Levi's 1st Christmas

Hello Everyone!

Well - we had our first Christmas with Levi & it was a hit. Levi woke up around 8 Christmas morning... He ate and then we got up. We went down stairs and saw that Levi must have been a good boy this year because Santa had come to visit. We got Levi all set up on a blanket in the floor and his boppy. We proceeded to show him everything... :) he did really well. Santa brought some kind of educational toys... he got a little laptop and piano as well as some balls of all shapes and sizes - a football too!!!. He also got a cool zoo toy that has a joystick that he can use to move a little monkey around. It sings real loud and everything! Levi also got a cool buckaroo outfit from Mrs Fran at Mommy's work & some money from J9 at Mommy's work too. His little buddy Ian & Ian's parents gave him a ring stacker ... you know the one that you pile the rings from biggest to smallest ... It was a hit too. Mr John & Mrs Jess gave him an Exersaucer. He loves it! It has so many things for him to play with. He has some more stuff coming from Pensacola but the mail system was a little bogged down with the holidays, so we'll be doing Christmas again later (tomorrow probably!). :)

He was worn out and we were too, so we took a little nap after all of that. After the nap, we started on dinner ... we had turkey breast, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. It was all delicious!!!.

It was a great day and pretty tiring too. Levi did real well and played with all of his new stuff

Grannie Faye had sent us some Christmas PJs and we all looked very cute. Here is Levi in his outfit enjoying his new toys... (oh yeah... and he got a cute little hat too!)

Levi's first Christmas was wonderful - we enjoyed the time spent together. Wish we could have been home for the Holidays, but maybe next year.

Love to all of y'all!

Joey - Lacey & Levi!!!

4 months old & croupy

Mr Levi turned 4 months old on December 2nd and did it with croup. :-(

He woke up December 1st sounding hoarse. He sounded so pitiful, but seemed okay. I fed him and put him back to bed.... I told his daddy that he didn't sound too good. He went to daycare that day and when I picked him up, Mrs Sheena said his cough sounded like a bark. I heard it on the way home & called the pediatricians office from the car. The nurse lady (Artis) started telling me all sorts of stuff to do then asked how far away I was from the office. Only 15 minutes was my reply. So she said we could come on in. I got Joey and away we went. I know she was only trying to educate me, but it gets kind of scary when they tell you all the things you need to be looking for. The Dr checked him over real good and said that he looked good, but yes - he has croup. Poor little man. He sounded so pitiful!

We went home and babied the baby. We sat with him in the bathroom a couple of times with the hot shower going big time. It was like being in a sauna. He was really sweet and just looked at us like "what's up with all this". Not fussy or anything. He had had a cool air humidifier in his room, but we switched it out for a warm air one to help with the breathing. He did have a little bit of a rough night, but we made it through just fine. We decided to keep him home on Wednesday. I got up, showered, dressed and left for work. I didn't get far. I thought - this is crazy, my son has croup & I have the ability to work from home - why am I going to work? So ... I turned the corner and just drove around the block and pulled back into our driveway. I did work from home. I had a presentation that I had to give the next day and I still needed to get it finished up. Basically, Joey watched our little sick man, I worked and fed him when he needed it. He did pretty good. He has a really a sweet disposition. It worries me sometimes because I am afraid that he won't really communicate when he is feeling badly, but most everyone reasures me that I'll know.

Last night after he laid down, I did too. I heard him on the monitor a couple hours later and just as I was getting up, Joey came in and told me to sleep - he would take care of him. He did too. he did a great job & I got some good rest. Joey is great how he helps out with our little man. I couldn't be happier with the two of them.

He went to daycare today and it was hard on me. I worried that something would happen and they wouldn't notice. But ... he was fine & when we picked him up, he was his same sweet self. Tonight (Thursday) he was doing his little talking thing and he didn't sound as raspy and hoarse, so I think he is on the mend. He is a little conjested, so we are still doing the saline little noses spray.

So for now - he is doing okay. He is 4 months old and still a little croupy, but seems happy.

We are scheduled to go to the Dr for his 4 month checkup and shots on Saturday. I think he will be well enough to go. We are excited to see how much he's grown & if he can start rice cereal or not. He has started really paying attention to us when we eat or drink, so he might be ready for a little something more than Mommas Milk.

Here's a picture of him today... look how dang cute he is.

Love from the Hardwicks!!!