Adventures in La La Land

Levi is 16 months old today and I realized I haven't written an update recently. So here it is! At his 15 month appointment, he weighed 20 lbs and was 29 inches. He's mostly wearing 9 month or 12 month clothes. (His swimsuit is 3-6 months and fits just fine. Lol.) He wears size 3 diapers. He has 4 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth (the bottom right just came in). One of his molars came in months ago, the other 3 have been poking through over the past week or two.  He can say 4 words: uh-oh, hi, bye, and num-num (for food). Lena had 20 words by this age, and Lucy (who I considered delayed) had 10. Trying to remind myself he's a boy, a third-born, and laid-back. He doesn't do animal noises, but he does make a car noise.  We've been working on body parts. He can do eyes and nose. Sometimes he'll identify his belly, feet, or head.  He folds his hands when I say "amen" and sometimes he stops mid-meal to fold his hands as if to ask m

1. I read 6 books this week. Hahaha. Now that you've stopped laughing at that owl . . . I read a series by Kristen Heitzmann (one of my favorite authors) in high school, but the library doesn't carry it and I haven't been able to find it elsewhere. So imagine my excitement when I came across the first 4 books at a thrift store for $4! I binged on them this week. Then a book I ordered came in at the library, so I read that. And then a friend gave me a book I've been waiting for forever, so I devoured that as well. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much this week. And my kids watched more TV than they should. 2. I also really struggled with depression this week. I'm worried it might be related to my reading binge. I felt guilty for ignoring my kids, but not guilty enough to put down my book. And then I hate myself for choosing books over my kids. So then I try to rationalize it by telling myself it's good for them to be bored and I'm not their pl

I went to a baby shower recently where the women discussed how they could count on one hand how many times their husbands had given their kids baths or put them to bed by themselves or changed dirty diapers. And I realized anew how blessed and grateful I am for my husband. Justin can (and does) do everything I do with the kids. He had almost no experience with babies before Lucy was born, but he learned as we went. He changed those gross dirty diapers in the hospital. When I cut Lucy's finger the first time I tried clipping her nails, he took over - and I haven't clipped any nails since then. He's always helped with baths, but when I was hugely pregnant with Levi he took over full time (I couldn't lean over the tub), and he still gives more baths than I do to this day! We put the kids to bed together every night, but if ever I'm not home or not feeling well, he is 100% capable of doing it himself. He has his own songs he sings to the kids, he climbs in their b

1. My mopping injury is getting worse. I hurt my elbow/forearm vigorously mopping my floor two solid weeks ago and it still hurts just as bad - if not worse. After consulting Dr. Google, I've diagnosed myself with tendinitis aka tennis elbow. Most of the websites said it's a result of repetitive movement - especially when force is applied doing something new or unusual . . .you know, like mopping my floor. That's both new and unusual for me. Lol. Yesterday, I fished with Justin and vacuumed my house, so between casting and pushing the vacuum, my arm hurts worse than ever today. I can't use my pincer grasp, push buttons on the remote, pick things up from a downward motion - like picking up a pillow off the floor or grabbing my pop out of a cup holder. It is ridiculous. And of course it's my right arm. My mom had the same thing happen a few years ago and her pain lasted for months! That's what I get for cleaning, I guess! 2. We had our first real taste of summe