The Warriors

End of Summer

2009-10-21T08:38:00.053-05:00

Our summer ended with a lot of spending time with our friends and family. The nursing school bunch finally managed to get together with all the babies (5 in all...Lydia is the oldest!!) and have dinner at our house.

Aunt Val with more than her share of the crew

For a while we couldn't keep the kids from kissing on each other!! It was so funny...

Annslee kept running right up to the camera for a picture

Averi was the sweetest, quietest one of all

We really enjoyed seeing how much Cameron had grown and how much older she seemed!
She thought all the commotion was amusing...

We put the kids in their pajamas and took pictures...I think they thought we were crazy!

My kids were wiped by the end of the night...YAY!!

Sweet Averi

Lydia and Levi LOVE popsicles in the summer

We took the kids to the Little Rock game at the first of the season.
It was his first time at a game...

But first we had to stop at Uncle Tony's surprise party

Even Tom Tom showed up

Just because you turn 30 doesn't mean you have to act like it!!

This picture shows how beat up Levi stays...

Aunt Debbie and Nana

Nana and Pawpaw Ray

Josiah

The Party

Pawpaw Bass

Levi LOVES to dance

We went to the Letterman's Club for the game. The kids had a great time playing while we watched the game!

Levi has become a master tackler. It is his way of playing and giving some love!
Step 1: quietly stalk the unsuspecting victim

Step 2: Go in for the grab

Step 3: Don't let go no matter what

Step 4: Pinned!!

Lydia went through a phase where she would only wear her Rain Boots!

What is better than watching football in your underwear?

Future Hog

See...she is getting more hair!!

We watched the second half with Pawpaw Bass

Indian Fast Pitch 09

2009-09-12T10:44:00.084-05:00

This was the kids' first year to go to the All Indian Fast Pitch Tournament. Necon and his family play in this every year, and it is one of our favorite summer events! Lydia and Levi had a great time cheering for everyone and watching the games. It wasn't even as hot as usual, so we actually enjoyed the weather as well!

Lydia and Levi waiting for the first game to start

Uncle Johnnie is one of the reasons this tournament is still going strong!!

All the guys warming up...

The kids were getting ready too!

Brennan wanted to play in the game...

Jacob was so sweet to play with our kids all day

Necon and Tony love getting to play ball with their Dad every year

Pa Chief getting some good luck...

She loves her Daddy!

Tony with is game face on

Josiah and Pa Chief

Levi and Pa Chief

Watermelon break

Grandma Warrior is the scorekeeper

The sun finally came out for the afternoon games

Necon in the hole

Yay!!!

Levi and Josiah eating sunflower seeds

Filthy Face

Ian pinch running

The kids found the ice...

Robin pitched great all day!

Levi with the big boys in the dugout

More Warriors...

Levi and Daddy

Watermelon Break, Part II

Josiah practicing

Aunt Tasha

Levi practicing

Daddy's battle wound

Tired after a long day at the ballpark

Grandma and her babies

Is this a wink??

Yep...Watermelon Break, Part III

Josiah Diaper Head

We had a surprise party for Uncle Leon right before we left!!

He was surprised!!

Spaghetti Night

2009-09-11T15:46:00.003-05:00

South Padre 09

2009-08-26T15:21:00.086-05:00

We finally made it through an entire vacation to the beach. No having to stay home because I was too pregnant, and no Hurricane Dolly forcing a retreat to San Antonio! After 3 years, we were finally back...and it.was.AWESOME! There are a billion pictures below of how much our kids (and Baby Jackson) loved the beach. Enjoy!

Baby Jackson waving hello

Levi eating sand

Cousins dinner out

Baby Jackson and Jewels

Gus, Jewels and of course, Baby Jackson

Grandma Warrior's

2009-07-28T14:00:00.068-05:00

This past weekend we went to Grandma Warrior's in Oklahoma. We always love going to visit because she lives in the country and there is TONS of land for the kids to just run around. We do almost nothing all weekend, except eat of course!! Hot links, biscuits and gravy, tacos, pie...it is HEAVENLY!! We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so they were all excited to see the kids and the kids were excited too!

Lydia claimed Grandma's chair...don't know how to fix that "cheese" face though!

The kids had a GREAT time running around in the yard

Wrestling...always a favorite!

Playtime with Grandma

Playtime with Brennan and Jacob

We also went down to see Thomas' fight. This was a rematch of his previous fight when he took the belt. That fight went all 5 rounds and ended in a controversial decision. This fight ended just 1:20 in the first round with a choke submission...Thomas WON!! He signed with Strikeforce that night. It is a breakoff of the UFC and they have the 145lb weight class that Thomas fights in.

Tasha and her friend Janet with Matt Wiman, one of Thomas' good friends and a UFC fighter

Chuck Liddell (one of the most famous UFC fighters) was at this fight for a guest appearance. My starstruck husband took about 1 million pictures, but these are the best and funniest.

This is proof that Necon saw Chuck...you can barely see Chuck's head to the right of Necon's.

The kids found some more places to play in Grandma Warrior's yard: the brick pile and the old rusty swing set. Necon assured me they were safe...I'm not so sure.

Check out those filthy feet...

Our sweet Grandma Warrior

We sent the dirty kids straight to the tub...they had a BLAST!

Lydia was really determined to kiss Brennan goodbye, and he was really determined not to

We really wanted to get a good picture of the two Lydias, but this is the best one we got

Here are the rest...whatta goober!

The kids did really well in the car until the last hour on the way home. I started taking pictures of Lydia and letting her see the pictures on the camera. She started making the funniest faces!! This kept her occupied for a good 45 minutes...desperate times!!

Update on getting rid of the paci...

Help Wanted, Again

2009-07-20T16:18:00.002-05:00

We are looking for someone who would be available to keep our kids from 2:15 to 4:15 on Thursdays and occasional Mondays. There would be some full days (730-4:30) available occasionally as well. PLEASE get back with me if you know of anyone looking for a VERY flexible, VERY part time something to do!

Happy 4th, Baby Jackson!

2009-07-15T17:24:00.037-05:00

For the Fourth of July we packed up the kids and headed to OKC to visit Baby Jackson. Ross and Jenny had been waiting for God to bless them with a baby for a long time, and we couldn't have been more excited to meet the little guy! Lydia had been talking about "Baby Jackson" all week! The moment of meeting did not disappoint...

"I'm still your favorite, right Mommy?"

