Levi is 1!

Today is a special day at our house! Levi is 1 year old today! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by over the course of a year. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home. What a wonderful year it has been! Levi is keeping us very busy as he is furniture walking like crazy and super curious about just anything these days. His favorite toy is his glowworm but he also loves cars, and anything that plays music. He is a smiley little guy who loves to laugh and loves to gabber with just about anyone. We celebrated a bit early while in Iowa for Thanksgiving and I thought I would share a few pictures!

Happy Birthday Levi—you are the light of our lives. We are so excited to celebrate your life. You keep Mommy and Daddy busy and always bring smiles to our faces. We pray for continued blessings from God in your life as you continue to grow up. Happy Birthday Little Man—WE LOVE YOU!

 

Levi is full of life and on the move--I had to chase him around to get this photo--he has four teeth and is working on a few more:)

 

Levi loves books and sat nicely with grandma to read a new book!

 

 Levi was excited for a cupcake--here he is trying to blow out the candle!

 

 Levi laughs all the time--I think he was lauging with gradma in this picture:)

 

 Levi trying chocolate cake for the first time--at first he wasn't sure, but he LOVED it:)

 

HAPPY 1st  BIRTHDAY LEVI!

 

 

On the move

So, most of you have probably given up on me. It seems that each time I post to the blog, I say something like—wow, it has been a while since my last post. Life hasn’t slowed down since the last time I wrote—in fact, it might be even faster.  Our little Levi is on the move. Levi started army crawling in early October and it didn't take long before he was moving around quite quickly. It is fair to say that Josh and I have a lot of baby-proofing to do. We are finding that our house is not the easiest to find baby-proofing materials for. It is funny how you don’t think of these things when you are shopping for a home and do not have kids. I never thought that our railings would prove to be almost impossible to find a baby gate for or that we would somehow have to find a gate that would block off our gas fireplace that sits at floor level in our living room. Levi doesn’t miss much eitherJ He is so curious and just wants to figure new things out. His latest is wanting to look out the window. Today, I caught him sucking on the window crank—I guess we will have to find a new home for thoseJ Levi is also eating more and more solid food. He has moved on from the simple purees to chunks of steamed food. I am still making everything and seem to make baby food a lot more often these days for my big eater. So far, his favorite seems to be steamed sweet peas. I am not sure where he got that from as neither Josh nor I really care for them. Sometimes I think he likes them because of their shape.

Levi was a little Monkey for Halloween. He had fun at Daycare with his friends. We also had the opportunity to visit Josh at work that night as his school was putting on an event for the community. It was a great excuse for us to show Levi off to our co-workers. They are all very impressed at how fast he has grownJ

Levi has kept Josh and me laughing. He knows he can get our attention just by laughing. He is recently into clapping—we clap for everything! Here are a few pictures!

 

Levi having fun in his room

 

  

Sleeping with Daddy

 

Such a big boy-10 months!


Our little Monkey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Much Needed Update:)

So, as you are very aware, I have taken a hiatus from blogging for a bit. It is not that I don’t want to blog—it is that time seems to get away from me. So, let's catch up...shall we?

We have really been enjoying summer. I had to look back through the pictures on my camera to make sure that I included all of the fun stuff we have been doing. Since my last post was in July, I will go back that farJ We enjoyed a nice weekend with family up at Josh’s parent’s new resort, The Harbor on Crescent Bay! They have come so far from last summer—the place looks great. Following that weekend, we spent a couple weekends in Iowa and then my parents and sister joined us in Minnesota for a long weekend. While they were here, we took in a Minnesota Twins game together and rode the new Northstar Commuter Train from our town right to the Stadium entrance—that was great! We recently took Levi to his first ever Minnesota State Fair. He loved it! He really enjoys being in his stroller, now that he doesn’t have to be all crunched up in his little car seat. He is also loving his new big boy car seat in the carJ It is hard to believe he will be nine months at the end of this week. He isn’t crawling yet, but is super close. He gets where he wants to go by rolling around. He can also spin around in a full circle and move backwards, but still struggles going forward just yet. We know he will be moving all over the place soon and have begun to baby-proof our home. Levi is eating like a champ and I am sure many of you will agree with me that he has become quite the chunkJ We are so happy he is such a healthy little guy and I am really enjoying making all of his food. Life seems to go by so quickly these days and we are trying to enjoy every second to the fullest. We hope all of you are enjoying what is left of summer, as well!

Our Little Race Fan in his Dale Earnhardt Jammies...he is even attempting to hold up three fingers:)

Levi kicking back at the lake on the 4th of July

Playing around in the camper on the 4th of July

 

 

Levi loves to eat...but this time he was a little tired and mom couldn't resist taking a photo:)

 

 

Levi with mom and grandma on the train, headed to his first Minnesota Twins Game

 

Enjoying the game with Grandpa and Grandma!

 

An attempt at a family photo at the ballgame...Levi wasn't interested

 

Levi is very talkative these days!

 

Levi doesn't wear shoes very often yet, but when he does, all he wants to do is play with his feet. We think he will really love shoes, as both his parents do:)

 

Levi loving the highchair...and cheerios!

