Happy Valentine's Day!!

Pics of L's First Tooth

Okay, after a bit of effort, I think was finally able to catch a few shots of L's elusive first tooth. For those of you having trouble finding the tooth, I've marked it with an arrow. It is his lower right incisor.

L has a tooth!

L's very first tooth broke through his gum sometime in the last 24 hours. I noticed it this morning when I was changing his diaper & he was giving me sweet gummy smiles. Yippee! I'll try to photograph it. It's hard to get him to hold his lips back from his gums enough to get a good look!

L is 6 Months Old!

Today is L's half birthday! He's six months old already!! He is sitting up all by himself, getting stronger & more stable literally every day. He's busy trying to crawl. He can now get up on all fours and rock. (But then he collapses and wiggles to get whatever he's trying to get.)

We continue to try solid foods but still have not hit a stride with it...some days he likes cereal or pears, some days not. He laughs & smiles constantly. He kicks like crazy. He LOVES watching the dogs. He likes it when I read to him and sing to him. His two favorite songs right now are "Do-Re-Mi" from the Sound of Music and the A-B-C song (the traditional song we all sung to learn our a-b-c's). And he's been caught wrestling gators in the pool (see below).

He sat in a swing all by himself for the first time. He likes to drink water out of my glass. He constantly grabs for toys and immediately puts them in his mouth. Every day we notice something new that he's doing or trying!

L's First Christmas

We had a lot of fun celebrating L's first Christmas with my parents and my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece (who is 2 months older than L)! In the photos below, you will see our sad Charlie Brown Christmas tree...it didn't even make it until Christmas. (Since we are here in FL, we opted to not get a tree but two native plants that we could plant later. One made it, one clearly did not.) We made little ornaments with the kids to remember how small their hands were on their first Christmas! L was all smiles for my dad! It was a great celebration all in all. Enjoy the photos!

2009 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

As we reflect back over the year, we have much to be grateful for. We are most grateful for the safe arrival of our little boy, L, born on July 4. He is such a sweet gift. At 5-1/2 months already, he is incredibly busy. He LOVES the dogs. We are bracing ourselves for when he is mobile & can actually get to them on his own! It is amazing how one little person can utterly change your life. As I recently read, “I kind of resemble me, and sometimes I sound like me, but this new person has lost all sense of fashion and vocabulary.” As a new mom, I am overwhelmed by the love I have for this little boy…my heart walking around on the outside as my mom says. We are enjoying Levi immensely. You can read more about him & the fun things he is continually learning throughout this blog.

We had a lot of fun visiting lots of friends & family early in the year, before my belly got too big to comfortably fly or drive anywhere! L has definitely slowed us down, which is a good thing. We are enjoying the comfort of our home and our friends and family for whom we are so grateful. We continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness & generosity expressed towards us both before & after L arrived.

Everyone asks us, “How are Syd & Max responding to Levi?” The answer is that they don’t pay him much attention yet. They definitely notice him, especially when he’s eating his cereal. But as soon as L figures out he can give the dogs food, they will be his new best friends.

In other news (IS there other news??), The Viewfinder Project is going strong. We continue to conduct models throughout the city and are working to run a model in South Africa in 2010, which is really exciting. The website is www.theviewfinderproject.org.

The Ball Project (www.ballproject.com) is going well. K continues to get balls to communities around the world thanks to the support of many of you!

We look forward to 2010 and the adventures the year holds. (K turns 40 and L turns one within a week of each other!) We are excited to introduce L to you in person in the months & years to come.

All our love,

K, M, and L (and of course Syd & Max the Wonderdogs)

Santa Claus?

As we anticipate the arrival of Christmas in less than a week, a question has been raised that I would love to hear your thoughts on: Will we let Levi believe in Santa Claus and to what extent?

So my question to you: Would you promote the presence of Santa Claus in your families? Why or why not? Whether you speak from your own experience as a kid or if you speak as a parent, it doesn't matter to me. I just want to hear what you think.

We have our own ideas on this and know where we're leading but I'm curious how other families have handled this. Let us know!

mb

Updates from Sanibel

We have now been in Sanibel for over a week and are loving it! Our place is coming together...we even hosted K's parents over Thanksgiving and two friends from Idaho this last week. We're enjoying the warm weather and spending some time just the three of us.

mb + k

5 Months Old (almost)

L is quickly approaching his 5-month birthday which is crazy to me. He is so darn cute. Recent developments include: eating rice cereal (first attempt was on Oct 31 but over the last month he can legitimately EAT it, swallowing and everything), holding himself up while on his belly (see photo), starting to sit up (can lean on his arms while sitting up for short periods until he folds forward or falls sideways), holding his bottle while eating, continuing to improve his grasping skills, and laughing like a little boy. I love it. We'll sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and he closes his eyes and opens his mouth anticipating a tickle or the "rain" coming down (our fingers running from his head down his face). So cute. Enjoy the photos!

Video of L

Here's my first try at trying to upload video to the blog. Let's hope it works! Two videos here: one of L making spit bubbles while playing on the floor (taken about 4 days ago) and one of him babbling (3 months old). Enjoy!

4 Months Old!

Here are the latest L pics. He's four months old & rolling all over the place. He started "eating" cereal on October 31. At his four-month appt he was 25 inches long & 13.5 pounds! He's growing fast. His eyes are still blue! Hope you're all well.

mb

3 Months Old!

L at 3 months (plus or minus)!! He's very busy, holding up his head, trying to flip over belly to back, back to belly. Kicking like crazy! Smiling & laughing out loud. We love it. Enjoy!

8-week Photos

L is 2 months old! He's super cute, laughing and kicking and playing. His neck is getting really strong though he still can't hold his head up totally. He has some skin issues that have emerged in the last 2 weeks...really dry skin. One doctor thinks it's eczema but our pediatrician isn't calling it that at this point. At his 2-month check-up, he weighed in at 11lbs 3oz and is 23 inches long! He's growing so fast!

Here are some photos I took of Levi last week just before his 8-week birthday. We had an open studio event at the Harrison Center for the Arts so I had my darkroom open & hung a few of these. Enjoy!

6 week photos!

L turned six weeks yesterday! Hard to believe. I keep saying that every week but it is indeed all going by so fast. He is super cute. He's smiling at us more and more. And his eyes are really starting to follow us; he can focus so much better. He still loves to have his hands up by his face. And he makes the most adorable cooing and gurgle sounds! You can't help but love him. Wow.

Here are a few more photos from this last week. One is of his post-bath hair which sticks straight up for a few hours afterwards. The others are of him with various stuffed toys. 

mb

More L Updates

So now I have more time to write a little bit... L has had a red-letter 72 hours! This weekend, he started giving us bona-fide smiles, thanks to Grandma & Grandpa!! Last night, he slept in his crib in his very own room for the first time. And today, he held a rattle for the first time!! The rattle is K's from when he was a baby. Isn't that sweet? There's a photo documenting this momentous occasion below. He's getting so big so fast! Can't wait for you all to meet him.

mb

Photos of L

Hi all!

Here are some more photos of L. The ones of him with the sock monkey are when he was 3 weeks old & wearing his very first pair of pants! (His belly button healed so we celebrated by putting on pants!) The others I took today at 5 weeks old. Enjoy!

mb

4 Weeks Old!

Yesterday was L's 4-week birthday! Hard to believe. He's getting so big so fast! We went to the pediatrician's yesterday for our 4-week check up. L has grown an entire inch and has gained 2 pounds since he was born! He's now up to 22 inches and weighs in at 9lbs and 10oz. I'll post some photos soon. He's a cutie!