The Dayley Fam

Ten Years

2011-07-07T23:06:00.000-07:00

About three minutes before I began writing this, Amanda and I completed our tenth anniversary as a married couple. We spent the day doing all kinds of things to celebrate our tenure as husband and wife including visiting the doctor to diagnose a strep infection, buying cough drops and nasal strips to help ease Amanda discomfort, and enjoying a special dinner with the kids (and not Amanda) at IHOP for funny-faced pancakes. I travel next week so I won't get another crack at an anniversary celebration with my favorite girl for a few days.

The one thing that struck me though is that the anniversaries are just inventions used to keep track of ticks on a calendar. The grandest celebration of ten years of marriage happens everyday we show our appreciation and love for each other, especially during the times that require little more than non-romantic boring work, patience, and willingness to sacrifice for someone that you've devoted your life to.

I love you, Amanda, and I'm looking forward to the rest of eternity with you (just as soon as we catch a rain check for that anniversary date!)

-Levi

Happy Birthday, Ezra!!

2011-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, my sweet Ezra!

We can hardly believe an entire year has passed since we welcomed you into the world! From Day One you have surprised us in so many ways--from the way you were born, your stay in the NICU, the heath problems we had to face--but most of all, you surprised us by how very much and how instantly we could love another child. Our hearts grew the day you were born; our love for you grows infinitely with every passing minute. You are such a joy to have in our family! Your bright smile, your darling chuckle and your rough-and-tumble attitude has won our hearts over and over again.

I am amazed every day to watch you grow; and watch in disbelief as you seemingly learn something new every minute of the day. You melt my heart with the words you say (Baby,

Brother, Ball, Bye, All Done, Momma, Daddy) and it never fails to make me cheer, no matter how many times you speak. You are turning into such a little boy! You love to wrestle around with Jonah, trying so hard to keep up with him. I know it is only a matter of time before the mischief begins.

You are loved beyond words and we are so grateful you are a part of our family. We wish you joy on this day and joy throughout your life. I love your exuberance and excitement in all things, and I hope that stay with you always. Be happy. Be wonderful. Be yourself. We will always love you beyond measure.

Happy first birthday!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

*pictures later!

Bird-brain Jonah

2011-06-13T06:53:00.001-07:00

What is this you ask?

Oh, just a small-scale reproduction of an "Angry Birds" level. I woke early one morning, and as I was getting started with work Jonah got up and asked if we could "build Angry Birds out of metal". I didn't have the materials or tools necessary to fashion such a thing, but we got the bristle blocks out and started to build. Note the "Pigs" and "Birds" strategically placed around the sculpture...

Ever since I first acquired said game Amanda and Jonah have taken turns attempting to dominate my phone so they can play. My phone's current battery life is a testament to the amount of time Amanda and Jonah play when I'm not looking!

I love Jonah's imagination and his desire to create stuff! Here is a portrait of the boy with his model, still in his PJs, sometime around 7am on a May morning:

I'm sure that in his dream world Jonah would probably have me build this:

Impromptu Family Photo

2011-06-11T06:41:00.001-07:00

Kiddo Portraits

2011-06-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

I took the boys out the other day and took some new portraits for spring and Ezra's first birthday. I think they turned out pretty well.

Adoption Pass Along Cards

2011-05-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hop on over to http://www.adoptionpassalongcards.com/ for their Grand Opening June 1st. Starting tomorrow, you will get a chance to win some pass along cards! They did our Pass Along Cards last year and we loved them! Enter between June 1-7 for a chance to win some of your own; and even if you don't win, check 'em out anyway, you might find something you like!

Ezra's Update!

2011-05-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

For those who didn't know, Ezra had surgery a week ago (13th) to repair one of his kidneys. The surgery went very well (although it was a very long 3 hours for us) and he spent the weekend recovering in the hospital. Most of you know that this experience wasn't exactly new to us, but it was definitely different than the last time. It was very strange to see my clingy baby in recovery, wanting nothing to do with me holding or touching him. He was like this for the first 24 hours--he lay in his crib, quiet, except for the occasional outburst of tears. We spent a lot of the first day just stroking his forehead and making sure he was comfy. He would cry any time someone would touch him, whether it was his arm or leg or abdomen. It's hard being Mommy and realizing that your magical powers of healing through touch are broken. Where usually a snuggle or hug would fix anything, I now had to sit back and watch and the best I could do was be vigilant about his pain meds around the clock. About 10 hours into that first day I was deeply regretting our decision to go ahead with the surgery. Thankfully, by the next afternoon he was doing much better. We took him off the pains meds that made his face itch and he was finally able to rest. (Glad he at least got some rest because between the pain meds schedule, the vital signs schedule, the plastic couch I got to sleep on, and the O2 monitor alarm that I am pretty sure had it out for me, I never got more than a few hours total all night long).

So, by Saturday afternoon he was sitting up and playing with toys, breastfeeding once again, and happily scarfing Ben & Jerry's ice cream (I'm pretty sure that last one helped the most). By Sunday morning the IV was removed and his pain was managed enough that we got to take him home. It is amazing how exhilarating it feels to leave the hospital; like you are seeing and feeling the sun shine down for the first time in years. It is one of the best feelings. Ezra has been great ever since we came home; he is back to his usual bad sleeping habits, he is crawling all over, eating everything he can find on the floor, stands up and pulls up on everything and is just back to his old self. It is amazing how quickly he recovered; and beside the 1.5" scar that now resides below his left ribcage on real estate that was once as soft and perfect as the rest of him, you would never know anything had happened.

We found out about Ezra's Hydonephrosis before he was even born and we have spent the last year anticipating this surgery. We even had plenty of practice for all of this thanks to the unexpected issues that arose after he was born (and the subsequent hospital stays, procedures and surgery that followed). Despite how many times we've done this, though; nothing ever really prepares you for it. You never get used to your baby crying at you, wondering why you are not feeding him on the days he has a surgery or procedure. You never get used to hearing your baby scream while the nurse makes 6 attempts to put an IV in his teeny little arm (I almost went Shirley Maclaine on her behind). You never get used to watching your baby scream for you as he is walked back to the operating room, wondering why his mommy left him with a stranger; why his mommy is not saving him. I hate that he doesn't understand that we have done all of this for his own good. We did this to make sure that he would have a healthy, long life. I wish he knew that. I wish he could understand; but I will settle for not having to do this ever again. That works just as well. I'm pretty sure he recognizes the hospital at this point. I think Ezra could find his own way to the pediatrician's office, if I let him. I fear he'll look at doctors like dogs look at vets; that he'll recognize the route we are driving and start to get scared. But right now he is great. He is healthy, happy and perfect.

My Boys

2011-04-30T06:14:00.001-07:00

As I woke up this morning and headed into the bathroom I stumbled over the foam letters and color changing Hot Wheels that littered the floor after last night's bath-time. I grumbled as I began cleaning them up, knowing full well that in 12 hours they would be in the exact same spot once again. Suddenly it hit me--one day very soon there will be no more Hot Wheels to cover my floors, no more Tonka trucks to trip on while walking down the hallway and no more baby toys scattered across the living room. My boys are growing fast. Too fast. And one day very soon they will be all grown up and gone from my house. They will no longer need me to tuck them in at night, cut the crusts off their bread or give them extra snuggles on a bad day. Some day I will miss how messy my house is because it means it is full of childhood. Some day I will miss being woken in the middle of the night because the baby needs milk and cuddles. I won't miss the sleep deprivation, but I will miss holding my tiny kids when their hands fit perfectly into mine; with their skin was so soft I couldn't stop touching their faces. I will miss the chubby cheeks and the shopping trips that take too long because of "the gimmes". I will miss being wanted and loved like no other in the world because I am Mommy.

Oh, My Dear, Sweet Boys: I pray your childhood is full of love and good memories. I pray you will stay young and innocent as long as you can. And I hope, one day, when you have kids of your own and one of them just pooped everywhere and you are up to your elbows trying to clean it all off every surface of their tiny body, that you will think of me and remember I once did that for you. Yes, I love you that much. And I would do it again and again and again.

Easter Celebrations

2011-04-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

We have certainly been busy with Easter Celebrations around here! Jonah has hunted for more Easter eggs than I can count and eaten more Easter candy than I want to count. Yes, the days leading up to Easter have certainly been full of fun, food and festivities.

My mom was in town this past week, so she was introduced to her first ward Easter party. Jonah collected eggs (so many that they really had no place to hide), made some crafts, won some prizes and had a blast running around. After dropping Grandma off at the airport yesterday, Round two of celebration came with a party in the park with my Moms Group. More eggs. More treats. I'm pretty sure we will be detoxing from sugar for many days to come.

Easter morning started with a pair of kiddos in matching jammies as they checked out their Easter baskets. Ezra fell in love with his little Easter lamb and Jonah was quite smitten with his recycling truck. Although our families were far away this Easter, we did get to spend the day with our surrogate family out here in Idaho. It was a fun day full of good food, good company and good spirit.

Happy Easter!

Happy 4th Birthday Jonah!

2011-03-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

Dear Jonah,

As I sit here trying to think of just what to say to convey my love for you, I see you running around your Grandma and Papa’s living room, smacking and swatting everything in sight with the red plastic baseball bat you got for your birthday. I’m pretty sure you’ve been asked a dozen times already to quit it, but you just keep going. You are most certainly a spirited little boy; something I learn more with each passing day. I cannot believe how much you have grown in the past year. It seems like you grown a foot (when really, it’s probably several inches), just in the last month you’ve learned to write letters, you can count and do basic math problems, and you drew the most awesome “Monster Truck Volvo” I have ever seen. You ask every question under the sun and you love to learn. Your favorite books to check out from the library are all about the Earth, minerals, rockets, planes, tractors, and trains. I have never seen such a young kid spend so much time in the non-fiction section of the library.

I am so proud of you! You have had a very busy and life-changing year and you are now a fabulous big brother. Yes, I often find myself saying things like, “Quit licking your brother!” and “Jonah, please don’t sit on your brother” and “please un-bury your brother from the pile of blankets, NOW”, but I also see how much you love him. It brings me great joy to see the snuggling and kisses, and how you try so hard to take care of him. I know you guys will be great friends.

You are such a sweet and sensitive boy, full of enthusiasm and imagination. I love to watch you play by yourself and listen to your sweet little voice as you ramble on, narrating every move your hot wheels make and creating elaborate stories for your bristle blocks and all the amazing things you make with them. I hope you never lose the creativity you possess and I hope it serves you well in life.

You changed our lives 4 years ago when you entered this world, and we have been so grateful every day since, to be in charge of your unique spirit. We love you so much and it is such a joy to watch you grow every day. You are an awesome kid and we are happy to have you be a part of our crazy little family!

Happy 4^th Birthday, JonahBear!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Movin' and Groovin'

2011-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have shamefully neglected the blog this past month. We've been out of town and all of us have been sick at some point during the month (some of us since January, sigh), but the pneumonia is now under control, our trip is nearing its end and I am ready to get back to blogging. In the mean time, here is a cute little video I took this morning of Ezra "dancing". He loves music and will stop what he's doing to groove when he hears music. Very cute.

(click on the image and it will take you to the video)

Ezra has had a very busy week; he started waving Hi and he now says Hi, Mama, "Ahma" (grandma) and Dada/Daddy. He's considering thinking about crawling but still manages to move around the room and get into everything. The other day I found him over by the tv stand playing with the Wii steering wheel remotes. Thank goodness we go home soon because our house is much more kid proof. As if all of this was not good enough, he also started pulling up to standing this week. He is growing so fast! If I could, I'd pay him to slow down and be a baby just a little longer, but I am trying to enjoy every minute. Moments like these are always precious, but I think the more kids you have, the more you realize just how quick it all goes by. Tomorrow we will celebrate Jonah's 4th birthday. Yes, time certainly flies by and all I want to do is soak up every moment I can with my sweet kiddos and I pray I will always remember just how sweet, snuggly, cuddly and precious those first few year really are.

Happy 30th Birthday Levi!

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

Dear Levi,

Happy 30^th Birthday! I can hardly believe that this will be the 12^th birthday I will celebrate with you! I am so proud of the man you have become; you are the best husband and father and I am so glad I get to celebrate every birthday with you. In honor of your 30 years, here is a list of 30 things I love about you:

1. Your adventurous spirit. You are always up for something fun, a chance to road trip, a new place to visit. You help me be more spontaneous and enjoy the adventures of something or somewhere new.

2. You are a mediator. You always try your best to make everyone happy and keep the peace.

3. You are always willing to help and serve others.

4. You are such a good dad.

5. You are always willing to give me foot rubs.

6. You always seem to have an answer to my questions.

7. You’ll eat whatever I cook without complaint.

8. You tell me I am beautiful every day.

9. You work hard for your family.

10. You never say No to ice cream.

11. You are much more patient than I am.

12. You read to our boys every single night.

13. You never get tired of playing Legos with Jonah.

14. You’re always a good sport when you lose at dominoes.

15. You share my love of Bacon.

16. Your family is your biggest priority.

17. You are my biggest fan and supporter.

18 You never laugh at my kooky ideas.

19. You sing goofy songs to the boys and never feel silly doing it.

20. Your loyalty.

21. How you look after your siblings and try to be a good example.

22. [From Jonah] Daddy plays lots of games with me.

