Levi at 5

Oh my sweet, inquisitive Levi, I can't believe that you are 5. It seems like just yesterday I held you in my arms, and you my sweet boy, made me a Mama for the first time.

You are almost 5 1\2 now, because I'm a slacker, and haven't done your 5 yr post yet. sorry kiddo. I was pregnant, sick, and tired, when you turned 5, and now I'm just tired. ;)

So at 5 you...

• are beyond active. you LOVE to climb, to jump, to run, to be outside, to climb, did I mention climb? You are crazy, climbing anything, and everything from trees to the poles on the swings at the park. It's nothing for you to climb 15-20 ft into our apple trees. you even climb the door frames in our house.. I really should take a picture, it's quite something. You even try to teach kids at the park how to climb poles by using your hands and gripping your feet together.  
• you still love animals, and you especially love learning about predator vs prey. Some of your favorite shows to watch are Shark Week (mama screens those), Man vs. Wild (because you LOVE to learn how to survive in the wild, and sometimes Bear eats gross things which you think is awesome), and really, any sort of documentary is up your alley, whether its about lions, crocodiles, volcanoes, or alaska, you're in. 
• you love all things boy in animal world, lions, tigers, bears, sharks, recently you've told me you want to have a king snake for a pet, and then we can get a rattlesnake and watch the king snake eat it.. yea. we're not doing that.
• you love to fish, we introduced you to it last summer, and for whatever reason, it drew you in. you talked of it all winter long, and come this spring, we've been fishing, and oh how you love it. 

• you love to draw, and will easily spend 30-45 minutes drawing a picture. you like drawing especially, you're not really into coloring pages, or anything like that.. a blank piece of paper and markers is your thing... I have so many drawings by you, and I really have no idea what to do with them, our kitchen is constantly littered with drawings on the walls.
• you can read easy reader books. you can do it, but it's not your favorite activity, simply because it's not easy and fast for you yet. It still takes quite a bit of thought for you, but you are getting better every day. 
• you are an amazing big brother. you have risen to the challenge well, and I don't think I could have asked for a better son in that regard. You are a HUGE help to me, both with Ruby, and Maisie, as long as you aren't body slamming Ruby into the ground. 
• still are little... and you still ask me to pour your milk (though you do that more and more on your own), you still want to come sleep in our bed at night, you still love hugs and kisses, you still sleep with your ni-night, it's so tattered and worn. I don't know what we'll do when it falls apart, but you sure do love it... 

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• can be a picky eater, kind of drives me crazy. but, we keep trying... maybe someday you'll like more than carrots and broccoli as a vegetable.. you do love any and all kinds of fruit.
• you love structure and order, and some of your favorite toys are things with a definite beginning and a definite end, such as playing a game, or building a lego set.. imaginative play is not your strong suit, though you do like to dress up, and you are getting better at that type of play
• will be kindergarten in the fall! how and where that time has gone I have no idea.. and please dont' ask me what we're doing for school in the fall, because I still don't know. We go back and forth practically every day. 
• have your first crush.. it's true my sweet little boy.. you do. when I ask why you like her you say it's because "she wears the pretty dresses in sunday school"  don't worry, I will mock you mercilessly when you are older. :)
• you have a best friend, Isaac, and he deserves a post all on his own, and oh my sweet boy, your heart is about to broken into a million little pieces because they are moving away soon. We've talked and talked about him moving, but I know that you don't really understand what that means.  I think all of our hearts will break. For all of your fighting the two of you can do, without a shadow of a doubt, he is your best friend and I know you will miss him. 

I feel like there are so many things I want to say to you, to wrap up into a post about you being 5, but I just don't feel like words do it justice. I love you more than you'll ever know, and I pray everyday that the Lord will use your love of learning to do good work for Him. 

I love you buddy.

Mama

Miss Maisie at 2 months

Maisie girl

How you are 2 months, I have no idea. 2 months feels like you are not a newborn anymore, and that makes me a little sad. I still like to refer to you in "weeks" because it doesn't make you seem as old, but in reality, you have been here for 2 whole months already! 

At 2 months you

• weigh in at 11lbs 10oz, 22.5 in. 
• are a good little sleeper, at least at night. You give us a good stretch from about 7-3, and a couple of times have pushed it until 4:30. The first time that happened Papa and I jumped out of bed to check on you. 
• when you sleep, you do that shuffle and move thing so you're kind of sideways, and normally have an arm sticking out of the bassinet.
• are not a good sleeper during the day. You want to sleep on me, fall asleep nursing, or sleep in the swing. None of these are stellar habits, and yet, I struggle to break them, because I'm just too busy and tired to try to figure out how to do so without listen to you cry and cry, and I just don't want to do that. 
• will talk when someone talks to you... it melts my heart. every. single. time. see exhibit A (and ignore my cheesy mama baby voice) :)

• smile, though I've yet to catch it on camera or video, but I will! :)
• still have dark hair, but I feel like its' getting lighter, and this makes me sad... I hope it stays, but my hope is fading
• survived your first road trip (or rather we survived). We went to Grandma and Grandpas house and you did really well. We had to stop to feed you, but other than that, you were stellar, and really, less trouble than the 2 bigs in the back. 
• another first for you, was attending a funeral. Your great grandma passed away on May 27, and we celebrated her life, on what would have been her 83rd birthday, June 4. I wish you could have known her, baby girl, she would have LOVED you. How do I know that? because she loved her grand kids with her whole heart, and I know she would have loved you just as much. 
• you are generally pretty laid back, maybe that's because we threw you in the car, and we kept moving. I hear that's what happens as you have more kids ;) but trying to keep up with Levi and Ruby is pretty exhausting, see? 

• Hold up your head really well, though, tummy time is not your favorite activity

• We also celebrated fathers day. I managed to get a fairly decent picture of the 3 of you together and framed it for Papa for the day. Thankfully your big brother managed to not drop you. ;)   

•  oh, and your chubby cheeks just about kill me every single day. 

Oh sweet Maisie girl, we love you more than you'll ever know, and we pray that the Lord will raise you up to be a servant for Him. 

We love you.