Countdown!

The countdown is officially on! One week until we move into our new house! I am getting so excited...trying to remember every little detail of the new place and trying to picture where I'll unpack things and dreaming of what life will be like. Mmm...it's alot of work, but I do like moving. Well, I like moving when the next place is more exciting than the last. I certainly had mixed feelings about leaving Altona. It was both a sad and a happy day.

Levi is doing well. He's in a great routine that is working well for all of us. He's such a happy boy and loves to spend his days exploring and "talking" and chasing Lennox and enjoying life. What a precious boy!

We are spending our last week of living in H-town actually out of town visiting my parents. We have a big family gathering this weekend so we decided to come up a few days early and sneak in a leisurely visit before the festivities actually begin. It's always fun to be back in the town I grew up in.

Not sure what else is happening but I wanted to post. It feels like posts are few and far between these days. Hopefully that will change once we're moved and settled in. As for this post, I think it needs to be finished. My nose is telling me that I have a job to do...diaper change, here I come!

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

Come for Tea...

It's been a long, LONG time since I've gone for "coffee" with anyone, coffee motivated simply by the chat aspect.  I suppose having a nursing baby changes that since I rarely (never) go anywhere without Levi and a coffee shop could be a nightmare with a 9 month old who grabs everything and just wants to MOVE.  I kinda miss those leisurely dates that I would have with friends, though, where we would just catch up on each other's lives and share our struggles and joys over a steaming cup of...whatever.

If we, you and I, were to go out for coffee today, these are some of the things that might come up...

Levi - He's sleeping through the night!  Sometimes...  He still wakes up around 5-6am wanting to eat, but then sleeps til 8-8:30 every morning.  How long does your baby sleep?  When did they start sleeping through the night?  He sure has food preferences.  He'll down four bowls of things he loves and only two or three bites of things he doesn't really care for.  How did you get your baby to eat?  Did they gain any weight in the second year of their life?  With Levi not eating alot, he's basically stayed the same weight since he was four months old!  Is this normal?!  He's so much fun to watch these days.  He's starting to problem solve!  He loves to stand but wants to play with a toy while standing so what does he do?  He'll reach up while sitting and put his toy on top of a ledge, then he'll pull himself up on the ledge and, if he balanced the toy well, it will be waiting up top for him!  What a smart boy.  : P  I'm so proud!

Marriage - Ok, so this one we might actually need to be sitting at a table together to discuss : )  haha.  In short, marriage is wonderful.  We've been married six amazing years...we've done alot of things together in those years...and we love each other WAY more now than we did when we were first married.  Wouldn't change a thing.  That said, every marriage has its challenges, whether it's outside forces that you need to work through together or relationship things from within.  There's always something, right?  Well, not always, but you catch my drift...

Moving - Whoo-hoo!  Yippee!!  I am so so excited to be moving in just over two weeks!  Put down roots?  Unpack the boxes without marking the next packing date on the calendar?  Yes please!  We're gonna burn those boxes just as soon as they're empty.  I'm picturing an ongoing bonfire in the backyard that we'll just throw box after box onto until we're completely moved in.  Ok.  Exaggeration.  Not really a fire.  But believe me, there will be a metaphorical fire burning and as I empty each box, I will toss it into the flames!  haha.  See ya later, BOXES.  (Much, much later, I hope.)  I am so done with living in boxes.  Having somewhere to live that is permanent just sounds amazing.  I was just writing in my journal today that, while I am nervous about a few things, mostly I just feel like we're finally moving HOME.  Altona, if I remember correctly, felt the same way when we moved there.  Of course there's an adjustment period.  But this is definitely where we're meant to be!

Crafting/Sewing/Scrapbooking/MAKING - For the past few months, I have felt nearly invincible when it comes to making things.  I'll see something I like in a store or magazine and think, "I could make that."  I've definitely been proven wrong a time or two (I seem to recall a dress-making endeavor that went horribly wrong just a few months ago before grad...think BIG, unshapely, not flattering in the least).  But my creative juices are flowing!  Right now, I'm working on a crocheted cover for a big floor pillow that has been losing its fluff in small, bite-sized clumps for a few years now.  It was never a big deal until those bite-sized clumps started making their way into a certain little mouth around here...gross.  New cover needed.  ASAP.  My scrapbooking these days is sporadic.  I still haven't started Levi's baby book and he's already 9 months old.  I.am.behind.  I've always been someone who is just waiting for things to happen so that I have more pictures to work with.  I think I must just be too intimidated...I want his book to be exactly the way I picture it.  I want it to be perfect.  And that is not going to happen.  So I guess I'm just trying to put it out of my mind...  I have started my pregnancy album though!  It's been fun.  I think I only have a few more hours to go before I'm done that.  I have been thinking about digital scrapbooking for a while now.  Have you done it?  Do you like it?  What do you do with all your traditional scrapbooking supplies?  Do you use them up before you make the switch?  And does it look weird when some of your albums are traditional and others are digital?  I'm just not sure.  And speaking of making things, what do you dream of making?  What's on your "to make" list?  What do you wish you could make?  What's your favourite thing that you've made?

