Wild, Wild Weekend!

While mommy and her friends were partying at the bachelorette party, Levi had a wild time at Grandpa & Grandma's house!

How's that for some "boofy" hair??

What have we been up to?

The past couple of weeks have been fairly busy at our house, and I haven't had a chance to update our blog. While Levi is down for a nap, I thought I'd recap what we've been up to lately:

Levi got his first haircut! Well, it was actually more of a trim – I couldn’t bring myself to cut his curls yet. He got his bangs trimmed, along with some of the hair in the back – no more mullet!

Before & After Pictures:

Levi is going to get two new cousins in 2008! Matt’s brother and his wife (Marc & Lori) are due in April and we found out last week that they are having a GIRL. I had guessed boy, but was wrong – now Levi will remain the only grandson on Matt’s side. Also last week, Angie and Scott started sharing their news about BABY #2 – due in June! They told us before last week, but now we don’t have to keep the secret anymore. We’re so excited for both couples and we can’t wait for new babies to hold – we love them already!!

Matt went duck hunting for the last time of the season – and returned successful! He and his friend Jack got three ducks between them, but one got away. They were hunting on a river and couldn’t find one of the ducks they shot – too bad!



Levi had a slumber party last Saturday night – Scott and Angie had a Christmas party, so Henry came to our house and spent the night. The boys did great together (slept in separate rooms, but slept through the night just fine) and even took their baths together:

Rub-a-dub-dub - cousins in the tub!

"Juice, Juice!"

We had my family over for Sunday lunch and afterward we tried to get a picture for our l-m-n-o Christmas card. I always have a vision in my head of what I want the picture to look like and it never goes like I plan – you would think I would learn. This year we did manage to get a couple of good pictures and I just got the finished cards delivered yesterday – now I’m working on addressing them. I updated the sidebar with the runner-up picture.

Yesterday was our MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) Christmas brunch. Angie & I were in charge of food and we did a sit-down pancake breakfast. It was a lot of work to arrange and pull off, but it went great. By yesterday afternoon, I was exhausted and took a nap when Levi did!

Now, I’m working on the final preparations for a bachelorette party taking place at our house tomorrow night. I can’t share the details, since the bride sometimes checks this blog, but we’re planning a rootin’ tootin’ good time!

Now I think we're up to date again!

Brutal Honesty

Tonight, I was getting ready to leave for a hair appointment and I went to give Levi a kiss. He stopped me just as we were face-to-face and said "brush teeth a minute".

Nothing like brutal honesty from a 22-month old!

We're not normally dancers...

...but if you want to see our family bust a move, check out the link below!

l-m-n-o dancing

(We got the inspiration from Sonny's blog - be sure to check our her family dancing too!)

The food is always better on someone else's tray...

...or when your cousin feeds it to you!


Levi "helped" Henry clean his tray at lunch today -- but only some of it ended up in Henry's mouth!

Levi counts to 10!

We think he's a smarty-pants, but we're a little biased (since we're his parents)!!

'Twas the day before Thanksgiving...

...and the boys got to eat chocolate pudding with their lunch!

Halloween 2007

For Halloween this year, Levi and Henry had coordinating costumes: Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato from the VeggieTales. The boys are both quite obsessed with the Veggies, so Angie & I thought it would be quite fitting if they dressed up as "BobWay-wey" (they have a little trouble saying their "L"s and "R"s).

If you're not going to SNORT, why even laugh?

I got the most hilarious birthday card from Scott, Angie & Henry today. It was a homemade version similar to some funny cards we've seen at card shops/bookstores. The picture was an outtake from the cousins photoshoot on Saturday. I laughed to the point of tears when I opened it and it makes me laugh every time I look at it!

(Double click on the card to enlarge it if you can't read the caption)

Say Goodbye...

...to the "rabbit ears"
and say hello to basic cable!

Happy birthday to me!!

October 27, 2001

Six years ago today, it was a cold & blustery Saturday morning. Matt and I were at the dunes for the last weekend of the season. At one point, Matt stopped the Bronco by the lake and wanted me to get out and stand on the shore with him for a minute. I wasn't too excited about leaving the warmth of the truck, but eventually I donned a jacket and joined Matt. I'm glad I did -- since that is where he asked me to marry him!

