Quackin' up the Heat

OOOH these lovely days of summer in Iowa have arrived, where I start to wonder if I will ever be able to simultaneously breathe and stand outside again.

As the title of this post may or may not have suggested, the ducks are still plugging away, alive, well, and almost adult-like. It won't be much longer until Matt will be letting them out on the pond. That is my hope, anyway, because I truly cannot go near that cage and simultaneously breathe at the same time. It stinks something fierce.

Matt rigged this cattle tank/chicken wire combo up so the ducks had something for swimming. Never mind that we dug a foot-deep hole next to the house for our temporary duck shelter...  

...because, hey, these are some happy ducks.

This is them now...they are getting big! Last week's update from Matt predicted that they would all be males. Last night's update predicted that they would all be females.  

Speaking of little ones growing up...why not talk about the little guy who is inside the house and smells much better (even when he does stink)?

Ok, so his four month photo looks a little...tired...or something. But that is just how photography and babies mesh. Compared to three months, Levi has thinned out a lot but is still gaining weight! He weighed in at 14 lbs, 10 oz and was 25 inches long at his four month appointment. The only milestone that occurred this month was rolling over from tummy to back, but it still doesn't happen very often. He still sleeps at least nine hours at night, and has started stretching out his awake times during the day to 1.5-2 hours at a time. And he has also learned how to be fussy sometimes.

Levi also has a favorite song called, "Oh, Nancy." It is sung by my family on a phone video, and is all it takes to quiet him down during any sort of fussy period. Such knowledge came in very handy on our way to Morris two weekends ago.

[Video below. If you received this post through e-mail, you may visit the blog website to view.]

"Oh, Nancy" was recorded after Jonathan's graduation open house when my Uncle Jim and Aunt Nancy got their official welcome to the Massner home. 

Which brings me to my next subject: Jonathan graduated from high school in May! 

Great Grandma Knobloch got some bonding time with Levi. 

Congrats, Grad! 

Giving mommy The Look. 

We went on our first lengthy trip since Thanksgiving for my cousin's wedding up in Morris on June 4th. Levi traveled pretty well (many thanks to "Oh, Nancy" in some instances). On the way up, we stopped to meet Alice for lunch in Minneapolis! She is getting adjusted to the new city and is working on her CPA exams right now before she starts her job in the fall. 

L to R: Billy, Us, Alice, and her current roommate 

Levi was pretty proud of the "Macho Man" outfit he got from Alice! 

We journeyed a few hours more and arrived in Hancock, where my Aunts and Uncles got to meet our little guy for the first time.

Uncle Tony decided he was a keeper! 

The wedding was really nice. For some reason, we forgot to get our cameras out that evening. Best wishes to Kevin and Nikki! The next afternoon we were able to listen to Hannah and Jacob's wedding back home in Burlington as we departed Morris. How refreshing to hear two wedding services in one weekend. We always appreciate the reminders of what God desires for our marriage.

Home again, Home again...

Thought you were going to get away without seeing a new project? Nope! Here is the latest:

I got this dresser (without the shoes) at a garage sale back in May. 

With Matt's help...we did a little sanding, filled in the holes, reinforced the drawers, painted the dresser, and replaced the hardware. It now looks much more beautiful, though it is currently lacking any kind of decor on top.

Found its home in the purple room!

Monday night, Levi was delighted to be personally welcomed to Kohl's with his name on display! What an honor! They seemed to have his size wrong though, because he pretty much just slid right through the legs of the jeans in this section.

June is keeping us pretty busy with all of the weekend plans and this summer seems to be flying by already! Matt turned 28 earlier this month and we are now in that odd 7-years-apart stage until I turn 22 in a couple weeks.

By far the most joyful day for our family this month (thus far) happened last week when my brother Justin decided to make a beginning in serving the Lord. We are so thankful as he goes through this change and seeks the blessings God has waiting for him.

Let us all seek God's blessings every day! 

April Showers and May Flowers

Ahhh....we are loving the beautiful days of spring! Things have been busy, but it is so nice to get outside and enjoy God's creation! 

Baby Update: Levi was three months old about three weeks ago. He sleeps eight hours at night and is awake for a total of about five hours during the day. There is nothing super newsworthy to report, but we are starting to see some teeth getting ready to poke through and he is preparing to roll over any day now. 

Three months old! (Three weeks ago)

A few of our attempts at three month photos...

A proud Daddy got a visit from Levi at work! 

Levi met his new cousin in April when Krista Karen joined Phil and Kelli's family! She is such a sweetie! 

Music lessons started for Levi a few weeks ago. Progress is slow, but I think he's catching on. 

Visiting Kyra and Garret in Bloomfield!

We enjoyed a full Mother's Day weekend, spending Friday evening with the extended Schulz family, Saturday evening with my family, and Sunday evening in Fairfield with Matt's family. Another plus to the weekend was town-wide garage sales on Friday and Saturday!

Mother's Day took on a whole new meaning this year. In the past, I've spent the day appreciating the love and care of my own mother and grandmothers, but this year I was overwhelmed by the joy and thankfulness I find in being a mother myself. There are so many women who would do anything to have children of their own, and I feel very unworthy and humbled that God chose to grant me the blessings of motherhood. 

Just Me and My Mom (and baby Justin) - circa 1999

The weather was beautiful for grilling out in the park! 

