Surgery, Camera, and Stuff

So we have been super busy these last couple weeks. Normally I would have a lot of stories about Levi and Hazel, but most of the news involves me and Justin.

So Justin, as some know, had minor surgery week ago on Monday. It was of a personal nature, so I’d rather not share what all it involved. Suffice it to say that they had to remove some scar tissue. When they got in there, there was more than they thought there was, so Justin was left with a walking catheter for ten days. For the first few days Justin had some pain and soreness, as expected with any surgery. Now the only inconvenience is the catheter that he doesn’t have taken out for another four days. He’s doing great now, and I appreciate all the prayers from family!

About a week and a half ago I received my birthday & Christmas (from last year), Valentines, and anniversary gift! Needless to say its been a long time coming! I have wanted it for about five years now or more! Okay, I’ll quit keeping you in suspense… Justin got me a new digital SLR camera. It is a Canon Digital Rebel XS. It has 10 MP. I could write a few paragraphs about all the features, but I’ll save you the boring blog post. Justin and I can notice a major difference in the quality of my pictures, and I can’t wait to use it professionally! On that note, I have started a new blog for those who are interested. It will be scenic photography throughout Oregon. I have done the first 24 days of January, so be sure to check the older post. www.oregon365.blogspot.com

Well now on to the stories you actually want to hear about, Levi and Hazel! Well Hazel started walking this past week or so. Justin can’t get enough of watching her do it either. She looks like a little penguin when she walks, so it is kind of adorable to see her do it. As I’ve mentioned in the past, she has amazing balance, so although she just started walking, she doesn’t fall down a lot, and she can even turn around and such. We are excited she is finally walking, considering she should have done it about three months ago. But we are still excited.

Levi has been under some stress lately, and as such, has been acting out a lot, and ending up in time out a lot. Fortunately we’ve been able to get him a lot of time playing with cousins and friends lately, so I think that may have helped. Every day he asks if it is his birthday, and every day he asks for cake. His choice is still changing for what theme he wants, so I am glad I went with three themes: Spiderman, Scooby-Doo, and Wall-E. He is so excited, and I just can’t wait for it to be over with. We are having his party at McDonalds again this year, on Saturday, February 6th at 3 PM, for those interested in coming!

Yesterday we had my brother’s son over for a visit. We had wanted to go sledding on Mary’s Peak, but as we got closer we realized all the snow that was there earlier in the week was gone. So we changed routes and went to Alsea Falls. The boys loved it and I was able to take some great shots. I posted a couple shots from that trip on my other blog as well.

Well keep checking my other blog and this one for great pictures!

Happy New Year

Well its the new year, and we are looking forward to a year as wonderful as the last. One resolution I made was to root for the Ducks in one game… which I did on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl. So both times I rooted for the Ducks this year, they lost. Now I know, some of you are saying ‘Keep rooting for them!’ and some are wishing I would stop. But I can only please one of you, and so I choose to not root for the Ducks. Sorry Beaver fans, but I just can’t bring myself to that level. In case you are wondering, I made my shirt and it says "I only root for the Ducks when they play Ohio State."

I feel we have a lot to look forward to this year. We have Justin progressing in school, Levi will be starting pre-school (as soon as someone takes him off the waitlist), Hazel will start walking ANY day now, and we have some small trips planned (nothing major, just to the coast or mountains).

 

Well I’ll start off with Hazel. She recently has been teething… okay she’s been teething for about four months straight. Every time I began to wonder if that’s what it really was, I would feel in her mouth and feel one or two more teeth in there. Well as of the last couple weeks she’s been working on four new teeth, two of which are her canines and they hurt the worst. So needless to say she’s been medicated. Which actually has made her quite sweet. I was beginning to wonder where my little sweetheart had gone… but I guess when your mouth constantly hurts you’d be grumpy a lot too. She is also so close to walking on her own. My mom saw her take five steps the other day, but nothing since. I have seen her take one step and then crawl. I know its coming, crud its been coming now for two months or more! She has the stability, so I don’t know why she’s waiting. But I’m in no hurry, so when she’s ready she’ll do it. Here’s a link for a cute video of Levi walking with her:

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/January200902#5425930797523677362

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustDaCrooks/January200902#5425930827339658258

 

   

Now for Levi. He is getting quite the personality, which is mostly just a big goofball with a little bit of his mom’s temper in there. The other day we were driving past Reser Stadium (where the Beavers play football) and I asked him if that was a football stadium. He said, “Yeah, Go Beavers!” So I responded by saying “Go Beavers!” Justin didn’t say anything, and after some nagging from Levi, Justin said “Go Ducks!” To which Levi said, “No daddy, you’re supposed to say go Beavers.” So Justin obliged him and said it. Then, in his cute form Levi said with a big sigh, “Okay fine, you can say go Ducks.” Justin and I both laughed and Justin said go Ducks. Then Levi said, again with a big sigh, “Okay fine,you can say go Cougs.” We were still laughing and Justin said that too. For his final comment Levi said, “Okay fine, you can say go Nana.” Justin didn’t say that one but was very confused because Nana is my mom to Levi. We just laughed anyway!

 

  

We had a fun time this past weekend when we went up to Portland to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). They have many exhibits, and all are kid-friendly. Levi had a blast, and even Hazel enjoyed herself. We then went to lunch with my mom and dad who were up there for my cousin’s wedding. After lunch I was able to see my cousin and his new bride, which I’m glad I did, there reception won’t be until March, so it would have been that long before I saw them.

Well I think that’s all for now! Happy New year!