Tell me something I didn't know...

I am 75% Addicted to Coffee

Actually, I would have guessed 100% before I took the quiz!

I am also quite addicted to Creme Brulee flavored creamer! It makes my coffee at home taste like something from the coffee shop -- without the high price :)

Beautiful Sunset!

This was the view from our deck tonight --
absolutely gorgeous!!

Apparently great minds think alike - right Sonny?
Before I posted these pictures I was reading her blog and she had posted pictures of tonight's sunset too!

Tagged

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Sonny almost two weeks ago and consequently I haven't blogged since then - go figure! It's about time I get this tag off my back, so here it goes...

THE RULES:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to had.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
4. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

My middle name is Marie (same as my great-grandmother's first name):

M: Married - a month ago Matt and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!

A: Accountant - I have a degree in accounting and before I had Levi I worked as a CPA for a local public accounting firm for 5-1/2 years.

R: Relatively old - I know that age is relative and just a state of mind, but I'm turning 30 in a week and when I stop to think about that number, it makes me feel old (so I'm not going to think about it anymore!).

I: Introvert - at least that's what my Meyers-Briggs test always comes out as (ISFJ, if I remember correctly). Most of the time I am not that outgoing - I can be if I need to be, but I would rather have a few really close friends or spend time by myself than being somewhere with a lot of people making small talk.

E: Easily startled - when I am working on something, I get wrapped up in my own little world (it's more fun in my world, right Todd - family joke, sorry!), I don't notice what's going on around me and as a result, I startle easily when someone comes near me. One of my former bosses thought it was quite hilarious to see me jump 3 inches out of my chair and he pretty much made a game out of trying to come up to my desk without me noticing!

There, I did it - finally! Now I can go back to posting about the funny things Levi has been up to - like calling Matt "Matt" instead of "Daddy" (I find it funny, but Matt doesn't and we're trying to discourage Levi from doing it!).

Before I forget - I need to pass this fun onto 5 more people...I tag Brown and Green make Blue, Kreider Hen House, Heuker House, and two ladies without blogs - Jen & Lori (I think you should make this the 1st post of your new blogs!).

While the guys were away...

... the ladies went to a bridal shower! My cousin, Rebeka, is getting married to Ryan on December 28 and our aunts threw her a shower on Saturday. It was a fun afternoon and I especially enjoyed being able to have adult conversations without worrying about where Levi had run off to or what trouble he was getting into - Thanks Dad!

Rebeka got a lot of great gifts! I wonder which one Ryan picked to use prior to the wedding..? Since Ryan doesn't understand why he can't start using all of their shower gifts now, they compromised that he gets to pick one thing from each shower to start using right away. Rebeka's guess was that he would pick the blender, but she thought he should pick the clothes hamper!!

For dessert we got to eat these yummy cupcakes!

The Hunters Return Victorious!

Opening day of duck season was a success
for both of the guys:

Matt's duck is on the left (the female).
Scott's duck is on the right (the male).

1/2 More Sleeps...

The guys are packed and ready to go:

Matt is already in bed - 3:40 am is going to come quickly!

Lunch Time - Mmmm!

It's Wednesday today and that means that Henry is at our house.

Who would have guessed that mac 'n' cheese would get this kind of a reaction? Perhaps it was the fact that it was the "Premium - Thick & Creamier" version of mac 'n' cheese...

(Yes, that's Levi in the background - monkey hear, monkey do)

Sorry to report that the applesauce didn't get the same overwhelmingly positive response!

The Hunting Saga Continues...

