Day after Christmas

The snow stuck around and more snow fell throughout the morning, and it was just beautiful. Khaki and Q had over 3 inches of snow at their house. No one really played in it from our house today, just because it was SO cold. Daddy braved the elements and took some really pretty pictures of Khaki and Q's house.

Merry Christmas

Levi on Christmas morning.


Levi opening one of his Christmas presents with a little help from Daddy.


After we opened our presents, I got a surprising call from Q - it was snowing at their house. Daddy checked the roads on the internet, and we got ready and headed that way to spend the rest of Christmas Day with Khaki and Q.

When we got there, Daddy, Uncle Chris, CC, and Levi went outside to play in the snow.






Mama Rains was very excited about her present for Levi, so he got to open it right away. He really had fun playing the keyboard and singing in the microphone.


Khaki and Q went to the Auburn / Kentucky game this year, so they brought back a Louisville Slugger bat with Levi's name on it. Levi kept saying that he wanted "his baseball bap." For a kid who is so well spoken, it is funny to me that he can't say that it is a "bat". We had to hide it for fear of destruction around the house. :-)


Levi really enjoyed coloring and using the magnets on his new art table from Khaki and Q.


He had fun looking at the Christmas ornaments on Khaki and Q's Christmas tree with a little help from Uncle Wes.

Christmas in Augusta

We traveled to Augusta to have Christmas with Nana and Papa after Levi's second dentist appointment on Monday. You can see the sticker with his name on it in the picture below, but this picture was also just Levi having some fun with his sunglasses on the way to Nana and Papa's.


We all celebrated Christmas together on Thursday. The three biggest hits for Levi were the Handy Manny fix-it garage and football tent from Nana and Papa and the 3D Viewmaster from Dee Dee.




Another big hit with Levi had nothing to do with a Christmas present but was all about his Papa.


On Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon with Kevin's extended family. On the way to the "party", Levi took a quick nap.


Levi had a great time playing with all the kids, and Mama and Daddy had fun visiting with family we hadn't seen in awhile. We headed back home after the festivities, so that we would have Christmas morning in our house with just the three of us. Before Levi went to bed, he opened his Christmas PJs.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Last Christmas, Audy gave Levi The Jesus Storybook Bible. Ever since receiving this Storybook Bible, it has been a part of our nighttime ritual. It says on the website that it's written for children ages four and up, but Levi is already quite enraptured with the stories and the pictures. There are only two stories that I usually skip at this age, because they just seem a little too difficult to explain to a two-year old. Anyway, the stories are really well written and all the stories in the Old Testament point to the Rescuer who was to come, Jesus. The New Testament stories continue to show Jesus as the Rescuer. There's also a common phrase that's repeated every third or fourth story. Levi picked up on the phrase this summer, and I finally got the camera and captured it. I have to start it, but he finishes. I get him to say it twice in this video.

Me: "God's Never Stopping..."
Levi: "Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always, and Forever Love."
Priceless.

Funny-isms

The past week or two, Daddy has been very busy with the end of the semester work - specifically paper writing. So, Levi has started being "busy, writing my paper." He'll sit at the computer desk and diligently "write" on whatever paper is in front of him.

This past weekend, Levi and I went to visit my parents - which also gave Daddy his own space to watch the SEC Championship Game. I really doubted at the beginning of the football season that our two teams would have to meet each other twice in one year, but it happened.

Daddy came up on Sunday, so we ended up with two cars at Khaki and Q's. CC and Chris drove one of them back, so Daddy, Levi, and I had to stop at their house on our way home to get the car. Daddy told Levi that we were going to CC and Chris's house to pick up the car before we headed home. Levi's response was classic: "Daddy, we can't. That's too heavy." Complete with arm motions like he was lifting weights!!

One of the teachers at Levi's school was killed in an automobile accident last Friday, and today was her funeral. The school closed to allow the teachers and school staff the opportunity to go to the funeral. Since Daddy is in the final 36 hours of paper writing and studying for one final time, I stayed at home with Levi today. We had a PJ day.

We watched Phil's backward shot once. Later in the afternoon, this began.


He was also really into putting today. He's telling me at the beginning of this video that he's putting and not doing a backward shot.

