: Pictures with bunny rabbits!! I'm so excited! (Can you tell from the abundance of the exclamation points?) I have him an adorable outfit, which Jeffrey hates with a passion. Well, he actually just hates the hat...and the green shirt. BUT...he said he'd like it if it was a navy shirt. Maybe I'll switch it out when he's around. :) Oh, he hasn't seen the shoes. I'm sure he'll hate those as well...



See, that's not so bad?! :)

Since I got such a positive response to my last videos, I've uploaded a few more. Levi was just in rare form last night! I tried to capture his craziness cuteness on video. :)

So he just started his head-shaking thing the other day with Jeffrey. He's not saying no to be mean or bratty. I honestly think he just hasn't figured out how to shake his head up and down. Lol. Maybe he just thinks it's funny! Who knows with this kid?! :)

Alright, only 2 more days of the challenge...

Day 29: Wishes

I've never really been a big "wisher" necessarily. I mean, I have hopes and dreams and prayers. I guess those things are more serious though. So, I'm going to give you some wishes that aren't so serious:

I wish that it was the end of the day instead of the beginning.

I wish someone would go out and buy me a brand new wardrobe then deposit it in my closet.

I wish it would be pretty today so Jeffrey and Levi can play outside this afternoon.

I wish I had more vacation time.

I wish I had more TIME!

I wish my nails would grow like they did when I was pregnant.

I wish I could keep my car clean.

I wish I craved vegetables and fruit instead of chocolate and sweet tea.

I wish I liked to cook.

I wish someone would cook for me. :)

I wish I had a maid.

I wish I had a machine that would type what I'm thinking. How cool would that be?! :)

I wish to be done with this blog entry...

Well looky there, wishes do come true! ;)