Eleven months!

Deutbug! You are 11 months old! That's almost a year, my little man!

Each month, I say to myself, "life with this kiddo cannot get any more entertaining or fun or adventurous" and then lo and behold, the next month I find myself saying the same thing. Life with you, little mister, is a joy.

You continue to be a man on the move, crawling at the speed of light, pulling up on anything you think might be able to support you, and making your way from one part of the room to another by walking along furniture, window sills or anything else you find.

You've started talking to yourself when you play in your room, and it's the most precious sound. You babble in the sweetest tones and then interrupt yourself with shrieks just for the sake of shrieking. I love it.

Your tooth is in plain sight now when you smile, and you thoroughly enjoyed exploring these windows with your mouth:

This time of year, you love looking at Christmas trees with all of the lights. You enjoy it so much that you started standing, for just a few seconds at a time, in front of Grammy's and Grandy's tree. I think you especially loved the applause you received at the end of such a feat!

You still love to clap when anyone cheers, "yay," and once or twice I've heard the "yay" sound come out of your mouth, whether you intended to make it or not.

There are many toys you enjoy, but you LOVE books. You love sitting in our laps reading, and often times I will find you looking at books on your own!

We're nearing the end of 2011, and I continue to reflect on what a life-changing year this has been. You've completed our family in a way I never could have imagined.

Love, love, LOVE!

Mama

Ten months!

Levi Blaze,

Ten months, little mister! A few days ago, I realized that at this point, you have been in the world longer than you were in my belly. Wow.

More and more, we see your personality emerging. You are a vocal kiddo, and you are constantly babbling in sweet baby tones, "singing" as you discover different pitches, making the "mmmmmm" sound when you eat, and laughing.

And, my dear son, you have begun yelling. Sometimes the yell is followed by a laugh, and sometimes that yell is to let us know that you are not happy. It's been so interesting to watch you make decisions about what you like and don't like. Even in your moments of protest (you threw your first tantrum this month when you didn't get what you wanted!), you still remain the cutest thing ever. You are our spirited little boy!

You are a proficient crawler, and you are fast! When you see something you want, you waste no time in making your way to it. You now pull up on everything in sight, and recently you've begun taking steps while holding on to furniture.

This month, your dad taught you to throw your toy ball to him and he would roll it back for you to repeat. I remain so impressed by that new skill! You have several toy balls that you like, and these days, they are your toys of choice. You love the sound they make when you toss them across the floor.

You love making loud noises either by banging your hands on a hard surface, or by playing with my kitchen spoons on the floor. You flinch in advance when you know a loud noise is coming, but you turn around and make that noise again and again.

You cut your first tooth this month, and ooooooh does it make you that much more adorable! You still won't let me get close enough to get a picture of it, but I'm patient. :)

You, your dad and I have been having lots of dance parties, and the three of us laugh and laugh. You've also started a little game with us, where you make a sound and then look at us until we repeat the sound. Then, you do it again. You are a smart little wonder.

We love, love, love you!

Love,

Mom

First tooth!

We have a tooth!

Levi is keeping the visual evidence under lock and key, but one of these days I will be quick enough to take a photo!

What a week

The past week can be summed up in a few short words: injured daddy, sick baby, sick mama, doctors, surgery, lack of sleep. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours!

Gib's surgery went really well, and my tough guy is now rockin' a camo cast:

He has battled this injury well - he really has. I know it's been frustrating for him to be out of commission while recovering from surgery, but he has remained so patient and kind.

The littlest member of our family has had a hard week, too. What began as a little congestion became the croup, and I haven't experienced many scarier things than to hear my little guy upset and trying to catch his breath in the middle of the night. It's obvious by looking at him that he doesn't feel well at all, but like his father, he has remained good-natured.

And, lest I be left out of the fun, I've been battling my sinuses. I hadn't had a sinus infection in more than a year, and this one hit me hard.

I can say that our family has shared some cuddly moments in the last week that have added sweetness to our situation. I was reminded today of Psalm 91, that we find rest in abiding in our Heavenly Father. He is our Refuge, and I'm so thankful that no matter what pesky health issues come our way, He is ever-present.

I'm also continually thankful for my two guys. They make life so much better, even when they aren't feeling 100 percent. But I think I speak for all of us when I say that full recovery all around is a very welcome concept!

The chair

Gib and I aren't really sentimental about much "stuff," especially as it pertains to baby gear. Our Little Blaze has plenty of toys and clothes, etc. but we try to stay on the minimalistic side of that world.

