Levi is 2 months (5/10/10)

Levi turned two months on Monday. He is getting big. He now has leg chub. So cute! I love rolls--not on me of course, but on babies it is too cute. He has better head control. He also started smiling and just the other day I finally caught a smile on camera. So with that said, I'd like to introduce a smiling Levi Shaw with his first debut of an official smile to the cyber world.

I'm not big on stuffed animals. With Levi, I didn't do it w/ my girls, I am taking a picture of him next to a stuffed animal (bunny) every month until he is a year. Then I will put the pictures of him next to this bunny each month in an album to see how much he has grown every month. I wish I had a bigger stuffed animal but this was the best I could find. I found it shortly after Easter, thus the bunny. Thought I would explain that to you.

*keep scrolling down I've added 3 other posts from this week. We've had an eventful week.

Pictures from Syd's recital

On the way to her dance recital

Great pictures during her performance. She said that at first she was shy but then wasn't when she started dancing her routine.

Syd's preK graduation (5/13/10)

Thursday morning Sydney graduated from preschool. She attended Play, Dance, and Learn. Her teachers were Ms. Cori and Ms. Brittany. She loved going every T/TH morning. Sydney loves school. She loves her friends (Luke, Bella, Ryder, and Elizabeth-these are who she talks most about). She loves show-n-tell, doing crafts, and playing musical mats. It's been a great experience for her and for me to see her excitement of learning grow. However she DOES have to repeat preK again. She's getting held back. haha. These are pictures from her graduation. We're so proud! It was funny to see all parents with their video cameras and still cameras shooting away, us included. All the kids looked so cute in their cap and gown. The graduates watching a DVD of the things they did throughout the year.

The picture below is of Sydney holding a picture of what she wants to be when she is older. She said she wants to be a "police officer girl."

A picture of Jordyn watching the graduation.

Alaska beauty (5/15/10)

Yesterday it was sunny and in the 50's so we set out to see some outdoor beauty Alaska has to offer. When it's sunny and in the 50's you better get outside because you never know what the weather could be this summer. Last summer was very warm and little rain. The summer before (I hear) rained everyday. We drove about an hour to get to Hatchers Pass, it's in between Palmer and Wasilla. There was still snow up there and the temperature dropped to the low 40's. We walked around a bit, took pictures, and had snacks.


On our way home we drove to Eklutna Lake which is about 1/2 hour from our house.
It was so nice to get outside and see the trees blooming again. It was a gorgeous day as you can tell.

Syd's 1st dance recital

Currently

Currently my kids are going through some phases. With Sydney she is starting to ask a ton of questions. Whenever Jeff and I are talking to her or each other she is constantly asking, "What does that mean?" She also has taken the role of "Boss" or "Mom" telling Jordyn what she's doing wrong and giving her consequences if she doesn't obey her. She also wants to help Jordyn get dressed. When they are well rested they play well; as the day goes on and crabby-ness sets in they start pushing one another's buttons. Sydney is also starting to tell time. Last week she said, "Mom it's 4 0'clock" and she was right. Now I'm trying to teach her to read a clock on the hour and half hour. Yesterday Sydney showed me she skips. A couple weeks ago I tried to teach her how to skip. It was hard to explain it. She wasn't getting it and then out of nowhere she got it. This Saturday she has a dance recital at Univ. of Anchorage that she is performing in. In a couple weeks she'll start soccer. Sydney is pure joy to have around. She is such a big help to me and I hope we can always be close.

Currently Jordyn is becoming more independent. With that independence her inner diva comes out. She speaks her mind and you always know how she is feeling. WIth her 2 year old attitude she is spending more time in time-out. She is learning to count and thinks she knows the alphabet. She knows her colors and I guess I should start teaching some shapes too. She likes books and watching movies. She likes to pray and her language is developing well. Her language has come a long way in just six months. Some of her famous sayings are, "I miss you daddy or I love you Mom." She is very affectionate with us and I love that about her. If I ever need some attention during the day I can go to Jordyn and she'll cuddle with me and give me kisses.

Currently Levi is growing and growing. This past Monday church friends had a shower for me. Levi got a lot of new clothes. At his rate of growing he'll be wearing most these clothes in a blink of an eye. He's almost 2 months now. He's starting to coo/talk and he smiles alot, although I can't catch it on camera. He still has clentched fists that I adore. He wears size 2 diapers now. We all adore Levi and when he smiles our household stops and gawks at his cuteness.

Jeff is back to work. We're planning a family vacation to Maui in September and look forward to basking in the sun. We are both working out more and have high hopes of running a 1/2 marathon this summer. This summer Jeff's sister is staying with us and working as a Nanny. We are so excited for summer to be here. The snow has melted, the sun is out longer and so we're spending more time outside playing. This summer we want to visit Denali, Fairbanks, Kenai, and Homer. We'll hike, fish, and camp and have some family visit. It should be a fun summer. This is our backyard view at 10pm.