Lockridge Land

3 Months

2012-01-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Caleb David is 3 Months Old!

Weighing in on our home scale at 18.5 lbs.

(Seriously. I'm curious to see how accurate this is when we go in to the Doctor next month.)

Caleb is a super happy, easy going baby. He is an awesome sleeper, a quick and efficient eater, and all around mellow guy. He is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and is transitioning into his 6-9 month stuff. He's definitely a BIG boy! He loves any smiles and attention you give him and coos and "talks" to anyone who will listen. He has a higher pitch voice then Levi did and I'll be interested to see if he keeps it or if it lowers to sound similar to Levi. He rolled over (from his front to his back) twice on Christmas Eve and has done it a handful of times since but he doesn't seems too interested in moving. He still likes his swaddle to sleep and he likes the pacifier too. We put him in the front pack facing out and loves getting to smile at people and see where he's going. He gets super excited when his big brother comes around and doesn't seem too fragile even when he gets pushed and poked a little more than gently. Caleb has been an awesome addition to our family and I can't wait to see in which ways he will follow in his big brother's footsteps and in which ways he'll be different. One thing is for sure: 3 months have flown by!

Enjoying his jumper!
He still mostly just sits and looks at the toys around him but he smiles a lot.

My happy boy!

Blue eyes :)

Plan for 2012

2012-01-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hey friends! So I know I'm not original in picking the beginning of January to start some new things in my life, but it's such a perfect starting point so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Here goes it:

Megan's New Years Resolutions:

ORGANIZE: When we moved into our house in June I was 5 months pregnant. On one hand I couldn't paint, lift, pack or do anything. On the other hand I couldn't paint, lift, pack or do anything! I felt so useless and so there were some things that just got put where they got put. Now 7 months later and there are still boxes in my guest room closet and my laundry room is a catchall for every random thing that comes in the house. It's time for things to have a place of their own and for those boxes to find a place in the trash!

GET OUT OF THE HOUSE: In the Southbay we were super involved in church. Over the years we did married couples Bible studies, women's/men's Bible studies, a Sunday school class and lots of activities with those people outside of church time. We've chosen a church here in town, attended a smattering of Sunday school classes (just enough to be blessed with some great meals after Caleb was born) but we haven't attended enough to really connect with anyone. It's past time. We need to get ourselves up a little earlier, out the door with two boys (hey both of our parents did it with 3 kids so we should be able to do, right?) and in the class with regularity. It's also time for me to really join a women's Bible study. I need that time in the Word, I need that time with other women and I think it's good for the boys to spend some time with other kids their age. And church is only one aspect of ways I need to get out of the house, I also need to find ways to learn and explore our area with my boys. There's free story time at the library, lots of parks to visit and lots of other mommies who are probably looking for things to do too... I have no excuses.

READ MY BIBLE: This should be self explanatory, I just need to do it. Dave and I signed up for the You Version Bible chronological Bible plan and we're holding each other accountable. If I have time to read my emails and check my Facebook a thousand times a day then I definitely have time to read a few chapters. One added bonus is that it's already given Dave and me some great talking points about passages we've already read but obviously breezed through in the past.

GET IN SHAPE: I'm not alone in the weight-gain-after-marriage conundrum, but then add on two babies in two years and I'm not feeling great about the way I look. No more procrastinating, no more excuses (even though mine are doozies!), and no more getting down on myself. I'm a pretty smart girl, I've taken biology classes, I know how it works: I need to eat healthier and I need to exercise. I've technically lost my baby weight and the scale says I weight less than I have in a long time, but numbers aren't everything and the jiggly bits prove to be more convincing than the scale. Beyond getting healthier (and dare I hope skinnier?!) I have the perfect motivation in my brother's upcoming June wedding. I have a bridesmaid dress to fit in and lots of family pictures. I'd rather my adorable boys be the reason that people know I have two kids and not the pooch sticking out around my middle! So I found a great article in Women's Health about working myself up to running. It's a fairly straightforward plan involving run-a-minute/walk-a-minute exercise to loose weight and teach my body how to run. I can sheepishly admit that I don't think I've ever run a full mile. Growing up with childhood asthma (oooh hear the excuses inching back in?) I was never forced to and probably couldn't have complete one. I've obviously walked my fair share, but that is different then running. I'm ready to run. Anyone with me? One week in and I'm feeling good, albeit sore, but I'm sure my motivation will dip as Dave travels for work and the rainy season starts. I'd love some accountability with some other Modesto mommies. Anyone??? :)

So that's it folks. A couple weeks in and I've already checked off a few organizational projects, joined "Lose It!" on my phone, kept up to date with my Bible reading and exercised intentionally. Ask me how I'm doing, keep me accountable and, if you're up for it, JOIN ME!

Little Boy Haircuts

2012-01-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

One way to save money is when Daddy gives haircuts! Dave has done a couple of great ones and one so-so one (remember Levi's buzz cut this summer?) but our motto is: it's just hair and it always grows back. So this past Sunday we stripped the boys down to their diapers, sat them in the bumbo seat and cut some hairs!

We were surprised Levi still fit in the bumbo but it worked perfectly to have him a little contained. That and the lollipop!

Little guy's first official hair cut!
Daddy trimmed his sideburns and neck at 5 weeks but this was the first all over haircut.

Levi's After

Caleb's After
But he still has hair that just can't be tamed!

I thought they were pretty cute boys before but I LOVE my boys with sweet little boy haircuts.

Extra Fun Week!

2012-01-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

We're still trying to figure out where all the Christmas presents are going to go but we got busy constructing a few this week. Levi's new car was a hit and he has been standing at the back door signing "more" and "please" and bringing me his super cool boots to tell me he'd like to go outside and play. Thankfully we've had a brisk and sunny week so we've managed lots of outside activities.

Rolling in his new wheels.

We also put together Caleb's jumper and were surprised when he fit in it. It will still be a while until he really enjoys it but in the meantime Levi thinks it has some pretty cool features.

Pretty good for a 2-month-old!

We've also been busy getting great smiles and coo's from this little flirt:

Representing for Auntie Sarah and her Cougar friends!

Then because Grammy was still out of school this week, we took the boys for a couple of firsts. We went to an afternoon movie and saw (part of) 'The Muppets'. Levi was really excited about every preview and clapped and cheered after they were each over. He loved eating snacks and sitting in the booster seat. He loved the musical numbers and the new muppet Walter. And then he turned around and saw the stairs behind us and spent the next half hour trying to get out of our row to climb the stairs and meet the other people in the theater. We left shortly thereafter. :)

Then we decided it was about time to go to the zoo again. We got in the car with the intention of going to the Sacramento Zoo but got to Lodi and decided to stop in at Mickey Grove. It was about how I remember it. Small and a little run down, but for $4 it was the perfect excursion with these two littles. Levi liked the animals, wandering around on his own, and making all kinds of animals sounds.

Levi & Grammy

Mesmerized by the monkeys!

The zoo was fun but he especially loved the trains that drove by and "choo choo"ed every few minutes!

Mommy and Grammy also found time to do some discount shopping and we found this gem at Big Lots. It's his perfect size and he thinks he's pretty hot stuff sitting in his very own chair.

This is also his new "cheese" face. Not quite sure where it came from but I think it's hilarious.

After realizing his new love of trains we decided the best place to go was the Railroad Museum in Sacramento! We grabbed Uncle Bryan and Auntie Alison and Grandpa to see all the trains. He liked the trains and the phones that gave the information and he loved all the snacks that we got as we walked around Old Town. :)

Uncle B, Levi and Grandpa learning about trains.

Getting excited about trains with Auntie Alison and Mommy!

Where's the telephone museum? Because I'm pretty sure this kid would be in heaven!

Showing off our new train conductor hat (thanks Uncle B & Auntie Alison!) but really secretly paying attention to the mini donuts that were being made right in front of us.

It has been a super fun week and a good reminder that I need to get these kids out of the house and learning and exploring and enjoying all the things this region has to offer. A little daunting on my own, but I can do it!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2012-01-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

We took a quick trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium this week. We met up with Whitney and spent a couple of hours in the aquarium-- the perfect amount of time for our little guys. Levi LOVED the sea otters and was very interested in the rest of the tanks but a little apprehensive of the big tanks with the sharks and turtles and big fish. He liked them from afar but was a little anxious when we got up close. It was a great trip and both boys were in great moods and made traveling so easy. We even got to indulge in a Ghiradelli hot fudge sundae before we hit the road which is a big, sentimental treat for Dave and me because we got one of those (in San Francisco) an hour before we got engaged back in '06. Great, great day!

Latest Lockridge family picture!

Levi "Finding Nemo" :)

Trying to convince him that the sharks were really cool!

There was a whole new area (since the last time we've been) with places to crawl around and slides to play on so naturally we had to try to fit in the clam shell for another family picture.

Harden/Lockridge family group picture!
Dad, Sarah, Me, Mom holding Caleb, Dave holding Levi, Alison & Bryan

I'm so excited to get out of the house and do fun things like this with our boys-- especially now that Levi is enjoying and understanding things more and more. Thanks for coming with us Whitney! :)

Lots of Christmas!

2011-12-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Another great Christmas season is behind us and we feel so loved! We got to see both sides of our family and enjoy both quality and quantity of time. We celebrated at my parents' house on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning at Great Grandma's house, and Christmas Day with the Lockridges. My boys are beyond blessed for all the love and presents they received and now we're just wondering where it's all going to go! Here's a quick peak at our whirlwind weekend:

Cousin Lindsey, Levi, and Auntie Sarah

Grammy and Auntie Alison trying to get the boys to model their PJ's santa hats!

My sweet boy who was indulging on sweets while Mommy was giving his brother a bath.
It's always more fun at Grandpa & Grandma's house!

Mommy and her big LITTLE guy

Levi and Grandpa checking out his construction set

Cars! Sitting with Daddy at Great Grandma's house on Christmas morning.

Grandma Lockridge getting in some Caleb cuddles.

Grandpa Lockridge and Caleb

Levi loves his new BBQ!

And lastly, my attempt at getting both of my boys in their cutie patootie, matching pi's in one picture...

I think I need to resign myself to the fact that I'm only going to get pictures of both my boys if other people are in the picture holding them. Oh well. I tried. :)

We hope you celebrated the season with those you love and felt the anticipation and joy in the remembrance of our Savior's birth. Merry Christmas to all!

Visiting Santa

2011-12-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to McHenry Village today to visit with Santa. Levi was all smiles and waves and pointing the whole time we were in line. I was thinking those were all good signs and that we were going to get a great shot with both boys...

No such luck :)

Levi was fine till the hand off.
Then we got this gem of holiday picture.

So Dad and Mom hopped in with the pacifier to try to save the visit.

At least we tried, right? Merry Christmas from the Lockridges!

Bass Lake

2011-12-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

We went up to Bass Lake with the Lockridges for our 1st annual Christmas tradition. We rented a cabin with lake views and just enjoyed a little R&R before the holidays. We watched movies, read a little, finished a puzzle (which is a pretty huge accomplishment with a 16 month-old running around), walked by the lake and made some great meals. It was fun to be away and have some down time and enjoy each others company. I definitely think it will be a Lockridge family tradition from here on out!

Checking out the lake with Uncle Charlie.

Pointing out the ducks- Quack Quack Quack!

Family picture attempt!

Grandma Lockridge with her walking stick.

Walking the pier with Daddy

I hear theres a great picture of the whole family so I'll have to try to get my hands on it for the blog. Thanks for a great time Lockridge family! Love you all! :)

Caleb is 2 Months

2011-12-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

Caleb David is 2 months old!

15 lbs. 8 oz.

24 inches

We got home from L.A. just in time to take Caleb to the pediatrician for his 2 month check up. He's off the charts and growing, growing, growing! He sure is a healthy boy! He is still giving us 7-9 hour stretches at night which is amazing. He's put himself on a great little 3 hour schedule and I keep finding myself describing him as an "easy" baby. I'm sure it's a mixture of being a 2nd time mom, understanding the theories of nap times and bed times, and a big dose of his nature and personality. He's cooing and "talking" up a storm and giving us some of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on an 8 week-old. He likes to watch his big brother and his big brother loves to give him kisses and cuddles and sometimes even wants to hold him (uh-oh!). He is a trooper and goes where we need him to go and sleeps where we need him to sleep and just is an all-around easy going sort of guy. We sure do love him!