However, this chair is an exception:

When Gib's aunt and uncle gave it to us at a shower a few months ago, I thought it was cute, but I didn't realize that it came with a story.

This chair was actually Gib's when he was a wee boy. A family friend made it for him, and the bottom of the chair still has the gift date painted on it.

Apparently, the chair was circulated around extended family, and it's now made its way back to our family.

I have to imagine that Gib loved this chair when he was little because he son loves this chair. He bangs on it, crawls to it, climbs on it, sits in it and has fun tipping it over. It's the perfect size for him.

This little chair is a keeper.

Eleven eleven eleven

While thousands of people were getting married today, our 11/11/11 was spent admiring Gib in a hair net!

This guy was a trooper. Surgery went well, and he's home recovering.

The past week has been a little nutty at our place. In the same weekend that Gib broke his finger, I had two full days of class. Our amazing friends stepped in to babysit, and in some cases, "Gibbysit." Some made us food and all of them offered lots of encouragement. A big ol' thanks to all of you for being your awesome selves. Thanks to my parents for taking Levi this weekend while I finish up class. And, thanks to the man of the hour, the injured one, The Gibster, for being way more patient, entertaining and joyful than I ever would be in your situation!

A POPS date

Gib's parents recently relocated back to Kansas from western Colorado, and we are excited because this means it's actually realistic to meet up somewhat spontaneously! A few weekends ago, they were visiting Gib's sister and decided to head our direction for a late lunch.

We met up at POPS Restaurant on historic Route 66, which is, as the name suggests, a place with lots and lots of sodas. It was a beautiful day, so we spread out on a blanket while waiting for a table.

We were fortunate to get a table outside, where Levi had his first taste of pickle, thanks to his grandpa. I think he liked it!

We loved getting to catch up in person, and Levi loved getting some grandparent attention.

We're looking forward to the next time!

Orange

You may recall that our son was captivated by pumpkins while in North Carolina. When we visited Grammy a few weeks ago, she remembered and was so kind as to supply him with his own little pumpkin patch.

A few weeks after Grammy's house, we went to a birthday party for one of Levi's buddies, where his attention was immediately drawn to… you guessed it… a pumpkin!

Then, he spied the balloon:

Hey! Don't take my balloon away!

Seriously! Give it back!

Our little guy either loves all things resembling pumpkins or he really loves orange. Either way, Happy Fall to him, to us and to you!

Injuries on the homefront

Gib, along with several of his friends, has been playing on a softball team on Thursday nights for the past few months. It's been fun for the guys to get to have "guy time" and play ball together, and although they play in a city church league, sometimes things on the field get a little… ahem… competitive.

And sometimes that extends to the stands where I get… ahem…competitive.

Because so many of their games this fall have been late in the evening, Levi and I haven't attended more than a handful. Last Thursday, the games began early, so there we were, all bundled up with the other team wives and kids. I looked up to see Gib round second base, where he found himself in "a pickle," as I have always heard it called. He was caught in the middle between second and third base, and the other team was throwing the ball back and forth trying to tag him out.

As he sprinted back to second base, the third baseman chasing him down not only tagged him out, but also gave him, in my objective opinion (ha!), a harder shove than was needed, which sent him flying to the ground.

I was livid. How rude! How dare he! THAT'S MY HUSBAND THERE, BUDDY. But Gib got up, so I settled down. Until I heard my husband ask for a medic. A medic. A MEDIC?!

I won't post a photo of his finger because it was gruesome. It bent in directions that a finger was never meant to bend. And my anger flared. Where was that heartless, ruthless third baseman who attacked my husband? Where was he?! (Can you tell that I tend to overreact sometimes?) Could I punch him while holding my baby?

But you know who wasn't mad? This guy:

He remained calm and cool all the way to the hospital, and laughed while in the waiting room. He was polite to the nurses, even conversational. When the doctor yanked his finger straight, he didn't utter so much as a yelp, even though the grimace on his face showed me that he was in some serious pain.

As you can see from the photos, he is currently in a temporary cast until we see a hand specialist this week. We are definitely praying that no surgery is needed.

I want to brag on my husband. It is taking him twice as long to do things, and there are lots of things he can't do right now with only one working hand. In the face of difficulty, he has been so patient and so kind. I am not surprised, for that is who he is and has always been.

When I let my flesh rise up and get angry within seconds, my husband, the injured one, had no trouble finding joy even in the midst of his circumstances. How blessed am I to have him as the head of our family! I certainly have some things to learn from him.

