8 Months!

Well, we've hit 8 months..the one year mark keeps getting closer!

I know I always say this, but Levi really does keep getting more and more fun as he gets older!  He started making me laugh on a regular basis around four months and he just hasn't stopped!  This little wiggle worm has changed drastically this month in his abilities, and his personality comes out as he learns more and expresses more.

Over the course of what felt like two days, he learned to push himself up to sit, crawl on all fours with his belly off the ground, and pull himself up to standing on anything he can reach.  This probably happened more over the course of two weeks but he went from being a somewhat stationary baby to what feels like a mobile toddler! 

He seems to find every possible cord in our house and gravitate toward it and unfortunately, I think he's learning when he is supposed to do something and when he is not; his little mischevious look comes out at times.  I say unfortunately because that means discipline has to take place and thats when parenting becomes a challenge..so far I've just gotten to love on my little boy!

What a joy we have in our little boy!  So thankful to God for this blessing!

Blueberry Festival

Behold, the Blueberry Festival:

Are you as astonished as we were?!  I had seen an ad for a Blueberry Festival this weekend and eventually talked Clay into letting us go!  This is the excitement and non-stop activity we were met with. 

I personally have this long-time affection for fruit festivals.  One summer, I made it a goal to attend as many as I could..I still have great memories of the Elmwood Strawberry Festival filled with Elvis impersonators, strawberry shortcake, friends, and stuffing myself with fresh strawberries.  I'm afraid this Blueberry Fest won't quite go down in the books of having the same caliber, but we made the most of it!

Clay was more interested in taking pictures and eating the bluberries than actually picking: 

(note me in the background actually working)

 We all wore blue in honor of attending the Blueberry Festival:

Levi inspecting my work:

We ended up picking about 4 1/2 pounds of bluberries!  We found out that basically the Blueberry Festival just means the blueberries are on sale for $1.99 per pound..and blueberry smoothies are available for purchase.

My boys :) 



7 Months!

Little Levi turned seven months on July 5th!  We are officially into the second half of the first year of his life.  He just keeps growing and growing and we are so in love with him. 

Seven months means he is moving around!  The first part of the month brought lots of rolling..something he hadn't really done previously.  The middle of the month started his army crawling where he can pretty much scootch around to get what he wants.  We'll see if the end of the month brings about normal crawling with space between his belly and the floor.

He continues to make us laugh on a regular basis..always engaging us and wanting us to play with him.  He is definitely a people person and loves to get attention (hmm..which parent do you think that takes after??) from strangers or mom and dad.  Levi obviously brings us a lot of joy but I'm learning how much joy he can bring others as well.  I pray this is something that continues long into his life and something he can be intentional with later.  He really is such a sweet little  boy :).

Levi has done quite a bit of traveling for his short little life..including an airplane ride! We travelled to Virginia in June and then me and Levi road tripped it home to Illinois with Grandma and Grandpa for a week!  He also finally got to meet his Great Grandma and Grandpa Meeks!  We flew back from Peoria to Syracuse and he did great on the plane..what an answer to prayer!

So thankful to God for this little boy.

6 Months!

Well, today is the last day to get his 6 month pictures posted before he turns 7 months..bad mom!  I can't believe it was a month ago that we took these pictures!  Our little baby boy is half a year old and 2013 is halfway over!!!  Whew.

Is he not the sweetest little thing you've ever seen??  We are just smitten!

Levi continutes to be a content, cheerful little guy.  He sleeps well and talks a lot.  However, this little booger can pinch!  He started pinching primarily while nursing, but now pinches just about anything he can get his little fingers on..and he has quite the grip.  I think (hope) its just his way of exploring his surroundings.  

His 6 month birthday also brought on his first words: momomom!!  Well, I suppose "oh my" were his first words but we haven't heard those since their original debut.  Momomom we hear on a regular basis now :).  It has been really fun listening to him discover his voice (and screeches) and learn new sounds.  However, the poor kid sometimes says mom mom mom when we leave him in his crib for a nap..that sure tugs my little heart to go get him! 