23. You do the dishes.

24. You clean the toilets so I don’t have to.

25. You share my sense of humor, so you think I am funny.

26. Your love of the outdoors encourages me to like it too.

27. You don’t mind being an enormous dork, as long as it makes me happy.

28. I can always count on you to fix my phone or computer when I have no clue what to do.

29. [if Ezra could talk] You change my diapers without complaint.

30. You take care of us, love us, support us and encourage us.

You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I love you very much. You are the best Daddy in the world and I know your boys think the world of you. I hope your day is full of happy and your year turns out to be a great one!

Love you always,

Amanda

Genetics

2011-02-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, that Y chromosome is a strong one. Ezra already thinks he is King of the remote.

I can't seem to keep him away from it, and despite his limited mobility, he always seems to find it no matter where I put it. I think he uses The Force.

Friends

2011-02-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

Friends are such nice things to have. They know all your secrets, but never share them. They can make you laugh and comfort you when you cry, lift you up when you are low; give you company in good times and bad, and they love you no matter what. Good friends are like family, and you don’t know how you would live without them. I am so grateful for my friends (both new and old).

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Yes, friends are wonderful things to have.

A Day at the Park

2011-02-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

There is has definitely been a hint of Spring in the air this past week! We have been taking advantage of the sunshine and warmth before the next cold front comes our way. We took the kiddos to the park and let Ezra enjoy his first swing ride and slide. We can't wait for Spring to get here!

Snuggles

2011-02-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

I love snuggles from the kids. I love that when they are tiny, all they want is to snuggle with Mommy. I could sit for hours as they sleep in my arms, and just soak in the snuggles. It all goes so very fast and one day very soon, Ezra will be big and he won't want to lay in my arms like this. So for now I will soak it in. I won't get impatient when he only wants me or won't sleep unless I am holding him. I will treasure the moments like these because it all goes by so quickly.

Life Lessons

2011-02-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

Since Ezra came along, Jonah has taken his role as Big Brother very seriously. I am sure there will be many things that Jonah will teach Ezra as they grow, but obviously he is starting with the important stuff.

You have to know how to work the DVD player, you have to know where mom keeps all the cool cartoons, and watching cartoons together is always more fun than watching by yourself.

Teeth!

2011-02-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

Two little teeth have now sprouted up!

Slow down, Little Boy! You have all the time in the world to grow up.

I can't believe how quickly it all goes.

The Little Things

2011-02-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was making a marinade and this is what appeared when I poured in the balsamic vinegar.

It's the little things that make me smile....

Lost in Costco

2011-01-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Levi, the boys, and I went to Costco this evening. It was supposed to be a quick trip to the pharmacy but the boys stopped to play in the electronics section while I stood in line. About ten minutes pass and I get a phone call on my cell from Levi; he wants to know if Jonah is with me.

'Of course he's not," I say, "he's with you."

'Well he's not with me! I looked away for a minute and I can't find him."

No mom wants to hear that. Ever. My mind is racing and I'm quietly freaking out that my son could be gone, just like that. Gone. So I run up to the front of the store and talk to one of the employees, who puts the word out on the radio that a little boy is missing his parents. A couple of very, very long minutes roll by when a very kind mom appears at the cash registers with a contrite Jonah by her side. I rush over to them and make sure he is okay (slight nod) and thank her profusely. Thank goodness for this lady! She found Jonah wandering around the back of the store near the bakery and she brought him up; saying that she was a mom and would hope someone would do the same for her.

Jonah was only gone a total of 10 minutes, but I think he (sort of) understood the seriousness of getting lost. Our normally loud, rambunctious, squirmy Jonah was suddenly quiet as a church mouse as we walked out to the car. He very quickly and quietly got into his carseat and buckled the belts, a far cry from usual whining and refusal to sit down and buckle in until every warning he gets has been spent. I know he's little so he doesn't quite grasp the gravity of what happened, but in that moment it was obvious that it affected him. We spent a lot of tonight going over why it is important not to walk away from us in stores and what to do if that ever happens again.

It really just hit me tonight, the amount of things we are expected to teach him. It felt so overwhelming all of sudden to be a parent; when you take into account all the things that kids need to know and learn over the years....how do we teach it all? How do we make sure all the lessons stick? Just thinking of all the talks, explanations, and information we are responsible for teaching our children suddenly made me feel very, very tired. I only hope I can do it right so my kids can not only survive childhood, but turn out to be good people.

My Boys

2011-01-28T07:44:00.001-08:00

Aren't they cute?

Snow Day!

2011-01-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

I am loving winter here in Idaho! It's a nice mix of rain and snow and neither lingers for a long period of time (much unlike last winter in Wyoming when we forgot things like asphalt, lawn, and shrubs existed under the several feet of permanent winter snow there). Here, it snows but melts away within a day or so. Just perfect. You get to play in the snow, build your snowmen and then enjoy the ice-free, sunny winter days just a few short days later. The perfect mix of California and Wyoming.

Despite being gone for half of November, the big storm of the season waited for us to return. It snowed at least 8 inches in one day. Cars were stuck where they parked and every thing was white. It was so much fun (so long as you didn't work, go to school or need to leave the house for any other reason). Jonah had a blast building snowmen with the neighbors, creating snow forts, and working construction in the snow until his hands and feet were so cold, his mommy made him come in the house.

Winter is a lot of fun, but I am thankful it only sticks around for a few months each year. I'm looking forward to spring!

The game of Life

2011-01-23T21:33:00.001-08:00

Jonah is obsessed with this game! Every day, all day long he begs us to play "the game with the L and the F in it". Funny kid! I guess it's never too early to learn about the game of life.

NICU Party

2011-01-21T08:57:00.000-08:00

Back in December we attended a party that the NICU puts on each year for their "graduates". They had activities and crafts for the kids to make. We came home with a few new ornaments and Jonah made his very own gingerbread house made from graham crackers. Ezra slept through the whole thing but Jonah had a blast. (Except for Santa. We don't talk about seeing Santa).

It was sort of an odd feeling to think that every person in the room had had a similar experience to you. That they've dealt with machines, feeding tubes, and IVs on their tiny newborns, just like me. Oddly comforting to think that almost every parent in that room has had similar moments of breakdowns, fear, and heartache (not to mention guilt). It's a club where you are grateful to be surrounded by so many who know just what it felt like, but one you hope that no one else ever needs to join.

We are certainly grateful for the NICU; for the nurses and doctors who gave my baby the chance to live.

Lost the Manual

2011-01-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

You would think that with 2 children I would actually know what I was doing when it came to child-rearing. You would probably be wrong. I only look like I know what I am doing. Most days, I feel like I lost the manual; you know, the one that was supposed to come with the kids. I must have misplaced it (both times) before leaving the hospital with my babies.

There are days where I feel cool and confident; days where no problem can't be solved, no stain can't be removed. But most days, I feel like I have no idea what I am doing. I'm just hoping the kids won't notice.

Some things I've learned since becoming a mom:

1. I will never again get annoyed with my parents for calling me by the wrong name. I've even called Jonah by the dog's name a time or two (or twenty).

2. I was definitely a better mother before I had kids. That was back when I knew what I was doing. And I figured out why--before you have kids, there is no sleep deprivation to kill any useful brain cells you might have.

3. "Because I said so" really does work. (At least until they're teenagers, but I have a few more years to come up with a new strategy).

4. No matter how imperfect you feel, your kids think the world of you. Just go with it.

Snuggled

2011-01-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

Jonah was struggling at bedtime tonight; bouncing off the walls and refusing to settle down. I went in Ezra's room and grabbed a small, cream blanket that my mom had given to Jonah when he was born. I gave it to Jonah and explained that Grandma gave him this blankie when he was just a baby and if he would lie down in bed and snuggle real close with it, it would be just like hugging Grandma. His eyes widened, he silently crawled into bed and and grabbed the blanket with two hands. I just peeked in on him-checking one last time before I go to bed- and found him curled up in a ball, fast asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around that special blanket. my heart melted.

All Aboard!

2011-01-17T18:59:00.001-08:00

I love Jonah's philosophy that if it's not nailed down, he can make a train out of it.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

2011-01-16T20:05:00.001-08:00

Make sure you scroll down for more posts. I'm trying to catch up and posted a few in the past couple of days.

Now that it's half way through the month of January, I am finally getting around to posting about our Christmas! We spent Christmas this year back home in California with my family, but I couldn't resist decorating our own home for the holidays. I love the Christmas season and it is so wonderful to see that love come out in my children. Jonah could not wait to help me decorate the house and he was beyond excited that he got to decorate one of the trees all by himself (the one on the floor). And just to add to the Christmas Spirit, we listened to holiday music the entire drive to California. Yep, the whole 10 hours we crooned along with the best--Sinatra, Crosby, Dean Martin, Harry Connick Jr., Donnie Osmond (shhhh, don't tell!). My favorite part of the entire drive (and not just because Ezra had finally stopped crying for the first time in 4 hours) was when we crossed from Nevada to California and the Sierra Nevada stretched before us, white with fresh snow, singing along to the Christmas Carols and heading Home. Cheesy, I know, but it was such a perfect moment. I love Christmas, I love all that it means; I love how special it feels, like anything is possible and all is well, if only for a day. I hope my kids always think Christmas is special.

I can't tell you how many times we forced our kids to pose in their Christmas jammies so we could get that one special photo. Oh well. Some day they'll torture their own kids with things like this; we might as well enjoy it while they are still young!

Jonah helped Papa make the traditional Portuguese Sweet Bread for Christmas breakfast. He did a really good job, too! He loves working in the kitchen and is all too happy to help bake. Growing up, I never had a Christmas (or Easter) without sweet bread. My grandma made it every year. After she passed away a few years ago, I began making it for our little family's holidays and even introduced it to my inlaws. My dad makes some of the best sweet bread around, and it is tradition in my family that he make it each year for Christmas breakfast. I love that my sons can be apart of that now; and if they never learn to cook a single thing besides spaghetti, they will someday impress their future brides with their sweet bread-making abilities.

More torture! We even brought the dogs in on it, because we're mean like that.

Christmas morning we were all festive and ready to party!

Breakfast first, of course; gotta have the strength to open presents.

Ezra and Uncle Kyle playing. Not sure which one is having more fun!

Ezra was quite excited for his first Christmas and was all smiles when it came time to open presents.

As you can see, it didn't last long though, and within minutes he was out for a little cat nap.

Our first Christmas together as a family of four!

My brother, Kyle and his wife, Ashley, along with their two little babies, Bianca and Beau.

After opening all his cool gifts, it was time for Jonah to start playing with them all. He enlisted Uncle Kyle's help in building a robot. My brother used to build things like this when he was young, so he dove right in. I'm guessing he had as much fun building it as Jonah.

This is pretty much what the rest of Christmas looked like for us. There was a lot of laying around involved, some movie watching, eating, and some more laying around. It was loads of fun.

Our budding photographer (aka Jonah) helped himself to our camera and took a few (hundred) photos. I thought these two were pretty good.

Jonah loved my parents' Christmas tree. He would sit beside it and inspect it until he knew every single ornament on it. So when it came to taking down the tree after the holiday, he was quite delighted to help; helping meant he got to touch every single ornament. His favorites included my dad's collection of trains. Jonah had so much fun helping put all the ornaments away, he even cried when it came to putting the last two in their boxes. He bravely gave them a hug and a kiss, cried briefly, and put them away. It was pretty stinking cute, actually.

We spent another week with my family and had a wonderful time. Lots of home-cooked meals, toasty nights by the fire, and enough snuggles and hugs from both people and dogs, to last us until we can return in the Spring.

A New Boy and His Bus

2011-01-16T18:25:00.001-08:00

A new boy in the house had discovered the wonders of The Bus! For those who don't know of Jonah's affinity for this special toy, you can find some archived posts about it here, here, here, here and here.

First Bites

2011-01-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

We fed Ezra some baby food for the first time on Friday. Apparently, he didn't appreciate it very much. (I'm sure that will change quickly enough).

Stats

2011-01-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ezra's 6 month appointment with the pediatrician was this past week and it was great! He is now:

16lbs, 15oz and 26" long!

That translates to the 50th percentile for both height and weight; up from the 2nd percentile before his surgery in October. He sits up, rolls overs, and loves to grab anything at all within his reach. A good portion of his day is spent with a smile on his face. He is such a happy guy! As you can see from his photos, when he smiles, he smiles with his entire face and I just love that! I love how he lights up when he sees his Mama and lunges for me if someone else is holding him (makes a mommy feel good). We just love him to pieces!