Fall Festival-ing

This weekend was chalk full of fall fun! On Saturday, two training schools affiliated with our church put on one fabulous fall festival at our apartment complex's playground, for any students or families who wanted to come. There were games, snacks, music and a bounce house. It was really nice to meet so many of our neighbors, and we already have some new play dates scheduled.

This game was a favorite with kiddos and adults alike:

On Sunday evening, some families from our church joined us in "reverse trick-or-treating." Instead of asking for candy, we went door to door giving out treats. We met even more of our neighbors, and our little blonde-haired, blue-eyed Superman was a huge hit:

I love all of Levi's expressions (and Batman is pretty cute, too):

I realize there are different opinions out there on celebrating Halloween versus not celebrating it. While I don't think we will probably participate in general "Halloween" activities, it was fun and, for us, meaningful to go out and get to meet families here. Several families prayed for people who were interested, and we heard some pretty incredible stories afterward. And, it's always fun to dress up. The costumes were adorable!

Our little Superman was joined by some of his favorite people.

Rainbow Brite (although she didn't smile for the camera, trust me, she had fun!):

Monkey and Ladybug:

Giraffey:

Kitty:

And another Superman! (I love that Levi is checking out his counterpart):

I didn't get a shot of the dog dressed as Santa, but hopefully he will make another holiday appearance this season. I also didn't get a shot of the older kids. They were much to mobile to gather them all together for a shot!

The new nap

As Levi gets older, his wind-down time before naps has increased. He used to fall asleep almost immediately after lying down. Now, he plays and talks in his crib for a little while before finally crashing. So, it didn't immediately catch my attention when I heard laughter coming from the monitor.

When I reached over to click on the video of our monitor, however, I was not prepared to see THIS:

Yesterday, as he was standing in his pack n' play, I showed him that he could hang on to the side to steady himself. Apparently, that lesson translated a little too well to the crib!

When I went in to see this in person, he was all smiles.

On one hand, I realize that this discovery on his part will revolutionize crib time now. On the other hand, I'm pretty proud of my curious little wonder!

We're not in summer anymore

This fall season has often felt more like a continuation of summer than a changing of seasons. I'm not complaining because it's felt like a nice summer, not like the 100+ temperatures we actually had during the summer season.

Today was a reminder that fall is here! It was rainy, cold and one of those days where I wanted to sit on the couch, drink tea and read a book. Levi's nap time actually afforded me that opportunity for a while, and it was wonderful.

But later, when we ventured out, I was reminded of this picture (sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate it!).

I won't tell you which aunt this is because I love her and I want to continue to be invited to family gatherings. Haha! This just happened to be a cold, blistery day in Chicago, several years ago, during a trip that was so much fun! We gave her a hard time about resembling the Unabomber here.

I thought this picture expressed visually how I felt out in the elements today. I suppose I had better get used to it! It's practically November, after all.

Nine months!

OH MY GOODNESS is the only appropriate way I can think of to begin this post! I can barely keep up with the milestones you've passed in the last month, and I can barely keep up with you!

In the same week that you turned eight months old, you began crawling. At first, it was a slow exploration, but after a few days, it was full speed ahead. Let me just say that we love to watch you crawl. Your expressions, your motions, your focus… you are adorable. Adorable! You are a man on the move!

Being our curious little wonder, within seconds of entering the living room, you notice anything that's changed in the room and you head toward it. You move from one object to the next, and we've had to come up with clever barricades to keep you in our sight. You have great balance and can go from crawling to sitting to crawling to pausing mid-crawl… to pulling up! We are amazed by you, little dude.

Your dad has begun regularly taking you across the street to the playground. You swing, play in the grass and even crawl through the tunnels. I love to watch the special bond the two of you share. He can still make you laugh like no one else.

You've also become quite… *ahem*… vocal in the last few weeks. I mean, you've always been a vocal child, but you have discovered octaves and volume levels previously unheard in our household. Sometimes I wonder what the neighbors must think. We continue to see you become more and more spirited, while remaining very observant and exploring everything (even my shoe). We laugh and say that Blaze is a very appropriate middle name for you!

You had your first plane ride this month, and you were a traveling champion. We are so proud and can't wait to take you on another trip.

The weather is finally starting to cool off, which makes going on walks so refreshing. You rarely make a peep as we walk, too busy taking in everything around you with those inquisitive blue eyes.

You look more and more like a little boy every day, but you know what? You'll always be my baby.

Love you like crazy,

Mama