White Birthday?

So we have had quite a good share of snow here in Corvallis. Granted, it keeps melting instead of piling up, so its no big deal. But people here seem to freak when we have the slightest snow flurries. You would think that with as much snow as we've had the last five years or so, they would clue in and become more prepared (salting the road, plowing, etc.). Anyway, we've enjoyed the little snow we've had, and Levi has grown to love it too. Now when he looks outside and its snowing he gets excited and chants 'Snow!' over and over again. We've taken him out every chance we've gotten, which has been quite a few. Justin had to miss school on Friday because they hadn't salted or plowed the roads, so it was a mess out there. Then on Monday it was a little icy (it all melted by 11 AM) and they canceled school. Today Justin missed his first class again due to poor road conditions (however they didn't cancel school).

This past Friday I had an amazing opportunity to attend the American Mother's Inc. Gala in Portland. A while ago I had nominated my mom's mom for the Mother of the Year award for Oregon. Due to paperwork and time constraints, my grandma opted to accept a Mother of Excellence award instead of the Mother of the Year. But I was simply glad she was honored! She is truly an amazing woman who has done so much with her life! Her life is so dedicated to the Lord and He has truly made more of it than anyone could! If anyone has a chance to meet her, their life will forever be improved! Yes, she's really that amazing! This is her at the banquet.

When it wasn't snowing, it was sunny. I tried to take Levi to the park since when its raining we don't get to go. He loved it. He was always bundled up until he could hardly move, but he still enjoyed himself. Here are some cute shots I got while he was playing.


Some other cute Levi moments this past week were a potty event, and a grab and go! First the potty. So we are trying to get the idea of going to the bathroom in a toilet into Levi's head. We aren't trying to potty train him, but we would like to start getting the idea in his head. So Justin took him for the first time into the bathroom with him to go potty. Justin said at first Levi kept looking at him giggling. Then he tried to grab the stream of 'water'. Needless to say (for those who know him), Justin freaked. He didn't flip out, but it definitely caught him off guard. I'm trying to convince Justin to keep taking him with him, but we'll see. The other event happened at Sunday dinner. Levi was sitting between my mom and me. He first reached over and was pulling on her dress by her legs and waist while chanting 'Pull!' over and over again. Then, out of nowhere he grabbed my mom's chest area and giggled! Both my mom and me were thoroughly embarrassed. That's Levi for you! Anything to get attention.

In other news, I filed my taxes the other day (which is always wonderful to see what my return will be). Justin and I pretty much already have the money spent with our tight budget. Actually we have a lot of it allotted to different things that we are anticipating coming up. We were going to go to Chicago this summer to visit my sister and her new baby, but after some things came up we discovered we will only have around $500 for a vacation this year. So, off to the coast we'll go!

I am getting ready for Levi's party this weekend. I am trying to keep it as low cost as I can, so I am making most of the decorations. He is having a train theme, so it shouldn't be too hard. I am making the cake on Friday, so that should be fun. Other projects I am working on are my mom's birthday present (a week old I know!), an art desk for Levi (we bought the materials this past weekend), a picture collage for my mom, and an oil painting of a cat for my mom. Hopefully I can complete one of them before the week is through!

Have a warm week!