Oh, Levi. More and more my sweetie-pie is asserting his independence. :) Several times lately he has been upset about not getting his way on something and has swatted at me angrily. And, how do I know he knows better? All it takes is me saying (in a serious but not even that firm tone), "You don't hit Mommy." and he gets sad, so you know he's feeling bad about it. :)
He IS doing much better at not throwing food down anymore. Still so-so with his cup, plate, and utensils, but we'll get there. I did have my first food stand-off with him today. We'll do a little more experimenting to see how stubborn he is and then tailor our approach accordingly. :)
One of his favorite things that he continually asks for is for me to do "Rock-a-bye, baby" with him. He comes up to me and says, "Baby? Baby?" I cradle him like a baby, sing to him, and at the end drop him on the couch. He'll get right up and ask for it again!
I keep trying to get him to say "Caleb", but it's just "Doh-guy" over and over again. :) He also says "ow" alot, but not correctly (usually).
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
trip pics
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| All my guys at the airport to drop me off |
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| The schedule that Corrine's dad had all made up for Amy and I :) |
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| Al and Anne Andrews (Corrine's parents) |
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| Amy and I at the rehearsal |
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| Some of the girls! (Laura, me, Corrine, Amy) |
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| Our SWEET car for the weekend! |
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| This is just the tip of the iceberg of all the amazing food at the wedding! |
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| me, Laura, Amy, Sarah |
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| Sarah, Amy, Corrine, me, Laura (And, no, her dress isn't a crazy color, just bad lighting and a phone picture.) |
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| The boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. (Look close and you'll see a section missing - I'm assuming from Sandy.) |
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| The Jersey Shore |
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| Cannoli's from Carlo's Bakery (anybody watched The Cake Boss?) |
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| coming into Grand Rapids |
trip
I returned yesterday afternoon from a weekend away, and it was wonderful! (Both the trip and the returning home part.) THANK YOU to my awesome hubby for making the trip possible. A college friend got married in New Jersey, so I flew out with another friend for the wedding, and we were also able to spend alot of time with our college friends from Ohio who drove in.
Amy and I flew out of Grand Rapids on Wednesday evening. Both our families dropped us off, and her kids cried a fair bit when saying good-bye. My boys didn't cry, but I don't think they totally understood that I was going to be gone a few days. We flew into Baltimore and then drove to Corrine's parent's house in South Jersey. We had such a nice time visiting with them! The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit and lounge around for a while before heading out to get our nails done with Corrine, her bridal party, and a few other friends. That evening was the rehearsal and dinner, and we stayed up a little late talking with Laura. (College flashbacks!)
Friday we went shopping for a wedding present, met Sarah and Andy for lunch, and then the wedding was in the evening. It was beautiful, and the amount of food at the reception was unbelievable! We ended up staying up pretty late that night in our room talking with Sarah and Laura - I guess I've never been a late night person, but I definitely can't handle those kinds of nights now; I was totally wiped out when I got home yesterday.
On Saturday, Amy and I drove down to Ocean City and spent the afternoon walking/shopping/eating on the boardwalk. It was a beautiful fall day to be on the shore. That evening we met up with Sarah and Andy for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory - I could hardly eat thanks to overeating all weekend and being so tired!
Sunday morning Amy and I headed back to Baltimore for our flight home. We were both ready to see our families again! My boys surprised me with balloons and flowers, and a new candle and potholder at home. :)
I can't believe I almost forgot - we had such an awesome car for the weekend!! I rented a compact car (the cheapest!), but got upgraded to a Ford Mustang! It was pretty fun.
Sounds like overall things went well for Mike and the boys at home. I think Logan and Levi missed me more than Caleb. Mike said that one morning when he was bringing Levi down from his room he was saying my name thinking I would be downstairs, and he looked around for me. And, one morning Logan came down and asked Mike if I was home yet, when Mike said, "No." Logan said something like, "She's not supposed to be gone a long time, she's only supposed to be gone a few minutes!" And, after I'd been home awhile yesterday, Logan randomly said, "I'm glad you're home. I'm glad you're not at the "orport" (airport) anymore." :) There were a few things the boys said that it seems like they think I spent the weekend at the airport. :) They loved seeing the planes at the airport, and yesterday on the flight home I took a whole bunch of pictures to show them, and they enjoyed looking through them.
