What do ya talk, what do ya talk...

The title of this post is from Music Man. I guess that wasn't that interesting. You have to say it really quick to do it like the guys on the train in the opening scene. Anyway. This is my friend, Jen. Although this picture is very strange it is the only one I have of us together. lol. We were doing a raffle at a fundraiser. We didn't know our pictures were being taken. Let me tell you about Jen. She is a super mom. She has two adorable kids that are almost as cute as my Levi. ;) Emma is 4 and Jake is 1 1/2. Jake is Levi's buddy. Jen and I became instant friends when I moved in about 8 months ago to our current apartments. Jen lives just a few doors away. She and her husband are an amazing couple that live the gospel and work hard every day to be good examples of the Savior. She has been my support and my confidant. I recently found out I only have 2 more weeks with her as my neighbor. She and her husband will be moving to another state for his schooling. I just want to take this opportunity to document how grateful I am for people like her in my life. It may seem like such a small thing but having that one person that you live close to that you can trust and talk to makes such a difference. I always know she is there is I really need her. I have asked her advice so many times. I have relied on her preparedness so many times when I have run out of something and need a quick cup of milk or a hot dog. Seriously, I asked her for a hot dog. It was a first trimester craving.... don't ask. lol Jen, I will miss you dearly and I will always be here for you if you need anything. All my love!! And GOOD LUCK! On that same note. The other day Jen and her kids and I decided to go for a walk to the fireman park by our house. It was such a nice day. Can you see how much Levi wants Jake's attention?

Levi hadn't ever really been big enough to play on a playground so it was good to have Jake there to show him what to do. Levi quickly learned and was copying Jake in everything he did.

Even daring to climb the slide!

About a month or so ago my sister and I decided to go to the Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolate factory and take a tour. I will admit it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be. I thought we could see some chocolate making in action but the only part of that we saw was this lady. She was tempering the chocolate and making little truffles or something. It was neat.

After that it was just a couple movies and that was it. I bought some candy though. That was yummy. Here are the girls and Levi and Patrick (My cousin and her son joined us for the excitement).

Cami, Me, Deborah

We are so blessed to have so many people that support and encourage us. We have wonderful friend and family. I am lucky because two of my best friends are also my cousins. That way they can never get away from me!! Muh-wah-ha-ha. Jessie and her husband Joe are next to Rick. Cami and Derrick are on the left and up front and blasted by the flash are Devin and Stephanie. They are our friends from our old ward. Thank you to all our friends whom we love to spend so much time with.

Here they are being captivated by Rick. lol

All about Levi....

He is just such a joy! I need to make sure I document all the cute things he does so I don't forget. He is a major thumb sucker when he is sleepy. He HAS TO HAVE HIS FUZZY BLANKET in the same hand that he sucks his thumb. It is like a magnet... when he is tired and he touches his fuzzy his hand flies to his mouth and he is instantly pacified. So adorable. I went to the library with my sister and her kids and Levi just loved sitting at the little table and look through books. Ella, my niece, kept grabbing him books and he couldn't have been more entertained and happy.
Daddy decided to smear yogurt all over Levi's face. ha ha. Mixed in with a little jam from his toast. I can't tell you how random and crazy Levi's eating is. We are lucky we have a couple fallback foods for when he won't eat anything else. He will ALWAYS eat applesauce, chili, and crackers.

Levi is OBSESSED with balloons. Every time he sees them he MUST hold one! We went to lunch for my father-in-law's birthday, Bob, and someone had brought him balloons. Levi ended up playing with them the entire lunch and was completely caught up in the fun! So cute.

