I think we are entering a really awesome new stage with Levi. Suddenly it seems he's really into recalling memories of events that have happened either earlier during the day or a few days ago. And using his limited little vocabulary, he thoughtfully tells as much as he can. I love it!
We have been enjoying this mostly at dinnertime when daddy is home and we talk about what we did that day. At first, I was doing all the talking.
Me: "So we went to the grocery store..."
Levi pipes up: "Pay!"
Me: "That's right, we did pay at the grocery store! What else did we do there?"
Levi thinks about it and looks around: "'Nack." (Translation: Snack, with no S since he hasn't gotten his S sound yet.)
Me: "That's right, you did eat a snack!"
And yes, I do speak with exclamation points. I think it's my favorite piece of punctuation.
Anyway, we are going through a bathroom remodel project, just in the early phases. Yesterday we had one guy do an estimate. He talked a lot, measured the walls and then took pictures. So today, as we are waiting for another estimate man to come, I begin...
Me: "A man is going to come look at mommy and daddy's bathroom very soon."
Levi: "Wall!"
Me: "That's right, he is probably going to measure the walls. What else is he going to do?"
Levi thinks about it, gets a big grin on his face: "Pictures!"
Me: "That's right! He will take some pictures."
Imagine Levi's delight when the man actually did come, measure the walls and take pictures. He will likely also tell this story to daddy over dinner.
I love that Levi seems to enjoy conversation. One of the very first reasons I fell in love with his daddy was because he liked to talk so much. It's so nice to see this trait develop in our little boy, too.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
David and Goliath
One of Levi's favorite stories from his rhyme bible is the one about David, the scrawny guy who defeats Goliath the giant with God's help and a well-aimed rock to the forehead. In fact, ask Levi what Goliath says when David hits him with a rock. "Ohhhhhgggg," he'll say, with a scrunched up face.
Well, Levi has experienced his own encounter with a rock. This rock, in fact:
This rock is one of his friend's favorite rocks to play with from the rock garden. This friend plays gently, spinning the rock around on the pavement. Levi decides the rock needs to go back into the garden, but instead drops it on his big toe. It took a while for the pain of the boo boo to set in and was exacerbated by Mommy's attempts to put Neosporin and an Elmo band-aid on it. Mommy's interference set him to a-hollering.
Apparently this event has really stuck with Levi. He continues to point to his toe and retell the story as only a 22-month-old can.
Levi, while pointing to toe: "Toe."
Mommy: "What happened to your toe?"
Levi: "Boo boo."
Mommy: "You got a boo boo on your toe?"
Levi: "Rock."
Mommy: "A rock gave you a boo boo on your toe?"
Levi: "Uh huh."
Levi, thinking about it a moment: "Ahh-mohh." (Translation: Then you put that stupid Elmo band-aid on me and made it worse.)
I'm not sure if this ordeal makes him David or Goliath, but I love my son.
Well, Levi has experienced his own encounter with a rock. This rock, in fact:
 |
| (rock near Levi's foot) |
Apparently this event has really stuck with Levi. He continues to point to his toe and retell the story as only a 22-month-old can.
Levi, while pointing to toe: "Toe."
Mommy: "What happened to your toe?"
Levi: "Boo boo."
Mommy: "You got a boo boo on your toe?"
Levi: "Rock."
Mommy: "A rock gave you a boo boo on your toe?"
Levi: "Uh huh."
Levi, thinking about it a moment: "Ahh-mohh." (Translation: Then you put that stupid Elmo band-aid on me and made it worse.)
I'm not sure if this ordeal makes him David or Goliath, but I love my son.
Monday, April 16, 2012
meal planning
There was a time in my life when Andy and I would make dinner plans practically every night on the fly. We'd call each other on the way home from work, figure out what we wanted, then execute on our plan. It probably wasn't the most cost effective way to do things, or the most time efficient, but it worked for a young married couple with no kids.
Fast forward to Levi at 10 months old. We could still mostly get away with this plan because baby food is ridiculously easy to plan for, even when you are making it yourself. Every week or two, I'd make up a big batch of baby food (veggie purees and Levi's favorite, baby bolognese which was basically spaghetti and meat sauce with veggies, also pureed). I'd freeze it into ice cube trays, pop them into a freezer bag and we'd be set for our quick and easy baby food.
