PV Weekend

This past weekend we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and head out to our favorite spot in Palos Verdes: the Trump Golf Course. We hadn't taken Levi on our little hike down to the ocean yet so we packed him up in the Bjorn and brought Hannity (of course) and headed out to see some great views.

Hiking with Daddy

Our attempt at a family picture. On the far right you can actually see Hannity too!

Then on Sunday we went to the Terranea Resort to explore another side of the little cove and have some lunch. That place is AMAZING! It would make no sense for us to go and stay there (and it's costs an arm and a leg) but, wowzers, it is incredible. We had lunch outside with ocean views and then walked around the paths. We even saw a huge pod of dolphins swimming by. If anyone wants to come and visit us we would love for you to stay there so that we can use their amenities too!

After lunch at Terranea.

Then we had our 3 month appointment with the pediatrician and got a couple more shots. He did great, a little yelp and then lots of smiles for the whole office. We were encouraged to stop swaddling him at night because he's rolling over in his crib now. I'm not quite sure how that is going to go over but it's probably time. And then just to prove how strong he is Levi decided to roll over on the table as the Dr and I were talking about his rolling skills. What a show off! He's definitely growing and pretty far ahead in his developmental milestones and motor skills. The Dr keeps asking us who the athlete in the family is and I just laugh and say "well, it's me, obviously!" Haha, I'll claim those chunky thighs but I think we all know where his strength and athleticism will come from. So the goal is to keep challenging him to move and roll and get stronger and stronger. We're so proud of our little muscle man! The Dr also mentioned that after our next appointment it may be time to start some solid foods so we can keep him growing and satisfied. Looks like by Christmastime we may have another new adventure into the world of rice cereal!

One last picture for the Grandmas! :)

Loving bath time and that "other" baby he sees in the mirror.

3 Months!

Levi turned 3 months on Tuesday! These last 13 weeks have flown by and we are loving this time with our little guy. He's getting so big and changing and learning new things every day! I think because all of these milestones happen so slowly it makes them all seem like such HUGE accomplishments. I know I'm biased, but I am so impressed with him daily and I get so excited every time I think he's figured out something new. Here's a little peek at Levi at 3 months:

Levi Daniel at 3 months

We missed our Tuesday doctor appointment because I had the stomach flu (terrible, terrible, terrible) so I had to reschedule and will know his exact measurements next week but until then our scale at home has him weighing in at a whopping 16 pounds!  He feels huge to us and has already doubled his birth weight. And Dave swears that he's also already half my height... we'll see about that but I do think he's pretty long too!

This is what happens when Daddy is around the help take pictures. :)

Levi is getting stronger by the day. He's loving his tummy time and can almost roll from back to front when he's on his playmat. He rolls around in his crib every night but we're thinking it might be a combination of swaddling and his mattress-- either way it might be time to loose the swaddle. He loves to stand (while we hold him, of course) and always wants to be facing out as we carry him around because he likes to watch people and Hannity. He loves when we sing songs and read books and he babbles right along when we talk to him, but that shouldn't be a surprise with parents like Dave and me! 

I know I've mentioned this before, but Levi loves his Dad! When Dave talks or walks around a room, Levi is fixated on him. We are so blessed that Dave works from home, so whenever he can he takes Levi with him or puts him in his bouncer or his bumbo chair and lets him tag along. Here are a few pictures of our "little Dave":

 Adidas shirt and shorts on. Who knew it would be in the 80's/90's in November??

Levi and Dad just getting some work done.

And getting ready in the morning.

He also loves spending time with Grandpa when he comes to town on business.

Month 3 is going to be a big one for Levi as we get to travel home again to celebrate his 1st Thanksgiving with both of our families. We can't wait!!!

Happy Halloween

Levi's 1st Halloween was a blast! We dressed him up to show him off to some of Dave's coworkers on Friday, then we celebrated Kylie's 1st birthday with a costume party on Saturday and rounded out our Halloween weekend with some trick or treating on Sunday. We had so much fun and Levi did great despite the rather elaborate costume we (ok, Mom) picked out. 

Here is our little Levi the Lion's 1st Halloween weekend:

Our little lion

Dinosaur, Ballerina & Lion at Kylie's birthday party

Pretty content in his overwhelming costume

Hanging with Daddy

Levi the Lion

Levi's 1st art project!
They made this in the church nursery today

Trick or Treating with the Smarts
The Lion and the Lamb-- we were subliminally spreading the gospel tonight! :)

All trick or treated out

Finally resting after an eventful 1st Halloween

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we travelled down to Torrance to go to our very first pumpkin patch. We went with some friends and their kids and had fun taking family pictures of each other. I hope this is the first of many friend experiences that we get to do with our kids! (BTW, I know Levi has been in our lives for twelve weeks now but it still seems surreal to use terms like "our kids" "my son" "Mommy" "Daddy". When did we become parents?! :) )

Our little pumpkin

First Lockridge family trip to the pumpkin patch.

Levi enjoyed time with his Daddy.

