Adventures with Levi

Wow, it has been awhile since I have written. It just goes to show how time flies by so quickly! I feel like an old person saying this, but each year time goes by faster and faster. I remember as a kid thinking that time was just creeping by.

Anyways, Levi is now 11 (almost 11 1/2) months. It is unbelievable to me that in less than a month I will have a toddler. He already seems like more of a toddler than a baby. Sadly, my baby does not like to be held and cuddled any longer. He is displaying more of a temper and will kick and fuss when you change his diaper or take something away from him that he wants. He is still a very happy, sweet child though. Levi's latest skill (which he acquired about 2 weeks ago) is pulling himself up. I thought he would never learn this and foolishly worried about it and was frustrated at him for not being "advanced." Reflecting upon my attitude, I feel horrible, because I know that he will learn things in his own time and I need to love him for who he is. He is now getting into all kinds of things because of this newly acquired skill. Today, for example, he pulled down our sugar canister which caused some of the contents to spill and he sat in the pile of sugar happily eating it. Levi and Roscoe now have more and more fun together as well. A few days ago I found them sitting at opposite ends of the kitchen each chewing on a banana peel that they had managed to retrieve from the garbage can. Life has gotten busier, but it is good. I guess I finished my Master's Degree just in time,as I have less time to work on homework now that Levi is so mobile and inquisitive. Another new development is that Levi's top two teeth finally came through. He now has a total of 4 teeth. I am guessing him to be about 23 pounds, but we will see at his one year appointment in a month.

As for me and Jordan, we are busy getting ready for Elizabeth and Daniel and Jodi to come for Christmas.We are excited that we have our own home and can have people over! Our kitchen is finished and we have been working on other small projects as well. We will also be having some friends come for New Year's which is also exciting, followed by Levi's first birthday party on the 15th of January. It is a busy, but exciting time! Jordan's job is going pretty well and I now have 3 kids that I tutor, which I enjoy and is also going well. I have a four year old, a third grader, and a fifth grader so it is nice to have a variety and I am able to keep my teaching skills sharp.

Levi at 9 months

Well, Levi's monthly update is a couple of weeks late since his doctor's appointment was a couple of weeks late. Levi is now 29 1/2 inches long and 21 pounds! He had to get a Hepatitis B shot today but everything else with the appointment went great. Thankfully the ear infections he had when we went to Georgia are gone!

Levi is crawling all over the place at a fast speed and starting to try to pull himself up, although he doesn't get further than his knees. He gets into EVERYTHING and doesn't care at all about his toys, which makes entertaining him kind of difficult. I try to take him outside for a walk almost every day for something to do. Sometimes we stop at this little park by our house and I put him in the swing. He loves it! He just laughs and laughs.Levi is such an agreeable, lovable, and happy baby (although I know I am biased). :) His facial expressions are hilarious and he has a variety of them. Levi has mastered waving at people and he has also started to imitate noises we make sometimes. He has this book with sheep and when I say "baaaa" he will say it back! As far as teeth go, Levi only has his bottom 2 teeth, but I think the top 2 are on their way.

He still takes 2 naps a day (about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. in the morning and btwn. 2-3 hrs. in the afternnoon). Lately his naps have been less predictable with him being sick and us traveling so much during the month of October.He still sleeps about 12 hrs. a night too! Some nights he wakes up early in the morning and we have to get him back to sleep,but the past few nights he hasn't done that so hopefully he will continue to sleep until morning without waking up. He also has bad dreams sometimes where he will cry during his sleep and we will go comfort him and he will stay asleep the whole time. It is so weird and so sad!

We love our little boy so much and can't believe how fast he is growing up! He makes us laugh and smile all day.

blah

Yeah, budgeting= major failure. You can't really make a budget when you don't earn enough money to cover all of your fixed expenses. I guess I have to find another job in addition to my tutoring. Not sure how all of this is going to work out. NOT a happy camper.

