Levi - 11 months

He gets into EVERYTHING!!

Loving on his daddys silky scarf, if I can't get him to sleep I ususally just hand him one and he snuggles right into it and closes his eyes

Eating his first candy cane

I know I am a little late on this one but not by too far, My little pudgey budgey turned 11 months, I can't believe it! This time last year I was very pregnant living in Wyoming hoping I didn't give birth over there. Levi at 11 months has 6 teeth, he started getting them at 9 months so we have averaged about a tooth a week. Not Fun! He is walking everywhere and when he gets in trouble he has the saddest fake cry ever, He also likes to walk around jabbering and saying No no no no no, over and over again. He likes to wrestle with his big brother and tries to do everything Thomas does, Thomas is an awesome big brother and is very patient with him and actually does really good sharing, even if the two of them sure can fight over nothing. Levi loves our Snacks dog and is always trying to climb on top of him and bug him. He also loves to try and get in the toliet, some sort of obession with water, he also loves to take baths and usually cries when I get him out. We sure do love him and love having him around!

Time well lost

I have been wasting my time lately to make my blog look better, which I didn't really win on but at least its different. It takes me twice as long as the average person to read directions step by step, then tell Levi No five hundred times because he keeps on hitting the laptop, then I have to stop to console him because he has the really sad cry when he gets in trouble and i'm a huge push over, oh well.

Levi now has 5 and 1/2 teeth in his little mouth and we have suffered through everyone of them. I don't recall it being this difficult when Tom teethed. Who knows? At least I am glad to say the kid is sleeping clear through the night everynight (or maybe he wakes up sometimes but I just don't hear him?!?) I am just glad that it will be a LONG time before we have another kid, so I can just enjoy my sleep for a while.

Thomas is just crazy, full of stories and always coming up with something new to do. His new thing is to climb on his little house and plays spiderman.

We are now the proud owners of a wood stove that works. That thing has been sitting in my living room for who knows how long being my TV stand, No one told me what white trash I was to use it as my TV stand until I had to move my TV off. It happens! I'll have to take a picture one of these days once we finish the floor and wall. (it still needs help) but we are warm and Opey has proudly told everyone "we have gone green" because we no longer use the furnace. (this is as green as opey will ever go and he is only doing it so we don't have a crazy power bill this year)

We also did new family pictures, It was murder getting the boys out there and then using my remote on my camera, it didnt turn out the way I wanted it to but I think it will be the best I get for a while!

Lately

Opey traded someone cutting hay for a saddle this year and I have taken over the saddle, I love it, Even if I did fall off my horse a week ago and still have the nasty bruises to prove it. (he was at a dead run, long story, didn't end well.) Levi got to ride the horse for the first time, we were way slow on this one but with my husband busy all the time it happens, but he absolutely loved it and cried when it was time to get off. The pudgy budgey is now walking everywhere, and I do not know what to do. The kid is insane. Thomas was 14 months before he started walking and Levi took his first steps at 9 months and now is walking everywhere at 10 months, I could just cry. I know it will be a LONG time before we have anymore kids because between the 2 boys and my husband I have my hands full. Levi has also spent the past month getting a mouth full of teeth, he went from none to working on 6 in less than 2 weeks, its crazy. Thomas is just as funny as ever, In fact tonight I had a bag of chips and they were almost gone and he wanted some so he looked at me and said "You're not gonna eat all of those okay, mom, PROMISE" it was pretty dang funny. Him and Levi are constantly fighting, over what I don't know, The youngest one can't even talk but holy cow can they both scream at each other. I have been going a little crazy with practicing my photography and my poor children get SO tired of me carrying my camera around but I need the practice so they are just going to have to deal with it, My sisters and sister in laws have been nice enough to let me practice on their families so maybe someday I'll be good enough to charge people, Until then I just love practicing

I love this picture of the boys, even if they aren't looking at the camera it is about the only picture I have of them next to each other, both smiling, this is our christmas card picture this year

Oh and I know my blog doesn't look right, I'm still trying to fix it!

Baby Butt

Now just imagine little kid squeals because he wants to get in the tub that bad - so cute!