 

Showing off my teeth!

 

"Trouble Is My Middle Name" At least that's what his t-shirt says...we'll see

 

This one is for Grandpa!

 

Levi hanging out with his cousins, at Timberwoods!

 

Levi and Daddy

 

Levi and Mommy

 

 Levi with Great Grandpa

 

Levi loving the Minnesota State Fair

 

 Levi playing with his toy car

 

We met my friend Maria and her daughter Maya at Albertville Outlets tonight! It was great to see them:) Don't our kids look cute together:):)

 

 

 

Summer is here!

It’s about time for another updateJ Summer is flying by and it seems that every time I think about blogging, it is way past midnight and I have run out of time for the day. These days I feel as though I could use a few more hours in each day. We have been busy, that’s for sure! Summer has brought super warm weather, a few weddings and we have even been able to spend a few weekends up at the lake. We are looking forward to the 4^th of July and spending time with the Young side of the family. Word is that we will be representing Josh’s parent’s resort in two parades this year. We will be sure to take pictures! We look forward to making the trek to Iowa and spending time with the Hofland side of the family soon, as well.

Levi is growing bigger and stronger every day. Some days I pick him up from daycare and find that I feel he is heavier than when I dropped him offJ We have started eating food. Josh had given me the Baby Bullet for Christmas and I totally love it. I am able to make fresh baby food (without all the gross chemicals) for such a low priceJ So far, Levi has tried, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, apples, avocado and pears. I believe he is going to have a sweet tooth as he prefers sweet potatoes and all of the fruits he has tried so far. He doesn’t seem to be a fan of peas, but I don’t blame himJ

Levi is working on sleeping through the night. We had a pretty good streak going, but have had a few busy weekends, which has messed with our schedule a bit. He is also working on his first tooth, which makes things a bit unpredictable as well. All in all, we are loving every minute of summer together. I will include a few recent photos below. Enjoy!

Levi loving his Jumperoo!

Levi grabs his feet every chance he gets

Mommy's favorite time of the day..Playtime with Levi!

Grandpa & Grandma and Auntie Michelle Visit

We made the most of the Memorial Day weekend with visitors from Iowa. Grandpa & Grandma and Auntie Michelle came to visit us. Levi loved all of the attention he received. Our visitors came armed with a carload (and I truly mean that) full of toys and clothing. I am pretty sure that Levi could probably wear all of his outfits once and not even be able to get through them all before he grows out of them. In addition, I think we are set on toys until age 2J Don’t worry, I strategically placed a few of them in the closet for a rainy day! The weekend actually brought plenty of rain. In fact, we received over three inches of rain in one day. This made for some nice cool weather, which we enjoyed by taking walks around our neighborhood and just relaxing out on the deck. It was great having them all in Minnesota for the weekend and we wish they were closer. We hope to make it to Iowa a couple times this summer as well.

Grandma and Levi

Grandpa and Levi

Auntie Michelle and Levi

5 Months and Home Improvements

We have been so busy lately that I didn’t even realize it had been almost a month since my last post. So, let me catch you up a bit. First, I cannot believe that we are more than half way through the month of May already and Levi is now 5 months old.

 We have been working in our house quite a bit lately. Although our house is newer, Josh and I decided that we would make good use of our first ever tax rebate and improve a few things in our home. We decided to add a mantle to our fireplace. With that Josh decided it was time for a flat screen to go along with it. In addition, we have always wanted to change the carpeting in our home. It amazes us that with our house only being 6 years old that our carpet would be worn out. It turns out that the builders who made the selections in our house didn’t have a long term plan for the carpet. So, off to the carpet store Josh went and picked out a nice, earthy tanJ--how original, right?! My co-workers were amazed that I would be OK, not knowing exactly what Josh had picked out. I told them that I had total faith that what he picked out would be great as he generally has great tasteJ  Josh spent quite some time ripping out our existing carpet once we “moved out” of our own home. We literally had to move out of our own home into our own basement to do this. Then the day of the installation, Josh called and said he didn’t think that he liked it. I just laughed and told him that we would have to like it. It turns out that the carpet was just quite a change from what we had in the past and we both really love it.  While all this was going on we also decided to add a custom-built kitchen island to our kitchen. Since our kitchen was originally designed for one, we feel it fits quite well. I love the new counter/cabinet space.

In addition to our home improvements, we have been getting out a bit more these days whether it is to church or to the store, we feel like we can do a little more, now that Levi is a bit more predictable. We attended a wedding and a confirmation this weekend and Levi was a hit at both events. It is crazy to me that strangers will just come up to us and ask if they can hold him---I would never think of doing that. All in all, time has flown by and we are loving life with our little man. I have included a few recent photos belowJ Enjoy!

Levi- 5 months and all smiles

Such a big boy!

Levi and Mommy

Team Young:)

Soo much Laundry...Can you find Levi?

4 Month Check-Up and On The Move

First, I must apologize for my brief hiatus. I have been having issues with my camera and figured that blogging without pictures, wasn’t much fun. However, Josh helped me with my camera this weekend and I think I am back on track!

