Family visit for New Years and Happy 9 years to us!

Levi’s little personality is blooming. He’s interacting a lot more. He’s more interested and amused in his big sister’s antics. He laughs at her performances, much to Kaylee’s delight. She’s still in love as much as ever, and it seems he is #1 on her list of favorite people. He’s drooling a lot now, teething is in full force. I suspect any day now we will see his teeth pop out. Kaylee was entertained by this idea of Levi’s teeth “popping out” – she said “Levi’s teeth will pop out and run around on the floor, then Levi will learn to walk and chase around after them.” (Obviously Kaylee’s imagination is hard at work.) I saw him finally roll over on Monday. It was a 100% roll over, not leaving his head behind this time. It was from his tummy to his back during tummy time. I tried to get him to do it again afterwards but he was not a happy camper. He’s very strong in his head control and only needs a little support as he’s been carried around. He seems like he will start trying the “tripod” (precursor to sitting up) any day now. He’s strong and sort of army crawls during tummy time and he can scoot himself around on his back during his playmat playtime.

Eric's parents and his sister and their two kids stayed with us this past weekend. We spent New Years Eve watching ‘Toy Story’ with the kids, and lots of snacks to choose from. The kids got tired of ‘Toy Story’ and then all hopped into the tub for some fun together. Very cute. They then had a blast coloring with tub crayons, using the colored water tablets and bubble bath. We also went for a nice dinner at Eric's aunt/uncle's where it was a family reunion they hadn't seen the likes of for about 10 years. We got to see Eric's cousin's son and how much he has grown as well.

We took Kaylee and Levi for a re-do with Eric's sister and her kids E& F (and their grandparents in town) at the community pool. Thought it would be fun time for the kids, and it was! The kids had a grand time, it was much less crowded and no one got hurt. Kaylee’s stitches have been removed and her chin looks pretty good. The pool was way less crowded without the holiday influx of people. It was very enjoyable, though was close to naptime and it was smart to leave when we did.

Also, with Eric’s parents we took Kaylee to go bowling for the first time. It was a blast! She fit into the smallest shoes they had even though her feet are smaller, and was a champ. She loved carrying the ball to the ramp that they had to assist toddlers in bowling. She put in on this ramp and the ball gained the momentum that the she would have otherwise not been able to give the ball. The bumperrails were the best! It was so cute to see her wait for her ball to come back, running in place excitedly. Also everytime she pushed her ball off, she wiggled the ramp around excitedly waiting in anticipation for the impact between the ball and the pins. After we went out to pizza, Kaylee was very good but Levi was a little fussy. After he settled down for a catnap, we were all able to enjoy our meal.

Kaylee was very much a daddy’s girl during the family’s visit and seems to always be so when she is overwhelmed or overexcited. He is a calming influence, and has a relaxed, fun(ny) response to everything in life. His good cheer rubs off on everyone in our family. I feel very fortunate to have such a great husband and father in Eric. Happy 9th anniversary to us, next year will be the big 10 year anniversary! Can’t wait to see what the future brings in 2011! We are going to have my sister and her hubby watch the kids so we can have a nice dinner out together this weekend! Eric, I love you!

There have been a couple of falls on the ice this winter in the family, we are praying for a quick recovery for those involved - everybody take care and be careful on the ice!