Little Levi: 18 Months

Hello everyone! Am I really 18 months already!? Where did the time go? My parents are sure scratching their heads trying to figure that one out...

It's that time again to fill you in on my development, what life has been like as an 18 month old, and what I've been up to lately!

My stats: 24lb (30%), 34" (90%) long and lean, as usual!

Illnesses/Mishaps: About a month ago I and HFM (hand-foot-mouth) which was zero fun, actually more like negative fun. One night, I kept mommy up all night while sleeping with her; it was awful. It started with a high fever of 104 then progressed with the rash on my mouth then hands and feet. It really stinks there is no medicine to take because I was miserable for a few days. After the fever went away, it still hurt to walk, which really was a bummer because I love to not only walk, but run! I also had a little sinus infection a little bit before the HFM where I was prescribed antibiotics. That didn't last too long thankfully, and the medicine definitely helped me to feel like myself sooner.  

Milestones: My language development is really starting to take off. I haven't started forming sentences yet, but know a lot of words (and animal noises) and even have a couple of two-word phrases I've mastered like "all done" and "thank you". It's funny how fast it picked up because at my 15 month appointment I only said about 3-4 legible words. About a week later I was adding more by the day! Sometimes I'll totally surprise my parents that I even know a certain word... for example, I know which shelf in the pantry my peach cups are on (luckily it's the lowest shelf so I can go in and grab it) and I grabbed it when I was hungry and said "peaches" when I've never said it before. If I had to guess, I can say about 25 words. 

Character/Personality: Well, it can be said that I am quite the character. What can I say, I am a man who knows what he does and doesn't want. I can be defiant as ever, but 5 minutes later be the sweetest thing you've ever seen. I probably wouldn't have such attitude if I could actually verbalize what I wanted or didn't want. But that will come with time. I also am a big helper. I love to help with things.. putting away toys, unloading the dishwasher, putting clothes in the washer and dryer, ect. Also, I am quite the exterminator. If I see a bug, I alert Mommy or Daddy by saying "bug" which kind of sounds like "ball" and I'll get the broom out of the pantry and try to sweep it up myself. I also have a very giving heart. I want to give things to people all the time. At Barnes and Noble I'll offer the toy trains to other kids; when my family pulls in my driveway, I'll pick a piece of grass and run up and give it to them like it is my most prized possession and all I want is for them to have it. As far as socialization, I am good with other kids, but I also am introverted. I don't mind playing on my own in a room full of kids and I also like taking in my surroundings while at a playground and just people watch. But my outgoing side likes to wave at everyone I see whether they are driving by my house or I'm walking by them in a store. 

Happenings: 

-I went on my grandparents boat a couple of times on Jordan Lake. I get kind of bored riding too long on the boat, but I do enjoy when we dock at a little beach and I can play in the sand and splash in the water. Here is a photo of me, Autumn, my YaYa and Mommy on the boat.

And getting my feet wet with Mommy

-Around 16 months, I went to the pool for the first time with Mommy, Autumn, Candice and her two kids. There was a kiddie pool about shoulder height and a big pool. I wore a puddle jumper and was really loving it, I would just jump and flop around and not even care about getting my head wet or anything. I am a real fish, just like my parents (they both love to swim). Went to the YMCA pool about a month after this with Morgan and her little boy Eli and had a blast again. This time I went in the kiddie pool without any floatation device on, and went underwater like a crazy person. Had a blast!

-Right before I turned 18 months, we took a small family vacation to the beach (Topsail) with my Grammy (Jake's mom). I haven't been to the beach since I was 5 months, so it kind of was like the first time for me since I could truly experience it this time. I was either teething or coming down with a  little something when we first got there, so I wasn't quite myself, but I still had fun. I really enjoyed playing in the sand, and if it weren't for anyone stopping me, I would of ran straight into the water with no reservations. To appease my water obsession, Mommy and Daddy made little pools over and over again for me. Which was okay for a little while, but I still wanted to get in that big ocean! I wasn't allowed deeper than my waist because the ocean is powerful and my parents value my safety. Here are some pictures...

Seeing the ocean for the "first" time, taking it all in

Finding shells with Daddy

Making a run for it, as usual

Kickin' it back in the beach house, ahhh Salt Life

Enjoying a night out with a cupcake. My family attempting a nice photo; look at my face, does it look like I care?

