Because I Must Document....

I don't blog anymore, but enjoy blogging....

Because of this I decided I needed a quick "day in the life/update on Max's allergy treatment" post, to one day look back and remember this phase we are in. Some days it feels like a crazy one, and surely I will be able to look back fondly one day 😳

Right now Max is undergoing a treatment called oral immunotherapy, OIT for short. It's a process of gradual desensitization to his severe peanut and tree nut allergies. The goal in the end is tolerance of these foods, and freely eating with no problem. He doses with increasing amounts over the course of 22 updoses (always observed under close watch with our Dallas based doctor, and then will come home for approximately 2 weeks on that dose. 

Some of the fun (not) facts about OIT are as follows. He has to dose on a full stomach, and cannot elevate his heart rate for two hours following each morning and evening dose. He has to be watched extremely closely the first hour after dose to ensure he isn't having a reaction, all the while me pretending I'm not being helicopter mom as to not panic him. Every cough, sneeze, itch or eye rub could possibly be a first sign on anaphylaxis.....or nothing at all. I have to be the judge. 

This has been hard for me. Week one we landed in the ER because he suddenly had red eyes and sneezing with a super runny nose, and it turns out he was getting a virus. Another fun fact is that this daily nut exposure is not nearly as receptive to a weak immune system....so any regular childhood cold or illness could set off a reaction. Overall he's done very well so far. We've had few symptoms, other than uwhat his doctors are calling "expected reactions". Nothing scary yet. Thank you Lord!!! He also hates the taste of the pecan flour, and peanut solution which I can understand. I finally tasted it, and is worse than you could imagine! Imagine peanuts mixed in grape cough syrup 😷 He also has to  eat a capsule full of pecan flour twice a day that I've started making into chocolate for him via a candy mold.....so life is crazy, to say the least. Very little down time, lots of stress, and frequent trips to Dallas and back in one day. Oh yeah, there is also the 7 months pregnant thing! 😉

(Also excuse typos because I probably won't proof read this) 

My day looks like this.

7 a.m- My alarm goes off every morning before the house wakes up to have my coffee and get Max's breakfast made, and dose measured out and ready for him. Also pack lunches, fill water bottle, organize school folders ect...

7:30 a.m- I fight his exhausted little body out of bed so he can have 20-30 minutes to wake up and eat (always a battle) so his tummy is full for his dose

7:45/8:00 a.m- force his liquid peanut solution down (he's a trooper), and next he eats the pecan flour that's hidden in a chocolate/sunbutter candy. Levi is awake now too.

8:00 a.m- set alarm for one hour so I can know when I have clearance to drop him off at school. 

8ish/8:45 a.m- feed Levi/ feed myself/get dressed/dress kids and brush teeth, all while watching Max closely and making sure he stays put on the couch. Heart stopping about 15 times a morning when he jumps, runs, or looks like he might have a symptom. 

8:45 a.m- leave for school (T/TH) both kids go, (Mon-Thurs) just Max. Wait in car for one hour alarm to go off, make him drink a tons of water...and walk him to class to see what is on the agenda for his second hour of observation since his monitoring is now out of my control. His teachers have amazingly agreed to keep class low key from 9-10am to allow him to get to sleep in a little longer in the morning. Amazing!!!

9:00 a.m- 1:15 p.m- Me and Levi start the day. Playdates, cleaning the house, laundry, library, museum, grocery shopping...the usual. Lunch in there somewhere. Sometimes with friends, Mimi, or just hanging at home. 

1:30 p.m- pick up Max, and run home for a quick rest time. They watch Nexflix, play in playroom, or  play with the iPad. I hide in my room and have a snack. 

2:30 p.m- get dressed, gather goggles and towels, and head to swimming lessons. 

3:00-4:00 p.m- swimming lesson are daily right now.

4:15 p.m- head home and start dinner. Boys almost always play outside together and this is my favorite time of day because I don't have to worry about Max, observe him, or make him sit still. He can just run and play and have fun!! He gets to forget about all this for a while! 

