The weather here has been fantastic! We were outside the entire day on Sunday. We went to the park which Eric was working, and when he got home we went again, then Becky came over and we walked to the park to look at the river. It was wonderful and yesterday was similar.
Levi got very tired from the long day in the sun, then slept 12hrs that night (not all in a row, but still 2more than usual.)

Tonight we've stayed around the house using our new swing set and Eric and Kay are in the hot tub while I keep an ear out in here for sleeping baby. Hence, I have time to blog.

Levi ate so much spaghetti tonight. He's doing great with his pincher grip, he's ahead of his age on that. He probably got about75 percent of the noodles he grabbed into his mouth. Glad to see him enjoy it! He liked it way better with the saucy, that's my boy loving the Italian food!

Maybe if I write this down I'll become more committed ... I will try harder to get Levi in his crib! He's in it right now and I will not let him in my bed tonight. I think I can, I think I can... I am getting utterly beside myself with exhaustion, and eric's running close behind as the most tired parent. I am too much a sortie to let the babe cry more than just softly or whine, then I feel like running to him(and to Kay when she was a baby...and even now) also feel like I'm away so much with work I feel bad for not being close during the night...all snuggly and cozy but We just have to have something change! We are so sp so tired and need more time together too as a couple! So things we are trying...no laying down with him, only rocking chair. Try bottle instead of nurse to create distance from me. Put them both to bed sooner and get them used to sharing and their own beds. We might also change his mattress to a softer one more similar to ours which he's come accustomed to. Because of fear of SIDS surprisingly few soft mattresses, we haven't found one soft enough. Anyways duty calls...wish us luck!

Mothers Day and our new swingset!

Well nice weather has finally hit! We are so excited that Grandpa and Eric set up a small swing set that fits nicely into our triangular shaped backyard. They built it on a very very cold day in our garage -bless their hearts! Eric said it was worth it when Kaylee said, "Hey I have a playground in my backyard!" The kids are loving it and we are loving the ease of just being able to go outside and play, and not trek over to a playground (though we hope we will still be doing plenty of that!) The swing just has two swings and a slide. We got a baby swing from a friend for Levi – and he’s loving it! He’s been wearing his ‘flap-happy’ hat all the time and enjoying being swung. Jackson is enjoying having us outside in the back more often, throwing balls to him. He may lose a few pounds here shortly. I’m sure it helps with him missing Rico. Kaylee loves the swingset but asks every time going down the slide if there are any bugs. I’m hoping she gets over that shortly. We’ve also enjoyed the hot tub a few times already as well! We are so ready for some good weather!

I had a nice Mother’s day. Happy Mother’s day to my amazing mom friends and family out there who do so much all the time for their kiddos! My family all came over for waffles and we had them outside on the patio. Levi tried a little sausage but that didn’t go so well (he choked but recovered). Kaylee ate an amazing 5-6 sausages! Wow! Kaylee enjoyed dancing around the living room for an audience. And the family was game for walking around the block in the rain under the protection of umbrellas. Thank you to my family for making it special! Levi timed it well by saying, “Ma-Ma” over and over again the last two days right after Mother’s day. I’ve been enjoying hearing this from him so much!

Speaking of Levi, he pulled up on Eric's leg the other day. And took two steps by himself and then fell down on the third. Now we are worried about how babies are supposed to crawl before they walk (developmentally) and so we are working with him on crawling lessons. We're making floor time fun with removing Kaylee from the picture, then introducing toys and making funny faces and cheering him on!

On Friday we went to a swimming pool with Kaylee’s friend and her Mom. Kaylee learned that it is not ok to run on wet tile, with a very traumatic time-out in the locker room. She loved the froggie slide and Levi loved to splash, and even endured unexpected splashing from other kids with the grace and patience he seems to have innate in his personality. He loved watching his sister get all over in the water. I’m sure he can’t wait to follow in her footsteps. Kaylee is learning much better to share with friends and pass a ball back and forth with a new little friend.

Kaylee seems to be understanding the one to one relationship in counting a little bit more. She proudly introduces her brother to friends saying she will share her brother with them. Levi has become more aware when toys are being stolen from him and cries in response. Kaylee is learning that it’s not okay to just take them away. It’s an ongoing thing.

Kaylee says the funniest things:
“Dad, what is the French fries’ favorite day of the week…Friday!”
“Mom you have a big belly. Levi and me have little bellies.” (ahh, the honesty!)
“I’m going to eat it all gone.”
“Hey where did my candy go?” You ate it honey, it’s in your tummy. Looks down disappointed. “It’s gone in my belly.”
“It is not time for bed. It is time for play.”
“Mom don’t sing. That doesn’t sound good.” Vs. “Mom sing it again.” Over and over and over…
“Hold me. I want you to hug me.”
“ Let’s do fingernails!”
“I want to wear a swirly whirly princess dress.” “ I want to wear sleeves up.” “I want a pretty in my hair.” …Girly girl Uh-oh!
“It’s okay if I take his toy. I will give it back Friday.”
“Levi wants me to hold him.”
“I don’t want to go to daycare.” Why? “Because I don’t want to eat broccoli and tomatoes, and I don’t want to clean up!”

Eric is traveling for business soon. I will report back on what it was like for a week without him. I’m going to enlist a bunch of help and provide lots of fun things to do as a distraction. I can’t imagine doing it without him, but we will survive!