1 month birthday!

This little man turned one month last week.  He spent a lot of his week doing this...

and this...

and this.

To celebrate we made a cake and a birthday hat.  He was less than impressed, but Jessie more than made up for it.  She had this hat jammed on his head before I could turn around and tell her that we were waiting for him to wake up before putting it on him.

Singing 'happy birthday' at the top of their lungs.  Good thing Levi is pretty chill :)

Current stats:

Length. 22 1/2 inches - gained 1.5 inches since birth

Weight - 10 lbs, 4 oz, gained 12 oz

In other news, while admiring a pair of turkey vultures swooping low, we talked about their eating habits and Emma pipes up, "We should buy one of those!"

"You mean a turkey vulture?" 

"Yeah, Daddy's been struggling with moles, and they eat them, so it's perfect!  He can sleep in our basement, and we'll let him out during the day, and he won't fly away because we'll just say 'here turkey vulture' and he'll come, because we'll be nice to him."  

Love that imagination!

Jessie, "I hear THUNDER!  It's RAINING!  Need UMBRELLA!  Drip on HEAD"  Yes, this was shrieked with joy and excitement.  One of her favorite activities.  Another favorite?  HAIRCUTS!  She got a haircut this week, and the hairdresser was cracking up because every two snips, Jessie would beam up at her, "HAIRCUT!!"  Now she's looking forward to "CAMPING!!" which is shrieked spontaneously throughout the day.

Samantha, when found sobbing her heart out around 8:30 on the backyard bible clubs,

"I am just so tired, I just want to go to bed but there's so much to clean up!"  I reassured her that there was plenty of help and she could crawl into bed, she cried even louder, "but they are all leaving and I don't want to leave it up to you!"  That girl carries the weight of the world sometimes!

I love these little ones, and their individual strengths!  

Week 3

Levi loves to eat.  And sleep.  But unfortunately, he prefers to sleep in the arms of a loved one.  Fortunately, it doesn't really matter which loved one is holding him :)  Extra fortunately the church threw us a baby shower, and gave us this amazing glider-rocker that is the perfect level of comfort and function and beauty, and the best size for little arms to cuddle him.

Catching up

So yes, Levi turned one month old yesterday.  And I'm just getting caught up on his second week of life.  What can I say?  The kids have been fed, washed, laundry done and VBS/backyard bible club week were to be had.  And sometimes, that's enough!

Levi loves to be snuggled.  Here he's getting caught up on WW2 history with daddy.

Jessie just being a goof!

Jessie is completely crazy over Levi.  She's convinced all he ever needs is 'more milk?' or a 'change stinky bum?' but loves to bounce him in his bouncy seat.  Gentleness is being learned :)

We went to see Fort McHenry, the fort during the war of 1812  where the Star-Spangled Banner was born.  The day was beautiful, and after easing concerns that the boats coming into the harbor were not the British attacking but simply cargo ships, we all really enjoyed it.

Levi is ever increasing in alertness, and looks more and more like Jessie every day.

Levi is a well loved little boy, and Samantha and Emma are crazy over holding him, even when he's upset.  Their only complaint?  That I hog him :)

Levi Nathaniel

Levi Nathaniel, our son

Born July 12, 2012

9 lbs, 8 oz

21 inches long

10 fingers, 10 toes

Absolutely perfect

Well loved by three older sisters and two smitten parents.

Hair has a blondish/reddish tint underneath the brown.

Cheeks are chubbily adorable.

Has huge feet.

Visits in the hospital.  

Jessie had no reservations.

Samantha and Emma were concerned about hurting me or Levi, 

wanted to know if the doctors and nurses were okay with them visiting.

Now at home they are adjusting

Emma explaining, "I sometimes accidentally call him 'her' just because I'm so used to sisters, 

but I really do know that he is a boy, because God made him different, but my tongue forgets to say 'him' sometimes"

What was your favorite part of the day, Samantha?

Seeing his cute little face!

"My brudder."

Upon kicking the bassinet and discovering the startle reflex, 

"He moved!!" And then promptly kicking it three more times to see if he moved every time.

Yes, yes he did :)  

Then Jessie spent the next 3 days mimicking every sound, movement and squirm he made.  Imagine every squeak, eye blink and arm stretch.  Except for being convinced he was drinking chocolate milk every time he nursed and demanding some herself, she has absolutely loved him, and looks for him first thing every morning.  

We are awed and amazed and overwhelmingly thankful for another precious gift.  There were a few tense moments during the delivery that reminded us that the outcome could have been very different, and yet God was gracious and allowed us to hold him in our arms.  While we don't know for how long he's been given to us, we will cherish these days, and pray that God uses Levi Nathaniel for his Kingdom and His glory.  God is so good!

Hats and shades

With 100-plus degree weather over the last two weeks, we picked up some hats and sunglasses.  Let it be known, this was a huge hit, and much to my surprise, the sunglasses are still surviving!

41 weeks

And here we are, at 41 weeks.  This baby is happy and growing, and will come exactly when it's supposed to.  What a comfort knowing that 'late' isn't in God's vocabulary.  But in the meantime, we're getting a little anxious to meet him/her :)  In the mean time, we've been enjoying the extra time practicing trusting God and remembering that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, regardless of the outcome!

38 weeks

You know you are 38 weeks pregnant when:

• your weight loss regiment consists of getting a haircut
• you start to admire your wrists for their shapeliness
• you have two 2 year olds attached to your legs, but can only tell by their touch and hearing little voices from beneath the belly
• your 4 year old says, "Mom, what if this baby is born a toddler?"
• your other 4 year old says, "Mom, you've got the most beautiful veins!" as she admires the map-like markings across your abdomen
• doing dishes involves swiveling hips to the left, and washing dishes at an angle in order to reach them
• the belly turns on your touch-sensative stove EVERY time, causing you to frequently double check to see what you turned off, or on
• bathing the kiddos includes one icepack on your neck, and another down your brasier just to keep cool (granted, the a/c went out, and yesterday hit 99 degrees Fahrenheit) 
• connect-the-stretch-marks is the activity for the preschoolers in the afternoon
• zantac is a friend
• the baby is trying to decide whether tap-dancing on your bladder or compressing your diaphragm is a better way of sanctifying mom
• the midwife says, "Well, your uterus has the unique ability to stretch way beyond normal capacity, and seems to think that a 15 lb baby is a good time to initiate labor, so don't even think about delivering any time soon

On the plus side... 38 weeks!  Can't wait to meet this little one!  By far it has been the easiest trimester, and the countdown is on, even if it's another 4 weeks (it's only 4 more weeks).

Soon and very soon.... and no pictures, since blogger is crashing every time I try.  So, just imagine a beluga.  A big beluga.  Every time I jump in the tub, this runs through my head :