Up to this point, Matt has done the majority of his duck hunting out of a white rowboat. Not exactly a vessel that blends into its surroundings while hunting! For this reason, Matt has constantly been on the lookout for a deal on a duck blind for the rowboat and/or a flat bottom boat (preferably green or camo) to use for duck hunting. "Helping" Matt in the pursuit lately has been my brother-in-law, Scott, and after Monday's events I'm not sure whether to thank him or never speak to him again :)

Matt came home from work on Monday and casually mentioned that Scott had called him during the day about a boat he saw for sale online. Matt told me that it was a 14 foot, green, flat bottom boat - "perfect for duck hunting" according to Matt. Then he told me the price, which I'll admit sounded like quite a deal. I was quiet for a few minutes and then I think I surprised Matt quite a bit when I said it was okay with me if he looked into buying the boat. It wasn't but a minute later that Matt was on the phone to Scott and they were making plans to drive the 45 minutes or so to look at the boat. Of course, they had to leave immediately, since they found out that someone else was also interested in the boat, was coming to look at it that night as well, and lived in the same town where the boat was located! So that left Angie and I eating our respective dinners alone with our little boys before meeting up for an improptu play date.

While at Angie's house, I got the call from Matt, saying that he had bought the boat - not for the asking price, but for less - due to the fact that there are a couple of holes that will need welding! At that point I had no idea what to expect...

Here's what I found in my garage when the guys returned home:

I found out that the other party who wanted to look at the boat had already been there by the time Matt and Scott arrived, but they needed to go and "check on a few things". Hmmm...

Only 3 more sleeps and the nights are going to be busy ones as Matt works on getting his "new" vessel sea-worthy! Scott thinks that in its current condition it will float for about 10 minutes - good thing Matt just got those new waders!

Now comes the question of what to name the boat...

p.s. In case you are wondering - the waders in my previous post cost more that the boat!

If you guessed duck hunting...

you would be correct! And this is what Matt will be wearing on Saturday morning...

Well, the waders at least - I'm not sure the coat will be necessary with the predicted 80 degree weather!

Now only 4 more sleeps...

Little "Mother" Levi

Levi and I were playing over at Angie and Henry's house tonight and the boys were in rare form. So many times we knew we shouldn't laugh, but we just couldn't help it. Case in point - the following instance:

Henry was sitting on the couch with Angie and he would stand up and walk from one end to the other. Angie would tell him that he needed to sit down on the couch - so he would for about a second and then he was back to standing and walking. Apparently Levi thought that Angie needed some help in the mothering department so he walked up to the couch and using his most stern voice said "HEN-NEY, SIT DOWN!" Not once, but a couple of times - and even when Henry was sitting down! What a hoot!!

Chubby Bunny

I was hoping to post some hunting related pictures, but Blogger and my computer are not getting along tonight (stay tuned for those soon, hopefully). Instead, I hope you enjoy the video of Levi eating his treat that he got after supper tonight...

Only 6 more sleeps...

...until the duck season opener. Matt thought you might like to know. Any guesses what he'll be doing Saturday morning?

Music to Matt's Ears

Both the sound of the Bronco's engine and
Levi saying "Bronco" (or "Bronc-e-mo" as the case may be):

Levi and Jesus

Levi's word of the week: Jesus.

It began when Levi started pointing to his Bible story books and saying "Jesus".

Then, one day this week, he woke up from his nap and we had the following conversation:
L: Daddy?
O: No, Daddy isn't here - Daddy is at work.
L: Hen-ney?
O: No, Henry isn't here - Henry is at his house.
L: Jesus?
O: Yes, you're right - Jesus is here.

Last night, while Matt and I were eating in the dining room, I went to check on Levi in his room (since he was being a little too quiet) and this is what I found:

Tonight, while listening to the VeggieTales worship CD in the van, Levi calls out "Jesus, Jesus, Jees, Jees, Jesus".

I figure they are becoming close friends since Levi has a nickname for him :) I pray that some day they will be!

Fun on a Thursday Afternoon

I'm pretending that I'll stay this tan year-round!












Make yourself into an M&M!
www.becomeanmm.com

This one is for you, Scott!

(and for you too, Mike & Marc - even though you haven't given me grief lately for not keeping my blog up-to-date.)

Please note: the discoloration to the left of Levi's lips is blueberry sauce, not a bruise - no need to be alarmed :)

Another one to add to the list...

...of nicknames that I have been given: Mommees.

