allllaaabbaaammmaa!

our plans to visit florida were postponed, so over pioneer day weekend, we took a quick 24-hour trip to huntsville, alabama! we drove down friday night and the next morning, we went to the u.s. space and rocket center. 

it was SO nice to go to a museum and feel like we were educating ourselves. the space center had an awesome kids' section with tactile exhibits. there were tons of rockets, planes, and lunar landers on the grounds. 

really, you know we took the trip so we could listen to our "tennis shoes among the nephites" series on cd in the car...

my loves

cory: what summer it's been so far! mostly work, grocery shopping, church and random fun things. work, though-that's kind of been your life the last month because the DE's dropped off significantly in june. it's been rough for you, but luckily it's not a reflection of your performance, just the company's marketing. i'm proud of you for not letting it get to you, even though i can tell how stressed you get at the end of the month by how early you'll leave for work. you passed your license apprenticeship test! the one that they said you failed because you got a 74 instead of the passing grade of 75. and then two months later, when you were going over the test with the supervisor, you found two answers the marked wrong that were right...WOW. everyone is so mad about that, especially the tons of people who took the dumb test three times and failed every time.

work aside, you've been itching for a project now that life has settled down (meaning no trips or houseguests for the span of two months). it's just so insanely hot that it limits most activities, especially when you throw in a baby and his needs and schedule :) you bought a bird feeder and ask every day if i saw any birds (always no). and you actually think going to tj maxx with me to look at house stuff and baby clothes and bow ties is a treat! life sure has changed, but we're appreciating this slower pace for now. oh, let's talk about how sick you were last week with the chills and cold and a fever! you haven't been sick like that before, but it was fun to have you home for two days even if you were in much discomfort.

right now you love making levi laugh by squeezing his thighs and saying "chunky legs!" and rubbing your beard on him which he's still wary of. we now pretty much always have dr. pepper vanilla float in our refrigerator, much to my chagrin and your delight. you are much better at feeding levi than i am and you don't like changing his diaper anymore (rude!).

levi: my little songbird has turned into a screamer! you are definitely discovering the different nuances of your voice and it can be painful at times :) i absolutely love to watch you crawl because it's hilarious-you get on all fours and you use your arms to propel you. sometimes you go on all fours and rock back and forth, especially in the crib. you've got two teeth and i can't tell if your top one is coming in yet or if you're just being irritable :) one of your favorite things is to crawl over to sienna to take/touch her toys. she doesn't approve. this week you've started turning around in my arms constantly to look out at everything, which not gonna lie, can be pretty annoying! there's nothing more satisfying than giving your cheeks a big smooch-seriously, i dare anyone to contest this.

levi: half a year old

levi eating his pacifier clip in knoxville where we went for a a few days so cory could cover someone's office! 

it's the fourth of july and it's pouring down rain. it's been gloomy for the last week and the next week's forecast looks like all rain, as well. so right now, levi is crawling around (yes, he crawls!) and cory and i are watching indiana jones. happy independence day!

first time riding in the kroger shopping cart-woot woot! 

we did make it to a patriotic breakfast at church where they read the declaration of independence. we didn't get to eat because someone had a blow-out...and that someone shall remain nameless. also the breakfast was at 8 am?! and we were up late last night hosting a s'mores party! yes, you read that right. S"MORES PARTY. only the best kind of party. mostly, it was us and two other couples with way too much candy and small appetites. was this blog post supposed to be about my son? oh well, he was there.

anyway, we went to our complex's gas fire pit, which was super nice. some of the delectable goodies included rolos stuffed inside marshmallows and roasted. york peppermint patties and marshmallows. reesrs' were a big hit. and my favorite? coconut marshmallow, dark chocolate and fresh raspberries. anyway, it's such a great excuse to have a low-key get-together.

back to the main topic of this post: levi robert hill, 6 months old! his stats are as followed: weight-17 lbs 10 oz (53.94%ile), 26.75 in (57.71%ile), head circumference-17.32 in (72.54%ile).

levi's first visit to cracker barrel. he loved it, of course. 

as you can see by the pictures, we've got ourselves a little chunk! i can't believe that nearly half the babies his age, are bigger than him! i mean, my arm hurts just holding him in the grocery store. in the last two months, levi has gotten two teeth, learned to crawl, changed up his sleep schedule weekly and made us fall even more in love with him.

is there anything cuter than a baby in overalls? absolutely not. 

the first tooth was rough. a lot of tylenol was consumed and tears shed (by levi, totally not me). but the second came in with no crazy personality changes, thank goodness. rolling over has been levi's primary mode of self-transportation but the last few days he's mastered the pull and schooch and we've seen some crawling in there, too. levi is still our little songbird, most notably during the father's day program, "i'm so glad when daddy comes home," and always before bedtime. he's mastered the art of comedic timing, always emphasizing one of mom or dad's jokes with a loud "ahhhhhhhh"-literally like ten seconds long. he's not too interested in real food. heaven forbid we torture him with cheerios, which will float on his tongue until gravity pulls the soggy thing onto his high chair or the floor for sienna. nope, levi still prefers the expensive gerber baby food!

i'm loving this stage of levi's life. he is able to give me open mouthed kisses and wrap his arms around me and lay his head on my shoulder and smile and giggle at us. and i love that he knows i'm his mama and that i take care of him, even though it means i'm the one that has to calm him in the middle of night when he wakes up crying. cory and i always say how much we miss him after we put him to bed! levi doesn't have to go to the doctor for shots until he's 9 months and i'm pretty sure we will be in minnesota for erik's wedding then. but i don't know whether we will be moving or not!