Our First Summer as a Family of Seven

Yes, I'm still among the living. Barely. Just kidding....kinda. ;) Baby boy has not yet learned the precious, precious value of sleep in any form, be it nap or nighttime, and we are exhausted. But. We are so in love!!! We had a big scare earlier this summer when Levi began to cough uncontrollably and really just struggled breathing; it wasn't whooping cough but pneumonia. Poor baby. I felt even worse because he got it from us when we all had pneumonia weeks before- it was a highly contagious strain, which doctors assured us babies rarely get. Famous last words. So after Levi's x-rays were read, the doctor called us and told us to get checked into the hospital right away. As in, skip dinner and just get there. That was a difficult night to say the least, but he responded well to the meds and we were allowed home the next afternoon.

Overall, our summer has been a good one. I was just going to say, "not great," but it HAS been great, just not exactly what we're used to. It has been a while since we've had a baby around here after all, ha. We've enjoyed hanging out with family and friends at home (hello pool! such a blessing!) and a few trips to the lake, but only one trip to the beach and zero trips to any of our favorite tourist-y type places. In time. =)

Here is a smattering of our summer photos. I definitely keep my IG account much better updated. I'm bethanylivs_life over there if you want to say hi and see what we're up to.

Levi, around 2.5 months

first night out all by myself in over three months- got a haircut :)

big discovery upon leaving the beach this day...

...a tooth! 3.5 months old...too early for teeth!  :(

Ethan's 17th birthday

we hid gift cards under all the balloons in his car! ;)

and yes, I stood out there in the pouring rain doing this!

such fun that day!

Now that the boys are older, I don't feel right about posting so many pictures of them on here, that's why they seem a bit...lacking. They are all as handsome and active as ever, let me assure you.

School starts this week, and I'm ready. I do have mixed emotions, but I'm looking forward to finding a new norm, some structured time. A new season to welcome in and get familiar with. If anyone reads this blog anymore, I hope your summer was a good one and wish you well if you're dealing with new routines and schedules as well. =)

Ethan's 17th Birthday!!!

Ethan's actual birthday fell on a Saturday this year, which was nice because we could all be here to celebrate him. I knew what I wanted to do and hoped Levi would let me escape in the morning so I could pull it off.

A couple days before this, Bill bought a new (but not new, ha) car to commute to work, and so his old car was to officially become Ethan's. I know it isn't as exciting as a brand new car, but it's something that deserves to be celebrated, so I blew up about a million and one balloons to shove in the front of the car.

And then it started to rain on me. Hard! I got soaked!

I'd gotten gift cards to Starbuck's, SubWay, Dunkin's and a gas card and was hoping to get them inside the balloons so he'd have to pop them to find them...but that was taking too long and I had to get moving. So I hid them in plain sight on the dash, the seat, inside the glove compartment and in the cup holder, they were just buried under all the balloons. It was really fun putting all this together for him! Even in the rain. ;)

 Nobody cared that it was raining, and that's even our family joke about Ethan's birthday. There's always a storm. Always! Isabelle had the most fun chasing the balloons around the driveway.

 The balloons just kept coming!

An eager passenger =)

They were on their way to Dunkin' Donuts to get coffee and bring back donuts for everyone.

Well, Ethan won't drink DD coffee, so they went twenty minutes out of the way to go to the one Starbuck's in town. One! Isn't that crazy!

The guys went to the movies to see the new Bourne with my Dad, who wasn't impressed, coincidentally. I was surprise, I thought he would have loved it.

You won't catch me watching a Jason Bourne movie with Matt Damon, so...

Yes, it's blurry but they wouldn't stand still. Weirdos.

=)

The big party was on Sunday afternoon, and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. I guess the rain got out of the way the day before, but there was considerable wind Sunday morning, so I was a little nervous. But by noon, there was nothing but sunshine and blue skies.

I kept the decorations simple because nobody really cares about that when there's swimming going on. Plus, everything I'd tried wasn't cooperating with the wind, so I just made small streamer "tassles" and hung them on the fence.

I'd planned on decorating the grey fence much more but nothing stayed put in the wind, so I didn't bother. That would've looked nice, but you can't always compete and win with nature.

The rest of the day was filled with fun and laughter.

Here are just a few pictures.

We served snacks and some drinks for this party since it was from 2-4 pm. Basic things like watermelon slices, chips, pretzels, and a couple veggie trays, and iced tea, lemonade, and Root Beer to drink.

And the best chocolate cake ever, of course.

(Recipe here)

I still can't believe that I have a son that just turned seventeen. It doesn't seem possible.

I must be getting old!

Fourth of July 2016 - Our First Pool Party!

It's the Fourth of July!

Poor Levi still isn't feeling very well from the pneumonia, but we had such a wonderful time visiting with family and hanging out in the pool...it was HOT! I still pinch myself that we have a pool to share with our friends and family. It was all in all a really fun, relaxing day. Maybe Levi will be more excited about next year's 4th, ha!

 When we got that striped dress for Isabelle in Florida, I was already thinking ahead to how cute it would look for the 4th of July, ha ha! Happiest Big Sis on the planet. :) And I ask you, is there anything more adorable than a baby boy in plaid overalls? I think not.

