Celebrating the Drs. Peek!

Today, I celebrate one of my favorite people! Over the last 27 years, we have played Barbies together, shared some bad haircuts together, learned how to do back flips on the trampoline together, sang duets in church together, sang duets in the bathroom mirror together, invented and played the "mine" game together, learned pig latin together, raised countless kittens together, traveled Europe together, and on and on. We've shared a lot of life together!

Feliz cumpleanos to my sister!

As it happens, J.J.'s birthday was during their honeymoon, and I failed to give him a proper birthday shout-out. I've already given myself a resounding "boooooooooooo" for that. So, in the spirit of birthday love, here's hoping that belated is better than never!

Feliz cumpleanos to my sister AND my BIL!

Sunset

While most of the stadium was captivated by what was happening below, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the sunset. Perfect weather, great company (hi, Sarah!) and a sweet view of God's artistry and magnificence.

Eight months!

Leviticus,

Happy eight-month birthday to our little wonder! EIGHT MONTHS! I'm almost speechless.

Wellllll, maybe not almost. Or even close to almost. Knowing me as you do, you know that I am anything but speechless when it comes to talking to you or about you. You, my little man, make my world go 'round in the most joyous way, and your daddy feels the same way.

As I write this, you are *this.close* to crawling. You can get up on all fours, you can rock back and forth, you can move your arms and you can move your legs... you just haven't put all of the motions together yet. But, it's coming. And while I am excited to see this new kind of motion, I realize that with your energy and your curiosity, my day is about to get a whole lot more adventurous!

Mornings have become my favorite time of the day because I awaken to the sound of you playing in your crib. For the first few months of your life, you woke up crying, ready for us to come and get you right that moment. Now, I watch you on the monitor as you talk to yourself, play with Seahorse, or just roll around. It's simply the sweetest thing in the world, and the icing on the cake is when I walk in to get you. Your face lights up, you grin that gummy grin that I love so much, and you lift one of your arms up to say, "Pick me up!"

Bath time is also a blast! You have graduated from the baby tub to the kitchen sink to the bathtub. You splash and giggle and wear yourself out playing with your bath toys (measuring cups!). And, if you catch a glimpse of your reflection in the bathroom or living room mirror, that is pure joy!

Your laugh, oh, your laugh! We will do just about anything to hear that sound. Fortunately for us, you are very generous with laughter, so it doesn't take much. Your daddy can get you to laugh like no one else.

You love our bed, and each time your daddy or I go in to our room, you know immediately where we are going, and you grin so brightly that your dimples come into full view. You roll around while I get ready in the mornings, and you and your daddy play on the bed when he gets home from work.

Aunt Leigh got married this month, and you got to come down the aisle in a wagon. You looked adorable in your suspenders, bow tie and cap, and you were so easygoing the entire night despite us keeping you up way past your bedtime.

The weather is finally starting to cool off, so we are enjoying long evening walks with you in the stroller. As much as we love taking you out and about to spend time with other people, we cherish our family time together. Although your daddy and I were a family before you came into our lives, you have made this family complete in a new way.

We LOVE you, Levi Blaze!

Love,

Mama

I don't think I've seen a cuter backside!

Such a sweet sleeper:

With Grandy at Aunt Leigh's wedding:

Little dude!

Thankful

In the last week...

- A friend sent a cross-stitched work of art for Levi that took her months to make

- Some friends surprised us with a brand-new television, the very kind Gib has been wanting for months (they didn't know this), the kind we would have never bought for ourselves

- My parents watched Levi for a weekend so we could attend a conference

- Another friend took home a bag of our dirty clothes and surprised us by returning them washed and folded

- Yet another friend showed up on our doorstep with a play home for Levi, one that I have been eyeing for a few months

To anyone else, these might seem like superficial things that just happened over the last few days. To me, and to Gib, these are reminders that God cares about the little things in our lives. He knows the desires of our hearts, not just for the fun material things that we'd like to have, but for the community of people who are so kind and so generous. I am in awe of friends and family who care for us and who love us so well.

I like to think we have thankful hearts consistently, but tonight especially, I'm feeling so humbled and grateful. My "love language" is acts of service, and these out-of-the-blue kind acts have made my heart full. Although most of the people mentioned above will likely never read this post, I still say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Leigh's Wedding

On September 3, our family had a fun, momentous, sentimental, special, beautiful event in that my sister got married! She and I are not too far apart in age, but it still seemed surreal that my little sister was old enough to be embarking on this new season of life.

Both she and her husband live in North Carolina, but since they are both from Oklahoma, they held the wedding here at one of the state's neatest venues, The Harn Homestead.

I know every bride is beautiful, and I know she's my sister, but I have to say, Leigh was stunning that day. She had this ethereal glow about her, in part due to her gorgeous dress/hair/veil/make-up and in large part due to the fact that she was marrying the love of her life. When she came down that aisle, she took MY breath away! There is just something so sweet about watching your little sister get married.

She and J.J. are perfect for each other, and I'm excited to have gained a second brother (the first being Gib's brother).

The weekend festivities began with the rehearsal and dinner, where J.J. revealed their honeymoon destination to his bride via a little game. She opened photos and had to guess where they were taken and then put them in order of their honeymoon itinerary. His thoughtfulness in planning the honeymoon and the big reveal was so sweet, and Leigh was too cute when she realized what was ahead of her. She correctly guessed Athens, a Mediterranean cruise and the grand finale of Santorini.

On the wedding day itself, I was amazed at how calm, yet excited, my sister was. No nerves, no stress, just happiness. The guys looked dapper in their suspenders and bow ties, and even Levi had a mini-version of their outfits. It was a somewhat last-minute decision to have Levi pulled down the aisle in a wagon, and oh my goodness was it adorable!

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of my own that day, but you can see their photo slideshow (photos by Sarah at HolliB Photography) here! Congratulations, Leigh and J.J.!

Falling for Fall

I don't know if this weather actually means that fall is coming, but regardless, this is just one of the many reasons I love cooler weather!

Playing catch-up

"A little behind" would be quite an understatement in describing my posting frequency these days, wouldn't it?!

After The Great Move, it took several days to get us all unpacked and settled, but I'm proud to say that we are pretty much there. We have a few more things to hang on the walls and a few more bins to purchase to make our shelves more aesthetically appealing, but I'm going to call us unpacked.

At the end of August, we set out for Kansas to introduce Levi to his great-grandparents and great-aunts and great-uncles. We left early enough that our little guy got to travel in his adorable pj's, helping daddy drive. (Kidding, of course).

Our little Blazer had a great time introducing himself to his great-grandparents Park and got to experience the Park family's love of all things K-State. He joined in the theme for a day with his powercat onesie. He also had some reading time with his grandma.

Grandma Park and her sisters threw us a shower one afternoon, and Levi got to meet his great-grandpa Krouse, receive some fun toys, and then take a nap while the adults talked. (Sidenote: the Ergo is on my list of top things moms need. It's amazing.)

It was a short trip, but it's always wonderful to get to see Gib's family. We are really excited that his parents have relocated back to Manhattan, a short drive away when compared with Western Colorado!