4 and a Half Years of Levi!

Levi turned four and a half last week and I just cannot believe he is getting so close to 5. That seems too old! We love our little man so much and feel very blessed to be his parents.

Even though you often hear the term "terrible twos" I think with Levi it would be more like the frustrating fours. Although during most of our time together we are all happy, the moments of frustration, anger and irritation have been more often during about the last 9-12 months. I think this all stems from the fact that Levi is very stubborn, opinionated and independent (I'm sure his parents/genes have nothing to do with these traits! Ha!). He is working through how to be a good listener, follow directions and be obedient. Mostly he just wants to listen to what he wants to do and have himself heard...don't we all. I think we are finally starting to get better at communicating with each other, but we both need reminders to take deep breaths, be calm and use our words carefully instead of reacting without thinking (and in Levi's case often reacting physically or with angry tears). Levi is such a passionate little guy, and most of the time it is so fun to watch him excitedly explore and learn, but when that passion is uncontrolled the out bursts can be brutal!

Fun Facts: I measured him at home and then quized him for the rest :)
height: 43 inches (80%)
weight: 42 pounds (75%)
clothing: 5T or XS
shoe size: 11
Favorite foods: apples, deer & hog meat, carrots
desserts: chocolate candy
color: red
book: Curgious George
cartoon: Wild Kratts
toy: Larry mobile, remote control car, legos
place to go: museum
restaurant: Sonic and Fuzzy Tacos
outdoor activity: play tag with my Dad
song: The Cave by Mumford and Sons (aka "Hold on Hope") and Oh God You Are My God
animal: lion
part of school: creative movement and art
part of church: singing
to do with Joel: wrestle
to do with Daddy: wrestle and play tag
to do with Momma: read books

Funny Levi sayings/Levisms:
-says "reget" or "regot" instead of forget or forgot
-If he is playing something or watching TV and I have told him time is almost up, after a few minutes he will say, "I see that you are busy, may I ___ a little longer" he is smart, because he often gets his way with these sweet words. Ha!
-Every morning he asks me if he can have a snack, despite me telling him every morning that I am about to make him breakfast
-He's a persistent bugger, almost every day when I pick him up at school he asks, "since I've been soooo good at school today can we go to Sweet Frogs (fro-yo place) for a treat?!" We have done this once, the first day of school...
-talks about/makes up stories about Coco, Jumpy and Circle (the squirrels in our yard)
-always refers to soccer as soccer ball, "lets go play soccer ball"


Levi is a busy boy; always moving and almost always talking.  He is very hands on and loves any toy that allows him to build or manipulate things. His imagination is growing and he tells wild stories and comes up with elaborate things for us to play on a daily basis. Creating things is a favorite past time, therefore we have MANY works of art taped all around the house that are mainly made of colored paper cut and pasted into different shapes. He also loves to play with play-dough and most often builds animals or houses. Getting his hands messy in any way makes him happy, so he enjoys lots of time helping me cook, making mud pies or digging in the dirt. Since he loves using his hands so much spending time doing "work" with his Dad is also a favorite activity. His love for his Dad is intense and I'm pretty sure he thinks Philip is perfect ;).

helping Dad make deer sausage

hugs for Daddy even if he is super sweaty from a bike ride

Animals fascinate Levi and he loves to learn about them from books, TV shows, asking a whole bunch of questions or going to the museum/zoo/aquarium. He would love it if I took him to one of those fun places every day. He and Joel share this interest and it makes me so happy to watch them pretend with their many plastic figures. Ever since his hunting trip with his Dad he has becoming very interested in the hobby and likes to quiz his Dad about how to hunt, and what to do with the animals you kill.

He loves his baby brother fiercely. I think if you asked him who he loved most it would often be his little brother Joel. Despite the constant wrestling and fighting (which they often do purposefully for fun) they love to be together and are so close. Watching them develop a close relationship makes me so happy because I have a special bond with my siblings and long for my children to share in that love and joy. They are so funny together and will play for hours! I pray for their relationship often and it is my hope that they will love and support each other and encourage each other to be men who follow God.

Levi is a smart guy, and is doing very well in pre-K. Thankfully he loves going to school and seems to be learning so much during his time there. He is still working on his fine motor control, but is getting better every day at writing smaller more accurate letters as well as drawing detailed pictures. Every day I am surprised by what he knows and all the facts that are stored up in his growing brain! Our lives are better with Levi in them and we are so thankful that we have been honored to be his parents! I feel confident that with God's help Levi will grow into a wonderful man, and I can't wait to be a part of the process.

