Pictures from Christmas

Why??

Levi's new phrase is the question "why". Haha, he totally took John and I off-guard the first time he used it. We just thought it was a one time thing, then after we answered him and he asked why again we realized he had reached the "why" stage of life.

Pregnancy Induced Wheat Allergy

A couple months before Emerson was born I started breaking out in hives and honestly I didn't think anything of it until it KEPT happening. A month after Emerson was born I started paying attention to the things I ate and started noticing that nuts and wheat were what I ate most and since both are common allergies, I cut both out of my diet (or did the best I could-it's really hard). After a few weeks of doing this I started eating nuts again and no hives yet and then I added wheat back into my diet and voila, hives. So, yes, this is a self diagnosis, but who knows my body better than me!? Anyway, John and I are both hoping this will disappear after a prolonged period of an absence of wheat in my diet. So far, it hasn't been too bad and I have definitely had to try new things. I tried a loaf of bread made out of rice flour and almond flour; it was too spongy for me. Bread has been the hardest to substitute; I really like wheat bread. Anyway, I think we will all survive. We went out to Carl's Jr. with some friends after church on Sunday and everything on the menu had wheat with it. I asked the person at the counter what he thought and it turns out he had a wheat allergy too! He told me he gets a burger wrapped in lettuce, so I tried it too and it was really good!

Emerson

Emerson was 3 months old yesterday! The really rough part is over, in my opinion. Emerson is sleeping through the night 9 hours and I am really loving that! My energy has returned and I only need a nap usually once a week. I don't know how much Emerson weighs or how long he is but everyone that sees him comments on how long he is. He seems longer than Levi at this age but Emerson also started out bigger. He is in 6 month clothes now so I guess he is a lot bigger than Levi was at this age. Emerson can sit up, being propped of course; he is getting so good at holding his head up. He really likes mobiles and faces. Levi helped me hold toys in front of him today, Emerson seemed to like that. One other thing about Emerson is that he is such a smiley baby! I love it! Every time he sees my face or anyone else's he smiles.

Levi

So much has happened since the last time I wrote on this blog. Let's start with today; Levi went #2 on the potty today! Yay, we are making progress with the whole potty training thing. He was (and still is) so proud of himself. He keeps saying, "I did a good job on the potty today." And then he looks at John and I to get some encouragement as well, and so we say, "yes, you did a great job on the potty today!" Levi has also been learning numbers and can count to four on his own. He knows all of his colors (at least all the main ones, I don't teach him things like mauve yet). Levi is really enjoying the snow and has gone sledding a couple of times; he doesn't like getting cold though. I have been taking Levi to a gymnastics class the month of December through February of next year. He LOVES it! It is a way for him to get out of the house and get some of his energy out. He loves it so much that we usually leave the building with him crying because he doesn't want to go. Another thing that Levi has been doing lately is imaginary play. I went in his room the other day to check on him while he was playing. As soon as I walked in the door he asked me if I would like some coffee. He held up a plastic boot that goes to one of his bears. He had a mug (boot) of coffee for me and a mug of coffee for him. The funny thing is John and I don't even drink coffee so he must have got this from somewhere/someone else. At lunch today his green pepper strip became a jet going into the tunnel (his mouth)! :) He bit into the cucumber slice leaving the rind behind and called the rind a crab claw and made a crunching noise to go with. Broccoli has become trees and the list goes on! I am having a hard time writing down all the things he does that make me laugh. Another thing about Levi right now is that he is really enjoying his friends. He has quite a few little girl friends that he likes to hang out with on a regular basis.

Cooking

A few days ago Levi was helping me make granola. I told him he could stir up the oats, nuts, etc but he accidentally took the spoon with some of the mix on it and flung it up in the air so we ended up with this mess. It was kind of funny actually. Levi has been such a good helper in the kitchen lately-he is willing to help with anything I am making. He drags a dining room chair over and we make all kinds of stuff-usually dinner. He has become a good cook, however, he doesn't have the same taste for food that he used to. He proclaimed to me a couple of weeks ago, "I don't like lunch and I don't like oatmeal." His breakfast selections have become very slim as well. I hope this is just a phase.

Levi is loving holding Emerson still. He asks, "I want to hold Esermen, mom!" Levi is getting more used to having Emerson around the house and he is also getting used the schedule change. At 6 weeks Emerson is 11 lbs, 5 oz and 24 inches long

Oh Mom!