Fast forward to today. Now we actually have to plan. Levi eats dinner at 6:00 and I really try to keep him eating a variety of foods. Of course, he'd eat lasagna for a whole week straight (and has been known to do so), but I want to keep his food preferences as varied as possible. Plus, I know that one of the things that stresses my hubby out more than any other household chore is food planning. He doesn't like to make those last minute decisions when there are hungry people to deal with. He likes to know what's coming to him, know that we already have the food in the house. Of course he doesn't complain if there are no plans, but I can almost visibly see him relax when I tell him "we are having chili for dinner" and he walks home to a house smelling like chili ready to eat. As a homemaker, it makes me feel good to provide this sense of stability to him as he provides our family with our financial stability.
All that to say, I have just meal planned ourselves from here until Move Day!! I have a plan for every night between now and the new house. I have to go food shopping again next Monday to get the next round of fresh ingredients, but that'll be easy. Usually I handwrite my meal plan for the week, but this time I typed it. Each day I noted if there was a special evening activity (of which we have many coming up... church events, a wedding for me to run, etc.). Then I wrote the meal. If it was a planned leftover, "Repeat: lasagna". If Levi was going to eat something different than us, I wrote that in parenthesis. I also accounted for take-out plans, like for the day before we move. Boston Market will be preparing our dinner for us.
Phew! That's one more thing taken care of before we move!
Fast forward to Levi at 10 months old. We could still mostly get away with this plan because baby food is ridiculously easy to plan for, even when you are making it yourself. Every week or two, I'd make up a big batch of baby food (veggie purees and Levi's favorite, baby bolognese which was basically spaghetti and meat sauce with veggies, also pureed). I'd freeze it into ice cube trays, pop them into a freezer bag and we'd be set for our quick and easy baby food.
Fast forward to today. Now we actually have to plan. Levi eats dinner at 6:00 and I really try to keep him eating a variety of foods. Of course, he'd eat lasagna for a whole week straight (and has been known to do so), but I want to keep his food preferences as varied as possible. Plus, I know that one of the things that stresses my hubby out more than any other household chore is food planning. He doesn't like to make those last minute decisions when there are hungry people to deal with. He likes to know what's coming to him, know that we already have the food in the house. Of course he doesn't complain if there are no plans, but I can almost visibly see him relax when I tell him "we are having chili for dinner" and he walks home to a house smelling like chili ready to eat. As a homemaker, it makes me feel good to provide this sense of stability to him as he provides our family with our financial stability.
All that to say, I have just meal planned ourselves from here until Move Day!! I have a plan for every night between now and the new house. I have to go food shopping again next Monday to get the next round of fresh ingredients, but that'll be easy. Usually I handwrite my meal plan for the week, but this time I typed it. Each day I noted if there was a special evening activity (of which we have many coming up... church events, a wedding for me to run, etc.). Then I wrote the meal. If it was a planned leftover, "Repeat: lasagna". If Levi was going to eat something different than us, I wrote that in parenthesis. I also accounted for take-out plans, like for the day before we move. Boston Market will be preparing our dinner for us.
Phew! That's one more thing taken care of before we move!
Monday, April 9, 2012
thou shalt not judge
We all do it, no matter how much we hate it. We, as mothers and even before as non-parents, tend to judge the actions of other parents, non-parents, kids, etc. Maybe it's not always a bad thing, more of a comparative thing, but it generally gives us the wrong results. I continue to learn this more and more as I encounter different parenting styles and different kid personalities, and it all makes you realize that every situation is different and we're all going after the same goals --- survival, enrichment, growth and hopefully some fun in there, too.
Today's lesson from the playground. Levi and I are enjoying a lovely playdate with our other friends from MOPS at a playground. It's not too crowded, the sun in shining, everything is great. A yellow school bus pulls up and begins to offload a swarm of bigger, louder kids. Oh great, here some these big kids who are going to overrun the park and trample our little kids. Why do they have to ruin our day?
I was wrong! These kids, while older and faster, were all very well behaved and so considerate of the little kids. Levi actually spent a good half hour befriending a few older boys, maybe first graders, and following them around. They not only tolerated Levi, they embraced him as another kid to play with. The oldest kid patiently let Levi scoop mulch into his hands, let him kick their soccer ball around, even picked him up a few times he fell down and brushed off the mulch. The big kid even took Levi to the small slides and helped him up the stairs and down the slides a few times. It was such a sweet thing to witness, and I regretted my initial negative reaction to this bus of kids. After all, one day Levi will be a big, loud kid riding a school bus and I can only hope that he acts kindly toward those smaller than him.
Today's lesson from the playground. Levi and I are enjoying a lovely playdate with our other friends from MOPS at a playground. It's not too crowded, the sun in shining, everything is great. A yellow school bus pulls up and begins to offload a swarm of bigger, louder kids. Oh great, here some these big kids who are going to overrun the park and trample our little kids. Why do they have to ruin our day?
