Christmas Part 3b (Finally!)

Christmas at Grammy and Grandpa's included Grammy putting Levi in a Golden Retriever jacket (she's been waiting so long for it to fit him), a wonderful meal, a new rocking horse for Levi from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jill, and a great day with family. We are very blessed.

Blessing

For the past few months I have had the joy of taking a parenting class led by Chelsea Cameron (Kirk Cameron's wife) at a local church. I am refreshed and renewed every Monday morning by Chelsea's teachings and encouragement in being a wife and mom. I have taken dozens of pages of notes because I don't want to forget a thing I am learning! Yesterday she talked about the family blessing. She gives each of her 6 children a blessing every night by laying her hands on them and saying a different blessing to each child. Kirk calls in from the road if he isn't home so he can be involved in the blessing. I am so excited by this and started it with Levi last night. Chelsea shared some Biblical examples of Jesus blessing people.
Matthew 19:13-15
13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

What an amazing way to connect each night, give meaningful touch, make them feel special and loved, and remind them how very much Jesus, mom and dad love them!

She has us write our own blessing to share with our children. Of course, you could always use the Priestly blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26:

24 ‘The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”

She shared a blessing similar to this:

"May the Lord bless you and protect you, keep you safe and give you peace, grant you wisdom and knowledge, keep you godly, righteous and pure, and may you know how very much Jesus and Mommy and Daddy love you every day of your life."

I said something similar to Levi last night. I love this so much!

15 Months

My little man is 15 months old today. He is such a joy, such a rascal, such a cutie. I'm sure it's pretty safe to say that close to all kids will learn how to talk, understand what others do and say and pretty much grow in every area. For some reason, I find it literally amazing when Levi shows us he has developed in a new way! Watching the body and mind of a little person grow daily is one of the most incredible things I have ever witnessed. Here are a few things Levi is doing these days that I don't want to forget (plus his stats):

At 15 months, you weigh about 24 pounds. You are super tall but we aren't exactly sure how tall that is. We go in for your official appointment on Jan. 20th. You are wearing 18 or 24 month clothes and are in a size 4 diaper. You wear a size 5 shoe. You are in a super awesome napping phase right now. I'm pretty sure you're growing. You have been taking 2 naps a day that are 2-3 hours each! At first I thought something was wrong, but now I am embracing it fully. :) You are starting to understand so much more. When I can tell you are looking for something, I'll point out where your water is sitting. You walk straight over to where I pointed and drink your water. The other day, you were fussy and I could tell you were tired. I asked you, "You want to go to bed?" You stopped crying, nodded your head and said, "Yah." Melt your mother's heart!!! You LOVE to play outside. You are such a little explorer. We have literally stayed outside for hours at a time climbing, falling, chasing Marley, playing in dirt and leaves, learning how to climb the stairs on your little slide, running around, pushing things, playing with sticks and sweeping the outside. You are obsessed with brooms rakes and vacuums. If you are fussy, sometimes I'll hand you the broom and you are perfectly happy again. You just started feeding yourself with a fork. You are so proud of yourself. Isn't that so exciting?! :) You are growing up so fast. You climb on everything, get into most things and have stopped being interested in cuddling. You still want your mom and have some separation anxiety, but you are too busy to cuddle. You are attached like glue to your blanket, still love your pac and bottle, and love your bear in the crib when you sleep. The newest addition to our routine is the use of a noise maker. I think it really helps you sleep more soundly as it obviously blocks out any noises going on in the house. Your new hobby is turning the noise maker on and off. As soon as you wake up, you are super excited to turn it off, so you reach for it and babble. Your Grammy taught you this. We have to move your crib away from the wall because you have also been enjoying turning the light in your room on and off when you should be sleeping. It is pretty hilarious to glance at the monitor and see you standing up flicking the light on and off. You are such a character. Lately, when you are excited or happy, you say, "ooooooooooooooooooohhhh." It is so, so cute. We are incredibly blessed to be your parents. We love you so very much!

