Fun With The Kitchen Sink

Levi has been restless with teething lately which means he's grouchy. Last week I found something to occupy him for a bit. Playing in the kitchen sink proved to be very entertaining (for Levi and myself). Don't you just love those chubby toes?! By the way, this week he went from more crawling than walking to almost all walking! He's so fun to watch walk. It's the little things I enjoy so much :)
~Rose

Book Baby

I recently brought some board books down to keep in the living room for Levi. The kids have a large book basket near the TV for library books and I don't want Levi getting into those! He was playing with some books a few days ago and I grabbed the camera for some darling shots. I think one year old is one of the BEST ages ever...just sooooooooooooo darn cute! Here are a few tips Levi wanted to share with you.

Reading tip from Levi:
Cherish those books! Reading can bring joy to your heart.Reading tip from Levi:
Find a comfy place to read and for heaven's sake...take off your shoes! Pants are optional depending on your age and who is in the room with you.

Reading tip from Levi:
Reading is fun when done in the company of friends.

Reading tip from Levi:
If you have been reading in one position, say sitting, for awhile and are getting stiff, try another position!

Reading tip from Levi:
Be willing to share your books.

Reading tip from Levi:
Don't be afraid to get into a good discussion over what you are reading.

~Rose

Walkers...Used Most by Babies and Great-Grandparents!

But your great-grandparent's walkers are not as fun as this one!
Levi absolutely LOVES his walker. He is still not walking on his own, but with this walker, he just zooms around the house. He goes from the kitchen to the living room, dining room (around the table), front door and down the hall to the kitchen again...all the while giggling, smiling and laughing with delight.

Emma loves to chase him and they just laugh and giggle! Such wonderful sounds!

Levi is doing a LOT of this standing up in various places. He's taking a few steps to the couch or us lately. I think he'll be walking by the time we come out to CA in November!

A nice balancing "trick" by Emma.

Levi also loves his Pooh Bear train. Sometimes Emma rides it with him...more giggling and laughing.

A few recent shots of Owen. He did NOT want me to take a pic with his eyes open. He is a big time goof. Hmmmm, I wonder who he got that from?!

It's a little blue lizard he got at Chuck E Cheese.

~Rose

Pow Wow in the City

Hope, Owen, Emma and I went down the the main library last Saturday for a free children's clown show. We happend upon a Pow Wow sponsored by the Denver Museum of Art. There were dance competitions that we watched for a bit. Wouldn't you know it that Hope has been studying North American Indians this week! The kids enjoyed climbing on some of the art as well. Denver is such a great art city...it's everywhere. We even have this huge blue bear looking in the convention center which the kids love to drive by. Here's a slide show of some of the pics I took.

~Rose

P.S. Emma had scissors in her hands Monday and was waiting for me to get her paper. I noticed them near her mouth and half jokingly said, "Don't cut your lip!" Wouldn't you know it, not a moment later she had actually cut her lip! She had a neat little u shaped cut that bled for awhile and then thankfully closed up. She'll be fine and has hopefully learned a valuable lesson!

Oh yeah, Levi took his first steps yesterday! Two steps before he fell...over and over again. He was in such a good mood. He would crawl to the rug, get a big grin on his face, stand up, squeal with delight and then attempt a step or two. It was such a joy to watch! He will be 15months on the 26th. For those of you who are not around him the current words he uses are (in order of most frequently used): ball, mom (not mama), dog, dad (dog and dad sound the same), kitty (which sounds like the k sound with trying to spit) and no! His favorite toy is a ball and he loves to play catch.

Levi's New Hair Cut

Levi's hair was getting into his eyes...so I took out the clippers and cut it all off! I love it and by the time winter arrives it will be grown out a bit which will be nice. I am REALLY enjoying him lately. He is at one of the cutest age ever. He's just so fun and happy. He loves to play catch with any kind of ball he can get his hand on, and is quite good at throwing it.

He can stand, but still no walking! Ohhhh, I love those toes...just want to eat them up!

The rear view of the cute head. Yes, Melissa, I had Seinfeld on again...ha ha! When one only has 8 channels to choose from, one quickly realizes that there is not much to watch on TV!

~Rose

A Little Of This And A Little Of That

Starting Thursday we began ripping tile off the kitchen countertops. As of tonight (Sat) Josh and Desi have pulled up all the old flooring and it's down to the origional floors. We're deciding if we want to re-finish or tile. If we re-finish, we need someone to come repair some holes and pull up some bad boards. Here's a pic where our front door is behind me. Notice the many layers of flooring! Here's our kitchen sink and yuckkie tiles. I found little bugs under the tiles to the left of the sink! Sooooo gross! This room is empty now (save the cupboards on the wall).
The next three pics Micah took of Levi on his birthday. They are amazing.


Opening gifts with the help of siblings of course!

The snake cake...yum!


