Play "Date"

Maddie L. was born just 12 days before Ryan. Of course her mom (Sandy) and I think that the "kids" are just so CUTE together! We got together this afternoon at her house for a play date. (AND her mom was nice enough to keep Ryan for an hour while I got my hair trimmed! Woo Hoo!)

Ryan is not shy about going down a slide. ANY way he can! He always has to be reminded to sit on his "bum" or go "feet first" - otherwise disaster will be the result!











There's Maddie peeking behind Ryan - waiting "somewhat" patiently for her turn at the slide!












Now THIS is where it gets funny... Ryan loved getting into the car, but will TWO 18-month old's fit? Let's see.....

Ryan isn't so sure!









Somehow, both of their cute diaper-bums fit!

"Now...let me show this kid how to drive!" Maddie says!










THIS is how you do it! :)

I guess I'm selfish!

I know it's not even up to me, but I'm tired of Ric's calling as Young Men's President. It takes him away from Ryan and I too often!

For example...today Ric was scheduled to volunteer at Buttonhole Golf Course, a place that he doesn't get to very often. It's something he loves to do, and I'm happy that he can do it. Tuesday is usually his day off, so he left around 3:00 pm. Right after that he was planning to go right over to the Church for the weekly YM/YW activity, though he'd be a little late.

He NEVER misses these activities. I know how important they are for the youth, and so does he. But he's usually the only one from the presidency there because his two councilors are both doctors and often don't make it and his secretary is on a submarine a lot lately (in the Navy.) So...it's usually just Ric. He doesn't complain, but I do.

Anyway, back to today. A combined activity was planned for the YM/YW to clean the Chapel and then go out for ice cream afterwards. Ric arrives a little late, and there's no one there except the Bishop and one of his councilors still in his scrubs from work. Ric still doesn't know what happened, but somehow the activity was canceled because even the YW president wasn't there! None of the boys showed up either. (Word must have leaked out that they were going to clean!)

It's pretty typical that things like this happen. But I'm tired of it! That's another hour that Ric could have been home helping me with Ryan. I can't move without any pain anymore, much less give Ryan a bath or pick him up.

I've told Ric - in no uncertain terms - that he should cancel ALL YM activities for June - or find councilors that will be able to step up to the plate and be there no matter what. I need him to be HOME with me, Ryan, and our new baby. It's not like Ric has nothing else to do but wait all day on Tuesdays for the YM activity. He says that being there for the YM "is part of the job," which is true, but why is he the only one in the youth organization that takes it that seriously? Why, if the combined part (i.e. YW) of the activity had been canceled, didn't anyone call? It's just irresponsible. And here I am worrying how the ward is going to get along without an Organist when I have this baby! It's the damn sense of duty that I have that played a part in driving me away from activity in the first place!

Yep - I'm a selfish bitch. Or maybe I'm just overly emotional because I'm SO FREAKIN' PREGNANT! (Maybe both???) I just want my husband to be around a little more with his wife and family. I know, it could be worse - he could be the Bishop! I give up....

Go get your Jammies....

Ryan had been running around in a diaper for a while after his bath, and it was time to put some PJ's on him. I didn't feel like getting my ROUND self off the couch, so I asked Ryan to go get his jammies.

He did EXACTLY as I asked! Went to his room, and brought back ALL of his PJ's! I guess I should have been more specific! At least he got them! (Getting them on him is a different story - it's like pig-wrestling! hehe)

This was a football...until Ryan got at it.

Here are some pictures from after dinner Sunday night. Ryan was carrying around his little foam football and occasionally throwing it in Dad's direction. A few unsupervised minutes later, the football's life was ended prematurely thanks to Ryan and his discovery of how teeth are stronger than foam footballs.

Daddy

18 Months old means Nursery at Church...right??

So it's not the best picture, but here's Ryan on the right, sitting at the table for snacks during nursery today at Church. (You can see another little boy across the table who's just a few months older than Ryan with blonde hair and a black eye! That's Braxton - who we're hoping will be a buddy of Ryan's soon, maybe they can get through the trauma of Nursery together! They look a lot alike!)

So how did it go? Hmmmm.... where do we start?

Up until this point, Ryan would run for the nursery room door and practically beg to go in and play with the kids and toys. Now that he can officially join in on the fun it's a different story! What's up with THAT?