He is just starting to stand up in the middle of the floor and not having to lean on anything. His best friend in Jake, my neighbor's little boy. He is just a few month older than Levi. Every time Levi is fussy at church and we are in the hall, if he sees Jake he is instantly happy and they can play together for ages before getting bored. Jake and Levi have just learned to hug and give each other kisses. It is pretty cute. They will kiss each other's arms. ha ha. Then we will start hitting each other. I love watching them interact. (Jake's big sister has lots of princess stuff that Jake gets into. He is so funny) Levi loves being outside. If he is crying and we walk outside it always gets him to stop. He loves walks and is starting to walk by himself. He gets nervous not holding our hands because he doesn't want to fall on the grass or cement. He doesn't like to touch it. hee hee. Oh! Oh! The funniest thing that Levi can do, and he has been doing this for months, is blow slobber bubbles with his mouth. He can get one giant bubble between his lips and it grows as he opens his mouth. Then he will breath out and pop it then start another one. It is amazing. I wish I could do that. I am so excited for him to start talking. Hopefully soon.

Levi and Rick's birthday party

Levi's birthday is the 24th of Feb and Rick's is the 26th so we decided to do a joint birthday party. It wasn't anything fancy, just simple and filled with family and friends. I know how much Rick likes pirates so my niece wanted to make him a cake for his birthday. She did an amazing job! He loved it and it tasted delicious! We got Levi a cute little cupcake. I was excited to see the frosting all over his face.
He was so excited. He hasn't really seen many candles so it was really interesting to him.

Rick's cake.

He was a little hesitant at first but quickly dove in. He was practically sucking the frosting right off the top.

Isn't that cute?!

Thank heavens my friend, Mitzi, offered to clean him up. This was the cherry on top. Her daughter LOVES Levi and kept giving him kisses. So cute. He got a birthday kiss! lol

Thanks to all our family and friends that came and celebrated with us. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but we are so grateful for your support.

Levi got lots of toys and clothes. He enjoyed playing with his new toys and his friends. What a big boy! We love you Levi!!

Levi is 1 year old!!!

I can't believe our little boy is already the big O-N-E years old!! His birthday was yesterday and we didn't do much celebrating because we are having family and friends over tomorrow for cake and ice cream! Rick did, however, come home between work and class so we could sing a little happy birthday to Levi and give him a treat! Levi LOVES poptarts, but I try not to give them to him too much. Well, this seems the perfect birthday treat for him. We sang to him and he tried to touch the flame on the candle, but we blew it out before he could hurt himself. lol. He doesn't quite know how to blow out candles yet. We are working on it. Can't you see how much he loves these? So cute!

We went to have his 1 year check up today and he got his shots. That is getting harder and harder as he gets older and older. He got over it quickly since the nurse gave him a sucker! He is 24lbs and 29 inches! He is growing just fine and the doctor said he is one good lookin' kid. The doc said he should be saying at least two words about now. Usually "mama" and "baba". He says "mama" all the time when he is sad, but I have a hard time believing that he knows it means me. I'm so excited for the day when he finally calls me mama!! We love you Levi. Here's to a fun filled 1st year and many more to come!

Just some more pictures of Levi

As I said earlier, I was pretty sick last week. First trimesters aren't the most fun, but they are worth it. Levi was so good and sweet. He wasn't too hard to work with while I didn't feel good. I also scored some good cuddle time with him, which he doesn't give much anymore. I went to my cousin's house to hang out and laid on her floor while she made cookies. Levi came over with his bottle and cuddled with me. I had to make sure I documented it so he knows how much I love cuddles from him. The other day Levi was playing with his toys in his toy box and I couldn't help but snap this shot. He is so stinkin' cute in those pants.

Rick's cousin, Danielle, made Levi the cutest hat. It was perfecting timing too because he had just outgrown his old hat. He looks so studly don't you think?

One thing I need to make sure to write down so I don't forget is Levi's favorite thing. THE WASHER. He will sit there and watch it spin round and round over and over. He loves it. He will even yell at it sometimes if it isn't spinning.

He is an adorable sleeper. He either lounges out and takes up as much room as he can, or he...

Sticks that butt up in the air. This is is normal pose while sleeping. He is just so much fun. I love seeing all of the things he can do and is learning. He can wave, give kisses, and sometimes the occasional hug. He dances, hums, sings, and puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. What baby doesn't. We love you monkey!