Our Big little guy with the hair that just can't be tamed. :)

L.A. Weekend

2011-12-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

My sister graduated from Azusa Pacific last weekend and the whole family drove down to celebrate. It was our first trip as a family of four and we packed so much stuff! Our good friends, the Putnams, let us borrow their house on the beach so we were able to spread out and give the boys their own rooms. It was such a blessing to have some space and a place near "home". I have seriously missed our friends and the beach and got a good dose of both this weekend. We got to do dinner with some great families and their precious girls and we have not one picture to show for it. Let's just say that there were 7 babies and lots of noise and great food and it was so good to see them all. Thanks for making time for us!

Then we drove back and forth to Azusa to see Sarah and her friends graduate. It was so special and we are all so proud of her! Way to go Bear! :)

Sibling love

Harden Family

The whole gang

Levi loving on his Auntie

Caleb was along for the ride too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

December has already been a fun and busy month!

We walked in the Merced Christmas parade with Grandma Lockridge's float from work:

Levi with Grandma and Grandpa Lockridge

One of the other floats thought Levi was so cute they gave him a pair of reindeer antlers :)

Then we drove straight to Modesto and dropped the boys off with Grandma and Grandpa Harden at the Modesto Christmas parade so Dave and I could have a date night. Thanks for the night off!

Ringing our jingle bells with Grammy!
Levi loved all the cars covered in lights and even got to see Uncle Mikey riding on a horse.

And we've been decorating the house!

Ok, not a lot going on in here but I found a discount website for those glass jars behind the sink and filled them with ornaments from Big Lots. Yay for good deals!

Our staircase wrapped with garland and our improvised place to hang out stockings. No fireplace :(

Our tree! Biggest one yet and picked again on the first try. We're super fast tree picker-outers.

We had to add another stocking to our collection this year.

My tree skirt splurge. I love having our names on things! :)

Not quite dark outside, but you get the idea. Dave spent two days putting up lights this year. He diagramed and planned exactly how he was going to do the lights and was exactly right. Except that the lights we brought home were a "cool white" which means they were actually blue. :( So after worrying about it for a night, Dave decided to take them down and put them all back up with a "warm white" color. They look great and we're so happy with them!

And Santa came a little early this year for our big little guy:

This gives us some place to get our energy out inside the house. We've been wondering what to put in our playroom and looks like we found it. Levi definitely approves!

One last shot of our littlest guy with his favorite Mommy.

Mommy's Christmas came early this year too... Levi is back to sleeping through the night (thank the LORD) and Caleb has given us a week of 5, 6 hour stretches and then this weekend he went 7 hours straight and then the next night went 9 hours straight! I'm not cocky enough to think that this will happen every night but this was unheard of with Levi at this age so I'm feeling very lucky and pretty well rested. We'll see how it goes on our big trips in the next two weeks...

Merry Christmas everyone!

6 Week Recap

2011-12-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

It's been 6 weeks since Caleb entered our family and I thought it was time for a recap of how things have been...

General: Life with two kids has been going well! I hesitate to say it's been easy, because it has not, but the last 6 weeks are already a little hazy and I mostly remember the good moments. I feel good about the times when Levi leans in to give his little brother a head butt (Levi's sometimes gentle version of a kiss), when Dave and I can look up at each other amidst chaos and just smile realizing we're in this together, taking walks with both of my boys, the two-kid/two-parent situation where we can both take responsibility for "our" kid (Dave has Levi, I have Caleb), and my thankfulness that we have two happy and healthy boys. There have definitely been moments where they're both crying or both wake up in the middle of the night or when Levi wants my undivided attention as I'm nursing Caleb and other overwhelming situations but, in all honesty, I mostly feel incredibly blessed. And tired. I feel tired too. :)

Caleb: We are so blessed by this handsome boy. When we were in the delivery room with him, my doctor called attention to his umbilical cord. He told Dave to take a picture because the cord had a perfect little knot in it. We didn't think much about it at the time but later I talked with some people and did some google searching of my own and realized that a knot in the cord is rare. Not unheard of, but rare. What's also rare is a baby surviving with a complete knot. Apparently it is a common reason for stillbirths and miscarriages. It's no secret that Caleb is our little surprise this year and that he came on the Lord's timing. Now we feel he beat some even bigger odds by being perfectly fine in spite of that little knot. As with all children, we feel like God must have some pretty big plans for this little guy! (I've included a picture of his umbilical cord at the end of this blog. It's not very graphic but it is during my c-section so if you'd rather not see it then I would skip the last picture.) We don't want to sensationalize the experience but I think it's our story and needs to be shared. We just feel so blessed to be his parents and can't wait to see what is in store for him.

Levi: He's a great big brother! He loves checking on Caleb, he hates it when Caleb cries, he points to Caleb when we pass strangers in the grocery store and, like I said before, he loves to give Caleb kisses and cuddles. He melts my heart. He's also learning more and more words and I'm so proud of him! When prompted, he can point to his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, chin, teeth, belly. He can roar like a lion, ruff like a dog, make a noise for an elephant, growl like a bear, bawk like a chicken, and a few others depending on his mood. It's as though every day he does something new and it is so fun to watch!

Weights & Measures: At 5 weeks we went in for Levi's 15 month check up and shots. It was my first trip with both boys and it was a little complicated but we survived. Levi is 29.8 lbs. and 33 inches. 95% across the board. Caleb was also weighed and measured and came in at 12.13 lbs. and 23 inches. 95% across the board. I can't help but call them my little moose children. They're HUGE! Good thing they're taking after Dave!

Me: I had a rough start to the healing process as I somehow got an infection in my incision shortly after leaving the hospital. After a quick trip to the ER for antibiotics and a CT scan (to make sure it hadn't spread anywhere else), I healed up just fine and was given a clean bill of health. Not a great week but during my brief hiatus in the ER we learned that Caleb will take a bottle like a champ. Go him! I'm all good to go now and I'm ready to get in shape so I can look good in a wedding coming up in June! :)

Dave: He is the glue that is holding this mess together! He's working so hard and pulling double duty with me and the boys. I'm still working out how to keep the noise level down and Levi out of his office during work hours and Dave is being very patient as we're working the kinks out of our days. He's taken one overnight trip so far (we survived!) and he has two more lined up in the next couple of weeks. He is officially Levi's favorite person in the world which is both nice (it gives me a break when I have to do Caleb stuff) and not-so-nice (when Dave has to leave or close his office door Levi feels a little abandoned). He seems to be handling this Dad-of-two thing very well!

Week 6: This week has been spent sick. Ugh. I got it first, then Levi, now Dave. (Thankfully Caleb seems to been healthy still.) Dave spent a good two days putting up Christmas lights and I got our tree mostly set up and then the sickness hit us and Christmas progress stopped. We felt so lousy this week that the boys and I spent a couple of days in our jammies. We're feeling better now and getting in the Christmas spirit!

We seem to be getting in to the groove of this family of four business and we're just trying to enjoy each moment as it comes. (Although I probably need to be reminded of that when Caleb wakes me up two or three times tonight...) Update complete! Hoping to now start learning from the last six weeks and move on a little more proactively and enjoy the Christmas holiday as a family of four.

*Coming up is the picture of Caleb's umbilical cord*

A tangible example of God's love and grace in our lives.

Thankful Weekend

2011-11-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving weekend we spent with the people we love most-- FAMILY! We chased Levi around because he does. not. stop. moving. EVER. And cutie pie Caleb slept the weekend away in the arms of anyone who was wanting some extra cuddles. We ate way too much and laughed a ton and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Thankful doesn't seem to do justice to the way we feel about our lives, our family, our home and our friends but since that is the theme for the weekend-- we are very, very thankful!

Levi jumping in the leaves

Family picture attempt at the Turkey Trot

Caleb sleeping in Auntie Christina's arms

Levi hamming it up for the camera

Caleb sleeping in the middle of noise and people at the Harden family Thanksgiving.

Levi helping Daddy hang Christmas lights at Grandpa & Grandma Lockridge's house.

Levi helping to pick out our Christmas tree. He's such a helper!

I have a ton more pictures of my cute boys but Levi is usually blurry because he doesn't want to sit still and Caleb is in various positions of sleep. They're very predictable these days and we love them both so much!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Now on to decorate our house for the holidays! Yay!

Caleb is 1 Month!

2011-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Caleb David is 1 month old!

We don't have an official one month appointment so I don't have his stats. However, I did just weigh myself with him on our home scale and it's saying 12lbs. I'm not sure just how accurate that is but I would guess that he's pretty close to that. He's a big boy! He's a good eater and giving us mostly 3 hour stretches and even a couple of 4 hour stretches at night. (After Levi I should be thankful for those long spurts this early but this Mommy is still tired!) I had to pull out some of his 3-6 month clothes this morning because he's filling out those 0-3 sleepers a little too well. He is waking up a little more these days and we're finding some fussiness after eating so I'm thinking he might be dealing with some reflux issues. I've cut out caffeine and dairy so we'll see how it plays out. Hoping he feels better soon. Everyone we meet has opinions on that incredible head of hair he has- some say he'll loose it, others say he'll keep it. Who really knows? So far, he hasn't seem to have lost any so we'll see. He has visited both sets of grandparent's houses, gone to church, a couple lunches and dinners out, lots of walks and even a trip to Sacramento to help Auntie Alison pick out a wedding dress. Caleb is still pretty easy at this point and just goes where we need him to go. We're still getting the hang of this family of four business but every day seems to get a little more predictable. Now if only we could convince our boys to let their parents sleep through the night! Wishful thinking... :)

Caleb enjoying bath time and that cute boy in the mirror.

Working on tummy time. This is usually when big brother Levi hops up to give kisses and head butts!

Caleb's Newborn Photos

2011-11-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we had Jodie Martin come to our house to take some newborn pictures of Caleb. I've been sitting on these pictures because I was waiting for the birth announcements to go out so you'd be surprised at the great shots she got of our family. (I'm actually still holding back a few which you will see on our Christmas cards in a month!) Jodie was awesome and worked so hard trying to get our newborn to do what he was supposed to do and even got a couple great shots of Levi. Just to change things up, these are some great ones that we didn't include in the announcements...

The boy who always slept would not stay asleep! In between each shot we would bounce and shush and use this pacifier, so I couldn't resist showing this cutie with his favorite thing.

My sweet BIG boy. When did he get so big?!

I highly recommend Jodie if you're in the Modesto area. She was so great with my kids and was so patient. And she got our pictures back to us VERY quickly. Thanks Jodie!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

So I'm a week late, but we did get out and celebrate Halloween last week as a family of 4. We visited the Seefeldts for a quick photo op and then went to the church I grew up in to see our cousins and play some games. I tried to find a costume for Levi that was not very involved because I figured he wouldn't put up with much this year. I thought I had done a great job with the fireman (just a jacket and a hat) but he adamantly refused to wear it all the times I tried to get him excited about it leading up to Halloween. But we got him dressed on Monday evening and he never took it off! He walked all around the carnival and played games and picked out candy and just had a blast. It was a great night!

Family picture:
Our big fireman and our little dalmation.

Fireman Levi

Playing games at the carnival.

Then we came back to our house to hand out candy. We easily had over a hundred kids come to our door trick-or-treating and we still had leftover candy! The cousins came over to play and pass out candy and celebrate this silly holiday together. This is one of the reasons we moved home-- for our kids to grow up with their cousins!

The Bottoms & Lockridge Cousins
Ashley is the oldest and then four boys under 2 1/2: Jack, Levi, Charlie and Caleb!

Two Kids for Two Weeks

2011-11-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

We've officially been a family of four for two weeks now and its going great! We're definitely not sleeping very well (between Caleb's 3 hour feeding schedule and Levi's sore, teething mouth) but that was anticipated so it's hard to get too discouraged about our sleep just yet. I'm most surprised that the transition from 1 kid to 2 seems fairly smooth so far. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few moments here and there with both kids crying for something or feeling like I need to be doing twelve things at once but for the most part we're feeling very good about the new arrangements. Maybe it's because we're already in baby mode-- we're already on a schedule with feedings and naps and bedtimes so what's one more? Haha, at least this is how I feel about it today...ask me again in a couple of weeks! :)

Here's a quick catch up of what we've been up to:

Caleb's first outing to Grandpa and Uncle Bryan's new store.

