Weekend with Moe and Pop!

Levi and I spent all day Friday with my parents (Moe and Pop), Gran, sister (Aunt Kate), niece & nephew(Nora & Asher) and brother (Uncle Seth) and then I left Levi at their house Friday night and headed home because I had to work Saturday and Philip was out of town tying up all the loose ends from his Mom's passing by cleaning out her "stuff" in Miami.

We had such a wonderful time Friday! I enjoyed resting a little while the family did a bunch of the Levi care all day and then my parents treated us to dinner out. Levi had a blast playing with Nora and his Uncle Seth! He also enjoyed observing his sweet rolly polly cousin Asher and even gave him a little kiss on the tummy and gently pointed out several of his features, especially his toes :). We went to the park to play and have a picnic lunch and after nap went on a long walk around the neighborhood, which of course Levi loved as well.

Saturday while I was very busy at work Levi had a wonderful time with his Moe and Pop again! He was such a good boy and slept all night, plus took his normal 1 hour nap (I was worried since this was his first time there since the transition to big bed). They went fishing with cousin Nora in the morning (I stole pics from Kate...thanks for taking them!!) and then enjoyed lots of attention that afternoon at their house as well.
Levi loves his Moe and Pop and I am so lucky to have them as his grandparents! I know he will make many memories in their home and will stay for many more nights :) Thanks again Mom and Dad! It was a huge help and a needed break! Being preggo and chasing Levi around all day with no hubby help in the evenings for almost 6 days is a little tiring!! Enjoy the pictures of a fun weekend for my little guy!

32 Weeks Big!

Today I hit the 32 week mark of this pregnancy. I am HUGE. Don't try to deny it. Comparing pics from Levi's pregnancy I would say that I look about as big in the belly now as I did when I was 36 weeks along with him. Who knows what that will mean as far as size of little brother, but I'm not going to expect a smaller baby, that's for sure! I am feeling pretty well, nothing out of the ordinary for second pregnancy chasing around a very fast and very active almost 2 year old (crazy that he's that old!). So, the only big news for this pregnancy up date is....drum roll please....

We have a name!

Levi's little brother will be called...

We have yet to decide on a middle name, and will post here when we do, but I am really excited to have his name picked out and to be able to teach Levi his brother's name in anticipation. It makes it all seem a little more real, and I am really enjoying talking about him by name. Joel has been on the list since the beginning, but I guess we Philip just needed to eliminate all other options. We love that it is another name from The Bible (one of the few on the list actually) and are hoping to give him a special family middle name just like Levi has. That's about all for now. Here is an updated picture of the amazing stretching belly :)



Sweet Little Voice

Levi has just the sweetest little voice right now! He jabbers all day long and talks in "paragraphs" and "sentences" with lots of sounds mixed in with recognizable words. He LOVES to sing all the time and identify everything in sight. I got a couple little videos to capture his sweet baby voice before it turns into a man voice (it will happen in the blink of an eye I'm sure...crazy!). It is hard to imagine that he won't always sounds this way, but I actually hope he doesn't...no man wants a sweet sing-song high pitched voice :) I remember when I was off at college and would call home and my baby brother Seth would answer the phone with this deep man voice and it was just weird. I guess because I am a girl it is easier to imagine my nieces all grown up, but when I think of Levi and his little brother turning into men I just cannot even start to imagine it!

His favorite songs to sing right now are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "The ABCs", "Levi is My Darling" (Moe's special song for him ) and "Where is Thumbkin." I have yet to capture a whole Levi rendition of any of these songs because once he figures out he is staring in a video he usually gets distracted. Here is a short clip, just to give you an idea.

Like I mentioned he also loves to identify everything he can knows. He will point and label everything in any room beginning from the moment he wakes up for the morning or right after naps. Some of his favorite things to point out are body parts and clothing items on himself or Momma or Daddy. Here he is showing off :)

A Shower for Baby Boy Boyer #2!

Saturday morning my sweet friends from church gave me and one of my very best friends Erin (due just 5 weeks before me) a little brunch/baby shower at La Madeleine. My girlfriends at church are so wonderful and are such a blessing! It is so nice to have a group of women that are Christians, wives and soon to be Mommas (there are at least 7 preggers in our Sunday school class right now...first timers other than Erin and I). Sharing our faith and supporting each other through this time in our lives is something special.

The shower was relaxed and so sweet! They had super cute decorations, flowers and a cake for the table and Erin and I both got some cute stuff for our soon to arrive babies! We are both having babies of the same gender again (Erin girls, me Boys), so we don't need much stuff, but it was really fun to get a few new things for the babies and some needed diapers, wipes etc too!

Thank you so much to everyone who organized and came to the event! I feel so lucky to have you all in my life! I also want to say how special it has been to share all the experiences of being pregnant with baby #2 with Erin. As I said she is very special to me and a dear friend that I believe God placed in my life to be a support, confidant and encourager for me when we moved to Fort Worth. Erin is such a special lady and has made my life better. I can't wait to share raising our kids together and see our friendship grow even more! I sure am blessed!