Our JonahBear! I can hardly believe he will be 4 years old in a couple of months. He is a Sunbeam now at church and is working hard on potty training (finally). He is quite the stinker and entirely too smart for his own good. He is a master negotiator and it's hard not to cave when you're so impressed with his skills. He has such a rich imagination, fueled in part by his favorite shows ("Mythbusters" and "Dirty Jobs") and his love of non-fiction books from the library. He often spends his time building imaginary recycling centers, quarries, and construction sites. He also loves to build imaginary cakes like the ones on "Cake Boss" and "Ace of Cakes". He is our cautious, deliberate (stubborn) little guy, who does nothing until he is ready to. He is sweet and sensitive and never misses a thing. Never.

We have been blessed with two rather fabulous boys!

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends!

When Amanda, Jonah, Ezra, and I look back on 2010, we realize what a unique and important year it has been for us! First of all, near the beginning of the year we moved to Boise, Idaho. Sure, we also moved last year, but this time we MEANT it (really!). We also had the opportunity to travel all over the Western US and become Interstate highway veterans. Umm... we ALSO did that last year, but this time we did it with a newborn! Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the newborn...

Our family was happily introduced to Ezra Barrett this past June when he came screaming into our lives and joined our little tribe. Even though he had some medical difficulties early on in his life, he was able to get excellent medical care and is as pink, chunky, smiley and excitable as any 6 month old could ever hope to be. We have been very blessed to have him in our lives!

Jonah has spent the last year adjusting first to the snow of Wyoming, then his new home in Boise, THEN his new baby brother. We have asked a lot of him this year and he has adjusted very well to all of the changes taking place around him. And despite our crippling bias, we still consider him the brightest, most energetic, and most interesting 3-year old currently in existence. Seriously, who else can turn his hands into fighter planes at the grocery store without prompting, exclaim the word “AW-kward!” at exactly the right moment in an awkward situation, behave like the perfect child and read books to himself for 80% of a 10 hour car ride, and still sit quietly in church? His interests are primarily Cars, trucks, trains, and airplanes. He is a highly critical music listener and his favorites include Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”, and the mash-up of Madness’ “Our House” and “Jingle Bells” that they play on that Verizon commercial. He is also a very sweet and sensitive child, and will occasionally speak up from his car seat to tell Amanda and I that he loves us. If you wanted to barter for him, your window of opportunity has closed. Thanks for asking, though!

Amanda tells me that there is nothing exciting to write about her, but what she doesn’t say is that she is a super-hero at night, as she is up in the dark most nights heroically attending to what sounds like several shrieking monsters (though she insists that she is simply feeding Ezra). Despite this, she usually manages to stay cheerful during the day while suppressing the urge to nap. I’m not sure how she does it, though I’m sure her stint in the Israeli special forces has instilled in her an unparalleled stamina. When she is not corralling small people, she is usually haunting fabric stores, reading, training at the gym, or baking cookies for our neighbors.

As for me, I finally began working outside the home at a loft in Downtown Boise where I have established my financial planning practice. I have enjoyed meeting all of the people in our new hometown, which is easy since Boise is one of the friendliest towns I’ve ever lived in.When I have spare time (it’s rare, but it happens...) I enjoy running and exploring the city with Jonah. I play piano in church and sometimes it even sounds like I know what I’m doing ( I’m still working on it!).

We are all very grateful for the year we’ve had, our family and friends both near and far, and all of the people we’ve met and spent time with. We are very blessed in many ways and hope that you have all had a great year also. I’m sure that true to our nomadic fashion, our Volvo station wagon will be pulling up to your house soon. We love and miss you all!

Merry Christmas! May you have a happy and blessed New Year!

xoxo,

Levi, Amanda, Jonah & Ezra

My Life with Boys

2010-12-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Never would I have imagined 10 years ago that my life would be so thoroughly filled with boys. I dreamed of frilly clothes and lots of pink, but instead I am surrounded by cars, truck, trains and a lot of fart jokes. But I gotta say, I wouldn't change it for the world (well, I could do with a few less fart jokes). I still dream that someday I will have a daughter, but my boys are amazing and I am so thrilled to be their mom.

I love that any place and any thing in the house is fair game for Jonah and his imagination. He will build you a bridge, a racetrack or a construction site out of anything he can find. Thanks to his obsession with cake shows ("Cake Boss", etc.) and shows like "Dirty Jobs" and "Mythbusters", I often find him constructing cakes, conveyor belts, and even recycling centers around the house. Oh how I love his imagination and creativity! Oh how I love my Jonah!

Ezra, my sweet, always-smiling, little guy. (This is an older photo, that's why he looks so skinny). He is this cute, chubby, roly-poly boy and it is so much fun having him in our family.

Brothers. I love that these two will have each other as they grow up. Ezra lights up whenever he sees Jonah and Jonah loves to dote on Ezra. It will be so much fun to watch this relationship as they grow.

Yep, I love my kooky-crazy-wild-vrooming-goofy boys.

Thankful Days

2010-12-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

Oh, California....how I miss your sunny winter days, your brightly colored trees, your familiarity, your over-priced cost of living...no, wait....scratch that last one off....There are things I truly love about California. I love that jackets are optional for half of winter, I love that rain never sticks to the ground making black ice, I love that my family is there, that I know the streets and cities backwards and forwards, that I run into people I know at the grocery store. I love my home state; it is full of fond memories, good times, and family and friends, but with each visit back there I realize that I no longer need to live there to love it. I love to visit, enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, and see all the people I love but I am now content to drive home to my new state, our new life and look forward to our next visit to California (which is always around the corner).

Thanks to Levi traveling for work, some goofy weather, and a well-placed holiday, we spent half of November in California. We enjoyed the warmer weather, the good company and the fun times! We saw old friends, ate our way through Apple Hill, and had a fabulous, nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner with my family. A good time was had by all!

Ezra loved to explore his surroundings while at Grandma and Papa's house. He thought the brightly colored shapes on the rug were pretty neat.

It was nice to have my dad see the kids again; the first and only time he saw Ezra was when he was 2 weeks old. Boy oh boy, he has changed a lot since then and it is nice to share that with my family! Ezra loves his Papa so much (I think it's the mustache). His favorite thing to do was laugh at my dad and touch his face.

As you can see, they kids were never without at least one four-legged companion. The dogs love hanging out with the kids; Ollie (the one licking Ezra's ear) took it upon himself to take care of Ezra and alert us whenever he felt Ezra needed something or was crying. It must be nice to be 5 months old and already have an entourage.

We took a trip up to Apple Hill with my mom one day. It's a tradition to head up there and eat fresh-picked apples (covered in caramel or stuffed into pie, of course). Oh how I miss the smell of Apple Hill! I wanted to bottle the scent and bring it home with me!

Jonah was beyond thrilled that he picked out a chocolate-covered caramel apple. Yum!!!

My happy Little Turkey all ready to celebrate his first Thanksgiving (apparently the hat is not appreciated).

Jonah love to cook and bake and is very eager to help out in the kitchen! He especially loves to bake with grandma because he gets plenty of bowls and beaters to lick in the process.

Our family photos!

It's so nice to come home and have so many people to love and dote on the kids. I love that they can spend so much time with their extended family and hopefully they will grow up knowing how much they are loved!

We Are Thankful!

2010-11-24T09:19:00.001-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year!

We are thankful for our sweet little Ezra! Through all his hardships since birth, he has been the sweetest, happiest, most mellow little guy. He is always smiling, always cooing and loves to laugh. No matter the situation, a snuggle with Mommy heals him and he is as content as can be. We are so thankful to live in this day and age, where all the health problems he has had could be fixed. How grateful we are to have all the medical science that has helped, healed, and saved our sweet baby's life and given him the chance to grow and thrive. We are so thankful! (Now if only we could get him to sleep more than 2 hours at a time at night!)

We are thankful for our rambunctious Jonah! Our clever, creative, smart, crafty, enthusiastic Jonah. What joy we have in watching him grow and being lucky enough to be his parents. We love our JonahBear!

I am thankful for my darling husband! His patience, kindness, love, willingness to help, patience (yeah, I meant to say that twice), and humor are much appreciated. He is such a wonderful Daddy, husband and friend! I've spent nearly half my life with this man (so far) and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful eternal companion.

We are thankful for friends, both new and old, and our families. We are surrounded by so many wonderful people and we are so lucky to have each and every one of them in our lives!

We are so thankful for our Heavenly Father! For His guidance, love and salvation. We are grateful for the faith that keeps us going and the Gospel we know to be true!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

This year we attempted to find a decent pumpkin patch where we could spend a fun-filled day together. We failed, but at least we got a few photos. There was a pumpkin patch down the street from us that looked promising but once we got in there, wasn't worth the wait or the money we paid to get in. So after a few quick pics in the giant rocking chair, an awkward photo by the "petting zoo", and a ride on the Cow Train for Jonah, we bought our over-priced pumpkins from the "pumpkin patch" (read: a few haystacks littered with the saddest array of pumpkins), and we were on our way home. At least we got a little sunshine!

Jonah loved the Cow Train! It was like a dream come true for him and really what made it all worth it!

The petting zoo consisted of a couple of sleeping goats, 2 hungry goats, and a cow. I think the look on Jonah's face sums it up well....

The Saturday before Halloween we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at our church and had a great time. We ate chili, played carnival games and then walked around the parking lot collecting more candy than we needed. Needless to say, Jonah had a blast!

I was making their costumes up until 2 minutes before we walked out the door for the evening. Jonah wanted to be a Highway, so I tried to make him look like "Radiator Springs" from the Cars movie. He loved his costume! He was so thrilled to wear it! He still has all the road signs and he plays with them every day.

This is a bumper sticker you see in the movie. Quite a few people had to take a double take to see what it said.

Ezra Laughs!

2010-11-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Boy Laughed! from Levi Dayley on Vimeo.

Ezra has been acting like a new kid since his procedure! He finally has the energy to smile and laugh and we were able to capture it on video with my phone. Enjoy!

How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

2010-11-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize it's November now, and yes, I should be posting about the recent Halloween festivities but I have yet to finish blogging about our summer and I must catch up before I can move forward. Someday I will stop being so behind...someday....probably when the kids are grown because I don't see it happening any time soon! Meanwhile, I'll tell you a little about August!

We were lucky enough to get a visit from the lovely Bradbury Girls!!! Our darling friends were out in Idaho visiting their families and we got to visit for a few hours. I finally got to meet their youngest, Miss C. What a fun day of catching up, talking, laughing and being entertained by all the kids! Jonah had a blast playing with Miss A and they were so much fun to watch!

It took a few tries to get all 4 kiddos looking in the same direction, but we got some priceless photos. (bribery helped. A lot.)

Hugs and kisses were given in abundance; Jonah just loved having the girls around.

As you can see, Ezra was thrilled to have company. He slept the entire time! I bet he'll have a blast the next time we get to see the Bradburys, when he is big enough to run around with all the kids!

We enjoyed our visit with the Bradbury Girls immensely, and hope it won't be another year and a half before we see them again! We love you, Bradburys! You guys are the best!

My Sweet Ezra

2010-10-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

My dear, sweet, little Ezra! He is such a joy for our family! I haven't said nearly enough about him these past 4 months since he joined our little family. Funny how health issues, hospital visits and enough pediatrician visits that you now feel like you know the doctor so well you should invite her to dinner, make it hard to blog, remember to blog, or even find the energy to blog. We have had our ups and downs with this little guy, but boy oh boy is he loved and worth it!

In his nearly 4 months of life, Ezra has definitely been through a lot! Starting with being born early and spending a week in the NICU, he has dealt with kidney scans, bladder infections, reflux, lack of weight gain, weight loss, NG tubes, breathing problems, blood draws, and most recently, surgery to correct his breathing and airway issues. Through it all this sweet, mellow guy has given us more hugs, snuggles and smiles than we can count. Since his surgery on October 4th, he has gained over a pound (nearly 2 since the NG tube was put in), he smiles, laughs and engages in ways he never did before. Now that all his energy is not focused on breathing, he is a happy guy full of life.

I have fallen in love with this new Ezra we now have; a chubby, rolly-poly baby who smiles and coos and still loves to snuggle. It is amazing to watch him thrive and grow and we feel so lucky and blessed that he is doing so well! I love my darling boy and I am so excited to watch him grow and learn!

Before:

Big Brother Jonah showing him some love!

After:

He is currently about 11 1/2 pounds and growing bigger every day! He rolled over for the first time this past week, and started laughing too. He smiles and coos all the time and his face lights up whenever he sees his Mommy. My favorite things are how he snuggles so close and is entirely content to never move from the crook of my arm and how he hums this little contented sigh now when he lays in my arms (versus the loud breathing he did before when it was a struggle).

