Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas from the McLeods!

Here are some funny pictures of Levi enjoying his breakfast on Christmas eve.

He has this new grin that looks evil...and really cracks up Ashley and I!
We went to Ashley's parents for Christmas Eve lunch...Ashley's mom bought Levi a Santa outfit.
and Mallory got the Ms. Claus. These cousins are just too cute!
I think Mallory is going to be a Rockette!
The best presents were the unicorn for Mallory....
and pony for Levi.
For Christmas Eve dinner, I tried making homemade pizza again. This time, I was finally successful! What a delicious treat....tomato/fresh mozzarella/basil and ham and pineapple. The dough recipe came from Mark Bittman. A lot of food bloggers rave about Bittman... I've become a fan now, too!
Christmas morning we drove to NC for my family's Christmas. Here are Ashley and Levi with the McNeil/Mitchell men.
Heather and me.
After 3 hours at Aunt Donna's, Levi took a little nap on the way home. We drove past Mama and Papa's and arrived at Mariah's Chapel off of 268. I couldn't resist this picture.
Ashley, Papa and Levi on the Gator with a fresh poundcake from Grandma. Levi is becoming quite the ham for the camera.
I think this is my favorite picture of Christmas. It's just perfect.
Mama is probably going to be mad that I put this one on the blog...but I thought it was neat because it was Levi's first time seeing a pressure pot work its magic. It makes a funny noise that caught his attention.
Levi and his great Grandma.
with Amanda.
Levi and his Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Joshua. We all got to visit for a few days, which was nice.
and on the way home, Levi took care of some business on his new laptop from Aunt Claudia. He loves this thing! Look at those hands go!

Getting close to Christmas....

Saturday the Chapmans and Stokes came over for a little Christmas gathering. I made several treats but the favorite was my Aunt Tib's Molasses Ginger Cookies.

I'm often asked for the recipe so here it is:
Aunt Tib's Molasses Ginger Cookies
3/4 cup of Crisco
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
1 egg
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ginger (ground)
1 tsp cinnamon (but I always use more)
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Mix well. Chill. form into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. And enjoy!!

Below is a perfect picture of Levi. The first time he spun around in the crib was when we were in Colorado for Joshua and Kelsey's wedding. We called it breakdancing. Now Levi does it every night! Maybe he'll eventually decide to use these skills to roll over :o).

Ready for the party!
Harry and Katie were sweet and brought Levi a present. He loves the packaging...
and what was inside.
Buffy's daughter Rebekah asked Ashley for a ride on his four-wheeler...not a very big loop but she still enjoyed it!
Here's Levi with all the girls...Hannah, Levi, Buffy, Rebekah, and Katie.
And after the party...Levi in his Risky Business look!

6 months old!

Wow, six months old! It is amazing that Mr. Levi McLeod is half a year old now.
Ashley gave Levi a great present...his new car seat! We actually bought a seat a month ago (an Eddie Bauer) but took it back because it was really uncomfortable. As you can tell from these pictures, Levi is really pleased with the Britax!






He is STILL loving his Baby Einstein floor gym. What a great thing!



And a picture of him at 2 months in the Chicco infant seat. Another great item! Seriously if you are in the market for a fantastic infant travel system, consider the Chicco. It has been worth its weight in gold.


And 1 month...wasn't quite sure about the floor gym then but quickly learned to love it! He was so small here. We thought he was so handsome then but honestly, he's much better looking now :o)


By the way, I just realized this was my 100th post! Wow...it's crazy to think about the past 3 years and how this blog has documented a good portion of our lives.

More Christmas fun...

Levi received his first Christmas card last night from his great Grandma (in North Carolina). He loved looking at it, reading it no doubt!


Today was the children's Christmas program at church.
Carey and Mallory look great!


And Ryan insisted on holding the two youngest cousins for a picture.


Once we got home we took a few pictures. Levi is getting so big. Ashley says to Levi when he's holding him like this, "Look at the little babe-ey" and Levi just grins!

Have a holly jolly Christmas....

I had fun last Sunday taking photos of Levi for a potential Christmas card. I ended up making 5 different cards using Ashley's mom's stamping supplies. Fun, but exhausting.

Here Levi is in his highchair after finishing breakfast. Since his virus, he is LOVING eating! So far he's tried rice and oatmeal cereals plus bananas, applesauce, carrots, green beans and pears. I have tried them along with him and they're not that bad (just bland).




Our tree is extra pretty this year...I used real cotton as accent pieces. I LOVE a field of cotton. I had never seen it in person until I moved to South Carolina. Whenever we see it, I beg Ashley to pull over so I can pluck a few pieces off. One day maybe we'll have cotton bushes of our own!




This photo is not staged. I had propped Levi up to take a picture and then he slid down. So did his Santa hat. Too cute!




We tried some pictures on our fence outside but Levi wasn't much of a fan.

Levi is finally recovering!

The past week has been exhausting because Levi had an awful stomach virus that really threw him for a loop. Today has been the first day since last Wednesday that he's acted more like himself. Thank goodness!

A few thoughts on this experience...
1. My heart goes out to parents whose children are terminally sick. It is hard enough dealing with a baby who can't seem to hold anything down for a week...I can't imagine seeing your child suffer long-term.
2. Before you have children, your marriage really does need to be strong. Ashley and I knew this before we had Levi and have witnessed the necessity of being on the same page time and time again. My sanity couldn't have made it through this week if I didn't have a great husband who has a good bedside manner with our little boy.
3. If you realize your infant has a stomach bug, stock up on Pedialyte! We've been giving Levi a combination of this and formula since last Thursday because he can't hold down full-strength formula.
4. Be prepared to go through a mound of diapers. I estimated with Mama this morning that we've gone through 160 diapers (plus at least 2 packages of wipes) during this ordeal.
5. Paying $20 for the late-night call to the doctor is worth it when you're on the verge of going to the hospital. We ended up staying home and going to the weekend office hours the next day.
6. You can lose part of your mind after taking care of a sick baby for a week. I had my last class last night and during class, realized I did not do a project that was worth 25% of my grade. Luckily, Dr. Welsh was very understanding and I can make it up.
7. Make sure to eat good during times like these. I made us a great mahi mahi dinner on Sunday night (I think) that was so satisfying.

I'm sure there are a lot more things I've learned. The main thing is Levi seems to be on the mend (he's taking a nap right now) so we'll be back to practicing stepping, grabbing the blinds, and playing in the command center full force soon enough!