I just put Levi down for a nap and said, "Do you know that I love you so much?" Levi replied, "Oh mom!" and put his hand on my face. We had a rough morning so that was a good end to it.

The boys!

Here is another cute picture of Levi and Emerson except that you can't see Emerson's face. I put Emerson down on the blanket for some tummy time and Levi just laid down beside him! I love when Levi does cute stuff like that!

Levi and John

John and Levi love to throw the football around. They are enjoying getting outside before it snows and gets too cold. Notice they have matching hats (Levi's is hard to see). Uncle Brad bought Levi his Twin Cities hat when John and Levi visited MN mid-October.

October Update

Time is moving way to fast for me to keep up with this blog. Emerson is already just over 5 weeks old! I have been really bad about taking pictures of him so there haven't been any new ones lately. My plan is to get better about taking pictures of him but as the day moves so quickly I don't really think about it.

John, Levi, and I have all adjusted to the very-little-sleep schedule. Levi now asks to take a nap! I say, "It is not time yet, you have to wait until after lunch." I actually didn't ever think my toddler would say something like that. We are unsure if Levi hears the baby in the middle of the night so we don't know how much sleep Levi is actually getting. Maybe not much if he is asking to take a nap.

Emerson is growing bigger and continuing to put on more weight. We haven't had him weighed in awhile but I am guessing he has gained a few pounds. His legs and arms are starting to get some rolls! He is a very good sleeper and has slept through the night a total of three times but not all in a row. John and I are both very happy with that progress so far!

Levi has been getting a little stir-crazy staying home a lot. We have to get out of the house at least once a day or he gets really fussy. We usually go on a walk or to the park but soon those activities will have to end. Levi was enrolled in gymnastics this fall, but I realized I just can't be super mom so we are going to either wait until November or January to start again. Levi has learned how to do a somersault and a donkey kick (putting his hands on the floor and kicking his legs up in the air and saying "hee haw") so far but I'm sure he will learn a lot more when we go back. Levi has also been learning his colors and numbers along with saying his name. He can mimic any word we say now. John and I are both enjoying his version of words! :) I will give a few examples: vitamins are bideedees, ketchup is chickup, he used to say wanana for water but now he says water, silver is filser, cucumbers are cuminers and there are many more that we get to enjoy!

My Mom's Visit Again

My mom came for another visit since she missed the birth of Emerson. I am so glad that she came to get to see Emerson and to help me out as well! We got to get out of the house a little bit, I got to take some naps, and she got to play with Levi and hold Emerson. We definitely didn't do as much walking as the last time she was here. :) John and Levi left for the twin cities on October 8th so my mom and I spent my birthday together! We had a lot of fun and I am glad I had her to spend it with!

Emerson and Levi

This picture was taken last week but better late than never. I can't believe how much Emerson's look has already changed. Levi has been such a big help with Emerson so far! He likes to hold his baby brother and give him kisses. Levi likes to tell us when to give Emerson kisses and when to put the baby back in the swing/infant seat, mostly, I think, so that Levi can have our attention. They are both so wonderful and I am so blessed to have two sons!

Baby Guesses

Everyone guessed the date wrong-sorry guys! Marlys guessed the poundage right at 8lbs and Charity guessed the length right at 20.5 inches. Good job guys! Thanks for guessing!

Emerson John Paul Smith

He is finally here! Emerson John Paul Smith was born September 15th, 2009 at 9:33 am. He was 8.1 oz and 20.5 inches long. I woke up in labor on Tuesday morning at 6:30 am and after John and I decided this was finally real (I had a lot of false labor), we called to tell the hospital we were coming in. We found somewhere for Levi to go and we got to the hospital at 7:45 am. I waited in triage for about 1/2 an hour and then was admitted and went to my room. My labor by this time was incredibly painful and I had to decide what I wanted to do as far as "relax" in the bath or get some drugs. I decided I wanted an epidural so in the meantime the nurse had to hook me up to an iv. At 8:45 my water broke and I was only 5 cm dilated. At 9:15 I was 9 cm dilated and I told the nurse I needed to push. Needless to say, I didn't have time to get an epidural. I had to wait for two more contractions and then the midwife let me push. Emerson was born at 9:33 a.m.! We are so happy for this little bundle of joy in our lives! Already, having another one has been quite the adjustment; we are enjoying the challenge though.

