Sign language

I've decided to introduce Levi to a few of the more important signs in baby sign language. I tried this some with Judah but got lazy and gave up on it since he was an easy baby and it was never too difficult for me to figure out what he wanted.

Well Levi is a bit more opinionated, shall we say, than Judah ever was or currently is. He can get angry and frustrated very fast and so I thought, what a great time to teach him some sign language.

So I've been taking it slow. I've only introduced him to the signs for leche (milk), comer (eat), mami, and abanico (fan-because he loves the fan)! So what was the first word and CONTINUES to be the only word he will sign? Fan of course, makes total sense, right?! And he does it so enthusiastically and with a smile on his face every time. The most useless out of the 4 words he picks to sign.

Funny enough this was the ONLY word I could ever get Judah to sign! I guess in some ways he is taking after his brother!

Protein filled foods

"What else can I eat"?

Lately I've had to restrain Levi from getting more than his daily allowance of protein. You see today he tried to eat a daddy long legs bug. I had to pull it out of his mouth.

But worse than that was what happened a few days ago. If it hadn't of been for his big brother watching over him like he so often does, Levi would have been in for some treat. I hear Judah shouting, "no, e-i, no-mami, mira e-i"! At that moment I see Levi putting something in his mouth he grabbed off the floor. I run over to him, dig my hand into his mouth (because whatever he picked up is already in his mouth) and to my disgust I pull out a still alive and moving June bug!!! Disgusting! And typical of Levi, he got his feathers all ruffled because I took away his snack!

Oh Levi!

Thank goodness for the watchful eye of big brother!

Update on the boys

"A mother of boys works from son up to son down"!


Someone sent me that quote back when Judah was just a baby...now with two boys constantly on the move, I totally agree!


From the moment they wake up in the morning until bed at night we are going full speed ahead. Judah of course being 2, has tons of energy. He literally pops up out of bed when I get him in the morning and within 3 seconds flat has exclaimed something to me either about his pajamas or about playing with Levi. He has really gotten into pretend play lately which really makes me smile. He also loves for me to play all kinds of thing with him. Throughout the day he is always waving his hand at me in some direction and saying "Ven mami, allí" (come on mommy over there)! If he wants Levi to participate in something he tells Levi to come and with much grunting, tries to pick Levi up to transport him quicker than Levi's crawl will take him. One of their favorite games to play is for Levi to chase Judah through a tunnel we make using the ottoman and couch. Judah is also learning so much every day. His new favorite number is "8" or as he loves to say "ocho". He actually knows which number it is which really makes me excited. Then he also knows his colors "verde" and "azul", green and blue. His Go Fishin' game has been helping him learn his colors. Of course besides the new Spanish vocabulary he learns each day, he never ceases to surprise us with his English words and phrases. Today he got on his push school bus and said "mami push" instead of using the Spanish word for push. His memory is really developing as well. Months ago Stevie busted his head open and it bled when he and Judah were playing. Judah often finds that spot on Stevie's head, says "boo boo" and kisses it. He also is very into his own boo boos. He has two very old scars on each leg and continually tells me about them and then requests "curita" (bandaids) for them.

And then there's Levi. He really surprises me with his level of energy. He crawls super fast to get to whatever it is he wants. He is also pulling up on everything and standing and sometimes trying to cruise. In addition to clapping his hands to "papas" and music when he hears it, he has also begun to wave by and at times say "bu bu bu" for bye bye. He loves the fan and if you ask him where it is, he will look at it and smile. He loves to wrestle with Judah on the ground and will often try to pull Judah's hair. One of the funniest things about our little guy is how vocal he can be. He will scream and shout in little bursts sometimes to get our attention. I always know when Judah has fallen asleep in his car seat and Levi hasn't because Levi will scream at Judah to try to wake him up-cracks me up! Levi also has an insatiable appetite most of the time. Mealtime for him lasts up to thirty minutes long most days. Soon after giving him his food I will notice most of it gone off of his tray. I always think most of it must be in his lap or chair but to my amazement, there is usually a minimal amount in those places meaning the majority of it actually made it into his little Buddha belly! He loves just about anything you give him-fruit, vegetable or meat. And he also gets vocal about food-if you are eating something in front of him and not sharing, he will usually grunt at you until you share (he grunts when he wants to use utensils as well). And if you keep eating and don't share, he will often start trying to arch his back in frustration at you for your lack of what he believes to be common culinary courtesy!



What a sweet, kissable face!



My big boy will always be my baby!

Easter festivities

Easter weekend was very busy with all types of festivities! On Saturday we had a Thomas family reunion (my mom's side of the family) in Farmersville. Judah and Levi got their Easter baskets from Gigi. Judah was super excited because his basket was Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. Gigi also bought him the movie (which we have seen in some form or fashion about 6 times in the last week)! Saturday night Gigi babysat the boys so Stevie and I could go our with my best friend Kerri and her husband and another couple. When I got Judah up out of bed the next morning, he had slept with his Cars Easter basket. Too funny!

Judah hunting eggs with Gigi and his Cars basket

Most of the Thomas Family (a few were MIA)

Sunday morning we had a yummy breakfast at Monica and Kathy's house before heading to 10:30 am mass at our church. We all went home for an afternoon nap (very nice:-). Then we finished off the day by having a scrumptious Easter meal at Stevie's parents' house. The cousins hunted eggs that we mommies and daddies hid. It was so much fun watching the cousins hunt eggs. As you can see from this picture of Judah behind the patio door, he was in such anguish waiting to go find all of the goodies!

Is it time yet?????

Cousins with all their goodies!

The Lenten season and then the Easter season that follows are two of my favorite things about the Catholic Church. You spend 40 days really focusing on and remembering the Lord's passion, suffering, sacrifice and death on the cross. You give up something and/or add some type of spiritually beneficial habit to your life as a way to participate in the sacrifice Christ made for us and to grow closer to him through suffering. Then during Holy Week (the week that starts with Palm Sunday and ends with Good Friday), the sanctuary is stripped off all it's beauty-no flowers are displayed, the candles are snuffed out and any statues or crucifixes are covered in purple cloths. It is a stark reminder of the sorrow and suffering of Jesus. But then, when you walk into the church on Easter morning it is a glorious celebration of his resurrection! There are Easter lilies galore, the candles are lit and the new "pascal candle" (a candle that stays lit from Easter to Good Friday of the next year) is lit and on the altar. All of the purple cloths (reminiscent of sackcloth) are removed and the music is full and rich. And then it gets even better....in the Catholic liturgical season, Easter is not just one Sunday, it is a 50 day season! So we celebrate the Lord's resurrection for 50 whole days! The readings and sermons during mass focus on this one cornerstone of our faith. Oh the beauty of the Catholic Church!

Happy Easter everyone! Alleluia, alleluia, he is risen indeed!

Our family after mass....Levi started his nap a little early!

Making Eggs

We made Easter Eggs tonight for the first time with Judah.

Levi was content to crawl around the kitchen floor and play peek-a-boo with his daddy and the camera!

I had to do a lot of convincing to get Judah to take the eggs out of the glasses of dye and let them dry. He just wanted to stir them around in the glasses. When I showed him how to blow on them to help them dry and then how we were going to put stickers on them is when he stopped holding the eggs hostage and let me take them out to dry!

I think my favorite part was how whenever he would get one of the cross stickers, he would say "Jesus"!

Levi's 9 months old!

Today we had Levi's 9 month appointment (no shots-yea!) and here are his stats:

Weight - 18.05 lbs (10-25%)

Length - 28 1/4 inches (50%)

Head - 18 1/4 inches (75-90%)

His development is age appropriate and he has met all his milestones.

He's a healthy growing baby boy!

I can't believe this was him just 9 months ago.....

And look at him now!

Furniture for sale

We are re-doing our office and so the following two items are for sale. If you're interested, shoot me an email! monicamartineztx@gmail.com

Please excuse the messiness -our office is all out of order right now as we try to sort it out and reorganize it!

Our dining rooms set is for sale too, as we converted the dining room into a playroom and do not forsee needing a dining room set for sometime. I have more pictures I can email out if anyone's interested. It is a nine piece set - 6 chairs (only 4 pictured), oval table with 2 extensions (opens to 90 inches), a 3 drawer buffet and a 3 drawer silverware chest. The painting is for sale as well as it matches the set perfectly.

Please help me get all of these items out of my house!!!

