Celebrating Levi!

I relish in making my boys' birthdays special, and this year I had fun planning lots of special things for Levi as he turned six. As always, we ate Levi's favorite foods all day on his birthday. He chose chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and a horned melon for breakfast. Everytime we went to Sprouts for two months leading to his birthday he asked for that $4 melon, and he ended up eating all of 3 bites of it. But, it was a special treat, and he was very excited to finally try it. For lunch Levi chose Sonic and ordered a corn dog, fries and cherry slush. After lunch we went for a swim, always a favorite for the birthday boy. Aunt Molly, Uncle Ryan, Pop and Moe joined us for dinner with a menu picked specially by Levi of macaroni and cheese, peaches and tomatoes. For dessert we had banana pudding, since minions love bananas and we were seeing the movie after dinner, of course :).  When we were finished enjoying our meal we headed to the movie theater to join the rest of the family in watching Minions. Levi adores every member of his family and really wanted to watch the movie with all of them. Thankfull,y we have a great family who went out of their way to join us on a week night to watch a goofy movie about yellow twinkie shaped creatures. Levi laughed his way through the movie and delighted in having his family by his side. It was a great time celebrating the day our first was born!

On the following Saturday we finished off the celebration by having a small swimming party for Levi and his friends. He decided to have an Angry Birds theme, since that is a phone game he loves to play with his dad. I made some cupcakes decorated to look like the angry birds and their nemesis the bad piggies. Levi loved them and thought they were perfect, which made my heart happy :).  As usual, the birthday boy was in charge of the party menu, decor, activities and favors and everything he chose was a hit! We had watermelon (yellow and red) and hard boiled "angry bird eggs" for snacks, Gatorade, Sprite and capri suns for drinks, a pinata and swimming for activities and bad piggie cups filled with angry bird tatoos, mini paddle balls and a mini rubix cube for favors. Six of Levi best buddies from church and school came and I think they all had a blast playing and celebrating. Levi declared it a great party after everyone left, I had to agree, it was a simple, but very fun party! I'm looking forward to celebrating many more year of my Levi love in the future :)

 

Levi is SIX!

It's hard for me to wrap my brain around it, but my first born baby boy is 6 whole years old! In just a few weeks he will start first grade and it all just seems too grown up! I'm so proud of the smart, competitive, funny, sweet, and sensitive little guy he is becoming and I hope and pray that Philip and I (with God's help!) can guide him to be the best he can be and to use his gifts in positive ways. He loves to be outdoors; dig in the dirt, hunt for "treasures", ride bikes or scooters, swim, go on walks, play on the play set, help in the garden and more. On the other hand he can be a couch potato and loves to watch his shows, or play games on our phones. Lately his interest in reading has really taken off and he is thrilled when we go to the library and pick out books. He will read to me, but also loves to snuggle up and have me read him book after book.

He has a nurturing side and watching him embrace the roll as big brother since Nathan arrived has been fun. Levi adores his baby brother and relishes in Nate's attention! He also enjoys helping take care of Nathan in any way he can. He particularly enjoys feeding him and carrying him. Levi also loves Joel, but he isn't always as good at showing his affections to his middle brother. We are currently working with both older boys on using kind words with each other and speak first before using force to express ourselves. Even though they can be rough and harsh with each other Levi and Joel are very close and want to be together all the time. Watching them learn to play together more and more as they grow older has been so sweet!

 
Levi's six year check up at the doctor went well and he continues to bless us with great growth and development. He had a long chat with Dr. D about the game angry birds (which was the theme of his upcoming birthday party). Both his vision and hearing screens went well despite a double ear infection and a lot of fluid behind his ear drums. When it was time to leave Levi was thrilled to learn that he won't have to get any shots "until he is a teenager." These days he talks about "when he is a teenager" constantly. I hope those years are all he dreams they will be :)

New Stats:
weight - 45 lbs (50%)
height - 46.5 inches (65%)
shoe size - 13
clothes - 6 or boys small (sometimes needs a 7 slim for length)

 

An Interview with the birthday boy:
favorites:
food- apples
meal- salami and cheese sandwiches
toy- legos
activity- making clay/play dough sculptures and swimming
sport - soccer and triathlons
color- red
place to go- Pop and Moe's house
restaurant- Sonic
tv show- ninjago
movie- Ice Age (all of them) and Despicable Me (1,2 & Minions)
book- Dr. Seuss (Green Eggs and Ham is best), Pete the Cat and Fly Guy
song- "Football Game Bible Class Song"
game- phone games (angry birds or lego games) or chutes and ladders
thing to do with daddy- swim
thing to do with momma- swim
thing to do with Joel- play tag
thing to do with Nathan- feed him yogurt and getting him out of his bed
best friend- Eli
future career- artist, lumber jack and paleontologist

 

Lately, Levi is feeling very grown up and thrives when given opportunity to show some responsibility. We have been trying to find more tasks for him, and as of now his daily jobs include; feeding Penny, making his bed, putting his plate in the sink and silverware in the dishwasher after meals, picking up his toys, putting his dirty clothes in the hamper and the newest addition, showering by himself. All of these things fill him with pride and I think he really enjoys being a big boy and helping around the house. He also loves to vacuum and sweep, so occasionally I'll let him help with those chores, although I have to come behind him and catch what he missed :). As always he is a very independent guy and loves to do things himself whenever possible. He dresses himself most days as soon as he wakes up and lately the theme is monochromatic and sleeveless whenever possible. (such as his lovely outfit for his 6 year snap shots) This is NOT what I would choose for him to wear, but he loves it, and I've decided it's not worth a fight. I still choose his clothes or help him choose on special occasions and for church.