My Mom's Visit

My mom had to leave on Thursday, even without seeing baby but we had so much fun having her here and it was such a blessing to me to be able to rest a little bit while she played with Levi. It was sunny most days while she was here and so we spent the mornings going to parks, playing in Levi's room, or just playing in the backyard. Levi had a great time being a show-off for my mom! Picture 1: Levi enjoyed watching the ducks in the pond; he even tossed his soccer ball to them which my mom had to fish out of the pond!

Picture 2: Levi was getting some of his energy out!
Picture 3: Grandma Loretta (Amma) had a little copycat while she was here.
Picture 4: What a goofball laughing so hard!

Picture 5: Levi has been getting a little bossy

and he told his Amma that she had to sit on the

other bike at the park.

Last Belly Photo

Some have been asking for one more baby bump photo and here it is, exactly at 41 weeks! I had an ultra sound yesterday to check for amniotic fluid levels and everything is fine. The nurse also monitored the baby's heart rate for about 30 minutes, which everything was also normal there. The best part was that I got to see the baby again on the ultra sound which is the next best thing to having him here in my arms.

My mom had to leave on Thursday which was heart-breaking since she did not get to see the baby. Only God knows why the baby is still in my uterus. We are excitedly awaiting his arrival and any contractions at this point are welcomed!

Still Waiting!

No baby yet. :( Everyone in this house is beginning to wonder if he will ever come out. My mom got here on Tuesday and we have just been hanging out with Levi during the days and taking LONG walks at night. We have been getting some cooking and cleaning done but mostly she is occupying my toddler which I appreciate very much. I am due tomorrow and feeling it! Hopefully he will come by his due date. John thinks he should hold off until 9-9-09 because that would be a cool date to be born. I am hoping the baby doesn't wait that long!

Happy 2nd Birthday Levi!

Levi had a wonderful 2nd birthday party with John, me, Grandpa Pete and Grandma Paula, Great Grandpa Jim, Great Aunt Carol, Great Grandma Jane, John's cousins Michael and Loren, and second cousin Reagan. Levi got a new basketball hoop as you can see by the pictures. The most entertaining part was watching John and Pete try to put the thing together! Levi also got a musical card (3rd picture) for his birthday which he thought was absolutely hilarious! We finished off the evening with a dairy queen ice cream cake with Levi's favorite type of truck on it. It is hard to believe two years have gone by so fast. The saying "the days are long but the years are short" is so true!

Pregnancy Update

I am 38 weeks now and feeling it!! The baby barely moves now, with just a few kicks every once in awhile, which tells me he is almost ready to come out of the oven. Everyone knows that we are already having a boy (unless the tech was wrong), but we are wondering how long and heavy people think our baby is going to be. Levi was 6 lbs 8 oz and 19 1/2 inches long and he was born at 38 1/2 weeks. Any guesses?

Levi Update

We had Levi's followup appointment for his EEG today and the test came back normal; we are very thankful and praising God for giving us a healthy boy. His doctor told us that he can have another seizure, but I think John and I will be more mentally prepared if it does happen again. The pictures are from Wednesday at Levi's EEG. He was a such a good sport!

Also, Levi has been learning a few new phrases that I find pretty entertaining. He likes to ask, "what doin'"?, which I would reply with what I am doing, and then he says, "oh." He also has been saying, "I don't want that" and "I want that." He also has been holding his hand up to his ear, to represent a phone, in which he has a full conversation with himself. :) He is my entertainment all day long!

Random pictures from the summer!

1. Cousins
2. Reading the newspaper together and finding something really funny!
3.Levi in an apron just like his mama!
4.We needed some neck support for all the traveling we were doing this summer!
5.First rope swing with friend, Billy
6.Family pic
7.Papa's snow hat and rubber boots

Summer Recap!

I have been meaning to update this blog for days but time slips away from me, especially this time of year. First of all, we have had a very busy summer! Back in May we started to make some home improvements on our house that we bought last September. Sarah Palin issued a state-wide grant for home energy. If we improve our home's energy rating by a certain amount then we get up to $10,000 reimbursed. We had an energy rater come out the end of April and he told us that we have 2-star energy efficient home (goes up to 5-star +). Thus began our home improvement adventures! So this summer we (and putting other people to work) have been working hard to get our home more energy efficient. Among the list of things we have already done are: 3 new doors, 4 new windows, spray foam insulation in cracks, and a new furnace. We still are: residing our entire house, putting insulation in the crawl space and attic, caulking windows/doors, and a few other little things. Let me just say that John has been heading up all of it! I haven't been doing anything with the big projects. Pete, John's dad, has been helping quite a bit, and my dad got to come up in June to help with a door and a window.