5:30ish- dinner and playtime with dad or baths. 

5:45-6:30- I clean up dinner, and start making the chocolate molds for the evening dose and next morning. 

7ish- Jammie's and wind down while I give Max his evening dose. We usually pick a show or a movie to watch as a family so everyone is calm, and I set my alarm again for an hour.

8ish- alarm goes off and the kids beg for a snack, then we brush teeth and take them to bed!

8:30ish-9- Clean up the house, sir and make sure my poor baby in the womb has had some water and is kicking...

9:30-12 a.m- hang out with Cody, watch TV and relax! 

Thats a wrap!! Day in our life right now!

A Super Duper Recap of Life

Oh wow look, I blogged a YEAR ago! Nice. I've had the bug for a while now though to blog and document this busy life. A lot, and what feels like nothing at all has happened in this last year. Since im laying in bed right now on this lovely Sunday with a fever, and sore throat, I figured id take advantage of the calm and jot some things down. And FYI this is in my phone so expect some serious typos! I don't plan to proof read!

I'll treat this as a new year recap post 😉
Last time I posted it was to document my sweet Levi turning 2, and he is now 3! This year has been busy, but also very "normal" which I tried to feel bad about, but realized what a blessing that was to just enjoy a happy peaceful year with my little family.

Since we last spoke I launched a new little cookie business, became very involved with an amazing group of woman through my MOPs group, made some awesome new friends through our pre-school, Cody got an awesome much deserved promotion at work, and I also had surgery as a "last ditch effort" for baby #3.

I would say internally last year was very consumed with the baby thing. Cody would argue the "internally" but I didn't open up to many other people about it. Something about this secondary infertility deal is awkward, and also very isolating. I didn't want to appear ungrateful for what I had, and also didn't really know many people who had gone through this for baby 3. I even kept this from besties which is odd, but I did. I had a seriously skewed mentality about all of this. Worried that if I shared with best friends they would get the bug too, and then of course get pregnant instantly, or feel bad for me and not want to share their news, OR think I was ungrateful for the two children I do have. I also wrestled with some hidden control issues, and had to think long and hard about why I even wanted a 3rd. Lots of soul searching on my value, and where it lies, and learning to close my heart and mind to the lie that I wasn't working hard enough as a mom of JUST two. Why did God choose to bless so many others with baby after baby after baby?! Does he not think I can handle it? My life is getting "easy" now, so what the heck do I do?? Some moms get to mother and birth babies over a span of 10+ years and I did it ALL  in 16 months. Not fair!!! Right?? Wrong!! Oh so wrong, and it has taken me quite a while to admit this, and even write it out for the world (aka the 4 people who will read this) to see.

I felt like if I put it out there that WE CANT HAVE A BABY it would become real, and I wasn't ready for that. Still makes me tear typing this. So in August I had an exploratory surgery to see what we could find out. It didn't result in much information (and what they did find they couldn't fix) and the doctor said to give it 4-5 months, and come back. Well 5 months later and they wanted to start me on all sorts of fertility treatments, shots, and pills. Phrases like "30% chance of triplets if this works" and "you really need to be okay with multiples" stressed me out, and understandable so Cody was NOT interested. I mean duh. He's quite practical about this sort of thing, and bless his soul he was ready to let me do it, but I literally felt God physically holding me in place and saying NO. Saying not to do this treatment, and take a long hard look at my life. I felt him telling me that yes there has been a void in my life that I desperately tried to fill with a new baby for over 2.5 years, but GUESS WHAT....the baby wasn't causing the void, and I was refusing to let God fill it.

So I prayed and prayed for God to help me find new hobbies, friends, and other meaningful realstionshiops to not only bring me closer to him, but remind me that while being a mom is AMAZING, this does not make up the whole of me. It's funny because I didn't expect him to use a cookie, but soon after the beginning of last year this funny little hobby/business fell into my lap, and seriously helped me out of my funk!! It kept me busy, and opened the door to a creative side I didn't really know I had. So fun!!! I've been blessed to make cookies for sooo many people, and reconnect with people I haven't  seen or spoken to in years! Awesome.

