He knows!!!

I caught Levi in his room with the bottom dresser drawer opened and emptied on the floor. He knows how to open drawers and jars. He didn't stop there, he opened the kitchen drawers and emptied what he could, while mommy was trying to pick up the rest. ARG... and thumbs up for you baby, you're so smart. It does mean more work, to tidy things up but it was meant to happen.
Levi has been saying new words, two of my favorites this week is "please" and "mango". He is now enjoying trying to blow bubbles, coloring, playing in puddles and using his utensils and cup. For comfort he has been sucking on his bottom lip and touching his and my belly button.
 Ben, my wonderful husband. He made a toy wooden chest for Levi's toys. Amazing! I showed my dad and ,said he needed one too. Its a light wood with a padded blue leather seat/cover, that matches perfectly with his bed comforter. He is talented. He is soon going to finish his summer courses and finally get somewhat break from it all. Levi's father's day gift to daddy was peeing on the toilet seat, one drop might have gone in the toilet.
As for me ,my tummy is growing. If you didn't know me well enough, you'd think I was fat but really its a baby bump. I have geared up on summer clothes, yoga shorts, and one bigger t-shirts. Pregnancy has been better to me, less barfing but more blotting and other unpleasant things. Our bathroom is cleaned regularly, almost every day, it needs to because I'm spending lots of time there. I'm excited and looking forward to that first ultrasound to see our baby and to know if its a girl or a boy. I like to ask Levi where the baby is, he points to my belly. He will soon be the Big Brother.

Brain Freeze!

Have you heard of the great sale at Costco? Jumbo freezes on sale. Woohoo! It has been a hot summer and I have been craving freezes. Levi loves them and for the first time today, had his first brain freeze. Ouch but hilarious at the same time.
By the way, we're pregnant. We are so happy and in disbelief. My family and others are cheering for a girl. It really doesn't matter girl or boy, either way he or she will be super cute and super loved. We are again expecting a winter baby. How am I feeling? For those who remember my first pregnancy, I was having diarrhea and I was barfing at the same time, appetite got smaller and craved for fruits, tomatoes and Nutella. This time, it's dry heaving, occasional barfing, diarrhea again, blotting, need to go to the bathroom regularly. For foods fruits, tomatoes and Nutella are still a must , and my new craving for Freezes.
I have to say, I have been praying more often to my Heavenly Father to help me cope with it all, so I can take care of Levi. Prayers have been answered and my doctor has recommended drugs, but those will have to pass. I survived with my first pregnancy without using any drugs and now, I will try my best not to use them again. I am grateful for modern medicine but only in desperate needs and as recommended by your doctor. I'm not desperate yet! Ben has been wonderful as always, helping me out with everything and been sympathetic. I love him, he is a wonderful husband and great father.
"Still want 5 kids?", I get this question often and I do ask myself the same, "Can I really do this another 3 times after this little bundle of joy comes??? I don't know, but I did a few hours after my first baby. I said "One down, four more to go." My mother-in-laws answer to my reply was "Bless your heart".
I am scared of a few things for this pregnancy: natural labor instead of C-section, 3 first months of sleepless nights and baby blues, constipation and recovery. I think pregnancy is not the tough part , its the afterward ....DA...DA....DAaaa. Besides my fears , I am so grateful once that baby is out. You feel this flow of love just overcome you and feel so happy and grateful to be its mom. Motherhood is so amazing. I love to be a mom. I have tears just thinking about it, 6 months to go.
Other great news, my best-friend Virginia is back with her family and hope , they are staying for good. My brother will be visiting us in July for two weeks and by August I should know if I'm having a boy a a girl.

Life is great!

Appreciation!

This week has been super busy and overwhelming for my poor husband. Sadly, that is life and time will not stop for anyone so they can get a break. Aside from all obligations and responsibilities, family support must be felt.

Yesterday, I was not feeling too well. I'm not sick, just felt blah, tired , not comfortable in my own body. Ben was tired from his 8 hour shift, standing for that period of time with no air conditioning in the building. Plus he worked 28  hours this week , is taking 2 classes, one of them is a 3 hour lecture twice a week. He has had no days off and is currently working today, Sunday. I wish they would respect him more and honor his desire to keep the Sabbath day Holy. Basically he was tired.
We debated on whom should go and get some groceries or give Levi a bath and do his night routine.  I was certainly not bugging in about going out, so we agreed on just eating what we had.  Levi is not a choice, plus we LOVE him so much,  of course we will care for him. I finally started to get Levi ready when Ben said: I'll go and get some groceries.
Once Ben came back he handed Levi a Hotwheels' car and me, a magazine + chocolate covered almonds. He said these gifts is to show us that he appreciate and loves us. How sweet. I haven't been craving chocolate covered almonds but they are my favorites. Thanks Honey! We appreciate you too.