(BTW-- there's a new running specialty store in town and we know the owners! It officially opened this week and I'm sure they'd love to see you!)

Levi has been just the right amount of interested in his new brother. He's all about giving kisses and pats and points to him when people come to visit. Other than that, he still gets most of the attention because he's such a ham and likes to make people laugh. It just melts my heart to see my two boys together and I hope they're best friends for life.

Brotherly love <3

We've been taking lots of walks in our new stroller. Just like Levi, Caleb enjoys being outside in the sunshine and the weather has been perfect for our excursions to the park. The walks are good for Mommy too!

Our big boy who decided he'd rather use the big swings!

My view during one of our walks.

And mostly we've just been hanging out at the house and loving on this new little guy. We've been so blessed to have lots of meals brought over by family and friends and our new group from church. It's such a great way for people to show love in this transition and we sure appreciate it.

Spending lots and lots of time looking at this precious sleeping face.

Caleb David Lockridge

2011-10-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

Caleb David Lockridge

October 18th, 2011

8:04am

8lbs. 7oz.

20in.

On Tuesday morning we checked in to the hospital bright and early for our scheduled c-section. It was all very calm and civilized and easy, totally unlike Levi's birth! We were checked in by 6am, walked into surgery at 7:30, prepped and ready to begin by 8:01, Caleb was born at 8:04, I was back in recovery by 8:25. Crazy how fast they have this process down. He's healthy and happy and a great eater. We came home Thursday afternoon and now we're just resting at home and getting into the swing of things as parents of two little boys. More to share later, but for now here are a few pictures from our week...

He has so much hair! It is long and blonde and already needs some maintenance.

Daddy and his boys

Mommy and her boys

Brothers!

Lockridge family of 4!

New Store, New Sister, New Baby (Almost!)

2011-10-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy, very fun weekend! Saturday morning we hosted our very first event at my Dad and brother's new running specialty store in Modesto: On The Run! We're not officially open yet but we used the store to hold a clinic for a local running club. The whole family came out to support in some way and it was so much fun!

Setting up outside the store.
Coffee, fruit and muffins for the whole group and a great view of the new sign, pop-up tents and tablecloths.

Mom & Dad looking very official in their new roles!

Alison, Me & Sarah serving breakfast and loving our matching shirts!

Awesome logo courtesy of our great friends at "Red Door"!

After the event Saturday morning, we ran back to our house to set up for a very special party. We planned a surprise birthday party for my brother's 26th birthday. We planned dinner and dessert and had some of his closest friends and family there to celebrate. But Bryan had a secret plan...

He was going to surprise us too!

This preggo had a craving for carmel apples, so we turned them into party favors!
Thanks to Carrie, and then Jami, for showing me the amazingness of these yummy treats!!

Bryan took the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend! He really planned the whole thing all along, but neither Alison nor the other guests knew he would be turning the tables on us. We were able to get a sneak peek of this special moment because he arranged to have someone take some pictures!

On one knee in front of the covered bridge in Knights Ferry.

She said "YES!"

We all yelled "Surprise!" to Bryan when he walked in, and then they held up her hand and yelled "Surprise!" back at us.

It's official: We're getting a new sister!

What a fantastic night it was! We are so glad that Bryan found someone so right for him and, selfishly, we're so glad that she fits so well into our family! Now time to plan a wedding! :)

This was a monumental weekend in our family and it's only continuing this week... We held on till the last minute and have (almost) made it to our scheduled c-section date tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Dave and I are checking into the hospital bright and early and should have a baby before breakfast! We are so incredibly excited and have felt so loved by all the prayers and kindness and offers for meals and help before this little guy is even with us. We will update as soon as we can and show off pictures of us as a family of 4!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we took the short drive up to Del Osso Farms to pick out pumpkins. Levi loved the freedom of walking around the pumpkins, playing in the corn and dirt and riding on the tractor ride. Here are a few pictures from our excursion in the not-so-fall (HOT) weather...

Levi picking out his pumpkin.

We had an "Amazing" time!

Family picture attempt. Last one before Baby #2? :)

Loving on Daddy!

My big boy riding in the tractor.

Yee Haw!

Our pumpkin bounty.
One for each member of our family. Dave says the baby pumpkin can be moved to the right once he finally makes his appearance. :)

We had a great time playing outside, visiting the Bass Pro Shop and eating BBQ at Famous Dave's on the way home. What a fun family tradition! Levi is at such a fun age and is so much fun to be around these days. He's talking more and more and mimicking our sounds and questions and hand motions. He growls like a lion, knows the hand motions to "touchdown", "safe" and "out" (can you tell we watch some sporting events in our house?) and he is climbing on everything. He laughs and gives us great around-the-neck hugs and kisses on the lips and I love him more and more every single day. He's definitely getting some more teeth-- I think we're up to 8 officially, but he may be getting in some molars too. Poor guy! Lots of changes in his little life but he's up for the challenge. Can't wait to see how he does with his soon-to-be little brother!

And I'm still pregnant, just in case anyone was wondering. Ironic that we stopped labor twice because it was too early and now that it's time for him to come he's decided he'd rather just stay where he is. This Mama is READY for him to come but if a tractor ride didn't induce some labor then we'll probably just hang in there until our scheduled date. :)

Baby Waiting...

2011-10-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

We're still waiting for Baby L #2. Went back in to L&D on Tuesday thinking this was for sure the time but ended up coming home empty handed...again. I'm definitely contracting but Doctor is trying to make sure it's really time before taking him out too early. I'm totally on board, just a little confused what else we're waiting for because I'm uncomfortable and so ready to go! :)

So we just took it easy this week. I tried to sit a lot and not chase after Levi as much...easier said then done! We had lots of helping hands and lots of food brought our way and Levi felt like a king with all his extra attention.

He's figured out how to open doors and especially loves to help himself to snacks from the pantry. Not quite sure why he decided raisins taste best off the floor but he was perfectly content to be independent!

My boys met up with the Seefeldt boys this week at the park. They played in the fountain, got soaking wet and then looked cool in the wagon on the ride back to the house.

Daddy and Levi took a break from football watching to try out our Toy Story dvd. Levi made it through the first 15/20 minutes or so but really liked the "Cars" insert he found in the dvd case. Maybe our next purchase? :)

Levi's other new love? Uncle Bryan's cool new truck!

Then we hosted our first "cousins night" at our house last night! We are so excited to be back in town with family and figured it was a good idea to be intentional about seeing everyone at things other than birthdays and holidays. So the original plan was to get babysitters and go to Oktoberfest in town but then someone just had to be super pregnant and rain on that parade. So the boys attended Oktoberfest and the girls had their own fun at our house. The kids played and I realized we do not have stuff for bigger kids, but they still seemed entertained and Levi LOVED playing with his cousins. We had to have the obligatory bath time pictures so here are the two "older" boys in the bath. Crazy to think by this time next year we'll have 4 boys to put in the tub.... we might need a bigger tub!!! :)

Just trying to fill up time while we wait for little guy to make his appearance... we're so excited for him to come!

Lockridge Land Updates

2011-09-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Lots of things have been going on in Lockridge Land lately...

We had a little excitement last Thursday when I went into early labor. Throughout this pregnancy I've been having contractions. I noticed them earlier than I did with Levi, but who knows if they really came any sooner or if I was just more aware. They were never painful, just uncomfortable, so I haven't paid them much attention. Last Thursday I became more and more aware of them and decided to start timing them. It's so hard to lay down and pay attention when chasing Levi around the house so I wasn't completely sure how fast they were coming but I definitely felt off. I called in to my doctor and tried to convince them to let me sneak in the office for a quick check up instead of having to go to the hospital for them to send me home. Doctor said "no way, go to the hospital now" so I followed directions and went to L&D. I was laughing and joking with the nurse about how quickly they were going to send me home and that I was sure it was nothing and I was just that crazy pregnant lady that doesn't know what's going on. She hooked me up to the monitor and we realized that I was having contractions every 2 minutes. Well that definitely is something to be concerned with! Because I was still only in my 35th week, my doctor decided that we should try to stop my labor instead of delivery Baby L #2 that afternoon. (THANK GOODNESS!) So I spent about 5 hours taking pills, getting a shot and waiting waiting waiting for the contractions to stop. They slowed way down and I never progressed any further so they were confident in sending me back home, on modified bedrest and with more pills to take daily, to try to keep this baby in a little longer. I spent the whole time in a bit of a panic because I was NOT ready for this baby to make his appearance yet. I hadn't packed my hospital bag, I hadn't packed baby's bag, I hadn't washed all the newborn clothes, I hadn't gotten the swing out, I hadn't even pre-registered at the hospital yet! (Whoops!) Dave was very calm through it all and reminded me that we had plenty of friends and family and all those things could easily be done for us. He was completely right but this laboring pregnant lady was still crazily making to do lists! I was able to lay low through the weekend with the help of Dave's mom and my parents tag teaming my to do lists and wrangling Levi. We checked off every single item on my lists and I'm feeling so much better about the possibility of having a September baby. As of last night, I took my last labor-stopping pill and I'm now free to have this baby at any time. The crazy part is that I could still potentially make it all the way to my scheduled c-section date or I could have him tonight! I guess one thing I should have learned by now is that I have little control over these things. The great news is that baby is happy, healthy and kicking away and our house is officially ready for him to be welcomed into it.

Here is Baby's room.
Still need some things for the walls but at least it is ready for him!

Look who is excited about all the baby stuff!

My sweet boys watching the Fresno State game on Sunday.
Just because :)

We're still getting stuff done for the rest of our house too!
We got these great pots out in Escalon and I made the wreaths for the front doors. (I attempted to put cute burlap bows on them but they were pretty pitiful so I'm hoping my Mom can share her bow-making expertise.)

We'll make sure to keep you posted when Baby L #2 decides to make his appearance!

Missing Socal

2011-09-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

I got to chat with a couple of my favorite socal girls this week and it made me a little homesick. We are loving Modesto, loving our new house, loving being so close to family and we have definitely been BUSY, but Dave was in LA this week for business and we were here. He was working hard, I know, but he still got to see some people and eat at some fun restaurants and enjoy a peek of the South Bay while I was battling heat and sleepless nights and this slow pregnant body. (Obviously that would be the same whether I was in LA or here!)

So instead of being sad, I thought I would send a special shout out to my good friends. You see, Becky and Sheri threw us a going away party on our last day in the South Bay. They had a pile of Southern California postcards for everyone to fill out. Since then we have received a slow trickle of mail from our favorite socal residents with pictures from some of our favorite places. Just when I thought we were all out of postcards, another one would come! It was a great reminder of the love and friendships we still have even though we may live a bit farther away. I have LOVED getting these in the mail, l have LOVED sharing them with Levi and Dave and I have LOVED hanging them up on our fridge to look at every day. Well it's official: we just got our last postcard. Instead of being sad I'm choosing to be excited about where we are now and thankful (so extremely thankful) for our great friends in the South Bay. We love you guys and miss you and hope to see you soon!

Getting Out

2011-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with our September goal to get out of the house we had two opportunities for fun this weekend. In true Dave fashion, he found a softball team to play on once a week. On Friday night we all went to watch him play in the first game of this new season and his team won! Levi enjoyed getting to run around and found his own ball to throw and then LOVED getting to see Dave through the fence in between innings.

Catching up with our favorite player.

Then on Saturday we drove up to San Francisco with the Lockridges to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. We got there just in time to eat chowder in bread bowls at the Boudin factory and then headed over to the bridge. I had never walked across before and it was so neat that we could park for free, walk for free and enjoy some great views. Levi wasn't super excited about being stuck in his stroller and his very pregnant Mommy was pretty tired (and contracting) by the end but we all managed to walk to Sausalito on the the other side. (Dave and Charlie being the loving husbands and sons that they are ran back across the bridge, got the cars and picked us up on the Sausalito side. LOVE THEM!) Then we were able to wander around the Sausalito downtown a little and enjoy my first Starbucks pumpkin spice latte of the fall. Win-win!