Now onto MOPs. Wow how I love these ladies. My mission this past year was to say yes more. Most of my friends always complain that they can't say no, but not me at all. I was happy to hang out at home with my boys, and soak in a slow pace lifestyle, which was amazing. Still is. However, I knew I needed to put myself out there and serve more. So after a year of being in the group I accepted the hospitality position on our steering committee. This was still a baby step, but a good first one for me. This weekly commitment along with the cookies and of course the kids was keeping me busier than EVER! We also tried to host as often as possible with out small group at church, and basically implement an open door policy at out house.

So basically it was an awesome year! I'm super blessed, and feel refreshed going into the new year having learned so much about myself, and excited to see what happens in 2016. I can finally say I know it won't be a new baby, and 9/10 time I'm SO okay with that. I have the best hubby, kids and family I could have ever imagined (and let's me onest I have 5 kids quite often), and am humbled and grateful for this life! The End. Happy Sunday!

Levi is 2

I sat at my computer in tears last night! Very dramatic. I couldn't contain it. I was reading back
over my past blog entries and MISSED to my core my tiny babies. Cody glanced over top his iPad a little scared, and asked what was wrong. As soon as he saw a picture of baby Levi he needn't say more! He knows I've been struggling with them growing up and no new babe on the horizon. I loved having babies and the unlikeliness of anymore is hard sometimes, and sometimes it's bittersweet to be out of the baby phase and watching our boys grow.

(both my angels at two weeks old)

I was convicted to keep writing about them because I absolutely adore having the record. They may never care to read this (they are boys after all) but I need it!  So first let's talk about my baby turning 2!

Levi is technically 2 years and 3 months old. He is nuts. He lives out his days as a little stand up comedian and loves to make us laugh. Pretty much everything he says and does is funny and shocking at the same time. So much personality trapped inside that tiny body. We are constantly in awe of what he knows and remembers. He is very verbal and has a sharp little mind. He and Max now have little conversations and play together/brutally attack each other all day. Sometimes Levi gets the upper hand in the fights, but Max LOVES that Levi still takes a nap and in a crib. He's always quick to remind him that he's a baby and be better behave. It's pretty funny to see into their little minds.

(taken on his second birthday at almost the exact moment he was born)

Levi started school this year and is doing great. There has been some crying and attachment stuff at drop off which I expected, however, he's having fun and napping which is all you can really ask for at this age. School has given him so much confidence and definitely toned him down a bit. It's taught him a ton in the socialization department, and he's learning new things every day. He does Tuesday and Thursday from 9-1:30. I can tell he is OH so pleased with himself after he makes it through the school day. He feels like a big boy. It's stretched him in a good way.

(winding down after his very first day of school)

He's not huge, but definitely a hearty little guy. He still makes me carry him all the time, and weighs around 33-34 pounds. He was 36.5 inches at his two year check at around the 90% across the board. Huge spurt in height recently. He was once only the 10%!! They re-measured him 4 times.

He is SO opinionated and LOUD. He's been introducing us to public embarrassment lately which has been a treat! He will not sit still at restaurants unless I give him snacks or let him shreds those little tubs of sweeteners. Neither of which I want to do. While I LOVE how verbal he is, it is so embarrassing to have him yell, "I will NOT eat dinner unless I get ice cream first"! Heavens where have a gone wrong! We have officially started a discipline regimen with him and it's helping a lot.

(before he knew how to throw a fit)

He's not even very strong willed across the board, and anyone who keeps him says he's perfect for them. He just picks a few battles to fight tooth and nail, and seems to save all the drama for us. He's very loving too and told me today "I have a precious family" and has been calling me "darling mommy" which is probably because Max calls me his "precious sweetheart". I think I might be baby talking to them a taaaad too much! Ha!