And his Mommy.

Group Shot!
Here are the Lockridges, the Smarts and the Holmeses and kids.

Moms & Babies
Becky & Kylie, Sheri & Stevie, Megan & Levi

Levi and Stevie
Stevie was such a trouper but Levi was about to have...

A total meltdown! :)
We need to teach this boy about how lucky he is to be surrounded by such lovely ladies!

And then he conked out in Daddy's arms.

I would say our first pumpkin patch experience was a success. We got the pictures we wanted, had fun with friends and talked about how much bigger they'll all be next year when we come. We didn't even buy a pumpkin this year but no one comes to our house to Trick-or-Treat and we figured Levi was too young to use a knife, next year for sure! 

Go Bulldogs!

We had such a fun, although quick, trip home last weekend! Levi is officially the best car rider in the world. We only had to stop once on the way up and once on the way back. I'm sure all of our trips won't be that easy but this one was a breeze. We made it up to Modesto late Thursday night and got to see the Hardens and go to Grammy's school for the fall festival. We also met up with the Underwood clan at our favorite Mexican restaurant (La Morentia!!!) for dinner with the cousins. 

Hanging out with Uncle Bryan

Trying to stay cool in the Modesto heat with Auntie Alison

Meeting cousin Jack at La Morenita
(With Auntie Julie & Auntie Amy too!)

Then we took off for Fresno on Saturday morning to spend the next two days with the Lockridges. We stopped in Atwater, picked up Grandpa and drove to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Christina's apartment in Fresno. We had some Bulldog Grill (we miss those tri tip sandwiches so much!) and even got to see Fresno State beat New Mexico! Levi did great at the game even though football games are so much louder than the Dodgers game we went to a few weeks ago. There were fireworks going off, a fly over from the air force base and lots and lots of noisy fans but Levi was able to enjoy himself and sleep through most of it. What a champ! 

The best car rider in the world!

Rooting the Bulldogs to a victory!

Getting some quality Grandma & Grandpa time

Auntie Christina & Uncle Charlie have the magic touch getting a 2 month old to sleep in a LOUD stadium

We ran into Auntie Sarah at Home Goods and then at the game!

Loving my new Fresno State sweatshirt! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Lockridge!

Thanks for fun times everyone! We love you and miss you!

Being Crafty

One of our favorite things to do in the South Bay is go to all the free events in the area. Fiesta Hermosa, the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair, the Richmond Street Fair in El Segundo...there are so many. Most of these places have the same types of booths (or the same exact booths) and it's usually the same stuff but it's just a nice excuse to get outside and enjoy our awesome weather and some fair food. As we've walked around this year there have been a few things that I've had my eye on but have been too pricey to buy. I keep telling Dave "I can make that" and he nods his head and says "sure you can honey" and then we move on. Well I finally decided to try out my crafty skills this year and so far so good! I started off with the seashell garland in Levi's room and saved us about $50. 

Then I saw this seashell wreath that they were selling for $68 and I made it for $28.

Then my good friend Becky figured out how to make these awesome onesies! We had a little sewing party at her house last week and learned how to make them. (I also learned how to do a new setting on my sewing machine with only a few user errors!) Again, we were able to save ourselves a few dollars and have a new skill that we can use in the future. And they turned out super cute!

No party at Becky's would be complete without the babies. Here are Levi and Stevie doing what they do best-- SLEEP! Becky's Kylie is way too active to stick around for these guys so she was doing almost-one-year-old things like crawling and eating and playing in her jumper. The kids did such a great job of letting us do our thing that we're already planning our next project.

We also had a great trip home last weekend and have plenty of great pictures to show but I'm still working on getting everything unpacked, cleaned and put away so you'll just have to wait to see our first family Fresno State Bulldogs game!

2 Months

Our little guy is 2 months old! We had his check up today and he is doing great- hitting all his developmental milestones and definitely growing. He also had his very first shots and he handled it like a pro (so did Mommy). Daddy said we could get ice cream afterwards, but I haven't seen any yet...

Height: 23"

Weight: 12 lbs. 10 oz.

Levi at 2 months: He has begun to reach out and grab things on his playmat, he's found his own hands and likes to stare at them, he has awesome control of his neck and is enjoying his tummy time more and more. He even rolled over for the first time on Sunday! (Daddy says that he sort of fell over but Mommy is counting it because he did it a bunch of times. Hey, it's a start, right?!) He is such a happy baby and will smile and talk to anyone who will listen. He's still sitting through the service with us at church and he's started attending Wednesday morning Bible study with me. He's eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day and not much longer at night. He is a great sleeper but his Mommy is so very ready for him to give us some longer stretches in between feedings at night. Fingers crossed, hopefully soon! We think he's pretty awesome and every day is getting more and more fun to watch him learn new things.

This isn't the best picture but I had to show Grammy how blue his eyes are getting. :)

And his famous smile. 

As long as his belly is full then this smile is on his face. Kinda like his Daddy!

One more, had to show his going to church clothes!