Me, Baby Jackson, and a VERY proud daddy, Ross

Growing up while we still lived in Oklahoma, the 4th of July always meant the HUGE picnic cookout at Mama Jo and Papa's house. 300+ Oklahoma Christian faculty and staff would come, the Summer Singers band would play. Great fun! This year we were able to have a little throw back to those days...

Lydia and Cooper shared the tire swing

Nothing like being naked in the back yard...

Aunt Beverly (or "Aunt Bebs" to Lydia) got the great-grandbabies matching 4th of July outfits.

The Anderson family

Lydia finished up the night in a much too small swing

then a ride on the paddle boat...a rite of passage for all North grandchildren

Luke and Levi: Take 1

Luke and Levi: Take 2

Fishing off the deck

Yay GUS!!

Father's Day with Pop

2009-07-15T16:34:00.008-05:00

We celebrated Father's Day with Pop at a Traveler's game. He loves baseball and Lydia does too! We had a great time with Pop, and the Trav's pulled out a come from behind win!

Jeremy and Levi bonded over Levi's favorite thing...FOOD!

Daddy and Lydia

Their trademark "CHEESE" face

We actually got a decent family photo!!

Watchin the game

Father's Day and Big Girl Bed

2009-07-15T15:31:00.018-05:00

Father's Day 2009 was special this year not only because it was Necon's first with two kiddos, but also because it was our first weekend back from our trip. Being without the kids for those 2 weeks was really hard, but we appreciate each minute with them now that we are back!

Lydia all dressed up

Daddy and his babies

Take two: ditched the pacis

This is typical around our house: Lydia cuddles with Daddy and Levi wants Mommy

On Father's Day we also decided to tackle moving Lydia into a toddler bed. There are two main reasons for this.

First, we were finding her asleep in random beds around the house

Second, and most dangerous, this was one of her favorite things to do:

So...as you can see it was necessary for the safety of our firstborn that she transition into her toddler bed. Since it was Father's Day, we gave Daddy the job of taking pictures. That meant the other man of the house had to pick up the slack.

At first he pouted to get out of the job

Then he pitched in gladly!!

Unfortunately, the whole making-the-bed-safer-plan didn't work out so well...

Oh, well. The transition to her big girl bed went really well. I guess we could have expected this since she was putting herself to sleep in the guest bed and her crib already. She loves waking up and walking into our room or the living room. She is so proud of herself. Too bad taking the paci away and potty training are going to be MUCH harder!

Trip to the Zoo

2009-07-15T15:13:00.009-05:00

Necon took off work the Monday after we got back from the Holy Lands and we took the kids to the zoo. Apparently we picked the HOTTEST day of the year to go. We were all so hot, but the kids did great! This was their first time to go. Lydia was super excited about the animals!

Lydia kept saying, "He lookin at me, mommy" about all of the animals.

When I told her to "look at those monkeys" she said,
"No, mommy. It's a gorilla." She was right.

We had a hard time convincing her this was just a toy gorilla.

Lydia loved watching the elephants. I think she could have stayed there all day. It was her favorite when they were splashing water over their backs with their trunks.

We took her all over the zoo, and the waterfall was still her second favorite thing we saw!
She was probably imagining cooling off...

Mr. Christopher, 8 months and 7 months

2009-07-15T13:42:00.028-05:00

Mr. Christopher is our across the street neighbor. He is a wonderful, thoughtful man who loves children. He brings us vegetables from his garden and has been known to show up with dinner on occasion. Mr. Christopher also goes on week long hunting adventures all over North America! One afternoon we had Josiah at our house and Mr. Christopher volunteered to take the kids on a golf cart ride. I am pretty sure they enjoyed it, but I do think they were glad to be back on the ground.

8 month old Levi...

Lydia and Josiah surviving the golf cart ride!

At 8 months Levi is about 19 pounds and 28 inches long. He still isn't babbling much, but he is a very happy baby and brings a lot of smiles to our house!!

Going back in time a bit...here is what Levi was doing at 7 months.

Standing

Smiling

Sitting like this. He always sits on his knees or in a catcher position.
Whatever works little man!

Flirting (one of his personal favs)

Listening to one of mommy's stories

Loving on mommy

Sticking his tongue out while he is concentrating

Putting everything in his mouth

No, that is not Levi. Yes, Lydia is still that bald. Oh, well...I love this picture!

Cute little feet...

...and sweet big hands!

We're back!! (WARNING: No pictures and minor bragging)

2009-07-09T09:36:00.003-05:00

Every time I post I make some bad excuse about why it has been so long. I am not even going to try this time. For those of you dying to see pictures from our Holy Land Tour, I am going to try really hard to get some up this weekend. For those of you dying to see new pictures of Lydia and Levi, I am going to try to get those up this weekend as well. Here is a quick update:

We had well child check ups yesterday. Levi at 9 months is 29 1/2 inches long (85%) and 21 pounds (50%). He has been standing on his own for about 2 months and has started taking steps over the past 2 weeks. We are up to 4-6 steps at a time. He still isn't talking or babbling much. He can do it, he just prefers to be quiet. Yes, he gets this from me. He will say Mama, but I'm pretty sure he thinks it means Get me out of here, I want something and Pick me up. He will repeat Dada to us, but still isn't understanding who that is. He recognizes his name and can wave sometimes. It is so funny how different boys are from girls!! He is our happy happy baby, loves to cuddle and is always very excited to see us when he wakes up or when we get home. Levi is just a joy to be around...OH and he has just one tooth. One GINORMOUS, crooked tooth. It is the funniest thing. Pictures to come.

Lydia at 22 months is a whopping 35 1/2 inches tall (95%) and 29 pounds (80%). She is definitely going to tower over her mother, and could potentially be close to 6 feet tall. CRAZY! Anyhoo...Dr. O'neill confirmed what we already know about Lydia: she is VERY smart. She is saying 5-7 word sentences and will say 2-3 sentences at a time. She can count to ten (as long as you say the 4), and knows most of her colors most of the time. Dr. O'neill was impressed that she sat still and let him check her out, and that she followed all of his commands. She and I talked alot yesterday morning about going to the doctor and how she should act. I even explained that she was going to get a shot that would hurt. She asked if she could have a Nemo bandaid after, and I told her she could. How sweet! Our previous two visits to the doctor were MISERABLE! I fully expected the same, but she was amazingly great. She barely even cried at the shot and she knew it was coming. I was so proud of her.