(two goofy peas in a pod)

He's growing up so quickly, wearing 3T clothes and size 8 shoe. He has long crazy curly hair, and is alway dirty. Love my boy!! Don't grow up too fast munchkin!

So You Just Have Two Kids?

Just TWO? I hear it all the time. I meet a mom at the park, or the pool, or the Chick Fil A playground. Really friendly moms who usually start the conversation with the usual about how close in age my boys look to be, and then promptly ask if/when I want another. This is normal, and i'm used to (and sometimes still catch myself) do this all the time. It's a simple conversation starter about something we all have in common, but it started to get to me, and caused me to develop a complex about our current plan for our family. I started down a road I shouldn't have traveled. Again, totally my issues and not theirs.

The "really you just want two" started to have me question my abilities as a mom, because I personally thought that two was plenty to keep me busy EVERY second of the day. Sure maybe one day we might have another one Lord willing, but not today. Maybe (probably) not ever. I started to realize that there was a trend in the blogging world, as well as real life where stopping at two children was no longer status quo, and definitely the exception. It seemed (in my insecure mom mind) that the more children you had, the more validated you were as a stay at home mom because you could truly do it all and were the picture of selflessness.

These mom looked great, always stylish and put together, with the exception of their grungy days, but even those days for them involved a cute monogrammed hat to match their neon Nikes. Jealous here, not hating! I SO need a monogrammed hat! I would see mom's at preschool toting in 3 and 4 kids, while pregnant, AND they managed to blow dry their hair....baffles me. I'm just gonna tell myself their hair air dries like that.

All this to say, as much as I never thought it to be true, I had fallen into the comparison game. Not the typical comparison about clothes, money, or skinniness so much, but something much deeper. I was comparing my true abilities as a mom, and wondering why I didn't want 14.5 children. What was wrong with me? Shouldn't I want to give myself up entirely for my family, and be happy to continue reproducing little blonde hair blue eyed pudges? I mean my babies were fat and cute!

Here's another deep dark (not so dark) secret behind it all. I let the comments, my own insecurities and blogs...yes BLOGS, get to me. I convinced the hubby that we NEEDED another little human in our lives to be complete when I wasn't even sure I wanted another one, but I stuffed those feelings deep deep down. Of course I would love it...duh, but there was little to no prayer involved in the decision to conceive. I was trying to have another child because I felt guilty things were starting to get easier for me, that my children were sleeping through the night, and that for the first time in 2 years someone wasn't attached to my boob. I was finding my self worth in being in the trenches of have newborns and infants. It's hard, and everyone talks about it being so. So what about now when it's not as hard? Am I still a good mom? Am I giving enough of myself? How selfish am I that I could burst with joy at the idea of both my kids being in preschool next year, and me having 9 total hours a week to myself?

Anyway...you know how God is. He kind of has a plan way better than our own. It took about 12 months trying + one month at the fertility clinic to realize I was content with my family. Whatever it was supposed to look like. Anyone dealing with infertility knows how exhausting and discouraging it can be, and I realized I was putting myself through all of this for nothing. I also am not comparing myself to all "other people struggling with infertility" because I do recognize the extreme blessing in my two boys even thought we have had our fair share of struggles along the way. As soon I got over myself and consulted God I started to see my life, by boys, and our future in a different light. The light my husband has been trying to show me all along....but bless him he was going to do whatever to make me happy. While I'm not opposed to having another baby one day (if I even can), I am starting to realize that I will still be very, very happy if that's not the plan for our family. Yes the sight of a newborn can bring me to tears, and it sometimes hurts my heart when I see people get pregnant so easily... like it's something they scheduled on their calender that week. I then have to count my blessing and move on. I have two amazing kids. TWO. That's a lot when you're talking about human beings!!

I prayed for God to show me some true benefits of having a smaller family, and I'm telling you he reveals something new every day. I've seen my boys relationship in a new light, and how much they LOVE each other and I know will always be friends. Their age gap is shrinking quickly, and I know it will soon dissolve entirely. They are getting to the age where they occasionally play independently and I can drink a cup of coffee.

