My family here for Christmas!

This year was special in that we spent Christmas here at home. It was even more special that my parents and Grandma could spend it here with us as well. I even got to make the big Christmas meal this year (although my mom did bring a lot of food too including the huge ham!). Thank goodness I was feeling good enough to do so!

Here is the tree "reloaded" after Grandma arrived! Thank you to my wonderful Aunts and Uncles for all the fun goodies you sent our way...we really appreciate it all :)

Levi was waiting patiently for my dad and grandma to arrive next!

Opening his farm from mama and papa.

Eating the big Christmas meal!

Anthony had to go to work later that afternoon, so after we said goodbye to him, my dad and grandma left next. My mom stayed for a few extra days which made Levi a very happy boy!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We have already taken down our trees, which was strange in a way. We thought about how the next time we put them up, we will be a family of 4 instead of 3! I'm sure Colt will be pulling on the tree's by next Christmas! What fun to look forward to!

Christmas Day

Levi got up Christmas morning around 7:30. When he came downstairs the first thing he ran to was his new bike! Santa brought him a new lights and sounds trike....he's been riding it around the house ever since. Hopefully we'll get a nice day out sometime soon so he can try it out outside!

He played with the bike for a while...so long in fact that Anthony and I were able to eat some breakfast while he rode around!

Next came the stocking stuffers! He thought it was pretty neat to pull presents out of a long sock!

He got some new books about cars, trucks, boats, planes and tractors....his favorites :) I loved how after every gift he opened, he wanted to open it instantly and play with it! It made the present opening last a lot longer that's for sure!

Here's his big toy from mommy and daddy. It's a Shake'n'Go Speedway Racetrack!

Helpin' daddy set up the racetrack.

Ready, set, go! (Levi also got a Patrick Patterson jersey from Santa! Santa's got unbelievable taste!)

The Kentucky shirt I got Anthony. We ended up returning his other gift I got him, which was a memory foam pillow. I however, love my temperpedic pillow Anthony got me. We also got a new digital camera, partly thanks to Anthony's dad. The other big gift came from my parents which is a new bookshelf...we just put it together last night. Now I get to have fun decorating it!

Around 10:30 on Christmas morning my mom arrived...and about an hour later, my dad and my grandma arrived. I'll write about that on my next post!

Merry Christmas!

I'll start off with Christmas Eve! We decided to start a family tradition this year by eating Grandma Delimpo's famous spagetti for dinner! MMMMMM it was good! Afterwards the three of us went to church at 6:00 for Christmas Eve services. We hope to be able to do this as a family every year!

Levi eating Grandma's spagetti!

All dressed up for church!

Daddy and Levi :)

Mommy and Colt ;)

We decided not to put out cookies this year for Santa. I'm pretty sure the cookies would have never made it to the plate because a certain somebody's fingers would have been sure to snatch them off. But early Christmas morning, Santa stopped by and dropped off these presents!

Here's Levi coming down the steps on Christmas morning! He was a little out of it, but really excited to see what Santa brought. Levi was really curious this year about Santa and how he comes down the chimney. He said that he wanted Santa to bring him a choo-choo train. Stay tuned to the next blog to read about the rest of our Christmas day!

BIG BROTHER :)

I forgot to add these pictures of Levi yesterday...

We took these right before we left to go to the ultra-sound!

He was cheesin' it up for the camera :)

It's a BOY!!!

I gotta be honest....I thought for sure today when we went in for the ultrasound that they would tell us we were having a girl. I guess because this pregnancy has been so much harder than the last and because we had such a cute girl name picked out...Annie May. Obviously the Lord knew what would fit perfectly into our family and he is giving us a boy! At first, I think I was just in shock....but it's starting to sink in now and I am very excited! A few biggies are that we already have all the boy stuff...so he will be cheaper now....and we won't have shopping and a wedding to pay for later...so he will be cheaper later too. That's horrible for me to say! Also, another plus is that we could stay in our house longer now because when this next one gets to Levi's age, we can bunk them in the same room together and get the office back! :) Obviuosly these are things we just like to joke about....but there is truth to them!

Anthony is excited about having 2 boys to romp with and wrestle with! I think I wanted a girl to be able to shop with and do creative stuff with, but I will adjust to being a mom of boys! That is unless God returns to earth, looks me in the face and tells me to try for one more. At this point, we are done!

So little boy Delimpo (we don't have a name for you yet...)- we love you....you are defintiely healthy- we saw that today on the ultrasound. The tech said everything looked fantastic! One funny story about today....as soon as we saw you on the screen, we knew INSTANTLY you were a boy...you were not shy about that. The tech played over a frame for us in slow motion. You took your hand, threw it up in the air and instantly grabbed your penis. Yes, you are definitly ALL BOY! No wonder you made me so sick!!!