Okay, enough bragging on the kids. Our favorite thing right now is watching the two of them play together. They love each other very much and love to hug/wrestle. Not ever sure exactly which of those two events is taking place...too hard to tell! Lydia calls Levi "brother" and tells him they are best friends. Nothing could be sweeter!

I am fully aware that most of you check this blog to find out about the kids, but I am really excited to tell everyone that I have started WORKING OUT! Finally! It is really hard because the only time I have to do it is after the kids go to bed, so I am not even home until 10:30-11 every night. BUT, it is going to be worth it. We are doing P90x and I really recommend it to anyone who needs a program. 25 pounds to lose. Hopefully I can do it in the 90 days of this program!

Random Events

2009-05-08T08:00:00.043-05:00

Some of these "happenings" are from several months ago, but I wanted to get them in the blog anyway!!

Lydia's First Bubble Bath

Lydia absolutely LOVES bathtime!! I guess there are some kids who throw a fit about getting in and some who throw a fit about getting out. Lydia is much more likely to be in the latter group! Necon decided to add bubbles (and the "scary" duck bathtub) one night a while back. She LOVED it of course!!

Her Phantom of the Opera mask
Say CHEESE!!

Loves that water

"Rubber Ducky, You're the One..."

Bad mother of the year award

I'm sure everyone can imagine it is hard having two babies at home. I have said before I think having two barely a year apart is harder than having twins. This is mostly because Lydia is so mobile, but she still isn't aware of what can hurt her, etc. There are times when she is awake and I have/had to nurse, rock Levi to sleep, whatever and she just roams. We have tried the baby jails. When your 20 month old is almost 3 feet tall and has some weight to throw around, those just don't work. She can climb over them, crawl under them or, her personal favorite, mow them over like a bulldozer.

ANYWAY, I had given Levi a bath and was laying him down. When I got finished I couldn't find Lydia anywhere. She wouldn't answer me. I couldn't hear her playing or talking. She can not only open the doors, but unlock the dead bolt so I was looking outside. Finally I went in our bathroom and here is what I saw.

Apparently I left all the water in Levi's tub. I was immediately thinking of all the PSA's, parent education literature, nursing safety lectures that all say repeatedly, "Your child can drown in less than one inch of water." Luckily she didn't. She was merely in the tub, fully clothed, sucking on the dirty washcloth from Levi's bath. Gross!!

This is what happens when you get in a full bathtub with a SUPER absorbant diaper on!! Too funny...she didn't even care!

Mini Mommy

Lydia has turned into the cutest little mommy. She loves to play with her baby doll. She rocks her, changes her diaper, feeds her, puts her to sleep. Whatever Lydia has determined her baby needs. She will lay the baby on the ground and wave her hand over the baby and say "Shooie, baby. Yucky diaper. Then "change" her diaper. One night she got into the bottle drawer in the kitchen and improv'ed a bottle. She got one of the skinny breast pump bottles and found a nipple that would fit exactly over the top. No little attachment peice needed! She climbed up on the couch and started feeding her baby and singing her songs.

Big Girl Breakfast

Lydia LOVES to eat cereal. "Ro-ro's" (cheerios) are her fav. A couple of months ago we decided to let her sit at the bar (no hi chair or booster) and have a bowl with milk actually in it. Yes. We live life on the edge at the Warrior house. She thought she was so grown up!

Once she got the hang of it, she wanted Necon to come sit by her. She is patting on the other barstool saying "Come sit Daddy."

Of course he did...

Telling a "Lydia story". Lots of hand motions. Few intelligible words.

Must have been funny

If you look closely you can see her little curl. We are not getting our hopes up, but she may actually not be bald her whole life!

First Major Boo-Boo

Our ottoman has this HUGE nice cushion on the top. Just under the cushioned section is the wooden box the cushion sits on. The brilliant men who thought up this design didn't find it neccessary to pad the corners of the wooden box. I guess they figured the large top cushion would be enough. It isn't.

She kept saying "Bonk Head"

She was such a trooper through the whole thing. I know it must have hurt pretty bad, but after the initial tear-fest, she was really interested in how to take care of it. So sweet...

Fun in Brother's Crib

Lydia LOVES to play in Levi's crib. Since he thinks she hung the moon, he likes it when she gets in there after his nap. About 2 weeks ago Lydia and I went it to get him and he was standing up in there!! In a four week period he started sitting up in a stable fashion, crawling and now pulling up. He can make his way around the furniture while pulled up, and he has started standing for short periods of time (10 seconds or less.) He also tries to take a step or two, but lands on his face every time. We are really encouraging this walking behavior because I will be heart broken if he starts taking steps while we are in the Holy Lands and we miss it!! Whew...got a little of topic. Kids playing in the crib...

Our big man standing

Call me crazy, but I think he started posing...

For some reason Lydia really wanted her picture taken with the penguin

Date night with Tia

Last week Lydia had a special night. She went out with Tia to Texas Roadhouse. Lydia had a blast, and I know Tia enjoyed seeing what a big girl Lydia is. It was really fun for us to watch her go out without us and know she was having such a fun night. THANKS TIA!!

Our Big News...

2009-04-21T22:48:00.006-05:00

...Levi is mobile!! What...were you expecting some other kind of news? As if we ever have anything exciting to announce in the Warrior house! Any-hoo...Levi has been crawling for quite a while now. 3 weeks and 3 days to be exact. Saturday he started pulling up on various peices of furniture and/or people. He has now figured out it works better when he picks something stationary. He turned 7 months old on Sunday. We are officially weaned, a fact I am positive hurts my feelings much worse than his. He is sleeping well through the night. Not quite up to Lydia's 12 hour marathons, but we are grateful for the 10 hours he does manage. He does wake up around 5am to eat, but is usually pretty good to go back to sleep. Levi has begun the babbling. He LOVES his mommy...and he really loves to give kisses. They are the sweetest thing. He grabs your face with both hands and then "goes in" really slow just staring in your eyes the whole time! Mister Romance already...too sweet! Still no teeth, but he is enjoying his baby food. He loves all the fruits; it is much harder to get him to eat the vegetables!! No stats since we are horrible parents and never go to the DR, but he is quickly growing out of his 9 month clothes. Long and lean like his daddy...