Total Money Makeover

So, someone gave us Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" for our wedding (this was over 2 years ago). I started to read it when we got back from our honeymoon, but thought, this is only for people who are REALLY in debt. We don't make much money and we don't have THAT much debt so it doesn't really apply to us. We tried having a budget but were lazy with it and it flopped. Now, we make much less money than we did before because I am not working besides tutoring a few hours a week. Needless to say, I have started reading the book again and am inspired. Most of our debt is for my student loans from both my undergraduate and graduate school, with only a small credit card balance. The point is, we need to know where our money is going and we need to have an emergency fund and get rid of that student loan debt. We used to look at it as, "we don't have any car payments like most people, so the student loans are just like a monthly payment that we will keep paying for awhile." I realize now that this is wrong because those payments seem to get less and less. At the end of each month we end up stressed out and mad at one another because we are scrounging to find the money to pay all of the bills.

So, we begin the total money makeover as of today. I am excited and dreading it at the same time. For me, I struggle with getting a coffee or a diet coke or something like that when I'm out with Levi. While this is just a dollar or two at a time, it adds up. We find excuses to "treat" ourselves with things like take-out food or beer. We've had a really stressful day or we've worked really hard that week. While in reality, I am realizing that we are adding to the stress by doing those things. It's going to be extremely hard, but I really hope that we can be successful with this and stop having to worry about money. I want my kids to have college paid for and to be equipped with better financial knowledge than I have had, and so I think it is important to get control now before we are really out of control.

If you are friends with us, please don't ask us to do things that will cost us money. Please pray for us and encourage us as we start this very difficult but rewarding journey.

Levi at 8 months

Well, I guess it is time for a monthly update on Levi. Today he is 8 months old! Time sure does fly by! He is changing every day.

Levi's movement: Levi rolls all over the place, sits up very well by himself, scoots backwards, moves in circles, and rocks back and forth on his hands and knees. So close to crawling (finally)!

Levi's eating: At around 6 months I weaned Levi to formula completely. I guess he kind of did the weaning. He was less and less interested in nursing and with his reflux and the start of solid foods, did not care to nurse and was fussy during nursing. He does not like formula very much either, but gets enough liquid to be healthy. He LOVES regular food! Levi especially loves finger foods like cheese, bread, cheerios, avocado, and lots of other things. One thing I made him that he really loves is pineapple chicken (just a can of pineapple with chicken in the food processor).

Levi's personality: He is very happy and smiles and laughs a lot. He also lets you know if he doesn't like something! He is stubborn too (gets that from both of us I think). :) Levi is an active and also very verbal kid. He is always babbling. Curiosity is another thing that has increased with him. He is always looking around at things and wanting to grab everything and put it in his mouth (including every little piece of fuzz on the carpet).

Levi's sleep: I am thankful that Levi continues to be a wonderful sleeper! He takes two naps a day. One in the morning for about an hour and a half usually from 9 to 10:30. Then one in the afternoon from about 1-3:30. Then he goes to bed at 7 and usually sleeps until around 7 in the morning! While he used to sleep on his back, he now likes to sleep on his tummy. He has found out that tummy time isn't so terrible after all! My favorite thing is to go into his room in the morning and greet him. He is so excited and gives me such a big smile. :)

Levi's size: I sat Levi on the scale the other day and it said 20 pounds! Our scale is not digital so I am guessing he is more like 19 something. Also, I am guessing he is somewhere between 28 and 291/2 inches. His 9 month doctor's appointment is going to be more like at 9 1/2 months because his doc will be on vacation when he would normally go in, so we will have to wait until Nov. 3rd to get his next height and weight check. He is growing so much these days!

Funny Levi story: The other day I was at the grocery store and while I was checking out the (woman) cashier pointed out to me that Levi had something in his hand that I probably didn't want him to have. It was a tampon that he had found in my purse! He was waving it around and putting it into his mouth. I was very embarrassed but thankful that the cashier was a woman and that she brought it to my attention!

A new experience for Levi: This weekend we are going camping for Jordan's birthday, which is on Monday. We made the decision to bring Levi with us (might regret it). I am kind of excited to bring him though, because I think he will really enjoy all of the sights and sounds and smells. There is something about the outdoors that I think babies really like. I have hats and slippers and socks and all kinds of other warm things for him to wear so I am hoping that he sleeps okay and that it is a good time for all of us. I will write about how it goes sometime after we get back and post pictures.

