the Latest

Starting a while back, we had a lovely holiday season and hosted Christmas at our house for the first time. We were a little slow and didn't decorate until just before Christmas. We finally put the tree up about a week before the day and set out the nativities, etc. and we really don't have much (bummer). It all looked much better, though, after Mom and her parents arrived for Christmas Eve dinner and brought with them a Christmas banner to hang around our front room and some paper snowflakes to ornament the tree. The best adornment for the room, however, was the people. Nathan's parents, my mother, and her parents were all at our home for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner of ham, potatoes, salad, rolls, pies and ice cream. We had a wonderful evening: we made final dinner preparations together, ate, talked, read the Christmas story (Nathan's first time and he did a smashing job), and even sang a couple of Christmas carols from the hymn book. It was a perfect evening. The party seemed very well selected and I hope we may often meet again.

Christmas morning, we got up at about 8:30 and started preparing and cooking a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes and French toast. It was marvelous. Afterward, we gathered around the tree and exchanged gifts. The ones most enjoyed, surely, were Levi's. We all watched and tried to assist him in opening as many gifts as he had patience for (at the ripe old age of 5 and a half months). He was charming and managed to stay in a really good mood until about 11 or 11:30, by which time a nap was a little past due. We bid Ray, Suzanne and Mom a fond farewell as they left hoping to get away and home before the storm got very bad. (Apparently, Mom couldn't even get into her garage by the time she reached her house.) So, we put Levi to sleep and ... well, I don't rightly remember what we did during his nap. Oh! We talked to Suzie a bit and called my dad and talked to him and Emily and Sophie. We had sent Sophie the Daring Book for Girls and we were very glad to find that she was already enjoying it thoroughly.

Mom came with us to celebrate New Year's Eve at the Hansens. We had dinner together, did stockings and then all went to bed well before midnight. It was lovely and I'm kinda liking this doing-stockings-on-New-Year's-

Eve thing.

Levi has started solid foods, sort of. He's mostly had applesauce. We've given him a bit of wheat bread, a couple of green beans, some rice, some banana and a bit of pear. I will try some pumpkin this week, maybe a bit of yam ... we'll see. Nathan wants to wait until mid-February to start really giving him stuff other than pureed fruits and veggies. I'm not very dedicated to the solid food thing and it usually ends up that Levi gets solid food about 3-4 times a week, rather than 2-3 times a day.

We visited the pediatrician on the 8th of this month. Levi was precisely twice his birth weight, 18 lbs. 10 oz., and 28 inches long. We actually met with the physician's assistant rather than our usual doctor and it was interesting. This PA is more laid back about solid foods and VERY talkative. He answered all worts of questions, but often gave too much information or too long-winded an answer, so it was hard for me to pick out the information I needed. All-in-all, we got in a lot quicker, ended up staying about as long as we usually do, and came away with a lot of information rattling around in our brains.

A pipe in our little complex sprung a leak and we had quite the production to get it fixed, but all is well and I have learned a bit more about how to figure out what is wrong and how to go about fixing it, or finding someone to fix it. The HOA is in a lot better shape than it was a couple of years ago, meaning people are less apathetic about things.

I am back in a sewing kick. I've sewn four new wraps and I even tried a sling. I'm certainly going to have to fiddle around with the sling to find a way that I like to use it. I also helped a sister in my ward to sew a sling for herself and it was a successful venture. I have been having a bit of trouble with my sewing machines and finally asked Mom to come over and have a look. She came up to our place for our weekly Wednesday date last week and fiddled around with both machines and they both worked for her (I think she's a sewing machine whisperer). I sewed a bit on the Elna and it worked fine, but the Singer skips about every 15th stitch for me. I'm gonna fiddle with a bit more and take it over to Suzanne's house because she has the exact same machine. Maybe she'll let me sew a bit on hers to get the feel of what it's supposed to feel and sound like. Oh, and I found a book online that contains instructions for machine repair and is written for home sewers. I ordered it and hope that I like it. I also found a book at the library, while I was looking, that I hope will be helpful in getting me more familiar with sewing again. I'm hoping to make myself a temple gown for when I'm pregnant, seeing as the gown I have (the under gown of my wedding dress) certainly doesn't fit over a pregnant belly.