Easter 2009

2009-04-21T21:12:00.054-05:00

Easter is a big holiday in our family. We love dying Easter eggs and eating Easter dinner, but what we REALLY love is hunting Easter eggs. We have a HUGE egg hunt inside complete with prize eggs of various monetary amounts, prizes such as yoo-hoo's, food snacks and small games. The goal of every participant is to find the Golden Egg which is usually hidden in the hardest spot and worth around $25-30!! We had an exceptionally good Easter this year. Enjoy the photos!!

Lydia really loved making her Easter Eggs

I think this one is especially beautiful!

I guess we forgot to tell her cupcakes come with the egg dying...she seemed surprised!

Easter morning we woke up early and got the kids' Easter baskets ready at our house. We let them open their baskets before church.

I just couldn't pass these up...

Tia and Levi

Lydia and Annie

Lydia and Levi got Easter baskets at Annie and Grandpa's too...

Charlie and Nate were making fun of me taking so many pics of the kids so I snapped a couple of them. I think they were feeling left out!!

Lydia was really into hunting the eggs this year, so it was super fun for us to watch her get really excited. We even got her eggs that say "Hello? Anyone out there? Let me out!" she thought they were funny, but couldn't quite figure out what they were saying. She eventually gave up and decided there was a cat inside saying "Meow" instead of "Me out"...too funny!!

Brother was just happy to play with his Easter goodies

Lydia was really suprised to find something on her hand...

a stamp from Bible class

Hmm...how do I get the candy out of this thing??

Seriously mom, where's the candy?

Seriously hunting now

Tia thinks the Golden Egg is in the trash. Gross...who would put it in the trash? Oh, right! Probably the same people who put it inside a Ziplock in the toilet tank!!

That mouth looks like it is hiding something! Why won't she look at Mommy?

Aha! Chocolate drool...

Nathan is bummed about his $5 egg. He was hoping for the Golden Egg.

Too bad! Tia found it! It was in the trash after all.

Levi was really hoping HE would find the Golden Egg

For anyone else who has a bald child: Ebay has these beautiful bows for $5-$8 dollars, headband included. There are TONS of vendors with lots of different styles and colors!

I couldn't really leave her out of the bunny ears pictures. We just couldn't get her to wear them on Easter morning. She thought they were scary...

After Annie and Grandpa's (who is actually "Bunka" if you ask Lydia), we headed to Necon's Nana's house for round #3. This came complete with Easter Baskets #3 and these AWESOME sunglasses for Lydia!!

Levi and Necon's mom. She is apparently going to be called GaGa. She did't pick a name, so Lydia picked one for her!!

We tried to get a good picture of Pa Chief, GaGa and the kiddos, but no such luck

Too cute not to have one more picture!!

My handsome men

Always smilin'

Poor guy crashed out playing with Daddy on the couch

Too sweet

Happy Babies

2009-03-25T09:29:00.008-05:00

Oh, wait...that is when MOMMY is happy!!

When Lydia was eating baby food, we could NEVER get her to wear a bib. Luckily, she was very not messy when she ate. Brother is COMPLETELY the opposite. He is such a messy eater! But now, every time we get a bib on him, Lydia gets a bib out of the drawer and wants us to put it on her. She also gets a spoon out of the silverware drawer and wants to eat the baby food. Whether she likes it or not, she always nods her head, smiles and says "GOOD!" when she takes bites. Whatta goof ball!!

Mommy LOVES her little man!!

18 Months

2009-03-14T16:14:00.033-05:00

Lydia turned 18 months old 2 weeks ago. We cannot believe how big she is getting! She is thankfully not a picky eater. She loves ham, broccoli, corn, beans, pasta, chocolate milk, cake...pretty much everything. She talks like crazy. She is saying sentences now. My favorites are "C'mon daddy" which is accompanied with her grabbing his hand and taking her somewhere and "It's okay bubba" which is usually said when he is crying. She LOVES bath time, playing outside, eating, playing with Levi, watching a FEW cartoons everyday, and going to church. She is starting to get interested in potty training, but I don't think I am ready to go there yet!! Sleeping is still her strong suit...12 hours at night and 2 long naps during the day. She gets her paci and her "pinkie" (blanket) and tells us she is ready for "night night." All we have to do is lay her down in the bed...she goes right to sleep. Of course, she LOVES her daddy the most, and she is absolutely HILARIOUS!! Oh, she is also a dancing MACHINE!! It is crazy...her favorite show is American Idol. She dances the entire 2 hours! She is finally starting to get hair, but still not enough on top in the front to clip a bow in. Maybe by her 2 year old pictures she will be ready!

We have really been enjoying the days of nice weather. We can walk to the lake from our house, so we do this a lot. The kids love the walk and playing at the park. We love playing with our new camera!!

Lookin Like a Big Girl!!

Swinging with Josiah

Levi Man loved the swings too!!

Playtime with Annslee

2009-03-14T14:33:00.011-05:00

3 of my friends from nursing school had babies within a few weeks of Levi's birthday. All 3 of them are girls! One of these precious baby girls, Annslee, came over to play with Lydia and Levi several weeks ago. We got some really cute pictures...

HELP FOUND!!

2009-03-02T14:56:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who gave us ideas for childcare! Jennifer C. has AMAZINGLY offered to help us out! Just pray for God to give her strength on those days...4 kids 4 and under!! AGGGHHH!

Memphis Trip

2009-02-28T14:31:00.015-06:00

We finally got an external memory card reader so I can get our pics off the bigger memory cards. That means I can finally get caught up on posting...YAY!! We went to Memphis with Keith and Tasha to see the Grizzlies-Lakers game, but mostly we all just wanted to see some famous people and have a night without the kids! It was a really fun night...if you are wanting to take a good day trip somewhere for good food and fun wiout spending too much $$, Memphis is the place to go.

We decided to eat at Neely's BBQ because I am obsessed with the Food Network Channel and I was DYING to eat their BBQ nachos. The attendant where we parked our car was telling us "how far" we were going to walk to get there (even though I had mapquested and knew it was less than half a mile). He told us the best BBQ was at BB Kings, where I have been before, it is good, but I am still convinced they were paying this guy to get everyone to eat there. Pat and Gina, we will come and eat at your restaurant next time we are in Memphis. I will be ordering the BBQ Nachos AND the BBQ Spaghetti, so get it ready!!

I did get BBQ Nachos and they were good, so I managed a smile

Keith and Tash got some super yummy ribs

Walkin in Memphis...

We went with the cheap seats. This is the picture from our SUPER zoom lens if that gives you an idea just how high we were!! The game was okay, but it was fun to see some of the Superstars!!