I just had to post this - my babys cute little rolly polly butt - the kid never stops eating cuz he loves it so much and he loves to take baths, tonight he got both. I gave him a halloween oreo cookie (yes thats chocolate, no he's not a year old yet, yes I know he shouldn't be having chocolate yet, No I really don't care) <- just to clarify for anyone who raises their child by the book. Anyways, he loved the cookie all over his face and I couldn't quit laughing -

Oh one quick story about Tom - the other day I was walking around picking up the house while Levi was down for a nap, I couldn't see Tom but he was kinda being noisy so I asked him what he was doing, "Hooker things" was the reply I got, a little curious I asked him what exactly that was and he proceeds to tell me "I'm a hooker mom" as if I'm the stupidest person he knows (imagine a little 3 year old voice that just sounds irritated as all get out), well I turned the corner to see what in the heck he was talking about and he had a hanger that was bent like a hook that he was carrying around, at which point any sort of response I had died on my lips.

Cute little halloween lion (i'll get better ones later - sorry grandma none of tom, the kid refused to smile)

Catching Up

I know I have been really bad about posting to my blog lately but my computer and internet together have been not working right so Facebook is where all my pictures go. I have been taking lots of pictures with my camera lately and having a lot fun trying to get better at it. This past month we went out and took family pictures - I'm not crazy about them so we're going to have to go do them again. Levi is now nine months and just broke through 2 teeth and has not been a happy camper about it. Thomas is still coming up with fun new things to say all the time and I have no idea where he gets them from. He loves his little brother as well and I am constantly having to tell him to be nice and soft. Opey is done farming for the year and now has taken his first trip in the big truck yay lotsa fun - Now my little one is crying which is why I never have time to do this!

8 months!

My little Levi is 8 months old now... I can't believe how time has flown, he has started crawling and talks all the time, he loves loves loves food and it is his number one priority. He does really good riding with me around in the swather but when it comes to helping me move handlines he is not a fan. The other night I took both boys with me to move pipe and Tom sat on the fourwheeler to wait and Levi just sat in the pasture, Tom that sweet thing kept on giving me advice on how exactly to get the job done faster. He told me his dad did it better and then he kept on saying "Really?" in this totally sarcastic/dramatic/are you stupid voice. and then when he finally got off the four wheeler to "help" me he barely moved the pipe and then announced to me "I am to old for this mom and I quit" Yeah.

Anyways when Levi gets upset he says mama until he gets what he wants and still isn't completely free of waking up at night, I have now got him to take a bottle and that is making me very happy. And since I got my new camera I actually get cute pictures of him all the time. Tom hates getting his picture taken until he sees that his little brother is smiling and so then he thinks its okay too.

We got to go to the fair this past week and it was a lot of fun, both times we ended up hanging out with family and so Thomas got to see his cousin Roan and they get along really well so he had a lot of fun (so much fun in fact we had to schedule a play date before they would part the other day so they knew that moms were not lying to them, I don't know when they got that smart?!?!) I also recently took up doing crafty stuff and so Levi got to model the tutu that I made for cousin Bri and then one that I made for karas new baby. Glad she's willing to be the guinea pig of my picture taking! Here are some of the pictures from lately:

Love this one! its like the blind leading the blind

Riding in the swather with me, don't mind my outfit, I wasn't planning on having anyone see me

A day at the park

I got a new camera a few weeks ago and absolutely love it, The boys and I went to the park today and it was a lot of fun, and I got super good pictures that my old camera never would have let me get

The boys wrestling, its pretty cute and levi just laughs the whole time

Toms birthday present, he loves it

Summer fun

We have been busy this month, and I forgot to post anything about Levi being 6 months old, He is now trying to crawl, learning to throw tantrums quite well, says ma ma and hey when I ignore him too long and he still gives me the sweetest smiles because he knows where his food comes from!

Tom is still mouthy and showing signs of being super smart like his mother every day! His favorite phrase is "Holy crap" and "Get outta here" and a new one I am trying to get him to stop saying is "Hey come back pretty girl" in the middle of the store! gotta love my little boy who is growing up too fast. He had his first rodeo and just kinda didn't do much but we still love him anyways, He was mostly frustrated that he couldn't ride the sheep, but soon enough he will

I have taken on the title of Opey new hired hand... yay go me, I always wanted to cut hay when I grew up... not. Oh well It helps out and saves time and money, My poor opey is going 500 miles an hour and I rarely get to see him... the crazy man when its summer he is telling me he wants to go drive truck but when its winter he is complaining saying he wants to be farming...."As a rule a mans a fool...."