Another funny thing about today is when the tech showed us the baby's spinal cord. It was long and stretched across the top of the screen. Levi took one look at it and shouted "CROCODILE" chomp chomp chomp!!! Anthony explained to him....no buddy, that's the baby! Levi responded with "BABY CROCODILE!" Followed with a lot of ewwww's when she showed the different parts of the baby's body! It was priceless!

We were excited to see a glimpse of you today and we can't wait to meet you in person in a few more months! :)

Southern Lights

Last night, the 3 of us hopped in the truck and drove to the Kentucky Horse Park for the Southern Lights! We have lived here for 4 years and have never gone to it before, so last night we decided to try it! It was awesome! We entered the park through the campground and drove for about 15 minutes looking at Christmas light displays. I let Levi get out of his carseat and stand up front with me. He thought that was the greatest thing ever! He kept pointing to all the lights and telling us what they were....his favorites were the frosty snowmans, the trains and the horses. I'll never forget that look in his eyes....they were so huge and glowing with delight!

Once the driving was done, we parked and got out for more. They had a petting zoo with all kinds of exotic animals including kangeroo's, water buffalo and ostriches. Levi got to pet and even feed some of them. They had camel and poney rides, but we didn't pay for those.

We did get to go on a minature train ride though. It was all decked out with Christmas lights. That was the highlight of Levi's life! He loved every second of it. He choo-chooed and chuga-chugged his little heart out the whole ride. We also sang Jingle Bells together as we rode around! Another great memory I'll never forget!

After that we entered the horse museum that was all decorated and they had vendors selling all sorts of crafts and such. Kids could get their picture with Santa, who was sitting in a horse stable....we didn't do that, but Levi shouted out to Santa that he wants a choo-choo for Christmas! Inside they also had a whole display of minature trains! Levi loved this part of the night too. He got to see a Thomas train go around the tracks and we even saw a train with smoke coming out of its stack!

On the way back outside, we got a hot chocolate to help warm us up. It was chilly outside, but not too bad. Levi's hands were frozen though by the time we got to the truck. He wanted some animal crackers to eat, but he couldn't feel his fingers to get them out of the bag!

We got home around 8 and Levi was still wound up from the night! I think we finally got him to bed around 9...he was still talking about that train ride.

I think we are going to go back next week again...so I will will be sure to take my camera and get some pictures! :)

Family pictures

We went last Wednesday and had family pictures taken for our Christmas cards. We only planned on getting just our family pictures taken, but Levi was hamming it up for the man taking the pictures, so we decided to get a few by himself as well!

2 year check-up!

We took Levi for his 2 year check-up today! He did great this time! The last time we took him in for a check-up, he started bawling his eyes out when the nurse put the tape measure around his head. This time, he only shed a few tears when he got his shots! He refused to say any words to Dr. Taylor though...she probably thinks we stretching the truth when we tell her how Levi never stops talking at home! He is 95% in weight and 97% in height and 96% for his head.....at least he is proportional!

Aunt Jo, Uncle Caleb and Peyton got Levi's all kinds of Lightening McQueen stuff for his birthday, including this bath robe. He loves it!!!

I don't have any pictures to go with this blog, but I thought I would share this funny story anyway. It's funny now....not at the time though.

Last week we decided to take Levi to the mall to see Santa. We had some shopping we wanted to do as well, and since we never make it to the mall, we thought we'd conquer both in the same day. Levi was just getting over a cold, so he was a little congested, but not too bad. However, 15 minutes of running in All Sports would make any kid tired I would think. I was looking for a Kentucky jersey for Levi for Christmas and Anthony decided to let Levi run around the store while I shopped. Bad idea. By the time I was done, Levi's face was blood red and he was coughing his lungs out.

We exited the store and instantly put him in his stroller trying to get him to calm down. Anyone who knows Levi's history knows that when he gets stuffed up in the slightest, he pukes. So yes, you can guess what came next. In the middle of the food court, Levi puked and puked and puke some more. He got it all over his pants and his Santa shirt he was wearing. It came out of his nose. Thank goodness we were able to catch most of the rest of it in the tray on the stroller. It took us a while but we did manage to get him cleaned up the best we could.

At that point we were ready to call it a day (I think we had been at the mall for all of 20 minutes.) But we wanted Levi to see Santa. So we walked all the way back to the end of the mall where Santa was and he wasn't there. He was at the Chick-fila ordering a pop. So we waited for him, and when he came back we asked Levi if he was going to go sit on his lap. He said NO. I thought for sure we were getting ready to create another scene.

