Hallelujah!

This warrants an immediate blog post: last night, Levi slept from 9:00 pm until 3:30 am, and then went back to sleep until 8:00 am! I woke up on my own and took a shower before he woke up for the first time! I of course did the first-time parent worrying that I've read about but could not resist: I got up a couple of times to check on him to make sure he was okay, hoping not to wake him up in the process. I don't believe in luck, so I don't think I've 'jinxed' anything by crowing about it. I know full well that we may not have a repeat performance tonight, but I have enough hope that we may have more nights like these soon.

We're sitting on the couch now smiling and cooing at each other. My little boy is getting to be a big boy!

Lynda

Life

We're well past the six week mark now - Levi will be nine weeks old on Thursday. He's sleeping longer at night, he started vocalizing this week, and we've coaxed a few big smiles out of him in the last few days. He hates being buckled into his carseat, but once he's settled, he'll sleep through whatever errand or trip we're on. He loves his warm water baths, and really loves having his hair washed. He won't sleep unless he's swaddled, and whenever he cries, we can be certain that he'll stop if we lay him on the changing table pad (even if only for a short time). He gets the hiccups at least twice a day. He has a cowlick on the back of his head that makes a perfect little swirl, and he holds his head up all by himself. His feet are too big for his socks, so it's hard to keep any on. He makes the cutest little faces after he yawns, when he's full, and when he's about to sneeze. He's a precious and beautiful boy.

We went home for Christmas - to both Muskogee and Houston. Levi did amazingly well on the plane ride from Denver to Tulsa, and on the return trip. He got to spend a lot of time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He spent a long, happy time in the arms of his great grandmother, Betty Eleanor. We went to Tallowood, saw the new sanctuary, and visited with a few friends while we were there. I'm so thankful we were able to make this trip.

We just said goodbye to my brother, Steven, sister-in-law, Sandy, and niece, Sophia, who came to visit us and play in the snow. Our neighbor, Emily, took us on horse-drawn sled rides, and Sophia ran around until her cheeks were bright red. We took Levi on his first wintertime walkabout, and he slept through the whole walk, snuggled in the bunting his grandma sent.

I just got a washer and dryer in the house! I'd been doing laundry at my neighbor's house or in town, but Rob and Steven installed the new appliances last week. A few adjustments must be made before I can use them regularly - they're stackable, and the washer's spin cycle sends the dryer right off the stack and into the wall.

Rob is working to recruit next summer's staff, write devotionals for the ranch's monthly newsletter, and complete projects on the grounds. Soon, I'll get started on the curriculum for this summer's Kid's Club. We joined a small group Bible study right before Levi was born, and we'll get back to meeting with them this week. I'm so happy to get out of the house and fellowship with friends from church.

This is what our life is like now...but enough of all that; I know that everyone wants pictures, so here they are:

This first picture was taken when Levi was just one week old - it's Levi and his sock monkey, Tex. My mom made me a sock monkey when I was little (I named her Diana), so I wanted Levi to have one, too. The second picture was taken when he was six weeks old. Look how much he's grown! By the way, I've shamelessly stolen the sock monkey/baby comparison concept from my friend Summer (thanks, Summer!).

This is the best example of what we call Levi's 'big eyes'. He makes these quite often, as those he's afraid of us...

Here's Rob testing out the cool baby carrier my mom found for us on Freecycle:

Keeping with the daddy theme, here are a couple of recent sweet moments: the first time Rob gave Levi a bottle...

...and the nap Levi took on his daddy's chest yesterday.

Here we are with Rob's grandmother, Deedo:

This is Levi all bundled up for his first ranch winter walkabout:

And lastly, two of the sweetest moments from our trip home; first, Levi snuggling with Pop Howell on Christmas Day...

...and Pop Luttrull spending some tummy time with Levi:


More pictures soon(ish)!

Lynda

Man of Steel

We were all on the couch; Levi on one end, Rob in the middle, and me on the other end. Rob nudged me and said, "Hey, look at Superman over here." I looked, laughed, and ran to get the camera:

Lynda

He Who Laughs Last...

Levi must have been disappointed that I thwarted his attempt to 'get' me the second time around. He was laying on my chest after a feeding just an hour ago when I heard him fire a shot. Of course, I remembered the strategy and waited...

I waited and waited, and during the wait, I became aware of a cold, wet feeling on my arm...and on my shirt...and on my stomach. It wasn't pee.

That's right. Levi is no respecter of strategies. He had the last laugh, and he definitely laughed best.

Lynda

A Public Service Announcement

When the parents of boys learn that you're expecting a baby boy, especially as the baby's birth nears, they issue a standard warning: "Be careful when you change his diaper! He's likely to pee on you!" These words have continually echoed in our ears at each diaper change, and thankfully, we've avoided Levi's sprays.

Most parents also think to warn you about holding a baby in the air over your face. Some have been the unfortunate targets of ill-timed spit-up, and they wish to save you the horror of that experience.

Not one person in nine months warned me about projectile poop! I didn't know it was possible, and I might not have believed it, had I not been the unfortunate target of Levi's three times over the last month.

The first time, we were at Mary's Lake Lodge, a nice restaurant and hotel near the ranch. It was Levi's first outing to restaurant, and near the end of the meal, he needed a change. He returned to the table with a fresh, clean diaper, and I returned with dirty jeans.

I knew about projectile poop then, so Rob and I developed a strategy: Don't change a diaper after the first shot. Rather, wait several minutes to see if he fires again. Levi rarely fires just one shot.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard Levi fire a shot. I waited for further rounds, and hearing none, I proceeded with caution. I put him on the changing table and opened up his diaper. Then, Levi threw a curveball: diaper rash. Distracted, I dropped the protective diaper wall I usually maintain, and grabbed the Desitin cream. I leaned over, carefully applying cream to the entire area, when it happened: he fired an 18-inch stream of poop that would have hit me in the eye, had my lightning-fast reflexes not saved me.

Pale and shaking, I called out to Rob for backup. He came and helped me clean up the mess, which included several previously clean diapers in the basket at the end of the changing pad. We laughed, hardly believing what had just happened.

Last night, Levi woke me up, announcing that he had a wet diaper. Again, I carried him to the changing table, expecting an easy change. I was sliding the new diaper under his little body when I heard a faint rumble. This time, I maintained the diaper wall and avoided another disaster.

Let this post serve as a warning to all of you who were previously unaware of projectile poop. It is real, and it is nasty. Constant vigilance is your only defense.

Lynda

Genes

He got Pop Luttrull's face, Pop Howell's hands, and his daddy's feet. And from his mother...

Did you hear him snoring? It could have been worse...he could have gotten my oily, acne-prone skin. Oh, wait, he got that, too. Poor thing.

Lynda

Sweet, Sweet Internet

The ranch's tech support guy made it out to the ranch today, and I am able to access the 'world wide interweb' (recognize the movie quote?) from the house again! I've been online most of the day taking care of business that's been waiting for weeks. I'm so happy!

I'm also happy because Levi has taken two naps in his crib for the first time today! He'll be four weeks old tomorrow, and I decided to heed the napping advice in the book I'm reading. The book says that infants can't handle more than two hours of wakefulness without becoming overtired, and they should be put down alone in their crib to sleep with no lights and no sounds. I soothed him to sleep, tiptoed to his nursery and put him down, not expecting much. After all, he's refused over the last two days to nap at all unless he was held. I tiptoed back out of the room carrying the monitor, and held my breath. After five minutes of sleep, I heard some whimpering, but he stayed down for 25 minutes! He stayed down for 45 minutes a couple of hours later. We're getting close to another naptime, and I'm hopeful instead of skeptical this time.

We also had a good night last night - at least two hours between most feedings, and not much waking in between. I heard that the Tallowood BC Single Adults were praying for us all to get more sleep - thank you all for praying! Thank you, God, for answering!

Lynda