Second story. Last week I taught about prayer and had 3 activities during our 40 minutes lesson. We had fun. At the end I asked my kids: "Do you like my lessons?" -"Yes Sister Cole!!!" That made my day. I've been teaching in Primary for over 2 years. Let me tell ya, I have learned lots and still am. I thought that I was just filling in a calling that it really wasn't meant for me. I was wrong, I'm glad that I was.
This week, the lesson was about the Holy Ghost. I organized a scavenger hunt for my class, as a gesture of my appreciation for their appreciation for me. I had 5 rules.
1.Not aloud to speak unless asked to speak
2.No running in the church
3.Running is aloud outside of the church building
4.We must all stick together
5.If rules are broken, all must go and sit in Sharing time for the last 2 hours of meetings.
I was very stern and clear about all the rules. Rules were repeated many times before the hunt. Class had 3 chances or else.
The kids seemed to enjoy the lesson, and I didn't need to stop the lesson because of broken rules. This was a success. Hurray!!

Levi was impressive too. He stayed in nursery for a whole 15 minutes by himself, no Gramma. She has been taking him, he is just too busy for Sunday school and Relief Society. He will be there, once he turns 18 moths. Our baby boy is growing up.
This week has been nice and sunny. We've had lots of fun going to the park and picnic with the Coolest Mommy group, Devyn's birthday party, hanging out with Grammy, gardening with Carolyn, going to the park with daddy.

 Life is wonderful. 

Remember to appreciate and love one another.

Domination.

Giggles, I can't help myself. Who would have thought that I would become a board game geek?! I have a philosophy about any competitive games, "Play for Fun. But if you win, celebrate." I feel I can rub it in to my husband's family noses just because they are SUPER COMPETITORS. Bless their hearts. I do agree that it has helped build strong family bonds but at the same time has brought disputes and contention. Remember friends and family, its all for fun and its only a game.
Playing games  is what I look forward during Christmas time at my in-laws. Playing games is what I look forward when Levi goes to bed. Playing games is something I know I will lose at, more than 50% of the time but that's o.k with me.

Tonight, I celebrate. Another sweet victory against the "Trader of all traders"= Ben and Carolyn the Genius builder, at Traders and Barbarians of Catan. 

So what's new? Levi and I have been sick for the thrid time with a cold. It seems to happen every time we're around little ones. Oh well, we are building stronger immune systems. I do have to say that I do have a headache from blowing my nose so many times. Besides that, Levi has been recuperating well and cheery like always. He helped the other day by cleaning the kitchen floor. He was happy to be part of it all.

Despite all of this we have been going to the park almost every day. Here's Levi in his new summer hat. One of these days, it was so hot I could feel the sweat off my chest. I was amazed at the heat because I had the chills from my cold. Levi was protected from the sun, I did use sunscreen. He did not mind and now has a tan.

I am so grateful to be a mom, its the best and you can only understand once you have a baby. I get it now Mami! We are soon going to visit my parents and brother. They have not seen Levi since he started to walk. He can converse and sing, walk backwards, eat on his own, make more animal sounds, follow simple instructions, give kisses and hugs, make puzzles, play with hotwheels on tracks. He is one amazing little guy. 

As for daddy, he is still in denial about cutting his hair. He says he feels like Samson, his hair is his strenght. He is just been silly. We have notice that he does have his mom's hair, blond and curly with ringlets. It is gorgeous hair , its just too much of it. Summer's heat will convince him to get it cut.  He started this week summer school. He is working hard and we are grateful for him. He makes us happy, laugh, provides shelter and food for us and love. I know he has lots of responsibilities, and must feel so much pressure. I am doing my part, to make his load lighter. I know he appreciates me, and he does show me. Families are awesome, and eternal founded upon the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Cookie Monster to the rescue.

Fifteen month anniversary Levi! This month is important for my little boy. It was time again for him to receive his immunization shots. I have been bringing  him to his every appointment. I am grateful for modern medicine but not for his cries and tears after his injections. He was pricked with 2 needles on each arm at the the same time. I had him sitting on my lap and holding his little hands. He was trying to let loose as soon as he felt the needles go in. As you know, flexing your muscles makes the pain worsen. He had crocodile tears running down but I changed him right away and sang the Cookie Monster song. The one that goes " C is for cookie, its good enough for me...cookie, cookie, cookie, starts with C" His frown turned into a smile right away. Of course, I did have cookies to reward him for his bravery. He honestly only cried for a minute. I don't think it was my horrible singing that made him smile but the message of the song. Cookie does start with C and Levi loves cookies.
The nurse said he was a happy boy , brave, and he apparently looks like Keanu Reeves.

