Swirls

I have adored the little swirl in Jacob's hair since he was born.

I think it's just a cute little characteristic of his.

And Levi has one too that I equally love!

Guess they get if from their daddy.  :)

p.s.  you know I'm running out of blog material when I posts the back of their heads!  HA! :)

Weekend Recap

Hope you had a relaxing weekend.

Saturday, Beth and her kiddos came over for a visit.

I thought we would bust out the mini-donut pan.

I had some very eager little helpers.

Both me and Kate are sporting the hairnet courtesy of Meme.

Kate has on an apron of mine, and Jacob is wearing the next best thing... a large bib.  :)

Lukie did not want his picture taken.  

They each cracked an egg, held the mixer, and helped pour the batter into the pan.

Well, we put too much batter into the pan and ended up with muffins instead of mini donuts.  Oh well.

I think we all had fun.

Today we had a cookout over at Beth's and the kids played in the pool and bouncy house.

Levi discovered her coffee table :)

I actually forgot to take any pictures other than the above which Kris captured.  

Off to read the Kindle.  

Have a wonderful week!

Friday Randoms

*I just finished my first book on my new kindle.

I had heard a lot of good things about this book.  

It was a very quick read.  I highly recommend it!!!!!

  {makes you think hmmmm.... wow, really!?!?!}

Up next and recommended by my blog buddy Jacquie is:

Two books in one!
I'm excited about them both!

*When we were expecting a possible tornado the other night, I was freaking out!  

I was wearing the baby bjorn and put Levi in it the first time.  He didn't know what to think!  

{excuse the hair and pajamas!}

It breaks my heart to see the images of Joplin, MO.  

A place just an hour north of us that we visited when we wanted a change of scenery in shopping and dining.  

*I am in full blown party planning mode!  I am having a lot of fun with Levi's 1st birthday!

Our spare bedroom has been taken over with the decor and craft projects.

*Wednesday night my friends Modest, Sharon and her husband Wayne came over for dinner and to watch the American Idol finale.  Sharon and Wayne drove up from Florida to visit some family and were able to sneak in a visit with us.  We three ladies met in 1997 when we all worked at the Walmart Home Office.  It was my first real job, and they took me under their wings!  

They both were my guest book attendants in my wedding, and Modest's daughter Kayla was my flower girl, and she'll be a senior in high school next year!!

I love these ladies bunches!!  And miss Sharon (in the middle) so much!!!

*So I bawled during The Biggest Loser finale.  I just love their new outlook on life and just how happy they are.  Clearly I need to get my head on straight from seeing the picture above.  Hated to post it of me, but wanted to show you my friends :)

*I knew Scotty would win American Idol because I didn't want him to.  I like him, just not his singing.  ha!

I hope you have a great, long, restful weekend!

11mos

Levi, my little honey bun, you are 11mos old today.

This is such a FUN stage!!  

Some things you are up to:

*you weigh 21 lbs

*wear size 3 diaper

*wear 12, 12-18mo shirts/rompers/pajamas/shorts

*crawling everywhere, walking around furniture, and pulling yourself up to anything

*started using the walker (that you push), should get the hang of it real quick

*can wave hi or bye-bye on request

*saying ma-ma (LOVE IT!), da-da and bye-bye

*down to 1 good nap a day, which in turn, you sleep all night (knock on wood)

*started giving open-mouth kisses (aka slobbers!)

*haven't met a food you don't like.  introduced you to Meme's mashed potatoes which you love!

*you are a pro with a sippy cup.  had it a few times with juice

*your sweet face lights up when we pick you up from daycare, and you drop what you're doing and immediately crawl to us.

{these monthly pictures are getting harder to take, good thing there's only 1 left}

You are the best baby ever!  Everyone tells me that you are never upset and hardly cry, which is true.

I wish every new parent could experience you as their first baby.  It would be such a breeze for them.

I read many blogs of moms with babies who get up every hour or two at night, who fuss all day, who cry for no reason for long periods of time, and I just have to say that has never been you.  KNOCK ON WOOD!

We have it made, and we don't take it for granted!!!

Thank you for an amazing 11 months!!

We love you bunches!!!