This past year Levi grew and learned so much! I am so proud of how well he is reading, and learning math. Levi likes to know facts and to share that knowledge with who ever might be listening. (I'm pretty sure his mom was a bit of a know it all at his age too). He has such a strong desire to improve and do better in all he does, and I hope we can cultivate that desire and help him become a persistent, hard working and determined young man. I can see great things in his future! He loved kindergarten, and I can't wait to see what all he learns in first grade and all the activities to come this year!

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Cousin Camp!

The boys had a 2 night sleep over at Papa and Nana D's house for "Cousin Camp!"  They had a blast with their Boyer grandparents and cousins spending lots of time playing, swimming, staying up late, eating treats, doing crafts and even taking a trip to Lego Land. Cousin Kadin had a baseball tournament and couldn't be there! He was missed and they all hope he can come next year. Here are a few pictures Papa sent to me of their fun weekend! Thanks for giving us a weekend off and giving the boys a special weekend Allen and Deanna!!!

They all made a tie dye "cousin camp" Tshirt

watching a movie in the backyard!

Nine Months with Nathan

Nathan is now 9 months old! His first year is flying by and it is really making me sad! I enjoy this age so much and since he could be our last baby I've been extra sentimental. The biggest changes for him this month have some in mobility, but he has also grown a but verbally. He is a talker/noise maker and I usually know where he is because I can hear him jabbering to himself. Meal time is something he loves and if you don't feed him quickly enough he lets you know with lots of loud squeels and screams. So far he will eat most anything that we put in front of him and is doing a great job at feeding himself. Busy describes him well. He never stops moving unless he is asleep. Nap time and length continue to be fairly inconsistent, but that is partially due to having older brothers that tend to interrupt our routine. All around he just seems like a much older baby and he's starting to act like a one year old...slow down time!

New Skills:
crawling on hands and knees and getting faster by the day
crawls on his hands and feet when on a rough or hard surface
pulls up on anything and everything
can say Mama, Dada, Bubu, Dog (Daw) and All Done (Ah Duh)
waves
gives kisses
drinks from straw cups
 

Favorite Things:
Penny- he thinks she is hilarious and follows her around the house (she tolerates him)
Eating - carbs, yogurt and apple sauce are favorites, but he really likes most anything
feeding himself (won't really eat anything off a spoon unless it's yogurt or apple sauce)
Daddy- when Philip gets home from work he is always super excited
toys that make noise or things that he can bang together and make noise with
tickles from Levi or Momma
anything involving water (splash park, swimming, bath time)

Things That Cause Complaining:
Momma leaving the room
Not getting to play with his brothers things
having to be still for diaper changes
being in the car seat "too long"
having to wait between bites or for more food on his tray

New Stats:
height- 28.5in (70%)
weight- 16lb 12oz (7%)
head- 46cm (55%)
clothes- 9 month or 6-12 month usually fit best
diapers- size 2
shoes- size 2

Nate continues to be a go along kid and mostly easy and happy. He loves his family and would be happy to explore our house and yard all day long. All of us sure do love him and enjoy watching him grown and learn. What a blessing to have him in our family! Can't believe he'll be one in 3 months!

Father's Day and the 4th of July!

Wow this summer is whizzing by, I can't believe we are half way done with our time off from school. Our family has been having fun enjoying the long summer days and keeping very busy! This year both Father's Day and the Fourth of July were extra fun (maybe all things are more fun with 3 boys in tow).

For Father's Day we had lunch with Philip's Dad and then some swimming before it started raining. Levi and Joel love their Papa and I know Nathan will too as he gets older. I'm very thankful for Allen because he did a great job raising my wonderful husband, and loves my three boys too. After a little rest during the rain we headed over to my parents house for round two. We ate some yummy pizza, had root beer floats and swam some more. This was our final visit to my parents house before they moved out, and it is still surreal that they no longer live in the house where I did a lot of my growing up. The water was a little chilly from the rain, but that didn't stop the cousins and dads from swimming and having fun. Whenever I mention to the boys that we will be seeing Pop soon the response it always pure excitement! My boys sure are lucky to have 3 amazing fathers in their lives! They are especially blessed to have Philip as their Dad. I often find my self in awe of the way he loves, teaches, plays with, respects, and enjoys time with our three sons. God really blessed me by giving me a husband who is such a wonderful father and strong example. I know I couldn't raise three boys with out my Philip!

On July 3rd we started our Independence Day celebrations by meeting up with Sean and Jessica for some dinner and then shooting off our own fireworks a little north of Denton. All 4 of the "big boys" had so much fun playing with fire, and us girls and the baby enjoyed watching them from a blanket :). Philip and Sean are such special friends, and it is so nice to have him and Jessica living near by! 

This year we celebrated the fourth of July with my family and it was extra special because it was the first holiday where Aunt Molly and Uncle Ryan were there as TEXANS! We are so thrilled to have them living near by and can't wait to have them around so much more often. To start off the festivities we all met at my parents new place (and Molly & Ryan's home while they search for their own place). Moe and Pop have a great new town-home which includes nearby walking trails and a neighborhood pool. The kids had a blast swimming with all their Knochel aunts, uncles and cousins. After the swim we had a yummy all American meal before heading over to the Richardson fireworks show. We ended up with near perfect seats and all of the kids (and adults) enjoyed the fantastic display. Even little Nate stayed awake for the fireworks (after a long nap on Aunt Kate shortly after we arrived) and he LOVED watching them. He was so cute squealing, bouncing and grinning as the exploded above us! I wish I would have caught some of it on video! It was a great evening and I'm really looking forward to more celebrations with my whole family in one place. I'm grateful to live in such a wonderful country, and I do my best to appreciate all that has been done in history to make America what it is today. I also consider myself blessed to have a family who I want to spend time with and who loves me well.