4 years

 Today at 4:56 am, 4 years ago we welcomed our first son. I welcomed him with medicated and 3 day labor exhaustion “welcome to THIS world” statement which was slightly embarrassing to record as my first words in his precious baby book. But of course, not nearly as embarrassing as my french braided pigtails that I let my mom give me to keep my hair back. They just topped off my 15 years old looking face. 

Josh's first response was “hey little guy” even though after watching his first birth did not think anything about his size was little. But he was little 6.6 pounds... Little and Old Man like. Our lives would never be the same. 

   Sometimes Josh and I lay in bed discussing how different things would have been if we would of waited a little while to start having kids. You know waiting more than 3 months after our wedding to get pregnant. What if we would of had 2-3 years of just us time. What would we have done or not done? 

Road trips wouldn't be interrupted every hour by one of us yelling "hold it" and then receiving a count down response that in 5,4,3,2,1 they are peeing their pants. 

 Vacations would be relaxing not a “when will they nap” “when will they eat” disaster. And we might actually sit by the beach or be in public with out the worry of someone pulling their pants down to pee

The house would stay clean longer than 2 hours 

and laundry would be completed for longer than 2 seconds.

 I would have all my cooking utensils in the kitchen not in the sandbox 

and no worms would be housed in my cups or found in random games in our house. 

Saturday could be sleep in days and would not be interrupted by  children already awake and snapping iPhone pics of us trying to get some rest.

But days when we do lay there imaging all we may have missed out on. We hear our bedroom door open and two sets of feet scurry and four little hands pull themselves up onto our bed. Both boys snuggle into the covers with us. We even sometimes get a “you guys are our best friends ever” from one of them. They giggle and smile. And we know our hearts would never be this full. Parenting is a gift and we just were anxious to open our gifts. Curious to enter into these days. Days of worry and stress that are easily outweighed by laugher and love. And now time flies as we look back 4 years ago, but in a way we are able to freeze lots more moments.. those moments when we both look at each other when they come out dressed in full hockey gear 

and are both making tabs in our memory. We blink slowly as to not miss these fun times. I'll never know what shopping and camping would have been like with out constant chaos but that's how God intended it to be for our family. So I'll snuggle on Saturdays with our little wiggle worms and enjoy the path our lives took and not imagine anything different... until someone head butts my nose and my thoughts steer that way once again. 

So Happy Birthday Cooper. You forever changed our lives for the better. You make us laugh and you make us proud. You have mommy's imagination and sensitivity and daddy's way of making people feel important and special. We love you and are glad you pulled us from a life of living for our own desires. You made us realize a deeper value than our shallow wants and needs, a desire to love and give unselfishly. I'm so thankful your sweet little cry was the one that made me a mom. As you kissed me yesterday and told me "I'm glad I'm your kid" I say "right back at ya buddy!" We love you Cooper.

I realized I don't blog because I don't really know all the tricks to it. Every ones pages look so fun and organized and I just don't have the time to figure it out. So when I want to document something I still pull out my journal and a pen and write... till my hand cramps or I hear something drop in the toilet...(oh it was just all our toothbrushes) and then I stop (sometimes in the middle of a sentence. example: I can't believe what all happened today....). I guess at least I'm getting my memories out on paper but I would really like to keep up with a blog because I can include pictures and stuff. If there was a day in the week that started with a b that would be my blogging day so I could say bonday blog day. But there isn't one so I don't blog. Lame excuse

Josh's truck has been broken sitting in our driveway for about two months now. Mocking me everyday, "I won't start and if I did you can't fit all your kids in here to even go to the store"  I have actually been handling it pretty well- at home- all day- everyday with one demanding toddler and a baby. So last week Josh decided to go out and just try to start it. Yep. It started. His first thought was "Bridget's going to kill me" My first thought was "He's dead". So the next day he took the truck and left me the car. Cooper woke up and looked out the window saw a car in the driveway and said "who's here". No Coop that's actually mommy's car remember. So I immediately made plans with Brooke and Julie to go to Science City. Well that day came to an abrupt end when Lewis threw up all down the front of my shirt and in my hair. Poor guy has been sick for 4 days now. All he want to do is lay on me. Which was great while I had a good book to read but I finished that on day 2. Cooper has been fending for himself while I take care of Lewis. Really he's proven to be a survivor. The first day he had a sucker for breakfast, figured out how to click "play next episode" on Netflicks, and even attempted to wipe his own butt. Day 3 he started a little "home alone" action. I was laying with Lewis in my room when I hear a chair moving across the kitchen, then the silverware drawer open, metal tongs changing, the chair moving again, and the the phrase "here little fishy fishy". I am now tossing Lewis across the bed and in a full sprint as I'm thinking about the last movie he watched was Finding Nemo where that mean girl shakes the fish till it dies. Oh please don't grab my fish with those tongs! Safe! I have saved that fish more times than I can count. Cooper has tried to feed her Cheetos and yogurt. One time josh's coffee thermos fell on the glass bowl and it just shatters. The water just poured out onto a pile of dishes. I went hysterical- I was pregnant. No one was home except Cooper so I started yelling for him to come help mommy find the fish (He was one and wasn't going to be any help). I finally found her flopped on a dish, desperate. Josh openly hates my fish but secretly prays it never dies for his own sanity.
I've had her 3 years now.

