The "Perfect" Storm

We didn't have a white Christmas but we did get some snow this week. About 2:30pm on Tuesday, my mom and I were playing with my new Wii game when all of a sudden my mom declares: "It's snowing!" We'd gone to my school and done some work that morning and were just relaxing while Levi took his nap. The flakes were big and wet, and neither of us thought it would stick. Along with everyone else in the Metro region, we thought it would stop soon and be gone in a matter of minutes. Well, that didn't happen.

It snowed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. We got about 3 inches of snow. I know...it doesn't seem like much but the city isn't really equipped for dealing with this wet slippery snow and neither are most drivers. Gabe left work a little early because he knew the traffic home would be crazy. Little did he know how crazy it truly was. It took him 5 1/2 hours to get home. He walked in the door at 9:30. His commute is usually 30 minutes. 45 on a high traffic day. Plus his stereo was stolen out of his car a few weeks ago, so he had no way to listen to traffic reports or take his mind of the fact that he was stopped on I-5 south for hours at a time. I felt really bad for him.

So, while Gabe was in traffic hell. Levi, my mom and I did enjoy the snow. This picture is at the beginning of the snow fall. We didn't take Levi out again because it got dark and it's not like he really can play in it yet! It does seem he was interested in what that wet white stuff was. The snow is gone now, but we might have to take Levi up to the mountain to play in some more before winter is over.

Over the river and through the woods...

to grandmother's house we went.
We got to Oakridge in the early afternoon on Christmas. Levi got to visit with his "great" relatives (great uncle, great aunts, great cousin) and his grandma. We had dinner up at Gabe's aunt and uncle's house. Of course, Levi was ready for his last meal of the evening, and bed time, right when we sat down to our meal. I just realized I didn't take any pictures the whole time we were in Oakridge. I took some video but Gabe needs to show me how to get it off my new video camera.

On Saturday we visited a little longer and then drove to Gabe's dad and Joanne's house. Levi got quite the gift from his grandparents. Here's grandpa Tom helping Gabe put it together.And here's Levi playing once it was all put together. He's still a little short since he has to touch the base with his tippy toes, but he really likes "playing" with all the different things. Really I should say he likes putting them in his mouth.Once again, Tom made us quite an amazing feast for dinner. The most delicious rack of lamb I've ever tasted! And once again, guess who was ready for his dinner and bed time at the same time? I had a really hard time tearing myself away from Tom's good cooking. Gabe's aunt Jaki and her husband, as well as Gabe's cousin Nikki, came over to say hello too. So Levi got to meet even more "great" relatives.
We said good-bye around noon on Sunday and headed home. The drive was fine until we hit Albany where traffic hit a stand still. Apparently a dog decided he had enough of the drive and decided to run down I-5 North. There were several cars stopped to catch him and traffic was all sorts of messed up. We still got home pretty early and were able to get unpacked and relax a little before Gabe had to head back to work this morning. I really wish he could have taken this week off since it's my last week at home too. Oh well. I'm already planning us a little family getaway on President's day weekend.


We enjoyed seeing so many members of our family this holiday. And even though the pictures may not show it, I know Levi enjoyed it too. I just wish he'd smile his adorable smile for the camera!

First Christmas

Our 4 day Christmas celebration started on Thursday (Christmas Eve). We drove over to my mom and dad's to spend the day. Becky was there, she flew in late Wednesday night from Las Vegas. Tricia and her fiance, Travis, were there. We ate a lot of snacks, opened a ton of presents, had a big turkey dinner and then came home to put Levi in bed. Gabe and I were going to stay up and watch our traditional Christmas movie, but we decided not to wait up for Santa.
Here's Levi opening his very first Christmas present.And this is what he did once it was opened. In fact, this is what he did with all the presents he opened. He was much more interested in the wrapping paper. But not to play with...it went directly into his mouth. He does that with EVERYTHING these days.
Christmas morning my family came over to our house. We opened more presents, including those from family far away. Levi got a really cool book made by his cousins (ABC's for Levi). It was both written and illustrated by Savannah and Sawyer. I was totally surprised to open up this for Christmas. Now I don't know what to do...should I take pictures or video? You should have seen me debate it for the rest of the weekend. I think we've decided that Gabe will have to take one and I'll take the other! Here are us girls showing off the new matching PJ's my mom got us. Poor Levi got stuck being in this shot too!Gabe made our traditional Christmas breakfast of biscuits and gravy. And after Levi had a nap, and some lunch, we took off to see Gabe's family. I wasn't sure how Levi would be. It's about 2 and 1/2 hours to Gabe's mom's house. The longest car ride Levi's taken yet. But he did great! He talked a little, sang us some songs and slept. It was pretty uneventful.

