Wordless Wednesday

My happy little guy...

Happy Birthday Levi!

Our little Levi turned 1 on October 4th. We couldn't decide whether to throw a party for him or not, because at the end of the day, he really isn't going to remember. So, we ended up having a little celebration with him at home, just the three of us. I still wanted it to be a "typical" Costa Rican party, minus the people, so I had our nanny make arroz con pollo (rice and chicken), which is a must have at all CR birthday parties. I also made him a simple, but yummy cake. And then of course, presents! (which I only have on video, and they haven't been uploaded yet)

Based on this look, I'd say he enjoyed the arroz con pollo more than mommy's cake...not a surprise. Our nanny, Kati, is a great cook and, in general, Levi prefers her food over mine. That's okay, I like to think I have many other talents, and if my cooking is just mediocre, that's fine with me. You can see that my sister is more of the baker in the family...

We also wanted to DO something with Levi for his birthday and since his absolute favorite thing to do is ANYTHING outside, we took him to the beach to get down and dirty.

As far as first birthday's go, it definitely wasn't anything elaborate, but my mommy instincts tell me it was just what Levi wanted ;)

1st Time on the Golf Course

We finally had the guts to take Levi out on the golf course with us while we played. Now that he can walk, it made things a lot easier. I will let Levi tell you how it went, in his own words...

So I'm in charge of the scorecard....hmmmm....I like this kind of control.

I don't know why Mommy thinks she is big time, by only hitting a 5-wood off the tee and not a driver...geesh, let Daddy have the hole already.

Yup, people are right, golf is a boring sport.

Alright, let me out of this contraption and I will show you how to do it!

Ooops, forgot my putter...so many things to remember in golf.

Daddy, don't worry about the speed or break, worry about me snagging your ball!

Fine, don't share. You don't have a chance of making it anyway.

Forget balls and putters, I'm moving on to the big yellow stick!

Now we're talking. I feel the need, the need for speed!

Maybe we can move into that house...I'd have my own pool and everything!

Yeah, Daddy, hands off! I've got this under control.

Yup, I'm fat and happy...time to go home and take a nice nap.

Golf is over, time to turn the camera off.

Two Month Hiatus...

Yes, we're still here and I'm getting ready to update you on what we've been up to these past two months. We were traveling in the States in July and then I've been back at school this past month, so it's been busy! I hope to be flooding you with many blogs in the next few weeks. As I begin to work on them, I thought it only fair to leave you with a little something to help you remember how sweet and cute our little Levi is...AND this is definitely one of the many things he has been up too.

A Few Firsts

There have been a few firsts this past week:

Levi's first boat ride...

...and JB's first Father's Day!

The first time Levi saw a crocodile (not sure he knew what it was, but still)

Levi's first time eating at the big people's table...even though he was in a highchair. But, we've tried a few times before and he didn't like the highchair at restaurants. This time, he seems pretty happy.

First Major win by Webb Simpson. At the time, we had no idea he was going to win. I was only taking the photo because of the gecko on the screen.

First short haircut for Mommy in over 15 years.

First Lemon Drop for Levi....oh wait, just kidding. It was a shot of pear juice. Apparently it's sour too.

These aren't all normal "firsts", but thought I'd share anyway ;)

Crocodile Dundee

As I mentioned in other posts, Levi loves to be outside. So I decided to get him a little baby pool. I knew he would love it and I knew it would be a great activity to lead right into a nice, long nap. 

I was planning on putting Levi in the pool with just some trunks, but then I realized he hadn't pooped in over 24 hours, so I didn't want to take any chances. Therefore he wore trunks AND a diaper. As I continued to get him ready another fear set in...that he would get a sunburn. Even though he can wear sunscreen, the sun is very intense here, so you just never know if it's going to be enough protection. Therefore, I decided to add a t-shirt. But, then I looked at his big head and realized that's a huge target for the sun and it would need to be protected as well. Luckily, my sister sent him a cute 12 month old outfit, with a hat big enough for his noggin right now. 

Finally, my little crocodile was ready for the open water, in search of some ducks, lizards, crabs, and unfortunately some cabbage...

Testing the water...

Eyeing out his prey...

Going in for the kill...

Some more snacks he captured...

Now for some cabbage...

Helicopter view above Levi's Oasis...

Until the next adventure mates...

La Cuna, El Coche, y La Comida (the 3 C's)

As you can see, I've been working on my Spanish ;) Actually I really have. I am taking an online course through the University of Nevada, Reno. I am 3/4 the way through the course and with a couple more weeks left, I'll be finished. I've become really good at reading Spanish, but both speaking and listening with comprehension (quickly) have still been a bit of a struggle. I will get there, eventually.

I have a feeling Levi will pick up Spanish faster than English though. He already prefers his Spanish kid's CD over the English one and he likes the Spanish cartoons as well. It's probably due to all the time he spends with the nanny. That's okay, I want him to be fluent in both languages, and let's face it, he's going to learn English no matter what.

As you read below, I have filled in a few of the Spanish words that I have learned. Hopefully you can use the context to figure them out, if you don't already know their meaning.

La Cuna

Levi has been crawling since he was 6 months old...way too temprano for Mommy and Daddy's liking. Don't get me wrong, we are very proud of him for being a little advanced, but with having tile pisos in our entire casa, he's had a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. Ahora, he's pulling himself up on los muebles, which is causing even more accidentes. Entonces, tenemos resorted to letting him play in his cuna more. That way, if he falls, he has a soft landing, and it's good practica for pulling himself up and standing. I'm not sure what we are going to do once he start's caminando, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

He's definitely not a thumb sucker, but cute picture anyway.

Spanish cartoons. By the back of that head, you can definitely tell he's a Bauer.

This is the face he gives us when he doesn't like his comida or he's trying to be a tough guy.

El Coche

Levi's absolutely favorito thing to do is go for a walk in el coche. Every time I put him in his stroller, he gets this big smile on his face. It's funny too porque when he's outside, he has a serious face on all the tiempo. No sabia what he likes so much about the outdoors, pero I am not complaining because it keeps him happy. It's a good cosa the weather is always bonito here because the nanny takes him for a walk todos los dias, so he kind of expects it now. Below are a few fotos that I caught of him with his serious face and some smiling. (BTW, Mommy forgot to brush his hair that day.)

La Comida

Oh, la comida. He started eating finger foods about un mes ago, and besides the grains, he wouldn't eat anything else. Levi use to be such a bueno eater. He would try any fruita or vegetale, but now, he is sooooo picky and it's driving me loco. The nanny told me she thinks he has thrush. So I took him to la doctora, and she said he has un poco, but he can take an anitbiotic for tres days to cure it. This was part of the reason he refused to eat. Despues de, he got a lot better, but he still was refusing vegetables. So I told the nanny, and she made him vegetable sopa. She said he ate dos bowls of it. She even made extra for me to give to him luego. I seriously don't know what kind of mother I would of been if I didn't have una ninera to teach me these kind of things. We have had a couple of nannies now and they have all been wonderful. It's truly increible to see how this culture is so blessed with the regalo of nurturing children. It really is segundo nature to them and I'm glad they are willing to share it with me and cuidan of my precious Levi too.

(Oh and I know some of the Spanish words are missing accent marks, but I couldn't figure out how to add them, sorry.)