Another fun Northern California weekend. I'm definitely starting to slow down and not feel so great so this may have been one the last of our big out of town trips but we definitely have lots left to do on our "Baby To Do" list so we won't be bored! Only about 5 more weeks till baby #2 makes his appearance...can't wait!

Labor Day Fun

2011-09-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

This labor day weekend we were able to get out and do some fun things and spend time with our families. We were able to sneak in a much needed date night at a new (to us) restaurant in town on Friday night and then on Saturday we woke up bright and early to watch the hot air balloons at the "Color the Skies" event in town. What a cool experience!

Waving at the traveling balloons.

Enjoying the sunrise and the cool morning air.

Family picture!

We also hit up a Modesto Nuts game on Sunday, enjoyed the warm weather and swam at my parents' house and got to have a Lockridge family dinner in Atwater. We're trying to get out and do some fun, local things before this baby decides to make an appearance. We are also trying to tackle things on our "Baby To Do" list so we just took the Stork Tour at our new hospital. We're certainly getting closer and closer to becoming a family of four!

Busy August

2011-09-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

August is officially behind us and it has been a very busy month! We celebrated Levi's 1st birthday, took a couple of overnight trips, Dave traveled (A BUNCH) for work, I helped out at my reunion, we attended the wedding of a great family friend, I helped host a baby shower, the whole extended family suffered a MAJOR bout with the stomach flu (thanks Levi) and now it's September 1st... where did the month go?

Bryan, Megan, Dave, Sarah finding some shade by the bocce court at the beautiful Hellman-Oxenrider wedding.
It was out at a lavender farm in Turlock and was a beautiful wedding and a great venue!

Dave barely got into town in time to make it the wedding and then turned around and flew out to Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series for 8 days. It was probably the longest that he's been away from us and it felt like FOREVER but we managed to get through it by filling up our week with fun stuff. First up was a quick trip to Fresno to visit some friends.

Levi, Kambria and Maxton keeping each other company on a trip to Target.

Then we hung out with my family and I did some prep work for the baby shower of my great friend Angela who was flying into LA from CO to celebrate the upcoming birth of her first son. We had a great theme all picked out (airplanes because her hubby is in the air force) and I was all ready to pack up and head down for a very quick overnight trip to decorate, celebrate and drive back. Then on Thursday morning Levi woke up from a very good night sleep and had gotten sick at some point during the night. He'd never really thrown up before so I was surprised but he seemed in good spirits and feeling fine. We laid low all day making sure that he was ok and feeling good enough to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa overnight for my little trip. Seemed fine all day Thursday and woke up happy Friday so I dropped him off and hit the road for the South Bay. (I stopped at Starbucks on my way out of town and got to listen to whatever music I wanted to the whole way... I almost didn't know what to do with myself without Disney sing-a-longs and kids worship music blasting for 5 hours! It was heavenly. :) ) I got into town in enough time to hang out and chat with Becky a little before heading over to do some serious baby shower decorating and prep work. We had the whole house set up, favors made and ready to go in a couple of hours so I headed back to Becky's for a good night sleep before the Saturday morning festivities. And then plans changed. I woke up with the worst bout of stomach flu I've ever had. I was sick all night long, all morning long, missed the baby shower, missed seeing Angela for even a second that she was in CA. I was feeling so bad that my mom convinced me to call my OB to ask at what point we needed to be worried about dehydration and the baby. His answer was an emphatic "NOW" so I drove myself to the hospital for a quick round of fluids. The ER immediately sent me to labor and delivery to check on the baby but everything was fine so we just did an iv and a couple bags of fluids and then I was on my way. It was no fun and definitely a rough day but everything turned out fine and I felt better right away. I even drove myself home that night so I could sleep in my own bed and rest at home. By the time I arrived back in Modesto my entire family had been stricken with the flu too. Little loving Levi had singlehandedly taken out my entire family with his germs. We just love him. So my quick little baby shower weekend trip turned out very differently then I had envisioned. I'm so thankful for Becky for letting me stay and taking care of me but I feel terrible for coming all that way and sharing my germs. What a great friend for putting up with me! And thanks to everyone for all the concerned phone calls and emails and texts, I felt very loved and prayed over throughout the whole ordeal. We're finally all back to normal and healthy and Dave is back in town and thankful that he missed the whole sickness.

So instead of ending on a gross/depressing note, August actually ended up with a reason to celebrate! My dad and brother have been working hard at opening up a new running specialty store in Modesto and the process always takes longer then you think it will. So after a few speed bumps and delays, they finally got the keys to the store yesterday. Demolition starts today and they hope to be open for business in the middle of October. Sarah came back into town yesterday for her last week before school starts, Dave was back in town, everyone was healthy and happy again and we had keys to the store so we celebrated with some grilled kebobs and cobbler and took a family trip down to see the store.

Levi enjoying the storefront window before the carpet and pillars and everything else gets ripped out and remodeled.

So Modesto people, be looking for On The Run to be opening in the McHenry Village in October. We're all so excited that it's finally happening and can't wait for the grand opening. I'll keep you posted!!!

TDHS 10 Year High School Reunion

2011-08-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago Dave and I were able to get some babysitters and attend my 10 year high school reunion. It was the perfect way to reconnect with some people after just moving back into town and it gave Dave an opportunity to see a glimpse into my high school years. Lucky him! It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was wearing my cheer uniform and decorating for dances and going to football games, but it must have been awhile ago since I've haven't even lived here for 10 years, I've been married for 5 and have one cute kiddo and one on the way. Needless to say I wasn't stoked to see everyone for the first time in a long time while I am 7 months preggo but I did my best to dress up and put on my dancing shoes and have fun!

The Cardigan girls decorating the hall-- just like old times!

Me, Dave, Mike and Crista enjoying a night out sans kids.

Goofing around at the "photo booth"

Stephanie, me, Crista, Lindsey

Don't let Dave tell you that it was a total bummer of a night-- he had fun too!

Class of 2001 reunioners!

Thanks President Stephanie for all your hard work. It was a total success and we had FUN!! What's next? 20 years? :)

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: "Boys Will Be Boys"

2011-08-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

I was ordering some things off of diapers.com this morning for the new baby (he's seriously going to make his appearance in about 9 short weeks!) while also doing some blog reading... I came across this great article about parenting boys and immediately knew it was one that I would mentally catalog and figured I would share it with anyone else out there who might be parenting boys. Her premise is that the "boys will be boys" mentality does not have to be true but instead we can adopt an attitude of "boys will be who we teach them to be" and they will rise to our expectations. This shouldn't be such a paradigm shift but I think in today's society that it truly is thinking outside the box. And it easily applies to raising girls too. LOVE IT!!!

Chronicles of a Babywise Mom: "Boys Will Be Boys":

Levi's Birthday Party

2011-08-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

We threw our first party (of MANY) in our new house for Levi's 1st birthday. Most of the invitees had already come to visit but hopefully they got to see the house a little more finished and we got to see what it really takes to throw a party for all our closest friends and family. Whew, it was a lot of work! :) We were so glad that everyone was able to come and feel so grateful for all the love Levi was shown. It was a hot day so we spent most of the party inside but we had some good food, lots of fun one-year-old presents and yummy cake. What more could you ask for?!

The photo board in the entry way. Some of my favorites from the whole year.

The living room, looking into the dining room.
It helped not having any furniture in these rooms because we were able to seat 30!
Also, Levi's 0-12 month pictures were behind his high chair.

The Cake!

The Lockridge family.
Thought I should include a belly shot as we so obviously are preparing for #2 as we're so glad to be celebrating #1!

Laughing it up with Grandma and Grandpa Lockridge and also showing off his famous "ear pull".

The kiddos eating at Levi's new outside picnic table.

The boys taking Levi's new wagon for a spin around the yard. It has been a hit!
Thanks Grammy and Grandpa Harden!

Singing to the birthday boy!

The birthday boy who refused to eat his birthday cake. Seriously. My child who eats EVERYTHING, cried and refused to even taste the yummy mini cake his Mommy and Daddy bought him. We think it was the long day, too much excitement, maybe a snafu with his party hat that bothered him... who knows?! All we know is that we have no footage of our sweet birthday boy tearing into his cake. Oh well. I guess you can't plan everything, right? And plus, now we have a fun story to tell him for the rest of his life. And the video to prove it. Haha, that is real life with a one-year-old!

It was a great party!

Thanks again to everyone who came to celebrate with us and thanks to our favorite friends who sent presents from afar. What a lucky and blessed little boy Levi is! (And a special thanks from me to everyone who helped tear down and clean up after the party. This preggo was so blessed to have the house clean, dishes running, pj's on and feet up by 8:30 that night!)

Levi's First Year

2011-08-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

3 Days Old

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Ten Months Old

Eleven Months Old

Twelve Months Old

It's official! Levi Daniel is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

We're out of stickers, folks, so this is our last monthly Levi update. He is such a joy to have in our lives. I'm not sure of his official "stats" because we won't get in to see our new Modesto pediatrician until the end of the month but if I'd have to guess I'd say "big"! :) He's sleeping a good 12 hours and night, still taking two two hour naps daily and waking up happy and singing and waving. He's been walking for a couple of months now so he's getting good and fast and more confident in his abilities. He moves CONSTANTLY and, if he's awake, he just doesn't stop. He loves cars and trucks and balls and especially books. It's fun to watch him play with his new toys and it's surprising to see him play with them in the way they're intended. He still loves his pacifiers and he's still a great eater. He rarely refuses meat, likes most vegetables and fruits and has never met a carb he won't eat (just like his mom). We tried introducing cows milk cold turkey but that was a disaster, so now we are mixing it in with his formula and he seems to be handling it well. He's got a great personality and a love for people and he has this great belly laugh that just melts my heart. He has a couple of funny little "things" that he's doing these days that never fail to make us laugh so I definitely need to get them on camera because I'm sure he won't do them much longer. He has begun to "dance" when he hears music but unlike most kids he doesn't move his body or feet at all, instead he wiggles his head. Not sure where he learned those moves (Dave maybe?) but it's super cute. This has been such a great year of learning to parent this little guy and, for the most part, he's made it very easy. We love you Levi and are so proud to be your parents!!! Happy first year of life!!!

Milestones

2011-08-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks in Lockridgeland! On the 21st I celebrated 28 years of life and also 5 years of marriage to my wonderful husband. We got to do two special celebrations thanks to having family so close for multiple babysitting opportunities. On my actual birthday we walked down to the local coffee shop for breakfast as a family, went to Levi's swim lessons and then Dave and I got to go eat at Galleto's downtown without little Levi. Then on Saturday, we dropped Levi off at my parents' house and we drove up to San Francisco for the night. We stayed at a nice hotel on top of Knob Hill, explored North Beach and ate yummy Italian food (thanks Steph for the recommendations!) and got to stay up late and sleep in on our own schedule-- which was NO schedule-- it was awesome and a much needed little break. We came back Sunday afternoon, a little early because we honestly missed our little man, and were so appreciative to know he was in great hands for the night.

Does it just reinforce my pregnancy cravings when the only picture I have from 30 hours in the city is one of our hot fudge sundae from Ghiradelli? :) Although this place is extra special to us because this is where we went right before Dave proposed to me 5 years earlier. And, let's be honest, they have the best dang sundaes anywhere!

While we're pretending be to young and fun in the city, Levi got to go on his first bike ride with Grammy & Grandpa!

After our celebrations, we got to celebrate the biggest accomplishment yet: Levi turned ONE! On August 2nd we woke up feeling so proud and excited. There are some moments that it's hard to believe that one whole year has passed since we walked and paced and waited so impatiently for him to enter our world. It doesn't seem so long ago that Dave got to wheel his little bassinet into our hospital room and then we realized that HE was OURS. Then there are other moments that make it seem like we've been doing this forever- those sleepless nights, the cranky teething spells, and the confidence we have of learning how to do this parenting thing day after day after day. What an incredible journey this has been!

Enjoying his new musical instruments from Mommy & Daddy!

His favorite thing right now: TRUCKS!

