Thanksgiving

We had a pretty eventful Thanksgiving, thanks to Mr. Levi and a stomach bug. We went to my parents in NC on Wednesday night. On the way up, Levi threw up. Thanksgiving day was a bad combo of the ailments associated with a stomach bug (no need to elaborate!). The poor little guy. At one point we were worried that he was getting dehydrated because he lost so much fluid but through it all, he was in a pretty good mood. He's still not completely better so we left last night and came back to Columbia.

Here we all are on my parents' deck.



I took this picture earlier in the week. Levi is fascinated looking at himself in the mirror. I tried to capture that but it didn't work out.


And in other news, he's been working on sitting up on his own! Here is the attempt.
Up...


Leaning Tower of Pisa....


and he's down :o)


Say a little prayer for him that he recovers quickly from this bug. We've been so blessed to have such a healthy baby. This has definitely reminded me to be thankful for that.

NC BBQ!!

Tonight was my first attempt at making pork BBQ and it was a success! As approved by Ashley, his cousin Jamie and me...

Boston Butt in the Crock Pot (I still giggle when I think of Boston Butt)

Directions:
Buy a Boston Butt Pork--any size that will fit in your Crock Pot (I have a large Crock Pot, which is really nice for this!).

Make this sauce:
2 cups cider vinegar
1 stick butter
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp Tobasco
2 tbsp sugar
Mix/heat over medium low.
Place Boston Butt in the crock pot. Add sauce (reserve some for afterwards). Cook on low for 8 hours.

YUM!!!

When I moved to SC, I was surprised to find mustard-based BBQ, served with rice, hash (if you don't know what it is, you're not missing much in my opinion), and white bread. No hushpuppies or slaw--what a tragedy...slaw is a must and hushpuppies would be nice, but I won't fry things at home.

Anyways, this is a DELICIOUS vinegar-base BBQ. The recipe is adapted from one that was in my Carolina (UNC) Alumni Review in July/August 2007, submitted by Frank Habit, II. Try it! No pictures...BBQ isn't much to look at but it sure is tasty!

5 months old!

Another month has passed! I forgot to share Levi's measurements from his 4 month doctor's visit-- 16 lbs 4 oz and 27 inches tall (he's in the 95th percentile for his height, 75th for weight). He's already grown taller since then, I'm sure.

Today's photo shoot...
"Walking" with Daddy.


In the Baby Command Center (exersaucer)...he loves this now!


In his "car" (walker). He can moonwalk but hasn't figured out walking forward yet!


This is what happens to the cards at the end of the day.


Checking out things outside from up high.


Mama, Papa, and Grandma stopped by yesterday on their way home from Myrtle Beach.


I can't believe that next month Levi will be 6 months old. It's already been an amazing couple of months and we're definitely looking forward to many more to come.

Walking across Lake Murray Dam

Today we walked across Lake Murray Dam in Lexington with Stan, Lyndsey and Hunter. It was pretty windy but we had fun!

I love Hunter's hat!


The guys pushed the strollers while Lyndsey and I walked together.

Levi took a nap during the walk...Hunter wanted him to wake up.

Afterwards we went back to Stan and Lyndsey's to play. Levi had fun checking out Hunter's toys and hanging out with Lyndsey.

New dog!

Yesterday a new dog came to live with us, Max's cousin, Jill (on the left). Jill's owner, Mr. Bunk, had to go live at a nursing home. Ashley's parents (who were neighbors of Mr. Bunk) suggested that Jill might enjoy living with us because Max has been kind of lonely. So far she has really seemed to like it here in West Columbia. She was spoiled by Mr. Bunk--hotdogs and grits for breakfast! More later on her!

Busy/Crazy 1st Week of November

Election week!
On Tuesday Ashley and I went to vote. I went in first and found out the line was really long so Ashley stayed in the truck with Levi. 1.5 hrs later, Ashley brought Levi in so we could vote (thankful the folks in line let him do this).
After voting, Levi and I went to Krispy Kreme to get our free doughnut...another line to stand in but it was really neat. Tuesday was a really inspiring day, regardless of your politics because so many people actually CARED about the election.


Ashley's mom kept Levi yesterday so we could go to a lunch meeting with Ashley's dad about Crossover Communications. He wore himself out! Earlier in the day, Levi and I went to Lapsit at Lexington Public Library--storytime for babies under 1. What a neat time! I'm going to look forward to Wednesdays--and other thing to be thankful for (plus getting to stay home with Levi is such a luxury. Every day I say I'm thankful for that).


Warning...next pictures are kind of gross and graphic...but since this blog is about our lives...we need to share.
Ashley sliced off part of his thumb on Monday morning. These pictures are real. Please be careful with knives y'all!!

Hunter's First Birthday!

Today Levi went to his first birthday party--his friend Hunter Rawl!

It was a pretty evening out on the Rawl's farm.

Happy Halloween!

Levi and Mallory got together for Halloween (and so did the rest of the family). I love this picture because it's one of the first times that Levi really seemed to KNOW Mallory. She's a lady bug and Levi is decked out in pumpkin gear.