3 and 4 Months

*Alas, Levi's monthly blog is already falling under the fate of second child documentation.  I love you little man.

3 months

4 months

Levi is a great little guy.  He's a cheerful, smiley baby most of the time, and he and Grace find each other very entertaining.  My heart is full.  =0)

LEVI at 3 and 4 months:

~Is one of the smiliest babies I know.  His little face just lights up when you speak or smile at him.  He's also got the greatest giggle!  And wouldn't you know it, his armpits are ticklish...

~Has eczema.  Its mostly on his upper torso....and arms....and legs.  And its stubborn!  We've been creaming him with hydro cortisone as per the doc's instructions and while its looking better, its still not gone.  Boo.  Combine that with the yeast growing in his warm folds and the kid's skin just looks pretty rough!  At least his face is clear and kissable!

~Is a great sleeper....right up until bedtime.  He naps like a champ for me during the day, but for some reason it all goes out the window at night time.  He'll wake up screaming or just flat out refuse to go to sleep, no matter how many choruses of "nappy-nappy time time" you sing.

~BUT he's been sleeping in his own room since he was a little over 3 months.  (Yay!)

~Still nurses great and I'm pleased to say that right around 3 months, it finally stopped hurting me! "Nursing shouldn't be painful"...blah-dee-blah-dee-blah....

~Has chosen to be binky free.  Lucky he doesn't seem to need much to self sooth, so that's good.  But that's led to...

~A little boy who loves to stick out his tongue!  So cute!

~Coos up a storm and talks to whoever will listen.

~His newest love is sitting up straight in our laps.  No leaning for this boy.  Hold him up so he can see!

At his 4 month appointment:
~Height: 25 3/4 inches
~Weight: 15 pounds, 8 ounces
~Head: 17 inches

Still tall, with a growing noggin!


Meanwhile, in Grace land...

"If brother gets his picture taken, I should too!"

Grace has been talking up a storm!  We've officially entered the "think very carefully about what you are about to say because it WILL be repeated" phase.  (As was demonstrated by a little girl who spent an entire Sunday saying "Too much kids" after going to the church nursery...)  I even heard her use a 5 word sentence the other day-no mimicking   Just a thought straight from her own brain.  Aaaand she may have saved my nephew's life.  They were playing in her room, when she came out to me and said "Play Patrick.  No-no." and then ran back to her room.  I followed her back and found that, indeed, Patrick was playing with a no-no as he had pulled the plug from her humidifier out of the wall and was trying to plug it back in.  Gah!

She's also graduated to a toddler bed!  Its been a bit of a struggle to get her to sleep and not be jumping in and out of bed as she plays with toys, but I think it was time.  Unfortunately, she's shown very little interest in potty training...

My heart is very, very full, thanks to these two little loves.  Christmas has taken on a new shine and sparkle for me, now that I can see the magic through the eyes of my kids.  Thank you Jesus for the hearts of children to remind us to stay young.  =0)

Yellowstone 2012

In October, we spent a weekend in West Yellowstone 

with my family.  

It was a fun, busy weekend jam packed with memories!

3/4 of our family at Firehole Falls.

Waiting for Old Faithful to blow!

There were a TON of elk at Mammoth Hot Springs,

 We left Mammoth (in our brand new van) as the sun set, making for a very dark drive home.  As we made our way through the park, Kurt noticed that there was a strange shadow between us and the car coming the opposite direction.  Forgetting we were in wild animal country, he didn't think anything of it until a big old bison suddenly appeared in our headlights!!!  We narrowly missed hitting him, and good thing too, 'cause big boy was a beast!  Crazy thing was how it didn't even faze him--he just kept putting one foot in front of the other like he owned the road.  

And he did, believe me.

(Not the bison we almost hit.)

 The next day we stayed in W. Yellowstone

 and ate a nice breakfast, shopped, 

and spent some time at the Grizzly and Wolf discovery center.  