Other good news, Ben received his final marks for this semester and has done wonderfully. He has an A average in University. Woohoo! We are so proud of him. That's my man.

Cheese Please!

Rumors.
Rumors have been spreading about Levi. He has been accused of stealing other kids' snacks in nursery. Gramma Cole has been taking him to nursery because he is getting more difficult to have him sitting down for class. Cannot blame him, our services are 3 hours long and he does not understand yet what is going on. His agenda is to explore, talk to everyone, play, eat and sleep. The funny part in this is, that he is the first one to finish his snack and will steal cheese from the other kids. Cheese monster.

Independence.
Feeding Levi is a NO. Only because he wants to eat by himself. We have a shirt bib to help with the mess. Today's menu was Red River Cereal and a cup of milk for breakfast, followed by an egg salad sandwich, yogourt, banana and cheese for lunch and finished with Grammy's spaghetti with meat sauce and strawberries. He did eat all of those meals by himself. He is no more a baby but a little boy. I have to say that I had to bathe him after breakfast. His cereal was all over him and in his nose. He also took a bath after his lunch. I'm glad that he loves getting baths.

Victory.
Board games is part of my husband's family traditions. I was initiated, I was willing. I admit , I have not won many games but have tried to. I need to be reminded at times, that  they all have been playing games since they were little children. Once in a while, luck shines on me. Last night, we played Traders and Barbarians, part of the Settlers of Catan board game. Interesting game, it had a new twist on things. Besides collecting resources from the earth, you can also be fishermen and collect fish. Fishes gives you certain privileges. Its awesome. What is more awesome is that I won against the unbeatable Carolyn and Ben the game expert. Woohoo! I was giggling the majority of time because I could not believe I was actually winning. Of course when it got close to the end, I was picked on. Oh well, victory was mine.

I'm not going home!

A typical day at our home starts as soon as Levi screams "I want out". This is usually at 6am every day. We don't get a break or longer snooze on weekends and holidays. That's alright, I think!? Or is our little boy vengeful ,because we put him to bed early. We have come up with a routine for one another. We have a night routine, and in return he has a morning routine for us. I believe we have a democratic home.

Ben had his last exam today. We celebrated by getting a chair for our bedroom, grocery shopping and burgers on the bbq. One school year has gone by and 2 or more years to go. I'm so proud of him. I know it requires sacrifice and time but it will be worth it at the end. We must persevere as a family. Education is important.

Easter weekend was filled with laughter and wonderful company. We started by going to Cloe and Claire's 1st birthday party. Their mom had sent us an invitation saying "... and you know how Claire and Cloe just love Levi...". I thought that was cute. We did go, we had lots of fun. The girls did stare at Levi during lunch and had pictures taken with them and Levi did try to hit the Thinkerbell pinata. Claudia told us that the girls always giggle when they see my little boy. She swore she hasn't been encouraging this behavior but it makes sense, Levi is handsome.

Later we went to my in-laws for Ham dinner. We were 12. It was so nice to see Sara, Chris, the adorable William, Christy and Dustin, we don't see them often because they live out of town. Holding William, makes me reminisce about our Levi at his age. Time does go by fast. Levi needs a sibling.

The next day we were delighted to have roast beef at Grammy's. She's been telling us lately that she should pay us for gas, because we drive her around all the time. Ben was quick by saying " Just keep feeding us". We love and appreciate her meals but mostly her love and care. We know and have seen how Levi has a special place in her heart, by the way she talks to him and spoils him. Levi has toys at Grammy's. A typical visit at Grammy's  is; Levi finding his toy box, empty out the box, find and press every button in her house ( remote controls, phones, t.v, couch buttons, vcr), open drawers, take out the pots,  pull out books, pans ans bowls from shelves and my ultimate favourite shake Grammy's soda pops. I haven't asked her yet if any of her pops have blown up on her. We love our Grammy.

Today's event was going to the park in the morning while Ben was studying.
We walked to the nearest park. Once we were near, I let Levi walk to the swing. We played peek-a-boo, took lots of picture, and played in the dirt. He was a happy boy.

Once, I told him we were heading back home, he kept going the opposite way. He was heading back to the park. I'm sure he was thinking "I'm not going home,mom". I tried 3 times to guide him back home. He would not give in. He started screaming, which seems to be his favourite sound these days, he did discover he was echoing. This only motivated him to keep been loud. Fine by me, as long as we are outside, I didnt care. Out of this outing, I did get a bump on my head, for hitting a metal bar on the playground set, get wet from the rain and a cute dirty little boy to clean once we got home. How do you remove grass stains again???