Levi's First Christmas!

I didn't really have high expectations for Levi with Christmas this year. I thought that he wouldn't really show much emotion to get presents. Boy was I wrong! He never ceases to amaze me! He was all full of smiles, not only for the paper, but for what was under the paper. It was fun to watch! Here are a couple videos of him opening his two big presents, one from each set of grandparents. Thanks Mimi & Papa, and Grammy & Grandpa!

After presents, we ventured outside for Levi's first official play time in the show. He didn't really have too much to say about it... I know that later on he will love it though!

Cute Cousin

We were fortunate to be able to go on a vacation with ALL of my family last month. It was fun to be able to actually have a babe to add to the cousin mix. Nile is the cousin who is closest to Levi's age and a lot of people thought that they were twins! He is four months older than Levi and super cute. For some reason when I would talk to him, he would get so excited and flex all the muscles in his body. I wanted to get it on video because it was so funny! He is such a cutie!

6 Months and Crawling!

Today is a BIG day! Levi turns 6 months today!!! I can't believe how fast this is all going by. I mean, in a way it feels like I have been a mom forever, but in others, I can't believe how big and strong and fun Levi is! Here is a cute pic of him just the other day in one of his new favorite toys, the laundry basket!

He has been starting to sit up so well lately and when he sits in this, he doesn't fall over! He loves it and I like it because I don't have to sit right behind him. And now is the video that I am so happy I was able to capture! Levi started doing the army crawl! He has been on the verge of crawling for the past few weeks now and today he finally figured it out. He's not going very far or fast but I'm OK with that. I don't think I am ready for this cutey to REALLY be crawling yet. I want him to stay small!! And I need to baby proof the house before he really gets going. Here is my sweety!

5 1/2 Months

I realized the other day that I hadn't taken any pictures of Levi lately, so I decided to hold a photoshoot of him. Here are my results!

Hey, I didn't say that they were good pictures! :) He is an active little almost 6 month old and I was trying to get him to sit still all by myself!! Not entirely successful!

Our Little Traveler

In Levi's first 5 months of life he has been on 5 trips! And they have all been plane rides. Everytime we get on one of the planes someone asks, "Oh, is this his first plane ride?!" And we answer, "No he has been on lots of planes!" Here are some picture highlights of some of our trips.

Gazing out the airplane window with Dad.

Levi's first swim. He didn't really have any emotion about it! Ha!

They were both really tired after swimming!

His sweet cousin loves to hold him!

Giggle Monster!

I finally caught Levi's cute giggles on video! He doesn't giggle that often and so I haven't be able to capture the cuteness yet. This time I luckily had the video near and was able to keep him giggling so that I could get them on tape! He has such a sweet giggle!

Teeth!!

I can't believe it, but Levi has gotten his first pair of teeth! I didn't even notice that they were starting to come in, and then BOOM! There they were! Two bottom teeth. I thought that it was way early to get his teeth, but Brandon's mom told me that he got his teeth around the same age. He is just growing up so fast!

Jumperoo!!

Levi is a HUGE fan of the new Jumperoo that I got him recently! Thanks to the great tip from my wonderful sister, Levi nows gets to jump all day long. And when I say all day, I mean, ALLLLL DAY! He just loves jumping! I don't really need to say anything else, this video says it all..

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And yes that is a Wii Fit underneath him. Ha! He can't quite reach the floor yet so we put that under him so that he could still jump and enjoy! And he does enjoy!

"Rolling with my homies..."

Levi is now on the move! Well, sort of... he can now roll from his back to his stomach! He can't get back over to his back yet, but I am sure that he will get that down really soon. He has been doing it so much that now we can't hardly lay him down on his back now without him rolling over to his stomach. He lays there for a bit, working really hard might I add, trying to hold himself up, that eventually he gets tired and starts to cry! He is so cute!!

My little buttercup, has the sweetest smile...

Here are some new cuties, outside enjoying the nice weather!

There is no place like Mom!

I just thought this was funny. Levi really likes watching TV lately. I think that he gets mesmerized by everything moving so much. But anyways, this is him just chillin' in my lap, watching TV. Isn't he cute?!

Colorado Videos

These are just some cute videos from Colorado that I wanted to document! You can see us hiking in action!

Happy Sleeper Returns!!

I am happy to say that my happy camper has returned! I got an overwhelming same response from all my friends who are moms on how to help Levi get back to being a good sleeper. "A little crying never hurt anybody." I will say that I wholeheartedly concur! That and a good strict schedule has helped my little boy get back to sleeping through the night, and taking longer naps, in just a few days! Now it wasn't without some tears and some consoling, and some frustrating moments of "Should I go in there?" from the husband and I, but I am glad to say the Levi is just happy as can be and telling us all about it!