Who knew polar bears were so big!?!  

Grace is 2!!!

Our sweet little girl turned two this past weekend.  Wow!  She's grown up so much these past few months that I've honestly been thinking of her as being a 2 year old for a while.  It blows my mind to think that she wasn't walking at this time last year.  Now she goes everywhere at a run, and is even starting to talk in complete sentences.  While this age can be very trying at times, I love getting to talk and listen to my daughter and really learn her heart.  We love you Grace!  

Grace at two years old:

       Favorite Toy:  Large stuffed Tigger
       Favorite TV show:  Curious George
       Favorite Food:  "Macarogaine"  (macaroni and cheese!)
       Favorite game: "P'ay bawl" (rolling a ball back and forth)
       Favorite animal:  Cat, specifically Mo!
       Favorite song: The Alphabet and "Jez yuv" (Jesus Loves Me)
       Favorite thing to do outside: Blow bubbles
       Favorite thing to sleep with: B, her soft blanket toy

       Height: 37 inches (99%)
       Weight: 27 Pounds (67%)
(Basically, she takes after her daddy--tall and skinny!!)

In true 2 year old fashion, the words most often heard around here are "Do it!"   That's most often followed by a triumphant "I did it!" She has a very sweet and caring nature that is starting to come out as she "mommies" her stuffed animals.  She LOVES to sing and be sung to.  Throughout the day I get many requests for "mickey?" (music) and everyday her alphabet song gets closer and closer to the real thing.  (I think she gets about 50% of the letters right now.)  She's also oddly dainty for a toddler.  She dips her fries daintily--she even finger paints daintily.  Love it!

Levi's Labor Story

First off, let me say that Levi and Grace's labor stories could not be more different!  And after having experienced Levi's birth, I'm realizing that her birth was really pretty traumatic-no wonder I had such a hard time postpartum with her!

Levi's original due date was August 9, but our first ultrasound showed that he was measuring a wee bit small, so they moved it back to the 16th, which irked me to no end, since it meant I had to be pregnant for an extra week.  This time around I had zero trouble with blood pressure, so our little guy remained a bit of a mystery compared to his sister who I saw on ultrasound at least once a week during the 3rd trimester.

The evening of august 6th, Kurt and I went to bed fairly late, a bad habit we had developed recently.  We stayed up talking, ringing in the day of our 5th anniversary chatting about life and our little guy we were anxious to meet.  After finally drifting off to sleep sometime after midnight, I woke up feeling very soggy about 2:45.  My first thought was "What did Kurt do to me?  Did he pee on me?"  Once I came to, I realized that holy crap, my water had broken!!!  I woke up a very groggy Kurt, called my mom to watch Grace and got ready to head to the hospital.  Since my mom lived 2 hours away, we ended up having to wake Grace up and take her to the hospital with us.  Let me say, she was a TROOPER!!!  She walked around the halls with us for a good 45 minutes, getting very excited every time she heard the lullaby "mickey" (music) for a new baby.  My mom eventually picked her up and Kurt and I got ready for another marathon day of labor.  My friend Jen was actually called in when we arrived, so we had her, Heather and Jill for nurses.  Yep...I lasted through 2 shift changes.

After it became apparent I wasn't going into labor on my own, they started me on Pitocin.  Our day nurse Heather kept having to up the dosage to help me feel the contractions and we were all the way at a 12 (out of 20) before I really started feeling things.  After some really disgusting laboring on the birth ball, I decided I was ready for an epidural.  I had hoped to make it to at least 5 cm before getting the epidural, so I had them check me at that point.  I was incredibly frustrated to find out I was only at 4 cm, after more then 12 hours of labor.  Shift change happened and the anesthesiologist was already in the hospital for a c-section, so I went ahead and got the epidural anyway, feeling certain I was just preparing for a c-section, since I was sure my body wouldn't get it done on its own.

