Woah buddy! I am late late late! So I am not good at updating the family blog...no one reads it anyway! :) (and I am ok with that since my posts are so sporadic).

Well, Levi will be 11 months old Feb. 9 and I am cannot believe how fast time is flying! He is walking everywhere and has been for 2 months now. He took his first steps at 8 months, got really good the 9th month, and hasn't slowed down yet!

He has 8 teeth and has been chewing on a ton of stuff for 2 weeks now. Those back teeth are coming...we will see when they make their final appearance.

Levi had his first major cold where I took him to the doctor. He had a cough that would make you cry and a nose that could outrun Michael Jordan (the track guy, not the basketball player...although Levi's nose was running so much, it could have outrun both of them). He weighed in at 19 pounds and they sent us home saying that it was a cold and he would just have to wait it out.

Levi eats pretty much anything and everything, and he loves to watch Jake run around the house.

He loves to be outside, and Levi HATES to have his diaper changed.

He is our precious bundle of joy, and a gift of the Lord!

4 Months and Counting

Ok...so I admit...I am not good at this whole blogging business...oh well...who is actually reading it???

Levi went in for his 4 month appointment Wednesday (July 13). He weighed in at 14 pounds 8 ounces and was 24 and a half inches long. I cannot remember his head circumference, but the height and weight were average and his head circumference was above average. Preston said he was just like his momma....got a big head! :)

Levi is doing great he loves rice cereal and will tolerate apples. We are going to try either peaches or bananas tonight. We will see how that goes.

He still sleeps good and is definitely a belly sleeper.

He is now in his own room in his crib. We put him in there Father's Day.

He can roll over and is practicing sitting on his own.

We are so blessed to have such a great, healthy, happy, and cute baby!

Two Months and Counting

Well, here we are...two months and counting...where does the time go? Now as I am typing this I am holding a sleepy baby in one hand and typing with the other. Not too shabby with my right hand! :)

Levi went for his 2 month checkup on Thursday last week and ow weighs 11 pounds and 13 ounces. I cannot remember his length or head circumference off the top of mt head...remember I cannot just jump up and get it either because I am holding the sleeping baby. At this appointment he had to get shots. Oh boy...he wasn't happy!!! I cried as soon as he started crying. He just looked so pitiful laying there! He didn't stop crying until we got in the car and started moving. He was hungry too, which I think contributed to his fussiness. The doctor suggested giving him a bath to help sooth his legs, so after he ate, he got a nice warm bath.

The rest of the afternoon he did great! He didn't fuss (other than for being hungry or sleepy). He is such a great baby!

Here are some of the things he is starting to do now:

• smile more
• make noises
• make spit bubbles (the boy looks like he has Rabies sometimes)
• starting to suck his thumb once his pacifier falls out

He started sleeping through the night Mother's Day and has continued to do so every night since. He usually will eat between 9-11 and sleep until 5 a.m.

Here are some pictures of Levi:

Levi snoozing on mom!

Levi and one of his grandmothers!

4 generations in this picture!

All smiles!!!

We are going to be taking our first over night trip this week. We will only be gone for 2 nights and I am already feeling like we need a bigger vehicle!!!

One Month Check Up and a few 5 Week Photos

Levi had his one month check up yesterday and here is how it went...

• Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces (this is how much Preston weighed when he was born)
• Length: 22 and a half inches long
• Head: (I didn't catch what those measurements were)

Here is how Levi is based on his measurements and the "averages:"

• Weight: average
  
• Length: 75%
• Head: average

So, we have an average long health baby boy.

Everything else at the appointment went well. He will go next month for his two month check-up and will get some shots...I am dreading this appointment!

He is now 5 weeks and 2 days old and is smiling more and more (which melts my heart)! See picture below:


He is also starting to make some noises other than just crying. He is starting to growl which is really funny and I have noticed that he will give us a fake cry every now and then.

Here is another picture of Levi snoozing in his car seat and smiling a little:

A Month Already

Well, so much for updating the blog regularly ... Levi is a month old already. Here are some things we have noticed so far that Levi has done or is currently doing:

1 week - we all survived! :o)

2 weeks - Levi stopped crossing his eyes (thank goodness ... that looked weird)

3 weeks - Levi started following things with his eyes (very cool)

4 weeks - started smiling occasionally (and no...it is not always gas) :o)

We go Thursday for his one month appointment so I will TRY to update the blog with the latest news.

He's Here and a Week Old!!!