Levi has had a weird week sleep-wise so his birthday was no exception. He was up early and fussy then went back down for a nap at an odd time, then was back up at a more normal time for breakfast and presents. (Maybe he's getting more teeth?) So Dave and I sang and opened a few presents and ate eggs and toast for breakfast. We've tried a little bit of cows milk but he's not a huge fan yet. Then Dave had to take off for a business trip, so Levi and I headed over to my parents' house to get some more people in on the birthday action.

Levi loves to "work" and Grandpa's desk is the best place to get that done.

We ended our day with Levi's first chicken nugget Happy Meal. A great place to end our birthday boy celebration!

We also hit the 3rd trimester mark of my pregnancy which means Baby Boy #2 is coming sooner than we think! Lots of big things going on around here, lots of reasons to celebrate and lots of reasons to be oh-so-thankful. More updates on the birthday boy to come...

County Fair

2011-07-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

We ventured over to the Stanilaus County Fair to eat fair food and see some animals. We shared a corndog and a lemonade and then made our way over to the 4H tents to see all the baby animals. Levi loved getting up close and personal with the pigs and goats and chickens and we even went in the petting zoo! It was so fun to watch his excitement in all these new experiences.

Petting the rabbits.

Meeting the goats.

Riding a pony for the very first time!

Levi's a cowboy!

We had fun but this preggers is still a little bummed we didn't share any funnel cakes! :)

Houseboat with the Lockridges

2011-07-25T16:15:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago we met up with the Lockridge and Nordman families on the Nordman family houseboat on Lake Don Pedro. I spent many summers on this lake as a kid with my own family and our ski boat. We would go out from Memorial day to Labor day and ski, inner tube, wake board and camp and it was so fun to be back after a lot of years hiatus. This trip was a little different with Levi in tow and all the Mommy-type worrying that goes along with having a baby near open bodies of water, but we purchased Levi a life jacket- which he hated- but managed to keep him corralled on the many open areas of the houseboat. He loved the freedom of walking around, loved the water and being able to drop things off the edge, he loved the birds and the fish and all the boats and jet skis and noise that come with a busy lake. It was so much fun to watch him experience something new and for him to love something that I love so much was very special. Because I was so concerned with keeping him safe, I left my camera at home so these are a few pictures I stole from Auntie Christina's blog.

Levi and Mommy hanging our feet over the edge of the swim deck.

Dad and Levi swimming in the lake.

Uncle Charlie teaching Levi how to drive the boat!

We spent a great Saturday talking, swimming, eating, boating and enjoying each other's company. Levi took a 3 hour nap and we were so impressed we decided to stick around and camp out overnight on the rooftop deck of the houseboat. Levi went down at his normal bedtime without a peep and then was up at 2:30am until about 6am. He just couldn't/wouldn't settle and it was another stressful camping experience for Dave and I as we walked and bounced and wandered the boat trying in vain to get him back to sleep. I think we've officially given camping the good 'ol college try and we're done for a while. We'll definitely go out on the boat again, if invited, but we'll probably be making the drive home at night. We'll try the camping thing again when our boys are older!

More Summer Fun

2011-07-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying the great weather and the extra family time before school starts up again and all our teacher friends head back to work. My Aunt Shirlene from Australia was here for a month with her granddaughter Sarah so we were able to spend some special time with them before they flew back home last week. I'm a little behind on the pictures but here's a quick peak into our trip to Columbia a couple of weeks ago.

Twinsies!
Levi and Grandpa in their matching polos and hair cuts.

Smiles with Mom too!

Showing off our walking skills.
(This was the last trip with these tennis shoes before we figured out that the poor kid's feet had grown!)

Playing peek-a-boo

Enjoying Auntie Shirlene

Cousins Ashley, Sarah, Levi and Jack

Despite the very serious face, Levi enjoyed riding in the stagecoach and LOVED getting to pet the horses.
(Although he called them "dogs"!)

More summer fun to come...

5 on Friday

2011-07-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

We've had some requests for pictures of the house but those will have to wait as we're still in moving turmoil over here. Thankfully, we're not living out of too many boxes anymore but we still have some painting being done and 3 (count 'em 3!) empty rooms. As in completely empty. No furniture. Looks a little odd but it's a work in progress. We'll take some pictures soon, or maybe we won't and that will just have to be your excuse to come and visit us!

Here are a few quick pictures of what we've been up to:

The Lockridges came to visit last Sunday so we played (worked) in the garden a little and I got this great shot of Levi and Grandma.

When I said "garden" I wasn't kidding! We have about 12 tomato plants, rasberry bushes, a peach tree, a lemon tree, an apple tree and this little fella that we found buried under some other foliage: a zucchini the size of my forearm! We're such great gardeners, huh? :)

We have an awesome park that is a block away and Levi has been enjoying the water feature on these HOT summer days.

We've been enjoying Concerts in the Park on Thursday nights (even if we only make it till intermission).
Here's cousin Jack, Grandpa and Levi.

Does this need explanation? :)
My boys enjoying the great weather and music!

We're keeping busy around here and enjoying our new home but definitely missing our old one. (Ok, I take that back, we do NOT miss the old house but we DO miss our friends!!!) Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

We've spent the last 5 years celebrating the 4th of July in Southern California and have some great memories of fantastic fireworks shows from the Smarts Sheldon Street apartment (rooftop!), the Hollywood Bowl with the Blankenships and the best show ever thrown by a millionaire in the Redondo Riviera on a barge in the ocean. We have loved getting to see how different areas celebrate the greatest country on earth and this year we were back to our (my) roots for a down home Modesto 4th of July!

Most recent family picture attempt!

We start the morning off with a parade downtown. The menfolk go downtown way early to put out chairs and save our seats in front of the library. Levi and I got to sleep in a little and made it down to the parade route just in time for the action. It was HOT, even that early in the morning, but we enjoyed the floats and the veterans and all the commotion. I wasn't sure how Levi was going to put up with all sitting and watching but he did great and clapped and cheered along with the crowd!

Cousins Ashley, Levi and Jack all ready for the parade in their patriotic gear!

Getting in some love and smiles with Mom and Grandma!

Excited about the veterans, flag waving and the loud cars.

We left a little early when Levi got restless and came back to our house for family naps. We woke up refreshed and ready to go to the annual Harden 4th of July party! This was the only picture I took of the whole night but it's hard to take pictures when you're chasing around a fast 11 month old and enjoying yourself at the party. We had great food, fun conversations, lots of pool time and a fantastic fireworks show put on right in front of the house. Levi conked out a little early from all of the activity and he slept all the way through the fireworks. I felt like we should wake him up to see the show but figured sleep was probably more important... maybe he'll enjoy them next year!

Our little water baby enjoying pool time with Daddy!

Happy Birthday America! We're so blessed to have our freedoms and live in this amazing country. It's my favorite day of the year!

11 Months

2011-07-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel is 11 months old!

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity in his little world and he has handled it very well. He has two more teeth that are mostly poking through in his upper gums and that has caused some major discomfort but he's also able and learning to bite some of his food now. He was definitely aware that something was going on as he stumbled past boxes in our crowded house and got a little clingy as either Dave or I left the room, but seems to have settled back into his normal easy going self here in the new house. He is sleeping well (through the night) in his big new room and is enjoying the freedom of all our new space. He often makes laps around the downstairs and loves to play hide-and-go-seek and peek-a-boo. He has learned how to stand up on his own without the assistance of furniture or people and has even begun to pop up with enthusiasm and a big smile, which is just the most precious thing. He LOVES his baths and any water he can find: cups of it, dog dishes, toilet bowls, pools, puddles, you name it and he's in it. It's nice that he's so fearless but a little unnerving as a parent to watch him run towards open bodies of water. We've signed up for swim lessons in a few weeks so hopefully we'll learn some new water safety techniques. His personality is coming through more and more and I'm seeing a stubborn streak that is going to give us a run for our money! He loves people and attention and doing things on his own, but you tell him "no" and he'll give you the funniest mouth-puckering face while fuming from the mouth. I really should get it on video to remember how ridiculous it is because I'm sure he won't do it for long. It takes everything in my being not to laugh when he does it but we're trying to reinforce good behavior, right? :) I can't believe that in (less than) a month my baby is going to be ONE year old. Time flies...

Love his cheeky little smile!

And honorable mention goes out to Dave who so lovingly gave Levi his "summer do" hairstyle last week. The party line is that "we planned it that way" but let's just say it's a little shorter than we had envisioned and we learned that baby haircuts are a two person job. Good thing it's just hair and that it grows and that he has a lot of it! Plus now he looks more like his Grandpas! :)

Moving Day

2011-07-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

We picked up the UHaul on Friday morning and loaded up all our belongings in about 7 hours. We learned a few things: we had WAY more stuff than we thought we did, packing a truck takes WAY more time than you think it will, moving is NO fun. Thanks to Becky for taking Levi off our hands for a few hours so we could get things done without his "helpful" hands and "expert" walking skills.

The packed truck.

After a long day of loading up the truck, it was filled! Unfortunately, our mattresses and other odds and ends were still in our garage. Uh oh! We decided to call it a day and pick up an extra trailer to fill up on Saturday morning. Because everything was packed, we spent the night in a hotel (Levi's 1st time!) and had a great nights sleep and woke up rested for another day of packing. Dave packed up the last of our stuff and then we headed over to a farewell BBQ thrown by our friends the Smarts and the Holmes. We had so much fun relaxing in the backyard, eating yummy food and enjoying some time with our great friends before hitting the road. We all had so much fun that no one took any pictures! I'm a little bummed that we didn't get one last picture of our group but I think it speaks to all the quality time we were enjoying instead of chasing everyone around with a camera.

One picture from the BBQ that I stole from Becky. :)

After the party, we drove off into the sunset with our matching UHauls. Dave got the big truck and I got the car, trailer and baby.

That's a whole lot of stuff!

We pulled into Modesto around 12:30am and were welcomed by a train downtown and a sobriety checkpoint. We slept at my parents' house and woke up bright and early to unpack the truck into our new house! We had lots of family that met us at the house and had everything unloaded in under an hour and a half. They had all the beds and cribs assembled by lunchtime, the closets unpacked and put away and the garage organized by the end of the day. It was an amazing amount of help that we were so thankful for!

One more random trip to the Home Depot. Levi is so helpful!

We've spent our first week in our new home unpacking boxes, cleaning and trying to find where everything was put. We had more helpers this week who helped me wrangle Levi and unpack our kitchen and even got two new chandeliers hung up. It's starting to feel more comfortable but still sort of feels like we're on vacation in someone else's home!

Hannity and Levi are feeling right at home and enjoying all the space they have to run around and play!

We have had a great first week in Modesto, Dave has had fun setting up his office and we've enjoyed getting to see so many of our favorite friends and family already. We've gotten to swim at my parents' house, have a date night out, go to Concert in the Park, Dave's already joined a softball league with a great group of guys (they won their first game!), Levi turned 11 months, we drove to Fresno to see the Lockridge family and we got to celebrate the 4th of July at the annual parade and Harden BBQ. It's been a busy but super fun first week!

Packing, Moving, Playing

2011-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

While the decision to move away from the South Bay is bittersweet, the process of packing ones belongings is NOT. We're living in a state of chaos at the moment and I'm so ready to be able to settle in to our new house. A few weeks ago my parents came down and helped us pack up the house. My mom is such a champ that the entire house was packed up in a couple of days and placed in the garage. That was such a huge help and was awesome to check most of that off my "To Do" list. But fast forward a couple of weeks and we're still living in a house that is packed into boxes. Ugh. We left out some necessities that will be packed up last minute but for the most part we're down to the bare bones. No can opener. No TV. Half of Levi's toys. We're sad to leave the only home that Dave and I have known in our (almost!) 5 year marriage but this process of living out of boxes sure makes us ready to GO! Ready for the proof?

One half of our garage is packed and ready to go. The other half houses our washer/dryer and poor Dave's office. He's so ready for a room (inside the house!!) all to himself!

A (terribly blurry) picture of our living room sans TV and plus empty boxes for last minute packing.

Our only kitchen belongings... 4 plates, 4 cups, 4 forks, a coffee maker and one pan. (And a partridge in a pear tree!)

