Levi's 8 Months Old

It's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around the fact that Levi has been in this world for 8 months. While we (unfortunately) keep wishing he was older, so he would sleep through the night, start to feed himself, etc.; I am also finding myself saddened that he is already so big. He's crawling, pulling himself up to everything (even all the stuff that will topple over on top of him) and has just started on soft finger foods.

He's had a rough time at daycare lately and he and Noah will be switching to a new provider on Tuesday. Hopefully, this will go well and be a much needed improvement.



It's also hard for me to believe that I've been a mother for over 2 1/2 years. In one sense, I'm a 2 1/2 year old mother. It feels like it's been a lot longer than that, but so often I feel like a toddler in the world of parenthood - there's a lot to learn and a lot of growing up to do. Thankfully, our children are helping me grow and I have a wonderful support network of family and friends to fall back on when life gets too tough.

Coloring and Cutting

Noah has turned our kitchen counter into a coloring, cutting, and taping center. He is also trying to master the tricky art of placing stickers on paper. Thanks to a bunch of leftover paper and stickers from his Sunday School teachers, he has a pretty fun stash of art supplies at the moment. I love that he is exploring the world of color and art - who knows where it could lead...

First thing in the morning

I shot this video one morning when Noah had actually slept in past 6:30. Levi had been up for a little while and we were in the kitchen when Noah stumbled out of his room. As is very typical for Noah, as soon as he saw Levi his face brightened and he got down on the floor and started talking to Levi. Levi was playing with a plastic pot and lid in the kitchen and Noah decided he needed to learn how to bang the two together.

One of the latest developments...

...showers! Noah has decided taking showers with Ben is a lot of fun. The water hitting his head used to be a BIG problem, but suddenly Noah does really well with it. Ben is also very patient with Noah and listening to their shower conversations is pretty entertaining. Noah has all sorts of questions and declarations!

Finally Asleep

Our boys have given us our share of challenges lately when it comes to sleep. Levi went through several days where he would ONLY sleep on our bed. Poor Ben had to move to the couch for a couple nights while Levi took his spot in our bed. Noah decided not to take an afternoon nap one Saturday afternoon, on Sunday he fell asleep like this...



Yes, he has a book on his face, his boots on, book spread out all around him, and he was snoring.



Little Levi sacked out on our bed, snuggled between our pillows was how he liked it best. Thankfully, we have got him past this and he's back to sleeping in his crib.

Levi on the move

Levi has mastered crawling and is currently testing his ability to pull himself up and scoot along furniture. And, not that we were looking for a new challenge, but his new found skills are providing us with yet another one. Oh the places he will go and the discoveries he will make!

a Different farm

Yesterday, was Day on the Farm, and since Noah is used to going to Grandpa and Grandma's farm, we had to keep telling him we were going to a "different farm". He got to see all sorts of animals - kittens, dogs, a snake, several kinds of pigs, turkeys, cows, llamas, horses, goats, sheep, and more - I just can't remember them all anymore. He did not like most of the animals, but he wanted to ride a horse. He had a wonderful time playing in the tree house and exploring a new place.



There was a little tunnel made out of hay bales...I think Noah got to this halfway point, looked up at me, and then went out the way he came in never actually completing the course.



This poor mama pig looked tired at the beginning of the day and her little piglets were running around so fast. The piglets were just a few days old, but they sure were busy.



The barrel rides. Only little kids think that riding in a barrel, pulled by a 4-wheeler in a big circle in a pasture is fun enough to do over and over. :-)



The first time, Ben got to squeeze into a barrel too. After that, though, Noah was glad to go on his own.



Maynard (in the blue shirt) is a co-worker of mine at MCC and Day on the Farm happens at his farm. He's a very busy guy and he and his wife run a wonderful farm. He was trying to hold on to the little pig but it was squirming so much, it looks like a blur in my photo. Noah was not a fan of this fast moving, squealing, little pig.



Lunch was just up Noah's ally. A hot dog, chips, baked beans and water. He cleaned his plate and asked for more!