Happy Thanksgiving

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house,
Not a boy was calm or quiet, not even Mickey Mouse.


The cookies were decorated with tender loving care,
In anticipation of the guests who soon would be here.

On Thanksgiving morning, there arose such a clatter,
I sprang up the stairs to see what was the matter.


Then the family and friends, sixteen total, came,
With only a few comments on the upcoming Game.




All gathered together to fellowship and eat,
The food was delicious, from salty to sweet.


Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hiatus

I took a slight break from blogging for a few weeks - roughly from Halloween weekend to Thanksgiving weekend - but I am adding one post from those weeks to show the Christmas parade.

So for those of you who actually read my blog occasionally, forgive me. :-)

Christmas Parade

We went to a Christmas parade at a nearby outdoor mall with Levi's CC, uncle Chris, and Audy - and Audy's boyfriend and his boys. Levi loved seeing the old fire trucks, band, Dora, Elmo, and Santa. Here are a couple of pictures. Levi is sporting Uncle Chris's hat.

Halloween Weekend

Friday night Levi, Audry, and I headed north for a quick trip. We had dinner at Khaki and Q's house, and then we visited Levi's great-grandmother Greer. It was a short visit, but nice. We then made a quick stop at Levi's great-aunt Kathy to see our Mama Rains.


They had bunches of fun together. Levi was in his PJs because Friday was PJ day at school. Since we were just visiting family, and I thought he'd fall asleep on the way back home, I just left him in the PJs for our whole visit. Nobody seemed to mind. :-)

Saturday night, we went to one of CC's friends' house. Levi got to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. He didn't like the scary costumes, but he really liked walking around and saying, "Trick-or-treat". Unfortunately, no pictures.

Tonight, my best friend from college brought her family to trick-or-treat with Levi in our neighborhood. The daddies took three of the four kids trick-or-treating, while the mamas handed out candy and played with the little flower (see pic below).


Are they not the cutest kids you've ever seen?

Fall Festival

We went to the Fall Festival for the church where my best friend from college goes. For this Fall Festival, the kids got to dress up - and some adults dressed up too. We had been asking Levi for a couple of weeks what he would want to be for Halloween. He kept waffling between golfer and cowboy. One afternoon, I asked him what he wanted to be, and he reply was something like, "Daddy said I was gonna be golfer." I said, "Levi you don't have to be a golfer if you don't want to be a golfer. What do you want to be?" His response: "A cowboy." Over the next few days, we would ask him again, and his response became consistent: "A cowboy." So, here is Levi's Halloween costume debut:

I was having so much fun watching Levi play all the games the church had set up that I didn't take that many pictures. Here are a few that really show how much fun he had.


He really impressed the folks running the booths with his throwing ability.


He really liked jumping in the "Nemo" inflatable.

Old Baker's Farm

Today we went to Old Baker's Farm to get our pumpkin. We had such a great time. I went a little crazy with the pictures.

The farm had a barn where you could see some animals. When we got to the area with the chickens, a girl who worked on the farm took one out. Levi was the first kid to get to see it up close and personal. He liked getting to touch it with one finger.


Then, he saw a calf, but the calf didn't want to venture too close to Levi.


While in the barn, Levi could see kids jumping in cotton. He had to join in the fun. He would look at us through the sides of the trailer and say, "I havin' fun!"


We went to the cotton field. He liked walking through the rows of cotton and inspecting one or two bolls.


Mama stood in line for the hay ride to the pumpkin patch for a little bit, while Daddy and Levi played on a swing that looked like a horse. Then we got to ride in a trailer with hay bales pulled by a tractor to the pumpkin patch. Here are Daddy and Levi on our way to get our pumpkins.


We looked all over the huge field for the perfect pumpkins. We each got to get one, and we each wanted a very different type. Levi wanted one that was "just Levi's size". Daddy wanted a more traditional orange pumpkin. Mama wanted a white pumpkin. We found Levi's first. He liked that it was yellow. Then we found Daddy's pumpkin, which will definitely be our carving pumpkin. Then the search began for Mama's white pumpkin. Daddy walked all over the field, while Mama and Levi leisurely carried the "Levi size" pumpkin. Then, we saw Daddy triumphantly carrying both his pumpkin and Mama's white pumpkin from a very far away field!!

