Just the 3 of us!

No more Nana and no more Mimi?!?! I need LOTS of prayers tonight. Well actually I think we should all be praying for Levi. He's spending his first day with the baby sitter tomorrow. This is definitely a true test of my faith, but I know God will protect him. The last two weeks Nana and Mimi picked up all the slack around here. Not only keeping Levi, but doing all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I pretty much crash at 8 when we put Levi down, so it should be an interesting week getting into the groove of things with just us 3!

We had a good weekend despite the fact that I had to work on Saturday and missed my family's game night. I was SO excited about it because my extended family doesn't get together too much these days. My cousin Samantha had this wonderful idea to do a game night every other month at her house. My cousins and I were all very close growing up, I hope this will be a way that all our kids can be close too! Stupid KISD....who makes teachers work on a Saturday? Oh well...mark my words...we WILL be at the April game night come hell or high water!

Sweet baby laughing at his mom. :)

We went to visit our new friend Luke! This was our best attempt to get Levi, Luke and Ella all in one pic. haha. Luke and Ella belong to our friends John and Nikki, Nikki and I used to teach together.

And I made some time for MYSELF Sunday! There are a couple of projects I've been wanting to do for a while, including this spring wreath. The other is my "Countdown to Summer" calendar. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to get the rest of what I needed to make it, but of course realized once I got home that I needed more. Maybe next week it will get finished. :)

There is this girl that went to our high school who is a COOKIE GENIUS! I LOVE reading her blog (www.sweetsugarbelle.blogspot.com) check it out. I'm fascinated by that art! Anyway, I'm a horrible cookie decorator but it sure is fun trying! (At least the first 6 cookies are fun.) I made these for my co-worker who is having Baby Chloe is just a few weeks! They match her nursery. Hopefully since she's 37 weeks pregnant she'll forgive me for the way they look and just enjoy the sweetness. :)

Signing off in the Coleman house. Goodnight!

LOVE

Well I survived my first week back at work! Mimi left yesterday and Nana is on her way today. I'm so thankful that Levi's grandmothers are keeping him these two weeks so I can get adjusted to being back at work without worrying about him! I was reeeeeeally exhausted last week but I'm hoping it will get better. We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather!


Levi's getting better with his head and does pretty good in the bumbo chair now.
We visited our sweet friends from church this weekend. They have a new baby girl they've just adopted. She and Levi are only about 2 months apart and I'm sure they'll be good friends! Here are the proud Papa's.

Susie and Levi enjoying the playmat together.

We cooked ourselves a nice Valentine's dinner and Levi joined us at the table! He's the best little valentine :)

yum!

The 3 of us went for our first afternoon at the park. It was BEAUTIFUL today! It was still a teeny bit chilly and windy but we were so glad to get to leave the house with Levi!

Playing with Mommy

The scratch on his nose is the result of his thumb sucking...I can't keep those nails short enough!

James 1:4...

"But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

I'm clinging to this today. I pray for patience in many ways, but mostly with my students. I seem to have even less of it since returning from maternity leave.

It's been a rough couple of days for me, but I want to start on a good note. Last week was the crazy wintery weather. Houston SHUTS DOWN when it drops below freezing. You'd think it's the end of the world, literally. So Trent was off work on half a day on Thursday and all day Friday. That was great for Levi and me because we miss him when he's at work! But...Dad gets kind of bored at home. The result: cleaning out the attic space. Everything but the kitchen sink! Oh wait...there's even a kitchen sink in there!

By the way...it never snowed.

I started back to work on Monday and I could never have fathomed how hard it would be. I cried just a little on Sunday night, and not at all Monday morning. Mimi is here staying with him this week so I know he's in good hands. Monday night was a different story. I forgot how hectic the life of a teacher is and the realization that I now have NO time for myself and just a couple of hours a day with Levi hit me like a brick wall. My first day back we went on a half day field trip. Now, that might sound fun....but field trips are NUTS. Throw in having to sit in a cold, dark, maintenance closet while pumping and we'll just sum it up with it was a BAD DAY. They cancelled school the Friday before I came back because of the "snow," so they announced teachers would have to work on SATURDAY the 19th. So now they're telling me that out of 12 DAYS I will get to see Levi for ONE??? Have they lost their minds? I think so. My students were a huge challenge to me before I went on maternity leave and not much has changed. They are, by far, the most difficult group I've ever had.

I didn't have too much morning duty with Levi before I went back to work, Trent always got him up and fed. Now I'm dying to get up there and get him out of his crib in the mornings! He smiles so big at me first thing in the morning and is very excited when I hand him over to Daddy for his breakfast! It breaks my heart to have to walk out that door!

On a lighter note....my funny student quotes from the last two days.