By the time he got up front, Levi was actually willing and wanting to go see Santa. He asked what his name was..we had to tell him..and Levi just stared and stared at him! Santa asked what he wanted and Levi responded with "monster trucks" :) I couldn't beleive it..he actually answered him and didn't cry!!! But after that, Levi had enough of Santa. He did let Santa put an elf hat on his head and then he got a coloring book. When we were all done, Levi strutted his stuff all through the mall like he was some big hot shot. It ended up being a good day....

...until we went back to the food court for lunch. We ordered some chinese food. Levi isn't normally a picky eater, but when he has a cold, he doesnt eat. So lunch was stressful. We were "those" parents who have no control of their 2 year old. He was climbing all over the seats, throwing his food and whining the whole entire time. That was the fastest lunch I think Anthony and I ever ate.

After that, we called it a day at the mall. We got in the truck, turned on the Polar Express...gave Levi his blankie, his bunny, his puppy and he was happy again.

It's amazing just how a simple trip to the mall can take years off your life...I'm kidding of course, but he did push our limits. It was worth it in the end since he got to see Santa....but I don't know if we'll be taking any mall trips again anytime soon! :)

Thanksgiving in Piqua and Levi's birthday party!

We drove up to Piqua on the Monday before Thanksgiving..it was cold out but we still managed to make the best of it!

It was perfect timing because my Uncle Doug and cousin Joe combined the corn field while we were up there...Levi was mesmorized!

He even got to climb up into the combine!

You can imagine the time we had getting him down from there!

On Thanksgiving morning, my brothers family arrived. My grandma and Uncle Denny joined us for a Thanksgiving meal. That night and the next night, my pyrotechnician brother put on a fireworks show for us! A great way to celebrate Levi's birthday AND my parents anniversary!

Here's the grandkids waiting to go outside. Tom said 5 minutes....we all know how long we really waited though! ;)

Levi opening presents from Mama and Papa and Uncle Tom and Aunt Sarah and kids.

A Dairy Queen Ice-cream cake! YUM!!

Jump on the bed, jump on the bed, jump on the bed at grandma's house!!!!

Levi and sweet Claire Bear. I think he even called her Claire Bear a few times!

Anthony ended up driving home on Friday morning after we did some black Friday shopping. He put up all the Christmas lights on our house that day (pictures to come). On Saturday the rest of us went to my cousin Beth's wedding. Well, Levi and I only made the reception...

I wanted to take pictures of her, but after this picture my camera battery went dead! Levi and the rest of the kids ran all over the place and Levi even showed off some of his dancing skills!

On Sunday my family ate at Cracker Barrell before parting ways. My mom drove me and Levi home....making a pit stop at IKEA on the way home.

Happy Birthday to Levi!

Today we celebrated Levi's birthday! We didn't do a too much though since Anthony had to work today. We already celebrated his birthday with my side of the family over Thanksgiving (I will post those pics next time). But today Nana came to visit! It ended up being a great day!

A few nights ago he got a Tonka Truck from Grandpa Delimpo in the mail! Thanks Pa-pa!

We actually broke down yesterday and gave him his gifts from us a day early! It was cold and rainy outside and we were all going crazy inside the house, so we thought it would be a good idea!

He was pretty excited! Thanks Ma-ma Gheen for part of his train track!

We were sure glad we gave him our gifts (one of those carpets with the town and roads on it and this wooden race track!) He played with it non-stop all day and night! (If any body needs/wants gift ideas for him...go to IKEA and get some more tracks!!! ;))

This is from today....opening gifts from Aunt Jo, Uncle Caleb and Peyton! He got a cool fire truck from the CARS movie that is remote controlled...it's really cool! And he got lots of Lightning McQueen stuff from them too!!!! THANKS Aunt Jo and Uncle Caleb and Peyt!

Opening more gifts with Nana!

CHEESE!!! Nana got Levi a V-Tech gaming system....it'll be great for those long dark winter nights! Thanks Nana for making my birthday day special!

I will post Levi's birthday pictures with my family and our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio next time!

Till then...I have a 2 YEAR OLD to chase around the house!

Newport Part 2

Touching a bird!

Watching the penquins play!

Getting to pet a shark!

Levi getting weighed on the fish scales....

...it really was like a giant swing!

Levi weighed as much as a Pyjama Catshark!

Then Daddy had to see how much he weighed...I think he was the size of an adult Sandbar Shark.

We got to watch the scuba divers set up Santa's sleigh and the seahorses pulling the sleigh! That was really cool! They came over and waved to us!

The sharks were right beside the divers!

Playing FROGGER with daddy!

He loved the Jellyfish!

But was a little bit more hesitant of the sharks swimming right above his head!

Going through another tunnel!

Outside the aquarium!

It was definitely a fun way to celebrate Levi's birthday which actually is tomorrow, Dec. 4! :)