Here's Levi with our pumpkins.

Then we waited in a short line to get onto another hay ride and back to the farm. This time, we were pulled by mules.

After the hay ride, Levi willingly got into his stroller. On the bumpy ride back to the car, he fell fast asleep.

Froggy

Khaki and Q came for a quick visit. They took us to lunch and brought Levi a froggy costume. He jumped around and said, "Ribbit!" Too cute!!

Singing

Since Levi goes to school five days a week, he gets to go to music twice each week. He loves it. He likes showing me the music room when I pick him up, almost as much as he likes showing me the playground. Levi also loves to sing with me. His four favorites: "My God is SO Big!", "Don't build your house...", "Down in my heart", and "Take me out to the ballgame". I can start a line, and he'll finish it - except for the house song. He just likes to clap during it.

This past Wednesday, the church we've been attending had a "family gathering". Daddy had school, but Levi and I went with Audy. It was fun, and Levi got to hear some wonderful singing. The choir at the church released a CD on that same day. We didn't stay through the entire part of the gathering, but one song seemed to stick with Levi. We got into the car and decided to listen to the new CD. The very first song was the last song sung before we left - and the one that stuck with him. During the song, Levi started saying, "It's that guy!" or something to that effect - reminding us that the man singing on the CD was the very same man singing the very same song sung right before we left.

Now, every time we've been in the car together, he's wanted to hear "that guy sing". Today on our way to church was no exception. I turned it off when we got in the parking lot of the church, and asked if he wanted to hear more.



Overall, the most precious part to me, though, about him wanting to hear this song was that today I had it playing, and I saw movement in the backseat. Levi was raising his hands up and waving them like he was being moved by the Spirit! It was awesome! This evening, though, here's what he did.


Once I turned off the car, we headed to the church. He asked to go to "big church". He told me that he wanted to see the guitars and hear the singing. So, he came to big church for a few minutes to hear the music. He did so wonderfully - and he was so precious - clapping his little hands, watching all the people around us singing and praising our Lord.

Ouch Report

Monday, Levi received his first "Ouch Report" from school. He fell on the playground - apparently face first. The following day, Levi was playing on the playground under my watch after school. He fell again and injured practically the exact same spots on his face. I haven't taken a picture, and I'm not sure I will. I just hate seeing him scratched up at all, and on his face - well - it just doesn't seem fair to document. The scratches aren't horrible but are definitely obvious.

We took Saturday morning off from our normal activities (i.e. grocery shopping for me and Levi and studying for Daddy) to go to the Botanical Gardens. The purpose of the trip was to take pictures of Levi. We are now especially thankful that we didn't put it off a week!

I couldn't pick just one favorite, but here is Daddy's.

Airplane

Mama went on a business trip for two nights. Nana and Papa Hughes came to stay with Levi since both of the nights while I was away were late nights for Daddy at class. Levi had a great time with them. Thursday night, though, Kevin called while he was putting Levi to bed. He said that Levi wanted to talk to me. "Mama on airplane. Mama on airplane," Levi repeated to me at least three times. I told him that, yes, mama did ride on an airplane. I asked him if he was going to come to the airport to pick up mama. He said, "Yes!" - as in, "Hello? Who else would come to get you?" Well, Friday evening after a long afternoon in a couple of different airports, I cannot begin to describe how excited I was to see both my boys waiting for me at the end of the "concourse". Apparently, they had been waiting for a while (almost an hour!!), but Levi didn't seem to mind at all. At our local airport there is a bank of windows for those waiting to watch the runway, and he really enjoyed that. He was also pretty excited to see me. I got bunches of hugs and kisses!

It sure is good to be home!

Update and 26 Months

Daddy took Levi to the doctor last Friday for a check-up. The visit went very well. The doctor said that the pneumonia was gone but that he has an ear infection. He sure doesn't act like it, though. His cough still sounds pretty bad, but he is much more active and acting more like himself.

Today Levi turns 26 months old, and I have a few things I want to brag about.