Here is Levi living the good life despite the mess. On one of our many trips to the Home Depot for the new house, we found this great cart that Levi enjoyed being pushed around in like a King. He even waved to all of the common folk we found roaming the aisles. This kid LOVES attention!

Despite the craziness inside our house we're getting out and enjoying some of our last official days in RB. Levi and I met up with the girls at the park last week for a play date. I didn't take any pictures (boo) but he had a blast walking all over and playing in the sand. We also went out to dinner a few times (thankfully Dave is not expecting miracles in the kitchen with one pan and a toaster).

Borrowing his friend Ruby's trike. His feet don't quite hit the peddles yet...

We also got to celebrate our favorite Dad and the one who makes this move possible, Dave! I wasn't able to be much of chef so we got up early and had some baked apple pancakes at the Original Pancake House. Then we drove up to Terranea to walk off the pancakes and enjoy the million dollar views that we have too often taken for granted. We headed back to the house for a quick nap and then on the the Dodger game! This is Levi's 3rd game and it was such a special way to spend Father's day. We were exhausted by the time we got back home but hopefully Dave felt loved and appreciated. Levi and I (and baby #2) are so blessed to have him in our lives. He provides for us in so many countless and thankless ways and never fails to make us laugh. So until Levi is old enough to really say it, Happy Father's Day babe! :)

There was an empty seat next to us at the Dodger game so Levi filled it up. He also filled up on his first Dodger Dog! Levi has recently learned to clap and will take any opportunity he has to show off his newfound skill... a baseball game is the perfect place for that so he entertained our section by clapping along with every play.

And then crashed out in the car on the way out of the parking lot. It's hard work entertaining a crowd of people!

And one little flashback that I found on Dave's phone...

Levi a couple of days old and still in the hospital.
I hardly even remember him being this little!

We're Moving!

2011-06-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's official: Lockridge Land is moving back home! After 5 great years in the South Bay and one (and a 1/2) kid(s), it's time to move closer to family and friends. We found a great house, worked with an awesome realtor and friend and everything is falling into place on the big move. My parents came down to help box up the Redondo house and then Dave, Levi and I drove up to pick up the keys on Friday. We've already been overwhelmed by all the friends that have volunteered to help us with chores, painting and errands and it just helps solidify our bittersweet decision to move. We'll miss so much about the South Bay- amazing friends, a great church and the beach, to name a few- but we know this is the best decision for our growing family.

We're not officially out of the South Bay yet so don't worry. We're up North getting some things done with the new house but we'll be back in time to say our goodbyes and pack the truck and Dave will still be coming to LA regularly so Levi and I will definitely be tagging along!

More pictures to come...

10 Months

2011-06-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel is 10 Months Old!

25 lbs

30 inches

He is off and walking so we've purchased some good walking shoes from Stride Rite and he's loving them. (He's already figured out how to undo the velcro and take them off in the car-- so helpful!) He is loving his new found freedom but he overestimates his abilities a little so we're taking more spills and tumbles these days. All in the name of freedom! He's still a good eater. He's sleeping through the night and taking pretty regular naps.... no complaints from his Mommy there! He's wearing mostly 18 month clothes with the occasional 24 month shirt. He's using Mama and Dada and lots of other consonant/vowel combinations but those are the only two that he seems to be using on purpose. He's beginning to use the sign language signals for "All done" and "more" so I'm going to start introducing a few more. He's waving and clapping and we're working on throwing a ball. For the longest time he favored his left hand (I know it's way too early to know that information, but lots of people commented on his hand dominance) but when picking up a ball he seems to prefer his right hand. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see...

Levi LOVES people! The other night we were at a restaurant and there were two women sitting over his shoulder laughing loudly. He turns around and waves at them as if saying, "Yes, yes, I know, I'm cute." The two women jumped up and had to come and talk to him immediately and just fawned all over him. He eats that attention up! When we were picking out new shoes, the sales person underestimated Levi's walking skills (or thought I was exaggerating) so I pulled him out of the stroller and he took off for the front door and made friends with a couple of ladies walking through the mall. The ladies loved him and the sales person was mighty impressed and showed us the rack of big boy shoes. He's a pretty easy going little guy and he loves attention from anyone willing to offer it.

It was harder to get pictures of him for his 10 month post. I pleaded, I joked, I tickled, I bribed but I mostly got pictures of him crawling over the chair, trying to touch the light behind him, and then ultimately just leaving the room all together. Here are my attempts to show you my huge 10 month old!

About to show off his waving skills.

I got a little too close so he took the glasses right off my face!

Trying to distract him with a book. It sort of worked.

He climbed off the chair and walked out the door. I guess he was all done!

Half Way to Baby #2

2011-06-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

We had our anatomy scan this week and got to see Baby Boy #2's progress. He's right on track and getting big and cuter by the day. It's still amazing to see what they can see during those ultrasounds. "Here's the spleen! All four chambers of the heart! All 10 fingers and all 10 toes!" How incredible! He's definitely a boy and proudly showed off for the camera and even the Doctor commented on what an active boy he is. Uh oh! Although I wasn't too surprised since I've been feeling strong kicks for weeks now. We're not wishing the time to pass so quickly this go around but we're definitely getting more and more excited as the days go by. Lockridge Family of Four coming your way soon!

Picture of a photo copy... not the best quality, I know.

Top Left & Right: Profile (We think he already looks like Levi!)

Bottom Left: Little baby foot

Bottom Right: His little boy bits

We love him already!

Camping

2011-06-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Dave and I have been talking and we figured with a family of (soon-to-be) four (with two boys), we would need to branch out on our vacation plans. So we bought a tent and pledged to make it an (at the very least) annual excursion. Our good friends Matt and Becky and Tim and Sheri also packed up their cars and kids and we all headed down to Cardiff-by-the-Sea for our first try as campers with kids. In the days leading up to our trip the kids all got a little sick. We decided to push through, try it out and figured worst case scenario that we could pack it all up and head back home.

3 families, 3 kids, 3 surfboards, 3 bikes, 3 carloads of more stuff than we could ever possibly need on a 2 day camping trip!

While the men set up camp we enjoyed the new sights and lots and lots of dirt.

I requested a fairly large tent that we could grow into. Levi had his own "room" with his pack 'n play and we had enough room on our side for a queen size air mattress. (I'm sure people will say that's not camping but keep in mind that I am 5 months pregnant please!!)

Dinner time!

After dinner stroll along the bluffs.

Up and ready for some surfing!

Levi was ready for his first surf lesson.

Unfortunately our "worst case scenario" came into play. Levi (and the other two kiddos) went right to sleep around 7:30 that night. We all held our breath and couldn't believe our good luck. We enjoyed s'mores by the fire and some great conversation and then called it a night. About a half hour later Levi woke up and refused to go back to sleep. We tried rocking him, more food, cuddling in our bed, a 2am walk around the campsite in the stroller.... no luck. We finally got him back to sleep around 2:30 and he made it until 5:30 when the sun came up. Levi is a 12 hour a night sleeper usually so this poor guy was a wreck the next day. He was definitely not feeling well and wouldn't nap and was making us all a little miserable. Not to mention that this pregnant Mama needs more than three hours of sleep too! We stuck it out through lunchtime and then put him in the car seat and headed back home. He slept the entire way and has been sick ever since. :( We were sad to leave but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. We'll definitely try it again and think that it can (and will) be successful in the future. And we still had a ton of fun with great friends on a new adventure!!!

Levi's First Steps

2011-06-02T08:54:00.001-07:00

South Bay Sunshine

2011-05-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

We watched Kylie for a few minutes last week.
It was my first attempt at two babies at once and we survived! It was a blast for both kids and I snapped this quick picture to show the difference between boys and girls: Kylie is using the blocks as intended and politely putting them in one by one. Levi is climbing all over the caboose like it's a jungle gym and knocking it over and the blocks out of Kylie's hands. All boy!

The next day, I caught Levi "reading" up on his favorite team. Go Dodgers!

Levi loves to swing at the park so we've been walking down and enjoying some family time there. This park is also great for people watching because there is always some sort of football or little league practice going on. Levi was over the swings and instead wanted to learn from the big boys at baseball practice. Put me in coach!

On Friday we headed down to the beach to watch our friend Matt (aka Kylie's Dad) compete in a paddle race from pier to pier. While he worked hard, we enjoyed the sunshine and sand and then we all celebrated with dinner and a late bedtime.

On Monday we celebrated Memorial Day with great friends and food and swimming. Levi loved the water and spending time with girlfriend Stevie! Those two water bugs just floated around all day with their daddies.

A few more fun things happened this weekend that I don't have pictures of but still deserve honorable mention...

-Dave's friend from growing up, Matt, and his wife Kim came to the South Bay and enjoyed some sunshine and pool time with us. We walked around Fiesta Hermosa, ate fair food, swam at the Marriott, ate out, watched movies and had a great time just catching up and spending time with them. Thanks for visiting!

-We got to visit Tim & Sheri's newly remodeled house and celebrate with dinner and playtime for the kids. No pictures, but Levi and Stevie played so great together and followed each other around and shared toys and just seemed to really enjoy each other. It was so fun to see them interacting together!

-Last but not least... we have a WALKER on our hands now!!! Levi has taken a couple of stumbling steps from the coffee table to our arms here and there, but decided to show off for his girlfriend Stevie by walking up a storm all over their living room. Dave and I were both shocked and thankfully Sheri pulled out her video camera so we do have proof! We'll get that video from her (hopefully edit out my annoying voice) and post that as soon as we can. In the meantime we're practicing and pulling out some new shoes for our little walker. Way to go Levi!!!

It's A...

2011-05-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!

Last weekend we gathered up both sets of Grandparents and headed over to the local 3D ultrasound place to find out what baby #2 is going to be. We all had our guesses--I've been saying boy since the day I found out I was pregnant because I feel exactly the same as I did with Levi. We were put into a large room with a flat screen tv and in no time at all the ultrasound tech had our little peanut up on the big screen. Dave asked her to put it up so that we could all guess what it was, and it took him about 0.23 seconds to shout out "It's a BOY!" We all looked at the tech, waiting for her to tell us if he was right or wrong, and she said Dave was right... it's definitely another boy for the Lockridge family! We love him already and can't wait for our two boys to meet and be the bestest of friends!

Dave, Levi and Grandpa & Grandma Lockridge

Grandma & Grandpa Harden

An excited Mommy!

"Levi's Brother" :)

SURPRISE!

2011-05-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

A little surprise is what God threw our way this spring... the Lockridges are expecting baby #2!!!

We are incredibly excited to be welcoming our new little one in October and to say we were surprised is the understatement of the year. On a sunny February day, after multiple friends told me they had had a dream about me being pregnant, I told Dave there might be a teeny, tiny chance that I actually was. He asked if I had taken a pregnancy test yet but I told him I wasn't ready to know. (That completely logical rationale alone should have given us a clue! Haha!) He convinced me that now was the perfect time to check and so we found out, within seconds, that we would be welcoming baby Lockridge #2 into our family. Our official due date is October 23rd but because this pregnancy is so close to our last we will be picking a c-section date sometime in the two weeks before that. We waited so long to announce our news to the world because we wanted to make sure to tell our families in person and the first time that opportunity presented itself was Easter lunch. Dave made the announcement before we prayed for our meal and everyone thought he was joking. (It does seem like something he might joke about...but not this time!) Once our families knew and we made a round of phone calls, it was finally time to announce it to the world. It was a surprise, but definitely one of the BEST surprises we could ever be given and we're feeling amazingly blessed to welcome a new little one into our family. Let the next adventure begin!

9 Months

2011-05-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel is 9 months old!