Ok - so I haven't been as disciplined as I thought that I would be with this blog. Hopefully that will come with time and lots of pictures! :0)

So...delivery went well and little Levi Curtis Sockwell is here at home and has adjusted to living outside the womb quite nicely. It is me that still needs to adjust to the naps throughout the day and night verses the nice sleep that I used to get. It is ALL worth it though...every poopy diaper and every cry.

He is truly a miracle from God. It is amazing how something can start out (you know where babies come from) one little swimmer out of MILLIONS makes it to the egg and poof...life begins. Not at a heartbeat, but then.

He grows and grows until you can feel movement and then you start growing too! :0)

With us, it was just like that. A wonderful pregnancy (thank you Lord)! I never got sick or felt bad. He grew just like "normal" and I did too.

I actually carried him 41 weeks and 6 days...one day shy of the latest that the doctors will let you carry a baby these days. We wanted to wait and see if nature would work its magic and make my body go into labor naturally....we walked and walked and walked, but nothing ever happened. So on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 we walked into the hospital (I still felt great and was not realizing that day would forever be different. We chose March 9 (41 weeks and 1 day) because that was Preston's mom's birthday...Levi's grandmother. He had already missed my dad's birthday (Feb. 28), so we decided to try another grandparent's birthday.

So - we walk in with our bags and go up to the third floor to labor and delivery (feels really weird to just walk in knowing that I am going to have a baby). They get me in a bed and there I am in the hospital at 8 a.m. waiting to see what will happen.

They start me on Pitocin and break my water at 8:46 a.m. The doctor/midwife announces that we are going to have this baby before 9 p.m. tonight and if we deliver before 4 p.m. one of my nurses (Debbie...she was wonderful) gets Starbucks! Nothing happens for a few hours and then finally the contractions start and they are about 2 minutes apart around 11:20 a.m. I am not in too much pain, just have to breath through the contractions.

Finally at some point in the day (not sure of the time anymore), I get some Nubian to help relax my body between the contractions and encourage little Levi to move on down and encourage my body to open up more. I finally feel the urge to push but it still isn't time yet and I also feel like I am going to pass out, so they give me some oxygen and I continue on.

Again...at some point in time...they tell me I can start pushing. I pushed for over an hour before Levi decided to come on out, but at 5:53 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Levi Curtis Sockwell is born and it is another miracle. For 9+ months, he got everything he needed from the umbilical chord. Now that he is out of the womb, he gets everything he needs from his mouth. Truly a miracle!

Levi weighed in at 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 22 inches long. He fed well and continues to eat well! :o)

The pictures I am going to post are as follows:

Preston and I (with a big belly) was taken the night before - Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our new family of 3 right after he was born

Levi now one week old

I will try to be more disciplined at blogging, but we will see how that goes! I have to adjust to the new schedule just as much as Levi does! :o)

Thanks for reading and praying for our family!

Tomorrow is the day (unless he comes before)

Well...our little booger is waiting until the last possible moment before making his appearance into the world.

If he doesn't come tonight sometime I will be at the hospital tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. to start the induction process.

Please pray for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby, mom and dad.

Will be posting pictures soon!!!!

4 weeks or less

Well, I went in for my check up on Friday and the doctor said that I was "term" so no more Wimpy White Boy Syndrome (during our birthing class, the nurses said that white boys are the last to fully develop their lungs, so they like to keep white boys in the womb as long as possible).

She said that I wasn't dilated at all, but that if my water broke or if I started having steady contractions, then to call the hospital.

This seems so crazy to me!!!

She also told me that he had dropped (which I thought I could tell). I have carried our little man so high that now as he is getting lower and lower I am getting more and more uncomfortable. I have a new respect for women who carried their babies low. I feel like he is laying on my bladder and kicking me in the lungs at the same time. My lower back is starting to hurt...enough whining...

I cannot believe that in four weeks or less we will be holding our little man. It still doesn't seem real!

T minus 20 days...(or something like that)

Well...we are doing to about 20 days (+ or -)...

The due date for our little guys is the 26th or at least that is what I have been saying. The original date was Feb. 28. When I went back for the second appointment they guesstimated Feb. 24, so I averaged the two dates and have been saying Feb. 26. We will see when Baby Boy Sockwell desires to come for sure.

Things are going well. We are pretty much moved in to our house. We need to fix the heat system (which the new system is currently on the back of the trailer and just needs the right hookups).

We have been blessed by one baby shower and will be blessed by another on the 17th.

If you have played any part...we are truly grateful and we thank God for you!

Finally!

Preston finally felt some movement tonight!

I would grab his hand and try to get him to feel what I have been feeling for a week or two now, and he could never feel it or the baby would stop.

Tonight (10/24/2010), Preston felt a kick for the first time....Preston's words were, "I felt that!" :o) It was cool!

