t-ball

Levi likes t-ball!  Still amazes me how quickly kids can catch on to things.  A week ago we had Boden and Heidi over and played t-ball at some point.  (Okay, didn't really play a game - just set stuff up and the kids hit balls.)  Twice in the last week now Levi has "asked" me to play.  He goes over to where the stuff is in the garage and points to it.  I'll set up the tee, he puts the ball on himself, hits it off, and then goes and gets the ball.  Of course it's pretty cute.  :)

We went as a family to the fair on Wednesday night.  Overall, the boys did great.  Caleb and Logan don't yet understand that we can't do EVERYTHING because it all costs money, but they didn't do too bad.  For the most part they listened pretty well and there were no major issues.  (Taking young children to the fair can be fun, but can also be a nightmare....)  They enjoyed the animals.  Caleb and Mike rode the ferris wheel, and then Logan, Caleb, and Mike rode a "Dizzy Dragon" ride.  We met up with my parent's and Mike & Emily and fam for Mike and Natalie's annual "Zipper" ride.  However, when we got over there the line was OUTRAGEOUS, so they didn't get to do it this year.  :(  Thursday night Mike took Caleb and Logan back to the fair.  They did a couple rides and also did the "goldfish" game and came home with two fish - so far they are still alive...  Logan's is Megatron, and Caleb's is Lightning McQueen (and, yes, we can tell the difference between the two).

waiting for the ferris wheel

going up

near the top!

the "dizzy dragon"

stinky cows!

fair

This happens to me every year.  We get to "fair week" (which, for those of you that may not be aware, signals the end of summer) and I'm just like, "What in the world happened to summer??"  I'm pretty sure that part of the problem is that celery harvest for Mike doesn't begin until early July, and that to me is the beginning of summer, so fair week sneaks up pretty quick after that.  Doesn't help that up until the last few days we've had pretty cool weather and the days are getting noticeably shorter.  I'm so torn because summer is a crazy time for us, but I like the sunshine and warm weather SO. MUCH. BETTER. than the cold and darkness of winter...

Speaking of it being a crazy time, the farm is pretty caught up to the celery right now, so Mike has actually gotten home at a respectable time the last few days!  Still pretty long days since he's getting up so early to load trucks, but him getting home and hour or more sooner than he was before is pretty huge for me and my level of sanity.

(Side note: I just went to get Caleb out of quiet time and he had fallen asleep in the toy chest...with the lid shut!)

A few days ago Levi got out of his exersaucer!  Didn't scare me quite as bad as the first time it happened with Caleb and Logan (because he didn't sneak up on me), but it's still a little surprising.  :)  Another funny Levi story:  it's crazy how easily they pick up on things!  (The following story contains some details on one form of correction we use for our children.  I know not everyone agrees with me, but just know I love my kids and let's agree to disagree.)  So, in the after dinner chaos the other night, Mike and I were cleaning up, Levi was in his highchair where he could just observe, and Caleb and Logan were getting into trouble.  Mike sent them to separate couches for spankings.  He got the wooden spoon we often use, administered the correction, and when he came back to the kitchen I asked him to spank me with the spoon so that I could know what it feels like - I've been wondering, and I want to make sure that when I'm using it on the kids I have the right amount of force - not too much, not too little.  Anyways, he did, then asked me to spank him.  After we did this I remembered Levi was in his highchair just watching us and I just kinda laughed about it.  A few minutes later I got Levi out of his highchair and set him down.  He very purposely walked around behind me, reached up, and "spanked" my behind!  He only gets some hand swats so far, for which he braces himself by squinting his eyes shut and scrunching his nose, and then goes on like nothing happened...

oops

Had Levi in to the doctor for a 15 month check-up today.  Took Caleb and Logan with me thinking Levi wouldn't be getting any shots (up until now they haven't had a clue about getting shots...).  Well, I was wrong, he DID get shots today.  So now, Caleb and Logan are very aware of what getting shots entails, and Logan especially seems a little afraid of it.  I do believe they'll be getting shots at their 4 year check-up, and with the way their memories work, they're not about to forget about today!

I can't remember, I think this was either my first or second time taking all three to the doctor by myself.  Thankfully I didn't have to wait very long once we were in the room.  It went okay - not great, but definitely could have been worse.

Levi is still a healthy boy!  (Not that I'm surprised.)  He is 32 inches tall, which is 75th percentile; and 26 lb 15 oz, which is 92nd percentile.

ball

Random cute thing I just remembered that I want to make sure I record - I love it when we're at the grocery store, get to the produce section, and Levi gets sight of the display of canteloupe's and excitedly says, "Ball!"  :)

celery coming out our ears!

Okay, not quite, but Mike probably feels like it.  I at least hope that when he sleeps he can actually relax -  I remember when I was packing celery all day every day I would dream I was packing and be sitting up in my bed grabbing at my blanket.  No break!  I was exhausted!  :)  The crop is really looking good so far, which is great, just means long days for Mike.  I know he likes seeing all this good stuff come by, though, as opposed to last year when it didn't look as nice.

So now it's the end of the day and I started this at the beginning of the day, and I don't remember what I was going to write about.  I know for a few days I've been thinking I should update the blog, but now I don't know what about...

Levi is getting faster and faster.  He often tries to follow his big brothers around.  About a week or so ago he started "praying" - it's pretty cute.  While sitting in his high chair he'll fold his hands, jabber very purposely for a good 10 seconds or so, and then be done.  He loves to ride in his little push car outside.  He also thinks that anything with a steering wheel has a horn.  He gets VERY excited when Mike gets home from work, and I think it's partly to see Mike and partly because he has sat in the driver's seat of Mike's truck a few times now and he LOVES it.

It's crazy, but Caleb is absolutely my firstborn, and Logan is most definitely my second born.  Caleb really thinks he's gotta be in the know for everything, and he tries to be Mr. Boss-Man.  (Telling his brothers what to do, keeping me informed on what's going on, and always asking me why/what I'm doing, etc.)  It's definitely a challenge now, but it'll be interesting to see how these qualities are used as he grows up!

Logan is much more sensitive, and seems to need more quality time.  The boy can talk (where does he get that from?), and he needs chances to just talk without being interrupted.  But, he can go on, and on, and on, and on....  :)

Our garden is doing well!  We have a couple sunflowers that are super tall, our sweet corn is almost ready, and we've had tomatoes gradually getting ripe.