Levi is totally not interested in rolling over or crawling or sitting himself up. He's quite the sitter, when we sit him down (which takes some forcing to get his body to bend). He is very interested in standing and seems on his way to walking. He loves his exersaucer that keeps him upright and lets him stomp and stomp and stomp. He's finally got arms long enough to push the button on the house that makes the house play sounds. He also likes to sit, especially if there is an empty-able container within arms reach, i.e. a basket filled with toys. His favorite toys are spoons, boxes, cell phones and remote controls (flipper-dippers). He is very flexible and very strong. He has two teeth, the first one made its appearance on Christmas, and it looks like he's got a couple more coming. His teeth are on teh bottom and it doesn't feel as if anything is coming on top just yet.

Oh, and he loves making noises - boy noises. He is unmistakably a boy and the spitting image of his father. And we are totally enjoying being parents. Nathan is a wonderful father. He likes to feed the babe and change his diaper and hold him and calm him and play with him.

Nathan is getting to know his calling as the ward clerk and I'm getting to feel more at home in the primary. We're experiencing some drama in the nursery, which is my responsibility (meaning the nursery, not the drama). There are about 10 women who are pregnant at the moment and all of them who know the sex are expecting boys, how fun. I'm throwing a shower for one of them this Thursday - my first baby shower; wish me luck!

Levi meets cousin KC

In Boston, we met cousin Brit's husband for the first time ... and Levi is a huge fan!
(I can't figure out how to make the video rotate to be upright)

Happy November!

Time flies!! Hmmm

I am loving being free from school and I really really like being a mother. I still have to pinch myself sometimes. Levi is the best little boy that ever lived. His hair is growing, he's growing (not quite so exponentially any more (thank heaven)). Last time we weighed him, he was 16 lbs. 8.5 oz. That was at his 4-month check-up. He follows things with his eyes, he talks a lot, he responds and loves to play and interact, he looks at food like he wants it, he tries to sit up and ends up almost rolling over. He also kicks a lot, especially when he's getting his diaper changed. He also plays with his feet sometimes. It melts my heart when he looks at me with recognition and smiles, squeals or laughs. He smiles with his whole face, sometimes with his whole body.

Nate is still liking work and still gaming every Wednesday night at our house with his friends Barry (pronounced [b a r i]), Jason and Everett. He also plays a Star Wars role playing campaign about every other Saturday and enjoys it a lot.

He and I started reading a new book together the other night. It's title is "Fighting to Win." It's one of those self-help sort of books. It is based on Samurai principles about how to face problems and deal with things. I like it and it is very interesting. I also started a new book just recently, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot. My mother's sister Suzanne sent it to me for graduation. It is her favorite book, in fact, her youngest daughter after the heroine Dorothea. So far so good. I like the other books of Eliot's that I've read, and this promises to be a good read.

I'm still plugging along in Primary. The president is a very good woman named Janice Strobell. She has 3 daughters and a son and gives great advice whenever I ask for it. Her youngest will be 12 next year, in fact, she's the only person in the ward turning 12 next year, poor girl. I picked up the new manual for nursery leaders, "Behold Your Little Ones," this week. I look forward to getting it to all the nursery workers and reading it myself.

We are getting ready to fly to Boston on the 24th to visit Suzie and Matt and celebrate Thanksgiving and Matt's birthday (Nov. 29th) there with them. We will stay with them for about a week. It'll be Levi's second trip on an airplane and I hope it goes as well as the last one.

Happy Holidays, all. We hope you have a lot of fun and get to see many loved ones!