A few of my favorite things...

So as usual, I am way behind on this whole blogging thing. I am going to set a goal to blog every other sunday. Have I already written about this goal that never seems to come to fruition? Probably. Ha. Hopefully this one will actually stick.

A little update on what is going on in our house right now:

Colten has started yet another of the seemingly never ending semesters of school ahead of us. But this one is actually pretty exciting to me because I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is the hardest one yet, because along with his upper level classes he is now studying like a mad man for the Dental Admission Test (a.k.a. the D.A.T.), and trying to make sure he has all the shadowing and service hours he needs for his dental school application. He is scheduled to take it in May, and we are hoping he'll get a score of 20 or higher. I don't quite understand what those numbers mean, but Colten seems to think that 20 is the magic number to get us in to dental school. After that is over with we will apply to the schools we choose in June, and if we get in the first year we will be headed to dental school in the summer of 2014.

It is so nerve wracking and exciting at the same time. I can't wait to find out if and /or where we get accepted so that I know where we will be spending 4 years of our lives. To be honest, I am hoping it is somewhere outside of Utah. I really want to get out and experience a different culture and way of life. I want to see what the Church is like outside of Utah. I want to have some independence. Although I know I will miss our families like crazy. What better time to go explore new places than when our kids are little, right?

In other news, we recently received a text message from Colten's supervisor at DRA that they were getting rid of his shift, and he had the choice of switching to the Saturday and Sunday 7am to 10 pm shift or he would get the boot. Lovely, and very tactfully done over text message, eh? Anywho, there is no way we were willing to have Colt work every single Sunday, so he agreed to take the shift, and started looking for a new job right away. The Lord blessed us, yet again, and Colten got a new job at another youth program. If all goes as planned he will be starting there this weekend. He will still have to work every other Sunday, but at a time he will still be able to attend church. He feels really good about the change, and is excited.

Heavenly Father has really been taking care of us, and making it possible for me to be home with Levi. I have really gained a testimony of the truthfulness of these words in 1 Nephi 3:7...

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

It has been such a testimony builder that if we do what we feel the Lord wants or expects of us with faith, He will make it possible. We have been so blessed.

Anyway, I am so proud of him for how hard he is working for our family. He rarely gets a day off between school, and work. I never even hear him complain. I am so grateful that he cares about and supports me being home with Levi.

Levi is growing like mad. It is the saddest thing ever. He is the busiest baby I have ever seen. Seriously. It drives me bonkers. Good thing he is so cute and I love him so much. I held him before bed tonight dancing around the house, and trying to get him to cuddle with me, which he NEVER does because he has way too much to discover all the time. Little stinker. I started crying thinking about how big he already is, and how he will never be this small again. Seriously, can I please just freeze time, and keep him my baby boy forever? I don't want him to get big, and be out in that scary world being confronted with all kinds of choices, and possibly not needing me anymore. My mother-in-law got Levi an adorable book for Christmas called If "I Could Keep You Little..." that accurately describes my feelings on the matter. It's such a sweet book. Oh man, and now I am tearing up again just thinking about it.

I have been horrible at giving updates on him so here are some of the things he is doing right now at barely over 8 months old:

• Experimenting a lot with his voice. He babbles a lot (when his binky isn't in) and likes to say dada, blah blah, and the occasional mama. He is especially loving the monster scary growling sounds and grunts right now.
• Not sitting still for a second. Changing his diaper and getting him dressed are a complete joke, and he acts like you are torturing him the whole time. He is getting really good at manipulating things with his hands. He loves anything with buttons he can push, especially the remote, and computer. He reaches for and grabs for everything in sight, and of course wants to put it all in his mouth.  He does back bends, and rolls every which way. Which gets really frustrating because he wants to be held at the same time. How does that work?
• He is starting to venture out and explore the world around him more, but he still wants mommy close by. He is starting to do his own version of this scoot/crawl. He gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth to get some momentum, and then belly flops it forward. He repeats this over and over until he gets to his destination. It is very silly and entertaining to watch. He is so smart!This kid is going to be crawling in no time. Then I will really be in trouble. This is a video from a week or so ago. He is scooting is a lot smoother now.