Christmas Part 3 (a)

On Christmas day, we woke up and got Levi's toolbench out for him to discover. When he woke up, Randy went to get him while I waited with the camera. We wanted to catch his reaction to his Christmas present. Levi is super attached to his blanket these days. The funny thing is that he is in love with the same blanket I had in my crib as a baby. 28 years later my son can't be parted with it! He often wanders into his room throughout the day, pulls the blanket through the slats in his crib and brings it out to the living room. So, when Randy took his pac out and took his blanket away so he could round the corner and discover his gift, we did not have a very happy camper on our hands.

Randy gave Levi his beloved blanket back and all was well with the world once again. Once he looked around the corner, he was super excited to see a new toolbench! He kept saying "Ooooohhh!" over and over. Before he even got to the toolbench, he dropped his most prized possession like he couldn't get rid of it fast enough! He had a new toy to discover!

Christmas Part 2

We celebrated Christmas with my family on Friday the 23rd. It was such a nice time! I can't remember the last time ALL of my siblings and their children were together under the same roof. The kids all loved being together, we caught up on life, opened gifts and ate a yummy turkey dinner. I just love Christmas!

Christmas Part 1

Christmas 2011


We kicked off the celebration of Christmas in Pasadena with my extended family. We ate great food, exchanged gifts for the kids and had a great time talking and catching up. I love our yearly tradition of celebrating Christmas together.

Then and Now, Christmas Edition

Days

Time is going by so quickly. The days blur right into one another. I have been struck each night this week that another day has passed. What have I done with it? Once a day is gone I can never get it back. I know some days, like many I have experienced over the past 2 weeks of being sick, will just be spent lying around on the couch, playing with Levi and not really doing much else. But I am not content with this existence because I was created for so much more. I am very thankful to be feeling better and have a little energy. I know I can be hard on myself, but I have been reminding myself that all I can do is be faithful with the day. Faithful in parenting moments that are trying. Faithful in my relationships. Faithful to following Him and reading His word. How I live my life is how I live my days. I am loving that I get to live my life as a wife and a mom, a daughter, sister, friend, and a follower of the King.

As I give Levi a bath each night, or get him from his crib each morning when he wakes up, I am amazed with how quickly he is growing, learning and developing. He is 14 months today and he is blossoming into a little person! Here are some things he has been doing lately that I don't want to forget:

He has been bringing me his shoes and walking to the door when he wants to go play outside.
He has been given the cookie part of an oreo, recognizes the box, and says "more, more" anytime he sees it.
He has taken off the bolts, nuts and washers from under the kitchen table. He concentrates for a few minutes while he twists them off. He loves to take things apart.
He is getting better at playing by himself throughout the day.
He loves to hold my hand. It is the sweetest thing. He holds my hand around the house, to bring me to his toys to play, to help him go up and down steps and when we walk into a group of people he doesn't know.
He is talking more and more. He babbles a ton. He points to things as he talks. He has so much to say!
He LOVES his blanket in his crib. It is actually the blanket I has in my crib as an infant. When he is tired, he will head into his room (the only open door in the house), find a pacifier and put it in his mouth, pull out his blanket through his crib slats as much as he can and he'll rest his head on it. He couldn't be more clear, "Mom, I'm ready for a nap!"
He sleeps with the teddy bear my sister Robin made me when I was little. It plays music when you wind it up. He gets so excited to hold the bear as it lulls him to sleep.
He is into absolutely everything. Nothing is safe. No home is baby proof enough. He is a rascal.
He loves his milk. His tummy had a difficult time with it at first, but now we can't give it to him quickly enough.
He is climbing on the furniture. I am fearful of injuries. I don't do well with boo boos.
He is going to have to wait until he is 2 to experience the joy of a Christmas tree. We have decided that it is not developmentally appropriate to put up a tree with shiny ornaments and bright lights and expect him to stay away. Tabletop trees will have to do this year.
He is such a joy!

I love my days. I love my life.

Now and Then- Halloween Edition

What a difference a year makes!

Current Inspiration

Photo:ETSY

Photos: Urban Outfitters

Photo: Target

Photo: Pottery Barn

Photo: ETSY

I've never been a super girly, girl, but I absolutely LOVE these frilly, beautiful things and they inspire me! I want to attempt projects like the ones above. We'll see what happens! :)