I was wrong! These kids, while older and faster, were all very well behaved and so considerate of the little kids. Levi actually spent a good half hour befriending a few older boys, maybe first graders, and following them around. They not only tolerated Levi, they embraced him as another kid to play with. The oldest kid patiently let Levi scoop mulch into his hands, let him kick their soccer ball around, even picked him up a few times he fell down and brushed off the mulch. The big kid even took Levi to the small slides and helped him up the stairs and down the slides a few times. It was such a sweet thing to witness, and I regretted my initial negative reaction to this bus of kids. After all, one day Levi will be a big, loud kid riding a school bus and I can only hope that he acts kindly toward those smaller than him.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
in a month
Actually, in less than a month, the Simpsons will have moved into their new home. I'm so very excited that this is happening, but I'm also overwhelmed at all the things that need to get done (or the things I want to get done). Among them:
1) Pack. Obviously. We haven't packed in six years.
2) Choose paint colors. I want Levi's room painted in almost the same blue, but something a little lighter/gray that is more sophisticated for a sophisticated almost-two-year-old boy. Hah. Do you have any idea how many blues there are? And how easy it is to go too gray, too purple or too green? We also want to have the baby girl's paint color picked so they don't clash. And we want to paint the master bedroom. I think we'll stick with the color we have now since it's just so soothing to look at.
3) Think about packing. This goes back to item #1, but I seriously think I'll spend more time THINKING about packing than actually packing. I mentally tally up how much stuff we have in various places around the house and how many boxes will it take.
Well, I guess that's my short list. Short, but big! I'm so glad we are hiring professional movers...
1) Pack. Obviously. We haven't packed in six years.
2) Choose paint colors. I want Levi's room painted in almost the same blue, but something a little lighter/gray that is more sophisticated for a sophisticated almost-two-year-old boy. Hah. Do you have any idea how many blues there are? And how easy it is to go too gray, too purple or too green? We also want to have the baby girl's paint color picked so they don't clash. And we want to paint the master bedroom. I think we'll stick with the color we have now since it's just so soothing to look at.
3) Think about packing. This goes back to item #1, but I seriously think I'll spend more time THINKING about packing than actually packing. I mentally tally up how much stuff we have in various places around the house and how many boxes will it take.
Well, I guess that's my short list. Short, but big! I'm so glad we are hiring professional movers...
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
a pancake morning
My morning went something like this:
Me at 7 a.m., immediately after waking up: "I'm hungry. I want pancakes, scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. And coffee. Half decaf."
Andy, not wanting to crush the dreams of his pregnant wife: "Ok, run through the shower and let's go to IHOP."
Me, considering it: "Uhm.... ok."
This was a random Wednesday, we had a coupon for a free kid's breakfast, and Levi loves breakfast. Why not! Levi carried his white bunny, Boo Boo, to the car and into IHOP where Boo Boo needed to sit in the high chair with Levi. That may have been my favorite part.
My second favorite part is the way Levi practically stumbled out of IHOP in his pancake food coma afterwards. He was so preoccupied with looking at all the old men eating their breakfast that he nearly knocked himself down by running into a booth corner. He quickly fixed the situation by looking at Daddy and saying "Up!" Wouldn't it be nice to be carried around whenever you felt like it?
I view these last few months with just Levi in a similar way to the last few days of pre-Levi. That feeling of freedom that comes with knowing your schedule and being able to predict the behaviors of your entire family is something that may leave us again for a few months after this baby girl arrives. How are we going to coordinate the sleeping/eating/needs of two tiny people with our own, and still have random fun while doing it? I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure that there will be a time when mommy wakes up wanting pancakes and we all hop in the car for Random Pancake Wednesday.
Me at 7 a.m., immediately after waking up: "I'm hungry. I want pancakes, scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. And coffee. Half decaf."
Andy, not wanting to crush the dreams of his pregnant wife: "Ok, run through the shower and let's go to IHOP."
Me, considering it: "Uhm.... ok."
This was a random Wednesday, we had a coupon for a free kid's breakfast, and Levi loves breakfast. Why not! Levi carried his white bunny, Boo Boo, to the car and into IHOP where Boo Boo needed to sit in the high chair with Levi. That may have been my favorite part.
My second favorite part is the way Levi practically stumbled out of IHOP in his pancake food coma afterwards. He was so preoccupied with looking at all the old men eating their breakfast that he nearly knocked himself down by running into a booth corner. He quickly fixed the situation by looking at Daddy and saying "Up!" Wouldn't it be nice to be carried around whenever you felt like it?