It seems like the days keep going by faster and faster and Levi keeps growing and growing! Every day he learns and discovers something new and he definitely keeps us on our toes. He is a super fast crawler and is so inquisitive. It's comical to watch him crawl over and under things and then get himself stuck like he does with our kitchen chairs at least once a day. He's started using his little walker to toddle across the living room and has also found that lots of things slide along our hardwood floors like the wooden bench/stool and a big box of diapers. He can push those around and walk behind it and has even figured out that he can push it up against something (the chair, the couch, the bookshelf) and use it to climb up. Super exciting for him, a little scary for his mommy! He and Hannity have also figured out they can actually play together and so she'll bring her toy to him and play a little game of tug-o-war. It is the most precious thing and something I definitely need to get on video. Levi also seems to think that he's playing a modified game of hide-and-seek with her but I don't think she's quite clued in yet. Levi loves reading books and is usually kept amused in the car by his "Big Cuddley Farm Book" with open and close flaps and crinkly barn doors. That and the kids worship cd that is in the stereo at all times. I try to change the station, and sometimes can get a good amount of other music in, but as soon as he's fussy we pop in that cd and those children's voices soothe him instantly. (It's a little crazy and this Mommy is a little over our particular cds; however, if it works it works!) Levi is still eating like a champ and willing to try new foods and he is a GREAT sleeper. I know there was a little while when I thought it would never happen but, praise the Lord, my baby is scheduled napper and a twelve-hour-a-night sleeper. I just LOVE him! :) We have our official 9 month doctor appointment next week so I'll wait to record his "stats," till then we'll just keep watching this baby grow, grow, grow!

Look at my two bottom teeth!

Levi and his best friend Hannity.

Levi LOVES books!

Flying Kites

2011-05-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Lockridge were in town last week for a work function too and got to stop by on Saturday to spend some time with us. The request was to go to the beach and fly kites so we packed up our beachy stuff and headed down to the Redondo Pier for a walk, a quick peak in the kite shop, some Hot Dogs on a Stick and funnel cakes and then down to the beach for fun in the sand/ mini workout for Dave!

Levi got to break in his new sand toys from the Easter Bunny!

I tried to get a glimpse of his handsome face but between that silly hat, his sand toys and the kites-- I was not very interesting to look at. So we went with the pensive far-away look. :)

Checking out the kites with Grandpa.

Chewing on my shovel.

Watching Grandma fly her kite!

Toes in the sand.
I couldn't resist those chubby little feet!

More fun with Grandpa and the kite streamer!

We had so much fun packed in to such a little amount of time. Thanks for visiting and coming up with a great idea! Levi and I didn't work very hard to get those kites in the air (Daddy and Grandpa ran up and down the beach a few [dozen] times!) but we sure enjoyed the efforts! We're definitely looking forward to some beach days in the near future!

L.A. Zoo

2011-05-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we went to the L.A. Zoo for Levi's 1st trip to see the animals. My folks were in town for a business meeting so we used the next day for some fun. Dave had big meetings for work so he didn't get to join us this time, but I'm sure we'll go back real soon!

Grandpa and Levi checking out the Elephants. These seemed to be Levi's favorites!

Mom and Levi in front of the giraffes.
It was pretty hot and we were all getting a little tired at this point!

Conked out in his stroller... this never happens! :)

He woke up in time to find us all enjoying a cold treat and just had to join in.

To say he enjoyed sharing Grandpa's ice cream cone would an understatement!

The zoo was a hit and we would totally go back! Who wants to come with us?

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

We had such an awesome Easter weekend filled with family, friends, parties and food! We got to spend two nights at Charlie & Christina's new house in Fresno, we celebrated my Grandma's birthday (a little belatedly) and finished up the weekend with both sides of the family having an Easter lunch together in Fresno. We had so much fun and Levi enjoyed all the love and attention he received from all his favorite people.

Here's our weekend in pictures:

Playing with cousins Ashley and Jack.
Levi LOVED trying to keep up with these two "big" kids!

My little garbage disposal. He easily ate his weight in chicken this weekend.

Sarah, Megan, Alison

Crawling in the grass

The birthday woman! Happy Birthday Grandma!

Sisters :)

Grammy and Levi

I love the look of adoration on Levi's little face. He sure loves his cousin Ashley!

Attempt at a family picture

We woke up Easter morning at my parent's house in Modesto and the Easter bunny had visited and left some eggs filled with Puffs and Yogurt Melts. Levi was in heaven! We headed to Atwater to go to Dave's parents' church and then packed up again for lunch in Fresno with the bro & sis-in-law and her side of the family. It was so much fun to have the Lockridges, Hardens and Nordmans all in one place for a holiday. We love them all!

Getting some cuddles with Uncle Brandon

Mesmerized by Uncle Charlie's fish tank

Chowing down on some of Dad's food

I forget the actual head count but there were at least 20+ people celebrating Easter from all sides of the family.

Getting loved on by both his Grandmas. What a lucky boy!

Enjoying some of his Easter treasures

And a new book!

Happy Easter!

We drove home late last night and it's back into the groove already because this is Dave's busy season. We had a blast and are so blessed to get to spend time with our family as we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord. We always feel like these weekend trips are too short and we're sad to go, but I'm definitely looking forward to not having to get into the car to drive somewhere for the next few days! Happy Easter!

8 Months

2011-04-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel is 8 Months Old!

According to our home scale, he's weighing in at a whopping 23 lbs. and growing bigger every day. He's so much fun to be around and has really begun to enjoy exploring his surroundings. He is content to play with his toys, crawl under anything he can get to (the coffee table, kitchen table, chairs, the dog crate...) and he is cruising with the use of furniture and legs and walls and stairs. He certainly doesn't sit still for long! The baby gates have been a huge help but the second there is a door open to a place where he's not supposed to be (the front door, garage door, bathroom door) he is in speed racer mode to the nearest exit and I'm in hot pursuit trying to beat him there. His newfound freedom is so exciting for us to watch but our little baby is still there a bit as he always is looking around for our approval and full attention as he attempts each new thing. He often will get to where he wants to be or do something he thinks it pretty cool and then turn and smile at us as though he saying, "Did you see me? Are you watching? I'm pretty good!" It sure makes my heart happy! He is still eating like a champ and some days I think he puts away more food than I do. He loves anything he can feed himself but is especially loving peas & carrots, blueberries, edamame and any kind of cracker I put in his hand. I don't think we're ever going to have to worry about his eating habits, in fact, everyone keeps warning us about our grocery bill when he turns 16! Daddy gave him another haircut last week (Thanks to Mike & Crista's suggestion about using a beard trimmer instead of full sized clippers. That was a HUGE help and a much smoother and less tear-filled experience.) and he's getting pretty good at the baby boy fade. And I thought for sure he we were going to have to get Levi some baby dentures but he finally is breaking in two teeth this past week. It sure seems to be slow going but there are definitely two little white teeth poking in those bottom gums. Our baby boy is certainly a baby no longer and we're loving his sweet and playful personality coming through more and more every day.

Standing up in the chair while still checking to see if Dad is watching.

New Toys

2011-04-11T09:35:00.001-07:00

We had been putting off the purchase of a new backpack for awhile but tried out the Baby Bjorn one more time and realized that Levi was truly pushing its limits. So this Saturday we went to REI and used our co-op dividend check and the handy 20% off coupon and walk away with this bad boy. From the second we tried it on in the store and throughout our entire hike, Levi had a huge smile on his face. He "talked" incessantly and loved being able to touch (pull on) Daddy's ears and hair. We managed to go a pretty good distance and we all agreed this was a great purchase! We're looking forward to many more opportunities to use it in the future.

Crawling, Climbing, Cheering

2011-03-31T11:12:00.001-07:00

When Levi puts his mind to something he sure does it! Once he decided to crawl it was on. Now there's not an obstacle that can stop him from getting where he wants. He's everywhere and he is fast! We bought some baby gates for the stairs and those have already come in handy. Now we're just wondering what else is a necessity as far as babyproofing goes? Can we just keep doors closed (like to the bathrooms) or do we need to babyproof the toilets too? We will obviously pull up any cords and plug up the extra outlets but then what else? There are so many schools of thought about babyproofing EVERYTHING or NOTHING but what's a realistic in between?

Here's my smarty pants who figured out that he can stand up in his crib. We've had quite a few days of no/terrible naps and he seems to have calmed down with the standing in the crib except when he's up from his nap. Then he's all smiles and so proud of himself.

Look Mom! Who needs a nap?

My crawler wants to follow Hannity where ever she goes.

Last night we drove out to Azusa to watch Fresno Pacific play Azusa Pacific in baseball. Dave helped start their baseball program when he was there a few years ago. This was a great excuse to get out of the house, enjoy the nice weather and, of course, see Auntie Sarah!

Taking a little tour of campus we found this gem of a statue. Cornelius & Levi just hanging out on the Cougar Walk.

We spent a couple of innings in the stands and then pulled out our beach blanket and played in the grass. Levi loved every minute of it and kept himself pretty entertained with all the attention from the crowd, the clapping and cheering, the really great (not so great) music and the GAME!

Every day with our almost 8 month old is exciting and our lives are so much fuller with him in them. Where has the time gone?!

Monday Catch Up

2011-03-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy couple of weeks in Lockridge land. Dave's been traveling for work (and fun) so Levi and I have made quite a few trips North to visit with Grammy and Grandpa. He's been eating new foods, practicing his crawling skills and dealing with a couple of sicknesses along the way. He's such a trouper and enjoys the car as long as there is someone in the back to keep him company. Here's a few of my favorite pictures of some milestones from the last couple of weeks and a video of his climbing skills...

He's finally figured out how to put his pacifier in his own mouth, unfortunately, he got confused when he wanted to eat his puffs at the same time. Silly boy!

Looking good in Dodger blue!
The hat we bought him (and made him wear at his first Dodger's game) finally fits.

Practicing his standing up and walking.

Uncle Bryan had snacks on the table so Levi crawled to investigate.

Levi finally figured out how to crawl this week! He went from inch-worming his way around, to crawling, to speed crawling in a matter of days. I brought him home and he was showing off his skills for Daddy and headed straight for our stairs. They he proceeded to climb up the stairs. Our lives are certainly going to change and I guess we are past due for baby-proofing the house!

Standing Up

2011-03-20T09:52:00.001-07:00

Levi has been pulling himself up to a standing position for a few weeks now, so we thought it was time to get him a toy that he could stand and push. We found this awesome train that has a ton of alphabet blocks and songs and has handles to push and even a caboose to ride on. He LOVES it! It's so fun to watch him learn new things and enjoy his newfound freedom.

Go Dodgers!

2011-03-18T20:15:00.001-07:00

Dave drove out to sunny Arizona to watch some spring training baseball and Levi and I drove up North to hang out with my family. I sure wish we were all together this weekend but I know both of my boys are rooting for our Dodgers wherever they are! I love those two!!!

7 Months

2011-03-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Levi Daniel is 7 months old!

He is growing so fast and learning new things every day. He's talking constantly (babbles, squeals, squeaks and belly laughs), he's moving all over the place and he's trying lots of new foods. As of his 7 month birthday (two weeks ago... I'm running a little late!) he still wasn't officially crawling but he sure was trying hard. He could get up on all fours, rock back and forth, make some forward and backward motion, but not officially, traditionally crawling. He would sometimes work at it if we had a really cool toy that he could go towards but his best efforts were when his Daddy was sitting a few steps away. Levi is learning how to pull himself up to a standing position while playing on the floor with us. He'll grab whatever he can (hair, clothes, faces) and then get up on his chubby little feet and then he wants to let go. He is so proud of himself! He seems pretty over the exersaucer and instead prefers to eat his cheerios while standing and holding on to the outside of it. Crazy kid! He's begun to feed himself little pieces of food like peas, cheerios and little pieces of toast. He really enjoys being in his high chair and we can usually get a few minutes to eat lunch or dinner ourselves as long as the supply of food keeps coming on his tray. We haven't found much that he won't eat but he definitely has preferences from day to day. It's so fun to see his little personality coming through already. He's doing a great job of sleeping through the night these days and his bed time is inching closer and closer to the 7 o'clock hour. It's definitely been nice for us to have a schedule and some down time in the evenings to get things done. It has been a great month and we're already half way into the next one!

Inching towards the camera. He does NOT sit still!

Most of my pictures were of this. His back side, his forehead or his hands as he tried to tumble off the chair.

Practicing getting that belly off the floor!

His famous swim techniques.
We can always tell when he's done on his stomach because his arms and legs flap about as though he is swimming. Who knows? Maybe he'll be in the Olympics... I was on the swim team in high school you know... for one year... :)

The Big 3-0!