Josh took Levi in for his 4 month check-up on Friday. Our pediatrician was very happy with how Levi is growing and developing. I had been a bit worried that we wouldn’t be able to tell the doctor that Levi had rolled over. However, Levi surprised us on Thursday night when he rolled over for the first time. Since then, he has been rolling all over. Levi now weighs 13 lbs and 12 oz. The Doctor was pleased with his weight this time. We were also able to ask about Levi being so stuffed up and the doctor wasn’t worried at all and told us that when kids go to daycare, it is to be expected that they pick up a few bugs here and there. Levi is full of smiles lately. This weekend Josh put his jumper together. Although he thinks it is great, he doesn’t quite understand that he can jump yet. He is at such a fun age right now as pretty much any funny face or smile makes him smile. We even hear a few giggles now and then! I have included a few new pictures below. 

Levi spending some time on the floor with his toys!

Levi smiles all the time now!

Levi rolling over!

Spring brings nice weather, and a cold

We have been blessed with record temperatures for the month of March. Over the course of the past two weeks, it has felt like we skipped spring and went right into summer. Last weekend, we were able to enjoy 70+ degree temps and take Levi for his first stroller ride. He looked at us a little funny, not really showing us if he liked it or not. We think he did, as he was asleep by the time we returned home.  On the other side of things, Levi came down with his first cold this week. I stayed home with him on Thursday as he had a fever and we brought him in to see the doctor today as we wanted to rule out RSV. The doctor says Levi just has a regular cold. I felt a little silly bringing him in as I don't want to be the mom who brings her child to the doctor for every little hangnail. However, the doctor was glad I came in as Levi is quite young for his first cold. We knew we couldn't keep him away from the germs forever and hope that he feels better soon. He is already feeling more himself, so we hope that continues.

Levi on his first stroller ride last Saturday

Levi catching some zzz's to try and get rid of his cold...he really likes to sleep with his arm up for some reason.

Since I am finding that I have very few pictures of Levi and I, I took a picture of us to show you all how I manage to get things done at my house. We love our baby bjorn!

And, FINALLY, I was able to capture a smile!





First Toy

Please note: We do have real toys for Levi to play with... but I am sure he will be ready to play with power tools before we know it:)

First Day of Daycare

My day started out quite early as I knew I had to leave the house by 6:15 a.m. Normally I always woke up an hour before the time I had to leave the house to ensure I was able to give myself time to get ready, pack lunches and still have a few minutes for breakfast. Now that we have an infant, that time has now doubled. Levi graciously woke me up at 4:30 a.m., so we were ahead of schedule:) I was quite proud of myself for getting everything I needed to, ready in time. I snapped a few pictures of Levi this morning all ready for his first day of daycare. I dressed him in his "I Love Mommy Sooo Much" shirt, just so he wouldn't forget just how much I love him on his first day away. The drop off went great, no tears! I felt very good leaving him with our care provider, Stephanie. Levi did great all day and even took a few naps. Stephanie warned me that Levi had quite the day as there was so much to look at. There are a few other babies there to look at, so lots of fun! They were even able to go on a little walk today with the weather being so nice here. I feel very blessed tonight to have such a wonderful care provider to bring Levi to while we are away at work. I could barely wait to finish my work day and see Levi. We made it home just before 6 p.m. and I was able to prepare supper in advance so we could have some cuddle time. I gave Levi a bath as soon as we got home and he fell asleep shortly after. We will do this all over again tomorrow!

Levi all dressed for his first day of Daycare!

Levi with Stephanie, our Daycare provider

Introducing Levi Robert Young!

After much encouragement from family members and friends, I have decided to join the blogging world. Many of you have asked for pictures of Levi and most of you know that I am not such a fan of putting many on Facebook with all the changes they have made in the last little while. I have talked with many friends who also have blogs and all of them have said it is a great way to keep track of daily happenings along with milestones that you would want to put in the scrapbook. So here I am. This has been on my list of things to do for a few weeks now and I am finally getting to it. I am shocked at how fast my maternity leave went by. Thursday was my last official day of leave. It worked out that I go back on a Friday, which I think was be good for all of us. Josh is home on Fridays, so he was able to take Levi all day instead of bringing him to daycare. I did fairly well I think, only sheading a few tears on my way to work. Monday may bring a few more tears as it will be the first day we bring him to daycare. However, we are confident we have a great care provider and lucky to have someone we know.  I’ll have to let all of you know how it goes! For now, I wanted to get a few pictures posted from the time I was home on maternity leave. I hope to keep updating this each week with a few more!


Levi waking up from a nap...he probably won'f fit in his small bassinet very long

Levi all dressed up for baptism

 

Family Picture after Baptism

What a cute little man!

Happy Valentines Day! I love Mom

Tummy Time! I love Dad

Levi loves sitting and playing in his new chair from Auntie Michelle

Levi trying out the Bumbo while mom cleans in the kitchen

 

All dressed up for mommy and daddy's tax appointment:)

 

My Auntie is the Best!

Three months old!