I view these last few months with just Levi in a similar way to the last few days of pre-Levi. That feeling of freedom that comes with knowing your schedule and being able to predict the behaviors of your entire family is something that may leave us again for a few months after this baby girl arrives. How are we going to coordinate the sleeping/eating/needs of two tiny people with our own, and still have random fun while doing it? I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure that there will be a time when mommy wakes up wanting pancakes and we all hop in the car for Random Pancake Wednesday.
Friday, February 24, 2012
yeah mon
Apparently in Jamaica, they actually do say "yeah mon!" to each other. Part of me wondered if it was all for the benefit of tourists, but everywhere you went, you'd hear it.
Andy and I just got back from a four-day, three-night trip to the all-inclusive Sandals Royal Caribbean resort in Jamaica. It was the first time we've both left Levi overnight (with my parents), and we all were reunited in one piece. Here's my running list of all the wonderful things we encountered:
1. The flight. A 3.5 hour flight without a toddler! What a luxury. For the first time ever, I was able to watch a movie on my own device (Kindle Fire) during the flight. Before Levi, I didn't have an iPad or Kindle Fire. I was able to stretch out the 2-hour "Water for Elephants" that I rented for $4 throughout the whole flight. I also ordered hot tea as my drink, the most un-toddler-friendly thing I could think of.
2. The weather. About 82 during the day, 72 at night. It was never too hot, never too cold. The breeze was friendly and constant. I just loved being outside so much, even if it did result in a few Jamaican mosquito bites including three on my forehead.
3. The trees and birds. Again, I loved being outside the whole time. The huge almond trees on the beach had the most amazing leaves. There was a bird that I never saw, but I thought at first that it was a person yelling "help! help!" I also spotted the Jamaican hummingbird with its long tail feathers. I love hummingbirds.
4. The room and the butler. We were in a butler-serviced suite! That meant we had two butlers (one we only saw a couple times, the other was our main guy). Joshayne and Orlando. Every time Joshayne would ring our bell, he'd call out "It's Joshayne... the but-lerrrrrr." He would set up our beach chairs and towels, bring me nice virgin drinks, make our dinner reservations, bring us snacks... My favorite was when we returned to our room after a long day at the beach (tough life) and he had drawn a rose-petal scented bubble bath and put flowers and candles all over the room! Loved that. The room itself was beautiful and luxurious. If it had rained "liquid sunshine" and we were stuck inside all day, I wouldn't have minded.
5. Getting to know my baby. The early baby movements are easy to miss when you are running around and going about your daily life, but on the first day of vacation, I felt like I got to spend so much time with my little girl. All those fruity cold drinks and time just relaxing... she would move all over the place. The best was when we went to the drum show and she kicked up a little storm while the drums were playing! I loved knowing she could feel and hear some of this world that she'll soon be a part of.
6. Seeing Andy. Vacation is only vacation if my hubby is with me. Just having him by my side was the best part.
7. The baby name game. We went through every single girl name in the 60,000 baby names book we bought for Levi. That's approximately 30,000 names. Unbelievable. We wrote down every name that we didn't have an immediate "no" for. So far, still no official name but we also won't really decide until the birthday anyways.
8. Tie-dye. The resort had a daily schedule of little activities throughout the day and each evening. Aqua aerobics, anyone? They had a tie-dying session! I stole one of Andy's undershirts (thank goodness I bought him new ones for Christmas) and we bought a little t-shirt for our baby girl. They are pink and yellow tie-dyed to match. It'll be a few years until she's big enough for her shirt, but I still think it's pretty awesome. (Don't worry, Levi isn't left out. He got a hand-painted Jamaican egg shaker.)
9. The music and dancing. Dang, but they can dance!! The drummers and dance group was absolutely crazy to watch.
10. Reminiscing about our honeymoon. This resort was totally different than our honeymoon resort in Mexico. This was much more compact (very good for a short trip and made it so much easier to get around quickly) among other things, but we kept coming up with things that are different now than 7 years ago. No Facebook photo posting yet! No Facebook statuses! No iPad or iPhone! I didn't have a job. We didn't have a house, car payment, dog, kid...
11. Wearing a bikini and totally not caring. No pictures, enough said.
12. The lack of schedule. The latest I slept in was 9:00, but it was still a sleep in! We didn't have to eat lunch at noon and dinner at 6:00. We weren't confined to our rooms after 7:30. It was nice to have a little freedom.
