My Idea of "Play"

I was told by a friend last weekend (a friend that will remain nameless so she will not incur the wrath of Levi's grandmas) that I should include some pictures of what I consider "play". In other words...not just pictures of the cutest kid on the planet. That got me thinking. There are a lot of things I enjoy in addition to spending time playing with my boys. And really, I don't do those things nearly enough. I don't get out my paints and pictures enough. I don't open up my Kindle enough. I don't sit outside and soak up the sun enough. (Actually, I'll do this in a heartbeat when we get some sunshine). I don't get pedicures and massages enough! And I don't bake nearly enough! Mostly because if I bake it...I eat it.

Other than spending my furlough days (Thursday and Friday) playing with Levi, I made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies.

I think Levi likes my idea of play too...

I gave him two chocolate chips while I was making the cookies and he thought they were the greatest thing ever! I don't think we've ever given him chocolate. Boy, did he love that cookie!
(This picture is for Levi's grandmas.)

Happy Easter!

We started our Easter celebration Saturday with a trip to the zoo's Rabbit Romp. It was a beautiful day and it was busy! They had "egg" hunts for the kids every 20 minutes. It was a little disappointing because all they did is throw out candy on the lawn. Here's Gabe and Levi planning out their strategy for grabbing candy.
Yesterday, we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa G. Then we spent the afternoon at their house. Enjoying time playing with family and eating a big dinner. We also had a real egg hunt.

Here's Levi checking out what he got in his Easter basket. Looks like he got caught red handed doesn't it?
Verdict on Levi's first bite of peeps...
apparently not yummy. He spit the bite out and gave the rest of his peep bunny to Grandpa.Happy Easter!

Is this how you play in a sandbox?

You're suppose to fling all the sand out right?
Well, that's what Levi thinks.
I've given up telling him to keep the sand in the box. Decided it's a battle I'm not going to fight. After all, it's not like it's going to hurt him. It will probably just mean he'll run out of sand to play with. Although sometimes the flinging sand does end up in his hair and in his face. Which he doesn't like very much. I guess that means he'll learn his lesson eventually...maybe.

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, the West family will be making another commitment to change the way we live. It's getting more and more difficult for us to find small things we can do to live in a more "earth friendly" way. We already recycle, compost, grow our own vegetables, and use our cloth grocery bags. I wish I could say we're willing to make some more drastic changes but really...we just aren't....not yet anyway. I wish I could say we're willing to do something like this family. I read the Sunset article about them months ago and felt pretty inspired by what they are doing. But for now, we'll just continue to take little steps in that direction.

The commitment we're making this year is to buy in bulk. There is so much waste in packaging. Not just after you buy it, but also in the manufacturing of the packaging. We will need to invest in some new glass jars (and probably some smaller reusable bags) but the bulk isle at New Seasons is awesome! We can get everything we need package free! Including shampoo, soap, and laundry detergent.

Hope you took some time today to love the earth a little more!

Packy's Party

Levi and I took Grandpa and Grandma G to the zoo yesterday to celebrate Packy's 49th birthday. Gabe's chasing a golf ball through the woods with his dad (and his dad's friends). So it's been a Mommy and Levi weekend.

Warning: this post may have way too many pictures in it. I had a hard time deciding which ones to post!

Here's the big birthday boy.Levi wearing his elephant ears to celebrate!I love this one of Levi and his grandparents. He's more interested in looking at the big elephant puppet then his mommy behind the camera.There was even cake to celebrate Packy's big day.
Here's the big cake for humans to enjoy.And here's the cake for Packy. They fed it to him at 2pm but we couldn't stay and watch him enjoy it. We had to get home for nap time.Levi did like his bites of birthday cake!It was a fun day!
Happy Birthday Packy!

Duplo Airplane

Levi loves building things with his Legos. Mostly he just makes towers and train cars for his Lego elephant to ride on. But what Levi really loves is when his daddy makes him things. He'll carry around this silly cow for days. Getting upset anytime a piece falls off and he can't get it put back together himself. Levi was thrilled when his daddy made this airplane. He was carrying the cow in one hand and the airplane in the other for days. The next step is for Levi to figure out how to put these creations back together himself. Because mommy isn't very good at figuring out what pieces go where. And Levi knows if mommy doesn't put it together the same way daddy does!

Dinosaurs Attack!

We've finally had some nice spring weather the last few days. Really that just means we've had some dry days. Levi has enjoyed riding his "bike" and playing in his sandbox. And also helping Mommy and Daddy rake the dead moss out of the lawn. He thinks he's helping any way. The rain should be back tomorrow. On the bright side, it will provide a nice drink for all the grass seed Gabe laid down today where the moss use to be.

Dirt don't hurt

and neither does a little tumble in the back yard.

We went out to try and get some work done this morning between hail and rain showers. My job was pulling massive weeds in the front yard, Gabe was in the back yard with Levi planting the blueberries and raspberries we bought this morning. Levi likes to play in the lower part of the yard, but you have to go down these terrible wooden steps to get down there. Levi slipped on the big bottom step and ended up doing a face plant into the gravel. Poor guy! He doesn't have any battle wounds. Just ended up a little muddy. (I know the focus is off in this picture but getting pictures with Levi's face in focus is getting harder and harder. What toddler wants to hold still for a picture?) Also, please ignore the snot running out of my child's nose. There were some tears flowing after this tumble. Plus, he caught something either at the zoo in Nashville or on the way home. He's been sick and crabby all week. In fact, he's woken up coughing 3 times during his nap today. And it sounds bad. It makes my chest hurt just listening to him. If it doesn't sound better tomorrow, he'll be on his way to visit the doctor on Monday.

Can't believe how fast this week flew by! Hoping the next ten go by just as fast.