It's Almost February

Sam's expected birthday was February 8th, 2014 and these thoughts are what keeps rolling through my mind, I hope that if someone else reading this has suffered pregnancy loss they may read this and know they are not alone, so...
 
It's almost February, but it's not going to be the February that I was expecting; I thought I'd be either great with child, or holding my baby in my arms, not missing him. I'm having foggy, surreal moments each day, which fills me with even more empathy for other mothers who have also walked through this type of loss. I'm living on a roller coaster emotionally, pressed low one moment, lifted and loving life's ride the next. I realize that Sam's life was near perfect, he never experienced any of the pain in this world, but instead went straight to be with our creator. This fills me with joy for him. But, I still miss getting to know him here with us.

It's almost February, and I can see and feel all the ways in which God has blessed me. I'm so glad I have my faith to make this experience much easier to bear. Another verse that recently gave me comfort was Ecclesiastes 7:1 where God points out that as a believer, our death will always be a better day than our birth. Yet, I also struggle often with "why me" and envious thoughts. When I see someone who will be welcoming a baby soon, although I feel excited for them I am also always aware of a pang of sadness and jealousy in my heart. Thankfully, God has surrounded me with friends and family who have been so sensitive and have shown me much love.

It's almost February, which means that time is marching on and I'm doing just fine. My life is filled with blessings and I'm almost always able to see those gifts instead of dwell on what I don't have. Although, I can't help but sometimes think that February would have been a time of celebration for our family; a month that should have been Sam's. Only God knows what the month will bring for our family. He has brought me to healing in many ways, and I know He will continue to love me well as I go through this tough spot.

It's almost February, and even though it's not what I was expecting, I know it will bring something positive. I'm doing well, and life is good. God loves me well, and shows his affection for me in small ways daily :)

Cousin Sleep-over!

Philip's sister has an annual girls weekend with her friends from college, and lucky for us this year it was in Fort Worth. So, we had the joy of watching Kamryn and Kynlee (Kadin stayed home with his Dad) all weekend! It was so fun! The girls get along so well with Levi and Joel and play well together for hours. We spent alot of time just hanging out at home playing and running around the yard. On Saturday morning, Philip was duck hunting with some friends from church, so I had a few hours by myself with the kids. It was a little chilly and windy, so instead of the zoo (which was what we had planned) we decided to go to the aquarium. All the kids and I had so much fun! It was so fun to watch them run from tank to tank pointing out all the fish and creatures. This aquarium is very interactive, so they all enjoyed answering the quiz questions and climbing through the tunnels, peeking inside the "bubbles" and touching starfish.

After the aquarium we grabbed some lunch and then headed home for the remainder of the day. Kamryn loves dogs, and Penny enjoyed the extra attention. Levi and Kam both enjoyed making her do tricks, petting her and trying to convince her to let them ride her like a horse. We had a house full of laughter, silly dancing, giggles and goofy songs. It was good for my heart. That evening we popped some popcorn for the kids and they enjoyed watching Toy Story together before bed. Kynlee has become quite the reader and she was so sweet reading books to Levi & Joel each night at bedtime. After books Kamryn and Kynlee would scratch Levi and Joel's backs to help them go to sleep before heading to the guest room to go to bed themselves.

 

 

The next morning we all went to church together, and it was fun to have a little taste of what it would be like to have four kids. I wish I had taken a picture of the four of them dressed for church, they were pretty cute. I must say, I have some pretty awesome neices! They were so sweet and well behaved the whole weekend and made four kids seem like a really good idea :) I'm so glad they were able to come spend a weekend with us and am looking forward to hosting all three Long cousins sometime this summer!

Levi's First Hunting Trip

This past weekend Philip took Levi for his first "hunting" trip to the lease. They had a wonderful time! I'll admit, I'm not always a big fan of hunting season. It takes up alot of Philip's time and money every fall. I do however, love that it gave Levi the opportunity for some special one on one time with his Daddy. Hunting has been a common interest for Philip and his Dad, and for my Dad and my brother. It has given them a reason to spend a lot of quality time together, which gives me hope that it will do the same for Philip and our boys. Technology is taking over so much of our daily lives, and I love the idea of my boys having some forced "unplugged" time with their Dad. If the both Levi and Joel end up enjoying hunting and want to go on trips with Philip every year this also means I will have some kid free weekends...big bonus :)