Around here lately

I thought the boys looked extra cute before church this morning.

Jacob looks so big :(

And so does Levi :(

{Just so you know, I would never button the top button.  Kris Key did that}

Modeling his Woody slippers

Beth and her munchkins came over Friday.  Kate asked if she could hold Levi.
I think he's half her weight!  She loves him so!

This picture makes me laugh, Levi is just chillin'

Silly Luke

One night last week both Kris and I had our heads buried in the laptop.
I asked him if he put Jacob to bed.  He said no, I thought you did.
Whoops!  Little guy fell asleep in our bed.  Parents of the year!

Levi has been making so many new expressions.  I don't even think this looks like him :)

First it was Pink Eye, then Jacob came down with 5th Disease.
Can't really tell in this picture, but his cheeks, arms and legs were covered with a rash.

Looking forward to this week:
*Biggest Loser finale
*American Idol finale (even though I don't care who wins at this point)
*Wednesday night having dinner with 2 old friends (they're not old, we've just known each other 14yrs!)
*last day of work (more on that later)

Birthday Prep

I came across a neat craft idea for birthday parties and thought I would attempt to make one for Levi's.

Yes, that's over a month away, but I wasn't sure how long it would take.

A balloon wreath!

I must give credit to this tutorial.

Here are my supplies minus the extra bags of balloons I had to purchase once I got started :)

 And here is the finished product!

I love how it turned out, I will have this for years to come, and I will pull it out on everyone's birthday!

Chicago Trip Part 2

We did a lot of walking in Chicago.

One of those hikes took us to the Sears Tower which is now known as Willis Tower.

Getting close...

They added a Skydeck

(Click on the link above to get a better understanding)

I initially said, "no way Jose!!!!"

But I got up there and thought why not!

It was definitely a mental challenge.
Just stepping onto glass wasn't easy for me!!  

I finally got over it, but didn't last long.

And of course had to buy the souvenir picture to prove it! :)

I told Kris to do a scary face, he said no just act normal.
And then he did this!?!?!  

Seriously, nothing but the open air beneath you, well a few inches of glass...

I tried to capture a picture of it from the outside.

See those little boxes?  :)

Afterwards we headed back toward the hotel.
Saw some neat sights along the way.

Ouch!

Standing in line in the cold for the best crack popcorn ever!!!

*disclaimer:  i have no idea what crack feels like :)

David and Melody

Straight down!

Don't think I can rock the hand on your waist pose

We had a great time in Chi-town!

Chicago Trip Part 1

We had a great time in Chicago!

I won't lie, we froze!!  It was 20 degrees below the average normal.
Should have been in the 60s and it was in the 40s, and rainy, and windy!!

We managed to have plenty on our agenda, despite the weather.  

First up, lunch on Friday!  Delish!

  

We walked around town and hit a few shops.

I bought this cute mini donut pan from Crate and Barrell.  Can't wait to use.  

Friday night was dinner at Gino's Pizza!  Probably my favorite of the weekend!  

Kris being silly outside the Apple store.  Wanted to hit the Weber Grill Restaurant, but didn't make it, and outside Gino's Pizza.

Saturday was our anniversary and we hit Millennium Park, the Navy Pier and had a Chicago Dog!

The dog was split between 6 of us!

While at the Park, we saw 'The Bean'.  I think it's been in some movies, but can't recall which.

Taking your picture in it is a must.

Speaking of movies, have you seen the 80s classic 'Adventures in Babysitting' ?
One of my absolute faves!!!  Remember when the little girl is sliding on the ledge outside a building?
This is it!

I didn't watch Married with Children when it was on, but this is the fountain in the opening credits.

The Art Institute of Chicago

We also went to the Science and Industry Museum (this is a bad pic of it)

Inside it, we went to the Body Worlds exhibit.

It was a little creepy knowing those were real live bodies at one point!

We also saw actual organs (lungs of a smoker, lungs with cancer, etc...)

{something to do while raining outside}

The museum itself was huge.

Even in the crazy cold, the streets were lined with beautiful flowers.

Did you ever watch ER?  This reminded me of some of the scenes of them hitching a ride on the "L".

Here we are hiking to the Sears tower.  Recap of that next!