Imagine my surprise when around an hour later she checked me again and I was at 8 cm!!!  Hot diggity dog!  She started prepping the room and about 2 hours later we were ready to go.  Now came the fun part.  With Grace, I had to push for 3 hours and 15 minutes, despite the fact that everyone assured me I was pushing correctly   This time, I was ready to get this thing done!  The nurse prepped me to do a few practice pushes to help gauge how long it would be before the doctor was needed.  I was in the middle of the first push when the nurse exclaimed "Stop right now! I can see his head!"  It was at this point that I realized just how long our little boy was going to be-he was still pushing his little feet into my ribs even as his head crowned!  By this point too, I had lost all my amniotic fluid so my belly was looking very lopsided.  The doc was called for and within  4 or 5 pushes, Levi Obed made his way into the world.  I watched the delivery in the reflective glass of the light above my bed, which I really loved.  My epidural was working VERY well by that point and it was amazing me to watch my body do what it was designed to do, without feeling the pain.

At Grace's delivery, they knew she had swallowed meconium so there was a whole contingent of NICU nurses there to help her and she ended up having to spend a few hours in the nursery while they kept an eye on her oxygen levels.  With Levi, there was 1 NICU nurse and he was in my arms within 15 minutes, nursing well within the hour.  We were sent to postpartum once my epidural started to wear off and were actually able to get a few hours of sleep once there as they took him to bath him and check his hearing.  My mom brought Grace over the next day to meet her little brother, although she was much more interested in the iPad at the time.  We were discharged on the 9th and brought our little guy home to join his family.

One of the reasons we choose the name Levi is because it means "Joined in Harmony."  As much as I love my little girl, those first few weeks with her were anything but harmonious and I really wanted it to be different this time.  Praise God, it has been!  Levi has joined our family almost seamlessly and my heart is fuller then I knew it could be!  He eats and sleeps well and Grace has shown very little jealousy.  I love my little family and am so thankful for the two little blessings God has placed in  my care.

2 Months!

(It may only be 6 days off, but I'm posting this before he turns 3 months.  Go me!)

I'm floored by how quickly time is going by!  How in the world do I already have a 2 month old (and an almost 2 year old for that matter!)!?!  We've had a rough couple of weeks recently, with Grace, Levi and I all battling colds.  Thankfully they haven't been too bad, but it has made everyone a bit more...grouchy.  I think we're all starting to feel better though.

LEVI at 2 months:
~Knows his mommy and daddy and gives us the BIGGEST smiles when he sees us.

~Is happiest and gives the biggest smiles on his changing pad.  The boy likes a clean diaper!

~His baby acne is finally clearing up.  Yay!  Now we're battling cradle cap.  Boo.  We can keep it off the top of his head ok, but his eyebrows are a mess!

~Is kind of a sporadic sleeper.  He still sleeps well, but when and what it takes to get him to sleep can be quite varied.  Makes it difficult to figure him out...

~His head measures 15 3/4 inches (92%).

~Weighs 12 pounds, 10 oz (81%).  He's gained more weight then his sister, but she still beat him by 4 oz.

~Height: 24 3/4 which puts him in the ...wait for it...100th percentile!!!  We thought Grace was tall, but big boy has her beat by a full inch and a quarter!!!

One Month Old!

Our little Levi-man is one month old! 

He has been the sweetest addition to our family and I am totally in love!

LEVI at 1 month:

~Has a ticklish bottom lip and ticking it is the easiest way to get him to smile!

~Has horrible baby acne, just like his sister.

~May have a bit of a red tinge to his hair.  Its hard to tell with his hair being so blond and fine, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of red...

~Is a GREAT sleeper!  He naps and goes to bed like a pro--no day/night confusion here! (knock on wood...)

~Eats like a champ and has since he was born, minus the few days after my milk came in...

~AND he takes a bottle!  Wahoo!

~Has the cutest little old man cough, which is usually followed up by a sweet little coo.

~Is officially out of newborn clothes and into 0-3 months.  I am preparing myself to be the shortest person in the family!