I'll post more pics as I have time. We'll be staying at my parents for awhile since our house is a mess! Thanks to the great-grandparents for the gifts for Levi. He loves his new toothbrush and toothpaste from Nana, new piggy bank toy and car toy from the Nelsons, new jammies and cups from the Garvey's and a new farm animals fridge toy from the Gillis'. Des and Jan will be out Monday to help us with the kitchen adventure. We look forward to spending a wonderful week with them!
~Rose

Happy 1st Birthday Levi!

Levi turned 1 today! We had my parents over for dinner, cake and presents. Levi loved the gifts and especially the cake. I had to take him directly to the bathtub to wash him off! I cannot believe he is one already! He is such a JOY in my life. Yes, he slows the family down a bit, but I am thankful for that. All too soon I know he'll be grown up and gone!

He is not walking yet. That will come when he's ready. He is pulling up on everything and every once in awhile stands without holding onto anything. He loves to "brush his teeth" and throw balls. He can spot a dog across the street and point it out with gestures. He has stopped nursing and doesn't ask for it. His appetite is huge and his favorite food is bananas and organic animal crackers from Costco. He goes to bed very easily and still takes one long nap every day. I'll post pics from tonight soon. The cake pics are too cute. I have to be at the courthouse at 8am (usually am still in jammies at that time) so it'll be a few days!

~Rose

The Sports Page

Micah has recently been spending time with Levi. When things get a little hectic, he's quick to grab him and it's such a help. I was doing dishes last week and walked around the corner to see this. Yeah, too cute for words really.
~Rose

11 Months And Counting

Well, as they say, "Time flies." Levi turned 11 months old on the 26th of May. I am amazed at how fast the past 11months have gone! Levi is pulling up on everythin now. He babbles a lot, says what sounds like "da da, ma ma, and ooooh" He squells and yells sometimes too. He likes to feed himself and loves table food. Jarred baby food is a thing of the past :) Here he is after feeding himself some mashed potatoes.

Standing up all by myself!

Those sisters are so funny!


A new hair cut :)



~Rose

Nakie Levi!

This morning Hope came into our room and announced, "Mom and Dad, I watched a little of the news and there will be a high in the mid 80's today." We laughed and thanked her for her sweet and matter of fact weather report. After getting home from our ladies prayer group, Desi left to join a scooter ralley downtown (I soooooo wish we had a sitter so I could go too!). I watered our plants and put a few inches of water in the toddler pool. As soon as Levi saw it, he just HAD to get in. What a cutie! He brings such amazing joy to me right now. I really wondered if my 4th would be as much of a joy as the first. I am truly amazed at how God has enlarged my heart to have so much love for each of my 4 children. What a true blessing. If the only good in my life was my family (which it isn't) I would be weathier than Kings and Queens. Thank you God for choosing my family for me. Some days are really hard and I sin and struggle, but YOU are there to stretch me, mold me and change me into the woman YOU desire me to be. YOU are faithful to complete the good work YOU started in my life!



~Rose

My Little Man is a Ham!

These are a few pics from up in Breck. Levi is making his "strong face" here...he tenses all up-too cute!

Handome little fellow!

He's a goof...must get it from his daddy! I think he's going to be quite the ham when he's older!

New ability: Levi pulls himself up on all sorts of things lately...and more often than not, loses his grip or balance and tumbles to the ground. After some momma cuddling and thumb sucking, he's back to pulling up again!

~Rose

I Almost Forgot!

Well, Levi turned 10 months old April 26th and I almost forgot to take the obligatory photo with Teddy Bear. All four kiddos have had their pic taken with Mr.Bear each month of the first year of their lives...hopefully one of them will appreciate the effort! Levi has just gotten crawling down, but if he's in a hurry, he still drags himself army style. He is babbling a lot now...says "da da" "ma ma" and "bu bu" but I doubt he associates those with anything or anyone in particular! He loves to eat and being the fourth has tasted much more table food at 10 months than Hope did at the same age :) Yeah, he's had a bit of ice cream...oh well! His newest thing...and it's so cute...is to tense his whole body with a big grin and I say how STRONG he is and then we giggle and he does it all over again. He likes to suck his thumb still and is a big time cuddler...lays his head down on my shoulder...mmmm, I can almost feel it now...the best feeling! He's down to one nap a day (but it's a long one) and is pretty content to be left on the floor and play with whoever is near. He absolutely LOVES our cat and can spot animals outdoors very quickly. He can almost wave and point and tries when he sees any animal. He is such a joy and gift from God and I am thankful to have him in my life.





~Rose
p.s. pic of Levi in the box was taken by Micah...need to give props where they're due you know.

New Hat For The Little Man

I happened upon a great sale at Children's Place recently and got Hope and Owen some clothes for the fall all for $5 or less! I found this cutie star hat for 99 cents and just had to get it. Isn't my little man such a cutie pie?!


He's growing so fast! I need to post his 10 month old pics soon!
~Rose