Levi and food PART 2

OK so I know I already posted once about Levi and food but I have to post again. The kid cracks me up! He LOVES to eat...I know most kids love to eat but I don't know....Levi may end up being a connoisseur of all types of food. Maybe he will be my little chef-in-the-making...he will try anything!

Today during his bath time he tried to eat bubbles. Wait, did I say "tried"? He actually ate them. Not just once, but twice. He grabbed at them with his hand, looked at them and had this look on his face like "hmmmm...these might be tasty", and then shoved them into his mouth. Despite the slightly sour face he made as his brain registered the taste, he went back for seconds.

In addition to his ever-growing palette, he now knows what the pantry is. If I have him in my arms when I step into the pantry to get something, he surveys the shelves as if actually trying to decide what he wants to eat at that moment. His little body tenses up as he prepares to grunt in the direction of something that has caught his attention.

You can probably imagine what happens if you try to eat anything in front of him. He does whatever he can to get to it and eat it as well. And let me be straight-he knows what he wants. Here is a prime example. Today I bought Judah a kids meal from Chick-fil-A. Levi got so mad that Judah was eating waffle fries and he didn't have one. I tried to give him a mum-mum and what did he do-the first time he grabbed it and threw it down-yes I said threw it down! Then the second time I tried to give it to him he swatted at my hand.

He's only 9 months old.

Oh my goodness, what are Stevie and I in for?

Words of a bilingual 2 year old

I just have to write about some of the great things Judah says right now. After all, if I don't write them down soon, I'm bound to forget some of them before he even turns 3!
So here we go:

1) Judah often touches my boobs and says "leche de E-i" - Levi's milk. Cracks me up-he's totally right!
2) I LOVE this next one - so sweet. When he sees my rosary or if I'm wearing my miraculous medal (which has the image of the Virgin Mary on it) he holds it and says "jesus mami". Yes baby boy, that is Jesus' mommy!
3) His first 5 word sentence, complete with subject verb agreement was IN ENGLISH! Took me completely by surprise. I tried to take a bottled water away from him and he said to me "no mami this is mine"! WOW-his English lessons with his cousins are going well.
4) He still continues to call Stevie "papi" when talking about him and "ee-ee" when talking to him.
5) When he farts, he stops what he is doing, laughs, raises his eyebrows and says "poo poo"!
6) He LOVES to say his vowels in Spanish.....a, e, i, o, u. Lately I've been telling him the little rhyme that goes with it and he laughs (a, e, i, o, u, el burro sabe más que tú). He also likes the English letters "A" and "R". Not sure why...

Little by little Stevie and I are getting better at deciphering Judah's language. It is a bit of a challenge because when he uses new words we have to decide if he is saying something in English or Spanish. He will often choose the word in English if it sounds easier to say to him. Although his Spanish vocabulary and comprehension is much more extensive than that of his English, he English vocabulary is increasing little by little. Some of those words/phrases include the following : mine, ball, thank you, ok, shoe, star, cookie, tickle, hot dog, car, let's go, and some of his letters and numbers.

Today we went to an Easter festival sponsored by the Firewheel Mother’s Club. My friend Crystal, a member of the club, invited us and I’m so glad she did! We had a blast!

The weather was perfect-lower 80's and the festival was so well though-out and planned. It was perfect for both of the boys-especially Judah. My dad, Brenda and my sisters went as well. There was an Easter egg hunt, bounce houses, games, pony rides, food and the two things Judah loved the most - a train ride and a petting zoo!

I couldn't believe how much he liked the animals and wasn't afraid of any of them-even the huge cow! He fed goats, ducks, pigs, the cow-there were also rabbits, chicks, gerbils, and even a llama. I love this picture I caught of him with my camera phone-it was the first thing he fed-a goat. This goat just started eating out of his paper cup and he was so surprised!

Here we are on the train ride - choo choo! Judah is really into trains right now. We listed to his Choo Choo Soul CD ALL THE TIME and watch the DVD often as well. Any time we pass a railroad track he shouts "choo choo" and even quickly notices the sound of any train in the distance.

Here are my boys with two of their friends - Hunter and Jackson. This was the best shot I got with my camera!

Here are the boys with Brenda and my sisters (their aunts) Estefani and Tifani.

What a fun day!