Family Vacation 2015

Family Vacation, September 2015!

SUNDAY:  We left after church (about 1:00) and headed to Kansas City.  We were 1.5 blocks before Levi was whining and Izzie was asking for an "activity".  We were not surprised by Little Man's reaction -- he has never been a good car rider and rarely ever falls asleep -- but we were hopeful.  A sippy of milk and 15 minutes later he was out like a light.  Iz enjoyed some more activities before taking a nap as well.  Our first stop was in Mound City (we almost didn't make it -- I had to shove a diaper in Izzie's car seat as padding just in case), and then the kids enjoyed a movie on the dvd player we borrowed from the Meyers.  We order pizza at the hotel and went swimming on Sunday night.  Izzie's and Levi's favorite thing:  playing with the mirrored closet door in the hotel room.  Free entertainment.

MONDAY:  A hotel breakfast, and then off to Crown Center.  We visited Storyland first, and it was lovely.  It's a play center made out of famous children's books, and they were some of Izzie's favorites -- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, A Snowy Day, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  Then it was off to Fritz's for some delicious food delivered via train.  We stopped at the Penguin Park for some awesome playtime before heading back to the hotel for a movie night with mac and cheese (later Izzie would describe this as her favorite part of the trip).  It felt like Levi had grown up a lot on this trip.  He's getting so independent and SO CLOSE to walking.  

TUESDAY:  This was the day we visited The Children's Museum -- fun but not impressive when you've been to Lincoln's version.  The kids didn't notice and had a blast.  Izzie's favorite was the veterinary clinic, and Buddy's was probably the water room.  Then it was back to the hotel for nap and off to the T-Rex Cafe for dinner.  The kids loved all the dinosaurs, and Levi thought he was pretty hot stuff roaming around the booth.  

A Construction Party!

We did a construction-themed party for Little Man to go along with his busy board.  All our family (plus the Abbotts and Dan) came to celebrate him on his big day.  When it came to present time, he was pretty uninvolved.  He would yank out the first piece of tissue paper or two and then let the big kids finish things off.  Izzie made a great assistant, "ooohing and aaahing" over everything and displaying it for the guests.  Levi got a lot of adorable clothes, a red push car from Grammy and Popper, and a yellow chair from Nana and Grandpa.  He is a huge fan of both the car and the chair.  And Levi LOVED his cake -- he was not at all shy about it like Izzie was.  He totally went for it and had a blast.  

The night before his party we had our first urgent care visit.  Levi's finger got stuck in the hinge side of the bathroom door when it was closed.  We had to open the door to get his finger out.  It was pretty smushed and cut around from one side of his nail to the other.  Eventually, the whole flap of skin came off, but it wasn't bad enough for stitches and nothing was broken.  He ripped off every bandage we put on, so eventually we just gave up and let him leave it off.  Little stinker.  

Levi Turns One!

Little Man has been with us a whole year.  It's hard to believe.  He is the sweetest, snuggliest, most darling thing there ever was.  We have yet to feed him something he won't eat, and he has yet to actually pop a tooth out of his mouth.  He cruises everywhere, but hasn't taken those first steps on his own yet.  His favorite book is "I Love You Stinky Face", and his favorite thing to do is throw balls and chase after them himself.  His second favorite thing to do is climb the dog stairs to get up on our bed, flop on his tummy, throw his feet over the side, shimmy down by holding on to the sheet, and start the whole process all over again.  He's an agile little monkey man.  He gives excellent high fives and has a funny little crawl he does when he's carrying something where he uses one foot and the other knee.  He laughs the hardest at his sister, and is pretty partial to Mommy.  Levi has been such a precious addition to our family and we don't know what we would do without him.  

At his one year doctor's appointment they called him "long and lean".  This made us laugh, but the stats are there to prove it, I guess.  "Lean" doesn't come to mind when looking at him, but we'll go with it.  He is 23 lbs, 11 oz (64%) and 31.5 inches long (93%).  His head has finally caught up to the Daniel standards and measured in the 98%.  Atta boy!  He doesn't really use any words yet, but talks and makes noises all the time.  The only thing he "says" clearly and at appropriate times is "uh-oh".  But he likes to mimic what we say and the noises we make (especially grunts and growls).  

Birthday boy is awake!

Finally got this shot -- you can see the funny little shape he makes with his mouth when
he sucks on his blankie.  He was never a binkie baby, but he loves sucking on his blankie.

Big sis making him a breakfast treat

Even little ones need some decorations on their big day!

Food = awesome

Izzie gave him the Mickey Mouse plate

A present from Mommy and Daddy

We met Daddy at the park for a picnic over his lunch

Big boys stand up in the cart, apparently

Love this face

Another delicious surprise!

Busy board created by Daddy!

Helping Daddy set things up