Family Reunion

2010-08-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

What's that saying? "I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member". This family would definitely be an exception to that policy! I would be happy to be a Bagley any day of the week! A few weeks ago we spent a splendid weekend in Star Valley (where else?!) for a family reunion with Levi's family. We love the Bagleys! They are such a great bunch of people and we enjoyed our time so much, we struggled with leaving (to the point that we left 6 hours later than planned and didn't arrive home until after midnight). If we are lucky, we get to spend a few precious days each year with some/all of the Bagleys, so we try to soak in every minute we can. We had a blast, ate too much delicious food and of course, there were s'mores involved (duh!). We even hiked over ice (yes, ice in July) to see the spring/waterfall. And we blessed our darling boy while we had so many members of Levi's family around. A perfectly wonderful weekend filled with people we love!

This is a photo that Jonah took by himself of Levi's dad. Every time I turn around Jonah has possession of the camera and has rapid-fired a few dozen photos.

Wyoming Welcomes You!

2010-08-11T12:50:00.001-07:00

We took my mom to Wyoming for the first time and are showing her around Star Valley! More to come later!

Here's Ezra snuggling up with my nursing cover while driving to Wyoming. Maybe it reminds him of his mommy and most importantly, Mommy's Milk.

Birth Announcement!

2010-08-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you to my dear friend Andrea, who photographed Ezra AND created the announcement! You rock!

Check out her photography here and feel free to email her (sorrisobella@gmail.com) if you are interested in her fantastic designs.

continued...

2010-08-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add the photos from Utah onto the previous post, so here they are...make sure you read down to the next post to read about what we've been up to!!

Levi's grandparents, who met our little guy for the first time in Lake Tahoe.

California Dreamin'

2010-08-07T10:58:00.001-07:00

Those who know me know just how much I love California; I was born and raised there and my family still lives there. It is Home to me. I still miss it. I think we all do. Jonah is always telling me he wants to go visit California and every time we go, he tells me he wants us to stay. He even told me one night at my parents' house that we needed to find a house with no people in it (Grandma's house didn't qualify) and pay money for it so we could stay in California. I have to admit, that broke my heart. Jonah falls in love with every place we visit and always has a difficult time leaving, but it is very obvious that he still holds a special connection with California. I hope he always does. I hope he always thinks of it as a special place filled with some of his favorite people; I know I do.

Because we all love California so dearly, we decided when Ezra was 2 weeks old that it was high time we introduced him to the place. So we packed up the 3 year old, the newborn and at least half the house and headed off to California for a visit with my family. I spent a week there while Levi was in Lake Tahoe living the high life at a business conference (I won't mention the 4 consecutive restful nights he got without an infant to wake him...no, no...I'm still too envious to mention them).

As always, Jonah had a blast at Grandma's house playing with all the special "Cars" toys, watching all the cool cartoon channels we don't have at home, and hanging with his best buds (aka: the dogs). And Ezra got to meet his Papa for the first time!

The first few days we were there it was just my dad since my mom was in Colorado helping my sister. Ezra got the full attention of his Papa for 4 days; and since they both share a love of dozing on the couch while watching TV at night, it was a match made in Heaven!

Then he got even more snuggles when Grandma returned. Note the dog on the top right of this photo (Oliver); for the entire week, wherever Ezra went, Ollie wasn't far behind. He would sit beside whomever was holding him and lay beside his bouncer whenever he was in it. If Ezra started to fuss, Ollie would go check on him to make sure he was all right.

Ollie and Jonah are also Best Pals; he has loved hanging with Jonah since the day my parents adopted him. They enjoy watching Saturday morning cartoons together.

Just me and sweet boys.
I don't remember when Jonah started looking like such a big kid....

Ezra even had a chance to meet Papa George (my Grandpa) while out there. I wish we would have had more time for him to meet other people as well, but a week is never enough.

I didn't take a lot of photos while I was out there, probably had something do with the fact that I had a baby in my arms 80% of the time, but I did take this one....I left the boys in the living room long enough for me to quickly run to the bathroom (note where the baby's binky is) and when I got back......

....This is how I found Ezra. Thank you, Jonah!

We only got to introduce Ezra to a couple of our friends while we were there; hopefully we'll go back soon so we can see more people. He did get to meet my dear friend Sara, and her daughter and mom. I've known Sara for 13 years; she was my boss at Hollywood Video and we've been friends ever since. I still remember holding her little ones for the first time (12 and 7 years ago). My, how time flies.

From my parents house we went up to Lake Tahoe for a night and met up with Levi, his parents, and grandparents. The next day we were off to Salt Lake City on what felt like the longest drive in the world. We've driven from California to Salt Lake City more times than I can count over the last decade but never has the trip felt quite as long as it did this time. It was like the we were in the Twilight Zone and we were merely running in place. It took us 12 hours to get from Tahoe to Salt Lake City, and that wasn't even the end of our journey. The next day, after enjoying the company of Levi's sister, brother, Great-Aunt and Uncle, and Grandparents we were on the road again heading towards Star Valley for a fun weekend packed with family, good food and...well, LOTS of good food and family. More to come on that!

July in Afton

2010-07-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hey, It's Levi. I'm sure Amanda has a big post in the works, but I'm just going to throw a couple of pics of life in Afton, WY up as a teaser. Besides, I no longer have a Facebook account, so this is how I share... Enjoy!

Intermittent Springs, WY

The Family!

Introducing...

2010-07-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

Fair warning, this is a long post but I wanted to get the details down for my sake..so skim if you don't want to read it all the way through! :-)

I was put on bed rest at 35 weeks for Pre-eclampsia and spent a week going back and forth every other day to Triage at the hospital to get monitored. Not fun! After a week of doing this, I went in for a routine appointment with the doctor (at 36 weeks) and she immediately sent me over to the hospital to be induced. She decided that the risk was lower for the baby to be born early than to keep waiting and hoping that my blood pressure and other symptoms wouldn't get worse. So off we walked across the street to the hospital in a daze, not expecting that our little guy would be joining us so soon. Luckily Levi's mom had taken Jonah just that morning off to Star Valley for a fun-filled week so we didn't have to worry about what to do with him. And my mom had flown in the night before "just in case" the baby came early. Good timing.

Below are just a couple of photos taken outside the hospital on Father's Day, as we were all heading in so I could get monitored (again). I was 36 weeks and 1 day.

So we get all settled into a room at the hospital and they decide to use Cytotec to begin my induction since I was early and not terribly favorable for an induction. It was actually pretty easy. I was induced with Jonah and thought the experience was just plain awful and am glad to report that this time was so much better. I was able to get more of the birth experience I wanted while still getting induced. So I didn't have to be hooked up to an IV until nearly 6 hour into my labor, I was able to move around a lot, and they even let me eat when I got hungry. Very different experience than last time.

The first 6 hours there were spent with just the Cytotec being used and I was feeling pretty steady contractions but they were not painful. They pretty much just felt like Braxton-Hicks contractions and we just sat around socializing with my mom and our friends who came to keep me company, hardly noticing at all that labor had started. It was so nice. After 6 hours they decided to put me on Pitocin. I protested since it was so awful last time but they were nice about it and did it more slowly than with my first labor. They discovered 2 days previously that the baby had an arrhythmia and it was preventing them from getting a good read on his heartbeat while the Pitocin was being used so they went ahead and broke my water so they could keep an internal monitor on him. At this point I was still barely dilated and figured the baby would be born sometime the next day.

Shortly after my water was broken we noticed that the heart rate of the baby was going down really low and no sooner did we say something to each other that several nurses came barreling into the room in a panic. They were barking at me to move around in different positions to see if the heart rate would go back up. It took a very long minute or two, but it did finally go back up to normal range. Freaked us all out though! A few minutes later the doctor came in and told us that if that happened again, this little guy would be coming NOW via c-section. Yikes! Luckily it did not happen another time and because of it, they lowered my Pitocin down to a 1, which basically means it wasn't what was moving my labor along anymore.

So I'm now told to stay in the bed on my side to keep the baby happy until they can get the other internal monitor on, at which point I can get back up and move around again. At 6:30pm my doctor came in one last time (she had to leave for family reasons), put the other monitor in, and declared that I was just barely 2cms and 60% effaced. I knew this meant HOURS more of labor, but it was still not painful and bothersome like it was with Jonah. The contractions, which came consistently every minute and lasted nearly a minute each, were still not really painful but noticeable. I was nervous about what lied ahead.

As soon as the other internal monitor was in place, I JUMPED out of the bed! I couldn't wait to get back up on my feet. I sat on the birth ball for maybe 20 minutes, but almost instantaneously, from the moment I sat on the birth ball my contraction increased in intensity ten fold. In an instant they went from not bad at all to "oh my goodness, someone please help me! Ouch!" Literally from one contraction to the next it changed. After 20 minutes on the ball I couldn't stand sitting any long so I stood and leaned against the bed. It didn't help. At that point I was crying that I was done and asked for the epidural. This was at 7pm. Of course it feels like FOREVER, but the anesthesiologist came in and began working on the epidural at 7:15pm. At that point I was crying pretty much hysterically, sweating so badly I couldn't see, and practically unable to breathe through a contraction, the pain was so intense. It felt like ages as the epidural was being put in and I kept crying "it's not working yet! Hurry up, please!"

They laid me down on my side before they injected the actual medication for the pain relief and I instantly started screaming. "The baby is coming NOW! NOW! I have to push now!" Suddenly I hear a half dozen people scrambling around and yelling at me not to push. Yeah right! I have someone in my face telling me to blow out the contractions and I am telling her to get out of my face. I have one nurse telling me that I need to wait for the doctor to deliver the baby and I remember telling her I didn't care who caught the baby but he was coming out NOW! With no way to stop it I push with the next contraction and less than a minute later the baby is out. All in one push, he literally shot right out, and all before the epidural could take effect. No one was prepared to catch him yet and I remember looking down and seeing him curled up on the bed and then I looked at Levi and he was staring at the baby dumbfounded that he had just popped right out and onto the table. It was crazy. They quickly placed him on my chest and we met for the first time. He was so sweet and precious and SMALL, at least for one of my babies. He was perfect. After a minute or two they took him away to be check and cleaned and then we got some one-on-one time to cuddle and nurse.

It took us awhile to decide on a name. The one we chose, I have loved for a very long time, but I was so indecisive thinking that this could be my last chance to name a baby boy, how on earth do I pick just one of my favorite names? In the end, we stuck with our first choice.

Ezra Barrett was born at 7:43pm on June 24th.

7 lbs, 5 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

We only got to snuggle and coo over him for about 2 hours before they decided he needed to take a trip to the NICU. He was "singing" when he breathed so it sounded like he was humming or like a motor purring, and that is an indication that he was having a hard time breathing. He also had very low blood sugar levels. So within just a few hours he moved to the NICU while I was moved to the Mother/Baby floor. We got to visit with him late that night. It was really hard to be wheeled into his room and see him in the little warmer with all these tubes wrapped around him. It broke my heart.

This was the little name tag they put on his bed. The nurses of the NICU took great care to personalize his little space with name tags, footprints and other things.

We expected that he would only stay in the NICU a day or two but it seemed like every day there was something else that prolonged his stay. His breathing took a few days to regulate, he was fed by IV, then an NG tube for several days so he had to learn to eat and maintain his blood sugar levels while weaning off his IV nutrition, kidney scans and other related tests were done because of the Hydronephrosis, then one of the nurses thought he had a seizure (the neonatalogist concluded days later that he had not) so he was given an EEG and head ultrasounds as well as a round of antibiotics that took days to administer. I think the scariest moment was when the doctor called up to our room at 9 o'clock at night and told me I needed to get down there NOW because they thought he had a seizure.

To balance that, my favorite moment was when I sat there all by myself for 6 hours and just held him and nursed him. The NICU rooms are very quiet, dimly lit places and it was very peaceful to sit there in silence and cuddle my little baby without anyone else there with me. It was the first time it felt real to have this sweet little boy.

So Ezra spent a total of a week in the NICU with a dozen tests done. He was very sweet and mellow the entire time and hardly ever cried, even with the perpetual heel sticks for blood sugar levels. He is a major snuggle bug and loves nothing more than to be cuddled constantly.

It took us awhile to come to the realization that even though he was a "normal" size, he was still a preemie and had preemie issues. We're still working on his eating. He is still a week away from his due date so he's not even full-term yet and it shows in his eating. He is still very sleepy and sleeps a good majority of the time; that includes when he is supposed to be eating. He gets tired easily so he does not eat as vigorously as he needs to be eating in order to get all the milk he needs to gain weight. We're working on it and hopefully it will resolve in the next couple of weeks at most.

About 2 days before he was released, Jonah got to meet him for the first time. You can see by the look on his face that he thinks his little brother is pretty cool. About 90% of the time he tells me he loves his little brother. Only once has he told me that he wished his little baby brother would go back in my tummy and once he told me that he wanted to return him. Other than that, he is handling it pretty well.