Levi is getting very good at putting together the puzzles that he has here at home. Levi still talks up a storm, and he still loves fruit. Although Levi is not potty trained, he's making strides towards it. He's very willing to "tinkle" in the potty in the mornings when he wakes up and I'm at home. He has started the "do it myself", "by myself", or "I do it" phase. Levi has never been much of a climber, and when we moved him to his "big boy bed" he wouldn't even climb down. That changed last week. Now he enjoys telling us that he can "get down by myself."

Last week while Levi was so sick, we didn't let him play outside at all until the end of the week. He also didn't feel like being too active, but we found a good compromise - the Wii. He loves baseball, tennis, and golf on Wii Sports. He throws a mean screwball; he's got a pretty amazing serve at times; he can hit the 100 point marker on the golf target practice. He hasn't figured out how to roll the bowling ball, yet, which means "bowl" is code for "I'm tired; Mama's turn."

Yesterday, Levi jumped! Daddy says you can barely fit a credit card between his feet and the floor, but both feet definitely come off the ground.

Last night, I took Levi to the park that is very near our house. Levi loves the park. Last night was the first time that he took me to this big board that shows all the letters of the alphabet along with the sign for that letter. I cannot remember now which letter he showed me first, but we began to point to letters and would tell me - accurately - what word starts with that letter. For example, I pointed to the "W", and he said, "Whale;" I pointed to the "Z", and he said, "Zebra." He didn't say something for all the letters, but my favorite was the second letter I showed him, "L", to which he responded, "Levi!" (which sounds more like "Evi!").

His teachers even bragged on Levi today, saying how much more he interacted with the other children in the class than he had the last time he was there. His daily report said that he was "happy, helpful, friendly, cooperative, and chatty".

Labor Day

Levi started getting very sick today. All weekend, the cough seemed to be getting worse, but today he had a fever that ended up getting to about 104. I panicked.

We took Levi to a nearby hospital. We had an excellent doctor, who didn't even have to poke, prod, or x-ray Levi to determine that he has a "touch" of pneumonia. He was an absolute trooper throughout the entire experience. Although, he did not like the "brace" (i.e. bracelet) that he had to wear. He held out his wrist the whole time it was on his arm.


Once we were home, he was in much better spirits.

If I hadn't told you, could you look at that smile and even tell he was sick? He really is a little trooper.

Say a prayer for him that he recovers quickly.

Game Day

Daddy dressed Levi on this first football Thursday.

We had taken Levi to the doctor on Monday. She said it was probably a virus or maybe his allergies that had him under the weather over the weekend. Levi didn't go to school on Monday or Tuesday. He was in pretty good spirits the rest of the week, although a cough developed.

Sick Sunday

Levi was starting to feel under the weather on this Sunday before Audy's birthday. He ended up eating lunch, walking to the couch, and falling asleep before we knew it.

Here was the progression of the nap.

Come On!

Levi has done really well in church school this week. We get a paper every day with check marks indicating how he did that day, and there is usually a note of "Great Day!" or something like that on the paper, too. Today's note also said, "Very sweet boy!" Let's hope and pray that continues.

Yesterday after church school, Levi and I played outside - which seems to be becoming our habit. I finally got him to come inside - it's still very hot out there - and we played upstairs for a few minutes before he requested to watch some golf. We watched Phil's 2004 Masters win and then the 2010 Masters win. Then, Levi saw another video on the sidebar of YouTube that he requested to watch Phil's Backward Shot (you can use the link to watch it too).

This is Levi's rendition.

First Day

Today was Levi's first day of school. Yesterday was actually the first day for the rest of the school, but we hadn't been able to make it to the doctor to get another form filled out until yesterday. We were also able to find a nap mat while we were out for the doctor's visit, which is an essential item at his "school". This school again isn't really a school for his age group - it's a Mother's Day Out program, but we tell Levi it is school. He thinks he's like Daddy since they're both going to school.


Kevin got him ready this morning, and I asked him to take some pictures of Levi and of Levi with his backpack. The backpack is supplied by the school, so all the kids have the exact same ADULT-size backpack. It is convenient because there is so much room, but it is huge!

