11/11/11

This Veteran's day the boys and I went with Grandpa D. and Grammie F. to the parade in Leavenworth.  It was quite the event.  The newspaper estimated that there were over 15,000 people in attendance.  There were something like 200 entries and it took 1.5 hours.  The boys were so good and were interested the whole time.  I was glad for them to see us honor our veterans.  They were glad to see up close some of their very favorite things: cars, horses, motorcycles, soldiers, and drums.  Also, let's not forget, THE CANDY.

The boys have enjoyed getting to spend time with Grammie while she's visiting.

At 11 everything halted while all the buglers played Taps.  I got goosebumps.

The weather was beautiful.

Milo started waving back at the parade participants.  It made my heart squeal from the cuteness.

This float was remarkable- soldiers posing as the iconic Iwo Jima photograph. 

Milo enjoying his sucker and watching local girl scout troups marching along.

Yay!  Parades!

This entry was a dog that rides on the back of a pony.  I thought it deserving of a photograph.

More Wedding

Lea and Ryan sent us some of the pictures their photographer took at the wedding.  I thought I'd share a few.

Birthday Party

We invited the family over for dinner last Saturday to celebrate Levi's birthday.  We had 12 adults and 7 kiddos and even though the house is a construction zone, it was fun to be able to fit everyone into our larger space.  Last year his birthday party was held at a pavillion at a park.  To be quite honest, with the house in its current state, I think this year's party venue might have been more rustic than last years. 

Levi, and the rest of us, had a WONDERFUL time.  Thank you to all who came and made Levi feel so special.

three blonde cousins

Look at Alison's little angel face!  Milo kept bending slightly at the waist and "talking" to Alison in a high pitched voice.  Apparently in his head he is very big kid and she is still a baby.

He made this face on purpose when I took out my camera.  Of course this picture amuses me to no end.  I hope it makes you laugh, too (I'm looking at you, Auntie Lea!!)

For entertainment I brought out several of the cardboard boxes that some of our new appliances came in.  We're just fancy that way.  Isn't my little niece soooo cute?

Kids table(s).  I guess they decided to segregate the sexes.

As soon as Joel lit the candles the crowd managed to sing, "Haaap" before Levi blew them out.  We gave him a quick birthday candles tutorial and Joel lit them again.   

The second time Levi patiently waited until we finished singing and then blew them out again.  He requested that his piece of the cake come from the clowns face.

Joel and crew made this really neat rubbing and framed it for Levi. 

He got lots of thoughtful presents including a tennis racket, a mini K-state basketbal, games, puzzles, crafts, and this punching bag.  He is a very blessed little boy to have so many people loving on him.

Happy Birthday, Levi!

Dear Levi,

Happy 4th Birthday, sweet son.  Your Daddy and I enjoy you so much.  We are very proud of you.  There is so much about you that is amazing!

-Your little soul is so sensitive and sweet.  You like to lead us in the Lord's prayer and talk about God.  If I'm talking on the phone and say, "oh no!" in the course of my conversation, you come over with a concerned look and ask, "What's wrong, Mama?"  You are eager to please and are sweet and protective of your little brother and cousins.
-Your mind is sharp and curious.  You are memorizing the books I read to you and pointing out letters and numbers on signs.  You relish soaking up new information and it's a real pleasure to watch you enjoy these new discoveries.
-You are so imaginative.  Not a day passes when I'm not thoroughly amazed and entertained by your play scenarios.  Milo certainly loves all the things you come up with, too.
-You are a hard worker.  If you are motivated to do something you will work at it even when it is not easy. 
-You physical body can sure do a lot of neat things!  Scootering, bike riding, skateboarding, and lots of running, jumping, and ball-kicking fill your days.  You really like to work on new skills and tricks.  I'm amazed at your balance.  I'm sure you did not inherit that from me.

I could go on and on but how could I ever sum you up in words?  There is no one else anywhere like you, Levi, and God has wonderful plans for you.  Your Daddy and I cannot believe how blessed we are that we get to be your parents.   We are excited to see what the next year holds.

Love,
Mommy

Cute Boys

Boo Boo

While Milo and Levi were messing around in our big swivel chair in the play room there was an incident.  I did not see exactly what happened, but Levi described it thus: "I bonked Baby's leg- it was an acccident!!!" 

Milo cried just a little bit but several hours later was still unable to put any weight on it.  We decided to take him into Urgent Care.  His x-ray looked good.  They wrapped it in an ace bandage and told us to keep an eye on him.  Now a couple of days later he has just a tiny limp.  I'm so glad nothing was broken!

More from Nana and Papa's Visit

Here are the last of the pictures from Mom and Dad's visit last weekend.  They are out of order for some reason but I'm battling a migraine and just don't have it in me to mess with any formatting issues at the moment!

Taken at brunch out on Sunday after church.  Now this is true love.  Milo's sharing his bacon with Daddy.

On Sunday before Mom and Dad left, the kids tried on their Halloween costumes and Levi got his birthday bike a few days early.  He was sooo excited.

Here's Levi wearing part of Ben's halloween costume.  They are good buddies.

Milo snagged Ruby's slippers and shuffled around in them.

Papa played some music for the kiddos.  Wait, where is Levi?  He was here a second ago...

...oh, there he is (complete with bike helmet)!

Saturday afternoon both Levi and Luke fell asleep.  Levi refused to take off his new sweatshirt, hat, and gloves.

Sunday brunch.  Levi volunteered to spread the butter on Nana's pancakes.

More from Nana and Papa's visit

After the soccer game on Saturday, Mom and Dad took us out for breakfast.  They gave the kids each a special halloween book and gift.

Ruby read hers right away.

I love this picture.  Milo is trying to wait patiently while Papa gets his coat on so he can be picked up again.

Finally back where he wants to be.

Nana and Papa took the kids to a toy store to pick out a present.

Here we go!

After shopping we hung out at Joel and Kelly's for awhile. 

Here's Levi modeling his new super hero cape (and new skinny jeans and superman shirt: size 5T!)

Milo's present from the toy store was a puppet.  We've named it 'Construction Worker Bill'

He doesn't say much, but I've got to believe that Construction Worker Bill is not really into open mouth kisses from Milo.

Ruby modeling her Tinkerbell outfit and taking a flying leap.

Cuddles for Papa.

Happy Halloween!

We had a lot of fun trick-or-treating on our cul-de-sac this evening.  The neighbors were generous with their candy and compliments.  The boys ate it all up (literally and figuratively respectively),

Just your typical monkey and spiderman duo. Thanks, Nana, for the costumes.

He was adorable and the costume was soooo cuddly.  I couldn't help giving him lots of squeezes.

When the door opened, Levi cheerfully said, "Trick-or-treat!"  Milo looked serious and grunted.

This was Milo's first experience with Halloween and while I think he was a bit confused as to what was happening, he took to receiving candy very quickly.  He didn't really want to put it in his basket instead preferring to carry it in his hands.

Halloween 2010
Halloween 2009
Halloween 2008