Preschool

Levi has been so excited about going to preschool ever since we went and had a tour. He loves his teacher, and was happy to go to the Open House the week before it started.

The kids got to find there names marking their spots for their backpacks and coats, place to sit on the mat and the table, and cubby box for their papers. They also got Tshirts and met the other kids.

I really wanted to get a picture on the first day, because that's what my mom always did. We woke up late and had to hurry, but we got the picture.

It was really sunny, so we got squinty eyes and sneezes.

Levi is so excited to have Hanah at school with him. He loves seeing her.

I thought he might be a little nervous about going, but he ran right off and didn't care if I left him there.

When I left, this is what he was doing.

As he had a quick breakfast on his first day of school, I asked if he wanted to watch a show like Super Why or Dinosaur Train. He said no and was very adamant about watching his favorite show....the weather. What a weirdo.
We got a new backpack after the first day of school since his was teeny.
I feel old.

Zeb's Birthday=Pictures of Kids

Zeb's birthday was at the end of August. We had over our parents, and his sister's family. We filled our house pretty full. And of course we didn't get any pictures of Zeb, or the grown-ups. The kids were just so cute, we had to capture that. It is hard to get a great picture with four little kids, but we got a lot of good ones.

Levi, Zack, Ryder, and Adelynn

Cheese!

Levi was trying to hold Zack up, but it looks like he is petting his head.

Love this one!!! Ryder is only 3 months older than Zack, but he's so much bigger.

Levi loves Zeb's brother-in-law Todd. And the "big" kids felt left out of pictures.

So sweet.

"What do you want from us?"

He's Officially Four

Levi's birthday was on a Tuesday, so it was just me, Levi, and Zack for the first part of the day. When Levi woke up, his first question was "Where's my daddy?" I told him he was at work. Then he said "I'm four?" We had a pretty relaxed morning, watching shows that Levi picked out. Zeb came home for lunch and Levi was so excited.

He was happy about his balloons.

Later that day, we had Levi's favorite people (Grandma Sherry, Grandma Jann, and Grandpa Boyd) over for dinner, presents, and cake.

Levi got a Wii and a couple of games. He was really excited about it for a few days, but now all he wants is our old Super Nintendo.

He got a Mario Kart poster for above his bed. He still likes that. He will look at it and say "There's Mario."

He was unsure about the poster at first, until he saw what it was. He also got clothes, building toys, a puzzle, and a remote control Lightning McQueen.

Here was his first attempt at Mario Kart. He's actually quite good.

I let Levi pick out his cake at the store. We looked through a big book and this was his favorite one. It's from the movie Robots, which we own.

He really enjoyed all of the attention he got during the singing of Happy Birthday. We actually re-lit the candles and did it again.
It's kind of hard to see, but I love the expression on his face here. He looks happy, excited, and embarrassed all at the same time.

It's still really hard for me to accept that he's growing up. It makes me sad to think of all of the things that are over, but excited about all of the stuff we can do now. I put him to bed the other night, and tucked him in. I was laying there and he asked if when he got bigger he was going to marry me. So sweet. I did explain to him that he couldn't, but for the moment, it was cute. I love his hugs and kisses. I love his silly moments. I love his excitement. I love that he loves Zack. I love that he asks about Zeb all the time. And I love that he's mine.

Zoo Birthday

The Friday before Levi's birthday we headed to Hogle Zoo with his friend Ava and her family. We love the zoo and we love our friends, so it was destined to be a great day.

We rode the carousel.

Zack hung out in his stroller.

Levi and Ava were silly...and made Shelly push them in the stroller.

We rode the carousel some more.

Zack wore his hat.

Levi was still afraid of the dinosaur robot things. Even after Ava told him they were just pretend because "real dinosaurs lived a long time ago."

We waited for the train, with more silliness.

Levi was so happy to see Ava. We haven't seen them as much since we live more than a half of a block away from each other.

We rode the train.

Levi and Finn drank water in the shade of the stroller.