I find that I can really focus on each of them throughout the day, and get to know them and see their little personalities form. I can play the games they want to play, do what makes them happy. I also realize that I can spend the time I need to discipline them the way they deserve (still learning here) to be happy functional little people because I'm not spread too thin right now.

We are balanced as a family, and there will always be a parent able to attend that baseball, soccer, or basketball game. Or bowling tournament if it's up to Max right now. In this current phase of an almost 2 and 3 year old, there is always someone to go down the slide with at the pool, and not worry that someone else is drowning. Man on man defense. We can load up on a whim and go anywhere.

We will not outgrow our home, and will always have plenty of space for guests which is important to us. We can also get away with whatever car we want.

We can afford to do more for our kids by way of vacations, activities, preschool, and eventually college. I am SO not the practical thinker and would roll my eyes when Cody would say this, but it is actually true for us. Not everyone, but it is for us since we love to travel and hope to have lots of fun family vacations in the future.We want our kids to see the world, and hope to one day be able to do that for them. Dreaming big there.

I (for now) can be a stay at home mom. Who knows that the future holds, but right now we can support our family of 4 with one salary and I couldn't be more grateful for that! I have also always dreamed about going back to nursing school which would be put even further on hold with another baby.

I am realizing more and more that organization and structure are not my strong suit, but I CAN on most days manage two kids. It makes me almost giddy when I get all the laundry done and have dinner ready....I am finally getting out of that baby haze and getting a grip on life!

I have also prayed for God to show me other families that look like mine, and get their point of view. I even ran into two older women today who have grown boys and I was able to sit and chat with them over a cake pop (the boys not me--stupid Weight Watchers) about their experiences and they didn't have regrets of not going for a third. They both said they really wanted a girl, but as time passed they knew their family was exactly as it should be. I don't even think about the "getting a girl" factor when I think about kids. I love having boys!

Basically I've written a novel when all I needed to say was God has a specific plan for all of us. If we are wise and tap into what he is trying to tell us, and follow his lead we will be content because we are living out HIS will for our lives. Yes a lot of this might look like a list I've put together to rationalize having two kids because I haven't been able to have a third, and that might be true. However, through all of this rationalizing my eyes have been opened to my amazing life that I was totally taking for granted! Bless your little souls if you read all of this, and thanks for letting me get all my thought out!

Happy weekend!! It's Friday!!

Maxwell Stone Turns 3

My sweet Maxwell is 3 years old. I cannot believe it. When you have a little bitty baby you can't really imagine them being anything other than just that....a little bitty baby. It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago that this guy was born. He was ever so wanted and prayed for, and has brought more joy to our lives than we could have possibly imagined. 

I vividly remember walking into the hospital late Sunday night for our induction. I requested Kirby Lane turkey/avocado quesadillas for my last meal and recall being very disappointed that they forgot the turkey as I had avoided it for 9 months. I was quite the rule follower in this pregnancy. We got all hooked up to the monitors, and a short 32 hours later Max came into our lives! Yes you read that right, 32 hours later. So worth the wait, and 2 hours and 55 minutes of pushing. 

He was the most beautiful baby ever. Really he was. He had the sweetest bright pink lips, chubby cheeks, and thunder thighs. I was INSTANTLY in love! 8 pounds 9 ounces of perfection, and a whopping 23 inches long. He was born at 2:55 a.m on Tuesday. 

The next couple weeks we were in and out of the hospital. Apparently I had a life threatening condition postpartum, but I barely even remember feeling inconvenienced. Seriously. I was just SO happy to have my sweet baby. I remember sitting in the hospital after being readmitted with IV's in both hands, and just looking at Max and being blissfully happy. He was laying on a portable billy bed for jaundice and I couldn't even hold him. At the time I don't think anything could have really upset me. True story.

We finally got home and started enjoying our life as a family of three. He was the sweetest baby, and has grown into the sweetest little boy. 