We have also had a lot of people visiting this summer. Jenna, John's younger sister came the middle of June followed by Danielle, John's older sister, and 2 kids, Ella and Peter, came the middle to end of June to the beginning of July and my parents came the end of June and stayed until the beginning of July. We had our friends from college come up from Iowa for two weeks until the end of July. Our friend Liz and her son Jacob (Levi's age) came up at the end of July. It has been a great summer of hanging out with friends and family!

We decided that August would be a little more low-key since I am due September 5th! So far things have been great with the pregnancy. I am getting more uncomfortable every day but I know that the baby can't stay in there forever! I am 37 weeks (full term!) so any day now is fine. :) My mom is coming up September 1st through September 10th which will be nice to have an extra set of hands in the house!

Levi has learned so much this summer! He has really started talking a lot and putting sentences together. We are learning colors right now and every color is put in front of the word "car". So "red car", "white car", "black car" are all part of his vocabulary. I cannot begin to tell you how much he is excited about cars, trucks, planes, trains, boats, etc. He can even say "backhoe"! He makes us so proud. :) He also has been helping his dad with the house projects this summer. He holds the hammer and the level, throws stuff away, hands papa nails, etc. He is such a good helper, I have no doubt that he will be a great older brother/helper when the baby arrives.

We have also had some hard times with Levi in the past week. Levi had a seizure on Sunday and he ended up in the ER. The Dr. classified it as a febrile seizure which is caused by a sudden spike in body temperature (fever) which causes the seizure. The ER doctor looked in his ears and sure enough he had an ear infection which caused the sudden fever. His temp was 103 degrees in the ER, but by the time we left it was 101 degrees (after giving tylenol). We had a follow-up appointment with Levi's pediatrician on Tuesday and she still wants to do an EEG next Wednesday to make sure everything is okay. John and I have been having a pretty hard time with all of this to say the least. It is not easy to watch our kid go through a seizure. Levi, on the other hand, seems to be doing just fine, he is still as active as ever. If you think to pray for us please do. We are a little nervous about Wednesday and we don't find out the results until Friday.

Those are the main things that have happened this summer. Hopefully one of the near-future postings will be about a new addition to our family!

1 month to go!

I have exactly one month until my estimated due date. John and I are ready for this baby to come out, but we are hoping he stays in there until sometime around his due date. I have had no health problems with this one but I am starting to feel sore all over, especially at night. John has been nice enough to rub my feet, legs, and back. No heart burn with this baby either which apparently means that he won't have any hair on his body when he is born. That is okay, Levi's eventually grew in!

Home Improvements

This was the ONLY wall that was not painted an almond color when we moved in. I am not sure why it was left like this but maybe the previous owner was going for a retro look. Well, I didn't really like it and my dad offered to drywall it for us. We gladly accepted his offer and now we have a nice wall that just needs some paint.

Home Improvements

John, Jeff (my dad), and Pete (John's dad) took out this window and put in a sliding glass door in its place.

The result is better access to the back yard via the dining room. My dad replaced our old 1968 window in our bedroom with this window.

Jeff and Loretta visit

My parents came up for a visit at the end of June/beginning of July. We packed so much into a week and a half while they were here. We went to the zoo, took a trip to Valdez, did some shopping, and worked on a few house projects.

Levi got to go to dairy queen all by himself with Grandpa and Grandma. He loved his ice cream cone, but he didn't get to eat the whole thing.

Big Boy Bed

Levi has made the switch from crib to big-boy-bed. I was nervous about this transition, thinking that there would be a lot of disciplining to go along with it; however, Levi hasn't even attempted to get out of his bed once we have put him in it for the night and for naps! He just lies in bed and talks to himself or sings. I think one of the things that made this transition easy was Levi watching his cousin Ella get to be in a big girl bed. He also loves his new "car" sheets! This is how John found him last night. :)

Levi

Levi is a busy boy these days which keeps me on my toes! We recently got him a slide for the backyard which he is enjoying any chance he can get. He also really likes to play on the swing set that was left behind by the previous owners of the house. He is becoming a very good climber which makes me nervous sometimes.

We also purchased a booster seat recently, and he is loving sitting at the table with John and I! We like having him at the table with us, but I just keep thinking how fast he is growing up already! I can't believe he will be two in August.