Levi apparently started using a few new words while I was gone! He's now saying "out" (to get out of his high chair), "up" (to be picked up), and "eat".
Amy and I flew out of Grand Rapids on Wednesday evening. Both our families dropped us off, and her kids cried a fair bit when saying good-bye. My boys didn't cry, but I don't think they totally understood that I was going to be gone a few days. We flew into Baltimore and then drove to Corrine's parent's house in South Jersey. We had such a nice time visiting with them! The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit and lounge around for a while before heading out to get our nails done with Corrine, her bridal party, and a few other friends. That evening was the rehearsal and dinner, and we stayed up a little late talking with Laura. (College flashbacks!)
Friday we went shopping for a wedding present, met Sarah and Andy for lunch, and then the wedding was in the evening. It was beautiful, and the amount of food at the reception was unbelievable! We ended up staying up pretty late that night in our room talking with Sarah and Laura - I guess I've never been a late night person, but I definitely can't handle those kinds of nights now; I was totally wiped out when I got home yesterday.
On Saturday, Amy and I drove down to Ocean City and spent the afternoon walking/shopping/eating on the boardwalk. It was a beautiful fall day to be on the shore. That evening we met up with Sarah and Andy for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory - I could hardly eat thanks to overeating all weekend and being so tired!
Sunday morning Amy and I headed back to Baltimore for our flight home. We were both ready to see our families again! My boys surprised me with balloons and flowers, and a new candle and potholder at home. :)
I can't believe I almost forgot - we had such an awesome car for the weekend!! I rented a compact car (the cheapest!), but got upgraded to a Ford Mustang! It was pretty fun.
Sounds like overall things went well for Mike and the boys at home. I think Logan and Levi missed me more than Caleb. Mike said that one morning when he was bringing Levi down from his room he was saying my name thinking I would be downstairs, and he looked around for me. And, one morning Logan came down and asked Mike if I was home yet, when Mike said, "No." Logan said something like, "She's not supposed to be gone a long time, she's only supposed to be gone a few minutes!" And, after I'd been home awhile yesterday, Logan randomly said, "I'm glad you're home. I'm glad you're not at the "orport" (airport) anymore." :) There were a few things the boys said that it seems like they think I spent the weekend at the airport. :) They loved seeing the planes at the airport, and yesterday on the flight home I took a whole bunch of pictures to show them, and they enjoyed looking through them.
Levi apparently started using a few new words while I was gone! He's now saying "out" (to get out of his high chair), "up" (to be picked up), and "eat".
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
names
Levi is finally saying someone else's name! He says "Doh-guy" for "Logan" and it seems like he's been using it for both Caleb and Logan...oh well, at least he's making progress! :)
Caleb sort of got lost the other day. I guess HE knew where he was, but Mike and I couldn't find him for a bit and were starting to get worried. Mike was taking the Massey out back to get a cup left in the combine, and Logan was riding with him. Caleb was outside with Sadie, and was told to wait. I was inside with Levi. Mike was gone for just a few minutes, came back, and Caleb was nowhere to be found. We started looking all over and after just a couple minutes of not finding him I was starting to imagine all sorts of awful things. After a good 5 minutes or so I heard a faint answer after calling his name. I knew it was coming from out back, but since it can echo and stuff it's kind of hard to tell exactly where a noise is coming from. Mike headed back on the Massey, and Caleb and Sadie were way at the top of the hill, perfectly fine. Thank you, Lord!!
Caleb sort of got lost the other day. I guess HE knew where he was, but Mike and I couldn't find him for a bit and were starting to get worried. Mike was taking the Massey out back to get a cup left in the combine, and Logan was riding with him. Caleb was outside with Sadie, and was told to wait. I was inside with Levi. Mike was gone for just a few minutes, came back, and Caleb was nowhere to be found. We started looking all over and after just a couple minutes of not finding him I was starting to imagine all sorts of awful things. After a good 5 minutes or so I heard a faint answer after calling his name. I knew it was coming from out back, but since it can echo and stuff it's kind of hard to tell exactly where a noise is coming from. Mike headed back on the Massey, and Caleb and Sadie were way at the top of the hill, perfectly fine. Thank you, Lord!!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
words
Levi is a hoot! When he's excited about something (like when I'm going to give Caleb and Logan a treat for being dry, which means he'll get a treat, too.... or when I ask if anyone wants ice cream) he raises his hands and shouts "Yay!!" It's super cute - I tried to get it on camera yesterday, but failed. Today I made chicken nuggets for lunch and when he saw them he thought they were cookies, so he was excitedly shouting "Gookie! Gookie!"