Max at three can be soft spoken, but is very confident. He loves school, and his friends and family and is always up for a good time. He thinks life is his own personal party, and he loves new things. He started school on Tuesday/Thursday this year, and has impressed me with how well he has done. He walked in confidently on the first day and has never looked back. He loves telling me about all his school friends and teachers, and giving me the daily update on who went to time out and why. He gets excited about going every day and I am SO grateful. I was just sure he would be clinging to my leg screaming each time. 

He loves playing (and fighting) with Levi, and going on "fun adventures" as he calls them. Anytime we get in the car and drive somewhere as a family it constitutes as a fun adventure. He loves playing outside and swimming, but equally loves reading and doing puzzles inside. He can focus for a long time on these types of games and activities, and gets really sad when Levi runs in and wreaks his masterpieces. He loves, loves, loves painting and asks to paint daily. Overall he has developed a serious love for crafting anything and everything since he started school. He even requested that we frame his favorites in his room. Sweet child.

He loves Mexican food and chocolate, and has a passion for licking the icing off cupcakes. He could live off of chocolate milk, and only like veggies baked into a casserole or chicken pot pie. Then he loves them. He hates grapes and strawberries, but loves watermelon, oranges and apples. He says that cheese is the best food ever and if asked what he wants for dinner he will always tell you cheese enchiladas. Recently he told Cody he wanted to start eating more cheese burgers because it was a "man's meal". Not sure where he got that, but we cracked up. He is very into being a "big boy" and not a baby, and very proud of the fact that he is 3 and Levi is still 1. He'll get a glorious 5 months each year to be 2 years older than his little brother. Speaking of...HOW is it possible Levi will be TWO in 5 months. Anyway.....

As sweet as he is, he can be quite the contrary little toot, and loves to argue with us about stuff daily. He has his trade mark "no no no no no no" said as fast as he possible can, that we all laugh about. He is  also pretty dramatic for a little boy. He has been known to gasp and throw himself to the ground if things don't go his way. Luckily I would say he is pretty complaint overall, but for sure has his moments. I have had to drag his limp body out of school a few more times than I would like to admit. 

He loves watching movies, and playing games on my phone. Because he doesn't nap he probably spends a little too much time with these activities, but I still like to see him sit and rest. I also NEED rest time while little brother naps. His favorite movies right now are Rio, A Bugs Life, Monsters Inc, and Monsters University. His favorite phone game is Angry Birds, and it is scary how good he is. He used to play Ipad during rest time until he got mad and threw it against a tree and broke it. He regrets that decision and will tell me "I wish that tree didn't break the iPad" which is an interesting perspective on the situation. 

He is really tall and really skinny. He weights 39 pounds, and is over 41 inches tall. He wears size 4T shirts, 3T pants and a size 10 shoe. Still towering over all his peers almost to a comical level. At his school show he looked like he was in the wrong class. Bless his tall skinny soul. Always been my big boy. 

We love him so, and I love watching him grow up. Happy 3rd birthday little angel boy!

(12 days old)

(12 Months Old)

(2 Years Old)

(3 Years Old)

A Blog Post About Sleep....and toddlers, and sickness, and coughing.

I always used to roll my eyes when I would hear people tell a mom "you will sleep when you're dead" or "don't worry, you'll get some sleep when they're 18". In my pre-mom days I thought, pshh, LIKE it's hard to be a mom and stay home all day. ME on the other hand? I have to get up at like 7 am to get to work, then after work I HAVE to work out (I mean I weigh like 125 pounds), pick up sushi, and frantically call the hubby because I forgot to record Modern Family. Then shower, pick up the house, maybe hit a movie or frozen yogurt with the hubs, and retreat back to our humble apartment life and read in bed. Man, I was exhausted. EXHAUSTED.