Life As We Know It

So I thought I would write about something other than Levi (kind of)! I guess you could say life has kind of gotten into a normal routine here in our new home in Baltimore. Although we have lived here for about 3 months now, we are still in some ways "living out of boxes." This is extremely frustrating, especially with the kitchen not being completed, but I am praying for patience and a more positive attitude about our house. There are MANY projects that need to be done. The kitchen is well on its way though, and HOPEFULLY will be completed at the beginning of September.

We are trying to adjust to life in the city and a little bit of a different lifestyle. Our summer has been fairly low-key, with the weekends mostly taken up with working on the kitchen.I am not working, but am looking for some kind of part-time job (tutoring or babysitting primarily) to help out with expenses. So I would appreciate prayer for that. We have had to become somewhat of tightwads or cheapskates because we have had to. Soon the cable TV will be gone...sigh. God has provided so far, it is just so very difficult to fly by the seat of our pants so to speak financially. In addition to playing with, feeding, taking care of Levi, doing housework, etc. I have been taking graduate classes for my Master's Degree which I actually have been working on for over a year. I will finish my degree in December. Woo Hoo! Bring on more student loans..haha. Jordan is working hard and likely his job. He has worked there for almost 6 months now. He has had to travel to Pittsburgh where his company is based several times and will be going there again for a few days at the end of the month.

And of course..I have to say something about Levi! He is growing up so fast! Currently he is sitting up by himself unsupported. He eats some finger foods now and continues to love whatever foods I give to him. Levi is happy most of the time but definitely tells us what he wants (he has a great set of lungs). Although Levi is crawling yet, he will move backwards and rolls all over the place.

Here is a typical day for us:
7 am (sometimes earlier): Levi wakes up, gets a diaper change and a bottle. He then plays for a little bit (usually with Jordan) while I get his breakfast and some coffee for myself.

7:30ish: Levi eats his breakfast. This usually consists of oatmeal with some kind of fruit. He likes peaches the best so far. Jordan leaves for work around this time. After breakfast, I put Levi in the stroller and we take a walk.Levi loves being outside and is usually silent the whole walk just looking around at everything.

9:00: When we get back from our walk, Levi goes down for his morning nap, which usually lasts about an hour and a half.

10:30ish: Levi wakes up from his nap. We play for a little bit.

11:00-12:00 Levi gets a bottle, play for a few minutes, then have lunch.

Sometimes after lunch he gets to watch a baby Einstein video before taking his nap.

1:00 afternoon nap (the length of this nap is slight inconsistent lasting for anywhere between 2 and 3 hrs).

When he wakes up, he gets a bottle and sometimes a snack like Cheerios. He has tummy time to practice crawling and plays with his toys.

Depending on the day, he sometimes needs about a 30 min. nap around 4:30 to get him through until bedtime. I prep things for dinner either during this last nap if he takes it or he plays alone in a safe place while I do it.

5:00 Levi gets dinner. After dinner he plays for a little bit (usually with Jordan when he gets home from work around 5:30).

6:00 or 6:15 Bathtime ! This is usually every other day. After his bath we put lotion on him, put his PJs on, then give him a bottle. After his bottle we read him stories, sing to him, then put him to bed and pray for him. Jordan either helps with his bath or helps with dinner.

7:00 Bedtime! Horray for adult alone time!

So, that is what our lives are like these days.

Levi at 6 months

I can't believe half a year has already gone by! Levi has been changing quickly, especially in the last couple of weeks. I took him to the doctor today for his check-up and he weighs 17 lbs. 6.5 oz (I thought he we weigh more but oh well)and is 27.5 inches long. He is in the 60th percentile for weight and 80th for height. Levi's bedtime is 7 p.m. He usually wakes up sometime around 4:30 or 5 and gets himself back to sleep and sleeps until around 6. I would like it to be more like 7, but we will work towards that. Levi still takes 3 naps a day. He is awake for about 2 hrs. and then gets tired again! He likes to sleep like his mommy! Levi nurses 5 times a day and eats solids 3 times (breakfast, lunch, dinner). He is still taking medicine for reflux and it helps, but his main issue is that he is extremely distracted when nursing even when there is nothing going on and isn't very interested in it. It may be time to for him to go to bottle-feeding, which makes me sad but he does way better with that.

