I did this on New Years but kept forgetting to actually hit post! Here is my last decade in review. It's shocking how little I remember from 10 years ago. Apparently I really am starting to get old! In essence, my last decade was characterized by graduations, babies being born, moving, and traveling. All in all, not too shabby! (Though I do hope to move much less this decade!)

2000
In college at Harding University. Rang in the Millennium with food poisoning (thanks Mom!). Grandma Redmond passed away. Became known as "Meleryl." Began friendship with Scott. Spent the summer at home working 3 jobs instead of traveling. Went salsa dancing for the first time.

2001
Was asked out by Scott - turned him down. Spent summer in Uganda and Rwanda - fell in love with Africa. Got stranded in Belgium instead of Italy - discovered that Belgium has no redeeming qualities. Went to Disney World with my sister. Luggage lost a total of four times this summer by different airlines. Was asked out by Scott again - turned him down. Finally started dating Scott. Scared all new pledges. Completed busiest semester of college.

2002
Internship with the Division of Children and Family Services (aka: DCFS or CPS) in AR. Finished internship a month before graduation so got a job working at The Rendezvous Cafe until graduation. Graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work from Harding University. Decided to stay in AR while Scott finished college and moved to a house near campus. Started working for DCFS. Nephew Noah born in August.

2003
Got engaged (to Scott). Scott spent 2 weeks in Uganda. Nephew Johnathon born in February. Visited Christie in China. Scott graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting from Harding University. Helped Scott move to TX. Quit working with DCFS and moved to Arlington, TX. Got married in Stockton, CA. Went on honeymoon to Kauai. Returned to TX and started graduate school at the University of Texas at Arlington. Started watching nephew Noah three days a week. Started working PRN for The Bridge Emergency Youth Shelter. Scott started working for Americredit.

2004
Quit watching nephew Noah. Quit working at Youth Shelter. Started working full time at the Community Enrichment Center while still in graduate school full time. Visited Jenny in Benin, West Africa and got bitten by 1.79 million mosquitoes the first two nights. Moved into a bigger apartment. Nephew Samuel born in September. Nephew Fisher born in December.

2005
Applied for position in England on a whim. Won a trip to Hawaii from an online contest entry. Had wisdom teeth removed. Graduated from UTA with a Masters of Science in Social Work. Went backpacking through Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland) with Scott and Rachel. Quit working for the CEC. Moved in with David and Kristen Chapman for a few weeks. Went on free trip to Hawaii. Moved to England in July to work for the Child Protection Program in Croydon and lived with pot smoking Australian man for first two weeks. Moved into own flat. Scott moved to England 6 weeks later and got a job with ALICO. Trip to Scotland. Got pregnant. David, Kristen, and Taylor come visit for Christmas. Pregnancy sickness began. Trip to Ireland.

2006
Pregnancy sickness continues relentlessly until August. Trip to US to help parents and brother move from CA to Chicago. Scott and I take a ballroom dancing class. Stephanie moves to England and lives with us for a couple of months. Trip to Austria. Trip to Egypt. Move into house in Croydon. RaDora and Becky visit. Go on maternity leave (for 7.5 months). Mom comes to visit. Caleb born 5 days late after a horrible labor, delivery, and recovery - learn first hand the HORRORS of socialized medicine. Stop vomiting for first time in 9 months and enjoy food again! In-laws, Jenny, and Christie all visit. Have first (and only) dental appointment in England - about 60% of teeth are "cleaned" and appt is over within 10 minutes. Parents and brother visit for Christmas. Trip to Italy to go skiing - no snow. Get detained in airport at 2:00a.m. on the way back because Caleb does not have a visa.

2007
Get Caleb's visa. Trip to Prague. Return to work. Trip to Paris. Trip to Greece. Move back to TX in July with plans to stay at home with Caleb. Scott returns to Americredit. Caleb cuts 8 teeth the month we move back and nonstop ear infections begin. Caleb's first birthday. Start work at Catholic Charities in October coordinating the CARE program.

2008
Get a puppy. Caleb gets tubes in his ears. Switch programs at work at supervisor's request - now coordinating the Assessment Center (shelter). Trip to Washington DC. Nephew Benjamin is born in April. FLDS happens - run emergency shelter for this ordeal and live at work for 6 weeks - Scott gives puppy away. Trip to Chicago for brother's HS graduation. Niece Lily is born in August. Decide to move to Arlington / Mansfield and start building a house. Get pregnant and sickness begins. Decide to use a midwife and go through a birthing center instead of a hospital.

2009
Pregnancy sickness continues until June. Close on house and move in. Quit job at CC for many reasons and plan to stay at home with kids. Girls trip to Costa Rica with Christie, RaDora, and Becky. Scott is laid off from Americredit due to economy. Grandpa Clanton passes away. Whole family in car wreck when 30 weeks pregnant - Scott's car is totaled. Replace Scott's car. Start chiropractor appointments. Decide to do a home birth due to lack of insurance. Start working part time from home with All Church Home (7.5 months pregnant). Start doing PRN work with Cook Children's Hospital (8.5 months pregnant). Scott hired for American Airlines and starts traveling. Levi born at home in June with assistance from my wonderful midwives. Sickness stops and I enjoy food again! Trip to Puerto Rico. Nephew Henry is born in September. Host first Christmas at our house.

For those of you who may have previously doubted Levi's ability to move and groove... I put Levi down on the green mat at the front of the picture and left the room. When I returned a few minutes later, this is what I found... Yep... that's my 3 month old already on the move.

Labels: Levi

Can you tell they're brothers?!

