Happy Ressurection Day!

We celebrated Levi's 2nd Easter this year. We attended church on Saturday night and had an Easter brunch Sunday morning. Levi shared this Easter with Grandma Lynda, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Nathan, Corban, and Mommy and Daddy.
Brunch was great, although Levi slept through all of it. We had egg casserole, Belgian waffles, fruit, AMAZING cinnamon rolls, sausage, and bacon. Each spot was set with a small Easter basket and yummy candy.
Right after Melissa, Nathan, and Corban left for Idaho to visit Nathan's family, Levi decided to finally wake up and join the party. So, we decided to do some Easter egg hunting with Grandma Lynda. Levi did a great job "finding" Easter eggs cleverly hidden on the couch, floor, and counters.








It was a great Easter shared with great family and we had a wonderful time. Amidst the fun and festivities, we also were able to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and the relationship that we are able to have with God because of Him. What an amazing day and reminder of what He did for us and the life we are able to live because of Him. It is my continual prayer that we live a life worthy of His gift and live each day fully aware of the price for which we were ransomed. What a blessing!

Blowing Bubbles

Jeff has been trying to teach Levi how to blow bubbles underwater to help get him used to his face being under the water. Last night during his bath Jeff started blowing bubbles and Levi started copying him...it was super cute. Here are a couple of short videos showing Levi's new talent.

Levi's first haircut

As many of you know, Levi has had a full head of hair for while, including some adorable baby curls. Although, I love those little curls, his hair was getting a bit out of control. So, alas, we decided it was time for his first haircut. Not knowing how it would turn out, we waited until after his first birthday party. We took him to Fun Kuts by the Tacoma Mall.
For those of you who have never been to a kid salon, it is quite the experience. We were greeted by a lego table and inside play structure. We waited just a couple of minutes and then they called him back. The actual salon was even better. Multi color streamers hanging from the ceilings, chairs in the shape of different characters, and a personal TV/VCR combo at each seat. Levi sat in Thomas the Train.
His hair stylist did a great job! Not only did she do a great haircut but did a great job at distracting him. She let him see the clippers, hear them and feel them, before she started the haircut. Every time he got a little upset, she'd pull out another toy or some animal crackers. She did great and so did he. After about 20 minutes, it was all done and our cute little baby looked like a handsome big boy! What a difference a haircut can make.
Although I'm said to see the curls go, I am glad we did it. It looks great and it's a lot less work to take care of. Here are some pictures to chronicle the experience.

Here's a before showing off the curls

Some more befores at the hair salon

Playing before the hair cut

Thomas the Train

Some great after shots

1 Year Check-Up

Levi had his one year check up yesterday and the news continues to be good!

First of all, as we were heading into the room (Levi practically running into the room) the nurse asked, "Is this really his 1 year check up?" I told her yes which she replied, "Are you late on scheduling it?" I told her no and that his birthday was last Friday. She just responded, "WOW!". I guess she was surprised that our little boy was only one year. Although that seems to be pretty normal so I'm used to it.

Levi's check-up went well. No problems or concerns from the doctor. His allergies are much better and we were able to take him off all of the medication he's been on the last couple of months. He also appears to have grown out of his egg allergy so that is great as well! He is now ready for milk.

Developmentally he continues to be advanced; walking, running, rolling/throwing balls to people, shooting a basketball in the hoop, sliding, swinging, and his favorite...playing with rocks. Levi loves being outside and loves throwing rocks, eating rocks, and putting rocks in my car tires. I even found some in the pockets of his pants...I guess that's boys!

Here are his 1 year stats:
Height: 32 1/2 in (98%)
Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz (80%)
Head: 18 3/4 in (82%)

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks so you can see how you has grown.

Levi playing with his Christmas present from Grandma

Let's go mom...I'm heading to the toy store!

Levi with Grandma's birthday balloon


These are from Levi's first beach trip. We spent a few days at Owen's Beach which he loved!

Wresting with Daddy

See that bucket in mid air? Yeah, that was a mess!

Low riding in the high chair

The End!

1 down, 17 to go!

That's right...Levi had his first birthday last Friday February 26th. I can't believe our little boy is already one year old! As most of you know, it has been a crazy year, but we have survived. Since it was such a huge milestone, we celebrated in style.
On Levi's actual birthday, we had a dinner at our house. Jeff's mom came up from Vegas and my family came over as well for Levi's Jungle Friends birthday party. We had pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, salad, and birthday cake. His cake was a monkey cake to go along with the jungle theme. It was so much fun to have everybody there celebrating our little guy, even though he slept through the first half.
Once he woke up, it was time for cake and his birthday cupcake. We lit the candle, sang Happy Birthday, and Levi dove in. Boy did he like that chocolate cake! Then came the presents. Levi started opening them but then got distracted and started playing with some old toys we had upstairs. That's right, he passed up the 21st Century toys for the ones made in the 70s! Oh well, it was great fun and so nice to have so much family together.






Then Sunday we did a big family party with Levi and Corban. We had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins galore. Corban and Levi both had missed their second naps and were a little cranky but we still managed to have some fun. Uncle Nathan and Aunt Melissa made some special Treasure Chest Applesauce Cake. For those of you who know the boys well, we figured Levi would dig in while Corban completely ignored the cake. But, we were wrong! Levi wanted nothing to do with it and Corban couldn't stop eating! It was hilarious.

Then came the craziest part of all...the presents! The boys got some great toys, books, and clothes. Then, once they were all opened, all of the kids descended and tried all of the toys out. It appears that they all passed the test.
All in all, it was a great couple of days and a great way to celebrate this past year. Both boys have grown and changed so much and are really becoming their own person. It was really fun to watch and I am excited to see what this next year will bring!

Levi's New Grin

Now that Levi has five teeth, he is starting to show them off more. He has this new smile that cracks us up. My friend Erika calls it "The Most Beautiful Smile" but it is anything but cute! We have caught quite a few great pictures and wanted to share them with you all. Hopefully he loses this smile before school pictures!



We should have some more updates to come shortly. Levi is changing and growing so fast, I don't have much time to blog...but with his first birthday coming up, there is plenty to share.

Teaching the basics...

There comes a time in life when you are faced with teaching your child the basics in life. I am not talking about the birds and the bees, what it means to be man, or even to honor your mama and papa. But the very basics that are so ingrained in us, we probably don't even think about how we do it every day, day in and day out. Levi is a smart child, and at almost 11 months, his observations led to what he learned in the video below....





He typically watches me get ready in the morning, and one day, he looked up at me combing my hair, and picked up mommy's brush and tried to comb his hair. A few days later, he saw me brushing my teeth, and looked at me in amazement. He then, with is mouth wide open, found the nearest thing to him which was my comb and stuck it in his mouth. We had already bought him a tooth brush for his 6 teeth, so I handed it to him, and he started right away to put it in his mouth. Then he choked a bit and smiled ear to ear! Now it is his routine to come watch daddy get ready every morning and "comb" his hair and "brush" his teeth.