 He continues to get stronger; he sits up really well on his own and generally enjoys his tummy time for a while.  We have to fight him in the bathtub to lay down for us because he's still too wobbly to sit in there but doesnt want to lay his head back on his bath sling.  He also officially rolled over for the first time just a few days before his 6 month birthday from his belly to his back!  I think he startled himself in doing it though and hasn't chosen to roll all the way again.

My little baby is turning into a little boy..losing his baby look.

Coordinating with Dad in his new monster PJ's!

Standing and excited about it!

 Muscle man shirts with Dad!

So thankful for this 6 month old blessing :)

Memorial Day 2013

Spending Memorial Day weekend down at the condo is becoming an annual tradition that we really enjoy!  This was Levi's first trip to Patty and Stu's condo and his first time swimming!  We had a great weekend, although the weather was a bit cool (perfect for tennis) and Levi slept horribly.  Oh well..I guess I'll cut him some slack ;)

PJ's in the kitchen with Nana and Poppop!

Cousins - Addy is about 4 months older than Levi:

Hanging poolside:

We headed to the indoor pool for Levi's first time swimming.  He was rather neutral about the whole experience for the first ten minutes but eventually we got lots of smiles when he figured out how to splash!

Being goofy in his PJ's on the couch with Dad:

We had a really great weekend even with Levi having some rough nights.  We are so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family in such a relaxing atmosphere.  Thanks for hosting all of us Patty and Stu!

A Visit with Chase and Amber

Chase and Amber came to visit!  They are our first official not-family friend visitors in our house!!  We had such a nice visit with them and are so appreciative of them coming up to see us! 

We weren't sure how the weekend would go..meaning we weren't sure how Levi would change our plans..but he was a really good sport at our running around and maybe we gave Chase and Amber a glimpse of parenthood :).

Our trips included a visit to Skaneateles, a tour of Destiny USA, sightseeing in downtown Syracuse, and a walk around the neighborhood (all thrilling I know)! 

Chase was nice enough to chauffeur Levi around on our walk:

 Out on the pier:

Where Clay proposed to me..he decided to re-enact? with Levi:

 Chase, Amber, and Levi after church:

Chase and Levi bonding:

Thanks a bunch for coming!  We so appreciate your friendship :)

5 Months, Mother's Day, and Some Random

Five months!  Only a month away from being half a year old!  I can't believe we are this close to our first milestone!

We are so in love with this little gift from God.  Levi is such a blessing and he fills our days with joy.  We are continuing to learn what it means to be parents and how to best love on this little boy.

Levi is learning to use his hands quite well; we have officially entered the stage of anything that is in reach goes in his hands and into his mouth.  So far I am thoroughly enjoying this as it is so fun to see him explore new surroundings.  I suppose when he becomes mobile this stage will be a bit scarier, but for now its been really fun.  We both enjoy his "kisses" as he explores our faces and love the feeling of his chubby little hands on anywhere he can grab.  He has also gotten rather good at pinching - he uses his index finger and thumb quite frequently when he is supposed to be eating...

He continues to be vocal; he has recently learned how to gurgle so we now have babbling, shrieking, screeching, whale sounds, and gurgles.  His little voice is such a sweet sound :).  He is getting really close to sitting up on his own.  Right now he can last for just a few seconds before usually toppling over.  He prefers to sit up rather than being cradled at just about all times other than eating; this isn't a problem except in the bathtub!  He rolls from his back to his side just to the point of almost being on his tummy before falling back to his back.  We have fun cheering him on so I think right now he is enjoying the attention of getting us excited every time he partially rolls :).

We had a really nice Mother's Day of just the three of us celebrating.  Clay did a really great job of making me feel special and appreciated.  I think I spent most of the day loving on my sweet little boy and thinking of how much I have under-celebrated my own mom in the past. 

What an honor it is to be this little boy's mom!

 All dressed up in his big boy clothes!

Some fun pictures over the past few weeks!  Practicing sitting up with Mom:

Tulips in bloom:

Having fun in his new Baby Einstein jumper:



 Kisses for Dad: