It's a BOY!

Welcome to Grayson Levi, born Wednesday Feb 9 at 8:32 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and was 22 inches long. He looks a lot like Jasper as a newborn! Big brothers are excited and everyone is doing great :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2010

Truck Scavenger Hunt

Last Thursday I was off work and sat down with Jasper at the kitchen table to make a list of the trucks he wanted to see that day. Here's his list. Some aren't really trucks but made the list anyway.

Then he and Baxter and I got in the van with the camera and went looking. Here's what we found:

Pumper Truck

Grader

Airplane

Gator - (not really but he wanted this picture pretty bad)

School Bus

Double Shot - Bulldozer and Backhoe

Ladder Truck

Ambulance

 Forklift

Excavator

Skid Steer

And then on to the construction site. We spent half an hour here. It was great.

Crane

TRIPLE shot: Mini-excavator, crane, dump truck

Dump Truck

Low Boy

BIG dump truck

The bummer of the day was that we couldn't get near the troop truck. Jasper hasn't forgotten that. It was behind the fences at the ranger camp. We're still on the lookout for the six we missed. I still can't believe we didn't see a tractor all day.

September 2010

Over a beautiful Labor Day weekend we went on a short hike to a fire tower just north of town. Baxter was not happy in the backpack carrier. We guessed he just wanted to walk rather than ride. But it was a beautiful day!

 

 Jasper & Baxter are playing together great (most days). They are very sweet to each other!

 At the zoo...

 At Touch-a-Truck...

 We found out in mid-September that Jasper has amblyopia which is lazy eye. We had no idea but are so glad we found out early and can possibly save the vision in his weak eye. He is wearing an eye patch and is doing great with it! It was a little rough at first but he is pretty much wearing it full time now. We go back to the eye dr in October and will find out if patching has improved the vision in his poor eye. We hope and pray it has! He may wear an eye patch for a few years. We learned that one's vision is set by age 8 or 9. Fortunately since his weak eye is healthy, it is possible to train the brain to fully use that eye. He may need glasses one day but we won't know for a while. We are so proud of him - he is an all-star with the eye patch and of course loves the ones with fire trucks on them!

August 2010

Well, I am just about caught up on the blog! I wanted to post a few pictures from each month to share with family and friends. Also wanted to share our exciting news that we are going to have another baby! I'm due Feb 10 and it's another surprise. We did not find out the gender. I was feeling quite lousy for most of the summer and was thankful that Darrell could fix all the meals and help with the boys. I'm feeling much better now, thankfully!

With that said, I'll probably not be blogging much as it is not a high priority for me. I do enjoy reading other blogs :) But I don't plan on blogging much anymore. Email me!

Here are a few pictures from August - enjoy!!

 This kid loves to eat and it is entertaining to watch! He also loves to feed himself which is very messy at times. After chowing down for a LONG time, he'll often sign 'more' - amazing! Jasper was a big eater, too but slowed down after turning 3 or so...hopefully that'll happen for Baxter, too.

 

Jasper entertains himself during rest time

July 2010

Pictures from July 2010 - hot times in Georgia!

 Sitting in Grandpa's airplane on July 4th

 Notice the deer near the tomatoes!!

 We went to the sprayground a few times this summer and everyone was always entertained watching Baxter. They were amazed he was only 12 or 13 months old and how brave he was. He was always the only kid sticking his face in or sitting on a fountain, waiting for it to spray! Maybe he's brave or maybe he isn't too bright :) He obviously loved it because he did it again and again...

We went on a 4 night camping trip - two nights in Boone, NC and two nights in Damascus, VA. In Boone we visited Tweetsie Railroad which is an AWESOME place to go - it is an amusement park for kids. In Damascus we rode bikes on the Virginia Creeper trail. We cut the trip short by a night due to lots and lots of rain. By the third and fourth nights camping, the boys were sleeping great (in spite of major thunder and lightning). But the first two nights were a bit rough. I'm glad we went for more than 1-2 nights.

 Mallory joined us in Boone for Tweetsie and camping.

 I'm glad we have pictures that make the trip look fun. It was fun being with friends and enjoying time outdoors. But it was a lot of work camping that long with little ones and Jasper wasn't the most cooperative kid. But I guess there's a reason you don't take pictures of tantrums or refusing to use public toilets. A few good pictures of smiles helps you remember the good times and makes me think I had a good time.

 Chilling out in the new mini-van

Also my Grandma visited us at the end of July and got to meet Baxter!