It's Here!!!

Yipee! Spring has FINALLY arrived! We are loving this nice weather!

Over the weekend we went to the NRH Easter in the Park with some friends. It was a little crazy for our little babies, with tons of people and long lines, but it was so nice to get out in the sunshine. There was a small petting zoo (Levi wasn't too sure about the animals), the Easter bunny, face painting, an egg hunt, a train ride and bounce houses. I think in a couple of years Levi will really love it!





We have also been going on more walks, going to the park and just getting out in the yard. Philip hung Levi's swing from a tree in our back yard and I must say it is a BIG hit! The very first swing was a little weird (see pic below) but after that is was pure joy! Levi just laughs and smiles or has the most calm pleasant expression the whole time he is swinging. He has always loved the feeling of wind in his face :) I think he would stay in there for hours if I let him! Thanks again Moe and Pop! Philip's Dad came for a visit on Saturday and we all enjoyed watching Levi swing. If you look close in the second picture you can see Levi is getting two new teeth on the top. He is doing well with it, but man has the drool been crazy - unlike with the bottom two!






I'm really looking forward to this spring and summer. Being outside is probably my favorite thing and we are planning on going on at least one family camping trip and probably a backpacking trip in the mountains too! I have such wonderful memories of those kind of family trips from when I was growing up and I can't wait to start making them with Levi and Philip! God sure did an amazing job when he made the world and I think I'm going to love it even more as a momma! Happy Spring everyone!

New Moves

Just for fun here is a little video from a few days ago of Levi walking behind the push toy cousin Nora let him borrow. He really enjoys himself and seems very proud!

8 Months Old!

Levi turns 8 months old today! In just 4 short months he will be one! Wow! Philip and I are having so much fun with him right now because he is really taking off both verbally and physically. He seems to do something new every day! His little personality is starting to become more apparent as well. He is a thinker, but loves to be silly and laugh too...I think he is going to be a lot like his Dad. By our home scales he is weighing about 21 lbs. He won't have an official weight until his 9 month appointment.

Here's my usual list of what's new since he turned 7 months:
-waves hi (usually VERY enthusiastically with one or both arms)
-says Mama and Dada to the right people (I love this because he will say Mama to me when he wakes up and I am getting him out of his crib and says Dada when Philip gets home from work...so cute!)
-walks behind the push toy Nora let him borrow
-sleeps all night (most nights...like 5 times a week; 8pm-8am)
-stands without support and rarely takes one or two steps before sitting down
-gets up and down from standing very well without falling (phew!)


We are so excited that the weather seems to be finally clearing up and have been enjoying walks and going outside. Philip is going to install Levi's swing in the backyard tonight! I am sure he will love it...thanks for the great gift Moe and Pop! Hopefully I will get some cute pics of him using it and post them soon!

My Handyman!

Philip is a do-it-yourselfer. That is an understatement. He wants to and usually can do/make anything. Since we moved into our home almost 4 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!) he has done several major projects and I have never posted about them. Most recently he remodeled our kitchen and I am loving it! We are planning on re-tiling the floors in a few weeks. Hopefully this will be a weekend project and go off without a hitch! He has also done a lot of molding and painting throughout as well as a major reno on our master bath about 2 years ago. You may also remember all the hard work and beautiful results from when Philip did Levi's nursery. I have to add that I did help a little...I did some of the painting on the walls, some wall paper removal and sanding, installed some hardware and took out and replaced all the stuff before and after the renovations :).

Get ready for a bunch of before and after pics (the befores are from when we were about the buy the house). I just have to show off the excellent job Philip has done. Even though I sometimes get impatient because it takes longer to do this kind of thing while working a full time job, I am so appreciative of all his hard work and his drive to do his best to make it perfect!

Kitchen Before-


Kitchen After (new counters, backsplash, paint, moulding, sink, lighting etc)-




Here you can see the pretty routed edge Philip made on the counters and the new hardware for the cabinets-


Master Bath before-



Master Bath After (new granite counters, sinks, faucets, stained cabinets, lighting etc...)-



And finally, a pic of my love all dusty during the bathroom renovations! He sure is a hard worker and I am so proud of him! I'm a lucky girl!

Spring Break with Family!

