Leavitt Christmas Party

We got to celebrate Christmas with Jordan's family this last weekend and we had so much fun.  It was so great to see everybody and we enjoyed some FANTASTIC soups, exchanged gifts and just got to be together as a family.  The kids had a lot of fun and Tobi really enjoyed opening his presents.  I think this is the first year in a while where I've truly enjoyed the holiday season.

Coates Family Party

We got to celebrate Christmas with my moms family this weekend and we had so much fun.  The food was great and Santa came to visit with all the kiddos!  Tobi was SO excited and all the kids loved their little treat bags that Santa gave them.  Tobi was being stinker when it came to getting good pics of him with the big guy, but oh well.  I'm glad he had fun and I'm glad we are that much closer to Christmas day, I cannot wait to see Tobi's face when he gets up Christmas morning!

Family Pictures 2012

We got together with Celeste this year for our family pictures and she did such a great job, I am so happy with how they turned out.  I never know what I'm gonna get with my crazy three old ha ha!  And boy was he crazy, he was running around all over and being silly...it was definitely quite the process getting our pictures done and I'm so grateful Celeste had the patience to deal with it.  I'm always nervous that he's gonna be terrible on picture day and luckily the last couple of times we've done pictures he's been pretty good.  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot...

Two months!

Grayson is TWO months old now and such a little cutie pie!  We just love his cute little personality and he makes us laugh all the time.  He has the cutest little grins and we're starting to hear him laugh now too.  He is still sleeping amazing through the night and is becoming a lot more aware of his surroundings.  Tobi is becoming more curious about him and is interacting with him a little more than usual, I love to see that and I'm so glad we haven't had any jealousy issues.  I have two of the greatest boys ever!

Our Thanksgiving

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  We got to spend it with Jordan's family at his mom's house.  The food was so good and it was so much fun spending time with family.  We even got to see Rachel and Charlotte for a little while which was an unexpected surprise.  And of course it was great to see Kelly and Tyler too, we just love their gorgeous little girls!  Grayson was a little fussy but we handled him pretty well and Tobi had a blast playing with Kendra and Abby.  I'm so thankful for so many things this year, my wonderful husband, my two handsome little boys, family, employment, food for our tummies....I could go on and on.  We are so blessed and I'm so happy to have had such a good year so far.

Rachel and Lottie's party

This last weekend we went to Sean and Brynn's house to celebrate Rachel's third birthday, and Charlotte's first birthday.  Tobi was so excited, he LOVES birthday parties, and it was so fun seeing the kids and watching the girls do their gifts.  Kelly let Tobi help Charlotte open hers which was very nice of her, Tobi loved opening her presents for her.  Rachel was cute too and I'm so glad she loved the Minnie Mouse toy we gave her.  Tobi wanted to steal it for himself!  I'm so glad we got to celebrate with them.

Happy Birthday Rachel Roo and Lottie Lou!

Tobi's Curious George Party

We had Tobi's birthday party this last Saturday and he was so excited, it was all he talked about for days.  He kept asking me if all his fun friends were gonna come and eat birthday cake with him, and sing the birthday song, and then he was gonna open presents.  It was so cute to see how excited he was for his party.  We got to the church and quickly set everything up, in typical Stephanie style, we were running quite late....the next time people offer to help me I am saying yes to them all!  We did have a few bratty moments where he threw some fits, but aside from that it went pretty good and he did have a lot of fun with his friends and family.  I decided to do a pinata again because the kids seem to really love it, and again it was a big hit.  It was so cute to watch the really little ones do it, especially my nephew Ben, he is such a riot!  We did cake and ice cream, and of course Tobi opened his presents.  We did a book party so most of his gifts were books, he did still get a few toys from people which made me glad because I was worried he'd be disappointed with all the books.  He loved it though and seemed excited about everything he got.  I am so grateful to have such loving and supportive friends and family.

Thank you to everyone who came to support Tobi on his special day!

Our First Snowfall

As you all know, we had our first snowfall of the season this last weekend.  We bundled Tobi up so he could go out and play while Jordan shoveled the walk way.  He's never really gotten to go out and play in the snow before and he looked so adorable in all his snow gear, I could have gobbled him up!  Okay, not really, but I sure wanted to squeeze him a ton.  He was so excited to play in the snow and he had a blast.  He even swindled Daddy and Grandpa into making him a snowman, he's quite the persuasive little fellow.  I usually hate the snow but watching him enjoy it as much as he did made me hate it a little less this year.  Who knows, maybe this year I'll actually enjoy the holiday season...we'll see.  Once a Grinch, always a Grinch, that's me!  I'm very excited to get some snow gear for myself so that the next time we get a big snowfall we can go out sledding, I haven't done that in years and I'm sure Tobi would love it.

One month!

My sweet baby Gray is one month new already!  I can't believe how fast time is going by and we're already getting the cutest grins from him.  He has continued to be such an amazing baby and we are so lucky to have him.  Tobi is starting to interact with him more and more and it's so cute to watch him with his new little brother.  I can't be happier with our life right now.