Sleep?

Since Levi has been born, this is a common conversation that I get to have:

"OOOhhh how cute!!! How old is he?" , says a lady.

"____ weeks," I answer.

"Oh wow! Is he a good sleeper?"....

The answer used to be, Yes he is!! But now, times have changed and I am looking for some advice and help from anybody who has any ideas. It all started when he got a little virus one week and then the next week we went on vacation. When he was sick, he started napping only 30-45 minutes. Before he would sleep at least an hour, but usually longer. He was also sleeping through the night at 9 weeks. On vacation he also only slept 30 minutes every nap, and sometimes even less. I thought that this was just because we were in a new place and he would get back on his schedule once we were home, but now we have been home for almost a week and a half and he is still not really napping and not sleeping through the night. I want my good sleeper back!!! Any suggestions?? Help please! He is now so overtired by the time that night comes that it takes him 2 hours to fall asleep! Come on now moms, let's hear your good ideas!! How can you resist this face?

"Help me! I need sleep!!" - Levi

Levi's First Vacation!

Last week we took our annual family vacation with Brandon's family to Estes Park, CO. This place is like dreamland for Brandon. He is excited for DAYS before we leave and then starts to get semi-depressed the last couple of days because he starts thinking about how we are leaving soon. So, needless to say, he was VERY excited about sharing this nastalgic place with Levi for the first time. Now, Levi won't remember it but I am pretty sure he will soon grow to love it as much as his daddy. I enjoy going to, but I just don't have the long time memories as Brandon does. But we did get engaged there so that is special! Levi did ok on the trip. The altitude did a number on his stomach and bowels though!! EEKKKK! It was a learning experience for both Brandon and I. Traveling is hard with a baby so young, but we made the best of it! These pics are some of the highlights of our trip!

Helen and Jeremy came to visit the first day!

The first big hike!

The destination!

Levi didn't always love the baby Bjorn!

"Hmmm. I wonder which hike we are going on today?"

My snuggly baby!

A family stroll.

Levi in his "hiking gear".

Such a sweetie!

Out at dinner.

The fam.

Brandon got to go on a "big boy hike" without Levi and I!

Sweet Swaddles

I just thought this was a cute picture so I wanted to just document it here. I love this face!!

The First Moments

So now that Levi is a little older and I am more adjusted to being a mom, I have had the time to sit down and think about updating the blog. I was going through the pictures of the birth. I don't even remember taking them! Haha! I was totally out of it for Levi's first few weeks. I can't believe how much of it I don't remember. Ha! It was good to go back and look through the pics of the hospital. Here are some of the first moments and days of Levi's life!

Right after he came out. Yes he has a loud cry to go with that face!! :)

Sweet Boy!

With Daddy! I still couldn't hold him yet.

Later, back in the room! Finally with Mommy!

I love giving him kisses!

I think this is SUCH a cute picture!

with Mimi!

With Grandpa and Grammy!

6 Weeks Old!

Levi is 6 Weeks old! I can't believe how much he has changed! He is chubby and soooo adorable! (Of course I am a little bias!) I know that I haven't even updated since he was born, so I will give you some of his newborn pics, taken by my amazing sister Catherine, and some from this past weekend.

The Newborn Pics

As I said, my sister is an amazing professional photographer. To view her other work, go to www.catherinegikas.com. You can book her to do your next family photos! Trust me, it is way worth it!!!

And Levi at 6 weeks!

Isn't he just the sweetest!

37 1/2 Weeks

It has been a while since I have given your guys some pictures of the belly, and after many requests, I have finally taken some. I know that I am huge so you don't need to remind me! ;)

The Nursery!

Ok so I know that it has been forever since I have posted, but when you just keep getting bigger and bigger, it is not fun to keep documenting with pictures. But I will give you an update of the belly soon. This post I wanted to show you the nursery! I LOVE IT!! It is not completely finished because I want to wait to put a few more decorative things once we know this little one's name and have some pictures of it, and know the gender and things like that. But... about a month ago my parents came up to help us get the house rearranged and set up for the baby. Brandon and I didn't know how much we would like our new set up, but we love it! Here are some pictures of the baby's room.

One of my favorite things are the french doors walking into the room!

The dresser/ changing table.

I love the crib!

This is the bedding. Pretty neutral eh?

And then saving my favorite part till last, where I will get to spend a lot of time bonding with my sweet child. The rocker and "nursing" station!

So, that's it! I can't wait to actually start using this room! Hopefully it will be in the near, near future!