I think the goal here was to give a really great pyrotechnic show to mask how AWFUL Young MC was raping Bust a Move. Seriously, I was embarrased for the guy...

We had fun anyway!!

This is where I would put the picture we took of me and Tasha, but I am fully aware, as I am sure most of you are too, of how short, white, round and normal looking I am. I see no need to prove that by showing the picture of the two of us. So I decided to blog this one instead.

Good, I feel much better now. Maybe a little guilty, so let's go with this cute but slightly blurry picture of me and my GORGEOUS sis in law! That will do much better...

Still trying to figure out this new camera...Necon likes to "practice" things we learned in our photography class. Kinda cool!!

Nanny Hunting

2009-02-21T05:44:00.002-06:00

The time with our WONDERFUL Lisa is coming to an end sooner than we both wanted. She is moving outside of Benton and will not be able to keep the kids one day a week anymore. So, we are back in the market for a babysitter/nanny. We need someone for sure 1 day everyweek, potentially two days a week. Preferably at our house, but we can definitely negotiate that part. If you or someone you know is interested PLEASE let us know.

Levi's Blessing and Pawpaw's Birthday

2009-02-18T12:12:00.021-06:00

Last year at Lydia's baby blessing, Necon and I were the only ones who knew Levi was on the way. We were still adjusting to the idea of having another one so soon, and the evening wasn't enjoyed as much as it should have been. This year was much different! We are pleased to announce that we have NO big announcements coming. Thank you so much to all of you who pray for our children daily! We need all the help we can get!

Getting ready for the group photo

Sadie was happy as usual

Levi in the bumbo. Almost as relaxed as Lydia was during her photo shoot

Ridge in the same bumbo. He was sleeping in the beginning, so Levi let him borrow the carseat. We switched when he woke up. Why did Ridge wake up, you ask?

The affair was not as relaxed as the two boys make it seem...

This is about 2/3 of the babies actually in the picture!!

We didn't get ANY pictures of the actual blessing. If you have some good ones, PLEASE email them to me!! As soon as the service was over we rushed to Pawpaw Bass' SUPRISE 70th birthday party. The roasting was in full force with Uncle Lee (Pawpaw's brother) laying it on thick! He even gave Pawpaw a vest just like his...

The kids (all 6!) did a Reader's Theatre of memories. It was great!

Pawpaw cried...but mostly he laughed!!

Family picture (minus me and Levi...kids gotta eat!)

We did manage to get the 4 of us in a picture to commemorate the occasion...

Lydia thought she would have made a great emcee!!

Necon and Pawpaw

Pawpaw and his kiddos

Grandma Beth and Levi

Stuff We've Been Up To

2009-02-16T09:54:00.019-06:00

Hiding in the Freezer

Running into Friends at Random Photography Class

Lovin Tummy Time

Being Cute

Chillin in a Harley Onesie

Kissin on Levi

Cheering for OU

This one goes out to all the OKC fam...

A new twist on the classic "Bubble Bath"

Josiah's First Birthday

2009-02-16T09:20:00.010-06:00

Just like usual, we are behind on our blogging! One of my new jobs is teaching OB clinicals in the College of Nursing at UAMS. I am really enjoying the job, but my blogging time has been replaced by grading paperwork! I am attempting to blog at least twice a week until I have everything caught up! So here we go:

Josiah turned 1 on December 31st. We celebrated at American Pie Pizza. He had a blast!!

The Birthday Boy

Levi with his great-Nana

Lydia was keeping close to the presents!!

The proud parents...

Josiah completely enjoyed his oversized cupcake!! Too cute!

Then he decided he didn't really like being THAT messy...

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T12:58:00.146-06:00

Levi and I kicked off the holiday season with a trip to Dallas with some of the girls from church. We did a lot of shopping, even more eating and had a GREAT time!! I really enjoyed getting to spend some one on one time with Levi. He did great the whole time and had a lot of fun hanging out with Aunt Susan and Mrs. Jani.

We had lots of wonderful holiday parties to attend. I only wound up with pictures from two of them. The first is the party at Jeff and Kerry's with all of us girls from nursing school. Four of us had babies within 2 1/2 months of eachother, and this is the first time we had all of the babies together.

Rebecca and Cameron Belle, Me with Lydia and Levi,

Kerry with Annslee Grace, and Valerie with Averi Claire

Val and Averi

Leah and Dustin visiting with Cameron

Kerry and Lydia

Necon and Annslee

Rebecca, Eric and their sweet Cameron

The babies really had fun!!

So did the mommies...

We also had a great time at our class Christmas party as always. The gag gifts were outrageous this year...maybe we can come up with something super creative for next year. But probably not since we have the annually recycled Jessica Simpson DVD music video!!

Sweet Sadie Girl

We got a Nikon D60 fancy pants camera for Christmas this year. We figured it would be good since we want good pictures of our kids, and to capture the amazement of our Holy Lands trip this summer. By the way...there are still plenty of spots if anyone is interested in coming!! We have taken billions of pictures with our new toy...here are just a few!!

These obviously happened when Necon was home with the kids by himself!! Lydia was all the way behind the television and entertainment stand...she is such a climber!!

Levi is already 3 months old. He is the happiest, most smiley baby in the world. I still have to set my alarm so I can wake him up to eat in the middle of the night, but it is worth it because breastfeeding is still going GREAT!! He is now rolling over, but can't quite sit in the exersaucer yet. He does love the bumbo however. He is starting to enjoy watching Lydia play and talk to him. We just can't get enough of our little boy...

Does this one remind anyone else of Fivel the Mouse??

Ever since I can remember, we have baked for Christmas: cookies, divinity, fudge, rocky road and peanut brittle. Our divinity rarely turns out right, and this year was no exception. We messed up so bad the divinity broke the motor in the mixer!! Awful huh?? The cookies were delicious though...

We woke up Christmas morning and opened presents and stockings at our house. Since our kids didn't need anything (espeically not more toys) and since we knew they would be getting PLENTY from everyone else, we kept it very minimal and basic. It turned out to be a horrible idea because Christmas morning was over in like half a second. So much for being sensible...we are buying a ridiculous amount of junk next year!! Since our morning turned out so silly, we bundled up and headed to Grandpa and Annies...

So gross, but Lydia lets Indyana lick her mouth. This led to a discussion of how dogs mouths are "cleaner" than human mouths. They can say that all they want but I have seen where that dog puts his tongue...