My Little brother Seth is in town during his Spring Break at Tech. On Monday Levi and I headed over to my parents to spend the day with Uncle Seth and the rest of the fam. As always Levi loves his time at Moe and Pop's house and I love seeing my brother! We had a great day going on a walk, hanging out and playing with the babies and eating a yummy meal! Here is Seth with Nora and my sister Kate with Levi-
Levi is getting better and better at standing and cruising along the furniture. My Gran was very impressed with his new skills and insisted that I get a picture of him standing and label it "7 months old". So these next two pictures are for her-


I am blessed with some wonderful cousins that I am close with and have many great memories from growing up together. I am so excited that it seems Levi and Nora will have a wonderful relationship as well! Here Nora is "reading" a book about a snake to Levi-



Last night was a special treat! My sister Kate and I, who share a love for music and have several favorite artists in common, went to see David Gray in concert! It was a WONDERFUL show and we had so much fun! I am so blessed to have a sister that I love and also consider one of my very best friends! We enjoyed the show so much and both really felt like David Gray was even better in concert than on his albums! Here are some pics from during the show, not the best quality or most flattering...but still great memories-




If you would like to see more and a video of him performing "Be Mine" go to Kate's blog here.

The Herrs were Here!!!

Our good friends Cheryl and Joseph came in town for a visit this weekend! We were so happy to see them especially because it had been about 8 months since they were last here (I was about 38 weeks preggo!). Now it's their turn and they are expecting a sweet little BOY on August 5th! As always we had a wonderful time visiting and just enjoying each others company.

On Saturday night my best friend since kindergarten and college roomie Nikki and her boyfriend were able to come over to join us for dinner and games! After a yummy dinner and great desert (thanks Niks!) we rocked it old school by playing "bop-it" and Chinese checkers.



It was so much fun to spend time with my girls and their guys just like back in college! Nikki, Cheryl and I all lived in the dorms together (along with Lauren - who is mentioned in the post just before this) and stayed close all 4 years through nursing school. I have really been blessed to stay close with all four of these wonderful Christian girls! I only wish we could all see each other more!



You guys are next :) he he he!



On Sunday we went to lunch with some of our other friends and enjoyed a little more time together before they had to head home. Thank you so much for coming to see us Cheryl and Joe!!! We love you guys and can't wait to meet Noah!! I know he will be so precious! Just look how cute you guys are with Levi! Now if we could just convince you to leave Houston and come on up to DFW :)

Tag!

My sister Kate tagged me in this fun little game. Here are the rules:

1. Open your first photo folder on your computer.
2. Scroll to the tenth picture.
3. Post that picture and the story behind it.
4. Tag five or more people.

Here's my pic:


This pic came from my folder titled April 2009...weird random folder and probably the pics in it need to be resorted...but, it is a picture of me and my friend Lauren when we were pregnant. We were due exactly 1 week apart. In the pic Lauren is about 27 weeks and I am about 26 weeks. Lauren lives in Florida and was in town for a visit and here we are enjoying being preggo and eating a TON...she actually e-mailed me this pic titled "cookie monsters" HA! Charlotte ended up being born 10 days before Levi on July 13th and they were just 5 ounces apart in size. Just for fun, here are two pics of the two of them outside of the womb :)

2 months old all decked out in raider gear :)


6 months old - one of my FAV pics ever, from when we were in Florida :)


OK.....I thought that was a pretty fun game...so I tag-
Sara
Jenae
Kameron
Lacye
Marisa
Christine
Taylor
Amanda
(of course you don't have to...but it is fun!)

Kamikaze Kid

Lately Levi has been earning the new nick name Kamikaze Kid. His Daddy has been calling him this because he seems to lack any sense of fear! Some of his favorite things to do right now (along with being in constant motion) are to pull up on anything and then let go and stand for a little bit before sitting down with a big plop. He especially likes to try to do this in the bath tub...not the safest place and make his Momma a little nervous.

Don't worry, in this next one my hand is just out of the picture and he didn't hurt himself...I just wanted to document him pulled up on the side and he let go right before the shutter. I think he looks like he is surfing :)

He also LOVES to do stunts with his Dad right now and gets VERY excited during them...not sure if this is helping him learn the art of fear. Climing on and over things has also become a favorite anventure. We went to a fun (and free!) "bounce time" play thing at the library with some friends last week and Levi loved it. There are a bunch of soft blocks, tunnels etc to climb on and play with and once he got used to being there he was climbing all over and going head first over the blocks and through the arches and tunnels...my camera died shortly after getting there so I didn't get any pics of him with his super cute friend Autry...maybe next time!

And this last pic is just for fun, even though it's a little blurry, I love it because you can see his little teeth! I have yet to get a good one with his teeth, but I think they are so cute!