Yes, Levi has taken to calling me "Mommees". When Matt and I ask him what our names are, he says "Daddy" and "Mommees". I'm not 100% sure on the spelling of "Mommees", but it sounds like he's saying the combination of "Mommy is" real fast. Matt's theory is that Levi usually hears him talking about me relative to what I'm doing (i.e. Mommy is upstairs, Mommy is making supper) and thus thinks my name is "Mommy is". I'm sure this phase will pass, but for now I'm answering to "Mommees" - from Levi only!

In case you were wondering what else is on the list, here are some that I'm aware of: "O", Livy, Olive, Olivia from Bolivia, Lyb, Lyberskins, & Babe (as in the movie about a pig - because I snort when I laugh).

Feeling Blue

My obsession of this past week: Blueberries.

On Monday, I went with my mom and sister, and I picked about 15-1/2 pounds of blueberries. I froze most of what I picked, but kept some out for muffins, pie, coffee cake and munching. When I finally got around to baking later in the week, I discovered that either I didn't save enough out of the freezer or we had been munching more than I planned on (probably the latter). After measuring out enough for a coffeecake, I had only a handful of blueberries left.

So on Thursday night, I went blueberry picking again - this time by myself. It was a new experience for me - picking on my own and going to a place I had never picked at before. At first I wasn't so sure I liked the "rules" of the place I went: start at this bush, pick all the way around the bush, then move to the next bush in line. Once I got a few bushes in, I decided the "rules" weren't too bad - especially since I usually fall prey to "the berries look bigger on that bush over there - but they really aren't once you get there" syndrome (similar to "the grass is always greener..."), and end up wasting most of my picking time looking for the biggest berries. After only an hour of picking, I came home with about 9-1/2 pounds of blueberries - that's a lot for me!

On Friday and Saturday I baked blueberry coffee cake, blueberry muffins and a crust for blueberry cream pie. All of it was very yummy, but after eating so many blueberries this week I feel like this:

I think the obsession if almost done - I'm almost happy that the blueberries are just about gone!


But give me a couple of weeks - I think I'll be ready to raid the freezer!

Guest Blogger - Levi

Hi, my name is Levi!

I'm the "L" in our family's blog title.

Yesterday was my half birthday - I'm 1-1/2 years old! In honor of my half birthday, my mommy helped me put together a slide show of pictures - starting with a picture of me in the hospital and then one for every month since then. I think you'll see that I've changed a little bit in 18 months!

Who am I to argue?

Levi likes to sleep.

Levi takes two naps per day (usually about 2 hours each) and sleeps about twelve hours per night. I'm not complaining!

Levi has started asking for naps. Some days he heads off to his crib, grabs his blanket and lion (bee-bee and eye-a), says "up" and when I put him in his crib, he lays right down and starts sucking on his fingers. Occasionally, he calls out "nuh-night" as I leave the room!

Tonight, Levi decided in the middle of playtime that it was time for bed. It was about 15 minutes before we normally start getting him ready for bed, but he has never verbally requested to go to bed. We were playing in the basement and out of nowhere, Levi goes to the basement door and starts saying "nuh-night". I figured he wasn't serious, so I opened the door and let him go upstairs. He headed right for his room and after a diaper change and PJs, he grabbed his "bee-bee" and "eye-a" and nearly lunged for his crib. I started to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and when I got to the chorus I laid him in the crib. He immediately rolled over, curled up with his back toward me - as if to say "Mommy, I said nuh-night, now leave me alone!"

Levi likes to sleep - he is his mother's son!

Happy Wishes for June 28!

June 28 is a special day in our family for two reasons - Matt's parents' anniversary and our niece Faith's birthday.

Celebrate!

This past weekend, we attended two celebrations - a wedding and a birthday party...

First the wedding:
On Saturday, our sister-in-law Sonny's sister Shelly married Kent. As family friends, we had the privilege of attending the wedding. Our nieces were flower girls for Shelly and they looked beautiful in their fancy dresses. The whole wedding was wonderful - ceremony, bridal party, decorations, reception - we knew a lot of planning went into the day and it showed. Perhaps the funniest part of the day was when the minister pronounced Kent and Shelly husband and wife he said "what God has joined together, let no man CELEBRATE!" Oops, he meant to say "separate" - good thing he corrected himself since we sure did celebrate!! Here are some of my photos of the celebration:


Then the birthday party:
On Thursday (June 21), my Grandma turned 85 - so on Sunday, we had a somewhat-surprise birthday party for my Grandma. She knew that some of her immediate family was coming for church and a lunch afterward, but in reality, there were approximately 80 people that were going to be there for the lunch. We had a very yummy catered meal in the church basement and some of my Grandma's siblings were there along with other extended family and friends from church.