Tia and Brotherman

Annie and Grandpa gave Lydia her first jewelry set. Now she won't cry for my wedding rings!!

There is nothing like a truly surprised face on Christmas morning!!

After watching everyone react over their new gifts, Lydia started walking around and picking up everyones presents and acting really excited about all of them...too cute!!

Lydia loves to play the piano...we hope she sticks with it!

Mom got Lydia the greatest gift ever!! Lydia absolutely LOVES music and she has had such a great time going around mom's house and listening to all of the christmas music boxes. So mom got her her very own music "box." It is completely wooden, and the most beautiful I have ever seen. Lydia absolutely loved it!!

When we were done at my parents, we headed to Pa Chief and Grandma's.

We made a quick stop at Pop and OG's (I am sure you could check out their blog for the photos) then on to Nana's...

Levi and Mamaw Bass

Josiah and Uncle Tony

I put this one in not just to show off her super cute Christmas bow, but to remind us how she ALWAYS clips together the chest clip on Levi's carseat. Anytime I go to put him in, I have to undo the clip first...makes me laugh!!

Kyndle and Austin

Nana and Papaw Ray

Beth and Aunt Debbie

Patrick's girlfriend, Jamie

Lydia was really interested in Rebecca's video game...she kept trying to shove her face right down to the screen to see what was going on.

I am sure you are thinking, how many places can they go on Christmas?!? Just one more...all the way to Oklahoma City, to Grandma and Grandad's (my dad's parents).

Levi and Baby Kate

(for those Zoolander fans...this is Levi's "Blue Steel" face)

Lydia and Grandad

Lydia and Micah

This is the kids' Great Great Grandmother, Ma

Baby Kate

Friday morning we all headed into Edmond to Mama Jo and Papa's. Here Lydia got her very first BIKE!! She liked it at first, then got a little scared for some reason. Now that we are home she really really really loves it...

Show Annie your silly face!

Saturday morning we got up and drove to Kellyville (just outside of Tulsa) to see Necon's family. At first she was hesitant to open anything because she had gotten in trouble for opening presents under the tree before Christmas. When we finally gave her ones to open, she kept looking at us like "Is this a test?" Here are my favorite pictures of Lydia opening a present.

Lydia always loves playing with Brennan and Jacob...she started saying their names on this trip and they thought that was SUPER cool!!

Josiah and Uncle Necon

Just incase you haven't noticed...LYDIA IS GETTING HAIR!! It is not much, but compared to absolutely nothing it is a lot!!

You can even see it in the front..

Some things never change...

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!! Good luck on your resolutions...ours is to make it an entire year with out adding a baby to the family!! Love you all...

Quick Update

2008-11-24T10:17:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who gave us leads and possible help with our kids! One of my good friends from work has agreed to come to our house and love on Lydia and Levi every Monday! Pray that they are GREAT today and don't scare her off!! To all of you who keep other people's kids...THANK YOU! It means more to us than you could possibly know! It is hard to leave them with anyone who is not you, but it is soooo much easier to know they are being loved and well cared for!

2 Months

2008-11-21T13:42:00.008-06:00

I know it is cliche, but I really can't believe Levi has been here for 2 months already!! It was definitely a difficult adjustment, but now we can't imagine not having him here! He is Lydia's pride and joy. When I first get her up in the morning she MUST have her breakfast immediately (hey...she is my child ya know!) then she stands at our bedroom door and cries "Brother, Brother" over and over until I go get him. Today she wanted to hold him...which she indicated by almost pulling him off the ottoman. I put them both up on the couch and she just sat there holding him in her lap, patting his legs and looking at his face. She even tickled his neck, while saying "tikatikatika" to get him to smile. Since smiling is his favorite thing to do, he politely obiliged. She looked up at me so proud and happy, I wish I had a camera in my lap to catch her face! Priceless!! We haven't made it to our 2 month appointment yet, but Levi is somewhere in the realm of 13 pounds and 23 inches long. He sleeps all night, and I have to wake him up to eat. He loves to play on his back, but is such the tummy sleeper. He will cry when he is ready for us to roll him over!! So funny! He is always flailing his arms around like he has no idea what he should do with them. We still have NO idea who he looks like, but I think he is going to have brown hair and big brown eyes!

Lydia really wanted me to put these pictures on here because she thought she was funny!!

This is Lydia's newest favorite face...her "sad face"

I am going to pretend for a second that people not only look at our blog for our kids but for us also, and tell you about our wonderful 4th Anniversary date. One of our most favorite artists (music not paint) came in town Sunday night: AMOS LEE!! We went to see him at the Village and it was AWESOME! We also got to hear Priscilla Ahn open for him who was absolutely incredible. We bought her CD ahead of time so we would be a little familiar and she was even better live. It was really nice to have a night out without the kiddos! Can't believe we are already to this point in our life, but we wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!!

Help Wanted!!

2008-11-17T12:32:00.002-06:00

We are looking for someone to keep our kids on Mondays (preferrably at our house) from 7am to 4:15pm starting asap. If anyone knows of someone looking for a little extra cash, we would appreciate recommendations!! I am not even sure where to start looking...

Homecoming

2008-11-15T15:38:00.017-06:00

Last weekend we traveled again to Oklahoma City to visit family. It was Homecoming for Oklahoma Christian, and more importantly, the debut of my grandfather's book that chronicals the history of OC from the very beginning years until now. I am just 4 chapters in, but it is incredible to read the book and hear the story of men that believed so much in Christian education they were willing to take out huge personal loans to make it happen! Makes me want to get involved more in things just because they are great causes! Somehow we once again failed to get many pictures with my mom's side of the family. On a SUPER happy note...my cousin Ross and his wife (one of my very best friends) Jenny are FINALLY going to have a baby! They had a tough road, but their (hopefully) precious baby girl is on the way! The link to their new blog is on the left under Andersons.

Papa's new book

On the way down we were able to spend the night with Grandma and Granddad. All 4 great grandbabies were there, and Grandma made us her famous soup for dinner, her famous biscuits and gravy for breakfast and hamburgers with her famous potato salad for lunch!! We went back by for another short visit Monday and she made homemade ice cream! YUM!!

Lydia and McKenzie with the red rocking chair

Lydia checking to see if anyone was looking before she went up the stairs

Daddy was looking, but McKenzie encouraged her to go up anyway!!