Kevin said it almost toppled Levi over - I had stuffed the nap mat inside. Without the nap mat, the lunchbox fits inside the backpack easily.


I got to pick him up today, and his teacher said he did great and that he is very sweet. Hopefully, that behavior will continue and that "terrible two" child, who we're starting to see on occasion, won't make an appearance. The note that was in his folder even said he took a "long nap" - not sure how long "long" is, but I was really afraid he wouldn't do well on a nap mat in a room with other kids. I guess he played so hard that the distractions just weren't enough.

Ouch!

Levi and I got home Friday night after my last week in Augusta for a while (hopefully). Not that we had a bad trip, mind you. We stayed with Nana and Papa - and they took very good care of us. But, there's just something to be said about your own bed, your own shower, your own kitchen... Levi had a wonderful time, spending the days with Nana, Papa, and DeeDee. I, on the other hand, found myself gone from the house for over twelve hours every day. Not exactly a fun week for me. I missed Levi like crazy during the day. Kevin didn't go with us this time, because school has started for him. Levi and I missed him, too.

We got home on Friday evening, went to dinner (Levi wanted a quesadilla), and played upstairs. Unfortunately, as Levi catapulted himself toward the bookshelf for another book, he landed chin first on the bottom shelf. He cried. Kevin held him. He bled. I held him. He cried. We put a cold washcloth on it. His crying began to subside. We read to him. He sniffled. We put ice on his lips and chin. He sniffled some more. We watched Chuggington and then Oso, while I kept the ice on his boo-boo. The results?

Not too pretty - and these were taken almost twenty-four hours after the fall. But, our boy is a trooper. He looks at himself in the mirror and says, "I got boo-boo." And then pretends to sniffle.

What's Your Name? Part 2

Last weekend, Levi learned his first and last name! No more, "Me!" He cannot pronounce the "L" of Levi, so it sounds more like, "E-vi", but he says our last name perfectly. He is also very good at saying that he's two when you ask; although he has not mastered holding up two fingers on one hand yet. He usually likes to hold up both pointer fingers while he says "two".

Last week, we were back in Augusta for my work. Levi was very excited to see Nana, Papa, and DeeDee. Overall, the week went well. Levi also had a trip to see Ms. Debbie (his one and only barber, so far). He was excited to see her too. We were thankful that we had a chance to visit with Kevin's family, even though I did have to work through most of the visit.

I've written before about Levi's terrible reaction to "new" bathtubs, but he has been doing extremely well lately. The trick? At least one cup in the tub to use.

Kevin talked his mom into coming back with us for this week, so that he can get ready for school. Then, Levi, Nana, and I will head back to Augusta for another week of work there for me. That's the week that Kevin will officially start school. Levi will start school the following Monday. Hard to believe that school is almost here.

Family Vacation

I took last Friday and this past Monday off from work, and we headed for a family vacation in Chattanooga. Daddy had never been, but we thought it would be a fun place to take Levi. We had a really great time. We headed straight for the Tennessee Valley Railroad when we arrived in Chattanooga on Friday.


Levi didn't want to let go of his ticket once we handed it to him.

His favorite part of the ride was when we rode through a tunnel and the man telling us all about the train and the area surrounding the railroad tracks turned off the light. Levi is still talking about the "dark tunnel"!

We went to Rock City and Ruby Falls on Saturday. Kevin took the pictures with his camera, so I have none to share right now.

On Sunday, we rode the Incline Railroad and then went to the Tennessee Aquarium. Levi did so well at the Aquarium. He walked around almost the entire time, holding my hand, unless I put him next to a "window" like below. He was very interested in the turtles and enjoyed "finding Nemo". He also liked putting his hand in the touch tanks; although he was so short that he didn't get to actually touch any of the fish.


The hotel where we stayed had a pool, so we went swimming Saturday and Sunday nights. On Sunday night, another family was at the pool who had twin little girls. Levi wanted to "play together". He also wanted to copy them when they were practicing floating with their mom. The back of his head would barely get wet - his feet in the air like he was a jack-knife - and he'd say, "Mama, I floating!" The pride and satisfaction on his face were priceless, and as any mama would do, I said, "Yes, Levi, you are!"