Tobi's THIRD Birthday!

I cannot believe my baby turned three today!  He is getting so big and each day with him is more fun than the last.  He is such a bright and funny little boy and I am so proud to call myself his mom.  Jordan got off of work early and as soon as he got home, we opened presents.  Grandpa also made it by during his lunch break for presents and we were glad for that.  Tobi was thrilled to have a bigger crowd watching him tear into his gifts!  He got super spoiled with a bunch of cute Curious George stuff and the Fisher Price Serving Surprises table that is also a mini kitchen.  He was so excited and couldn't wait to get it set up to play with.  Yesterday I took him with me to Walmart and let him pick out his cake mix, frosting, and icecream.  So today I baked his cake and we sang him the birthday song, which he was SO excited for, and then he got his cake and icecream.  He picked out the sprinkle party cake mix, with vanilla frosting and sprinkles, and then birthday cake icecream with blue frosting and sprinkles in it.  See a pattern ha ha?  The kid loves his sprinkles!  All in all, he had a very good birthday and he knew it was his special day.  He was so cute and so excited, I was so happy to celebrate his special day with him. 

Happy Birthday my sweet Tobi!  I love you so much!

Trick or Treat!

Halloween was SO much fun this year!  Taking Tobi out was such a treat for both Jordan and myself and he had us cracking up.  All month he kept telling us about Halloween and how excited he was to wear his costume and go get candy.  We took him to the first couple of houses where he politely knocked and said, "trick or treat!"...then after that he would knock and say, "please, I have more candies?"  Jordan and I were laughing so hard.  Then he would say, "thank you, I go get more candies!".  He's such a riot!  Then as we went to the next house he would say, "another house?  I can't believe it!".  We took him around my parents neighborhood first, then we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bourne, followed by Grandma and Grandpa Fleming, and finally Grandma and Grandpa Coates.  We also trick or treated my Grandma Coates's neighborhood for a bit, so Tobi got a pretty good haul for a two year old.  By the end of the night he was telling us that he loves Halloween and it's his favorite.  My mom was amazing enough to watch Gray for us so we didn't have to take him out in the cold, and boy that was nice!  Plus, she loves her little Gray bear so it was fun for her too.  We are so glad we got to take Tobi out and have such a good time, the holidays are definitely so much more fun now that we have kids and we are so excited for the years to come!

Leavitt Halloween Party

Sean and Brynn threw the cutest little Halloween party for the kiddos this year, complete with games and cookie decorating.  The kids loved it and Tobi had a blast playing with his cousins.  It was so great to see Rachel and Charlotte, we wish we could see them more often, maybe some day!  We had a lot of fun visiting with Jordan's family and the food was great, Brynn does a pretty fantastic chili.  The kids all looked so cute in their costumes and I'm so glad we got to go and celebrate.

Pumpkinland

Jordan and I took the boys to Pumpkinland, another Halloween event on my list of October fun, and again Grayson slept through the entire thing, but Tobi LOVED it.  He wore his monkey costume and Jordan wore his yellow hat costume, which I finished that morning.  Don't judge me, I find I do my best work when it's last minute ha ha.  We got a discount on admission for Jordan and Tobi being in costume, so that was a plus.  Tobi loved seeing the animals and playing in their little park, this year it was Alice in Wonderland themed which was fun.  They also had a few bouncy house/slides that Tobi got to play on and he had a blast on those.  After that we made our way to the playground where he went down a few slides before heading into the light show.  They had a lot of fun lights set up and even a shadow puppet area where he and Jordan pretended to be scary Halloween monsters, it was great!  He then got another free pumpkin on the way out and also swindled me into buying him not one, but TWO suckers...the little stinker has to have one for each hand and they were cheap...plus it was Halloween and I was in a good mood.  He had so much fun we are definitely doing Pumpkinland again next year!

The Heber Creeper--Halloween Style!

My BFF Jocelyn gave us a Heber Creeper trip last year for Christmas and we decided to cash it in for Halloween this year.  We got to go with Jocelyn and Steve of course, and then Amber and Ashtyn joined in as well.  Jordan stayed home with Grayson while I took Tobi.  He was so excited and when we got there, he couldn't wait to board the train!  We took him into the pumpkin patch so he could pick out his free pumpkin and then we let him play in the kids maze while we waited to board the train.  The train itself was awesome and they had people dressed in costumes who told Halloween stories during the ride.  Tobi loved it, especially any time the whistle blew, his little face just lit up with pure joy and excitement.  We also got super yummy pumpkin cookies and after the train ride, Jocelyn and Steve took him through the haunted train car, which was totally appropriate for kids his age so it really wasn't scary, just fun.  Afterwards we all went to Chuck A Rama for dinner, which was fabulous except that all Tobi ate was jello and ice cream....oh well, I'll take what I can get I guess.  We had a lot of fun and I'm so happy that Jocelyn and Steve treated us to such a special event for my little Tobi, he sure loves his trains!