Jonah is a major Binky Kid and he loved that his little brother has one, too. His first task as Big Brother was to give Ezra a binky while he was fussing. I constantly catch Jonah trying to shove the binky into Ezra's mouth whether he wants it or not. We'll be working on that too!

After what felt more like a month than a week, we were able to bring Ezra home! We're still getting used to this whole Newborn Thing again and wishing for more sleep, but otherwise we are completely in love with our little Ezra Bug. He is a darling boy and we love him so much and we look forward to all the adventures we'll have as a family of 4!

...And for a Brief Announcement

2010-06-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we had a little baby boy join our family! We are happy to announce that Ezra is here in our lives now and will be coming home shortly. Details to come!

Our Move

2010-06-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

I now have quite a bit of free time on my hands thanks to being put on bed rest indefinitely with this pregnancy. I might as well catch up on some blogging while I am trying to figure out how to fill my days without leaving the recliner often. I've been "resting" for a few hours now and I'm already going crazy.....yikes!

So here are a few photos of our move to Idaho. We spent several weeks in California (where we stored out stuff) in preparation for our big move. The day came to pack up the truck and all the kiddos helped out--as you can see from the photo.

We packed the truck the day before we left and them all the kids took turns saying bye to Jonah. This picture both melted and broke my heart.

The next morning we hit the road (with my mom in tow to help us out) and off went on our 12 hour drive to Idaho. It was a looooooong day but Jonah was pretty happy because it was filled with special treats like new toys for the car, jelly beans, and most of all-ice cream. (His favorite treat in the world!) Note to all those considering long drives and/or big moves--they are not very much fun while pregnant.

...But we survived the trip and the very late night digging into the very back of the 16 foot truck to find our beds and bedding so we could pass out for the night, once we arrived at our new home. The next day we got to work and unloaded the truck (I mostly supervised). Jonah was a big help and thankfully my mom was there. The very nice neighbors even stopped by and helped Levi move all the heavy furniture in. With no one else to help him, he was worried the dressers would take up a permanent home in the front yard.

Jonah did lots of "helping" and played with the tools every chance he could. He still "puts the crib together" at least 3 times a week, which consists of him sticking screws and screwdrivers into all the available slots on the crib. At least it keeps him busy!

But after a few days of settling in, it was time to say good-bye to my mom! We took her to the airport and reality set in when we got back home to our quiet little home. We are enjoying the area and the people but we definitely miss having our families close by. We're still adjusting to that fact, but I think we found a nice home for the foreseeable future.

12 years!

2010-06-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

It was 12 years ago today that Levi and I first met! 12 years! There's no way I'm that old! I met Levi when I was 16 years old and working my first job at Hollywood Video. He was hired 6 months after me and I was asked to train him on his first night there. I still remember the moment I first met him (and how cute I thought he was), our first crazy summer together as friends, and how I fell in love with him. We've been together for nearly half our lives now! It's crazy to think of all that we've done and all that we've been through in 12 years, but I sure am glad to have had him by my side all this time! I wouldn't have wanted to share all this craziness with anyone else!

This last trip back to California was a reunion of sorts for us. Of all the jobs I've had in my life, I would have to say my very favorite was working at Hollywood Video. Not only did I meet my husband there, but some of the people I love most in this world came from my time spent there. The job was just a job but we always laughed, we always had fun and we've built friendships that have lasted and will hopefully continue to last a lifetime. We met up with a few of our old Hollywood Video Gang while in California and it was so much fun to be together, remember, and just visit like old friends do. The Hollywood Video we worked at closed last year, but we trekked over anyway and took one last photo out front while we still had the chance. I don't think I will ever forget my time there nor the people, and I'm so glad to still have good friends that started in that place.

Speaking of old friends, we've been lucky enough to have an old friend living here in Idaho! And yep, you guessed it! Another friend from Hollywood Video! We went to high school together and became friends when we both worked at the store. It's so nice moving to an unfamiliar place with no family around and still have someone here who it feels like has known you forever (and knows all your secrets and crazy teenage adventures). So here's a photo of us then (11 years ago) and now. We're both pregnant and due within days of each other so lots of new and fun adventures await us!

Jonah's 3rd Birthday Party

2010-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

So I' not sure which I feel worse about: not getting around to blogging about Jonah's birthday party until June (when his party was in February) or turning on the TV so I could have a few minutes of peace and quiet in order to blog about the party in the first place. It's probably a toss up. I've been very behind on all my photos for the entire year so far thanks to an uncooperative computer that no longer turns on. But no matter how late I am, I want to get this down because this blog is our version of a family journal. Just wait until I get the Christmas photos up as we celebrate the 4th of July!

We spent several weeks of February at my parents house as we transitioned from Wyoming to our new home in Idaho. Because of this, we decided to have Jonah's birthday party a month early so he could celebrate with my family (and it gave us an excuse to have a nice party with our friends and family in California). Jonah had a birthday to spoil all other birthdays and we'll probably regret it every year from now on, but he had a blast. Between the party we gave him in February, the cake and gifts he got on his actual birthday in March and the gifts that came to the house throughout the month of March, this was one spoiled birthday boy. He spent most of April asking for his next birthday so he could have cake and presents. Yeah...we'll make sure he has a humble birthday next year. But it is nice to know he is so loved by family and friends.

The party at my parents' house started with my colossal failure with the cake. Luckily my sister saved me and spent the entire evening before the party making a really cool cake for Jonah. He requested a Disney Cars themed party this year and I obliged with a few obvious details and made the rest of the decorations myself.

He had a wonderful time playing with all the kids that came and of course, he had plenty of helpers as he opened his gifts. Cars, cars, more cars and trucks. That sums up his birthday presents and he couldn't have been happier about it. This little boy lives cars, trucks, trains and planes.

He loved his birthday cake and even joined in the singing while he waited to blow out his candles. I can't believe my little baby is so big now! The sappiness and nostalgia that has come with this pregnancy isn't helping, but I'm struggling to watch my little baby grow up. On one hand I am so proud of who he is and all he can do and love watching him grow and learn every day, but on the other hand, I miss the snuggles and coos of his infancy. I feel so lucky to be his Mommy and watch him grow!

How to get a Haircut and Look Cute Doing it

2010-06-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

On one of our many trips to California this spring, Jonah demonstrated for his older cousin how to get a haircut without screaming and crying. He sat in the chair giggling that the razor tickled the entire time. I'm so grateful I don't have a screamer. So he got a cute new 'do and showed his older cousin how to take it like a man. Unfortunately, it didn't work and his cousin still refused to sit for a haircut but at least my kid looked cute when it was all over!

Showing off his cool new Wubbzy tattoo to match his cool new haircut.

Jonah the Portuguese

2010-06-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jonah speaks very well for his age, he always has. He enunciation and vocabulary are fantastic considering he is barely 3 years old. I've noticed lately he draws out several of his words, adding syllables that are not really there. One of the words he does this with is 'hungry'. He pronounces it "hun-ga-ry", more like the country. So naturally, we tease him (kindly) about this. When he tells us he's "hungary" we responds with, "you're Hungarian?" He rolls his eyes (I swear) and corrects us, he is not Hungarian but in fact, hungry. We then go on and ask him, "are you Scandinavian? Irish? Albanian?, etc." We do this until he is ready to sell us and find new parents. When we do this around my parents my dad always chimes in and tells Jonah that he, in fact, Portuguese (which my dad is). It took awhile, but Jonah now tells us he is Portuguese. So after many months of teasing and deciding that his parents are quite obnoxious, Jonah comes up to me at snack time and announces (in order to side-step the whole annoying game), "Mommy, I'm not Hungarian, I am Portuguese and I would like some food please". I guess he's catching on and I think he'd make his Papa quite proud to hear that!

My Cute Boy

2010-05-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is as close as I am going to get to having a journal any time soon, so I want to make sure I get some of the little details of everyday life down so I can remember them later. (Especially considering my inability to remember last week at this point in time.) So here are just a few cute little things that Jonah has said and done that I want to remember all those years from now when this time with my sweet 3 year old boy is only a memory.

We've spent the past few months trying to prepare Jonah for the arrival of his baby brother. Those first few months of my pregnancy he was totally clueless and really didn't care about any of this nonsense about a baby brother or sister. He simply went on his merry way and ignored his crazy parents' ramblings of a baby. But, as time progressed and the size of my belly grew, he's begun to pay more attention to our explanations (and I think he's slowly come to the realization that we weren't kidding around). He helped us set up the baby's room, fold and put away all the tiny clothes and he's especially helped us "test drive" all the new little baby toys that have come into the house. He very specifically refers to the baby as "My Little Brother" for well over a month now. I'm not sure if he truly gets the idea, yet, of how life will change in another month or so, but I think he understands some of it.

He talks about his little brother every day. He'll set something aside and tell me he's saving it for his little brother or he'll tell me he wants to share it with him. He loves to cuddle on my belly and tell me his little brother is kicking him as he falls dramatically from my lap. He loves to hug and kiss my belly and give it "smooshes". The other day he emerged from his room after a nap with his stuffed Hippo under his shirt and told me his little brother was in his tummy now. He then asked me to push on his tummy so the baby could kick me back.

This morning for breakfast I made cinnamon rolls. He looks at my belly as I'm eating and says, "My Little Brother is in your tummy eating all your cinnamon rolls!" As I take the last bite he exclaims, "And he's going to gobble up that bite, too!"

Jonah is a very sweet and intuitive little boy and the things he does and says on a daily basis often surprise me and make me very proud. He's goofy and funny, sweet, kind and thoughtful and I can hardly believe he's barely 3 years old. He was (of course) being cute the other day and I told him, "Jonah, you are the cutest boy in the whole world! Did you know that?!" He very quickly told me no, he was not. So I asked if not him, then who was the cutest boy in the whole world? He quickly replied, "My Little Brother is! But I'm the sweetest!"

My last little brag on my awesome boy will be this:

We were driving in the car the other day and out of nowhere he tells us, "I love reading!" Then a few seconds later he says, "And I sure do love reading with you, Mommy and Daddy!" Aww! I just love his love of books. From the time he was an infant he would sit quietly in our laps and read numerous books. He insists we take him to the library every week where we rent books on tractors, trucks and all things that move. He loves to read the "big kid" books on how things are made, built and move. He'll sit with Levi for over an hour while they pour over a book of every airplane ever made and all its mechanics. We probably read 20 books every single day and he always wants more to read. I love it! I love all the things that he knows because of the books he's read. I love that I can peek into his room and find him sitting at his little table with a book out, pouring over the pages and whispering to himself all the details of the page. I sure love my adorable, wonderful, unique little Jonah Bear!

Jonah's First Public Performance

2010-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hey! Its Levi here, and the story of Jonah's first public performance goes something like this:

Jonah and I decided to tag along with Amanda while she went shopping for maternity clothes. After an hour or so, Jonah gets restless and begins diving through clothing racks. I promptly discourage this and in the process, move some hung clothes aside so that I can remove him from his hiding spot. Inspired by this, he Stands in the newly cleared spot (which is on a raised rack) and declares this his 'stage'. He starts to sing, but the quickly stops and runs to the front of the store. I finally catch him (right about the time he arrives at the front of the store), and he tells me that he was looking for the 'instruments' as he picks up a pair of maracas that I confiscated earlier. Then he runs back to his stage and begins singing "Twinkle-Twinkle" while I fumble to get my phone's video camera running. He goes right on through the song singing and rattling the maracas until he a stranger (an older woman) approaches to watch and he begins to get shy and cover his eyes. The best part of this is that it was so spontaneous and showcased his imagination so well! Your Mom and I are very proud of you, Jonah! See for yourself:

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

Oh...wait....Spring?? We're spending the Easter weekend in Star Valley and apparently they didn't get the memo that is it now Spring. In fact, it's been snowing since we got here. Brrr! Luckily we had plenty to do in the house so the weather wasn't too important. Jonah and I stayed busy in the kitchen making Portuguese Sweet Bread (my family's Easter tradition) and Peanut Butter Blossom cookies. Yum!

Jonah was an excellent helper; stirring the bread dough and "shelling" all the Hershey Kisses (and he only ate a few). He quite enjoyed making the Kisses "naked", as he said.

Later that night we dyed our Easter eggs!

He enthusiastically plopped each egg into the cup of dye.....

...and had a blast lining them all up in the holders.

This is the face of a boy who has just been told there are no more eggs to dye.

He got over it later that night when he got to place the stickers on all the eggs to make faces.

Easter Morning!

(ignore the Christmas jammies, it's all we packed. oops!)

Lucky for him, he got a few new pairs of jammies in his Easter basket.

Then it was off to hunt for eggs both inside and outside!

What's a snow-covered egg worth if you can't lick it, right? Refreshing!

And what's Easter without a chocolate bunny? Yummy!

Can you tell he likes chocolate?!

Mommy and a little Snuggle Bear!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonah!