Collecting shells and building sandcastles

Hanging out with my Mama

Giving my Grammy a big kiss, thanking her for inviting us!

Schedule:

8-9am: wake up (it's rare I ever wake up before 8, and a few times I've gone past 9)

            Breakfast immediately follows waking up, I don't wait around

9:30-12pm: TV time, indoor play, outside time, or errands/activities

12pm: Lunch

1-3/4pm: Nap (I usually sleep at least 2 hours. There are rare cases I sleep less, and rare cases I sleep more)

Afternoon: outdoor play, indoor play, walk (if it's not too hot)

5:30/6pm: Dinner

6-7:15pm: playtime with Daddy (and Mommy too, sometimes)

7:15pm: get ready for bed (bath although not every night, read books, do a puzzle, say prayers)

7:30pm: lights out, night night (I have no problem with going right to bed and it's rare I ever wake up during the night)

Here are a few more photos from the last few months...

Having fun with my BOYZ at Marbles Kids Musuem

Had a hoot playing with this baby...

Just having a snack post-nap with one of my buddies

Being all serious about this water shooting out of the ground

Wanting that drink more than a family picture at PDQ

Making a hot mess. Mommy adores this picture of me because I look like such a little man

Being as cute as ever in my hat

Well, there you have it in a nutshell. I am a wild child with a passion for life and exploring. I can be a total b-r-a-t (my parents spell a lot these days, guess they don't want me repeating certain things), but also love like crazy. I am really developing into my own little person. My parents love me more than anything and I love them, too. In fact, when I see them hugging or kissing, I stop what I'm doing and run up to them and grab both their legs and join in on the hug, too. Life is good, I am one blessed toddler. 

xo

Levi

Hope Never Disappoints

In my quiet time today, I "stumbled" (yea right, if you know God, nothing is coincidence!) across Romans 5:3-5. Now, I've been following (somewhat... working on designating quite time in my day) a reading schedule. Today was Romans 5, and how appropriate these few verses are to me right now. 

I've really been working on not airing out my personal problems on social media, especially because to some it can seem hypocritical. One minute, things are great for me and my family, the next we have problems. But isn't that life? And as a Christian, I want to try and be transparent, while also maintaining a fair amount of privacy that my family deserves. So instead of trying to fit a few words of complaining into a Facebook status (which I've REALLY wanted to do the last few weeks), I figured I'd bite my tongue and keep my thoughts to myself. And I'm glad I did, because I really feel I needed to read this passage before doing so. So now, I would much rather write a detailed blog post about it than try and explain everything in one status.

Here it goes...

As many of you know, we listed our home for sale in June. The reason: we've got a decent amount of credit card debt we'd like to erase and can't really work on attacking it with a mortgage payment. We make just enough to pay bills (sometimes, not even that.. more on that in a minute), let alone throw additional income on paying off debt. Also, we hope to move closer to civilization (haha). More-so me than Jake, but he's been such a champ willing to go along with this move more for my own happiness, and for that, I thank him. I have many reasons for wanting to get closer to town... closer to family, closer to parks, stores, activities, closer to friends, shorter commute to work, church, LIFE. The list goes on. We will actually save quite a bit of money by being closer with all the gas savings. We are not planning on buying another house until we rid this debt, which means we need to find somewhere to live for CHEAP. Enter: our best friends Kyle and Margaret. Our longtime friends have graciously opened their home to us, once ours sells, so we can move in and work towards a fresh financial slate. Sounds very mature and responsible, right? Yes, we think so, too. Which is why are so frustrated that our original closing date of August 27th isn't happening. At right about the one month mark of our home being on the market, we went under contract and were thrilled. But of course, things are bound to come up during a home process. Funny thing is, there was NOTHING about our home that broke the deal.. it was the buyer. We agreed upon a great deal, moved forward with the inspection.. which turned out to be a great thing because we learned there were no major findings and the "repairs" were very minimal. Which was great news! So we thought. It turns out, the buyer didn't want to live in a neighborhood with "restrictive covenants". These are "rules" that were written 14 years ago when the neighborhood was first developed that aren't enforced or followed anymore. We have no HOA, no "president" or anyone to enforce anything. But, he got cold feet and he terminated the contract. Which as you can imagine, put a hold on everything. We had to put our house back on the market (it has been on the market for about 3 weeks now) and have had quite a few showings since then, but no other offers. It is very annoying to hear feedback like, "buyers LOVED your home, had nothing but positive things to say about it, it shows like a model, it's at the top of their list" but then they buy something else or don't get back to us at all. I can honestly say, selling a home is one of the most miserable things, and I dread ever doing it again. You invest so much time and money into it, and just when you think you're almost out, you're back to square one. We plan on leaving our house on the market until the fall, and if it doesn't sell by the end of October we will remove it and try next spring. We are really hoping that isn't the case, because that means delaying our plan to pay of debt, which delays us buying a new home, which delays us from having baby number 2. Ideally we wanted to get pregnant when Levi was 2, but not knowing how long we will live here, or with Kyle and Margaret (when that does happen) puts it all on hold. I do not want to have another child until we are in a new home. Lord knows we really wouldn't want to have one while living with our friends, that would add too much stress on everyone. But all we can do is pray. I can't get lost in frustration, worry, doubt, fear.. it solves nothing. The Lord knows our desire, and we cry it out to Him every day. Asking for Him to help us with step 1: selling this home. But God doesn't fit into a box, He doesn't follow "our" plans. He is the creator of the UNIVERSE, surely, He has a plan for our life, our family.

