Well it's about time...

That I updated my blog. I have found myself out-of-control busy lately and finding time or "making time" for my blog fell on the back burner. We have been busy these last few months, but instead of just barreling my way through the past events I thought that I would include a few pictures of the kids and then brainstorm many of the events that occured during the last time that I made an entry.

• Levi's 1st Birthday
• Grandma and Pappa's visit
• Alex starting preschool
• The car wrecks
• Trip to Utah
• Family pictures in CO
• Surprise visit to VA
• Alex's 1st Primary program
• Alex's swim lessons
• Kids at work
• Sarah wears make-up for the first time
• Dance Fever

Levi

Here are a few pictures of Levi. Taken around 6 months old.

He had his 6 month appointment a little late and was 28 inches long (90th %) and 19 lbs. (75th %). He is a big boy and really enjoys being doted on by his big brother and sister. He is very vocal and can say mama. He is the first one of our children to say that. The other two said dada first. I love his bright blue eyes and he gets compliments on them all the time while we are out. He has four teeth now and is starting to enjoy eating table foods. He decided that he preferred a bottle to nursing and weaned himself a few months ago. He sits up by himself and loves the attention that is is given by all of his family. He is by far the most vocal of the kids. He will squeal and loves to get and give kisses. He is very affectionate and is a social bug. His smiles melt my heart and I love him so much. He is such a blessing from Heavenly Father.

The Trampoline

A few months ago we got a trampoline for the kids to enjoy the *few* weeks of nice weather that we have here in Texas. ;0) My friend Meggan got one at the same time for her daughter's upcoming birthday. We were so excited to get it that she talked me into setting it up right after we got it home. We read the weight on the box and decided that we could do it together. Well the weight that we read on the box was in kg not pounds. But with a few trips to and from the car we managed to get it into the backyard.

Where were the 5 kids you ask? They were helping us and eating some Happy Meals that we got on the way home from the store. It was *fun* setting up the trampoline and the kids were so excited to have it done that they jumped for 2 hours after it was done. Meggan and I learned some tricks for putting it together, so that when the next trampoline is ready for assembly, we can share them with our husbands for a small price.

BIg Sister, Big Brother

With Alex in preschool during the morning, Sarah gets to have some one- on-one time with Levi Lou (his nickname from the family). She will play with him and feed him his bottle. She just dotes on him and is very concerned with him when he is crying. I love your caring and gentle nature.

And not to be outshined, Alex is a fantastic big brother. he is very good to play with and entertain Levi during the "witching hour " of the day ( between 4pm and when Daddy returns from work). He will sing to him, give him love, and try and play with him while I am fixing dinner. Yesterday he played with him for 30 minutes while I was getting dinner ready. What a fantastic big brother you are Alex. I am amazed by you everyday.

Sarah's First Haircut

I know that this is a few months old, but I guess better late than never. Eric had been wanting me to cut Sarah's hair to give her bangs because she was constantly pushing it out of her face. He said he counted her doing it something like 25 times in a minute. So with two really wanting them, I took Sarah and got a bang trim and now she doesn't have to worry as much about keeping them out of her eyes. Here are a few pictures of her "new" old do.

Sarah and Naps

Sarah is kind of fickle with her nap time. Why should she want to take a nap because she is afraid that she will miss something important that big brother is doing. He doesn't take a nap so why should she? Because this will happen....
In the afternoon when it supposed to be nap time sometimes it is too quiet I stumble onto a scene like this. A girl with so much to do and no time to rest. Recently she has gotten better at going down for a nap and that make for a much more pleasant evening for everyone.

The Look

Alex has this funny look that I think is hysterical. I get a bellyache from laughing at this look that I chance to see every now and then. He is one expressive kiddo. I get a chuckle from him each day. Here is the LOOK:
You see what I mean? Did I catch you laughing at it too?

All About Me and Preschool

Alexander has been going to a preschool at a local high school since October and loves it! He has been getting more and more self-control. He is learning so much and his favorite thing besides snack is doing science experiments.
Each week one child has the opportunity to create and present a poster about themselves and their favorite activities. As parents you are invited and encouraged to come and visit them during the day. It was Alex's week to present his All about Me poster and it was fun to see him at school and what his day is like while he is away from me. He still has a difficult time speaking and looking at people when he is talking especially if he is retelling a story. It was fun none the less to see him having fun and learning. I can't believe that he is growing up so fast and is leaving the little boy stage all too soon for my taste. Here are some pictures from his preschool day.

Levi is Four Months Old

Levi turned 4 months old today. He is so fun to be around. He gets very excited and his eyes get big in anticipation of what will happen next. He is doing better at sleeping more at night. He wakes up usually once about 2 in the morning and nurses then goes back to sleep. Sometimes he wakes up about 5 am, nurses and then goes back to sleep until about 7:30.
He still doesn't like taking baths, or having his diaper changed. He is a very social baby and will cry if it is dinner time and is sitting in his swing. He wants Eric or me to hold him while we are eating so that he can be at the table with the rest of the family.
I started feeding Levi some rice cereal because he was waking up more frequently at night. Having him start that has helped him sleep better at night.
He has big beautiful blue eyes that are very expressive like Alex's were, but he has more of Sarah's coloring. We go into the Dr in a few weeks for his checkup, so we will see how he is growing more then.
*** Updated ***
I took Levi into the doctor and here are his stats
He was:

• Weight 15 1/2 lbs- 50th %
• Length- 90th %
• Head size- 90th %

Answers to Prayers

Just yesterday I was sitting and talking to Eric and he looked at me and said, "Where is your diamond?"
I looked down at my engagement ring and was staring at it in disbelief. The center stone broke off and was missing. We began to search everywhere for the missing diamond. We searched and searched for it, trying to think if I had banged it somewhere on something. We could not find it.
That night we were saying our family prayers and I asked Alex to say a prayer that we would find the diamond. He included it in his prayer, and I really was lacking faith. I thought that it was impossible for us to find. I thought that the only way for us to get the ring back the way it was before was to buy a new stone.
I have to admit that I had been short with the kids and not very pleasant to be around. We were getting ready for church and Levi had been crying and so I picked him up ready to nurse him, but after a few minutes he was content and so I went to set him down on his playmat. I looked down and there was my diamond. I could not believe it. It was as if someone was forcing my eyes to look at a certain spot. There it was laying right there.
The miracle happened and a prayer was answered. I do have a testimony that prayers are answered and that the Lord is in the details of our lives. He didn't have to answer my prayers to find the diamond, but he did because he knew that it was important to me. We stopped right them and offered a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father for answering our prayers. I learned a valuable lesson that day, to never think that nothing is impossible with the Lord's help. It was truly a lesson that I needed to learn and a powerful one that taught Alex (and me) that Heavenly Father does hear and answer prayers.

Locks for Love

I have been growing my hair out for a very long time and about a month ago I got it cut really short and am sending my ponytail to locks. So that someone else can use it. I must admit, I love having short hair again and I don't know if I will be having long hair anytime relatively soon. The ponytail was about 12 inches that was chopped off. I love not having my hair up in a bun or ponytail everyday. Here are the before and after pictures. It was just cut and not styled yet. I don't have any pictures of that right now, but hopefully in the next few posts you can see the new do with it being styled "my way". In the past few weeks I have gotten lots of compliments about it.