At the beggar's table with Granddad for some soup

I'm kinda thinking he didn't share, but Lydia never gave up!

Grandma with all four greats: Katelynne, Levi, Lydia and McKenzie

This is Necon's favorite winter hat for her to wear...sooo cute!!

Oh...and Lydia found more boots!!

We stayed an extra night, so we got to eat at Chili's with Cooper

On the way home, we stopped at Taco Mayo (Necon's favorite). Lydia kept sneaking dips of Salsa Verde with her quesadilla. At first we thought she was handling it well, until we noticed the skin around her mouth was FLAMING red!! What terrible parents!

When we got home, Grandma Warrior made the long journey to Arkansas to visit with Levi for the first time. He was in a great mood, and smiled and cooed at her the whole time! I think she liked it!!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T14:23:00.044-06:00

We look forward to Halloween every year as the kick off to our favorite time of year: HOLIDAYS!! We love the weather, the football, the food and the fun! Now that we have kids, Halloween is even better! Thursday night we had a dress rehearsal for Trick or Treating at the annual Duke-Greathouse Halloween party. Lydia had so much fun this year...I can't wait to see Levi running around next year! We will surely be looking forward to the party as a kick off for next year's holiday season!

Our sweet butterfly and cute pea-in-a-pod

She really does love her brother

When we first arrived at the party, one of the bouncey play things was unoccupied. We threw Lydia in to see if she liked it and she LOVED it of course. She stood at one in and ran as fast as she can until she fell flat on her face. So funny...

Sleepy pea pod...

Reminds me of a sleepy pumpkin I met once...

One happy family

About 3 seconds after this was taken, the balloon popped, Lydia screamed and I yelled at Necon for letting her chew on the balloon in the first place. Then I apologized.

We couldn't keep her out of the bouncey thing, even when the big kids were in there knocking her down. I walked over because I heard her squealing and I thought she was hurt. She was squealing with supreme joy! She was having so much fun...

This picture makes me laugh because she looks like a 12 year old dressed up like a baby dressed up like a butterfly and sitting in a really huge carseat!!

Lydia "helping" Levi out of the carseat

This pea pod is in hibernation...I think he thought it was a cocoon!

On Halloween night we took the kids around visiting our family in Maumelle. We started at Pop and OG's new house. It was Lydia's first experience with holding out her basket and getting candy. She learned to say "Trick or Treat" (really said "tik a tik" super fast) in record time!! Hope candy works that well when we are learning to potty train!

Levi was excited and ready to go

At Pop and OG's

This is probably my favorite picture of her in her costume! BIG thank yous to Caroline for letting us have such a sweet costume!

Next stop was the Monans where we caught Nathan actually holding Levi. He has yet to hold Lydia. The only reason we were able to con him into holding Levi is because they share a middle name...

Then a quick stop at Grandpa and Annie's before we headed to Robert, Lily and Caroline Scott's house for a pre-Trick or Treat party! The Scotts have been next door neighbors with our family since we built our house. Their kids are like Rebecca's brother and sisters, except that she wants to marry Robert some day and live on a farm. At least she did when she was 4.

Grandpa and his butterfly

Mommy and her pea pod

Shirley always has their house appropriately decorated for all the holidays!!

Grandpa learning how to bond with a boy...I think he likes it!

I think Levi does too!!

Ever since we were little, Dad took us Trick or Treating and mom stayed at home passing out candy. It was always a really fun time we had with Dad, and he only charged us ALL of our tootsie rolls for it!! He even took Lydia's tootsie rolls this year...

But we didn't leave Annie out...we trick or treated at her house too!!

And Lydia took her candy...lots of it!

What a great picture

Then we finally got home and took off our costumes

Oh, that's right! I forgot, Lydia wouldn't take hers off...

Good thing too because we got a visit from Dr. Grandma and Papa Chief G Funk

Happy Birthday Necon!!

2008-10-27T14:14:00.031-05:00

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

2008-10-21T11:29:00.017-05:00

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

2008-10-17T14:28:00.002-05:00

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

2008-10-16T12:20:00.007-05:00

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

2008-10-16T11:36:00.019-05:00

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...

Catching Up

2008-10-11T10:36:00.067-05:00

The last two weeks have been a blur around the Warrior house!! Necon went back to work and my mom has been helping me figure out how to take care of two kiddos under 14 months old! There is NO WAY I would have made it through without my mother...her help, advice and cleaning skills have been a complete lifesaver! Thursday and Friday I made it ALL DAY by myself and even got some cleaning done! Last weekend we made a trip to OKC to visit our family (pictures below). On the way down, the stomach bug attacked us. I was sick all weekend. Then Necon got it Tuesday and gave it back to me. I think Friday was the first day we felt really good again...thank goodness we made it through without the kids getting sick. (Knock on wood!) I will thank the bug for helping me to a grand total of 25 pounds lost so far!! 30 to go...AGGHH!!

Lydia is still doing well with Levi. We try to encourage her to interact with him, and she is really really sweet almost always. On Thursday morning (that's right...my first day completely by myself), as I was taking the water bottle she was aiming at him out of her right hand, she swiped my phone with her left and smacked Levi right in his face. Really hard! It made him bleed, which made me mad, sad, frustrated, guilty, etc. I spanked Lydia really hard, and then she cried really hard. I got Levi all cleaned up and went back into the living room to find her sitting in her rocking chair with her head down. She kept peeking over at me, but would look back down when I looked at her. I think she got the message! After he was fed and sleeping, I played with her for a while before she took her nap so she would know I wasn't mad. She hasn't hit him since, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!!

I guess it is true what they say about kids and the boxes things come in. This is the box from their stroller...I love these pictures a lot. Lydia looks like such a big girl (as in age not size! I am aware she is humongous!!)

Visiting OKC

Disclaimer: I did a HORRIBLE job of taking pictures. I actually have hardly any at all. I apologize to you all!

We left for Oklahoma City first thing Saturday morning. We met Steve (aka GUS...Great Uncle Steve), Aunt Julie and Jenny in Bricktown for lunch at a BarBQ place. Aunt Julie had the best gifts for the kids. Lydia got a little rolling backpack that she can take with her when she spends the night away. She used it last night to go to Grandma and Papa Chiefs!! (She is still there, and that is why we are still in bed at 1:20 in the afternoon!!) Levi got a very cool plush changing pad. We have used the one they gave Lydia TONS, so I am excited to have one for him too. Aunt Julie also knitted Levi a sweet blanket.

