2011 Christmas Card preview

We have learned that it is not easy to get a good picture with a one year old, a dog and a cat.  We took several pictures, trying to get everyone looking at the camera and smiling.  We finally got a pretty good shot where Levi wasn't trying to run away, and Tucker and Khloe were both looking at the camera!  Here are a few of the pictures we decided not to use for our Christmas card. 

I have to admit the funniest thing about the photo shoot was watching Norman do and say all these crazy things to get Levi to smile and to keep the attention of the pets while Joyce took the pictures!  

New Addition to the Fernau Family!

Joe and I have been talking about adding to our family so a few weeks ago Joe, Levi and I went to the Iowa City Animal Shelter and picked out the perfect pet for our family!

We are excited to welcome Khloe, our new kitten to our family! She is about 12 weeks old by now and is a very spunky kitty. Tucker and Khloe get along really well and Tucker has even been much more playful. It is good to have a little friend for him while we are away from the house. Levi absolutely loves Khloe. He shows her his toys and chases her around. She seems to enjoy the playing time with Levi as well! When Levi gets up in the morning, the first thing he has to do is find "Tu Tu" (Tucker) and "Ki-Ki" (Khloe). It so cute to watch Levi play with Khloe and Tucker!

Pumpkins, Hair cuts, and Trick-or-treating!

October has been a big month for the Fernau family! We have been trying to enjoy the beautiful fall weather we have been having by spending a lot of time outside with Levi.

One Sunday after church we stopped to get a few pictures of Levi at the pumpkin wagon. He seemed to enjoy all the pumpkins. He especially loved the mini gourds and pumpkins!

I have been putting off getting Levi's hair cut for over a year now. For some reason I just wasn't ready to get it cut. He has always had a lot of hair and I loved how it naturally fell to one side. Finally I decided it was getting too long....it was over his ears, falling in his eyes, and he had a baby mullet. It was definitely time to cut it!

Mom and I took him to Carol's Creations in Kalona and had a little photo shoot before, during, and after his first hair cut. He wasn't too excited about the whole thing but overall did pretty well with it.

Before....

During....

After!

He looks like such a big boy!

Thanks to Carol for the great memories of Levi's first hair cut!

Trick-or-Treat

Levi was a Sock Monkey for Halloween! We had a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa Schrock, our pastor Jay and his wife Sonia, Aunt Rose and Uncle Dallas and several neighbors up and down 3rd street! Levi wasn't too excited about getting into his costume but after we got started trick-or-treating he was loving all the attention!

Visiting our neighbor Julie!

Cutest Sock Monkey we have ever seen!

Here are cousins: Levi, the monkey, Tori, the Chicken and Kenna, the bumblebee!

So much fun!

Happy Birthday Levi!

Levi turned 1 on September 23rd! Joe and I are amazed at how fast the first year has gone. Levi is doing all kinds of new things these days....walking, talking, and showing us his attitude at times! He is definitely a blessing to us and our love for him grows more and more each day!

Joe and I were both able to take the day off and spend it with Levi. The birthday festivities actually started the 22nd with dinner and cupcakes at Grandma and Grandpa Schrock's! Levi love the blue frosting on the cupcakes!

On the 23rd Joe and I took Levi out for breakfast to JW's for a yummy birthday breakfast of pancakes, hash browns, and eggs! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and loving on the birthday boy!

We took Levi to the Kalona Fall Festival for lunch and then again for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Schrock, Uncle Aaron, Aunt April, and cousins Tori and Kenna. Levi loved the tractors and fire engines.

We had a big party for Levi on September 25th with a monkey theme. He really enjoyed the banana cake as well as all the attention from our family!

Thank you to all of our family and friends who have supported us this year with Levi. We appreciate all the love, advice and prayers. Again, Levi is a blessing and a gift from God.

Happy Birthday Little Man! We LOVE you so very much!

Pennsylvania Vacation

The day after Labor Day Joe and Levi picked me up from work and we were off on our first family vacation. We were on our way to visit Ryan, Sarah, and Leah in Lancaster, PA. Levi did really well in the car...we looked at a lot of books, played with some new toys we had for him and took lots of naps. He liked to listen to a lot of Alan Jackson and The Steel Wheels! We had a great time in Lancaster and we did a lot of fun things! We spent some time at Central Market, visited a few shops downtown Lancaster, visited Kitchen Kettle, spent a lot of time getting to know Leah, and had a great dinner with Sarah's parents. After dinner at Sarah's parents house we went to visit a few of their Amish neighbors and Levi got his first glimpses of a horse and some goats! We had a great time and can't wait for another visit!

Leah

Levi checking out Leah

Levi loved Brutus

Daddy and Leah

Central Market

Sarah, Leah, Ryan and Brutus

The Fernau's

Cousins!

Cool Dude!

Spaghetti, spaghetti and more spaghetti!

Levi is getting so big and loves to eat big people food. He likes all kinds of foods. I loves green beans, carrots, potatoes, apples, peaches, grapes, spaghetti, mac and cheese, bread and butter, and many, many other things. He loves to be independent and feed himself (as well as sneaking some food to Tucker) and sometimes we just can't keep up with putting food on his tray. Here are a few pictures of him eatting spaghetti!

Needless to say, he got a bath right after his dinner of Spaghetti!



Here are his 10 and 11 month pictures. It is getting a lot harder to get him to sit still for a picture. He is always on the move but loves to show off for the camera!

Best friends

One of Levi's favorite things to do is chase Tucker around the house. Tucker usually tries to stay out of his way most of the time but occasionally we will find some good photo opportunities with both of them. Tucker is very patient with Levi and is very protective. He is such a good puppy and Levi loves him very much. As soon as Levi wakes up from his nap he wants to find his "Tu Tu"