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

Birthday, birthday!

In my family, our birthdays are evenly split - two in June and two in October. My sister brought in the month of October in birthday celebration, and my dad will send the month out in style!

The card I got for my dad this year talked about a dad that's down-to-earth, but also out to save the world, and that's my daddy. He loves our family and is one of the most thoughtful men I know. It was wonderful to celebrate him tonight with a steak dinner and gelato. I couldn't believe that I'd never introduced my father to gelato until today!

Our little dude was worn out from all of the celebrating, and found a nice little napping place on Grammy's lap.

Happy, happy birthday, Dad/Grandy! We love you!

Family photos

Note for future reference: a rough night for Levi is not ideal for a family photo shoot the following morning.

Taylor's tweet pretty much sums up how the morning began:

However, because she is a creative genius, she captured some incredible shots. Love this kid!

Lunch

Hands, avocado, mouth. Lunch is served!

Ask

This post is one I've composed in bits and pieces in my mind over the last month or so. I was explaining to a friend a few weeks ago that this is the method I used to write most of my college papers. By the time the words actually made it onto paper, only one draft was ever needed. I can't really explain it, but that's how I compose things. A few sentences in the car, a few more before I fall asleep, others while in the shower. It's a strange process, but it's how my brain works!

We've now been living in our new apartment for slightly more than three months. Some days it seems like we've been here much longer, and other days it feels like we just moved in. But one feeling that remains the same is that this is home. I can honestly say that I love this apartment more than I've loved living anywhere else since being married. It's cozy, it's simple, it's ideally located for us and it's in an intersection of numerous cultures. Those reasons in and of themselves are pleasant and homey. But I think the most important reason behind the peace we have here is that God opened the door for us to be here, and we said, "yes."

When we began the moving process, we were frequently asked why we would move here. Less space, no dishwasher, no washer/dryer, no garage, etc. etc. I think people meant well in asking those questions, but over time, I began to ask those same questions of God. Why? Why here? Why now, after our family has grown? And then I walked through the door of our new place, and tears began to flow. I know why. Because this is where we are supposed to be. Because God knows what He is doing. Because this is home, and I knew it from the moment I stepped through the door.

Living here means we had to get rid of a lot of things we never needed in the first place. It means that when I wake up and walk outside, it's like walking around the globe. It means that my son will grow up alongside children from other countries with different skin colors, languages and cultural traditions. It means that I am learning discipline to do dishes and wash clothes without the convenience of appliances I used to have. It means that our family has the opportunity to share Jesus, the One who has radically changed our lives for the better, with others who may have never heard.

Now that we live here, the question has changed to, "What's your vision for living there? What's the plan?" Again, well meaning questions. In all honesty, I'm not sure I have a specific answer. My plan is to follow Jesus, to see what He is doing, the places where He is moving, and to join Him there. God has drawn our hearts to this place and has begun knitting us into this community. I'm so thankful.

There's a song that Shane & Shane sing, titled "You Said." Part of the lyrics say:

You said, ask and I'll give the nations to you,

Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart.

Distant shores and the islands will see your light,

As it rises on us.

The cry of my heart, of our hearts, is that truly, people from distant shores will see the Light of the World. He's alive, and He's good, and the knowledge of His glory will fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea (Habakuk 2:14).

Man on the move

We have a crawler! Our little dude is officially all over the place!

North Carolina!

This last weekend, we had a somewhat spontaneous opportunity to fly out to visit my sister and brother-in-law in North Carolina, and I'll begin by saying that it was one of the most fun weekends we've had this year! We took tons of photos, so I'll let them tell the story of the trip:

Levi's first plane ride, and he was fascinated:

How he spent the first flight:

How he spent the second flight:

The time difference threw him off a bit in the beginning, and we weren't quite ready to get up yet. So, we let him cuddle with us for the last hour. He started out in the middle, and before I knew it, he had moved in on my pillow space. I can confirm that he is an excellent snuggle buddy!

The North Carolina air agreed with this cutie:

Once he discovered the pumpkins, the front steps became his favorite place to hang out:

Pumpkin love:

Aunt Leigh love:

Aunt Leigh got some Ergo experience:

One of the many reasons that I can see why Leigh and J.J. love NC:

Isn't their house adorable?

We woke up one morning to the sound of a 5K race right outside of their house, so we had a watch party:

More pumpkin love:

Supporting the Sooners in preparation of the OU/Texas game:

Aunt Leigh AND a pumpkin! What could be better?

One evening, we carved pumpkins. I didn't get the memo that we were going with a certain theme, so my pumpkin was sent to its own side of the porch:

Uncle J.J. introduced Batman to a big-boy Batmobile:

We walked around Old Salem with Leigh in her imaginary Ergo:

On our last night, we stayed in Charlotte. Leigh and our little dude had bedtime reading together:

One last shot before Aunt Leigh headed back to work:

Hanging with dad in the hotel room:

One of my favorite shots of the trip! Waking up from nap time:

Our first return flight. If our kiddo looks a little wild-eyed, that would be because we sat on the tarmac for more than an hour. Being "overtired" is real, people. We have proof!

Gearing up for the last flight by watching Thomas the Train on a portable DVD player (thank you, Taylor and David!). He'd never seen the show or a DVD player, so he was quite entertained until he fell asleep:

All in all, it was an amazing time with the Peeks! They were the most generous hosts - we ate well, played well and slept well. We had high expectations for Levi on an airplane, and our little wonder exceeded them all. He is a born traveler!

Thanks, Leigh and J.J.! We are already counting down the days until we get to see you both again.