Note for Santa

Holiday Festivities

We had our 7th annual Holiday Cocktail Party on Saturday night. It hardly seems possible that Gabe and I have been hosting this holiday celebration for seven years. We've now held it in three different residences, celebrated during a snow storm and we always manage to make too much food. I even cut back this year because I no longer have the time and energy.
We had a great time. It was wonderful to see friends we don't see nearly enough, share a lot of laughs and enjoy great food and drink. Love it!
I think I managed to get a photo of everyone who came...just not in one shot. I don't have the time to post them all, so this gives you a little sample of the festivities.

On Sunday morning, Gabe and I slept in a little and then finished our Christmas shopping before we picked up Levi from Grandma and Grandpa G's house. It was nice to be able to do some running around without hauling that nearly 20lb guy every where! So, I'm glad I won't have to brave the crowds any more. But I think we will head over to my school tomorrow and see what shape my classroom is in. It will probably need some straightening up. My sub didn't have the obsession with organization that I do. I think I'll do a little more baking this week before the holiday arrives. I really want to make Mindy's molasses cookies!
I'm hoping to be back on here before Christmas is completely over. It will be necessary to make sure Levi's first Christmas is well documented! Although, we do have to celebrate Christmas with 3 different families...which always makes things crazy!

1/3 of one year old

That's how Gabe likes to describe Levi's age now. What a nerd! :)

Well, our big guy is 4 months old. At his 4 month check up today he weighed in at 17lbs 10 oz! No wonder my arms are dying when I bounce him to sleep at nap time. He's 26.5 inches long! The nurse actually measured him twice because she was so surprised he was that big and she was afraid she'd measured wrong. And his head circumference is 17 inches. So he's in the upper 90% percentile on the growth charts in all categories except his head.
He's growing fast!
In the last few weeks he's also started to laugh and chuckle when I put his shirt on. He's totally ticklish...just like his dad. You can get him on the toes too. The laughs make me forget the fact that he's still up once or twice a night. I guess a big guys gotta eat right?

Trimming the Tree

We finally have a finished Christmas tree. And it was only a 4 day process to get it complete!
Here's Gabe and Levi putting the star on Sunday morning. Levi doesn't seem too interested or impressed does he?He's definitely most interested in chewing on his fingers at this point.

And here's the finished tree last night. Gabe and I put on the last of the ornaments while Levi sat and supervised. He seemed pretty interested in what we were doing and next year he'll be able to help us out!I'm excited to be starting my holiday baking with the girls tonight. I'm trying to focus on the holidays instead of my fear of returning to work. I went in last Monday, and yesterday, and it's really hard to believe I'll be back there for good in a few weeks. Everyone was asking me what they could do to help me out and transition back to work, but I couldn't think of anything. I'm pretty sure I'm still in denial about what returning will really be like.