Devos - Another fun one that may be better discussed over a coffee.  But how rarely does this actually come up?  Right?  Is it something that anybody actually talks about?  Or are we all so busy that devos get put on a back burner and we're too embarrassed or feel too guilty to actually talk about it?  I know I have felt like that.  ALOT.  But I've noticed that lately I've just been feeling tired.  And easily stressed.  And unfocused.  I've just been feeling a bit out of it and not like myself.  (Not hugely like that, but just kinda a haze that's been hanging over me lately)  So the other night I went on my iPhone and "bought" a free app called "You Version".  It has the whole Bible in numerous translations as well as many many different Bible reading and devotional plans.  I then set myself up a little devo routine and started right away - before I could forget!  I then committed to making Levi's morning nap time into "me time" where I'll read a bit and memorize a bit and seriously, so good!  SO good.  Funny thing, though.  Until now, nap time has been get-stuff-done-as-quickly-as-possible-while-the-lad-is-sleeping time so naturally, as soon as I finished my devos, my mind raced to what I should do next.  So I sat.  And stared out the window.  And THOUGHT.  And PRAYED.  And made a conscious effort to actually DO nothing for a while.  And it was so refreshing!  And right then and there I decided that I was going to do my best to guard that time and do it every day.  And so far it's been amazing.  I have more energy.  I have more patience.  I have more love...more focus...more joy... Of course, I'm not looking forward to the day that it becomes routine and I somehow forget how life was like without it because, seriously, it seems to happen every.single.time.  But for now, it's like a breath of fresh air. 

Now,  if we were sitting across the little cafe table, I would look you in the eyes and ask how it's going with your soul.  How are you?  How ARE you?  Really?  How are you doing?

(if you're up for a little virtual coffee date, you can either facebook me a message or go to my profile on the right side of this blog and email me or, if you happen to see me in the next week or two before we move, you can corner me and talk my ear off)

Thanks for the little coffee date!  Usually I'm not the one doing all of the talking but I think, in this case, it is the only way it would have worked...

Talk back...

Ok all, I have some questions for you!  Of course I've been thinking alot about our impending move and thus, the house we will be moving into.  There are a few areas that I'm just not sure what to do with.  Or I have too many ideas and need to get them narrowed down.  So this is where you come in!  If you have anything to say on any of the following areas of decoration/renovation/organization, I'm all ears!  If you can include links to pictures (pinterest perhaps?) that would be even better, though I'll gladly take suggestions without a visual if that's what you're offering.

First up: laundry area.  Our laundry area is located kinda as a short hallway between the main floor bathroom and the rest of the house.  It is fairly out of sight from the rest of the house, but everyone who uses our bathroom will pass by this area.  As is, it is about closet sized with top load washer/dryer on the bottom and a set of three darker wood, outdated cabinets on top.  I LOVE that I'll have cabinets to hide laundry soap and stuff in, but it's not very pretty.  What would you do?  Paint the cabinets?  Cover it all with a nice curtain?  Something else entirely? 

Next: Master bedroom closet.  Picture this: typical double sliding door-size closet, without the doors.  I'm seeing huge potential.  Built-ins anyone?  Yup.  That's my goal/dream.  All I'm wondering is, do I go with lots of space to hang stuff and just a few shelves?  Or do I go with more shelves?  Do I make specific shelves for things like shoes?  What kinds of things do you store in your master closet and what would your dream closet be?

Moving on: Cloth diapers.  How do you store them?  Right now mine are sitting in a pile, spread eagle, on top of my diaper pail.  They're easy to grab and use, I'll give my system that much, but they sure don't look pretty.  And one of the best things about cloth diapering is how pretty all the fresh, clean diapers are!  So do share, where are your balls of fluff between being laundered and being used?

Entrance: being a bi-level, our entrance leaves much to be desired.  We are fortunate enough to have a closet at the end, but foot-room is lacking.  SO, if you have a small entrance, how do you keep the crazies out?  How do you keep things organized and looking beautiful?