Well, there are a couple of problems with Nursery for Ryan right now. (Not with nursery itself, in fact, the leaders are incredible - and take great care of the kids! I don't know how they do it!)

Here's what's wrong...

• Nursery is right after Sacrament meeting, where Ryan has been "sitting/enduring" for an hour. OK, sitting is not really the right word, but you get the idea.
  
• Nursery starts shortly after 11:00 am - RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS NAP TIME!

So, by the time he's suffered through the first meeting, missed his nap, he's extremely tired, and now he has to go into a room with other kids who are pretty much in the same boat, it's doomed for failure!

I was talking with some other mom's who have been through the same thing, and they said that they often wondered why they even came to church for two years after they had their own babies! It was such a struggle! (And here we were hoping that Ryan would just sail right into nursery and be done with it!)

I think though, that we underestimated the anxiety it would cause because Ryan has been REALLY clingy since we've been home - more than usual. Maybe it will all be better after a good night's sleep! (We can always hope!)

Of course, this was only his first week, and he did have *some* fun playing (all the while watching to make sure Dad was still in the room, while Mom played the piano in Primary.) We'll see what happens next week. YEP - we're gonna do it all over again in a week! Woo Hoo! (Unless Baby #2 makes his/her appearance before then!)

*sigh* Since Ric was in there most of the time, I'm sure he'll have his own thoughts to add to this little saga.

I do hear (though I think it may be a nasty rumor) that all parents go through this and actually survive! Ahahahhahahaha :)

NOW...I can have this baby!

I decided to save the $30-40 it would cost to have a pedicure (though it would have been nice!) and splurge on some nice $5 nail polish instead. (OPI Bogota Blackberry to be exact.)

Picture this...

Me, with a HUGE belly sitting on the couch with my foot on a stool. My left hand trying to hold my toes at an angle that could be reached with my right hand! Good thing no one else was around who could take pictures! It was a hilarious sight! :) I think I did a decent job, considering the obstacles I had to overcome for cute toes!

Why cute toes? It's ESSENTIAL that SOMETHING be cute when I'm delivering this baby! Based on my previous experience...there's NOTHING cute about childbirth UNTIL the baby finally arrives!

Oh...and taking this picture was quite a feat in itself! I was surprised at how far I had to bend over to even SEE my toes under my belly! Too funny! (Yep - that blurry part is ALL BELLY with MOST of it cropped out! hehe)

Hmmm...I think I need a tan! :)

More Juice Please

The other day, I was sitting on the couch while Ryan was playing with some toys. He came over to me with his sippy cup, grabbed my hand and gave it to me, making sure that I didn't drop it.

Then he signed "more" "juice" "please" - HIS FIRST SENTENCE! In sign language too! Woo Hoo!

Of course...I got it for him right away, how could I refuse when he was so polite! He even signed "thank you" after I prompted him.

It made me so proud - and teary-eyed too! What a smart boy!

THIS...is driving me CRAZY!

ARRRRRGH! Look at my desk! I have NO idea how I survive some days when it looks like this! Usually, I'm able to get things organized every couple of days, but lately, it's insane! With so much to do lately, I've let this slip!

Here are just a FEW things that are all over it...business supplies, rubber stamps, ink pads, pens paper, unpaid bills, somewhere there's a phone, receipts that need to be recorded, magazines that need to be read/gone through/recycled, books, my Scriptures (eeek!), ribbon, punches, notes from coaching calls, a glass of water, a can of Febreze, paper clips, undeveloped film, and a TON of CRAP on top of it!

*sigh* Here's wishing that Ryan can stay asleep just a little bit longer so I can at least make a dent in it today! (THAT'S the REAL problem. I can't work on it when he's awake because he HAS to be in the middle of it all! Of course, his favorite thing to find here? Scissors! How he finds them every time, I have no idea!)

Baby #2 Update...

So nothing much has changed, except that this baby is even MORE HUGE than before! At the Dr's yesterday she said that, based on her estimation, it probably weighs at least 9 pounds right now. (GREAT!) BUT, there's nothing happening "down there" to indicate that it's ready to come out any time soon.