But perhaps the biggest surprise was that when we were standing outside after church, a white limo pulled up! My Uncle Don had arranged for a limo to drive my Grandma around to go pick up her siblings. I don't know if my Grandma had ever ridden in a limo before, but I think she enjoyed herself a little bit - she didn't show it too much though, since it was Sunday after all and she didn't think she deserved such a fuss.

Happy Birthday, Grandma - We love you!!

Why God Made Fathers

God knew that each one of us would need
shelter and guidance
Throughout all our growing-up years,
Warmth and compassion for all of our problems
And strength for our worries and fears...

He saw that we needed wisdom for living,
A knowledge of heaven above,
True understanding of life's deeper meanings,
Examples of kindness and love.

And so He made fathers to stand by our side,
To inspire us in every endeavor,
Whose faith and devotion will last through our lives
And whose love we will cherish forever.

Author Unknown

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

With lots of love, Livy

Wednesdays

On Wednesdays, my nephew, Henry, spends the day at my house while his mom goes to work. I'm usually exhausted by the time Matt gets home at 4, but the boys and I have fun during our day together. Levi is learning what it is like to have to share his toys and his mom. Some Wednesdays are better than others in that respect. Yesterday, it seemed the boys wanted to be doing the exact same thing the other one was doing, at the same exact time - even crying on Mommy/Aunt O's lap! Here are some pictures of our day yesterday...

Race Day!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Matt has been training to run in a 5K race and today was the day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous for a race. Levi and I had great seats near the start/finish line as we watched and cheered for Matt while he ran an awesome race - his first ever!! His official time was 27 minutes, 52 seconds - quite a bit better than his goal of a half hour. Way to go, Matt - I am so proud of you!

Here are some pictures from the race...

Still Here...Sort of

I know, I know - I haven't posted anything for a long time. Thanks to everyone who filled me in about that fact (like I didn't realize I wasn't posting) - you know who you are!

As for an explanation...computer issues. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it's true. First we started getting popups when we were online, then we couldn't get online for about a week, now we can get online again (bypassing the wireless router) but the computer has contracted a virus, so now we have sent the computer off to my dad to see if he can help us fix our computer issues. It isn't that I didn't want to post anything, rather I couldn't post anything.

Tonight I'm over at my sister's house watching my nephew for the evening. Since Henry went to sleep as soon as his head hit the mattress (no afternoon nap will do that to a kid), I'm borrowing her computer to do a little online catch-up. Hopefully we will have our computer fixed soon and then I can get back to posting a bit more regularly.

Until then, here's what's been happening with L-M-N-O...

