spring....er...winter?

these are some pretty flowers attempting to bring spring into our happy home....

 

this is what it looks like outside...

 

so i took this picture to make me smile again... :)
it's a little blurry, but you get the idea...

 

2 months, dinner, and new york

We can't believe that Levi is already 2 months old. It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital with him. Yesterday he had his first big appointment filled with lots of shots. He did great though. He was a little fussy afterwards, but nothing a good long nap didn't help. :) He is growing and changing so much. He was 11lbs 13oz. and 23 1\2 inches long yesterday. He's holding his head fairly well (aside from the occasional suicide like head throw). He's smiling all the time, and starting to bat and his toys more and more. He has been sleeping better as well. He still consistently wakes up about twice a night, but he occasionally will give us a one time a night stunt. we would prefer those stunts turn into consistency. :)

Mike just finished up his class last night for his masters program. He has one more to go this spring, then 1 more year. His class is all online, and because of that, people live all over the country. Once a year, they participate in a week long intensive course study in January. 2 weeks ago, we were at church and decided to go grab some coffee before the service started. We were in the fireside room, and Mike says 'hey, I think that is Helen from my class'. I said 'really? go find out'. As it happened, Helen and her husband moved to the area recently and had Mike gone to the January class this year, he missed because of Levi's impending birth, he would have found this out. Mike and I had a good conversation with her and later that week Helen invited us over for dinner with another woman from Mike's class who was passing through the area. Good times. It was rather random and crazy, but nice to meet some of Mike's classmates.

The big plans this week? Often, choirs will take trips for Spring Break, or during the fall, to create a bond within the group. It's also a good program booster. Who isn't willing to join choir to go to new york or chicago? Shoot, I did it in college.. they were going to FL for a week, and I said.. hmm. okay! :) I normally go on these trips, and they are a TON of fun. This year, one of the choirs I play for is going to New York, but with Levi being little and nursing him, I couldn't go for the whole week. So hence, the following scenario.... One of the choirs I play for is going to New York for Spring Break. They will be participating in a choir festival out there. Because I can't go for the whole week, (though I wouldn't mind) :) the director is flying me out there for the day of the competition. So, Friday morning, my flight leaves Detroit at 6am. I fly to DC, have an hour layover, then hop a flight to Newark. I'm there all day, then fly from Newark to O'Hare, have a 2 hour layover, then hop a flight back to Detroit. I should get back around 11, then drive home after that. It's going to be a long day but it should be really fun.

And if you managed to read this lengthy post, you can now see a video. Levi has just started playing with this little gym. He LOVES It! He has to kick it to make it go, and it's so fun to watch his little wheels turn as he figures it out more and more. ENJOY!

sweet sixteen

 

just a little shout out to our msu sparty's today....
thanks alaina for making me this cool onesie! :)
GO GREEN... GO WHITE

my two men...

 

HAPPY SAINT PATRICKS DAY!

eh...

made the crockpot breakast.. it was okay. i think it cooked too long. we cooked ours on low for about 8 hours and it just seemed really dry. i'm not really sure how to fix that, maybe add some water, or maybe a creamy something or other? i'll have to ponder it. I have to say it did smell amazing, and it did taste good, it was just a little dry... so for now i give it an "eh"..

crockpot breakfast

I read THIS BLOG quite regularly. It's filled with great crockpot recipes.

I want to try THIS RECIPE It sounds yummy. What fun to cook overnight and have a yummy warm breakfast in the morning with zero effort, at least in the morning! :)

I'll let you know how it turns out.

his smiles make me smile...

early mornings...

working this week has been great. so fun to see my kiddos again. it's been fun to see all of them, and they are all so excited to see pictures of levi, which of course, i very willingly show off.. :)

what's not great? my kid who decided to wake up at 4:30 this morning. he has been wide awake, cute, and smiley and all that, not screaming...but NOT at 4:30...

chugging coffee..... maybe i can get an IV?

oh and what happened to spring? it was all nice and 50ish, and now it's in the teens again... yeah michigan.

diaps and dedications

we've been cloth diapering exclusing since Levi was about 2 weeks old. We have been really enjoying it. The diapers work great, and really we have had very few leaks. When we have had them, it's been because of user error, not diaper error, like making sure the liner is ALL the way to the back of the diaper or something silly like that. anyway, our diapers are starting to smell a little ammonia-ey, and i'm trying to figure out the best way to get the smell out..
so any CD users out there have any tips or ideas for me?


