The last couple of weeks...

A couple of updates...first we have all recovered. I mean everyone. Last week Monday, after working 15 hours completly tired, I come home to find Levi tucked in bed. Ah, now to relax. Not so much. Ryan went in to check on him and found Levi covered in puke..orange squash from dinner. The poor thing was pale green but still smiling and kicking his little legs. We stripped the crib, cleaned him up, changed his clothes and he did it again, and again. I have seen many grown people puke but never a little one. It was hard to see him do it and not be able to let me know when he was going to do it. He would just look up at me...like make it stop. I ended up drapping a towel over my shoulder and rocking him until he was done. The next day the diaherra started and he would not eat or drink. We had to force the fluids and the pedalyte which he did not care for. On Thursday, Ryan and I both had it. Ryan did not go to work and Grandma Roedema picked Levi up for the day and overnight. We were just to weak to care for him. Ryan and I slept all day. By the weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Roedema had gotten sick. Grandma Roedema claims it is the sickest she has ever seen my dad. Grandma and Grandpa Koopmans also got sick this week...after helping us out on Saturday while I ran some errands.Yesterday, I could tell that Levi was getting his appetite back...and no more blow out diapers. In addition to all that are upstairs bathroom is torn apart. We came home last week to find the cabient above our toliet had fallen off the wall. Ryan thought that we had been robbed. Our bathroom supplies were all over the floor. I spent some time scrubbing nail polish off our tile. The walls got pretty dinged up too. I was thinking about repainting the bathroom so this should help...right? Meanwhile all our bathroom tolietries are in our bedroom. Very cluttered. We also bought Levi his new bigger carseat and it has been drama ever since. He does not seem to like it. It has gotten better once we get moving but before that it is all screams. It reminds me of when he was 3 months old and would scream all the way down Wilson Ave...when he was colicky. It is hard for him to hold his bottle in this car seat the way the seat is positioned so if he is hungry he gets frustrated that he can not feed himself. That will not stop us though, I am so glad to get outside even it is for a little ride. Otherwise we are going to get cabin fever :) By the way, Levi turned 8 months old this week too.

Bathroom mess

Broken Cabinet


Mister 8 month old

Typical Carseat Reaction

Sick baby...wondering what is in his bottle

Levi is getting so big!

Helping mommy make dinner

Keeping Levi occupied.... while trying to make dinner

Trying on Daddy's snowboard boots

Our little boy is growing up and growing fast.These days he is currently doing the army comando crawl. He is really close to crawling...one of these days I will turn around and he will be doing it. He loves to babble and sing...he says da da daaaa and clicks his tounge. His two bottom teeth have erupted and do not seem to bother him right now. Levi is fasinated with the smallest of things from a crumb or piece of paper on the carpet, strings on our clothes or holes in dad's sock...he will pick or feel something with his thumb and first finger and study those little objects or pieces of fabric. He really is interacting with people and does not get worried when we leave...at least not yet. We have been grinding up our food for him to try and we really have not found anything that he does not like. He has been sleeping well during the day and the cry it out technique really works...it was really hard at first but with consistancy when tired, he will fuss for a few mintues and will be alseep. I would have never thought 4 months ago that our son would be doing that. Enjoy the recent pictures.

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From January 18- 25, 2009
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2008 Baby of the Year

Grandma and Grandpa Roedema helped enter Levi into the Grand Rapids Press 2008 Baby of the Year. Of course, we think he deserves to win. But we would love your vote too. Here is the picture that is entered in the contest.




You can see the other contestants and place your vote here:
http://www.mlive.com/grpress/babyoftheyear

Christmas 2008

Here are some pictures of Christmas. We enjoyed time with both families. Levi had alot of fun with paper, boxes and his favorite bows. He loved looking at them and turning them over and over with his fingers. He got way too many presents..so many that we put some away and will take them out as needed. He likes his "busy balls" from Grandma and Grandpa Roedema...and his Leap Frog Station from Grandpa and Grandma Koopmans.We were also excited to give gifts to Levi's two yet to be baby cousins. My sister Allison is due in March and sister in law Melanie is due in June. It will be fun to have more babies around.We have been loving having Ryan home for Christmas break. It is nice to have the extra help with Levi and spend time together as a family. Ryan and I have been playing games at night when Levi goes to bed..so it is good for us to reconnect too. Levi will be 7 months next week and we went to the doctor yesterday and had a great report. It was nice because Ryan could come along with us.I work with Levi's doctor at the hospital so although the waiting room was full of coughing babies and 2 hours behind scheduled time...we got right in. Dr. Salhadar played a trick on Ryan and I. He knows that Ryan speaks Spanish so when he came into the room he acted like he could not understand what Ryan and I were saying to him. He told his Spanish speaking Medical Assistant to come in and interpret for us. He kind of put Ryan on the spot to answer in Spanish but we all got a laugh out of it. Levi weighed in at 19lbs 2oz (75 percentile) and 28 1/2 inches which is the 90th percentile for height. He is getting so strong and Dr.Salhadar said that he would be very surprised if he was not walking by his next appointment...we will have to work on crawling first. No teeth yet..but he is constantly drooling and putting everything into his mouth. We went over his diet for the the next couple of months and then it was time for the shots:( Ryan held his arms down this time. :)

Winter Walk

After the big snow storm this week and when the sun was actually out our family decieded to head outside for some fresh winter air.I think that it is great to have some fresh air in the winter to clear out those lungs...:)I am a nurse or what. We bundled up Levi and put on his new hat (a parent of one of Ryan's students made it for Levi) and headed outside. We were not sure how Levi would like the cold but he did not seem to mind. He really did not have any positive or negative expressions about it. He just sat there..I guess he could not really move that well in his snow suit. It was fun to get outside and take a walk around the neighborhood while we could...until the next snow storm comes.

6 Months Old

It is hard to believe that Levi is 6 months old today. He has changed so much in the past months. He has gone from being so fussy and unpredictable to a happy more contented baby. It seems like he is smiling all the time now. He is sitting up on his own and loves putting everything into his mouth...most of the time the remote control and the newspaper. Ryan was making a bottle for him one night and he attacked the newpaper and Ryan had to pick out shreds of newpaper out out Levi's mouth. He is sleeping more consistantly during the day usually 2-3 hours broken up into smaller intervals. Levi loves his bath and is almost getting to big for his sink tub. He also sleeps well during the night. He rarely wakes up during the night and sleeps from 730 or so till 530- 6 am. We might hear him a little earlier but he is now fine playing with his feet or toys in his crib until Ryan or I get him. Levi is eating well and does not seem to be lacking in his appetite. Over Thanksgiving, we had him try mashed potatoes, squash and pureed turkey..his own Thanksgiving meal. He is "talking" and laughing more and more and he brings so much joy to Ryan and I's lives. We truly are thankful for such a blessing our son, Levi.