• When he gets excited he breathes really hard and quick, and punches and kicks his hands and feet like crazy. It is so cute. He gets especially excited when he sees his reflection, and when daddy gets home. He loves daddy!
• He has been doing this for a long time, but it is so cute that I have to mention it. He gives mama the cutest open mouth kisses, and does this little head butting thing with daddy that Colten thinks is awesome. 
• He is extremely ticklish. Especially on the back of his neck, and the top of his chubby little thighs. He is laughing and giggling a lot more now.
• He has the 2 bottom middle teeth. He is drooling and chewing so much it won't be long before he gets more.
• He is a little confused about what his name is. He answers more readily to Bubbas than Levi, which I will confess is totally my fault. I have called him that since he was born and I cannot break myself of the habit. 
• He has just in the last week decided that he prefers Mama over anyone else, even Daddy. It is cute in theory, but not so cute in reality when I have been holding him all day and just need a little break. I secretly love it though. :)
• Last, but not least, he is starting to throw tantrums. Holy guacamole! I had no idea they started this early. He is pretty much already pro at them, which makes me terrified of what the future holds. I really need a good developmental book on how what to expect and how to appropriately handle these things at every age. Any recommendations?

Any good update on the little fella needs some pictures, right?

This was our first Sunday morning without Daddy home to help us get ready for 9 o'clock church. Levi was a wild child.

Sneakin' a taste of  mama's eyeliner while she wasn't looking.Um...Yuck!

All the typical breakfast faces we get to see every morning. This boy loves his food.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been a stay at home mom since Levi was born, which has it's ups and downs for sure. I feel horrible saying this, but the transition to motherhood has not been easy for me. I like to think that is pretty normal..I hope. Ha. Don't get me wrong, I love this little human so much, and am so grateful and blessed to be his mommy. Although it is the most rewarding job I have ever had, it is also by far the hardest.

It was really weird at first because I have been working since I was 15, and I hate not contributing monetarily. There was also this false idea I was working under, that because I was going to be home full time, and only have one child to care for I would be able to keep my house spotless, and have dinner ready on the table every night when Colten got home. As always, Levi reminds me that I don't get to call the shots anymore. Our little guy is busy, busy, busy, and likes to be held, or have mama sitting close by most of the time. To be honest, I barely have time to pee most of the time without him protesting. TMI? Probably. Oh well. He is a little spoiled, or as my Colt's mom likes to say, "well loved." :) (I did just make a cleaning/household schedule that will hopefully give me something to get organized. I will let you know how it goes.)


I am sure I have said this before, but I don't think anything can really prepare you to be a mother. No matter how ready you think you are, you aren't. If it wasn't so challenging, and life altering then we wouldn't learn what we need to from it. I strongly believe that parenthood is one of Heavenly Father's greatest tools to shape us into what He wants us to be. What better way to teach selflessness, unconditional love and an attitude of service than to have your life entirely dedicated to raising, teaching, and nurturing precious spirits entrusted to you from Heavenly Father? Colten and I are learning so much, and feeling really blessed to have gotten pregnant so easily, and to have such a healthy, happy little boy. Thankfully, Colten has been really understanding and helpful while I am learning how to juggle everything.

Some things that I have grown to LOVE as a parent:

SLEEP TRAINING. It has been a lifesaver. Seriously, I don't know how parents do without it, but I am a planner. I hated playing the guessing game with him every day, and night wondering when he would actually fall asleep, and how long it would last. We started it when he was 4 months old using a book that came highly recommended from a couple cousins of mine, called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.

Levi has just gone from 3 down to 2 naps during the day, goes to bed at 7 pm, eats once at around 5, (he is so close to sleeping through the night!) and wakes up at 7 am. I love it, and so does he. He is a much happier baby when he is well rested, and on his schedule. Another plus: it makes it sooo much easier to have a babysitter. We can put him down at 7, go out, and not worry about the babysitter dealing with a grumpy baby.