Then I got pregnant after 18 long months of trying. I was SO ready to just chill for a while, even though I stopped working full time when I was about 4 months preggo. Now one baby is not that hard in retrospect, but at the time you feel like your life has been ripped away from you. Nothing is the same, life stops or something, and you lose touch with the outside world. You start watching full Netflix series, while a baby is asleep on your boob, and simultaneously realizing that you are now a "stay at home mom" so you had better get some dinner going right? Does sushi still count? Wait, i'm not driving to get sushi in my pajamas with this baby child attached to me, and trying to rip my shirt off.

(when there was just one little love bug)

Then you have another child. You never watched Netflix with this kid, and if they want the good milk, the liquid gold, they better slurp it down in about five minutes. This baby catches up with the older kid, and they becomes an indestructible toddler duo that needs more than liquid to survive. They also need to go to preschool, be stimulated socially, spiritually, educationally, and i'm sure there are other things. They have some serious demands like playing Angry Birds during rest time, and only want to eat processed cheese.

You are ON all day long, and loving most of it, but now you know exhausted. For real, exhausted. If you're me you have a child with the lovely condition called "viral induced asthma". What is this you ask? This means that any time your child has the slightest cold, or trickle of snot, they start coughing almost uncontrollably until they are blue in the face. You have to wake them up every 4 hours during the night to do a breathing treatment, which is a steroid that will end up keeping them up all night anyway. This little child is also in a big boy bed now, so it's no effort at all to scamper down the hall if they need you, or wanted to just tell you they have a cough.

The other night for example I was researching the 18 month sleep regression. Apparently this is a thing. Praise the Lord there is hope. It had me enthralled until about 1:30 in the morning, and I finally closed my eyes. Just as I could feel myself drifting off to sleep I hear a little voice say "mommy I have a cough". Here we go. He did in fact have a cough, the bad asthma kind. I knew it was coming. So I busted out the nebulizer, and after about 45 minutes of Monsters University he was back asleep. After sneaking out of his room I hear someone crying for "mamamamama" and also hacking up a lung from a snotty nose. My first experience with the double cough. So I woke up Cody and told him Max would probably be back in about 4 hours when his meds wore off, but I needed to hold Levi upright so he could sleep. By now it's almost 4 am. I sat with Levi from 4-7, but put him down because I could heard a loud barking coming from the room next door, and the shower running meant Cody was about to leave for work. Lord give me strength!!

When I walked out Max was already in the hall and said "mommy I have a cough and need a monster mask". The day started, and every night for the next three nights has looked pretty much the same. Surprisingly, I am okay. I am realizing that you really can choose joy! Praying for some sleep tonight, and I will NEVER complain about a night full of sushi, modern family, and yoga again! Oh yeah, and a full nights sleep. I will also never understand why I thought weighing 125 pounds was on the hefty side! Someone should have slapped me, but please don't do it now or something might jiggle! For real.

Happy mothering to all my tired, maybe a little jiggly momma friends! So glad to do my life with all of you!!

Oh My Little Levi

My little baby Levi is 17 months old! SEVENTEEN months told! That's how old Max was when Levi was born. That seems insane looking back, and definitely reminds me how different these boys are. At this age with Max I was on bed-rest, and had people constantly coming over to help me out. I remember feeling bad having help at times because all Max wanted to do was sit and read books, or would contently watch a movie while playing with his little Thomas trains. So chill. An active boy-yes, but so chill.

Levi is the opposite of chill on every level. He's a wild maniac really. He runs, jumps, climbs, rolls, falls, throws, digs, hits, and occasionally he bites (this has only happened twice). He hasn't gained a pound in over 3 months which is no surprise to me because he never stops moving. Unless Praise Baby is on, and in that case he will sit on his little Pottery Barn chair like a little angel. We watch Praise Baby every night before bed, and it's a good wind down for us all. Max knows every word to the songs, and Levi calls out whatever he sees on the TV.

I am starting to see some new, calmer interests develop in him, however, so that's good. He is really starting to enjoy books, and loves to run over to his bookshelf and bring me something to read. He get excited and yells "book" and those little legs come running!

