Christmas pics

We got the kids a play medical kit.



Nate got a personalized box of blocks.



New shirts.



Levi's new teddy bear from Lulu.



Just a cute picture of Lucy from the bath.

Craft Christmas

Here are a few of the things I made for Christmas this year. The dress and matching smaller shirt are for our two nieces, and the madras/plaid dress is for the older of the two. I also made a few fabric ornaments and am disappointed I forgot to take pictures before I gave them away! I made something for my mom and sister, too, but I don't think it has arrived in Virginia yet, so I won't give it away. :)

Water from heaven

Levi's sleeping at night has been getting worse, not better. I know his tummy is bothering him. (This happened with all of our kids, but I think Levi has it the worst.) I've already noticed that it helps if I don't eat dairy, but Levi is still waking a lot at night in discomfort. Enter a wonderful invention called gripe water. I think it has been around for a long time; it's a natural medicine-type water with ginger and fennel, and you give about a teaspoon of it to the baby. I did this last night with Levi's last feeding, and then he slept for 5.5 hours. The longest he had gone before was 3.5, so last night was great!

Vacation miscellanies

Nate is off this week and next from school, so we're taking it easy around here. It sure is nice not having to rush in the morning to get all of us out of the house by 8:10.

We are doing a low-key Christmas with Jon's family this year. I've made a few gifts for people and hope to take some pictures before I give them (though it's too late for a few items).

Oh, Lucy is in the middle of a language explosion, as they call it. She's putting three words together all of a sudden (just two or three weeks ago, she wasn't even putting two words together) and finally gets the concept of saying please and thank you. (I'm sure she got the concept before, but now she realizes she actually gets what she wants faster if she complies with the manners requirement instead of fighting it.) She is also pronouncing everything much clearer and can even say her own name perfectly.

Here are some recent pictures!

Our tree

Jon picked up a tree on Saturday, and the kids (Nate especially) were so excited to decorate it. I did a little redistributing of the ornaments later, since they all ended up in a 1-foot-by-1-foot section on the tree. (I remember my mom saying this happened to our tree too when we were little.) Nothing special this year--just a small tree with lights and some favorite ornaments. We still need a star for the top!

The boys

When Levi was first born, I wrote that he looked like neither Nate nor Lucy. But we've come to decide he looks a lot like Nate. Here are some pictures.

Nate first:


And Levi:


Another of Nate:


And Levi:


Nate had darker hair and more of it, but we see a lot of similarities in the boys' faces, noses, and expressions. Fun, huh?

Here is another picture from today of Levi showing off how much he is filling out. He's a month old today! :)

Eating habits

I've noticed that some of my friends' children really don't seem to care when (or if) they eat. My nieces and nephew never seem to be interested in eating; something else more interesting is always going on. I can see how this might be frustrating, since we know we need to get some nutrition in our kids.

But then there are kids like ours. Oh my. The moment their eyes open in the morning, they are asking for breakfast. Lucy walks around saying, "Cheese? Cheese?! Cheese!" Nate wants to know if it's time for pancakes yet. Not very long after they eat a very full breakfast, they start asking questions about when lunch is. On weekends, Lucy eats her large breakfast (example: 3 Trader Joe's pancakes, 2 cheese sticks, half a banana), then 20 minutes later she's trying to charm Jon into giving her some of his. (She kisses and hugs his leg and makes puppy dog eyes at him.)

The worst hour of the day is the hour before their dinner time. They follow me around, asking for food, when's dinner ready? what time is dinner tonight? what are you going to make? pulling on my leg. It's getting a bit better, but some days I wish our kitchen had a door so I could lock the children out while I get their food ready!

I really don't think the issue is whether or not I feed them enough; they eat a ton and also get a morning snack and afternoon snack.

So I guess it's hard no matter which way your kids are: if they are not interested in food at all, you struggle during meal time to get them to actually eat (but the rest of the day is easier); if they are food lovers (e.g., Nate & Lucy), meal time is great because they're happy and they eat like little piggies (but the rest of the day can be torture if they're always asking for food). How are your kids?