The only thing that keeps me going is that Ryan was the same way. Two days before he was born, there was nothing happening either. Then all of a sudden, he was here! So we'll just wait and see! Luckily, this week is my last lecture week at New England Tech, so it looks like I'll get that all out of the way. (Now if they'd just do their homework so I don't have to grade it from a laptop at the hospital! I've been threatening that if they wait until the last minute, I won't be as "nice" with their grades! hehe)

In the meantime, on Monday I rearranged 2 rooms of furniture and did 5 loads of laundry. Tuesday, I packed my hospital bag (FINALLY!) and reorganized Ryan's toys, putting away the really soft/baby ones. Can you say NESTING? Yep! Today and Friday I have my classes, tonight I have a meeting with my stamping ladies. Hmmm...Thursday I have requested a nice foot rub from Ric, being careful not to rub the parts of my feet that put me into labor! (We'll do that next week...) Though I'd love a nice pedicure too - maybe I'll have to squeeze that in! Wish me luck! :)

Big Boy Bed upgrade 1.0

This week while I was off from work, we took time to get Ryan's room cleaned and set up for his latest upgrade, the "Big Boy Bed". Here's the first picture that we snapped just moments after the bed was in place and Ryan figured out that it was going to be his. Of course, he also discovered that he could stand on the bed as easily as lay down on it (which is not what we wanted to see). We don't know when he'll be ready to use it and we'll possibly get him to try it out during naps, but for now at least it's out of the garage and set up. Next will be a new rug to place next to the bed to soften the impact of when Ryan discovers falling off of his bed while horsing around!

Ric

If you don't like the New England weather...just wait a minute.

Once again we New Englanders have proof that "if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute" certainly holds a lot of truth. Yesterday (Wednesday) the 16th it was 80 degrees, mildly humid and a strong 20-35 mph breeze blowing. A pretty nice day for my liking and great to be outside.

Then by dinner time, the skies were black, and the temperature had dropped to 60 degrees in a matter of 1 hour. Next to follow (luckily not for our area) were some fierce hail, rain, and winds that did a lot of damage for northern RI and CT. It rained most of the evening and into the early morning. Today ended up mostly grey, cool / cold (50 degrees) and no winds.

So I went from t-shirt, shorts and Tevas to slacks, socks and a jacket to go outside in a matter of hours.

Ric

Ultrasound Pictures

It was a family affair! We all went to the Imaging Institute this afternoon for baby #2 pictures! My OB thinks I'm measuring a little big, and the measurements proved that I am! (eeeek!)

But here are the pictures you've all been waiting for! Yipppeeee!

First, these are the hands. You can actually see the fingernails in the picture on the right!








Second...this is the FOOT that's been kicking me in the ribs! You wouldn't believe how high up into my ribs that the Ultrasound Tech had the little wand thingy! This foot measured at OVER 3 INCHES LONG!



And here's the BEST part! Baby #2's face in 3D! This is the most amazing technology! (Kinda creepy too!)

While the lady said that the stuff at the top and bottom of the picture is distorted, the middle, where the face is turned out pretty good!

It wouldn't take its hand away from its face though. Ric thinks it has my chin. But the nose and mouth look just like Ryan!



Compare Ryan when he was born to the ultrasound picture! :)




Soooo....what do you think? Girl or Boy? We'll be takin' wagers soon enough! :) Only 4 more weeks to go - according to the calendar, we'll see what this baby has to say!

Beach Bums - with the camera this time!

It's a GORGEOUS day in Rhode Island! We're about 78 degrees with bright blue skies. Because we're close to the water, there is a nice breeze.

So...we went to the beach to walk for a bit. (Until I couldn't carry this baby any longer without getting a backache!)

Ryan LOVES it at the beach. He could walk around on the sand for hours! (Until he gets his feet wet, that is. It's a new sensation and he doesn't quite understand it yet.)



He's wearing his little baby crocs. They are the BEST thing for the beach! Once we get home, we just hose them down and no sand is tracked through the house - by him anyway!




LOVE this picture! Don't we live in a great place? This little cove is the neatest thing!











Ryan found a tent stake or something and immediately claimed it as HIS! He decided that he'd "make his mark" all the way back to the road. Meaning...it took us FOREVER to get him off the beach! He just wanted to keep on drawing in the sand with the stake! BUT... it was nap time, and we weren't going to miss that!