~Rarely spits up.  The amount of laundry I have to wash for him is significantly less then what I had to wash for Grace and for that I'm thankful.

~Is sleeping through the night!?!  I can hardly believe it.  He'll get really wiggly around 4 am, but has not been waking up enough to request a meal.  Mommy guilt makes me wonder if I need to feed him then, whether he asks or not, but the past two nights he's gone 10 hours between feedings and seems fine!  Hurray!

"Stick with me kid, and you'll be fine."

 Big sister adores him and he seems pretty smitten by her, too.  Its pretty cute to watch him perk up when she's nearby, trying to catch a glimpse.  She loves to mommy him--I have to watch her to make sure she doesn't smother him with her love.

Henry

We had the chance to visit my sister, nephew Patrick and new baby Henry, who was born 5 days after Levi.  (yes, 5 days.  We're a little crazy.)  It was so much fun!  The toddlers had a grand time playing together and I loved getting to know Henry.  He's a handsome little guy--dark eyes, dark hair and a darker complexion; the complete opposite of our light skinned, blond haired, blue eyed (for now) little man!  It was a really fun trip-the only thing missing was my Bro-in-law, who's currently serving in Afghanistan.  Hurry home Nathan, we miss you!

Introducing...

Levi Obed Krohmer

Levi: Joined in Harmony

Obed: Servant of God (son of Boaz and Ruth in the bible)

August 7, 2012 

11:45 pm

7 pounds, 5 ounces

21 inches long

Our little guy made a surprise entrance into this world on Tuesday, August 7th--9 days early and on our 5th anniversary!  He's a great little guy and we're in love!  Grace always wants to know where baby is, and I can't get enough of this adorable little face.  Thank you God for this amazing gift of our sweet little boy.

18(+) Months Old!

I had big plans to have this post up when she was still 18 months.  

Well here we are, two months late!  

So we'll title this her 18+month blog and call it good!

GRACE at 18+ months:

~ Started walking around Christmas and really took off once she turned 14 months. Now she's given up walking and prefers to do a little high-knee run.  Its pretty cute to watch her "prance" through the house.

 ~Talking! Her language seems to change everyday. Right now her favorite word is Mo, the name of our cat, followed by kitty, Daddy, Mommy, car, "B" for her blankie, night-night, nana for banana, ball, shoes, fishies (for goldfish crackers) and a strange southern version of bye. No idea where she picked that one up!

 ~Signing! She can sign all done, more, please, again, eat, thank you, sorry, Mom, Dad and light. It has been SO nice being able to communicate with her.

 ~Stopped nursing at 15 months.

~Has figured out the word "No," and chooses to use it whenever the opportunity arises!  We've had many a very confusing conversation where I ask her if she wants something and she says no while nodding her head yes.  Gah!  Help a Momma out, kid!

~Can be a picky eater.  Most maddening is when I give her something I know she likes and she refuses it!  The prerogative of a one year old....

~Has started singing!  (Which of course I LOVE!)  I often sing her "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Row Your Boat" to keep her entertained as we're waiting for something.  Recently she's started singing them back to me!  She doesn't have all the words, but you can definitely tell what she's trying to do.  =0)

~Loves to walk places holding onto our fingers, and has started coming and getting us to take us to where she wants us.

~Makes animal noises.  She can quack, moo, neigh, bark, meow, caw, hoot, hiss, baa, coo, ribbit, snort like a pig, roar, growl, howl like a monkey and vroom like a car.

Reading stories with 'Ger.

Playing in the water!

Oh what fun to be had with some beans and a broom!!

 And our biggest news is that Grace is going to be a big sister! Little brother is due August 16th. I had more nausea this time around and have been pretty tired, but other then that things have been great. I was originally due August 9, but baby measured small at our 9 week ultrasound so they moved my due date back a week.  So any "free time" I find during the day has been spent getting things ready for our little guy!