Monday - (about my "backpack" my pump is in) "Mrs. Coleman is that like your lunch box?" hahaha. I just said "kind of" even though it's really Levi's lunch box. :)

Tuesday - Me: "Can you not see well with your glasses?"

Student: (shakes head no)

Me: "Make sure you let your mom know that your glasses don't seem to be helping your eyes enough."

Student: "I told her and she said to drink carrot juice, but I don't really like carrot juice."

Brrrr!!!

OMG it's cold!!! I planned on being lazy this week anyway, but the weather is making it very easy! Yesterday Levi turned 3 months old, holy cow where does the time go? Trent and I laid in bed last night talking about how in some ways it has flown by, but in others it feels like an eternity ago when we were in the hospital having Levi. Either way, we are blessed beyond belief! His personality is totally starting to show and I can't wait to see the little boy he is becoming.

I finally got a much needed hair cut yesterday, but there were some pretty funny moments before we left the house.


I'm sure you're thinking "what is that and why did she take a picture of it?"
Well...it's a heaping pile of laundry that Levi created in about 7 seconds.
I was laughing, but there was no one else here to laugh with...so I took pictures. haha.

On a routine diaper change, Levi decided to pee just as I took his diaper off. This used to be an every diaper change event, but it's been a while since he peed on me. By the time I could get my hand in the way of the high powered hose it was everywhere! On the wall, in the laundry hamper (which had JUST been emptied), on his pajamas and the outfit I was about to put on him, on the mirror above the changing table, and of course on the changing pad cover. Then he looked up at me and grinned like it was the funniest thing that had happened all day! I got a new diaper on him and laid him in the floor so I could finish cleaning up the mess and I immediately heard him pooping! I'm just glad he had the diaper on!

"Hey everybody! I'm 3 months old today!"

He's wearing his first 3-6 month outfit!

He's getting better at his naps, thank goodness.

He's starting to grab onto his toys and try to put them in his mouth of course. He still doesn't have good control of his hands, but I can see it won't be long!

Yesterday he put weight on his legs for the first time. We'll see if he can get the hang of that!

It's a shame this picture isn't focused, it would have been really cute! We were playing peekaboo (in order to get some smiles) and I accidentally focused on the blankie.

So this is what happens when I make him put a hat on. Such a shame...hats are the only accessories boys can wear and he HATES THEM! But it was cold out yesterday so I just had ot let him scream.

"No mom, my hair is so beautiful and no one will compliment me on it if you cover it up!"

Boo hoo hoo

Tomorrow starts my last week at home with Levi until school is out for summer! Agh! Not a good night to be watching a HEART BREAKING episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I don't usually watch it...but tonight it's about my sister in law's cousin. She was killed in a texting while driving accident and now her family is traveling to schools talking to students about the importance of NOT TEXTING WHILE DRIVING! I'm amazed by their strength to make something positive out of this awful tragedy, and I know it's only possible through Christ! Man I was a real boohooer pre-baby. But I'm a complete mess nowadays! So after a good cry we got on with bath and bed time.

Daddy and Levi reading Bible stories.

"Ohhhhh......that angel told Mary she was gonna have a baby!" He looks like he's reeeaally studying that!

Holding his head up....well almost. Like I said he HATES tummy time so this is how we practice. He's doing pretty good, but still a little wobbly. He looks like such a little boy! He also looks a little shocked...I think he's thinking "hmmmm this is a different angle than I'm used to."

Levi has been fighting his first little cold. We actually took him to the church nursery for the first time last Sunday and by Thursday he was coughing. Ugh. He only ran a little fever, not enough to take him to the doctor but that little cough is so sad! I'm sure since he will be going to a baby sitter this spring there will be more of this to come. :(

The lazy bug has hit me. I realize I now have 5 WORK DAYS to enjoy with my Levi. I really have enjoyed being home with him, and I've actually enjoyed getting housework done. It's amazing how much easier it is when I'm not exhausted from work. Well maybe I don't "enjoy" housework, but I sure don't mind doing it as much! So this week I plan on taking lots of naps, probably not doing near as much housework as I should, and enjoying every second with Levi!

January, 2 months old!

Levi turned 2 months old on January 1st! I can't believe how fast time flies! When Levi was first born and we were going through the typical "this is a lot of work" phase, Haylea used to tell me "just get to 2 months and it gets so much better!" Boy was she right. Levi started smiling at us every now and then around 6 or 7 weeks...but by this time he was consistently grinning at us. At his 2 month check up he weighed 11 lb. 3 oz and was 24 inches long. I was a little frustrated at this point because he still wasn't sleeping through the night. At about 3 weeks he started sleeping from 11-3 or 4 am. Well then he just kind of stopped progressing. So at this check up I talked to the pediatrician about it and he said it was ok now to start making him try to sleep longer. After about 4 nights of just letting him whimper when he woke up, he's now consistently sleeping from 10:45 - 6:45 when Daddy wakes him up to eat! Yaaay!

