Happy Birthday Necon!!

Necon's birthday was Saturday. After we went thru our normal morning routine with the kiddos, we took Daddy on a shopping spree at Kohl's. They were having a HUGE sale (seriously, Necon got a non-Polo polo for $2!!) So of ourse the kids got clothes too. No clothes for Mommy until I hit pre-Lydia weight. 20 pounds to go! (30 pounds lost...) We came home and took naps then Pa Chief grilled burgers and we ate with his family at their house. After everyone ate the DELICIOUS burgers and opened presents, we headed to Necon's grandparents for cake and the game. For those of you who saw the Hogs, you know it was ALMOST a really great ending for a birthday party.

After church Sunday we came home to get the cake and change clothes to find that the majority of Maumelle was without power. We were supposed to have tacos at my parents, so I called mom to find out what the plan was. She said the meat and cheese dip were on the grill...she can always come up with something. So we had a blackout party!! Then we carved pumpkins, and took the kids home. Both of them were totally losing it! All in all I think he had a good birthday!

Family Photo

Does a boxed cake mix count as "homemade?"

Alicia: It seriously looks bad. The right eye AND nose fell off.

Necon did fix her pumpkin and you could tell it was a pirate!

The obligatory pumpkin picture. Alicia's Pirate was fixed, my Spiderweb turned out great. Rebecca's pumpkin has a failed Haunted House on the side facing her tummy. She was frustrated and stabbed the fire out of the rest of the pumpkin, left the knives in AND wrote "Evil, Malicious Pumkin of Death" on the bottom! She is NUTS!!

After we got the kids settled down, we had a photo/video shoot. Here are some of Lydia's favorite faces she wanted to show you:

Lots of Attitude

Check out my BEAUTIFUL eyes AND the cookie all over my mouth!

This is Lydia dancing and "snapping" her fingers

Same as above, but slightly more sultry

Hangin in our White T's

Lydia pretending to be sweet

How she actually feels...

How Daddy actually feels...

Daddy's Boots

Trying to get the boots on

I DID IT!!

Hahahahahaha!!!!

Her best cowboy snarl

"I know I'm being funny and my parents are watching..."

Such a sweet face

Another sweet face...just kidding!!

Mommy is telling jokes

Why are you ALWAYS taking pictures??

Lydia likes to stand over Levi while he is asleep, pat on his back and say "HI brother" over and over and over and over...she could probably say it for 10 minutes straight!!

So Sweet!!

Got Milk?

I said, Stop Taking My Picture!!

Levi also turned 5 weeks old. He is finally starting to sleep a little longer through the night. We hit 5 1/2 hours, but usually stick to about 4 or 4 1/2. 5 is about the most I can take without having to pump, so it all works out. He is really becoming alert. He looks at us, smiles these HUGE grins with his whole mouth open. He is getting really good at holding his head up, and he will even lift up off our chests! He is up to 10 lbs 4 oz...I can't believe he is gaining weight so fast! Also, I am going back to work tomorrow, so pray I am recovered enough to make it through the 12 hour shift AND that I am ready emotionally to leave my babies! Don't feel too sorry for me...mom is keeping the babies and I am just working one day shift and one night shift each week! God has blessed me with a wonderful job I can work around our schedule!

14 Months

Lydia will be 14 months on Friday. There is not a whole lot new between this month and last month, but we are amazed at how much she is learning and how much personality is coming out! She LOVES to read books...this is where she learns so many of her words. I have officially stopped counting, but she is probably getting close to 100 words she can say. She seems to understand pretty much anything we say to her. She can bring me diapers and throw them away which is a big help. She loves her brother and likes to hold him on the couch and give him his paci when he is fussing. Their carseats are side by side in the backseat and almost every time we are in the car, she holds his hand! Too cute!! Going outside is her favorite...she has the skinned knees to prove it. She doesn't even cry because she is so excited just to be outside. We have started letting her watch a cartoon or a little bit of a movie every once in a while. She really seems to enjoy them. We have also noticed that she is really paying attention to the TV when it is on. We think she is just playing, not paying attention, but a few nights ago someone said something about "lucky duck" or "sitting duck." Anyway...as soon as it was out of their mouth, Lydia started quacking. Guess we need to be more careful about TV watching! She has abandoned her huge open mouth kisses for much more polite closed mouth smackers...kind of miss those sloppy kisses! She is in 18-24 month clothes still, so hopefully we are slowing down a little on the growing, but she does wear a size 6 shoe and is quickly growing out of that. She only has 4 teeth, but the two on either side of her top teeth are peeking through for a grand total of 6! We are still at two 1 1/2 hour naps and 12 hours at night. Her morning naps have been getting a little longer (one was almost 4 hours), so she may be transitioning into a one nap baby. We experiment a lot with food. She LOVES yogurt, applesauce, cheese, crackers, fruit and anything sweet. She is not so much a fan of meat, or vegetables except green beans and regular beans. I need to do a little better on keeping healthy food in the house to feed her. Not that she complains when she gets pizza or mac n cheese! Dancing is her favorite indoor activity, and she is getting pretty good! She can dance, nod her head to the beat and "snap" all at the same time. Too cute! And if we forget to pray before we eat she starts saying "May-men" over and over until we pray! Life around the Warrior house has definitely been challenging lately, but thank goodness she seems to be doing well in spite of us...