He's athletic. I can brag because I'm him mom, but he really is. He can throw and catch a ball, and also kick a soccer ball. He is already going over to his t-ball set and hitting the ball with his bat, all by himself. This week the nursery worker said "did you know he can shoot the ball in the basket all by himself?" It really is pretty impressive, and very different than Max. Balls of any sort are by far his favorite toy, and he will play "fetch" for an hour straight. I promise i'm not trying to treat him like dog! He really just loves the game!

He can climb up on anything. Yesterday I found him standing on top of the dining room table. He loves running full speed and face planting into Max's bed, and loves to jump on anything. Instead of hugs and kisses he gives fist bumps. When Cody gets home from work he will say "dada bump" and hold his little fist out. It's too funny. He is such a coordinated little guy, and loves to climb up and down ladders. We have been painting so there have been ladders and step stools around the house. I keep and eye on him of course, but he has never fallen. He LOVES going to the playground, and hangs right in there with Max. Neither of them love the slide, but he is much more daring, and will go down if he has to.

He sleeps great and takes one nap a day between 1 and 2. Usually it's about 2 hours, and he'll sleep between 12 and 13 hours at night. Right now he goes to bed around 8:30, and will usually sleep until close to 9. Sometimes waking earlier. He is SUPER attached to his lovie dog, and also sleeps with a blanket and paci. He calls both his paci and lovie "dog-dog" and always asks for his blanket too. He isn't really into rocking and cuddling before bed, but will usually let me sing him a few songs, and then he just puts himself to sleep. He almost always wakes up smiling and happy, and frantically searches for dog-dog before I pull him out of bed in the morning.

He's off his bottle (for the most part) unless he's having a massive meltdown at bedtime, and in that case I let him have it. This is pretty rare though. He eats great, and craves healthy food. He's not interested in sweets really, and loves fruit. He will try anything I give to him, but his favorites are: clementines, apples, grapes, strawberries, cheese, turkey, mac n cheese, hot dogs, corn, sweet potatoes, pasta and many many more things. I count my blessings that he loves to eat. He has a little bit of ezcema so of course with our history makes me worry about allergies. He's eaten everything other than eggs and nuts, so if he does have an allergy I'm assuming it would be one of those things. I gave him a bit of a Reeces Pieces and he was okay. I think I will up the dose this week. We are also taking him into Max's allergist to do the skin prick test so I can know for sure whether or not he has a nut allergy before we send him to school. Their pre-school isn't peanut free, and you have to request a nut free classroom if you need to. Praying he's allergy free. My gut tells me he isn't allergic to nuts, so hopefully i'm right.

He started talking up a storm this month too! He repeats everything, and has dozens of words and phases he says on a regular basis. Here are some of the things he says regularly:

Uh-oh
Oh-no
Bye-"insert name"
Hi-"insert name"
Mama
Dada
KK (Kayla)
G-Ja (Cody's mom)
Lance
Laur-Laur (his Auntie Lauren)
MiMi
Show
Praise Baby (his favorite movie)
Cheese
Snack
Juice
Water
Bottle
Baby
Sky
Truck
Car
Vroom-Vroom
Cow (and lots of animal sounds)
Giraffe
Snake
Help
Book
Ballon
Bubble

I'm sure there are more. It's so much fun hearing his little voice, and watching him take in the world. He is still quite the mommas boy, and has days where he is clinging to me constantly. This is getting better, and I'm trying to enjoy him wanting me to hold him and be around him all the time.

He weighs around 28 pounds, and i'm not sure how tall he is. A little above average in size, but not gigantic like Max.

Remember this guy?! Oh my heavenly stars I miss that little newborn man! It's looking more and more like he will be our last baby, so I am trying my very best, (even on the days when I am counting down the minutes to bedtime) to enjoy him, and my life with two little tiny boys who still want and need me for everything. It really does go SO fast, in a "this has been the longest day of my life, why are my children acting little starving gremlins" kinda way. The days are long, but the years are short. That phrase really is the TRUTH.

We love you Levi Hayes. Every day gets better and better watching you grow, and become the person you are meant to be!