Any tractor we see or hear starts him off on "Bapa? Bapa?" (Papa.) My dad's tractor and wagons are parked in the back here to be ready for harvesting the corn by us, and since Levi has spotted them I think I've heard "Bapa" about a million times. And, of course he's a big Daddy fan! First thing when I went into his room this morning it was "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?" several times. Or when we're at the table he'll often point at Mike's chair and ask about him. Or if we're out and about and he sees a truck like Mike's. He gets super excited to see Mike whether it's when we're visiting him at work or when he gets home in the evening. Who wouldn't be excited?? :) I guess he talks alot about whoever NOT here, though - last night I was out doing some shopping and Mike said Levi couldn't stop talking about Mommy. :)
He's getting better at saying Sadie's name. We can't really get him to say his name or Caleb or Logan. He sort of says "thank you" and he can kind of say "Yes, Mom"! (I wasn't really working on that with him, but he'll repeat it when I tell Caleb or Logan to say it.) I love it when you ask him if he wants something - he'll say "Hm" and lift his head in a slight nod. Of course he's very good at the word "NO" - he uses it alot with his brothers. :) He's pretty jealous of what he thinks is his - whether it's a toy he's had his hands on recently, or if one of the other boys wants to sit on my lap. Last week Mike and I did "couch time" for the first time in forever (Hooray for celery harvest being done!), and I don't think Levi knew what to think of us actually sitting down next to each other on the couch and talking. :) He was pretty sad at first (acting like the whole thing was pretty traumatic), but he did GREAT at staying where we told him to! I was surprised because I haven't practiced it much with him.
Levi is no longer my shopping buddy. :( He doesn't want to sit in the cart anymore (and it's quite a production to get him forced in the seat and strapped in), but if I let him walk he hasn't learned about staying by me and he wants to run off.
Caleb and Logan have been learning so fast! They are both pretty good at counting to 20. They might get a little tripped up in the teens, but otherwise do well. They can recite their ABC's, and Logan especially has gotten more curious about letters and "reading".
This morning I had a chance to talk alone with Caleb and I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up. He wants to be a daddy, make celery, drive the dump truck, work in the shop fixing things, and work with Mike. :) The reason I got to talk with Caleb was because Logan slept in! He was up some in the night with a bad dream. I woke up a little before my alarm this morning and there was Logan in bed with me! Mike got up crazy early to do some field work for my dad, so I thought maybe something had happened while he was up and he had just put Logan in bed with me and I just didn't realize it. But when I talked to him later he said he didn't - so I guess Logan got in on his own and I just had no idea! Anyways, Logan woke up then saying he wanted to be on his own, but when I put him back to his bed he was upset about a bad dream, so I set him up with his lantern and a few books. He must have been up for a bit yet because then he ended up sleeping until 9am.
We made a trip to the library today. I really wish we could do it more, but Levi is not a fan! Caleb and Logan love it, but Levi protests LOUDLY when I try to keep him from running all over and pulling books off shelves...
Don't think I wrote about the snow last week. We had a crazy early snow here. A couple inches of heavy, wet stuff. Caleb and Logan were thrilled! I dug up what I could find in snow gear and sent them out the door. They had fun playing outside for quite a while. My mom was nice enough to offer to come over to be with the boys for just a bit so I could head out with my camera. Thankfully the snow was all melted by the next day! :)
The other night we did alot of running around due to soybean harvest, and the boys did great being in the van for so long (and I didn't even have to turn on a movie once!). They did get to ride in the combine a bit with Mike, but we also followed Mike in the combine down the road, brought him back to his truck, went to pick up Chick'n Lick'n, brought that over to ZFS to eat (in the van as it was too cold to eat outside), and then followed Mike back with some wagons.