I LOVE this picture of Levi, that is one happy little guy hunting with his Daddy :)

Philip said Levi loved using the "noculars" to "watch the deers"

They usually hunt each morning and then again just before sunset. Philip said Levi did a great job in the morning because it was very cold and they didn't see much. He was really impressed with how well Levi stayed mostly quiet and still in the blind. After some lunch and naps they went back out to hunt and this time they saw several deer. Philip was going to follow Levi's lead on whether or not to shoot any animals in front of him, and only do so if Levi seemed very comfortable with the idea. Well, when they saw the deer Levi quietly told Philip to shoot. Then he got his ear protection on and binoculars up waiting for his Daddy to get a deer. So, Philip shot a doe and he said Levi didn't seem bothered. Levi was very interested in the process of field dressing the deer and asked Philip if he could see what the "tummy juices" looked like as well as if that is what "peoples insides look like."

Levi asked to take a picture with the doe

enjoying a camp fire with Daddy after a long day of hunting :)

Levi slept in and stayed at camp with Papa the next morning to avoid the cold.

They also spent some time hunting for ducks and Levi enjoyed helping retrieve the birds they shot. Philip has made some very yummy duck sausage, and I'm thinking we have more of that coming after all the ducks they got this trip! Philip mentioned that he and Levi had to have a talk about respecting animals...apparently Levi thought it was funny to make the ducks stick out their tongues and "talk." I was happy to hear that Philip is having these good conversations with Levi now while he is young, so that he can be the thoughtful, caring hunter that Philip is one day.

stick in one hand, duck in another; what could be better :)

Showing off some of the birds they got with Papa

Philip's friend "Mr. Trout" joined them for this trip as well...that's a lot of duck.

Watching Levi and Philip form a strong, trusting relationship makes me so happy. I hope that they continue to share interests and grow closer through the years. Hunting is just one fun way to make that happen.

Worst Ear Infection EVER!

My poor Levi love is finally starting to get over an awful ear infection. I took him to the doctor Thursday afternoon because he and Joel had been fighting a runny nose and dry cough on and off for about 6 weeks, and Levi had mentioned that his ear was hurting a little on Wednesday at bedtime. I was surprised when their doctor said that they both had "impressive" double ear infections, because other than needing their nose wiped they seemed pretty much normal. I started them on their prescribed antibiotics that evening, giving them the recommended double dose to get a good jump start on killing off the bug. Joel has never missed a beat, and the Amoxicillin has been working for him since day one, Levi on the other hand was not so lucky. :( On Friday morning he woke up with crusty eyes and a productive cough. By the end of the day all he wanted to do was lay around.

 
He did not sleep well that night, and woke up with a massive nose bleed and horrible fits of coughing. I was still hopeful that on Saturday the medicine would start working (you are supposed to give antibiotics at least 48 hours to take effect). Unfortunately, Saturday morning he had snot running from his eyes, and crusting up his lashes, there was even some draining from his ears. His cough was so sad and sometimes made him purple in the face. Thankfully the cough let up some during the day, so I decided to give the medicine a little more time. He had another rough night with coughing and nose bleeds, so on Sunday morning we stayed home from church (also because Philip tested positive for flu on Friday...yipee!). Levi had woken with the same symptoms, but a little worse, and with ruptured vessels in his eyes. So so sad!

I called the on-call nurse line, and she told me that as long as his pain was not severe and he did not have a high fever (his was never over 100.2) that I should just wait, treat the symptoms, hydrate with lots of juice and get him in to the doctor first thing Monday morning. So, that's what we did. We watched a LOT of movies and cartoons that weekend! First thing Monday I took Levi in to the doctor and he confirmed that Levi's ear (now also sinus...as I suspected) infection was "raging" and uneffected by the amoxicillin. He switched him to Augmentin, which is a stronger antibiotic, and we started that right away. He already seemed a little better that night, and this morning he seemed ever better! I kept him home from school so he could get a little extra rest and hydration, but I think he will be able to go back tomorrow...yay!!! I understand the need to give the antibiotics enough time to work, but in hind sight, I wish I would have just asked to switch antibiotics on Saturday morning...writing this all out it was very clear the Amoxicillin was doing nothing. Thankfully, Levi is now on the mend, and I have a greater appreciation for my usually very healthy little guy! Having a healthy family is such a blessing, if coping with a bad ear infection is the worst we have to deal with we are doing pretty well. Thank you Lord!