Grand Illumination Weekend

We enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg's Grand Illumination at the Capitol this year. Levi was a very good sport and didn't seem to mind being in the cold for over an hour. It was about 45 degrees, so not as cold as many other parts of the U.S. Sunday evening. ;)

He enjoyed the fireworks in a snazzy white snowsuit. Only his cheeks were cold at the end of the night. I thought the fireworks were pretty amazing.

Levi loves his dad. Josh decided to take a short break from Finals preparation tonight and played with Levi and I for a while.

(I uploaded this post as well as the Gettin Ready for Christmas post from Picasa and must say I was very pleased at the speed and ease of doing it this way.)

Our Little Crab

Levi's first Halloween was spent at the Outlet Mall in Williamsburg. It was about 68 degrees...warmer than any Halloween I ever experienced as a child. We live in a condo complex with mostly retired people and Trick or Treating doesn't happen. In years past our church has hosted a Trunk or Treat, but didn't this year, so on a friend's recommendation we decided to go where Levi could be seen in his costume and where mom and dad wouldn't feel too bad about taking candy for a 6-month old.

My mom made his costume. Josh and I wanted something aquatic since he really enjoys his sea horse and fish toys, so we decided on a crab. I am proud to say that I quickly made his candy bag. I also added some scenery to his stroller to make it look like an ocean. I just brought out a few of his toys and a blue blanket to look like water. It was fun. While trick or treating at the 12-15 stores we went to he was mistaken for a lobster and a devil, but that's okay.

He really had no idea what was happening, but it was fun for our family. After we got home I left the room to grab his pajamas and came back to find him enjoying the "fruits of his labors." I wasn't planning to do a photo shoot with his candy, but it ended up being really fun to watch him have fun for about 10 minutes before getting ready for bed. Maybe next year he can savor a piece or two of his well earned candy and not just the wrappers.

(Sorry the pictures are displayed haphazardly...I still haven't quite figured out the fine art of blogging.)

Levi meets the Booths

Levi had only met his grandma on the Booth side until our trip to Utah over Columbus Day...imagine his surprise when he got to meet EVERYONE else in one trip!!

Josh is one of seven children. All but the youngest is married, and there are 5 grandchildren, Levi included. So, there were 16 new family members to meet. Levi was up to the challenge. He took being passed around from person to person like a champ. He was able to start wearing some of his cold weather clothes as well.

Josh’s mom was Levi’s first babysitter. We hadn’t left Levi with anyone before--unless you count the time we went out to dinner days after he was born because we didn’t know when we would get another chance to go on a date. So, we left Levi with his aunts, cousins, grandma, and uncles while Josh and I went to the temple and out for a quick lunch.

Josh and I also spent a few hours in Logan (the city we lived in when we were married) by ourselves. Grandma asked Levi to stay behind so she could have some quality time with him. I am proud to say that we only called once in those 4 or 5 hours and we weren’t worried about him the whole time. We knew he was in good hands.

On our flight home. Levi was lucky enough, mostly mom and dad were lucky enough, to bring the carseat on board on 3 of our 4 flights. He was a good traveler and was smiled at countless times by those around us and the flight crew.

Quality time with grandpa.

Quality time with grandma.

Uncle Justin and Aunt Lacey were very entertaining. They played with Levi very well as did Aunt Becca...she's peering over the chair in the background.

Levi tends to be pretty quiet when there is a lot going on...I think he tries to take in everything around him. So, Josh had to help Levi show off some. Here Josh is making him laugh for all to hear.

I think we only have one other picture of the three of us...I'm glad this one turned out nicely.

Kyle and Barbie tried to help Levi figure out the jumping chair...he never really quite got it.

Levi: "Um, one of 5 people around me...I'm just hanging out here...can I have a toy or something?"

Here's Levi helping us pack for our trip. Thanks to Southwest's free checked baggage we each had our own suitcase. I realized after packing all of Levi's items it one bag that it would be a good idea to spread a few of his things into each of our bags just in case his bag got lost. All 3 of our bags arrived so there weren't any problems, but always better to be prepared.

It was a wonderful trip. It was nice to visit with family again and to show off our little Levi. We would have liked to visit longer, but I think that is always the case. We Love You Booth Family! Thanks for having us, loving Levi, and being who you are.

5 months

We haven't posted anything for a month, so I thought I should post these pictures that our friend, Kristi, took last Saturday. Josh takes care of Levi in the mornings while I work. He goes to campus when I come home...so we tag-team parent. We're tired at the end of each day, but Levi has all of the love and attention he needs. He doesn't know it, but he is so very lucky to have so much time with Josh. Many children don't get one-on-one time with dads.

Levi is now 5 months old. He's more fun each day and can do more things on his own. We're still waiting for him to roll over; today I saw him get frighteningly close a few times. Its just a matter of days, I think. He smiles at laughs at the simplest things, that makes me smile and laugh.

Levi prefers standing to sitting, so you are seeing him in rare form. Sitting is a skill mom and Levi are working on more. If you are wondering about the brace on my arm; I have tendonitis in my thumb and wrist. I am getting so tired of telling everyone that I told Josh I want a shirt that says, "I Have Tendonitis!!" Its getting better, so hopefully that won't grace many more pictures. We Love Our Levi! Such a cutie and such a good baby. :)

Another great laughing video

Levi's lessons

We've been teaching Levi to do all sorts of things that, some might say, he is a bit young for. However, as you can see, he's been learning remarkably well:

First, we taught him to stand on his own two feet. (I know it looks like he's leaning against the couch, but that's just the camera an

gle, or the aspect ratio, or something like that.)

Next, we taught him to pray, which he learned incredibly well.

Finally, we decided that we were sick of driving him to all his various activities. So, he's learning how to drive. He's not great at it, but, as you can see, at least he checks his side-mirrors.

Levi laughing

A fun video of Sloan and Levi laughing together. Sloan was holding the camera while trying to get Levi to laugh, but I think she did a pretty good job. -Josh