Levi was fussy so I brought him inside to rock him and feed him, but first I put him in his car seat so I could use the bathroom and he was o-u-t in thirty seconds flat. Poor baby.

Not even my wild party animal antics woke him. ha ha ha 

So nice to see relatives that we don't get to visit with very often! This is my Mom's brother and his daughter in law and granddaughter. His son, Mark, is my cousin, who happens to be a US Air Marshall and was flying to either Amsterdam or Germany- he isn't supposed to tell anyone, not even his wife!, because of safety reasons. Caleb really, really wants to visit with him to hear all his stories! We'll just have to have another party!

Daddy and his baby boy - yeah, little guy's still not feelin' it

Levi loooves the pool! This made him happier for a little while.

I think this picture of Isabelle and her little cousin, Abby, is the sweetest.

You've got to have yummy food! I've made lots more things for previous 4th parties, like this favorite treat, but this year, for obvious reasons, we kept it really simple. Everyone brought a bag of chips and a drink to share, and we grilled hot dogs and chicken, plus had a few sides like pasta salad and veggie trays. And watermelon, lots and lots of watermelon...so good on a hot day!

Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July, too!

A Day in the Life

Okay, so it's Saturday morning after the last day of school yesterday, but I have been meaning to jot down what a typical day is like lately so I'll always remember. We'll just pretend that this is from earlier in the week.

Most mornings, Levi sleeps in bed with us from about midnight on. He wakes to eat around 3 or 4, and then falls back to sleep for a couple or a few hours. If I'm not exhausted, I get up and work on some sewing things or read, just get some things ready for the day; otherwise, I look at that cute baby, then close my eyes and hope for another hour or so before I really have to get up and be a grown-up.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I drive Ethan and Jonah to the high school, but the other days, Ethan usually drives them in my van since he's done with classes by 11 those days. If Levi is still asleep, then Caleb is in charge and he listens out for him until I get back home, usually a whole ten minutes later, ha. Isabelle leaves at 7:15, but Caleb gets to stay home until 8:10. It gives us some nice one-on-one time together.

Sometimes we start our day with a "mercy bath." Because sometimes wipes just won't take care of things, if you know what I mean.

Lots of mornings we just enjoy each other's company. I have learned by now how quickly these stages go by, and I try so hard not to take any of it for granted. I find myself savoring this time together.

Levi adores his little sheepies bouncy seat now. He has learned how to make them wiggle and he gets really tickled by that. He spends a few minutes in his seat while I clean up the kitchen, vacuum, or put in laundry. Then it's time to get dressed for the day. If he's in a good mood, then I can put him in his crib with a toy for five minutes while I hop in the shower; if not, then I skip the shower and hope to get one in later in the day. On those days, we go for a nice, long walk and I'm super sweaty and gross by the time we get back anyway, so it works.

 
I had been running errands and such in the mornings because he would fall asleep and stay asleep for hours afterwards, but not so much anymore. We're still trying to find our rhythm, I guess.

I've been trying to stay active, which can be a challenge when I'm sooo tired, but I think it helps. I'm relieved not to be going through this phase in the dead of winter. Some walks are quite lovely, others, maybe not quite as lovely. Levi isn't shy about letting me know that he would rather not be going for a walk, but that's okay. You do what you gotta do. I'm also lifting hand weights and adding in reps of jumping jacks, leg lifts, etc. in between folding laundry and things. At my 6-week appointment, I had lost nearly all the baby weight, which surprised me. I was pretty pleased with that! Last week I had to go to the doctor's again (bronchitis stuff, ugh), and I was down another eleven pounds. I feel like I may be finally getting over this plateau. Who knew all I had to do was have a baby?!?!? ha ha ha ha

I'm also trying to eat more mindfully and creatively- I need to learn more about veggies I'm not used to cooking with and eating. Most days I make a quick salad with chicken or turkey and have fruit. I used to love cottage cheese with fruit but I'm still off dairy for the time being.

Of course I make time for taking photos. Lots and lots of photos. My darling subject isn't always in the mood for it, ha ha.

Big sister gets home at 2:35 and Levi lights up at the sight of her. Then comes Jonah, and finally Caleb. They all seek him out to spend a few minutes with him, and it is the sweetest thing ever.

I can't say that Levi is happy all the time, but he does have a sweet disposition. And boy is he alert! We like to play a lot during the day, and he LOVES to hear me sing. So sweet. Sometimes it will stop him mid-cry and then he smiles up at me. Talk about making my heart explode!

We endure lots of screaming and fussing in the early evening, from about 6 to 8, but thankfully this trend seems to be changing a bit. Around 7, Daddy gives Levi a bath, which he really enjoys (most of the time). Then we change him into a onesie and long socks- he's in an in-between size, and footed pjs are either too small and his legs are cramped, or so big that his feet get lost and caught up inside the legs, and it's incredibly difficult to find non-footed things in his size. So we improvise and it works great. After I feed him and we cuddle and rock for a bit, I try to put him in his crib. More often than not, he fusses and Bill ends up rocking him for several more minutes and then doing the transfer. He's much better at that than I am. Some nights, he's up in an hour, and then again every two hours all night long; other nights he sleeps till midnight and then wants to eat around 3am. I keep my expectations low.  :)

We are so in love with this precious little miracle. I am thankful for him every minute of every day.