'Tis the season...for school music programs and concerts as the students anticipate the end of another school year! We attended the 1st & 2nd grade program in April to watch Ethan and Tristan, along with several of my piano students and other friends. Last weekend was the 5-12th grade band concert starring Justin, Travis, and Camille.

And now for the non-social excitement in our lives:

Matt's LATEST project (I feel like I use that phrase often) was to install an aerator on the pond and make a little covered shack for it. The purpose of the aerator was to eventually get rid of the moss/algae that seems to accumulate all summer long (see the sample green stuff around the dock). 

Update on our wildlife refuge:

We had five little goslings on our pond in April! They hatched and waddled around for a day before heading over to the big pond behind Uncle Troy's.

One day, Matt looked out and saw that the mama duck had ten little ducklings with her! He found out that she had left two eggs and three ducklings in the nest, so he collected those to raise in our garage. All of the ducklings that were with the mother disappeared within a couple days, probably due to a raccoon or other animal.

Both eggs eventually hatched, but one of the ducklings died shortly afterward. We were left with four seemingly-healthy ducklings. 

Matt moved them outside into a rabbit box this weekend. They are growing quickly!  

On Saturday, we took full advantage of Levi's 5-hour afternoon nap and did some much-needed maintenance in the 'landscaping' down by the end of the lane. It looks much better than it did and now I am hoping to find some low-maintenance plants to add to the bare plot.

We thinned out the irises a bit (will probably do a more thorough job of it in the fall), dug up the stones and redid the border, added landscape fabric, and then put down mulch! 

In case you wondered why Levi is so good at taking naps...it is probably because Matt reads him the nap book. This sleep-training method will probably work for your three-month-old baby too. 

Since the title of this post mentions showers and flowers, I am including a picture of our own May flowers. This is the month of blooming irises! 

We are thankful for the many "showers" of blessing that God has provided for our "flowers" of faith to grow! 

March On!

Before we could hardly blink, the month of March ended and we were suddenly holding a two-month-old baby! He has changed so much and is now pushing thirteen pounds!

As he mentioned in his post last month, Levi's next tasks in life were to start smiling and sleeping through the night. Both items were checked off the list this month. He has been sleeping around 6-7 hours at night since he was six weeks old. I am so thankful for my consecutive hours of sleep!! He is also now smiling and cooing like he owns the place. And he kind of does. :)

In case he ever wants to be a model, he will have plenty of experience to add to his resume.  

Matt spent several nights out of town for work this month, so Levi and I spent those days and evenings at Grandpa and Grandma Massner's house. One of those nights involved a choir concert for Travis, Justin, and Jonathan. Levi thought the music was so soothing that he slept through the whole thing. His only request for ear plugs was during the applause.

Justin went to the extreme to be able to hold Levi when Justin was sick in March.

Matt must have decided Levi needed a little more training in personal hygiene. I found him teaching Levi how to shave one Sunday morning while I was getting ready for church. Isn't Dad a great babysitter? Levi was a very attentive student.

He's growing up so fast! Already shaving... ;)

The month of March supplied us with unusually beautiful weather! We got to enjoy several days of the fresh air before it cooled down again. Spring seems to be about here and we are so excited to be able to spend some more time outside! 

Matt has taken a liking to my Boba wrap (baby carrier)! :) That is Levi sleeping inside.  

Meet Snowbell, our big fat cat. 

We headed over to Princeville a couple weekends ago for baptisms. We decided to stop and visit Grandma Knobloch in Peoria first so she could meet Levi, and we all had a very nice time!

Great-Grandma Knobloch and Levi

Levi ended up leaving her a smelly present on her lap before we left. I think we went through a few outfits that evening, actually.

We had a very nice weekend in Princeville with our family and friends. It was the first time we had been on a trip or stayed overnight elsewhere since Levi's arrival, and things went very well. 

The next week, I started back up with my piano lesson students. It will be fun to get back into that routine again! There are seven of them, so they give me at least one thing to put on my calendar most weekdays. :)

Levi turned two months old on Good Friday, so we had our photo shoot again. When I set the dog down in front of him this time, he was pretty curious about it. It is so amazing to see how much he has grown and changed in only a month! He has been such a blessing and we are enjoying the wonderful smiles that make us forget our exhaustion from the first month! 

This outfit belonged to his Grandpa Massner (exactly) 49 years ago! The shorts seemed a little chilly to wear to church, so we just took some pictures instead. :)  

Having a chat with his neighbor who is a soon-to-be great-grandparent himself! 

Easter weekend began at my Mom and Dad's with our family. The boys helped design an age-appropriate Easter egg hunt for Levi. Needless to say, he found his share of eggs. 

Sunday evening we enjoyed gathering with over a hundred people from the Lanz family at Matt's family's home for Easter, and Tuesday evening we got together with the Schulz family at Uncle Brian and Aunt Lorna's since Grandpa and Grandma had just come home from Texas.

Great-Grandma Schulz 

The Easter holiday is the most sobering and joyful of all the rest. It was a blessing to spend both Good Friday evening and Sunday in church, reflecting on the price Christ paid to free us from our sins at Calvary many years ago. His shed blood on the cross and His victory over death provides our purpose and hope in life...what a reason to forever rejoice!

Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."