Foods Levi has eaten:

cereal (rice, oatmeal, barley)
avacado
banana
peaches
pears
peas
sweet potato
carrots

Levi loves "real" food (in fact I have a hard time getting him to nurse or take a bottle sometimes). Every food that I have given to him he has liked and constantly makes noises as he eats.

What Levi likes to do:

He has become very vocal! He yells and squeals and talks constantly. He is a happy baby and smiles and laughs a lot. Unfortunately, I can hardly ever capture this on camera because he stops doing it when I try to. Levi can sit for short amounts of time without support. He is constantly rolling from his back to his tummy but doesn't roll from his tummy to his back that much. He isn't crawling yet, but will move himself backwards and around in a circle. Although he is still not a huge fan of tummy time, he is getting much stronger. He will scoot his bottom up when he is on his tummy so I don't think it will be too long before he begins crawling forward. Levi is good about playing on his own. I keep a basket of toys next to his Bumbo and he sits in there and takes toys out, then throws them on the floor and gets more toys out. He is always grabbing things. Roscoe has suddenly become of interest to Levi. The other day Levi tried to put Roscoe's tail in his mouth! I have to watch them constantly. Levi grabs Roscoe's fir and laughs and smiles at him. Roscoe loves the attention, of course.

Needless to say, life is getting interesting as Levi becomes more active. I am not sad at all that he is growing up. He is so fun to interact with now, and I am enjoying each new phase in his life more than the last.

reflux

So, after much internet research and talking to other moms, I am pretty sure that Levi's eating problems are due to reflux. When he was about 6 weeks old I thought the same thing, but after giving him a dose of Zantac that the doctor had prescribed he was too sleepy to eat so I didn't continue giving him the medication. Now that he is older I think he would do better on it, especially since he was generally a VERY sleepy newborn. I called the doctor and he gave me a prescription, so later this morning I will go get the medication (it is not Zantac this time but Axid). I hope to not have to give it to him for very long and I hope that this is the solution to his eating problems. Poor little guy!

nursing strike going on 7 days

I am sitting here with a pump attached to my breast wondering if I will ever be out of this prison. Every since Levi was born he has had trouble nursing. First, with latching on (he lost a pound in his first week of birth and I had a lactation consultant come help). Once that resolved itself the fussiness began. Every few weeks he will go through a week or two of fussiness when nursing and I can't figure out what the problem is. Every time I have gone to the doctor to rule out any medical causes, and there have been none. So now it is the end of day 6 of this particulary period of "strike" I guess you can call it. I haven't gone to the doctor because I assume that it is just as before. The only thing I can think of is that he nees more milk and isn't getting enough because he will try to eat and within a minute the crying and fussing begins. I have done what they tell you not to do and have given him a bottle with either pumped milk or formula or both, because I just can't stand for my baby to be hungry and I can't take any more of being home alone all day long dealing with it. I am too tired. The question is, how long is long enough before I give up? Is it really worth it to keep nursing him if we are both unhappy? Can I deal with the guilt and the(perhaps unwarranted) shame that I know I will feel if I give it up? Can I even afford to buy that ridiculously expensive formula? For now, I guess I will just keep trying to feed him any way that I can. I know this is personal stuff but I just had to get it down and wanted record of it for the future. I'm off to bed where I will finally get relief from the feelings of anxiety, worthlessness, inadequacy, sadness, and guilt.

5 for 5

Levi is 5 months old (UNBELIEVABLE)!

1. He is now eating his second solid food- applesauce! He absolutely loves it (who wouldn't?). Of course, the rice cereals is a lot less enticing now that he has that yummy, sweet applesauce to eat but he is doing a good job of eating both. We got him a highchair that straps on to a chair so he sits in it at the table like a big boy and eats his dinner.

