I Think Teething Will Be the Death of Us

Oh man. I know some babies breeze right through teething, and others have a harder time, but this boy... whew, it has been rough!

Anyone who reads here often enough knows that our nights have never been great, but there is only one word to sum them up recently: miserable. They are just plain awful. Gone are the days when I could lay him in his crib after cuddling and nursing at bedtime and he would drift off to sleep. Now he howls and yelps and kicks his legs in protest. Have I mentioned that it's rough? Oh? Yes?
One of us gets him settled after he wakes up crying and the quiet lasts for about thirty minutes before we're up and doing it all over again. By morning, my head aches and my eyes are scratchy and I can't keep anything straight. The fog subsides for a bit throughout the day, but then by lunch, I feel like crashing.
You know who doesn't feel like sleeping after lunch?
You guessed it.
As luck would have it, lately naps are a thing of the past, too. Poor baby is just a wreck plain by noon everyday.

This makes for very long afternoons. Very. Long. Afternoons.

And I just hate to see him hurting so. He cries and cries and cries.

Thankfully, most mornings we have some happier moments.
For a little while anyway. They haven't been lasting very long.

See his adorable peg leg crawl? He holds one leg up and moves on his foot while scooting forward on the other leg and foot. I can't get enough of it. And it's exactly the same as his brothers when they were babies. Must be some genetic thing, ha ha.
Where there is water (dog bowl) or a drawer waiting to be opened, boy moves FAST!

Here's a picture from Levi's one year well check appointment. I'm still getting used to saying that I have a one year old. It's growing on me. :)
So thankful for a healthy baby. He is growing just like Jonah did- not gaining much weight but getting a lot taller! Long and lean.

We were all stripes that day. We also got caught in pouring rain two or three times that morning. Oops. And if you look closely, like I just did, wondering what is wrong with the picture by my cheek, you'll see that it's Levi's spit from having kissed me. Um, gross, but so cute, all at the same time. He is a kissing fool lately, constantly slobbering all over me, and he will offer kisses to Daddy and Isabelle, but he totally fakes the boys out by leaning in to them, and then pushing them away with his hand. Funniest thing ever.

Levi's birthday party was Saturday afternoon, and of course he refused his nap and I was terrified that he was going to cry for the whole thing. I'm really thankful that he pulled it together and even seemed to have a little fun. :) I've got so many pictures to go through, but I'm hoping to have a post up later this week. It was such a cute party, and I think it's going down as one of my favorites. The morning of the party? Not so much. It may have involved a hair cut. A bad hair cut.

On Sunday we went to our "old" church again. I still have mixed feelings about the whole thing, but we'll see what happens and where God leads us. Sundays are not really my favorite days lately because Ethan has a soccer match around 4, and they have all been nearly two hours away. That's too far to bring Levi, so it has been a lot of divide and conquer on Sundays. I'm not loving it. And I'm really not loving having to miss watching him play.

After church, Caleb had his very first baseball practice. He came home really happy with his team and coaches, and that makes me really happy. I'm so hoping for a good season for him. I ran out to the salon for an emergency fix, and as soon as I got back, Bill was taking off with Ethan and Jonah for the game. Isabelle and I decided to bring Levi outside for a long walk to enjoy the sunshine and listen to the birds and brooks in our neighborhood.

Today was super hot out, Levi screamed the entire time I tried to take him for a walk, and he slept for a whole thirteen minutes for a nap today. Yup. Rough. Even still, I tried to take it in stride. I found myself studying his perfect little toes, all the wrinkles and creases in those softer-than-soft tootsies of his, while we rocked and sang. I tried to commit to memory the feeling of his sweet little hand on mine, his smooth palm gliding across my lips as he raises his hand for me to kiss it. All these things are so fleeting, and I want to drink it all in while I can. Here's hoping for better nights...and days!

So that's what we've been up to, and goodness, most if it it sounds dreadfully boring. Ha! I guess my life is boring, but I still kind of love it. :)

Oops! I just realized that I have a Ten on Ten post...guess that will be coming up later, so a bit out of order, which sums up my days pretty well right now. ha ha

**updated**
So...in my exhaustive, depleted state, I sort of combined the two posts because I got my days all mixed up. Well, I've kept my kids alive, bills are paid, and the fridge is fully stocked, so who cares, right?