Zzzzzzz

I have had a real slowdown in posts! But all I can think to write when I come on to post is, "I'm tired." :) Oh, and Levi has his first cold, caught from the rest of us. :( Here are some pictures!





And if you have never heard The Mom Song, here's one version. Too funny!

Tonight

We've had a nice weekend here. Jenny took Nate and Lucy for another half day of fun yesterday. This time they spent the day at Jenny and Drew's house making crafts, including Christmas ornaments (so cute).

Levi slept pretty much 24 hours a day for the first two weeks. Since then (about 10 days), he has slept all day and been up more at night. It could be worse, I'm sure, but I'm trying everything in my arsenal to get him to sleep at night. Last night, I tried the cozy cocoon for the first time and will use it again tonight. Besides the sleep, at least he is nursing well!

Here are Nate and Lucy tonight, ready for bed.

Big sister

Lucy was definitely still the baby of the family before Levi was born, so I expected his arrival home (and then his not leaving) would affect her a lot. I wondered if she would take out her frustrations on him. Although I think there is some acting out going on (testing lots of limits), mostly Lucy just loves on Levi. She loves giving him kisses and hugs and patting his back (especially the patting the back--I think because it involves some near-hitting). She brings him toys and places them on him (including on his face). She says his name (Wee-vi) any time she sees him; usually she says it in this funny whine-voice (sort of in the tone of, "Wee-vi... He's still here!"). She is becoming a sweet big sister. :)

Big brother

What a sweet brother Nate is to Levi. If Levi makes any noise, Nate asks, "What's wrong, baby Levi?" He loves introducing him as "my baby Levi" at school to teachers and other kids. When Levi is lying swaddled on the couch, Nate has gone up to him several times and told him a Bible story (video at the bottom; it might be hard to hear, but it's part of the Adam and Eve story and includes Romans 3:23 and John 3:16). Up until tonight, Nate has asked to hold Levi quite a few times but always gives him back after just 2 or 3 seconds. Tonight, he held him for a while and was very proud (I added the second picture to show Lucy being silly):

Quick pics

Nate and Lucy the other night (doesn't Lucy have long fingers?):



And Levi last night with some toys Lucy thought he should have:

Bath time

Levi had his first bath yesterday. He didn't love or hate it, but he did startle a few times when I didn't have my hand on him. He still looks pretty red/yellow, doesn't he? At his 2-week check-up today, the doctor wasn't concerned about that. He weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces--a 10-ounce gain from his birth weight, which is great.



Nate and Lucy tonight after their bath.

Bye bye, Mimi!

Well, I've made it through 24 hours without Mama. :)

Actually, things are going wonderfully here. There's something about having your kids healthy again that makes you appreciate how great they normally are. I remember feeling much more desperate and unprepared after Mama left when Lucy was born. It's too early to say, but maybe my transition from two to three will be easier than from one to two! How about you? Mamas of two or more: what was the most difficult transition?

Nate is off with Jon at a turkey bowl/touch football game at church; Lucy is napping (I think); I just mopped and put in a load of laundry; and Levi is ready to eat. But first, pictures of the kids in the prize Nate picked from the treasure box at school:

From yesterday and today

P.S. Levi is done with the phototherapy blankets as of yesterday evening. Cool!

Another update

This has been a week of survival mode! Nate is better. Lucy is not all the way better, but at least there's no more throwing up. :) Levi is doing very well, though he's still under the lights. He has another test today and I anticipate they'll say he can be done in the lights by the end of the day. Yay!

Some more pictures.

Spoke too soon

Did I say Lucy was on the tail end of the sickness? Maybe not. Up much of the night with her last night. This is by far the worst sickness either of the children has ever had. I am SO glad my mom is here!

I'm taking Levi to the doctor today to have his tests run. He still looks jaundiced but I'm hoping the numbers have kept improving.

Oh, and here are two new pics... One from the hospital and one of Levi looking like a glow worm! :)