2010-03-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Jonah,

I can't believe our little baby is already 3 years old! You are such an awesome kid! You always have a question for us (that usually starts with, "But, why?") and when you aren't asking the questions you are telling us the answers. I have never met a boy quite like you!

You entertain us every day with your love of construction trucks and building sites, and car rides are never boring with your Eagle Eyes pointing out all the "really cool trucks" we drive by. I can hardly remember a day you weren't here, making us laugh and making us proud. I am so impressed with your intelligence and insight at only 3 years old; I hope you hang onto it and use it throughout your life.

We have spent a busy year moving you all around from California to Wyoming to Idaho plus all the "vacations" in between, and through it all you just come along happily with us enjoying the ride. Car ride after car ride, you never complain (so long as there are snacks to eat).

You are such an awesome, witty little boy full of good humor and smiles. I love that you still love to cuddle with your mommy and could spend hours every day reading books with your daddy. I love to watch you play and listen to you narrate every minute of your day. You are always talking. I never get tired of that sweet little voice of yours and all the millions of words that fly out every waking minute. I am always surprised by the things that you say and the observations you make; and nothing escapes your notice (and no bad word will pass my lips that won't eventually pass yours. yikes!).

You are such a treasure to us! We love you and adore you more and more every day. We are so glad we have you and so grateful we get to watch you grow. What an amazing adventure you have made the past 3 years and we can't wait to see what comes next!

Happy Birthday, JonahBear!

We love you so much,

Mommy and Daddy

News Flash! No News Here!

2010-03-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hello! If you couldn't tell by the distinctively cliché font change this is Levi. I felt the need to publish something here because the family and I have been so busy having big adventures (and little non-adventures) to post for over a month.

First, we moved. Again. We are now official residents of Boise, ID, and we did it willingly! We are adjusting as quickly as we can while still finding time for travelling for work and to see family (I am posting this from Cincinnati, OH!) so we haven't really made good friends yet or even made time to see old ones in town. My initial verdict is: I could really love this place!

Here's the digs:

Jonah fell immediately in love with the moving van, and spent all of his time during th move asking to climb aboard. He would occasionally assist me in lifting items by morphing into a "forklift", a "skidder", or a "log loader" at various points during the unload. However, he is seen here tending the "Lemonade Stand" which now serves as his dresser.

Amanda is also doing well, but I believe she is entering that phase know as "Uncomfortable." This is the point where I try to move a little quicker when she requests something because the "Uncomfortable" stage means she doesn't sleep much anymore. Prompt response to her on my part make the tirades shorter and beatings less severe (I kid, right?). She sure is beautiful, though; even if the following image has all the hallmarks of a "put that camera-phone down because I don't want my picture taken but I am too lethargic to actually stop you" snapshot. I can safely post this because she is nearly 2000 miles away from me for the next few days!

All in all, we are a family in transition and surviving the best we can by drawing closer as a family. The experiences of the last few weeks have shown me that home is truly where your family is, even when it isn't comfortable to drive 10 hours at a time or sleep with a dusty fresh-out-of-storage comforter. Thank you, Amanda for all of the patience, creativity, and support you have imparted on Jonah and I. And for you, dear reader, don't move out of state if you don't have to!

Our Little Bundle is....

2010-02-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I am constantly one step behind (well, probably closer to 10 steps behind)! We found out last week what we are having and yet again I failed to mention it despite my good intentions to do so.

It looks like we'll be sticking with Team Blue. I'm excited to see how Jonah will react to a little brother, but I'm pretty sure Jonah's reaction is going to be the same whether it was a boy or a girl, haha. Now we just can't wait to meet our little boy!

Finally, a Post about our Good News!

2010-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

It's been pointed out to me on several occasions now that I have failed to mention a rather big event happening in our lives. What can I say? Oops?! We've been traveling since the day after Christmas, although I'm sure at this point some of you are probably asking yourselves when is it we don't travel since it seems like we're gone all the time. We've been gone longer than we planned thanks to a necessary overhaul of a majority of the engine of our 7-year-old Volvo and all thoughts of blog-updating left me after the 2nd week here. All the photos I want to show off are at home and I am here, so on top of this late update, you will also be hearing about how our Christmas went when I post about it in February. Hopefully this isn't an indication how the rest of this year will go.

So onto the big news......

Most of you probably already know since I added a little "blog accessory" to the siderunner a few weeks back, but for those who are totally clueless or just plain missed it:

Baby #2 is on the way!

Due July 18, 2010

We couldn't be more shocked (and excited)! Those who know us or those who have followed our journey on our blogs know that expanding our family has always been a struggle and we are so grateful for another chance to raise another awesome kid (not that we're biased or anything). I have taken a lot of time lately to reflect on the struggles of the past 8+ years and I can't help but find some peace with it now. Jonah is the most amazing kid and I love and adore him more with every passing day. How do I begrudge a journey that brought me to him? Wow, I feel so grownup now! The bitterness of infertility seems to have faded a bit with age and experience and I'm almost grateful for all that I've been through because it brought me to this spot right here. My family may never be as large as I had wanted or imagined but the family I have is greater than I ever dreamed.

Fa-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la!

2009-12-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

I've been terribly slow to post this past month but we've been busy enjoying the Christmas season. It started out slow, we baked dozens of cookies and we ate even more, but things have picked up since then. Christmas here is like nothing I've ever experienced; it's like all the cliches from the movies I watched as a kid are actually done here. We went caroling around the neighborhood one night with about 20 other people, singing as we walked down the street and delivering treats to unsuspecting neighbors. Who does that?? Apparently, they do here. Go figure. Last night we gathered around the firepit and roasted marshmallows, ate s'mores, and sang more Christmas carols with some of the neighbors. We even drank apple cider. I've never had apple cider before. Apparently, all of these years, I've been missing out. I love all this holiday goodness and Christmas cheer. I almost feel a little cheesy for enjoying it so much, and my family would probably make fun of me for it, but this is fun! Oh, and how can I forget about all the homemade treats that are hand-delivered to our doorstep every single day this month? As I write this, even, we just got some yummy caramels and chocolates that have already been devoured. Yum! I've been missing out all these years! I get the benefits of Christmas treats without having to make any; what a sweet deal!

Besides all the eating we've been doing, I've been trying to get Jonah involved in the Christmas Season. He loves it! He is so excited whenever we go anywhere with Christmas decorations. He loved helping decorate the house and sits back to admire the tree every night. He loves to sing Christmas carols and can sing right along with us to "White Christmas", "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night". I'm so happy my boy loves Christmas as much as I do. I let him help me make sugar cookies one day, we decorated a Gingerbread Train and he's come right along with us caroling and roasting marshmallows. I hope he keeps loving this season because it is my favorite.

This is Jonah's version of helping with the decorations; he set up the nativity in trains. Everything must go in trains these days.

Jonah is loving the snow, he thinks it's the coolest thing ever and loves to hang out in the backyard with the broom and a shovel and play in the snow.

Enjoying the fruits of his labors. Sugar cookies! Yum!

Our finished product! The little gingerbread train. Jonah was very excited to make it but mostly he just ate the candies and licked the frosting.

Anyone Else a Fan of "The Office"?

2009-12-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

We are huge fans in this house. HUGE. We can't get enough of "The Office". We're currently a season behind and catching up on Season 5 (Thank you, Netflix!). Well, actually, I admit I'm cheating and watching Season 6 as well, but shhhhhh! There are dozens of reasons to love the motley crue of misfits that fill Dunder Mifflin, but one of my favorites is the ongoing rivalry between Jim and Dwight and the pranks that Jim is constantly playing on Dwight. They are classic. They are golden. They are genius!

So, in the spirit of "The Office" (and thanks to a snowy day where there was absolutely nothing else to do), Levi and I decided to pull a prank of our own, on his mom (a fellow "Office" fan). We figured she'd appreciate the humor and not get mad (which is rather important when playing a prank, especially on someone you live with day in and day out).

Check out the YouTube Video first to appreciate the original prank:

And this:

Is what happens when you go away for the day and your bored kids are home (and watch too much "Office"). Luckily she found it amusing (or at least pretended to until we were out of earshot).

I love "The Office"!

Thank You!

2009-12-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure we've said it enough over the past few months, but Thank You! To all our friends and family, we have greatly appreciated the love and support you have given us while we have worked on getting approved for adoption. Many of you have gone to great lengths to help us in any way you can and for that, we are incredibly grateful. Every helping hand, good thought and prayer has been felt by us and we are so humbled to realize how loved we are. You are wonderful! We feel so lucky to be blessed with the family and friends that surround us, so please, accept this hug as sign of our constant gratitude to each and every one of you! We love you!

Shame On me!

2009-12-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed to realized it's been almost a MONTH since I last posted on either of our blogs. Life has gotten in the way recently and I have not caught up on my blogging. I hope to remedy that soon and get back to my regularly scheduled blogging. I hope you'll come back and read when I finally get some new posts up!

National Adoption Month

2009-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

November is National Adoption Month and in honor of that, I am attempting to post every single day on our Adoption Blog. So go check it out, read some interesting articles, and hopefully you might learn something new about adoption!

Yummm..I mean, wooo-ooooh, Halloween!

2009-11-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

Halloween is supposed to be the scariest day of the year but the only thing frightening about the day was the amount of treats and sweets we consumed. We made (pumpkin face) cookies and (spider-topped) cupcakes and then ate our way around the block, Trick-or-treating.

Somewhere between the glutenous consumption of a year's worth of treats in one night and passing out in bed from a sugar coma, we managed to carve a pumpkin. Jonah had more fun coloring on it with a marker, but we eventually got it carved and perched on the doorstep.

I decided I wanted to create some traditions for Halloween (beyond going door to door begging for candy) so I had the "brilliant" idea to make these cupcakes. Jonah got a major kick out of watching them be made but I will NEVER make them again. They were too much trouble, so I will need to find a new "tradition" to start next year.

My little Jonah-Pizza-Supreme! I wanted a cool and creative costume and this was so easy to make! He loved it! He wore it all night without complaint. This is the first year Jonah really understood what Trick-or-treating meant. He was dragging his feet a little until we hit the first house; from the moment the candy hit the bottom of his bucket, his world changed. He said, "Wow! Lets go get some more treats! This is fun!" So off we went, wandering the neighborhoods and politely begging for free candy (politeness was a requirement).

He knew what to say and would practice saying "Trick or Treat!" with us but as soon as the door would swing open he wouldn't say a word, just stare at the candy bowl. He eventually got the hang of it and would rotate between, "Trick or treat!", "Happy Halloween!" and, "hey! You have cute dogs!" He had a blast. At one of the doors the woman asked him what he was and he replied, "A Jonah!"

We had only one major meltdown the entire night. After about a block's worth of houses we emptied his pumpkin into a bag we had with us, to help lighten his load. Whoa! Wrong thing to do! Note to self: never do that again! He lost it! He started sobbing (loudly) and quite dramatically as we reached the front door of a house. He's still sobbing as the man at the door tries to placate him with candy.....it didn't work. So the man at the door hands him more and, through his hysterical tears, Jonah sobs, "I don't like that one!" and sobs louder. Oh boy! We had a quick pep talk/negotiation before we hit the next house and he was as good as gold the rest of the night. I think I had more fun taking Jonah around than I ever did Trick-or-treating, myself.

One last funny moment for the night...Levi's Grandpa lives 2 blocks from us so we made a point of going there. Grandpa keeps these (practically iconic) candy dishes on his coffee table at all times. Kids and adults alike make a bee-line for these candy dishes (without fail) every time we enter his house. So naturally, when Grandpa opens the door, Jonah runs past Grandpa holding the bowl of Halloween candy and heads straight for the candy dishes on the table to look for his treats; because, hey, if you're going to get treats at Grandpa's house, that is where you'll find them.

We had a fun Halloween and I'm hoping I have a few more years of picking Jonah's costumes because I'm already picking what I will make him next year.

Congratulations Little Brother!

2009-10-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my little brother got married! Being the low-key couple that they are, they went down to the courthouse on their lunch break rather than having a big ceremony.

Here's a cute photo from their wedding reception!

Congratulations Kyle & Ashley!

Ashley has been a part of our family for a long time now, but we're glad you guys made it offical! We love you guys and wish you the best!

New Family Photos!

2009-10-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

We're so excited to get some new family portraits! We have needed to use photos for several different things lately, mostly pertaining to adoption, and the nicest family portrait we had was from a year ago. Needless to say, we all look quite different now between Levi's beard, Jonah growing like a weed, and the 57 lbs I've lost....it was time for an update! We lucked out and had 2 of Levi's Uncles come to visit us this weekend, one of whom is an avid photographer. It was so nice to get some beautiful, FREE portraits done!

Now I need some opinions! Tell me which photo of the 3 of us you like best and which photo of just Levi and me you liked best! (just give me a number based in its postion). I have to pick one of each for something but I want to hear some opinions on it before I choose! Thank you!

Does it get any Cooler than this?!