2011-03-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Dave turned 30! He hit this big milestone without much of a protest claiming that he was feeling pretty good about his life and where he is in it. Well said Dave! He has accomplished so much in his 30 years and has had a ton of fun doing it. We got to celebrate him a little bit on his actual birthday and we're going to celebrate some more this weekend with a little over night trip to San Diego. Last Saturday he woke up to a happy baby (who slept through the night!), banana pancakes and homemade lattes, a quick shopping trip to Santa Monica and dinner at the Union Cattle Company with a great group of friends. We had Levi in tow so we wanted to find a restaurant that could house a big group inside (it was supposed to rain) and be loud enough that the kids wouldn't make a scene. Success! We had great food, lots of laughs and we made it through our first restaurant meal with 5 kids! It was an adventure!

The birthday boy and his little man looking good!

With a group of 22 of some of our closest friends, Levi to feed and corral, and the excitement of the evening, I only took three pictures. They're not even that good. Oh well. You'll just have to put up with my feeble attempts to document the dinner and just realize that the fewer the pictures = the greater the fun!

Ben, (Amy who is hidden in this picture), Brandon, Tim, Jonathan & Lacey
All listening to Dave tell a very funny story!

Matt and Wes
I'm sure this was something witty that I said. Haha, ok it was probably Dave again!

Proof that we had the kids! (Minus the Souders who had just left)
Alison & McKenna, Krista & Abigail, Me & Levi, Becky & Kylie.

It was a great night and we really appreciate all of our friends who came out to help us celebrate Dave's birthday. These are the people that make the South Bay our home and we love living life with them. I think I can speak for Dave in saying that he is very blessed in this life that he leads, and we are very blessed for getting to live it with him! I love him very much and so does Levi! Happy 30th Birthday Dave!!!

Next up, our first night away from Levi and another celebration in San Diego! Woo hoo!

Long Beach Aquarium

2011-02-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago we went to the Long Beach Aquarium with our good friends, the Smarts. Levi loves fish (thanks to Uncle Charlie's really cool fish tank) and it was definitely a hit. He loved all the tanks that had the bright colored, salt water fish and was fearless when it came to trying to touch things in the sting ray tank (don't worry Grandma, he didn't actually touch any fish just some cold water)!

Kylie & Levi

He wasn't too sure of this big guy.
(Thanks for this great shot Becky!)

Family Photo in front of the sea lion tank.

Watching the sea lions with Daddy.

Waiting to make his move on the sting rays.

All boy!

It was a really fun day and some place I'm sure we'll be back to many times to entertain the kids. Thanks Smart family, for the great idea and a fun afternoon!

6 Months

2011-02-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Levi is 6 Months Old!

20 lbs.

28 inches

90th percentile across the board.

This little tank is still growing! He's had a pretty great month despite having his first real cold. His reflux seems to be getting under control, he's mastering the art of solid foods and is sleeping a little better. He is on a pretty good schedule these days (that he seems to have come up with himself) and it is making our days a little more predictable. He has figured out how to roll wherever he wants to go and is still using that as a mode of transportation. We think he's about to crawl any day now, but after spending two weeks up in Modesto he didn't get much time on the floor to practice! He has figured out how to pull himself up on the bumper in his crib so when I went in to pick him up from nap times I could see his little head poking above the rail. Needless to say, we moved his crib down to the lowest setting. It didn't seem to phase him but it definitely makes it a little harder on his short mom. He is squealing at everything and I'm constantly thinking that strange people are smiling and waving at me only to realize it's the little flirt in my arms. He's eating three solid meals a day and still loving his apples. I'm making most of his food and have found it to be fun and pretty easy to do. We also picked up some Gerber puffs and figured it was a little early to start him with them but he picked them up with his two chubby little fingers and proceeded to feed himself... guess he's ready! He has had a couple of weeks of great sleeping (10+ hours a night) and then he goes back to bi-nightly wake ups. I think he's just that child that needs some extra attention in the middle of the night. Thankfully, he usually goes right back down after a quick snuggle or a quick feed. It definitely could be worse. He is getting more interactive every day and my favorite time with him is when he first wakes up and is super smiley and talkative or at the end of the day when we get to lay on the floor and roll around and wrestle with Daddy.

It's hard to take a picture (or do anything Levi related) without Hannity wanting in on the action.

Auntie Sarah came to visit for the afternoon and helped get these great pictures!

Auntie Sarah trying to entice a crawl out of our little mover.

From sitting to all fours. He's got the rocking back and forth motion but so far no forward movement.
(Also notice his little bandaids from his 6m shots yesterday :(. )

So close! Any day now and he'll find something he's interested in enough to move for. My guess is it will be the dog!

Valentines Surprise

2011-02-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

Dave and I had been apart for the past two weeks so it was fitting that our first weekend back home together was Valentines Day weekend. It was so nice to see him and give him our tile surprise but my favorite part of getting him home was watching how excited he was to run upstairs and look at Levi in his crib. I put Levi to bed before I picked Dave up at the airport (my Dad and brother were still in town to watch him) and so Dave missed out on seeing his smiley face. So he quietly crept into his room and picked him and cuddled him for a few minutes before he was ready to come back downstairs. I just melted!

On Saturday we just played catch up around the house--laundry, cleaning, relaxing, enjoying each other's company. I had some leftover cleaning to do from our demo and in the very back portion of my cabinet I found my old espresso maker (thanks Mom & Dad for christmas circa 2002!) and crepe maker! We figured out how to work it and enjoyed quite a few (too many) homemade lattes. We've been together long enough (this was our 8th V day) to know the way to each other's hearts... For me= the bright red tulips that were sitting on our kitchen table when he got back from running errands. For him= the chicken cordon bleu I made him for dinner that night. That's LOVE! :)

We went to church on Sunday which is always nice when we've been away. The ladies in the nursery were excited to see Levi and he seems excited to be there. After the service they gave us this craft that all the kids made:

A lovely little Valentines Day poem...

And then what we can only assume was supposed to be a picture of his hand???
We think his chubby little foot is cute too, but it doesn't make much sense like this! :)

I knew Dave had also made surprise dinner plans. (I wasn't snooping, it was cryptically written "dinner" on our shared google calendar!) My sister showed up Sunday afternoon to babysit Levi (thanks again Sarah!) and Dave told me we had to be dressed and out the door by 5:15. (Which, btw, I was a little concerned that we're getting so old that we had to have dinner reservations at 5:30 on a Sunday night!) He told me we could walk to where we were going so as we walked down our street he kept trying to get me to guess. I was doing a horrible job guessing so we just enjoyed our walk together and then all of a sudden I looked into a storefront window and saw people we knew! Our friends Krista and Dave were standing inside the place that offers cooking classes. For a split second I thought "coincidence" and then three more couples arrived and we knew our men had been in on the planning together. It was such a fun night of laughing and eating and even a little cooking. We learned how to make breadsticks, a salad, this fantastic eggplant dish, shrimp scampi and a chocolate dessert. What a great idea guys!

Dave was an expert chopper!

All the girls:
Krista, Megan, Becky, Alison, Sheri

The whole group.

Home Improvement

2011-02-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

While Dave was out of town my Dad and brother came down to help update our kitchen tile. It was about 30 years old and looked like it! We got into town on Tuesday at 3pm and worked until Dave got home on Thursday night. It was a TON of work but I'm really pleased with the results.

The Before.
Old, off-white tile, rusted sink and faucet with calcification on it. No amount of scrubbing made this kitchen sparkle.

All wrapped up and ready for demo!

We demo'd into open cabinets and had to start from scratch.

Working the power tools!

Finally starting to tile.
(Someone told me that it isn't really work unless someone is wearing their Carharts!)

Bryan came just in the nick of time to be our expert tile cutter.

A shiny new sink and faucet.

Did I mention that Levi "helped" too?!

The finished product.

The best part of the whole remodel!!

Thanks Dad and Bryan for all your hard work to get this done before Dave got home-- he was so surprised!

Work Travel

2011-02-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

While Dad's on work travel, Mom and Levi get to play at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Dave was out of town for two weeks and we went to stay with my folks for the week. We got to see Uncle Charlie and Auntie Christina's new house, we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Lockridge, we took lots of walks with the dogs, turned 6 months old and enjoyed our time in Modesto.

We checked to see if Levi could use the headphones in the car. (We were getting a little tired of his kids worship music!) Turns out that he liked the headphones and even gave us a little thumbs up!

Playing with cousin Ashley. She found a basket of balls and decided he could fit in it. She's about the become a big sister to a second baby brother so she knows all about what little boys like!

Aunt Sharon and Uncle Lance's house is always fun because they have so many toys. Here's Levi checking out the swing for the first time. He has the basketball ball in hand because he's ALL boy!

Dad may have been gone but we made sure Levi watched his first Superbowl with Grandpa!

Visiting with Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma.

Grandpa rode back to LA with us. Here was our impromptu lunch at the Flying J truck stop in Bakersfield. Levi did so well on the ride home!

We came home a few days early to do a little surprise home improvement project for Dave... Pictures to follow!

Happy 1/2 Birthday

2011-02-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

He loves his jumperoo!

Trying to figure out these big boy toys. Who's having more fun: Daddy or Levi?

A flash back from Del Osso Farms. (Thanks Jessica!) We know he's not close to walking but sometimes it feels like we should be able to put him down and let him go. Soon enough...

Modeling Uncle Charlie's Fantasy Football Trophy.

He's been so interested in drinking from our cups so we got him his very own. I'm not sure that he's actually gotten anything out of it yet but he's learning.

Loves hanging out with his Daddy!

We're not using his infant car seat to carry him around anymore so this new high chair cover is coming in handy. He loves sitting up and being a part of the action but was wondering why he wasn't allowed to eat any of our Chipotle!

Looking cool in his glasses for our morning walk.

Enjoying the empty seat next to us at the Kings game last night.

Just when we think he's such a big boy, he curls up and falls asleep in your arms like our baby used to do.
I live for these moments! :)

Hope you're having a great week! We're finally feeling a little better over here. Still a little stuffy and lethargic but definitely better. Thanks for the kind words and prayers!

Sick Baby

2011-01-22T10:51:00.001-08:00

This has been a bummer week in Lockridge land. We put Levi to bed on Sunday perfectly content and healthy only to have him wake up at 1am with a fever and a cold. He spent most of the week miserable and then so graciously shared his germs with both of his parents. We have gone through lots of Tylenol and tissues and had lots of cuddles and sleepless nights. (Wait, aren't you supposed to want to sleep MORE when you're sick?? Not my child apparently!) We're slowly recuperating and getting back to the land of the living. It's no fun having a sick kid and it's even less fun when you're sick too... Who's going to take care of me? :) Here's hoping we're on the upswing of this nasty virus!

We're starting to see glimpses of this smiley kid again. We sure missed him this week!

Levi's Dedication

2011-01-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we were able to dedicate Levi to the Lord at our home church here in Redondo Beach. Both sides of our family came down to help us celebrate this event in our little guy's life and we felt so loved and blessed. Here is our fun weekend in photos:

The picture that we turned in to have on the big screen.

Mom, Levi & Dad getting ready to go in to church.

Levi with Grandma & Grandpa Lockridge

High fives with Grandpa Harden

The Hardens

The Lockridges

He fell asleep before it was our turn to go up!

Getting prayed for by Pastor Glen

This is a little out of order, but we got to do some other fun things this weekend too. The weather was so nice so we headed out to the beach on Saturday morning for a little volleyball and sunshine.

We hope he grows big and tall like his Daddy so he can be good at volleyball too!

Enjoying the beach for the first time! He sand was a big hit, the cold water was not so much.

On Sunday after the service we went to Tin Roof for lunch and then went up the Getty Museum for some culture and found an excuse to just enjoy the sunshine.

Getting some sun at the Getty.

We ended our Sunday with a yummy dinner at C&O's and then all the family left on Monday morning. A couple of great big shout outs: to the Bakers for letting half of our crazy family crash at their place for a couple of nights, for Charlie & Christina for making the last minute decision to drive down and be with us for the weekend, for Tim for being our go-to guy for some Lockridge family pictures and to my Mom for sharing her birthday weekend with all the madness. It was so much fun to have everyone here at one time! Thanks for driving down and being with us for this special moment in Levi's life. (The church is going to send out a video of the service so I'll try to edit it down and post that when we get it.)