Thank you Jocelyn and Steve!  We sure love you guys!

Cornbelly's

I have been so excited for the month of October because I knew that I would no longer be pregnant and there are so many things I want to do with Tobi for Halloween.  He is loving the holiday so far and is so excited to trick or treat.  Cornbelly's has a corn maze that the kids can trick or treat through on Saturday's, so we decided to take Tobi and go.  We dressed both him and Gray in their cute little monkey costumes and drove out to Thanksgiving point.  The place has really grown since the last time we were there and it was like a great big Halloween carnival, it was so cool!  Tobi was so excited and loved trick or treating through the corn maze.  After that he got to do some rubber duckie racing, some mining for treasures, and he even got to do the big potato sack slide and bounce pillow with Jordan.  We were there for hours of fun and little Grayson slept through the whole thing, waking up just long enough to eat, he's such a good baby!  We had so much fun and we can't wait to go again next year.

Grayson Archer Leavitt

Our newest little boy is finally here!  We went into the hospital early Monday morning, October 8th, for a scheduled c-section and he was born at 6:57am.  He weighed 9lbs 14 oz (I know right?!) and was 21 inches long.  The c-section went great and it wasn't long at all before I was moved down to the mother baby unit and I got to hold him for the first time...and boy was he heavy!  He had the chunkiest legs and arms but he lost that by the time we brought him home, I'm still a little broken hearted about it. 

He did great though and was perfectly healthy.  I got to keep him in the room with me and then at night I sent him to the nursery so I could sleep.  Jordan had to take care of Tobi so I only had his help the first day and night, after that I was on my own.  My c-section didn't seem to hurt as much as it did when I had Tobi and I think it's because the pain I felt while pregnant was so much worse.  I was up and walking without help Monday night and my recovery since then has been great.  We had my parents and Tobi, Jocelyn, and Shannon with us the morning of the delivery.  Jocelyn took pictures for us and I am SO grateful.  She took some really amazing pictures and I'm so glad that I have those.  Shannon brought Tobi the cutest little gift bag full of special little prizes and treats so that he still felt special.  I am so grateful for such amazing friends!

Grayson has been an AMAZING baby so far.  He's very calm and chill and he's easy to quiet when he's upset.  He is easy to burp and he sleeps for half the night, eating every four hours during the day.  Tobi always had to eat every two hours and it was rough at night.  Grayson is usually awake from 2-4am but then goes back to sleep until about 8 or 9am.  It's so nice!  We love him to pieces and we are so happy to have such cute boys!

No baby this week

Well, we went to the hospital Monday morning for our amnio.  I was super excited but also very nervous.  The nurse we got was great and the doctor that did the procedure was fantastic.  They let me have my zune to listen to in order to distract myself, I was so scared, but when it was go time....I didn't feel anything!  I barely even felt the poke they used to numb the surface of my belly, it was fantastic!  I even got brave enough to watch the monitor while they pulled the needle out when they were done.  Jordan thought the whole process was very cool and I'm glad he enjoyed it, even more glad that I survived it!  From there they took me up to labor and delivery for a NST while we waited for the results.

We didn't wait long at all before the nurse came in to tell us he wasn't ready and we'd have to go home without a baby.  I tried not to cry, but I did anyway.  Even though we knew there was a chance that would happen, it didn't make it suck any less.  Jocelyn took us to breakfast at IHOP to help me feel better, and to get some food in my system since I had to fast and I was starving.

Jordan drove me home where I cried some more, probably off and on for most of the day.  Jocelyn came by with some halloween crafts to help cheer me up and it was a great distraction so I was VERY grateful for that.  She's been so great through all of this and so helpful, I'm glad she was there for me.

I also had a visit from Shannon and Adam which was very nice, we haven't seen them in a while and they brought me a new diaper bag with some goodies in it which also cheered me up.  I'm so grateful for such great friends and hopefully I can make it through the week.  At least now we know we will for sure have a baby by next Monday.

October has arrived!

Here is the October desktop, I am so excited to be putting this up because October means it's baby time!  Here's to a fantastic month!

Will it be October 1st?

We have an amnio scheduled for tomorrow morning and I am so excited and so nervous.  I am SOO ready to have this baby and if I get sent home tomorrow with no baby...lets just say it won't be pretty!  I am in so much pain I have no idea how I will survive one more week.  I guess we'll see what happens, but wish me luck, I may need it!

Our park day with Grandpa Leavitt

We got to take Tobi to the playground last week with Grandpa Leavitt and Tobi loved it!  He was so happy to see his Grandpa and to be out of the house.  He's been begging for weeks to go to the park and play.  There's a really cool playground by my parents house that has a pirate ship and Tobi was so excited to play when we got there, I knew he'd love it!  Here's our pics!