2009-09-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jonah's Uncle Connor came to town to visit for a weekend and had loads of fun playing with Jonah. They played together, colored together and Uncle Connor even left some of his toys for Jonah to keep. One of the cool things they did was make this nifty caterpillar out of an egg carton. Jonah was extremely impressed. Uncle Connor was even kind enough to give it wheels and a bumper/fender to make it a Caterpillar Car. No, folks, it doesn't get any cooler than that; just ask Jonah!

Can you tell he likes it?!

Mommy, I'm Pretty!

2009-09-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you walk away from your 2 1/2 year old while he is coloring with markers. When I came back into the room (.004545 seconds later) he has colored all over his self. When I asked what he was doing, he replied, "Mommy, I'm pretty!" The markers are now locked safely away where he can no longer reach them. Perhaps he can have them back when he's 12...if he's lucky.

This is what happens with too much time on your hands!

2009-09-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's taken me ages to get around to posting all the crafts and projects I've been working on lately, but I finally did it! I still have many, many more that I want to do and I will post those as I finish them.

This is my first try at a rag quilt, where all the edges are visible and rough. It's just made from scraps of fabric from other projects.

This is one of the styles of burp cloths that I've been working on. I'm still experimenting to find the "right" shape, but I like how these turned out.

This is the other style of burp cloths. I've probably have close to 2 dozen made already, in various fabrics. It would take me an entire new post for all the pictures of all the other fabrics.

Similar to the one above, only a more narrow fabric piece.

This is a pile of the receiving blankets I've made recently. They ones you buy in the store are so stinking small, they are hardly usable; so I make my larger (about 1.25 yards) to accommodate bigger babies or make them more useful over time. My moose of a son loved to be swaddled the first 7 months of his life and the store-bought receiving blankets were only good for the first week of his life before they were too small to use.

My next fun project is making felt food. I thought Jonah might enjoy having fake food to play with so I've been trying my hand at this. It's a good exercise in practicing hand-stitching. So far I've made pizza, cookies, poptarts, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sushi. I'm not done yet and I want to try my hand at a few more foods.

I've also been working to diversify my quilting skills. My latest practice has been Prairie Points, which look like little spikes along the border of the quilt. I've made 2 quilts like that so far and I've loved how they turned out. (Please forgive the yellow in this photo, for some reason it just looks awful. The yellow is actually a cute, bright sunny-yellow color) I'm thinking I might sell this yellow lady bug one.

This next one is just a cute patchwork I recently made to welcome a baby boy.

I've made several nursing covers lately, too. I really like how they've turned out. I wish I had figured out how to make them myself when I still needed one, it would have saved me a bundle! I'm thinking I might sell these, too.

Blurry photo, I know, but Jonah wanted to demonstrate the little mini nursing cover I made to go along with a dolly that I sent to a brand-new Big Sister.

I've been working on baby toys, lately, too. The rings and the block are all I've done so far but I plan to work on a few more ideas, too.

This is the birthday banner I made for Jonah's birthday and I love it! It will be used in this family for many years to come!

Below are the crayon rolls I've made--it's a cute little holder that rolls up, where you can store all your crayons. A little more fun than a boring box.

I just made these a couple of weeks ago! I'm still working out the kinks, but if I get it solved to my satisfaction, I will feel comfortable giving them away as gifts. I won't sell them, though, it is somebody else's pattern.

One random day in February I thought it would be fun to make a wreath from those conversation hearts, so I spent HOURS with the hot glue gun, placing each heart individually on the wreath. I then planned to hang it with a nice big ribbon, but didn't get around to it this year.

This is the doll that I made Jonah for his 2nd birthday. I saw it online on someones blog and thought, "I can do this!" It turned out pretty well but I can already list the things I'll do differently with the next one. Jonah loves it, though. He call it "Eve" like from WALL*E and sleeps with it each night.

One of my attempts at a Taggie Blanket with some leftover fabric I had laying around.

This is a blanket I made Jonah out of some left over fabrics I had laying around. The patterned squares are emergency vehicles, leftover from my nephew's curtains. Jonah loves it and keeps it on his bed with the other 233463563454 quilts I've made.

Below are the dolls I've made so far. It comes from a pattern called the Black Apple Doll (who's link I cannot find at the moment). I can't sell them, but I've been enjoying giving them away as gifts. I get a little better with each try, so my apologies to the first few guinea pigs. :-)

So that is a sampling of my need to craft! I literally have a folder on my desktop filled with hundreds of crafts I want to make at least once. I love doing this and I get a little better as I go along! I am considering selling some of the items like the quilts, baby toys, burp cloths, and nurising covers, I just need to get moving on it!

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

2009-09-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers! If you didn't already know (or Facebook didn't prompt you yet) today is Amanda's birthday! w00t!

I won't tell you how old old she is, but I will tell you she is definitely not old enough to care about how old she is! She has spent this past year stretching herself and growing in countless ways and I hope she sees the progress she's made. Give her a hand, folks!

Amanda, enjoy your next year even more than the last. I know I will with you!

Love,

Levi

Remembering Mimi

2009-09-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today my grandma, Mimi, passed away. I still miss her and think of her everyday. How I wish she had known my little boy. How I wish she was around to talk to today.

My First Try at Canning

2009-09-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

One of the most blatant signs that I did not grow up LDS is the fact that I have no clue how to can anything. I sought to remedy that this summer by helping my mother-in-law can some of the bushels of fresh fruit we had. By "help" I mostly mean standing on the other side of the counter, out of the way, while she seamlessly canned dozens of jars of fruits and jams. The last thing to can, however, was tomatoes and I came up with the idea to make salsa. Well... A. I don't know what I am doing when it comes to canning, and B. I had never made fresh salsa in my life. But, with a little help and pretty much just throwing things in a bowl until it tasted good, I accomplished 2 firsts! I made homemade salsa and I canned it all, too!

Even Jonah got in on the act! His favorite part was working the machine that squished all the tomatoes.

More of Our Summer

2009-08-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

I lost the card-reader that hooks into my computer and makes uploading hundreds of photos quick and easy. Instead, I have to hook the camera itself to my computer and then wait 10 hours; its why I've taken so long in getting my summer photos up and on the blog. Yes, it essentially boils down to laziness because it seems like too much time to get it all done (plus the hours of photoshopping on my slower-than-molasses-up-a-hill computer).

So I now present to you....July! Yes folks, I am that far behind. Here are just a few (probably more like several) random photos from July. Enjoy!

We took a little scenic drive up to Cottonwood Lake one morning. It is a beautiful lake to walk around, and it has a rushing river right beside it. Jonah had a blast exploring and both boys enjoyed the rock-throwing.

Jonah's new favorite past-time is playing outside in the backyard with the watering hose. He will spent a good hour out there and come back in (by force) soaking wet and blissfully happy.

Not the best photo, but this was my very first attempt at a completely RAW dessert; Key Lime Pie. Yummo! It was sooo good and the best part is you can eat it without guilt!

We celebrated Levi's sister's (and youngest sibling) 18th birthday! Wow-weee! I've known her since she was 7 years old, and on the 4th of July she turned 18. I'm feeling a little old!

Jonah's gift, of course, was an original artwork for her to hang in her college dorm this Fall.

Just me and The Boy. He was so enthralled with all the cool (and big) toy trucks to play with at Aunt Lesa's house, that we hardly saw the child all night long.

We spent the 4th of July in California with my parents (this was the trip that Jonah was sick on, for the entire 10 days). The 4th of July was the only day he was halfway all right and by that night his fever showed up.

I had to throw this one in there! Aren't they cute?? Numbers One and Two, more than likely begging for something. Number Two looks like he has his beggin' face on. Note the pitiful expression on Number One (AKA The Master Manipulator) on the right. I know, I know, not everyone loves dogs as much as I do, but hey, it's my blog, so dogs it is!

This is pretty much what Jonah looked like the entire time we were visiting my parents. He was so sick he would just randomly pass out somewhere on the furniture throughout the day.

My sister, her kiddos and Jonah. I believe this is from our second trip, in August, since Jonah is upright and smiling.

While we were out in July, Jonah graduated to sleeping in the big-boy bed. He is so good, I hate to jinx it by bragging...we've had no issues with him sleeping in a big bed. He won't get out unless one of us comes to get him and its never a fight to get him to lay down at night. I avoided moving him to a regular bed for a long time, but I am so impressed with how well he has done with the transition.

This is from out August trip. Jonah and his Grandma playing around.

my Baby is a Teenager Now

2009-08-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

This morning has been a bit rough for Jonah and me. He apparently woke up on the wrong side of the bed and nothing can please him. When he asked for a second snack this morning, I kindly told him no, he must wait until lunch time. This prompted a major meltdown that ended with him walking away from me shouting, "I no like you at all!" My child must officially be a teenager now that he screams his dislike for me. Uh-oh!

Levi and Amanda are hoping to Adopt!

2009-08-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends (and lurkers),

After careful thought and much prayer, we have made the decision to expand our family through adoption. We are currently working on the process of approval and simply ask for your love, support and prayers at this time. (For those who are able to, please feel free to add us to the Temple Prayer Roll).

We have created a public blog dedicated to the efforts of finding a child to adopt. Please feel free to pass it along to others, post it on your own websites, and essentially spread the word the best you can. For those that do have personal webpages and/or blogs and would like to help, please add our “adoption button” to your site and link it to our URL. (for those who would like an adoption button to add to their own sites, email me!)

Click on the link below to view our blog!

Levi and Amanda are hoping to Adopt

We are incredibly excited, nervous, anxious… and have I mentioned, excited? We will be sure to keep all of you updated as the approval process continues; once we are officially approved, we will make sure it is known to all. There will be many ways in which each of you, individually, can help us increase our chances of being matched with a child. In the mean time, we thank you for all your love and support. We welcome and encourage all questions and are pleased to share this exciting time in our lives with each of you.

Love,
Amanda & Levi

Fun Giveaway at MMB

2009-08-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Check out the Mormon Mommy Blog for some cool summer giveaways!

http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-giveaway.html

Our Week with The Newtons

2009-08-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

First, let me start by saying we LOVE The Newtons! We were so happy to spend a week with our dear friends in our new home. We have missed them greatly these past 7 months and are hoping one day soon we'll be neighbors again. (hint-hint).

One the way back from our California trip at the beginning of August we stopped overnight in Utah and picked up the Newtons at the airport on our way back to Wyoming. Then we subjected then to a fun-filled week of Wyoming! We had foil dinners and s'mores out by the fire pit in the backyard, enjoyed the view of the Valley from our backyard, watched the meteor shower while laying on blankets in the backyard, toured all that Star Valley has to offer, took a day trip to Jackson Hole, lounged on the couch and watched "Gilmore Girls", made delicious RAW desserts to enjoy every night, ate the best Mexican food in the Valley, had a yummy homemade meal with visiting family, and introduced them to the yummiest pizzeria in Salt Lake City.

We had a great week and it went by too quickly! Now we're all alone up here and lonely for more visitors! Who wants to visit next??!

This is a small part of the view from our backyard.

Miss L took to Levi's sister, Silke, from the instant we picked them up from the airport. I was so nice to have someone else around that loved playing with the kids, who also loved playing with her.

A close-up of Miss L. Isn't she just adorable??!

Jonah was all about loving on Miss L. They played together so well and gave each other hugs and kisses every time we asked. Jonah missed her so much when they left. I explained to him that Miss L had to go home on the airplane, so for a week Jonah played with his airplanes and you could hear him say, "Goodbye Lola!"

Nita and Jonah bringing out all the goodies to make s'mores out by the fire.

Jonah & Me, Nita and Miss L, hanging out by the fire pit.

The s'mores got a thumbs up from Jonah. He spent the evening sneaking marshmallows and chocolate every time he though no one was looking.

My Silly Boy. He thought he was hilarious.

Touring Star Valley. This is Chris and Miss L next to the World's Largest Elk horn Arch.

We spent an evening running around and playing in Levi's Grandpa's backyard. The kids had a blast and they got to meet the new baby horse that lives next door.

We spent two nights laying out on the grass watching the meteor shower. They don't call it Star Valley for nothing! The night sky here is just beautiful!

Levi and Chris hiked the mountain in the backyard. There is a beautiful view of the entire valley from the top.
We took a day trip to Jackson Hole to check out the town and the shopping.

Levi's Aunt and Uncle were visiting at the same time, from Southern California. His Aunt was nice enough to do hair for most of the girls. I got my hair highlighted for the first time ever. Below is the "after" photo.

We had so much fun with The Newtons and I'm determined to make it an annual trip! We're so lucky to have so many good friends and even luckier that we can be here, sharing Star Valley with all of them! Who's coming next??

Our California Trip

2009-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

We have been go-go-going for most of the summer and are finally at home taking a rest. We had two vacations back-to-back in August; the first was driving out to California to spend a week with my family and the second was having some of our best friends visit us in Star Valley.