Now, that is just one aspect (although a very large one) of the tribulations facing us lately. Another is finances. As every family who has one income knows, things can be tight. Choosing to be a stay-at-home-mom means a lack of a second income, one of the big "cons" of choosing to do so. Now I know what you're all thinking... "doesn't she have a successful wedding business and works on the side?". Yes, yes I do. And if you know anything about a small business, it's that you're not in it for the money. A lot of people with small business still have "real jobs" to support themselves; I do not. While I do have 20 weddings this year, that doesn't mean I get paid for them all at "convenient" times when I need the money. Some of them paid me a year ago or more. And not only that, creating a successful business takes a lot of that money away. Marketing, travel, business expenses, wedding shows, a new website.. all cost A LOT. Another thing to understand is I don't get paid bi-weekly or on any set schedule. I get paid when a client decides to book me, which sometimes can be months after initially speaking with them. They also have their own finances to sort through, and have to get their own money together to pay me. Owning a small business is very risky and unpredictable as far as income is concerned. This aspect has nothing to do with how great of a business we are. We are great, and we are good at what we do. But a lot of the money we bring in, goes right back out into making our business awesome. There are a lot of planners out there, and you have to fight HARD to win clients. Not getting paid for months is standard, and very challenging. And as far as Jake, although he has a GREAT job, we thought he might of had a higher level position by now. He's still where he started, and that's okay because we are waiting for the right door to open (pray for one that doesn't involve moving!). If we were willing to move, he could have a higher pay no problem. But that's not what we want. So we wait, and trust in God's perfect timing. Ok blah, blah, blah. I won't bore you with our financial woes. Just know, one month we could be doing pretty good, then the next (or 3 in this case!) we are fighting to get by. Thank you Lord for family that helps us is all I can say about that. I am even weary of saying all of this because you could see us out to eat one night, then see this "whining" about finances and be like "wait, I thought they had no money". Doesn't every family have financial ups and downs? So yes, if we have the money, we will treat ourselves to a dinner out. But that doesn't mean the next month we might not be able to pay a bill or two. So please, watch how you judge. So all of this just ties right back around to selling this home.. if we were free of a mortgage payment and utility costs, we'd be in a lot better shape. 

Can you see why we're just kind of discouraged lately? It seems like if we have good intentions (aka selling this home to become more financially responsible) that God should honor that and help it come to fruition. But HIS plans are higher than ours. I don't know why, but that doesn't matter. He knows, He cares, He provides. 

Enter the verses: "We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5)

AMEN! Hope does not disappoint. I have to repeat that over, and over. When I am disappointed in these circumstances, I have to remember I have been given hope through Christ Jesus. And THAT hope surely does not disappoint. 

Please pray with me friends, pray for God's will for our family. We really appreciate it. Also, let us pray for all of our friends/family who are going through trying times. I know many who are going through things on a much larger magnitude than this. And sometimes, that makes me feel like I shouldn't voice my worries or concerns at all.. because it is minuscule compared to the tribulations of others. But I shut out the enemy who feeds me that lie... God cares for all of His children, and all of their tribulations, big or small. 

I pray you all find peace and hope during hard times!

xo

Jessica