The day of his appointment was a rough day (mostly for me.) I locked my keys in my car in the parking garage. Thank goodness I had already gotten Levi and the stroller out, but the diaper bag, keys, and phone were all in there! That led to a big freak out! I knew they would take his diaper off to weigh him and I had no clean diaper. A sweet lady in the waiting room heard me talking to Trent and let me borrow a diaper. Then of course when we got in the room I realized he had pooped out of his diaper (of course!) Daddy had to go alllll the way home (about 40 min from his office) to get my spare and bring it alllll the way back to the dr. (which is pretty close to his office.) By the time he got there Levi was done with the doctor and had just gotten his shots, he was screaming and I was crying. Oh Trent...he's such an amazing guy to deal with me! He walked us to the car, me still crying because Levi was now naked (IN JANUARY) because the extra clothes were in the diaper bag...in the car. Sheesh. I hope the 4th month check up goes better. :)

He still absolutely hates tummy time. I've resorted to just sitting him up to make him practice holding his head up! Here he is showing me he CAN do it, before he gets very angry!

There is a star that hangs on the top of his little gym that flashes and sings...he LOVES it! He will smile, talk to it, and kick his legs every time I put him under there! It's the sweetest thing, I could watch him do it all day.

Other things he's up to...

He's still a really horrible napper.

He gets his feelings really hurt when I put him in his crib for a nap! He also sticks his lip out at me sometimes when I've been holding him and I set him down. It's so sad! But....I don't want him to think he has to be held all the time.

7am is still the happiest time of day for him! Maybe it's because he's well rested and Trent and I are both with him, but he is just a little doll in the mornings!

He loves his bath and sleeps much better after one. I learned the hard way that we don't skip baths!

He's starting to "laugh." At first it was like he was just gasping for air, but yesterday there was actually a little chuckle!

He thinks it's so funny when Dad tickles his cheeks.

Bedtime is another favorite time of day. He eats at 7, then hangs out for a little while before bath time. After his bath, Daddy gets him in his jammies and ready for bed. Then we lay down and read a few books before we put him down. I've always been an advocate of reading to babies, even before I was a teacher. We started reading to Levi when I was pregnant with him. But wow!! I am so amazed at how he LOVES for us to read to him. He watches the pictures so intently and often gets really excited! Our favorites are Dr. Suess and his children's Bible.

He's WONDERFUL about going to sleep at night. He hardly ever makes a peep when we put him down, which is SO different than daytime sleep!

I'm only pretending to be happy here. We were on our way to the dentist. For those who don't know me very well...that's my absolute biggest fear in life. I've actually gotten really comfortable with the hygienist here so it's not so bad anymore, but I still dread it. Then we made a little stop by Daddy's office to show him who the boss really is. Haha!

Another hair picture. :) Levi's hair grows just like Trent's. One night we accidentally combed it the wrong way after this bath, mistake! It did this all day the next day!

The 3 of us, I realized we didn't have many of these pictures!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures. The way Levi is looking at Daddy is just priceless!

Levi and I went to Nana and Grandpa's for a few days to help Nana do some organizing. We had always given Levi a pacifier because we didn't want him to suck his thumb....as you can see that didn't work! This particular morning I took a picture of him not only because he was sucking his thumb...but because that is NOT where I put him to sleep! He can't really move in his crib, but I kept finding him scooted up against the side of the pack'n'play.

Levi with Nana and Grandpa...
Another thumb picture. Oh Levi...if you only knew how much we harrassed your 2 cousins about sucking their thumbs!

Ah just look at that smile!!!

He fell asleep on the couch with Daddy. Such a little angel!

New Years/"Christmas" in Amarillo!

I'll admit I'm really bad about taking pictures...obviously this weekend was an extreme! I'll have to steal some pics from the rest of the family! We loaded up and DROVE to Amarillo with our 2 month old! Ha..what an adventure! Levi is really good in the car. He always sleeps a lot, which always makes me worry he's not going to sleep at night...but (knock on wood) that hasn't happened yet. It was a pretty short trip but of course a great time. We celebrated Christmas with the Coleman side on the 30th and the Gann's on NYE. After we put Levi to bed on the 31st we went over to visit some of Trent's friends. It was very low key...but at least we got out of the house for a few minutes!

Here are the TWO pictures I came home with. That's pathetic! I will be adding to the post after I steal pictures from the fam. :)




Mimi and Levi hanging out...
A very happy baby! Ready to go open presents!!!