2. Levi loves to grab his feet and pull them towards his mouth (EVERYTHING goes in his mouth, so I have to be extra careful these days).

3. He has learned to roll from his back to his tummy. Once he started, he won't stop! Sometimes he gets his arm stuck under him once he has rolled over and gets upset. He has rolled from his tummy to his back a few times (the first time was at 2 months but refuses to do it now).

4. He is sleeping at night from 7 p.m. until anywhere between 5 and 6 in the morning (AMAZING for mommy and daddy because we get alone time before bed and can get a babysitter and go out after he goes to bed if we want)!!!! Yes, I am very excited about this. Getting to sleep until 7 a.m. would be heaven.

5. Levi reaches out and grabs toys. He LOVES to play and loves music.


Basically, I just have the best baby in the world ( I can't help but brag). He is content almost all of the time and giggles a lot; which is so infectious! When he is sleeping he kind of sings this little song to get himself to sleep. He sleeps with his little bunny (which is wonderful "aunt" Lindsay bought for him before he was even born). He loves his bunny and snuggles with him to get to sleep. Levi also loves to smile. He is very alert and loves people. Oh how I love my little boy (who is not so little anymore).

first solid food and baby bootcamp

On Monday, May 31st Levi tried his first solid food (rice cereal)! He actually seemed to like it and did pretty well swallowing it although quite a bit ended up on his body. He kept sucking his fingers and getting the cereal all over his hands! He did even better the second day I fed him the cereal, so I am going to keep on with it at dinnertime and then add breakfast in a little bit and later lunch. I guess I will start giving him fruit and veggies somtime soon, but since he is so young the cereal is good for now. I decided to give him rice cereal because he has been so hungry lately and it seemed like I didn't have enough to give him. He also seemed interested in our food. I also was just too anxious to wait! It's hard to believe how fast he has come since the day of his birth.



We have also started to work on having Levi sleep through the night. He had been doing well (sleeping at least 8 hrs. at night) but seemed to regress and started waking up after like 6 or 7 hours. I have decided to do a little bit of baby bootcamp and last night I decided that I would not go feed him until 5:30 a.m. (he goes to bed at 8). I didn't even turn on the monitor last night, and I didn't hear him until a little after 5. I waited until 5:30 and then got him up and fed him! I think that was the best night's sleep I have had since he was born because it was uninterrupted sleep. I hope that he doesn't cry too much the next few nights because it will be so hard for me to stick to my guns if he does. After a couple of weeks I will stretch the time to 5:45 and so on until hopefully a decent time like 7 in a couple of months. I know it sounds cruel sometimes to let a baby cry but I know he is completely healthy and capable of sleeping that long. He just likes to use me as a pacifier to get back to sleep when he wakes up at night! I am excited for a complete night's sleep from here on out!

30 Day Shred

One of the most depressing things for me after having a child is that my body has changed and I still can't fit into my old clothes. I feel like I am too young for this to happen! I lost a lot of weight the first 3 weeks after Levi was born, but have only lost 5 more pounds since then. I have decided to start really working on getting the weight off so I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I heard that it works, and it is convenient because the workouts only last 20 min. I worked out for a few days and then took a week off, but this week I have started for REAL! This is day four of the 30 Day Shred. My goal is to lose 15 pounds, so I will weigh in each week and see if I lost any weight. I am also trying to eat healthier. With moving and everything this past month or so I haven't been eating as healthy as I would like to. I really hope I can stick with this. I wish I had a workout buddy to keep me accountable, but hopefully I can stay with it.

Levi at 4 months

Levi went to his 4 month doctor's appointment on Tuesday. He weighed 15 pounds 2 oz. ( 50 something percentile) and was 26 1/2 inches (94th percentile). The doctor was impressed with his growth and his muscle tone! She said not to start him on solid foods until 6 months. I am a little sad because I think it would be fun to feed him cereal and I was planning on starting him around 5 months. I still might start him a little earlier than 6 months depending on how he does.