Second, CLOTH DIAPERS. seriously. love. them. I was a little apprehensive at first, mostly because of all the negative feedback I got from everyone else to be honest. But, an extra 40 or 50 bucks a month for disposable diapers is a lot for us right now, so I knew I had to at least give them a try. I saved for them while I was working, and then did a trial from a website called Jillian's Drawers when Levi was about 2 months old. They send you a bunch of different types, and brands of diapers to try for 30 days. When the time is up you can keep what you like, and send back what you don't. Before you start passing judgement, hear me out.

These are not the same old fashioned cloth diapers your mom or grandma used. They are so much easier to clean and take care of. There is this wonderful invention called a diaper sprayer, that makes cleaning any poop a breeze, and even easier are the flushable liners you can buy (we have yet to use any liners though). Not to mention the cloth diapers have gotten way cuter. They have a ton of fun colors and prints. You can get them in velcro, or snap closures, or use another beautiful little invention called a snappi (in place of safety pins) if you want to go with the prefolds. There are also about a trillion different types, and brands of cloth diapers, so there is something out there for everyone. Honestly, I am using cloth to save money not the earth, but it is an added bonus. Plus, I don't have to worry about all those chemicals used in disposable diapers being in contact with my baby's bum. Another HUGE benefit: I believe I have had one blowout in these cloth diapers. I don't know how they do it, but the whole inside of the diaper can be covered in poop, and yet not one drop will be on Levi's clothes. It seems like every time we put him in a disposable, we have a huge mess on our hands.

During my trial, I found I really loved the BumGenius brand diapers, and decided to use them, and another brand (which is made by the same company) called Flip. They are both one size diapers, and use snaps to adjust the size of the diapers as your baby grows. So in theory, you are supposed to be able to use the same diapers from birth to potty training, but realistically the diapers are usually too big or too bulky for a newborn. That's why we waited until Levi was a couple months old.

These are the Flip Diapers. They are what is called a hybrid diaper, so you get a cover, and you can either use it with a biodegradable disposable insert or a cloth one. We chose the cloth because I think the other is a waste of money, but thats just me. You can use up to 3 inserts to one shell, so these are a little cheaper route than the all in one diapers. I usually use 2 covers a day. As long as the cover isn't soiled I just drop the insert into the diaper pail, wipe out the cover with a wet wipe, set it out to air dry and alternate it with the other cover throughout the day. I loved these because you just fold the top down to the desired size, lay it inside the cover, and snap or velcro it right on to your little one.

For Levi's night time diapers we use the BumGenius 4.0 diapers. They look a lot like the Flip diapers, but they are different. These are pocket diapers so the inside of the shell has wicking fabric with a pocket sewn into it that you stuff the inserts into. The inserts for these snap down to the proper size, and they also send you a smaller newborn insert as well. I use both so that it will be extra absorbent to last overnight. This is an all in one, so you throw the whole diaper into the pail after it has been used.

Overall we spent about $400 on all of the diapers, the sprayer, diaper pails, etc. They will pay for themselves in the first year, but the real pay off will come when we use them on our next baby. I think they are a pretty neat investment, and as you can tell, I have become a huge advocate of cloth diapering. Colten even loves them. We were just talking about how we will most likely do this will all our kids, poor or not. We love them that much.

This really has nothing to do with motherhood, but it started as a result of it so I will include it. Even though the house is far from perfect, I am enjoying being more domesticated. I have found that I really like to cook and try new recipes. Colten is enjoying my newfound love of cooking even more than I am, and he now lovingly refers to me as his "chef wife".

I also have learned that I love to sew since Levi. I made his crib bedding while I was pregnant, and I haven't stopped since. I finally got my own sewing machine from my sweet hubby for Christmas, that I love. I am currently working on making some cloth wipes to go along with the cloth diapers. I have to be honest and admit that I am way behind on all my sewing/crafting projects. I am one of those who starts projects, with every intent of seeing them through, and then never finishes them. It doesn't help that Levi keeps me so preoccupied. Someday, right?

This is Levi's nursery (Levi's corner, really) before I finished decorating it. You can see the bedding and canopy I made for him, not without help I might add. Notice how there is no comforter? I still haven't made it yet. Did I mention that I'm a total procrastinator?

Another project I seriously need to work on: my blog!! It is a mess! I have no idea how to do it though.