It's a beautiful day here today. Gotta soak it up while we've got it!
Any tractor we see or hear starts him off on "Bapa? Bapa?" (Papa.) My dad's tractor and wagons are parked in the back here to be ready for harvesting the corn by us, and since Levi has spotted them I think I've heard "Bapa" about a million times. And, of course he's a big Daddy fan! First thing when I went into his room this morning it was "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?" several times. Or when we're at the table he'll often point at Mike's chair and ask about him. Or if we're out and about and he sees a truck like Mike's. He gets super excited to see Mike whether it's when we're visiting him at work or when he gets home in the evening. Who wouldn't be excited?? :) I guess he talks alot about whoever NOT here, though - last night I was out doing some shopping and Mike said Levi couldn't stop talking about Mommy. :)
He's getting better at saying Sadie's name. We can't really get him to say his name or Caleb or Logan. He sort of says "thank you" and he can kind of say "Yes, Mom"! (I wasn't really working on that with him, but he'll repeat it when I tell Caleb or Logan to say it.) I love it when you ask him if he wants something - he'll say "Hm" and lift his head in a slight nod. Of course he's very good at the word "NO" - he uses it alot with his brothers. :) He's pretty jealous of what he thinks is his - whether it's a toy he's had his hands on recently, or if one of the other boys wants to sit on my lap. Last week Mike and I did "couch time" for the first time in forever (Hooray for celery harvest being done!), and I don't think Levi knew what to think of us actually sitting down next to each other on the couch and talking. :) He was pretty sad at first (acting like the whole thing was pretty traumatic), but he did GREAT at staying where we told him to! I was surprised because I haven't practiced it much with him.
Levi is no longer my shopping buddy. :( He doesn't want to sit in the cart anymore (and it's quite a production to get him forced in the seat and strapped in), but if I let him walk he hasn't learned about staying by me and he wants to run off.
Caleb and Logan have been learning so fast! They are both pretty good at counting to 20. They might get a little tripped up in the teens, but otherwise do well. They can recite their ABC's, and Logan especially has gotten more curious about letters and "reading".
This morning I had a chance to talk alone with Caleb and I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up. He wants to be a daddy, make celery, drive the dump truck, work in the shop fixing things, and work with Mike. :) The reason I got to talk with Caleb was because Logan slept in! He was up some in the night with a bad dream. I woke up a little before my alarm this morning and there was Logan in bed with me! Mike got up crazy early to do some field work for my dad, so I thought maybe something had happened while he was up and he had just put Logan in bed with me and I just didn't realize it. But when I talked to him later he said he didn't - so I guess Logan got in on his own and I just had no idea! Anyways, Logan woke up then saying he wanted to be on his own, but when I put him back to his bed he was upset about a bad dream, so I set him up with his lantern and a few books. He must have been up for a bit yet because then he ended up sleeping until 9am.
We made a trip to the library today. I really wish we could do it more, but Levi is not a fan! Caleb and Logan love it, but Levi protests LOUDLY when I try to keep him from running all over and pulling books off shelves...
Don't think I wrote about the snow last week. We had a crazy early snow here. A couple inches of heavy, wet stuff. Caleb and Logan were thrilled! I dug up what I could find in snow gear and sent them out the door. They had fun playing outside for quite a while. My mom was nice enough to offer to come over to be with the boys for just a bit so I could head out with my camera. Thankfully the snow was all melted by the next day! :)
The other night we did alot of running around due to soybean harvest, and the boys did great being in the van for so long (and I didn't even have to turn on a movie once!). They did get to ride in the combine a bit with Mike, but we also followed Mike in the combine down the road, brought him back to his truck, went to pick up Chick'n Lick'n, brought that over to ZFS to eat (in the van as it was too cold to eat outside), and then followed Mike back with some wagons.
It's a beautiful day here today. Gotta soak it up while we've got it!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
hmmmmm
Last night on the way home from Gopher's, Logan was insisting that sometimes he sleeps with his eyes open. Then Caleb said that sometimes he sleeps with his eyes open because his eyes get a little bit hot. :)
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