Thankful

We had another busy weekend as Grandma and Grandpa Lockridge came to town for a few days, we celebrated another 1st birthday and enjoyed another weekend of warm weather. We didn't get very many pictures so we'll have to raid Grandma and Grandpa's camera when we see them this week. We're really trying to take Levi along with us as we do things and go places and he seems to be pretty flexible as long as he gets a really good nap here and there. I'm not sure if he'll always be this flexible but for now we're really enjoying this stage.

With Grandma and Grandpa enjoying the beautiful weather.

Levi has always been a great sleeper- he goes down easily, he naps really well, he goes right back to sleep in the middle of the night- but his mom is definitely ready for sleeping through the night to be the norm not the exception. I think we're inching towards that goal but it sure seems slow going. We've had about four or five nights of 7+ hour stretches and even two nights of 8 1/2 hours, but then the very next day we're back to a random wake up at 3 or 4 hours. We're definitely down to one feed at night so it could be much worse but, boy oh boy, am I ready.

Napping with Daddy. I love his sleeping face!

We are officially gearing up for the holiday season and we're taking off a whole week to go North for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited to take Levi home and share in our very first Thanksgiving as a family of three. We have so much to be thankful for this year that my heart feels overwhelmed so I thought I would write down a few big ones.

-Family- We have the most amazing families in the world. Two sets of parents (and Grandparents now!) that love us and our son unconditionally. They are awesome examples of the parents we would like to be and we're learning a greater appreciation for them daily. We're also so blessed to have my sister Sarah live so close and be such a great Auntie and come and visit and babysit. She is one of my favorite people in the world and Levi is so lucky to have her around. We have loved having Charlie and Christina finally living on the West coast and have loved getting to see them more often this year already. What a fun holiday this will be with them as a married couple. And my brother Bryan is one awesome Uncle too! He always makes Levi laugh on Skype and he's brought around a pretty awesome girl that we've all fallen in love with too.

-Levi- I am overwhelmed daily by the gift that we've been given. I'm thankful that he's here and healthy and that I'm already getting little glimpses into the boy he's going to be. I know I'm biased, but I think he's just the cutest and smartest little boy ever and I LOVE that I get to stay home and be with him every day.

-Dave- Life isn't always easy and there are bumps along the way, but I'm so glad that I chose a man like Dave to go at it with me. He's such a hard worker and provider that I am able to stay home with our son. He is so fun loving it's contagious and he helps me to get over myself and join in on the fun of life. He makes me laugh. Every day. And now I get to watch him become a Dad. What an incredible experience it is to watch someone transform before your eyes. I love Dave and I love Levi but there is something so special about watching your husband love your child. I'm sure Levi doesn't realize how blessed he is yet, but someday he'll know how awesome his Dad is.

My list of thankfulness could go on forever but that's it for today. What a blessed girl I am!

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!