Caroline's birthday party was at Lake Willastein this past weekend. Since there is an entrance to the park through our neighborhood, we loaded up the double stroller and walked over! I am pretty sure we owe Avery some money for playing with Lydia so much! They both seemed to enjoy it a lot, and it was nice for us not to have to entertain Lydia the whole time!!

I guess Lydia was getting tired of the swing..


REALLY tired!

Lexi and Lydia watching Caroline open presents

Avery is going to be a great babysitter in a few years

Look...no hands!

Agggggghhhhh!!

Swinging with Sadie

I put this picture in just to remember how Necon likes to put Lydia's bows on. I call it her "getto fab" look...cocked all the way to one side!! How funny...

Most of us can't really figure out who in the world Levi looks like. I am sure there is an old man out there that could be his twin, but it is no one I know! Necon was taking pictures of Levi sleeping with me the other night and I figured out who he looks like...Lydia!! See what you think. Here is a picture of Lydia sleeping when she was 4 weeks old, then one of Levi sleeping at 4 weeks...

Newborn Pics

Check out Levi's newborn pictures at www.studiobellaphoto.com. Click on the Client's link in the top right hand corner, then on his name. They turned out really well...I had no idea he spent that much time NOT crying!!

4 weeks

Our little man is already 4 weeks old tomorrow!! I can't believe it. He is quickly losing his newborn look...he will be full fledged baby by next week. So sad! He is up to 8 lbs 14 oz and has the sweetest brown eyes, just like his daddy! It is looking like he might keep his hair, of which he has more than Lydia, but it is still pretty thin on top. We are still feeding every 3-4 hours around the clock, but just for 15-20 minutes, so it doesn't even seem like a big deal! He is doing a lot better holding his head up, and being happy and awake at the same time! He likes the bouncy seat better than the swing, and layed on a blanket on the floor for almost 30 minutes yesterday! What would we do without our sweet Levi??

His feet are JUST like Necon's...long long long toes!!

Out and About

We must be feeling better and getting settled into a routine, because we ventured out of the house several times this week! We go to the fair every year to celebrate our first date...the 1999 State Fair. We have only missed one year because we were in Japan. Necon always says if he had known we would be duplicating our first date every year he would have taken me to the dollar movie instead...whatever!! At least we went on Dollar Day this year...

Lydia and Daddy meeting a zebra

Annie and Aunt Becca (aka BecBec) with Lydia and the goats

Annie asked them to give us extra sugar for the baby...it got EVERYWHERE!!




I guess I forgot to give Necon the memo about wearing stripes...

Wednesday we had Levi's newborn pictures. He cried the whole time...I was so disappointed!! I am sure Amy got some good ones anyway. I'll post when they are up so you all can see them!

Wednesday night our Lifegroup had a fellowship night at Professor Bowl. I managed to bowl a few frames...incision must be healing up well!

Lydia and Parker playing video games

I LOVE this picture...too cute!!

Lydia was loving her some Mountain Dew

Necon showing Lydia how to bowl

Brock REALLY wanted his picture taken...he is such a cutie!!

This morning Lydia slept in a bit, so I was able to feed Levi without constant interruption. He went right to sleep, so I laid him down in his bassinette and got Lydia up. We ate breakfast (yogurt, her favorite) and she and I played for a while. She heard him crying, so we got him up and went back into the living room. She crawled up onto the couch and put her arms out like she wanted to hold Levi. I put him up there with her and she held him and talked to him SO SWEET for almost 10 minutes. When she was finished I picked him up and went to find the camera. Here is my attempt to recreated the moment...didn't go so well though. Lydia kept saying "No, No" everytime I tried to put him in her lap. Oh, well...