Simply Levi

At 21 months old, Levi has the ability to stir up so many emotions with in us that some days seem like an absolute roller coaster!  

At any given moment he has the ability to make us happy, sad, elated, angry, overwhelmed, and joyful - he can make us cry tears of frustration, tears of laughter, and tears of love.  We often beam with pride over him, and sometimes we blush of embarrassment.  

Levi is a boy - a spunky, energetic, silly, tough, loving, sweet, adorable 1 3/4 yr old toddler boy - created by our mighty God, and gifted to Moises and me.  And boy do we ever love our boy!

*He loves all things made of dirt and mud.  

*He loves playing ball - to include, but not limited to ALL forms of the term "playing ball."  He has even perfected the drop kick.  And of course, his parents automatically assume this means he is gifted and talented in the athletics department. =)

 

*He loves to jump off steps, couches, stairs, chairs, beds, and any other object he can find at an unsafe height for jumping.

*He loves to run!  Walking is just too slow. 

*He loves bananas (aka NaNaaa, spoken with the tongue sticking out).  Okay, let's just be honest... Levi loves food.  The way to this boy's heart is through his stomach.

Giving her a kiss

*He adores his baby sister (who he now refers to as "Awwweeesooooooooooome!"  No joke, people, I couldn't make that up.  He looks at Lexi, points, and says "awesome" in a super cute, high pitched voice.) 

Helping put Lexi's hat on

*He loves to swing and go down the big slide, and he loves it even more if you're willing to slide down with him.

 He LOVES to be outside.









*He loves to laugh and loves to make others laugh with him. He is also quite the fan of being tickled.

 

*He is in full on "monkey see, monkey do" mode, and prefers to mimic the actions of other children versus adults.

*On that note, he also still loves all of his monkeys.

*His favorite cartoon is Super Why.  Which he enjoys watching while snuggling with any of his little monkey friends, a monkey blanket (or 2), and a sippy of milk.  And although it may make me a bad mom, I'm very happy with the fact that he will actually sit down and be still for an entire 30 minute cartoon.  If you've ever met my Levi, I'm sure you will understand. =)

*His favorite books are "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Do You Ever Wonder Just How Much God Loves You?" 

*He has discovered airplanes.  

When he hears them he points, gasps loudly, and says "Wow!"

 

*He says "love you!" which sounds like Wa-Woo. (And yes, it will melt your heart every time he says it, and yes, it has on rare occasion gotten him out of trouble when said at the exact right moment with the exact right adorable little face.)

And last, but certainly not least, he has FINALLY started calling me Mama!  Yay!! 

3 Months

Well folks, Lexi is now 3 months old and cute as ever!  If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm quite enjoying having a calm, quiet, dainty, small, and slower-paced growing baby girl.  Of course all of those adjectives I use to describe Lexi are appropriate mostly when I compare her to Levi.  I know she's not the smallest baby ever, nor is she the one in a million babies that never cries, but in comparison to Levi as a baby she is all these and more.  Dainty... um...yeah, there's nothing dainty about our little man.  We've thought about sending a picture of Levi to Webster to see if they wanted to put it next to the word "boy" in the dictionary.  Ha!  He sure does fit the bill on that one!  Levi and Lexi are similar in so many ways, and yet different in SO many ways, yet they both manage to be simply perfect in so many ways. 
I could talk all day about those two kiddos of mine, but we'll just keep this post quick and to the point.  It's really all about the pictures anyways, right? =)

Finally big enough for the bumbo.

Having a good hair day

Having a normal hair day.  Not everyone can look cute while rocking a rooster's do!

Sorry, Mom, I'm just not in the mood to smile for the camera right now.

Okay, maybe I'll smile just a little bit.

She's found her voice and loves to "talk" now.

Precious Memories: Remembering Grams

Back in February my Grandma, or “Grams” as I called her, was promoted from life on Earth to an eternal life in heaven with our Lord Jesus.  

Four generations: Of all my grandparents, Grams was the only one to ever meet one of my children.  Although she knew of Lexi, she unfortunately never got to meet her.

She was a highly influential person in my life, and I am blessed to have so many wonderful memories of growing up with her in my life.  At times she was hysterically funny, at times she was sweet and loving, and she was even quite grumpy from time to time, but I learned a lot from her life experiences and from the time I spent with her.  I think of Grams often, I miss her like crazy, and I’m overwhelmed with joy as I think about where she is at this very moment.  

This was the first time Levi met his Great Grandma. March 2011- Grandma, 85years old & Levi, 2 1/2 months old.  Wow, what a chunker he was!

Playing and laughing with Grams (July 2011, 7 months old)

November 2011. Grams and Levi (10 1/2 months old)

 

It was an honor for me to be able to write Grandma's obituary.  I know she loved the Lord, and I know she had accepted the precious gift of salvation, so I have complete peace with her passing. Knowing that made it quite easy to tell the story of her life, or rather tell just a glimpse of the life she lived.  I wanted to include Grandma’s obituary in my blog because I wanted to be able to document and preserve my memories of her.  I’ve also included a link to the slide-show I put together for her memorial service.