Tom and Zack also went fishing with Jake and Roan and Grandpa Vanorden and had tons of fun

"Mama's Don't Let your babies grow up to be cowboys"

This week Zack had some time in between all of his haying and fun and so he took tiny lil Tom on a pony ride into the mountains. It started out with Opey leading Junior but pretty soon he just let Tom ride all on his own. Junior just follows Smokie everywhere she goes so it wasn't very difficult and he had his own lil set of sturrups that goes over the saddle horn so his feet stayed in and he rode really good. here are some of the pictures

So last night me and Thomas were cuddling in bed (Zack said he wasn't coming home so I told Tom he could sleep in bed with me) and we were looking at a book about the United States, it has flaps in it so with the states so you can learn the capital and other random information about it, so as we were going through it and I was showing Tom where Idaho was and Wyoming he all of the sudden pointed to the full map and started saying "and here we have a storm coming in from there and the storm is going to come." I stopped him and asked him what in the heck he was talking about until I realized "Duh we watch the weather on the news" It was so incredibly hilarious because the kid just spouts off like that all the time, We have been watching JW Coop a lot this week (we found the movie in dads pickup he had been hiding it why I don't know he doesn't get stuck watching the movie) and so he is back on his "I want a black cowboy hat" kick because thats what JW Coop wears. The other day him and his cousin Roan swam at our house and so I had to throw in a cute naked pictures of those to because neither of them will wear a swimming suit, Its like the blind leading the blind with those two!

Levi Budge is just as fat and happy as always, although he is starting to throw temper tantrums, the lil stink. I got some cute pics of him today and have a few other from the other day when Tom insisted he wear his cowboy hat.

Because I have the best kids ever...

The Boys with their blankys from grandma, don't know what we would do without them!!!

His legs were too fat to fit into his swimsuit, he certainly doesn't miss a meal

Daddy's lil helpers (Levi does his best by staying out of the way) and tom just mimicks everything his father does

So Tom is potty trained and has been for about a month but I didn't want to jinx it. (I guess I can't say finally because I am told most 2 year old boys aren't potty trained yet) But what they do say is true, One day he woke up and said "I want big boy underwear on", and it was done, I didn't have to fight him anymore, and today I discovered he has even taught himself to pee standing up to the toliet and doesn't make to big of a mess (he is afraid of the "worms" aka germs in public restrooms.) So one down one more to go:) Levi is the sweetest thing ever but is learning to throw temper tantrums, the other day during the middle of one tho he did say "ma ma" on purpose or not I don't care he obviously loves me the mostest!! The other day we went swimming at Lava and it was tons of fun (thanks grandma and grandpa) Levi complained less than thomas and just sat in the intertube having a good time. Tom insisted on wearing his swimsuit from the time we got up and of course the kid can't go nowhere without those cowboy boots! But I am seeing the future, the other day Tom and Opey sat in the chair and made fun of me, so thats it no more kids! Its always gonna be the 3 boys against mom, AHHH good thing I had big brothers growing up! Luckily Opey makes up for it by being the best husband and dad, the rest of the time. Always taking Tom with him and making my life a lot easier, gotta love him!

accident

The cutest fattest baby ever!

Toms newest war wound, not the greatest picture but you can get the idea

He was looking at the picture above on the computer saying "gross"

The Bull

A lot has happened in our lives this past month and I have been busy and not had time to do anything about it, We branded all of our calves and I even helped push the calves through the shoot (i know thats not how you spell that but oh well) and still have the bruises to prove it. Lil Levi is becoming more and more vocal all the time and loves the bouncer a lot, in fact he sits on the couch and screeches at me until I put him in it and then he is as happy as can be. Thomas (knock on wood) is almost completely potty trained, he really really really wants his new toy from cal ranch that we promised him. We have a new addition to the family, Opey got a new bull and loves him. I have become a bit of an ebay addict but i'm sure in time that this too shall pass. here are some of our pictures from the last month: In the picture of levi asleep in the bouncer it was his dads job this time to watch him, and you'll notice in the picture of opey holding levi, yes he did brand his arm.