Hunting for a Christmas Tree

Why is it that the weekend we put aside to get our Christmas tree is always rainy and miserable? I don't think in all the years Gabe and I have been together, we've had one tree hunting experience where we didn't end up caked in mud and soaked to the bone.
I was afraid when we went to bed Friday night that we'd wake up in the morning with snow on the ground, no snow tires on our car yet, and no way to get our tree. But there was no need to fear. Since the forecasted "Arctic Storm" didn't hit overnight we figured we'd be OK. But we were still a little nervous since every TV weather person swore it was still going to hit. Good thing we didn't wait around. I would have been really annoyed if we'd stayed home just to wait for a storm that never arrived.
We struck out on the weather front with the cold temperatures and spitting rainy. We also struck out picking a tree farm. We have yet to find a farm we'll return to year after year. We didn't want to venture too far from home, just in case arctic weather did make an appearance. So, we went south to Tualatin to Lee Farms. It's a full service operation. All you have to do is pick out the tree. They come on a tractor, cut down the tree for you, throw it on the back of the tractor and drop it off. They then shake it, bale it and even load it on your car. So, Gabe didn't have to do a thing. I think he was a little disappointed. The trees weren't great, but we found one that will do the job. Levi enjoyed helping pick out his first Christmas tree, except for the loud chain saw. When the guy started up the chain saw to cut down our tree, Levi belted out the loudest scream I've hear yet. Guess he's not use to those sorts of loud noises...yet. I'm sure his dad will have him use to the sound of roaring engines soon enough.
Well, here's a picture of me and Levi all bundled up searching for our "perfect" tree. No pictures of the finished tree yet. Hopefully Gabe and I will get around to the decorating once the little guy is in bed tonight.

Gift for baby Levi

I just have to share this because I giggled when I saw it. Ryan, Heather and the kids left some Christmas gifts here when they were visiting last month so that they wouldn't have to send them. Well, here's Levi's gift from his cousins. Gotta love that little swaddled baby with the spiky hair. Looks just like the little guy. I might have to keep this precious little picture to put in his baby book. So cute! I love it!

Bead For Life

My mom and I were inspired by my sister, and decided to have a Bead for Life party this weekend. We actually invited people over both yesterday, and today, in hopes of having lots of people to support this wonderful cause. We were thinking people would find it a great opportunity to do some holiday shopping, while at the same time supporting women in Uganda break free of poverty. It really is a wonderful program (check out their website to learn more). Plus, the beads are amazingly beautiful. I love that almost 80% of the money you give for purchasing the beads goes back to the community. And as a host of the party...we gain nothing. Except enjoying the beads. Which I could literally look through for hours because each one is special and unique.

Well, turn out wasn't as good as we'd hoped. It's getting close to the holidays, and it seems everyone was using the nice dry weather to get their Christmas tree this weekend. But we are sending back over $800, so I feel really good about that.

Again....a very special thank you to everyone who came by, looked at and bought beads. It was nice to see everyone and chat. Enjoy the beads and spread the word!

Update: My mom's had the beads at her house for the last week and a few more people stopped by to look at them and make purchases. So the grand total we'll be sending back to Bead for Life is over $1100! Wow! Totally cool!

December already?

How is it possible that December is here already?
As much as I love the holiday season, and having a new little one to celebrate it with, I'm really not looking forward to it. The holidays signal my return to work. I head back right after the new year and there's a big part of me that doesn't want it to come. It's been really hard staying home with Levi for the last 3 months. And there were times when I wished I was at work because I feel confident in my abilities there...everything about being a mother, and caring for this little guy, is new and I continually feel like I'm lacking. But this week I've started to think about how I won't get to watch him explore and discover new things each day. He's changing and growing so fast. And it makes me sad to know I'll be missing some of it.
Being a mom is tough, and my paying job is hard and exhausting too. And I'm afraid that I won't be able to do both of my jobs, being a great mom and teacher, very well. They both take so much out of you! Unfortunately, I can't just walk out the school door and leave my work behind me. And I don't want to spend my evenings and weekends working on school stuff because that's my time with Levi, but in reality there's no other way to do my job well.
So, after thinking about this all week, here are my final thoughts. It may seem simple and clear to you, but being the planner I am, it will be a challenge for me. I figure what I have to do now is enjoy every moment I have with my little guy. Forget the piles of laundry, the sink full of dirty dishes and the list of other projects I want to get done around here. I have to enjoy this time while I have it. The rest will fall into place...right?