Our August road trip actually started at the end of July with a pit stop in Utah for Levi to take one of his licensing exams to be a financial planner. I am proud to say that he passed! Whoo-hoo! He now has one exam left and he will be official!

Once our little pit stop in Utah was behind us we had a somewhat enjoyable road trip through Nevada to California. For those that know of my aversion to long road trips, "somewhat enjoyable" is a rather rave review coming from me. It took about 11 hours each way, though, thanks to the never ending construction that had us going 55 MPH through a good portion of Nevada. Ahhhhh, summer travel...what would it be without all the construction? Oh yeah, enjoyable!

When we finally made it to good ol' California we had a blast!! We partied the next day to celebrate my future sister-in-law's birthday. Jonah was quite happy to have birthday cake. Monday was spent in the kitchen baking homemade cookies. Tuesday was spent in Half Moon Bay visiting one of my oldest friends and her cute little boy. (We brought all the homemade cookies baked the previous day; needless to say our welcome was warm). We had a leisurely day hanging in the Bay Area enjoying the sunshine and good company. I didn't really take any photographs, though; my friend was 39+ weeks pregnant and I thought I might lose an eye or an arm if I tried to take any pictures. I am happy to say that her sweet little boy made his debut a week later!

The rest of the week was spent visiting with friends and hanging out with the family. Jonah very much enjoyed his time with the cousins; he diligently practiced his "sharing" with very little bloodshed. Yay Jonah!

(Which reminds me...this past Sunday while in church, Jonah spotted a little boy with a cool firetruck. He walked right over to the boy and snatched it from him, prompting the boy to start crying. I ran over and asked what happened and as sweetly as he could, Jonah said, "Mommy, I'm sharing".)

On our fun-filled Friday we got to send our two nieces off to their first day of Kindergarten. I braided Miss T's hair especially for her first day. Then later that night we got to party down with the Boltons. I may have mentioned it before on the blog but in case I have not, The Boltons are a family that I grew up with, we were next door neighbors. Life has taken us down many paths in the more than decade since we lived next door to one another, but we've stuck together. They are my family. It's always fun to get together and hang out; no matter how much time passes it always feels like yesterday since we saw each other last.

On our last day in California Levi and I took my dad to go see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at The Music Circus (a local summer favorite that puts on plays and musicals. If you are ever in Sacramento in the summer you have to stop by and see a play at the Music Circus). It's become a tradition for us to take my dad to a Music Circus play every summer for his Father's Day gift.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip full of family and friends, and good food, thanks to all the local favorite eateries we felt needed our patronizing while there.

Jonah's new favorite thing to do is play with the watering hose. He won't go near sprinklers or pools, but will happily douse himself with the hose all day long. Since he loves spraying the hose so much we thought we'd at least put him to good use.

Here are the Big Girl Kindergartners...Miss A & Miss T. I cannot believe they are old enough for school already.

Jonah had a blast spending time with Cousin J; I'm impressed with how well they play together now. It's amazing how much changes in just a few months.

Apparently Jonah's been watching a lot of Sesame Street (I'm assuming that is where he got this from). He would spend half the night crawling around in the dog bed, calling it his "nest". Note the dog on the right, staring at Jonah and probably wondering what on earth the kid is doing with his bed.

This is just a File Photo for reference-the 4 women in the front are the Boltons; all that's missing is the Dad. That is my mom and me in the background. It's an older photo because you'll see further down in the photos that the baby bump Tash (2nd from left) is sporting is now an adorable 3 month old.

Jonah having a blast at the Boltons birthday party. He refused to even consider climbing into that thing with all the other kids but he happily squirted both himself and every child who came down the slide.

When it came to cake time Jonah could hardly contain himself. He just kept shouting over and over, "cake time! hooray! cake!" It was his lucky day, though, because the Birthday Girl is terribly shy and didn't want to blow out the candles. So Jonah graciously volunteered to do it for her. I think it made his night.

No, wait, I think diving for free-flying candy probably made his night. This was his first experience with a pinata and he just thought it was the coolest thing. I very quickly had to hide all the candy or he probably would have polished it off right then and there.

Here is the sweet little boy previously mentioned as a Baby Bump, Mr. B. Isn't he just adorable??!

Hmmm...I should have ended with the cute baby rather than me....this is just a photo of the new hair cut my mom treated me to. It looks better now than it did the first night, but you get the idea.

After a week's worth of fun it was onward ho! and back to Utah where the very next day we picked up The Newtons at the airport for a fun-filled week in Star Valley. Post coming soon!

Catch Up

2009-08-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

This summer has flown by in record time; it is unbelievable that is it already the middle of August. Here are just a few random photos from June.

We've been exploring all the cool things to do out here in Wyoming and find ourselves wandering around the valley. Here we are taking a walk around the Snake River. Jonah is really enjoying all the time he spends outdoors now.

Jonah has recently discovered his love of painting and would happily paint all day long if I let him. He finsishes one painting and asks for "more, please!"

Jonah has really enjoyed having such a large backyard to run around in. He is happy to go explore and climb around, and has recently decided his mission in life is to make sure the plants/garden/lawn are (over) watered.

I've been working to make a lot of crafts the past few months-dolls, quilts, blankets, baby things, etc.- and one of the things I made was this little dolly for a gift, and Jonah insisted on giving it a hug before I wrapped it up and mailed it out. I have made a few more since then and every time I complete one, Jonah insists on hugging it. So note that if you ever it get a doll from me, it comes with Jonah's love and seal of approval.

Jonah is always interested in being just like Daddy and I often find him wandering the house with something or Levi's. He seems particularly attached to Levi's boots and if I can't find Jonah around the house, it's a pretty good bet that he is sitting on the steps in the garage playing with the boots.

Jonah is going to love us when he gets older....what with all the "cool" photos we take of him! Poor kid doesn't stand a chance as a teenager with all the embarrassing photos we have of him already.

Last but not least....a new twist on The Bus! Apparently he couldn't find anything cool or new around the house to take for a spin so he decided to try it out himself. Sorry the pics are a little blurry-he was moving quickly and my camera was malfunctioning, but you get the idea!

Teaser Post

2009-08-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Apparently there are at least one or two people out there who've noticed the gaping absence of new posts on the blog for the past month.....a whole month?! We've been traveling here and there and everywhere (so it seems) and I've hardly had a chance to catch my breath let alone update on all the fun things we've done. However, I have been diligently working on my photos for several hours now and hope to be finished with them...sometime in the next year. Seriously, though, I will be putting up new posts very shortly!

In the mean time, I'm here to entertain you with the silly things my son has told me this week, simply because I need to jot them down before I forget.

While picking up Jonah up to be held this evening, he informed me that he's "Manda's Monkey". He's been learning both mine and Levi's names, as well as his own, and apparently he's got it down now.

While enjoying a corn dog for lunch one day, he began pulling all the corn covering off, revealing the hot dog beneath it. When asked what he was doing, he replied, "I'm taking the shirt off this hot dog".

Speaking of my oh-so-cleaver child, for the first time ever he put his pajamas on all on his own. Whoo-hoo! He even got it right the first time. He's is SUCH the big boy now, I am sure by this time next week my services will no longer be required.

New posts soon!! No, really, new posts coming soon!

Stop the Ride, I Want to Get Off!

2009-07-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Boy has been sick since we arrived in California on Friday. One week to spend with my family and friends and Jonah is sick, essentially rendering all my best-laid plans into nothing more than wishful thinking.

Sick kids are never fun; sick kids on vacation is a whole new dimension of "no fun". Without your own room, your own bed, and all your own stuff, there is little to find comfort in while sick. I am going to go ahead and assume that has played a factor in the level of atrociousness my son has achieved this week.

Most parents will agree that the task of giving medicine to a 2 year old is quite like trying to nail jello to the wall. I've all but sat upon my child and pried his mouth open in the hopes that at least a small percentage of medicine will some how make it in his mouth, rather than being sprayed, splashed, and spit within a 2 foot radius of the screaming mess of tears formally known as my sweet little boy. What happened to my sweet little boy? The boy who said "okay, Mommy" and opened his mouth to wait for the medicine? Who is this little devil who squirms, spits and screams?

This afternoon I told him it was time for his medicine. This statement was not met with great joy. I believe his exact words were, "No, Mommy. No like medicines," as he was running away from me. I told him he could either take the medicine or go upstairs to bed. Without a moment's hesitation he chose bed (it was only 4pm). He said, "I go upstairs in my bed. No like medicine". Crap! There goes my brilliant plan!

Five days of fever, 4 days of no sleep, 3 long days of fights over medicine, 2 separate trips to the doctor, and now 1 ear infection. This is a vacation?! I want to go home!

Happy Anniversary, Amanda and Levi!

2009-07-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

Once again this is Levi, and I am posting from a conference in Asheville, NC. Today is Amanda's and my wedding anniversary, and it is the first one that we have spent away from each other. I just wanted to say to you, Amanda: Thank you for choosing to be with me and stay with me! I love you always and I miss you today. Thank you for all of the talent, energy, thoughtfulness, and patience that you bring to our marriage. I look forward to being with you in a few days and for many, many more years!

What We Did on Our Summer Vacation....

2009-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Island Park, Idaho at the beginning of June to spend (almost) a week with the Dayleys; aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents...you name it, they were there (well, almost everyone). We had a wonderful time while there, bunking up in the cabins, playing games, eating s'mores, eating everything, playing more games, standing outside in the rain to enjoy the campfire, playing games, eating, exploring Yellowstone, eating, playing games, and digging our cars out of the snow so we could make it to church on time. Yes, June has been a whirlwind month full of more relatives than I could count and more fun than I could keep track of.

The "kids" wasted no time getting acquainted with the hot tub; I don't think the car engines had cooled upon our arrival before all the teenagers took over the spa. Jonah felt the need to join in and splash around, beating his old record by requiring a new change of clothes in less than 5 minutes.

Jonah became fast friends with all the kids; so many so close in age, it was awfully nice for Jonah to have so many kids to play with.

Amidst all of the festivities of our arrival, we somehow managed to find time to toilet-paper the cabin of the late-comers. We learned rather quickly, however, that the toilet paper should be rationed with 12-20 people per cabin.....so the empty cardboard rolls were kindly left behind to be re-wound so the TP wouldn't go to waste.

We enjoyed a campfire around the fire pit for about 15 minutes before the rain started to fall. Most of the week was rainy, but on the upside, it left us plenty of time to play games, chat, and enjoy each other's company.

Games, games, and more games! You can't be a Dayley if you don't play games.

(seriously! it's in The Rulebook)

Jonah made sure to take advantage of all the giant mud puddles left by the constant rain; he jumped in every puddle he could find and turned around and jumped again. Eh, he's washable, right?

After our Foil Dinners were rained on and washed out, we had to reconfigure our plans for s'mores. So we brainstormed (since NOT eating them was not an option) and came up with the idea to assemble them and bake them in foil, in the oven. They were actually pretty good.

As you can see, they were enjoyed by all.

Then we gathered together for a special presentation.......

....by a very (ahem) special man......

Of course, what family reunion would be complete without family photos??!

Here is Jonah enjoying a balmy June day in Idaho.

This is the very first snowman Jonah has ever built! He's crying because the cold snow was hurting his hands but he didn't want to stop touching it. Sadly, this little fella was gone by midday; but he was cute while he lasted.

We saw the local sights and spent some time at Mesa Falls.

While the kids stayed back at the cabins enjoying a fun-filled afternoon throwing sticks and big rocks into a mud puddle. Does life get any better?

The next day we packed up the caravan and headed to Yellowstone National Park....

....Where we saw buffaloes galore, so close you could touch them (but smart enough not to).

And we enjoyed the natural beauty that abounds in the park.

Old Faithful

Artist Falls

One last photo.....making friends and having fun.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our life!

My Dad

I love and appreciate my dad for many reasons- all of which I could not list- but here is a sampling:

1. he will always have an answer to my questions (and I have a lot of questions).

2. he is often strong and silent, but on rare occasion I get to realize he's just a big kid forced to be a grown-up (which is, oddly, one of the things I appreciate most about him).

3. No one knows their Disney Trivia like my dad. No one.

4. He loves me no matter what.

5. He loves my son like no other.

Thanks to you, Dad, I will always carry in my heart a special place for Hawaiian Shirts and Disneyland.

Levi's Dad

Barry- Reasons you are loved:

1. Your infinite wisdom and steadfastness; we appreciate your experience and advice.

2.For the goofiness that often overpowers your infinite wisdom and steadfastness.

3. Because your love of Andy Griffith rivals no other.

4. Your unconditional love and forgiveness of mistakes.

5. You love our son like no other.

Levi
You are loved beyond measure by your little boy (and me). For all the books you read to Jonah, all the walks you take, for all the cuddles you give, for singing songs at bedtime....Jonah loves you more than anything. His Daddy is the coolest guy around (at least until he's 15, but don't worry, you will be cool again once he's 25).