Ordinary Days

I am starting to really feel sentimental about all the simple little things we do as a family of three. Things are pretty great right now, and it's hard to imagine what it's going to be like to add another little boy to the mix. I know in my heart (and from other mother's with 2 or more kids) that it just gets more wonderful and once each new baby is added to the family it feels as if they were a perfect fit :). But, since I have never done it I sometimes feel a little sad knowing that Levi won't get 100% of my attention and I won't be able to notice 100% of the cute little things he does. It also seems a little sad that the new little guy won't have as much attention as Levi as always gotten. So, the last couple of weeks I have been really loving our time together, when it's just me and Levi, or when Philip gets to join in on the fun too. Here is a "snapshot" of all the sweet ordinary things in our life right now:

Levi LOVES to be outside and would live there if I let him :) Since they weather has been warming up we have been outside alot. Not only is this fun because he is so happy and cute, but I can also sit in the rocker some and relax! Yipee!

Levi gets up when it starts to get good and sunny in his room (today that was 7:30am...I LOVE daylight savings!) which is usually about 6:30am...But, we stay in our pjs and play/eat breakfast and relax until 9 or 10 every morning...it's such a sweet time for the 2 of us.

Levi loves all things fruit and also loves his boots...here he is in bliss eating a bunch of grapes off the vine and wearing his beloved boots (with shorts!) for snack time. Being preggo this is also a favorite of mine...ummmm snacks :)

Levi's favorite person on earth is his Daddy (and believe me the feeling is mutual!) and he loves to do things just like Philip. He has play tools and yard equipment just for the purpose of imitating his Dad. His favorites are to work on his car with his wrench and hammer, and to mow and rake in the yard. It is just pure joy :)

For Mommy documentation purposes I am going to type out our "normal" daily routine (when we stay home most of the day)...pretty soon it will be all shook up :)

6:30-7:30am Levi greets me in my room saying "Oh! Momma!" "Seeping?" "Milk, Nana, Please Momma?" and I drag my big old self out of bed and happily oblige :)

8:.-8:30am make us some cereal, oatmeal, toast or eggs and eat breakfast

9am relax and play in our jammies for a while

10am- get dressed and head outside to play (or to run errands)

11:30am-12noon lunch (usually sandwiches or cheese and crackers with fruit and a veggie)

1 or 1:30pm nap time for Levi (and sometimes Momma) read 3-4 books, say prayers, sing 2-3 songs and sleep in a big boy bed for 1-1.5hrs

2:30-3:00pm wake up, snuggle and snack time (fruit and some type of starch usually)...watch 30 mins of sesame street from the DVR, play outside (often at the park!) or run errands

5:00pm-6:00pm watch more sesame street or whatever is on PBS while Momma gets dinner going and we wait for Daddy to get home

6:00-6:30pm Yeah!!!! Daddy is home, eat dinner and play with Daddy

7:15-7:30pm bath-a-roonie time (another thing that brings great joy!) then jammies on, brush teeth, kisses for Daddy and off to bed usually by 8 or 8:15 he is sleeping (read 3-4books, prayers, 2-3 songs, into big bed to sleep all night! yipee!)

Oh how I love our ordinary days. Yes, sometimes it's exhausting or frustrating, but it is just this magical sweet time too with a little guy that loves me sooo much and that I love beyond explanation :)

Another Fun Weekend with the Fellers!

Philip and I are blessed to have some very long term friends that are near and dear to us and have supported us throughout our lives. We both even have friends whom we keep up with that we have known since elementary school, middle school, high school and college!

Some of these dear friends are the Fellers. We have been friends with Kameron and Jason since our freshman year in college...that means for 10 years! We became friends through our college church group and have shared in dating, marriage and starting our families around the same time. Their precious little girl Mollie is just 6 months older than Levi. We have been so lucky, and have been able to see them usually at least 2 times a year even though they still live in Lubbock and we live in DFW. The boys share a common interest in running races and triathlons, so we usually get to host them as our guests at least once a year for one of those events. We have made it out to stay with them for at least one football game every season (except the 2010 season - due to Carol's illness).

Well, this year is no different and the Fellers crashed at the Hotel Boyer for the past weekend so that Jason could run in the Cowtown Marathon. Philip was going to run the half, but due to the weather and stress the last month he was unable to train enough so decided to sit out. On Saturday we all went to the zoo to see the animals and share a picnic lunch.  The kids had a good time and got along really well! They are both getting so big and are actually starting to interact and say each others names. Too cute! 

After a post zoo rest we grilled up a yummy dinner, threw the kiddos in the bath and then bed. We finished off the evening with some relaxing and dessert, a Boyer-Fellers tradition :). On Sunday Jason did WONDERFUL at the race and finished well in the top 50 with his best time yet, 7 minutes better than last year! We were so proud! All 5 of his cheering section was there at the finish line loud and proud :) After the race we enjoyed a yummy burger lunch and they hit to road back to West TX. We were sad to see them go, but can't wait to visit them this fall for a football game (there will be 3 kids then!! wow!).

Miss Mollie must have rubbed off a little on Levi because he has been super interested in the potty ever since she left. Mollie is very well potty trained (and has been since 19 months!!!) and Levi has been talking potty ever since. I am still a little undecided on when we will start his potty training with his little brother coming soon, but on Monday morning he took off his own pants and diaper and ran to the bathroom saying "I potty, I poo poo" so I let him sit on it for a while. Too bad all he did was have a few toots :) But he sure did look cute trying!