Cooper with Gwendolyn
Lewis with Gwendolyn

let's review

hummm... where to begin..
I had a baby
We named him Lewis
He's now on the verge of crawling
wow.. How did that happen!
days last so long but weeks fly bye

Lewis Brian Levin. Named after the author C.S Lewis. We decided to give our boys names after men who walked after God. Growing up I looked at Christianity as feminine. Most Christians I was around were girls and any men were pretty much faking it to please their wives. Josh also had no male role models when he was young. So we wanted our boys to each have some one that in an example of walking the faith, though it is hard continuing in the ways of God. Not that they will look to them as the highest example or just model their lives after them but we pray that they will be encouraged by these men.


Cooper is named after my uncle Dale Cooper who has been a rock in our family. He took josh into his family and ministried to him. He has a heart that loves God and he continually leads his family. Cooper's middle name is Blake because that is his daddy's middle name
Josh read C.S Lewis' autobiography and was really blessed by it. C.S Lewis has impacted many men that are very instumental in the faith. I read the Chronicles of Narnia to my brother while I lived at home. It was a special time for all of us and really encouraged my faith and gave me a deeper love for the gospel. Lewis' middle name is Brian because that is Josh's dad's middle name and also my dad's favorite name (it would of been my name if I was a boy)



So that's the story of the names...

and here is my beautiful baby--- 4months old

Anytime would be fine...uh...Great

Status-

Saturday 3-12 : Due Date... I feel like you look forward to this day more than your birthday. Happy Due Date to me!

Sunday 3-13 : Day after Due Date. I feel like you look forward to this day as much as a bullet in the leg.

This baby is still kickin it in the belly. Josh and I are convinced Cooper left a note in there of how to make the most of your entrance. Maybe gave him some options of how to hold out the longest. Cooper was five days early but it took 72 hours of contractions to get him out. He used the stiff arm tactic and I'm pretty sure this new little guy is trying to hold on with his foot around my rib. I have been having contractions every night for the last four or five nights. Or maybe everytime Cooper blows a raspberry on my belly he is actually using some code to threaten his brother to stay put or else. I don't know some reason I think Cooper is to blame for this.

I think I'm getting to the point were I'm beginning to just shut down. This morning as Josh left for work at 5 :30 am he made sure I knew that anyother time eating sour cream and onion chips and chips ahoy cookies in bed would be unexceptable at this hour (or any hour). No sympathy!

23 weeks

(and Cooper peeking around the corner)

40 weeks

(and Cooper peeking around the corner)

I thought I would end this post with this character...

(it's his new smile)

And a fast update on his new ability
He no longer answers "no" to every question

Now it's...
"Cooper do you want a snack?"

"No.. uh.. Es"

Which translated mean..

"No. I mean Yes"

Belly shirt

So... I suck at laundry. Fire me! Please! This was Josh's new long underwear that turned into his new belly shirt. I don't know what my deals is. Usually I don't mess Josh's clothes up just mine. For some reason I ruin all my clothes. Everything else in the wash can come out fine but what ever in there of mine gets attack while being washed. I have considered stopping washing my clothes. They actually look cleaner that way. Some how they find weird things to cling to in the washer. Not only that but anything that can stain clothes finds it's way to me. In high school I took a photography class. No one in the class had any problems with the chemicals staining their clothes but some how everything clothing items I owned had what looked like poop stains on the butt from wiping my hands off. After working at preschool for three years I have tryed multiple time to sue the makers of washable markers and washable paint. Oh and don't get me started on Bleach. That crazy chemical can hunt me down a block away. We hate eachother! Josh can be changing his oil I'll come out to bring him something to drink and return with oil on my sleeve. It even amazes Josh but obviously not enough to take over the laundry

Potty-training

Today was the first day of potty-training Cooper. He did awesome. Mostly due to his love for candy but who cares. I can handle a few days of sugar highs if that means I won't have to have two boys in diapers. He had only wet his pants once all day then I decided to run to the store to get big boy underwear and while he was left with dad, peed his pants once and then followed it up with some poop. Oh well... we will keep at it. I know Cooper will get it, he's really smart.. Well most of the time with the exception of always licking the metal lid of the frozen concentrate juice while in the grocery cart and of course getting his tongue or lips stuck. I totally thought one time of doing that would be enough but today proved me wrong. He even drew blood this time. Grocery store drama.

First Blog

Ok... I have never blogged or really read blogs but I thought I would give it a try. I can hardly keep my hair or kitchen clean but I'm going to try to make time for this.

I'll be 38 weeks pregnant this weekend! I decided I'm a completely different person when I am pregnant. I hate to cook, I cry all the time, and sometimes I cuss. Josh and I have been married 2 years and 8 months and I have been pregnant 1 year and 8 months of that time. I think I have totally confused him on who he really married. He is starting to act like he is pregnant too. The other day he insisted he NEEDED a banana chocolate shake from Sonic at 9p.m and today with dinner in the over conviced me that we had to have Buffalo Wild Wings. So where is he right now with Cooper in this sleeting/snowny night? Getting Asian Zing goodness. Hey I'm not complaining. Maybe he'll even start hearing Cooper or brother when they cry in the night.