On a different note, we are starting to get settled into our new house. Elizabeth has been here all week and will move in with Jordan's parents for the summer on Saturday. She has an internship with Dan's company. My parents were also here for a few days this week. With all of their help we got some work done in the house. Us girls did some painting and my dad did some electrical work. We still have a lot of unpacking to do and there seems to be a neverending list of projects that we would like to do but we are getting things done little by little. It has been a busy time for me with trying to work on the 2 grad classes I am taking as well. The hardest thing has been not having our kitchen done. Jordan has started to take out the old kitchen and will finish that this weekend. We have a very busy next few weekends with weddings, so hopefully sometime soon the new kitchen can be started.

Moving Day

The day has finally arrived! Today we are moving into our first house! My overzealous (sp?) husband had us up at 4:30 so I am already tired and the fun has not even begun. Poor Levi, I don't know how he is going to nap amidst all of the last minute packing and load of the truck. We will go ahead of the truck with Kathy though and clean the house and get Levi settled for when Jordan and his dad and friend arrive with the truck to unpack. Our closing went well last night. The guy who we bought the house from is a cute little old man who said to "call him if we ever have any questions." Jordan is out getting us breakfast (cannot wait for the coffee)...and it is only 5:30 am. Oh what a long day this will be. I will post pictures soon of our house with all of our stuff in it and the work that we do on it.

A New Chapter

It is unbelievable to me how much has happened in the not-even two years we have been married (two years in June). Moving to Maryland, getting jobs (then switching jobs), an unexpected pregnancy, the birth of Levi, another new job for Jordan, and now moving again but to our first house! Whew! We love the house the we have purchased in Baltimore, Md. It is an old house (built in 1922) with a lot of character. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a lot of other cool spaces. The closing date for our house is May 6th and we will be moving May 7th (just in time to meet the deadline to be out of our apartment by May 8th). Yikes!

As for Levi, he is changing rapidly as well! He now weighs about 14 1bs. Levi loves to "talk" and laugh and smile. One of his favorite activities is to watch his hands and suck on them. He still hasn't found his thumb though. Levi has only rolled over twice, but his neck muscles are getting stronger and he can hold his head up at a 90 degree angle. Unfortunately he hates tummy time, but he is a little trooper. He is so much more aware of things and LOVES to watch T.V. (oops! That might be my fault). I am blessed with a "good" baby. Last night I went out to dinner with a friend and Levi barely made a peep the entire time! He just looked around and took in his surroundings. It seems hard to believe that the baby who was known for being so sleepy can now stay awake for two action-packed hours before taking a nap. I am excited for Levi to have his own room but I think it will be hard for me as well. I will be worried about him all alone in his own room!

rainy Monday

I decided to go running today with Levi AND Roscoe. Levi was in the stroller and I had Roscoe on the leash so I held onto the leash and the stroller and Roscoe ran next to us. It was a little difficult, but got better as we went along. We were almost home when it started raining really hard! Thankfully Levi's car seat protected him and he didn't get wet. In fact, he slept through it! I was too tired from the run to keep running to get home, so I would walk fast and then run a little bit and then walk until we finally made it. I was soaked, and so was Roscoe. Roscoe is still in his crate getting dry. The apartment spells like wet dog (which I absolutely hate)!

On a different note, I have been trying to get Levi on a consistent schedule. It is a little difficult, because he is such a SLEEPY boy! We are really working on trying to get him to take all of his naps in his crib. Last week I think he was going through a growth spurt because he just wanted to eat and eat and he stopped sleeping through the night (which he had only done two days in a row anyways). Last night he slept through the night again though (8 1/2 hrs.)! It's funny though because I still don't sleep that well because I wake up and look at the clock and hope he won't wake up. Or I will hear him make a noise and I'm awake for half an hour wondering if he is waking up or not. I can't wait for him to have his own room! For Levi's schedule he usually wakes up around 6 a.m. and I feed him. Then he is awake for awhile and plays, and goes down for a nap around 7:30 or 8. He usually will wake up after it his been three hrs. since I started feeding him (around 9). I have been feeding him every three hours basically from the time he was born. Today he is stretching it to every 3 1/2 hours though, so that will be nice if I can extend his feeding time to feeding him every 3 1/2 hours instead. I can't believe how many changes babies go through!