He (the baby) is already growing too fast! It feels like yesterday that I found out I was pregnant and that was 22 weeks ago or about 5 months ago. Wow! Time flies!

I like to move it, move it...he like to ______ __ !

MOVE IT! That is right I am starting to feel some movement in my belly! Our little man is moving around like crazy recently. It is really cool to be sitting around and feel him move. It is makes it a lot more real!

Pictures of our Little Man at 20ish weeks

Below you will see some of our pictures of our little man.

The first picture lets you know He's a boy. : )


This photo shows his face. He wouldn't cooperate and kept hiding his face.This last one is one of my favorites! He is a picture of his foot. You can see those cute little toes!

It's... a...

BOY!!!

We had our anatomy ultrasound today and got to see the baby again! We got to see the brain, heart, arms, stomach, legs, feet, and...you guessed it...the boy parts! :o)

The due date will stay the same (February 26th).

Now all we have to do is pick out a name!

Pictures to come later!

Big Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! We have an appointment for THE ultrasound at 3:30 p.m.

I will keep you posted!

Boy or Girl

Today I went to the doctor for my monthly check-up. We set the date for the ultrasound that will let us know if our baby is a boy or girl.

I have no idea what I think it is and I don't really care. I just pray for a healthy baby and a healthy delivery.

So - be sure to check back here October 5 to find out if Baby Sockwell is a boy or girl!!!

Baby Sockwell

So we do not know if Baby Sockwell is a boy or girl yet, but we do have some pictures to share.

Introducing the first 3 pictures of Baby Sockwell!!!

Baby Time

That's right...we are having a baby!!!

I go to the doctor on August 9th for the first ultrasound, so maybe we will find out then what we are having???

Do you want to guess???

Check out the poll on the right side of the page. Feel free to pick and we will see who is right when the time comes. BTW - the poll closes at the same time of the doctor appointment, so no cheating!

Good luck!

Changes are coming...

So - after loging in and realizing that it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything, I thought I would catch you up on some things that have been going on...

1) The house is for sale.
2) One motorcycle is sold (do you want to buy a BMW K1200 RS???)
3) We're going to have a baby!!!

So - like I said...changes are coming.

I am going to try and keep up this blog with the latest and greatest information...we'll see how that goes since I haven't posted anything since October 2008.

November Election

I don't care who you are or what you believe (well, actually I do care what you believe), but anyway the point of this post is to get out and go to the forums and find out about the candidates who are running in November, and VOTE!!!!

If you don't vote, you don't get to complain!!! I am voting....are you?

Check this link out...warning....the minister gets graphic!
http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2036

First Motorcycle Post

Well, we decided to go for a quick ride tonight on the motorcycle. We rushed to get ready because it was about 7:15 or so and we wanted to get out and get back before dark.

We did all the pre-check things (check tires, oil, etc.), and we were off. We had no specific place we wanted to go, we were just going for a ride. We left our house and Preston took a route that he knew had some semi-curvy roads, however, we got stuck behind someone that was doing less than the speed limit, so that was a little bummer.

We turned and cruised on another road for a while and then we pulled off because it was getting late and we needed to turn on the GPS to figure out how to get home from where we were. We pulled off on Tom Burke Lane (I am sorry if you live on that road, but we will not visit you on the motorcycle), and Preston stopped on the side of the road and started to turn on the GPS.

No sooner than he had pushed the power button, this black dog with no tail came running at us barking like crazy and never really got close enough to touch us, but we decided that we needed to get away. So, when the dog got a little behind us, Preston took off, and he says that the front tire lifted off the ground a little, but I never felt anything. It was not an obvious wheelie.

So, the road kept going and I thought it would be cool to keep on going to see where it went. So I told Preston to keep going. He was looking for a place to turn around and check the Garmin...I should have not said anything! We kept on going and then the road ended....so, Preston turned around and no sooner than we got straight this chocolate lab dashed out at us and was barking and even growling. Way scarrier than the first dog. He was not scared of the motorcycle at all and he even came around and bit Preston's pants. The dog was not able to get through to any skin and thank goodness he only got the pants. I thought that Preston had kicked at the dog when I felt the jolt, but it was actually Preston getting bit by this dog. As soon as the dog had bit Preston, three more dogs came out of nowhere and we knew if we did not get out of there fast we would soon be surrounded and it would not be pretty, so we bolted out of there like a "blue" streak of lightening!

We were able to find our way home on better roads, with no other vicious animals. Moral of our story: do not stop on any strange named roads, from now on we stop at parking lots or gas stations or the entrances of really nice looking neighborhoods!