oh and today is d-day.. i'm heading back to work. granted i've been working pretty much all along. but now it's back to teaching lessons.

yesterday we had Levi dedicated at church. The whole family came, which was nice. Both sets of parents, and Aunts and Uncles. Well, almost everyone. My sister and hubby (who I might add are seriously the most organized people you'll ever meet) forgot to set their clocks ahead... yeah... I was nursing Levi in the nursery and April came in in tears, she felt AWFUL. The funny part is that she spent ALL week reminding her residents at work to set their clocks ahead. They were so focused on being early to church that they never turned on their tv's or anything, which is ironic because April is the biggest Meet the Press watcher you'll ever meet and she skipped it for Levi... and then still missed it.... oh well... he's too little to remember. :) We had everyone back to our house for a nice lunch afterwards. I'll post pictures later.

hi-ho-hi-ho- it's off to work we go...

editing to add in some pics...
one because he's cute, and the other are from the dedication...

the big apple

today it is supposed to be 60 and sunny. spring is coming, and i can't wait. we spring ahead this weekend and while we lose an hour of sleep and i'm sure levi will be crazy messed up, it does mean longer days of sun. though, i have to say, spring and summer are not my favorite seasons, maybe it's because i've grown up in michigan, but i LOVE fall. but, i won't wish away the coming warmer months. just dreaming this morning of the summer, of days outside, camping, going to lake michigan, gardening. everything will be different this summer with levi, but i don't doubt an adventure.

in other news... mike and i have decided to go away for our annivesary. we are going to go away for 1 night, and april and brian have offered to watch levi for us. i can't wait to have a night to ourselves. i love my kid, but mom and dad need some time as well. i'm not sure where we are going to go. we need it to be not too far away since we're only going for a night, and of course not insanely expensive either. any ideas?

also, april 2nd, i'm flying to new york on business. how cool do i sound; i feel so important. :) i get to be one of those businessy people on the flight. :) why you ask? one of the choirs i play for is going to new york city over spring break to participate in a national choir competition. with levi, i can't go for the whole week, so instead the director is going to fly me out and back the day of the competition so i can play for them.

i never imagined i'd fly to new york to play the piano. i never imagined that all those years of piano lessons would end in me playing for a living. (thanks mom and dad) sometimes i'm amazed that i have the opportunity to really do what i love, when so many don't. i really truly love what i do; i've missed working being on maternity leave. i love being home with levi, but i know that i need to work and that i'll be a better mom for that. so, monday, it's back to the grindstone. it's been mid-january since i've seen my students and i've missed them all greatly. i can't wait to see them all again. thankfully, my dad is willing to watch levi, so he'll be spending lots of time with grandpa and kady (their overly excitable golden retriever) it just works out incredibly well because of my kind of weird work schedule, and with mike being able to just go pick him up when he gets home from work. thanks dad!

march blahs

the sickos are here.

Last week, Mike ended up with a pretty nasty cold. He was quite sick teusday-thursday. He slept most of the morning thursday, and I let him sleep through the night on wednesday just so he could get back to himself. He slept a TON, coughed a lot, and ran a low-grade fever... but thankfully, he is feeling much better.

As I had feared, Levi ended up getting a cold. He was kind of congested starting Saturday, and by this morning, he would only sleep if I held him upright, and he had a little cough. I called our pediatrician and they said they would want to see him. So, we trucked out this afternoon for that. Thankfully it is just a cold, but they do want me to watch him closely, as RSV has been rampant this year. I'm a little paranoid as well since last week we had some close friends who spent their week in the hospital with their 6 week old daughter who had pneumonia. No fun.

Today, I took a trip to the dr as well. Apparantley, after you have a baby, hemorrhoids are quite common. Yup.. so, after a rather um.. umcomfortable visit? I now have drugs for that. oh the joys....

So that's us.. all sick, or recovering from being sick....

On a brighter note we had a lovely weekend at Mike's parents house. We enjoyed time with family, and even let Grandma and Grandpa watch Levi and we enjoyed a walk around town, and watched the snowmobile races on the lake.. oh the fun things to do in small towns! :)