13. Missing Levi. I found myself missing the funniest things about Levi. In particular, his little squishy baby armpits. I realized it had been four days since I had picked up a baby (must start saying toddler) under those sweet little arms. Four days since I pulled his arm up while getting him dressed and tickled his little arm pit. Grown up armpits are gross, but baby armpits are sweet. ;)
This list more than makes up for the fact that I didn't get a drop of Jamaican rum in my frozen fruity drinks. Totally worth it!
Andy and I just got back from a four-day, three-night trip to the all-inclusive Sandals Royal Caribbean resort in Jamaica. It was the first time we've both left Levi overnight (with my parents), and we all were reunited in one piece. Here's my running list of all the wonderful things we encountered:
1. The flight. A 3.5 hour flight without a toddler! What a luxury. For the first time ever, I was able to watch a movie on my own device (Kindle Fire) during the flight. Before Levi, I didn't have an iPad or Kindle Fire. I was able to stretch out the 2-hour "Water for Elephants" that I rented for $4 throughout the whole flight. I also ordered hot tea as my drink, the most un-toddler-friendly thing I could think of.
2. The weather. About 82 during the day, 72 at night. It was never too hot, never too cold. The breeze was friendly and constant. I just loved being outside so much, even if it did result in a few Jamaican mosquito bites including three on my forehead.
3. The trees and birds. Again, I loved being outside the whole time. The huge almond trees on the beach had the most amazing leaves. There was a bird that I never saw, but I thought at first that it was a person yelling "help! help!" I also spotted the Jamaican hummingbird with its long tail feathers. I love hummingbirds.
4. The room and the butler. We were in a butler-serviced suite! That meant we had two butlers (one we only saw a couple times, the other was our main guy). Joshayne and Orlando. Every time Joshayne would ring our bell, he'd call out "It's Joshayne... the but-lerrrrrr." He would set up our beach chairs and towels, bring me nice virgin drinks, make our dinner reservations, bring us snacks... My favorite was when we returned to our room after a long day at the beach (tough life) and he had drawn a rose-petal scented bubble bath and put flowers and candles all over the room! Loved that. The room itself was beautiful and luxurious. If it had rained "liquid sunshine" and we were stuck inside all day, I wouldn't have minded.
5. Getting to know my baby. The early baby movements are easy to miss when you are running around and going about your daily life, but on the first day of vacation, I felt like I got to spend so much time with my little girl. All those fruity cold drinks and time just relaxing... she would move all over the place. The best was when we went to the drum show and she kicked up a little storm while the drums were playing! I loved knowing she could feel and hear some of this world that she'll soon be a part of.
6. Seeing Andy. Vacation is only vacation if my hubby is with me. Just having him by my side was the best part.
7. The baby name game. We went through every single girl name in the 60,000 baby names book we bought for Levi. That's approximately 30,000 names. Unbelievable. We wrote down every name that we didn't have an immediate "no" for. So far, still no official name but we also won't really decide until the birthday anyways.
8. Tie-dye. The resort had a daily schedule of little activities throughout the day and each evening. Aqua aerobics, anyone? They had a tie-dying session! I stole one of Andy's undershirts (thank goodness I bought him new ones for Christmas) and we bought a little t-shirt for our baby girl. They are pink and yellow tie-dyed to match. It'll be a few years until she's big enough for her shirt, but I still think it's pretty awesome. (Don't worry, Levi isn't left out. He got a hand-painted Jamaican egg shaker.)
9. The music and dancing. Dang, but they can dance!! The drummers and dance group was absolutely crazy to watch.
10. Reminiscing about our honeymoon. This resort was totally different than our honeymoon resort in Mexico. This was much more compact (very good for a short trip and made it so much easier to get around quickly) among other things, but we kept coming up with things that are different now than 7 years ago. No Facebook photo posting yet! No Facebook statuses! No iPad or iPhone! I didn't have a job. We didn't have a house, car payment, dog, kid...
11. Wearing a bikini and totally not caring. No pictures, enough said.
12. The lack of schedule. The latest I slept in was 9:00, but it was still a sleep in! We didn't have to eat lunch at noon and dinner at 6:00. We weren't confined to our rooms after 7:30. It was nice to have a little freedom.
13. Missing Levi. I found myself missing the funniest things about Levi. In particular, his little squishy baby armpits. I realized it had been four days since I had picked up a baby (must start saying toddler) under those sweet little arms. Four days since I pulled his arm up while getting him dressed and tickled his little arm pit. Grown up armpits are gross, but baby armpits are sweet. ;)
This list more than makes up for the fact that I didn't get a drop of Jamaican rum in my frozen fruity drinks. Totally worth it!
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