Basement: wide open spaces!  One half of our basement is bedrooms and bathroom.  The other half is open!  I'm hoping to make myself a little craft area (need a table...) but the part I'm thinking most about is the tv area.  See, we sold what little basement furniture we had when we moved from Altona.  We have but one 2' square cushion for the floor and that is IT.  We have no tv stand.  We have no couch.  And I'm kinda hoping we have no chairs either (Nathan has a dorm chair from his days at Bethany that I'm kinda hoping doesn't survive the move...).  Anyone have any decently inexpensive ideas for making the basement a comfy family area without tons of furniture?

Kitchen: this one will probably be the lowest on the priority list, but remember those dark, outdated cabinets that I mentioned were in the laundry area?  Well, I'm pretty sure they were taken from the kitchen at one point cause that's exactly what's in there.  New counter tops (YAY!) but old wooden cabinets.  Has anyone tried painting cabinets?  What were the results?  Would you recommend trying to beautify what I have (paint, new hardware) or should I just leave it completely alone until we can redo the kitchen with new cabinets (probably 15 years down the road!).

Let me know!

9 months.

I feel like Levi has changed SO much this month.  Some months he stays more or less consistent, but this month, LOOK OUT!  Levi is on the move and there's nothing stopping him!

 Last month I mentioned that he was a mover and fell off the chair as I was taking the monthly pictures but that I'd managed to swing my arm out and catch him.  Well, this month he wasn't so lucky.  I took a bunch of great shots right after his morning nap while he was still fairly still and then Nathan so helpfully pointed out that I'd forgotten the monkey.  So I had to do a few more right before his afternoon nap and, what do you know?  He took a nose dive off the chair.  Speaking of nose dives...he had his first tumble off the change table this month.  He got quite the carpet burn on his forehead and was pretty shaken up.  I felt so bad, but hey, falls happen.  And he was fine, except for the huge scab that took up residence on his otherwise perfect little forehead. : (

 Levi still army crawls everywhere.  He tried out his hands and knees once or twice but always ended up flopping to his stomach because it was much, much faster.  And why slow down to practice something when what you're doing is faster now?

Levi has always seemed to enjoy making us laugh, but this month it seems like his little entertainer personality has blossomed.  He'll often make funny faces or noises and just watch us for our reaction.  And when we laugh, he'll laugh right along with us.  He loves to smile.  He has always been ticklish, but this month it seems that he's been more ticklish than ever.  It has definitely been a month of joy and celebration and laughter in this house!

Levi had his first run-in with the big ol' flu bug this month.  Ick.  It's true that your stomach does harden once you become a mom but wow.  Despite not gagging, it still wasn't fun to clean up some of those messes!  Ick.  Thankfully the worst of it only lasted about a day. (Nathan and I were out with the same bug a day or two later but had it much, much worse!)

Levi has his top two teeth!  They came in just days after he turned 8 months old.  He looks much more like a little toddler now.  Our little boy is growing up!  His legs have also seemed to have stretched out and are looking more and more like they should be running around rather than just sitting still.  He has been using those legs for lots of standing and walking along furniture.  I honestly would be surprised if he waited until he was a year old before he started walking.  I expect by 10 or 11 months we'll have a little toddler on our hands.  He has also learned to climb in the past few days.  A couple times we've found him standing on a step or box or stepping up on a toy to reach something that was put just out of his reach.  He doesn't always pick the sturdiest things to step up on, though, so it's still a bit scary!  We don't worry too much about him toppling over from the standing position anymore though.  He has practiced pulling up, sitting down, pulling up, sitting down over and over and is usually quite controlled in his movements.  I like it when his new skills are honed a little and don't require quite as many super-hero dives on my part : )

As far as physical things, I think he's probably around 17-18lbs, but that's just a guess.  He's become a bit of a light-weight for his age.  He's about 28-29" long/tall.  He sleeps from 8pm-6am(feed)-8am most nights.  He eats three meals a day with us and nurses quite a bit more often than that, though we're starting to stretch the feeds longer than every 2 hours!  yay!  He's learning to eat table food which is fun to watch.  And his hair is just getting longer and more blonde every week.

Well, that's our little monkey at 9 months.  Love you buddy!  You're 3/4 of the way to one year!  Whoo-hoo!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot!  Levi also attended his first high school graduation, wedding, and rodeo (three separate events) this month.  He also lost his first hat and got his first slivers.  And he learned to drink from a straw.  It's been quite the month!  

Blogging on a phone just isn't as much fun as blogging on a computer.  Hence the silence.  But hopefully I'll get back to it soon!  Our little man is 9 months old tomorrow...perhaps that will be just the kick in the pants that I need to get back at it!