How cute is this kid?

I know...when he's older, he'll complain that we dressed him funny. But right now, he's just CUTE! :)

I took his shoes off and let him walk in the grass. He looked like a stork for the first little while - not knowing where he was supposed to put his feet! So funny!

Eventually, he got used to it, but preferred the pavement or concrete on his bare toes!

Ryan is chewing on his plastic golf club - we think he's working on some more teeth - canines? He's been drooling a TON again, and wants to chew on everything! Pretty soon he'll actually have a full smile!

USPS rate increase next week!

I wouldn't be a very good customer service and sales clerk for the USPS if I didn't remind all of you that the postal rates are increasing on May 14th. A first class stamp will increase to 41 cents along with some other major changes in our products, rates and services. No, I'm not getting a raise this year either. This rate increase is directly related to the costs of fuel over the past year. Each 1 cent rise in fuel prices equals a $1 million additional expediture increase for the USPS. Transportation (and fuel) is the second biggest expense for the USPS.

Packages will be subject to shape-weight-distance pricing (just like the UPS guys in the big brown trucks). So if you're going to mail a large or odd shaped package, you will end up paying more because of its size and shape but also rated at a heavier weight due to the amount of space it will take up in the planes when shipping. (It's all very complicated to explain in detail and luckily our POS computers at work will figure this stuff out for us). The best way to avoid and surcharges is to use our Priority Mail supplies and boxes

Speaking of our supplies, you can now use our Priority Mail supplies/boxes to ship outside the USA! That's a good thing and will most likely increase our foreign mail volumes. There will no longer be any "surface" mail (aka slow and cheap; up to two months for delivery) overseas. That's a great thing for us because we often hear so many complaints about the mail overseas.

Email me if you have more questions. ric@thelevetts.com

Just call him SPIKE!

'Nuff said...

Just Like Dad...

...or should I say...it's ALL about dad. :)

We found this plastic Golf Set around Easter Time at Job Lot for about $10. Of course we couldn't' resist getting it for Ryan! He LOVES playing with it - and maybe one of these days he'll help to fund our retirement as a golf pro!

Anything Dad does, Ryan has to do as well. So here he his...playing "golf" just like Dad.




Where's my caddy? Someone needs to hold this Binky while I take this shot!













Great Shot! "Thanks," says Ryan















Hi Mom! :) (Mom just LOVES those baby blue eyes!)














Our little golf boy! Now...if he'd only figure out which club to use! :)

Eeeeee.....

We don't know if he's saying "swing" or "wheeeeee", but he loves being outside in the swing! But not before he shows us a "tiny" bit of attitude! By the way, HE is the one who puts his hat on that way - he changes it every time! hehe



You'll notice that he has his "B" in his mouth half the time - now it's just a game he plays with us. We ask him to take it out, which he does. But it goes right back in! We're working on the "only use the 'B' at night thing. He is going longer and longer without it during the day! Yippee!!


Hmmm....if I lean over THIS far, what else will I see?













Peek A Boo!














Look Mom - No Hands! :)

A New Obsession...

Introducing...."mi - mouwww" (aka Mickey Mouse...)

It's a GIRL!

Hehe - did I fake you all out? :)

Actually, Ric and I had our annual Eye Dr. appointments yesterday. We know Dr. Hill pretty well, in fact I used to work with him. He's a great guy, and an equally great doctor! Well...according to Dr. Hill, he can usually tell what the sex of the baby is going to be based on how thick the tears in someone's eyes are. Apparently, if the tears are thicker, it's a boy, and just the opposite is a girl.

His official quote, "I'm definitely seeing 'girly' tears"

So there you have it - the official prediction from Dr. Hill! He said that he's actually 7 for 8 correct - pretty good odds!

So I asked Ryan if he wanted a baby sister - I'm sure you can guess his answer..."No" :)

This is my feeble attempt at a self-portrait. I still have 6 weeks to go - and this kid is HUGE! I try to compare it to when Ric and I had pictures taken 2 weeks before Ryan was born - and I could swear that my belly is just as big now!

I'm definitely moving A LOT slower - I'm sure I waddle a little from the back too!

BTW - two of the girls from Church have had their babies - I'm next! :) (There's something in the water....hehe)