Caleb (2006)
Levi (2009)

Tonight before dinner, Caleb said the following prayer:

"Dear God,
Thank you for the food.
Thank you that Daddy went on a trip.
Thank you for Mommy.
Thank you that Levi cries.
Amen"

I'm glad he's thankful for Levi when he cries!!! I am thankful for Levi, not the crying. And apparently he's glad that Scott is gone on a business trip. :( I am not. Perhaps I need to learn from Caleb to be more thankful for things.

Labels: Caleb

This is what happens when my boys play together:

Labels: Caleb, Levi

I took Levi to the doctor this week so that he is registered with a local pediatrician. (This will prevent me from having to drive an hour and a half to my sister's clinic, as I did when he had thrush, to have him checked out. Traveling far with a sick baby is a less than pleasant experience.) Anyhow, Levi weighed in at 11 lbs, 8 oz - an almost 3 pound weight gain since birth. According to the chart we were given when Caleb was a baby, Levi is in the 50th percentile for weight. He has also grown 3 inches, however, placing him in the 98th percentile for length. These statistics are pretty on par with how Caleb measured most of his first year (when we were charting it). I suppose I have another kid who will probably outgrow me by middle school!

I was also told that Levi still had a bit of thrush, so we were given a second round of the antibiotic (which I'm told is very normal, but I'm still not a fan of TWO rounds of antibiotics before he's two months old!). He's eating much better these days, though, with only the occasional screaming like he's in pain (it's so sad!).

In light of the fact that Levi is seven weeks old, here are seven things you probably didn't know about Levi:
1. When he cries... I mean REALLY CRIES... his bottom lip and jaw seem to vibrate at the speed of light. I really have no clue how he gets it to move so quickly. I have tried and can't even come close to mimicking him.

2. He loves his pacifier, but if he can't find it he will eventually appease himself by sucking on all four of his fingers / his fist.

3. He is smiley, smiley, smiley right after he eats. But really, he eats right after he wakes up so at that point he has a full tummy and is well rested - life is pretty good for a 7 week old at that point.

4. He LOVES Caleb. If Caleb is around, he can't seem to take his eyes off of him. It's really very cute.

5. He prefers his tummy to his back. He loves tummy time, and when he gets tired he'll just lay his head down and go to sleep. He tends to sleep on his side or tummy most of the time (though when he's REALLY out of it at night, he doesn't really care how he's laying).

6. He has crazy strong legs and loves to exercise them by standing in your lap when you're holding him. It's often preferred to just sitting (which seems to take much less effort).

7. He still loves to sleep. He typically only stays awake for an hour and a half at a time (occasionally 2 hours). It is a RARE occasion if he makes it longer than that before going back to sleep (for another hour and a half to 2 hours). At night, Levi sleeps from about 10:30p.m. until 7:00a.m. Definitely not too shabby for me!

Caleb has continued to do really well with Levi. I have no doubt that he's anxious for Levi to get big enough to play with him. This morning as I was getting ready, Caleb was sitting on my bed with Levi, trying to teach him how to play Uno. Caleb had given Levi cards and was also playing the cards for him. It was too cute! Caleb continues to love to help out with Levi's diaper changes and baths. He also enjoys trying to make Levi smile, always makes sure that Levi has a blanket covering him when he's asleep, puts the pacifier in Levi's mouth when he's crying, and hits the toys on the bouncy chair to make the music play when it stops. He's an excellent big brother.

Caleb will be three in less than a month and that absolutely blows my mind. He has recently become OBSESSED with playing games (mainly Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and Uno) and he's a wonderful sport when other people win. He also loves playing Wii Sports (and is ridiculously good at tennis and boxing). He can search for just about anything on the computer, knows how to initiate iChat conversations (including video), and can type (including changing font size and color) in Microsoft Word. He has recently received a 46 piece floor puzzle from his Aunt Sandra, Uncle Pat, and cousin Tyler and he LOVES it. He had never really done puzzles other than the baby/toddler ones, but it doesn't seem to phase him at all. The kid has a crazy attention to detail in the puzzle to know exactly what piece to look for. It's so fun to watch him grow and learn how to do all these things!

Labels: Caleb, Levi

A week and a half ago we discovered that Levi had thrush. Now, I was aware of what thrush was but I had never before dealt with it because Caleb was able to make it through babyhood without ever coming down with this illness. Sadly, Levi was not so lucky. Last Tuesday Levi stopped nursing and just started screaming. This was my first look into the horribleness that is thrush. Thankfully, I discovered that he would take bottles, so I started the horrible routine of pumping and giving him bottles regularly throughout the day. Meanwhile, we treated the thrush with Gentian Violet, an alternative to antibiotics that turned his mouth purple (and subsequently his face as well because he would smear it everywhere): Unfortunately, despite our attempts the infection continued to spread. By Thursday afternoon Levi stopped eating completely. Thanks to my dr. sister, we were finally able to discover that we could get him to eat by shooting 1mL of milk into his mouth at a time with a syringe. What a beating this process was, but it helped us escape hospitalization for dehydration (just by a few hours).

Because of the thrush, we definitely had a few days of unpleasantness as my poor baby was in pain, without a full tummy, and with a purple face. (Unfortunately this coincided when Nana (Scott's mom) was visiting Levi for the first time.)

Here is a glimpse at some of the different happy faces that we typically see on our sweet boy.
If you look closely, you can see a dimple in Levi's right cheek. This is a great picture to show both of Levi's dimples! (I LOVE THEM!) And his great big grin.

Labels: Levi