What's a day at the zoo without Gorilla Butt?

And then it was over, with a goodbye hug.

It was so nice of the Bird's to come with us and made it a lot more fun for Levi.

Birthday Chain

I can't believe I have a 4 year old!!! Levi started asking a while ago "Am I four yet?" So as it got a little closer, we made a chain to count down the days.

And when that day finally came, he was so excited.

We went to the doctor in September for his 4 year check up. He was in the 5oth percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height. He had to get 4 shots because we took care of his "Kindergarten shots" while we were there. He got one sucker for each shot. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I also had Zack there who got two shots. So I had two boys screaming and crying, and only me to try to comfort both of them.

Quack Quack

Zack is growing like a weed. He is too big for his baby tub that fits in the sink. I guess he still fits, but he tries to climb out of it. So in my quest for a foam pad to put on the bottom of the tub, I found something better.

This is a blow-up duck tub that fits in regular tubs. It's pretty awesome.

Zack thinks it's fun. He smiles at it and talks to it. He especially loves the quacking it does when you squeeze it's beak.

When we first put him in it, he was a little unsure. I love this picture because he looks worried.

I put toys in there, and he tries to grab them as they float around. It keeps him busy. He likes to put his arms on the side of the tub, lean back, and look all relaxed....then kick his legs like crazy.

When Zack sees it, he tries to run to it, as I am holding him. Levi really wanted to get in there and was sad that he is too big for it.
So, it was a successful buy.

Extras

Here are just a few more pictures...just extras.

Zack was sucking on his toes, but when he saw my phone he got distracted. He's so funny. He has a unique personality. He's very sure of what he wants, and he gets mad when he doesn't get it. He doesn't really cry about it; he screams. He is loud. He also squeals when he's excited. He likes to watch the tub fill with water. His new obsession is walking all over the house--while holding my hands of course. He rolls all over the place and is trying really hard to crawl. He likes to sit up and play with toys, but throws himself on his back when he gets sick of it. He likes to bite things...hard. He bites his toys and my fingers. Those teeth are sharp. He is eating all sorts of baby food now, and he bites the spoon super hard too.

I made Levi pose in his new pajamas to show my mom. He is good at posing. He is so creative. It is fun listening to him play because he has all sorts of things going on. He has been calling me a "pinker" which translated means stinker. It took me a while to figure that out. He is still so obsessed with the weather. He loves to talk about tornadoes and hurricanes. He watches the weather on TV and has a weather book by Dr. Seuss. He's so smart and remembers the details. He is also super interested in space still. He loves "going to Venus and seeing the volcanoes."

We went on a walk the other night and saw the pretty sunset. I never get a good picture, but we have an awesome view of the sun setting over my mountain.

Zack does so much better on walks now that he can sit up. And Levi is so good at riding his bike now that he understands the brakes better.

There is still a ton of construction going on all around us. I was excited about the crane so close to our house, so I called Levi outside to see it. He looked for a minute, but wanted to go back inside. I guess it's not as exciting anymore.

Iron Man is back. The suit is a little small, but it is okay for now.

Levi got to go to a Super Hero Birthday Party. He was apprehensive at first about us leaving him, but when he saw the other kids, he was super excited and ran off. He had a lot fun.

Levi loves Grandpa Roger. He and my grandma were at my parents' house and Grandpa was watching America's Funniest Home Videos. Levi loves that show. So they sat there and watched it together. It was fun to watch them both laughing.

This is our table from Fisher Home Furnishings. We don't have it anymore. It was really nice. We bought it in February along with some bar stools that never came. Finally, after a lot of hassle, we got our money back and got rid of the table. We now have another one. It didn't cost as much money, but I like it better. It matches better and is easier to clean.

Super flattering picture of me. This is just to show that we are sick...all of us. I tried to get Levi to put tissues in his nose because it was running so bad. I told him I would take a picture and send it to Zeb, but he didn't think it was cool and took them out right after this. Oh, well.