Love ya Grams!  See ya soon!    

Grandma's Lovely Life (Slide show)  

    Audrey “Inez” Wood (March 12, 1926 – February 19, 2012) lived a beautiful, fulfilling 85 years as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, sister, daughter, friend, and a precious child of God. She was born in Ada, Oklahoma to her parents Charles and Florence Davis, and she was one of eleven children. She was a walking piece of history, having experienced life through major events such as the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the Kennedy assassination, man setting foot on the moon, and many, many other historical moments that most today can only read about.

     She was an active teenager in high school, playing on the girls’ basketball team while wearing the true, original Converse tennis shoes. She helped her team win the state championship as she earned a letter in basketball for her letterman’s jacket. On October 19, 1946, she married her life-long love, the ruggedly handsome Elvin L. Wood, more commonly known as “Woody” or “Pops.”

Once their love story began, they embarked on the journey of life together. While in Oklahoma, they had a daughter, Gloria, and a son, John. 

For much of her younger lifetime she was primarily employed as a hard-working waitress. At the age of 28, Inez and her family moved to the state of California.

The year 1971 marked a personal and amazing life changing event for Inez. It was then that she realized she had a great need for a savior, and asked the Lord to come into her heart and accepted her free gift of salvation. After she was saved, she was baptized by Crown Missionary Baptist Church of Norco, CA.

    After 24 years in the Golden state, Inez and her husband moved up to their final hometown of Sandpoint, Idaho. There Inez was one of the influential founding members of Hickory Street Missionary Baptist Church, where she remained a faithful member. She spent her time serving as a blessing to many, providing childcare for multiple children, and working several years with the Gleaners when they were first established. She also worked over 12 years at Bonner General Hospital. Her favorite pastimes were sewing, baking, canning, making homemade candy (including her famous Binger-Fingers), and serving at her church. She found power and courage in her daily life from her favorite bible verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13.

     Inez lived a full life, complete with laughter and sorrow, joy and grief, love and loss. She was a symbol of strength, a faithful follower of Christ, and was loved by many, many people. Inez was preceded in death by her parents, her seven siblings, her treasured husband, and many friends, most of whom she has now been reunited with in Heaven. 

Today, she is survived by her two children, Gloria A. Brooks of Sandpoint, and John E. Wood of Sandpoint, seven grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, one great-great grandchild, and a multitude of other precious friends and family members. Inez will be loved and dearly miss by all who knew her.

The First Four Weeks

Lexi Jane Gallegos

Yes, I do realize that I just completed a post with Lexi's two month pictures, and yes, I do realize that next week I will be taking pictures and writing a whole new blog about her being three months old.  So I'm going with the classic saying of "better late than never" when it comes to posting some pictures of Lexi at one month old.  You will just have to forgive my tardiness and lack of chronological order in this blog.  To be honest, when I think back to what life was like 4 weeks after having Lexi, I'm pretty proud of myself that I actually managed to get pictures taken at all!  =)  Recovering from surgery, caring for a newborn baby, helping a confused 18 month old transition into a new stage of life, attempting to maintain a home, feed a family and entertain guests - all at the same time... Yes, I know others have been through worse (and hats off to them, seriously!), but that's my story and my excuse, and I'm stickin' to it.  Ha!

Lexi was 10 days old for her newborn photo shoot.  It makes me smile to think that it only took us 3 hours to get her to fall asleep!  *sigh* Eh, she's worth the effort. Yes, I'm her mommy, but isn't she beautiful!?

The first four weeks with two babies wasn't easy, but I have to admit it wasn't nearly as difficult as I feared it would have been.  My recovery the second time around was much easier, and Moises did an amazing job stepping up to the plate and caring for all 3 of us!  He totally earned his "Dad/Husband of the Year" award! 
Also, after Lexi was born we were SO blessed by our local friends and family!!  We had so many people come to our home and love on us with food and gifts that we almost didn't know what to do with everything.  Even before Lexi was born we were showered with love and gifts from so many wonderful, caring friends.  We are truly, truly grateful to God for placing such wonderful people in our lives.  Thank you to everyone, you all know who you are, and we pray that God will bless you in return for all the ways you have blessed us!!

Now back to the star of this posting... Here's more of miss Lexi Jane - at home - 1 month old.

At 2 weeks of life she weighed in at 8 lbs, 8oz, and 20 1/2 inches long.  (We didn't have a one-month doctor appointment, I guess she was too healthy for one, and we give all the praise to Jesus for keeping our baby healthy!)

When my mom came to visit she brought this dress with her.  This particular dress belonged to me as a baby.

So fun to now see Lexi wearing the same dress!

Okay, so maybe not so much fun for everyone. =) 

I do so hope Lexi enjoys the camera.  Something gives me the inkling she's going to be seeing it a lot in her tiny lifetime.  Just can't seem to get enough of this girl!