• We spent every weekend in May at a cottage - either Matt's family's or my parents'. We had a fun time cleaning, painting, getting things ready for summer, and enjoying a relaxing Memorial day weekend. For some pictures you can check out my sister's blog.
• Levi has started to say quite a few recognizable words: "pees" (please), "della" (Bella, as in his cousin), "moo", "baa", "a-doo-a-doo" (cock-a-doodle-doo), "no, no, no" (just today - not in context, but showing me what I must say an awful lot!).
• A new discipline technique for Levi - that worked for about 3 days. We have a decorative birdhouse in our living room that I put fake flowers in to go with the season. A few weeks ago, I swapped the Christmas flowers for some more summery yellow flowers. Levi discovered the new flowers and figured out that he could pull the flowers and buds off the stems. So, when we played in the living room, he started sneaking around the couch to the birdhouse. One of those times, I tried counting to 3 in a stern voice and to my surprise, Levi left the birdhouse and came back to playing by me. I was quite excited that we didn't have to start a "time-out" technique yet because it seemed like this approach might work for now. About three days later, Levi was again sneaking around the couch to "play" with the birdhouse flowers. I started counting in my stern "mom" voice: ONE...TWO... "tree" (Levi's voice from the other side of the couch). Now what? I couldn't help but laugh. So much for that discipline technique - now I can't even get past ONE without hearing "doo" (two) and "tree". We've decided instead to start working on counting and Levi is learning "four" and "five"...
• Levi tried broadening his cuisine... My mom came over for a day in May to help me weed our landscaping (a big help - thanks Mom!). After Levi got up from his nap, he came outside to help too. Under our deck in the backyard, we have an extra piece of wood laying on the ground, so I flipped it over to weed underneath it. We found lots of creepy-crawly things underneath and I pointed them out to Levi. I even went so far as picking up a worm with my glove to show it to him. He wasn't scared a bit, in fact, he took it from me(which I thought was kind of cool at that point) and then proceeded to try and put it in his mouth (not so cool!). Why did I think that the worm wouldn't go in his mouth when everything else he touches does? Perhaps the best part was that when I tried to get the worm out of Levi's hand, I nearly shoved it right into his mouth - way to go on my part!
• Matt has taken up running and is getting ready to run in his first race (a 5K) this Saturday. Levi and I are looking forward to cheering him on and showing him how proud we are of him for doing the race! Levi's been practicing saying "go, go, go" and "yeah, Daddy" - I think he'll be ready in time for Saturday :)

Well, that's at least a stab at getting things caught up. Now I need to catch up on my blog reading and see what everyone else has been up to. It's sad how out of the loop you feel when your computer is down...just kidding!

More than I give him credit for...

Deep down, I know that Levi understands more than he is able communicate back to me, but sometimes in my busyness I forget to notice that he does understand.

I realized this again when Levi and I went to school to pick up TRIP today. As soon as I opened Levi's door he started making an animal noise. Levi has a distinct sound for a duck's quack (pretty accurate) and a dog's bark (not so accurate, but we know what he means), but for the rest of the animal population he has a generic animal noise. At first I thought today's sound was the "goggy" (doggy) bark, but like I told Levi, there were no dogs visible in the vicinity. He kept at it though, determined to make me see that he knew what he was talking about.

Once I got him out of the car seat, I let Levi get down to walk around in the parking lot. He started walking toward the basketball hoop that was a parking space away from the van. He was pointing at the net, so I figured that was what he was talking about. Usually when I figure out what he means, Levi gives me some indication that I've gotten it right, but no such luck with the basketball net. Then I looked again and finally saw what Levi had been seeing the entire time...there was a bird sitting on the basketball hoop! As soon as I said "Oh, you see the birdie up there!" he started smiling and made an even more excited birdie sound.

I am reminded again that Levi is like a sponge soaking up EVERYTHING around him and that I can learn a lot from him. Every day, a new discovery and a new adventure. What a way to live!

Levi's Latest...

For the past week Levi has been walking around the house muttering something over and over. After a few days of hearing him repeating it again and again, I finally figured out what it was that he was saying...

Tickle, tickle, tickle. Tickle, tickle, tickle.

It started when he was a little baby. Every time I go to tickle Levi, I say out loud "tickle, tickle, tickle". I love hearing him laugh, so I do it pretty often. Apparently more than I realize, hence the new phrase constantly coming out of his mouth.

It's really quite cute, once you know what he is saying. I'll let you be the judge...

(Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at doing anything with video clips from my digital camera. I made the mistake of turning the camera on end while videotaping and now I don't know how to rotate it (so you don't have to turn your head sideways). I figure you can deal with it, especially once you see how cute Levi is in the footage!

15 Months

Today I took Levi to the pediatrician for his 15 month check-up. Levi did really well for the doctor, but he wasn't too excited to wait for the nurse to give him his shots!

Here are his stats at 15 months:

• Height: 33-1/2 inches
• Weight: 24 pounds, 2 ounces
• Head Circumference: 19 inches (for anyone who cares!)

Somewhat patiently waiting

for the nurse to come back with the shots...

Nearly "loosing it" while

waiting for the nurse to come back with the shots...

Hugs from Grandma

make waiting for the nurse much more tolerable!