house hunting

I knew house hunting wouldn't be easy, but I didn 't know it would be this difficult. We have so many needs, but such a low price range. We need a yard for Roscoe, at least 3 bedrooms, something that we can move into pretty much right away even if it needs some work, a safe neighborhood, cheap...etc. Every house we look at is lacking at least one of these things, and we don't know what to give up on our wish list. They are all important to us! I feel like we are moving to the ghetto. One house we saw yesterday had neighbors that had a yard full of old, broken down cars and a barking dog chained to the back porch. I guess I will have to get used to city life in some ways, but at least most of the other houses we looked at seemed to be in more decent neighborhoods. We are looking again on Saturday, but the options out there are pretty bleak. It can be very discouraging at times, but I am trying to picture what the houses COULD look like after some work and a little bit of renovating. I don't want to settle on something, but at the same time we want the tax credit, and paying rent would probably be more than a mortgage at this point. Plus, Roscoe NEEDS a yard! I think I would be more afraid to live in an apartment in Baltimore than to have my own house. There would be shady people living right next door to me instead of a couple of houses down. I am praying that something better comes onto the market this week, or that the one house we like isn't too messed up for us to buy and fix up a little bit. I am terrified of making a mistake on such a huge investment.

sleep

So much for Levi sleeping through the night! The pas two nights he has gotten up. It has been around 4 a.m. so I guess he is still doing well by sleeping 6 hours. It's funny how 10 hours of sleep used to be what I would get every night. Now 6 hours straight seems like a lot of sleep! Some days I mourn the fact that I will probably never sleep 10-12 hours a night again. Oh well, you take the good with the bad. I would trade Levi for anything!

hair

Hey everyone,

I need your help! I want to change my hair (again)! I have a haircut that I am pretty sure I want to get (unless you guys talk me out of it) and I need help with haircolor. I am showing you different haircolor options(the first one is going lighter with highlights like Jennifer Aniston's hair, and the second option is very different. It is kind of an auburn brown I guess. So if you could give me a thumbs up or thumbs down on the cut, and tell me which color to get, that would be very helpful. Thanks!

Changes, Changes, Changes

I can't believe how fast Levi is growing! I figured I better start a blog so I can keep track of how much he is changing. Today he had his two month doctor's appointment. He weighed in at 11 pounds 12 ounces (50th percentile), and is 24 inches long(90th percentile)! Of course a shortie like me would have such a tall baby! The past couple of weeks have been so fun with Levi. He is becoming more and more alert and is awake for longer periods of time. He smiles and makes wonderful noises all day long. He is rarely fussy and still likes to sleep a lot. On Sunday night Levi slept through the night for the first time! He sleeps from about 10 p.m. to 5 or 5:3o a.m. I can tell that Levi will have brown eyes. They are starting to change from the dark bluish color they were at birth and are turning brown.

As for Jordan and me, we are also experiencing a lot of changes in our lives! Jordan got a new job which is in Baltimore. He is currently in Pittsburgh getting some training, and I miss him so much! We are thanking God that he got this job and just at the right time! Our lease to our apartment is up in May, so we are scurrying to try and buy a house before the tax credit ends April 30th. Aaaaahhh! It is exciting but scary at the same time.

As for me, I am still on maternity leave. It seems like a lifetime ago that I was in a classroom with 23 first graders. My job was such a big part of my life. Now it is no part of my life. Levi is my whole life. I miss teaching and I miss my students, but it is hard to imagine going back to work. I feel such a bond with Levi and don't know if I can leave him. My first day back at work is supposed to be April 30th, so I would only have about two months left of the school year to finish. With moving and trying to find childcare for Levi, it just doesn't seem worth it to go back though. I am trying to find something that I can do at home for work. This is a big decision for me whether to finish off the school year or not, and I am still praying and thinking about it.

It seems like so much is changing at once, and we are going through it with mixed emotions. We are praising God and excited, but also sad for the friends we are moving away from and nervous for all of the big decisions we have to make. When it rains, it pours -right? ;)