We left Bricktown and headed into Edmond to see Mama Jo and Papa Staff (my mom's parents). Levi Stafford is named after my Papa Staff, who is actually Ross Stafford North. We were really excited to share Levi with them and get some pictures of the namesakes together. With our big family, it is always nice to have time to ourselves with our grandparents!

Lydia got a really special treat: playtime in the toybox with Mama Jo and Papa. There is a large gameroom in their house complete with player piano, pool table and the toy box. This is special because it is full of toys our parents played with when they were little. (I will not say the toy are VERY old, but...)

My Papa Staff is one of the most wonderful and Godly men that have ever lived. He is tenderhearted, kind, loves his family and God. He has devoted his whole life to bringing others to Christ through preaching and through his work with Oklahoma Christian. He has been there since the beginning and is one of the top reasons for the success of the school. At Homecoming this year, they will be debuting a book he poured himself into that documents the history of the school...it is over 500 pages long!! We couldn't be more proud to name our son after him! We love you Papa!

Lydia also spend some time out on the sunporch. She really enjoyed playing on the swing. It reminded her of how sleepy she was!

Then we left Edmond and headed to Oklahoma City for my Great Grandmother's 90th birthday party. This would be my dad's mom's mom. I was feeding Levi and putting Lydia to bed and missed the birthday cake and singing, so Aunt Barbara is sending me her pictures to post. More to come...

Tia and Levi napping

(seriously...they slept here for 3 hours!!)

Then Levi napped some more in a very girlie chair! I will take a break here and give a 2 week update. He is up to almost 8 pounds, so I can quite worrying about having enough milk! Breast feeding didn't go well with Lydia, so I keep thinking the success with him is too good to be true. He is staying awake for longer periods and really looking at us. He absolutely HATES to be in a dirty diaper, which may be normal for most babies, but we are not used to it. Lydia would stay in the same diaper all day until it fell off from being so heavy. Also, the sleepless nights are starting. We knew they would since Lydia slept all night from the beginning. It is not quite as bad as I had imagined, but it is definitely something to get used to. He eats every 3 hours and will sleep about 4 1/2 in the middle of the night. Then I have to pull him into bed with us to help him wait out the last our and a half. I may just give in and feed him in the middle of the night and hope at some point he will just sleep all the way through. We are just enjoying the mess out of him...God's plan really is better than ours!! How could you not need a baby this precious??

Grandma and Levi...still not sure how Necon got her to volunteer for a picture

We left Lydia with my parents overnight and headed back to Edmond to stay the night with Ross and Jenny. As always, we didn't get to spend near as much time with them as we wanted, but it was better than nothing. We went to Memorial Road for church on Sunday then on to Mama Jo's for a traditional Sunday lunch of Roast, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli casserole! It was delicious. Here is a picture of the three Great Grandchildren I stole from Michelle's blog:

3 Weeks

Levi was 3 weeks old yesterday. He is getting so big...it is amazing how little time they spend as a tiny newborn! He is up to 8 lbs 6 oz! I still worry he is not getting enough to eat. I am just so used to bottle feeding where I know exactly how many calories are going in! But still extremely happy breastfeeding seems to be working. He is pretty fast...10 to 15 minutes per feeding, so feeding every 3 hours is not too bad! I officially gave up trying to force him to skip his middle of the night feeding. Now we both wake up and Necon changes his diaper while I pump enough for a bottle. Then Necon and Levi spend some quality time together eating while I finish pumping. The whole thing only takes about 20 minutes and we are back to sleep! Plus, I am adding to the stash of milk in the freezer. Yesterday he smiled at me twice while he was awake! I am very aware he is not doing this intentionally yet, but when he is staring up at me grinning ear to ear, it doesn't really matter! We still have no idea who in the world he looks like, but are very much amused at the fact he looks all boy! No mistaking that at least!! Thank you all for the gifts, food and prayers! I think we are pretty well into a routine, my hormones are back to normal, and it feels like we have the hang of this.

While we were in OKC, Michelle gave us a CD of pictures she took when Levi was born. I couldn't be more greatful for these!! She really captured the emotion of the morning, and got a lot of pictures we will treasure forever. Here are my favs...

Lydia helping Cooper learn to crawl

One of the RARE shots of my belly

Sweet Lydia Kisses

Lydia was quite amused with the monitors. Everytime she hit the fetal monitor, it made a loud noise. I am sure the RNs and MDs watching the monitor, trying to make sure Levi was doing well really appreciated the pattern she was making!!

This is a great one of her trying to rip out my IV

Final Farewell

Anxious Daddy

A really great one of Annie and Lydia

Mr. Levi Stafford

Just in case he loses all his hair and is bald for years...I can remember he did have some

Long toes and fingers...just like his daddy

His hands are EXACTLY like Necon's

I really love this one of my parents...made me cry

More Proud Grandparents

3 Generations of Warriors

The Gangs all Here

Big hug from Annie

Levi Stafford Warrior

Friday, September 19, 2008

9:04 am

7 lbs 5 oz, 21 inches

World Fest 2008

2008-09-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

After Lydia's morning nap, we left for our first official "outing" since Levi was born. This weekend was World Fest at the Clinton Presidential Library. Necon's sister, Tasha, and his dad, Chief, were dressed in full indian regalia and Tasha also fancy shawl danced. A teepee was set up with lots of different cool indian stuff inside. Their good friend Mike Blair played the indian drum and his wife, Lisa, and Necon's mom, Beth, showed people around inside the teepee. It was super fun for Lydia to see some of her indian heritage in living color. She wasn't sure what to think at first, but she wound up having a great day!!

Checking out Aunt Tasha's clothes

Hmm...looks kinda like my Papa, but not quite sure

Tasha dancing fancy shawl

Lydia joining in

She worked up a thirst so Nana got her a peach smoothie

Checking out Chief's beadwork

Josiah and Lydia posing for the camera

The whole Warrior clan

Tasha and Josiah

Stopping for more smoothie...really getting the hang of the straw

Playing the big indian drum

Say "Cheese"

Another smoothie pit stop

Playing nicely...she went all day with no hitting!!

Gaining wisdom from The Chief

The Heifer Project had a booth next to ours.

Lydia LOVED playing with the animals!!

Levi was just chillin'

Then Lydia found the fountains! It was so hot, we let her go wild...and she sure did!

She was SOAKING wet...

So we took her clothes off and let her play some more!!