Levi's 1st Christmas

Levi is one spoiled baby! As predicted, everyone went all out and got him lots of presents. I tried to limit the number of toys that would be bombarding us by asking for necessities like diapers in lieu of toys and clothes, but apparently baby toys and clothes are a lot more fun to shop for. Who knew? ;) Now finding a place to put all his new stuff is the challenge! Even though baby-spoiling is kind of inevitable at Christmas, especially from the grandmas, I always want Levi to know the real reason for Christmas and to appreciate the things that he already has. I also want him to find the most joy in giving to others. I'm a big believer in the happiness found in the non-material side of life - God, family, friendship, and nature. We don't drive fancy cars or live in a big house (and that's an understatement), but I know that Levi has more than his share of love and security and that's all that really matters. He has a warm place to sleep, family who love him to death, and the necessities of life...and then some, too. We may not be able to give him all the things that the kids down the street or his friends at school have, but Clay and I do the best we can, and he will never be short on love. I never feel like he is shortchanged on anything. We've also decided that starting next Christmas, we will make it a yearly tradition that before Santa visits, Levi is to gather up all the toys he no longer plays with and we will donate them. We will also do some kind of volunteer work so that he can meet others who are truly in need and learn appreciate all his blessings.


Poor Levi was all over the map this Christmas. On the 23rd we went to Clay's grandpa's house in Culver City. A lot of his grandpa's wife's side of the family is vegan and vegetarian, so we had tofurkey sandwiches. That's right, "turkey" sandwiches with tofu. I must admit, I was skeptical...soy bean curd isn't exactly my idea of a scrumptious meal. But they actually weren't bad! In general I don't really care for tofu unless it's so mixed in with other ingredients that you can't even tell it's there, like chili or something like that. And I don't mind soy milk. But in a sandwich, the meat is usually the nucleus, the star of the show. So I was a little scared.
I loaded up my sandwich with lots of spicy mustard, avocado, and pesto, and it was pretty tasty! I'm glad I put my picky eating habits aside and tried it. Maybe I should give tofu a little more credit.


The next day was Christmas Eve. We went to my grandma's house in Yorba Linda. Levi was doing pretty well until my mom spooked him when she yelled to my cousin in the other room while holding him. Poor little guy cried and cried, I think he was just already overstimulated and in a strange environment, so it took some time to get him settled back down. When we got back home we left some cookies and milk out for Santa Claus, got Levi in his Christmas jammies, and went to bed. Yeah, we're cheesy like that.


The next morning...surprise!! Santa had paid a visit and left some presents for the Levster - two new teething toys and a couple of outfits. It was so funny seeing him sitting in his bouncy chair watching us open his presents for him. I took a really funny video that I'll have to post another day, the battieries in the camera just died so I have to go buy some more before I can upload it. Clay and I both ended up getting eachother cameras - he got me a Diana lomography camera and I got him a digital camera. I haven't used a film camera in ages, but it will be fun to play around with. I miss the old days of anticipation when you had to wait til your film got developed to see how the pictures turned out! So much more fun opening that little cardboard envelope and sifting through the photos than all this digital instant gratification business :)


Ok, so Christmas day- here we go: After opening our presents at home, we went to my dad's house for a couple of hours, then scurried over to Clay's parents' house to open gifts, and then went to Clay's grandma's house in Fallbrook. All I gotta say is POOR LEVI. That little man got passed around from stranger to stranger sooo much in a span of three days. He was a pretty good sport about it! Next year Christmas should be a lot more fun for him.


After the craziness of X-mas was over, we got to settle down a bit. Now I'll admit, I really like New Year's Eve. I love the idea of dressing up, staying out late, drinking Champagne (my favorite) and welcoming a fresh new year with a smooch from the one you love. A lot of people think it's over hyped, and maybe it is, but I like it. It makes a new year seem so much more official. And it's a great excuse to be a little extravagant. New Year's with a New Baby however? Not as fun. Hate to say it. Clay and I didn't make any plans until the Eve. We tried to solicit/bribe someone to babysit, but it looked bleak. So we invited our friends Miles and Tatum over to make dinner and drinks, and at the last minute my mom offered to babysit, so we drove Levi to Gma's and went to a lame bar in Dana Point. After welcoming 2011 surrounded by Orange County's finest hoochies, we strolled over to Harbor House for some greasy french fries and nachos. You know, to soak up some of the alcohol. After a very fortunate hailing of a cab (which ended up being a LOT harder to come by than we planned), we paid the slightly outrageous fare (it was only five miles...FIVE! Why does it cost as much for a 5 mile ride home as it does to put 8 gallons of gas in my car?!) and crashed....only to be awoken 2 hours later by our favorite hungry baby. Woo hoo.


I didn't really make any New Year's resolutions until a few days into the new year, but here they are in no particular order:


1. Start doing Yoga again. Gotta get this belly pooch under control before summer! Plus, carrying around a 14 lb baby all day makes for some sore shoulders sometimes. On the plus side, I don't have to worry about working out my arms much!


2. Eat healthier. This is important not only because am I nursing, but Levi is about to start eating solids in a few months and I want to set a good example for him. We got a food processor for Christmas and I'll be making his baby food, so I should take the same care of myself, too.


3. Get a hobby. I don't want to be "that mom" who invests her whole identity in motherhood. I always thought that becoming a mother would make me feel like my life's purpose is completely fulfilled, but I don't. I'm still the same person! And I don't feel guilty for saying that. Levi is just sharing my life's purpose with me. I want him to see how much fun life can be. So I will start exploring my Diana camera, take up horseback riding again, learn how to cook, go hiking/walking, and maybe even have Clay re-teach me how to surf!


4. Get out more. I fell into a bad habit of becoming quite reclusive for the first couple months after having Levi, mostly because of the breastfeeding and sleeping difficulties. It was really hard to get the gumption to forsake potential napping opportunities and go visit friends or just go stroll around the mall. Buuut, like resolution #3, I need to still have a life outside of motherhood. I want to enjoy life and make the most of it. And I miss my friends!


5. Make an effort. It's kind of easy to be lazy when a little baby demands everything of you 24/7. It's easy to let the dishes pile up and say you'll get to them later, or let the laundry overflow in the hamper because you can always just wear pajamas, or skip blowdrying your hair because no one will see you anyway. I'm not saying I do these kinds of things on a regular basis, but the temptation is always there and sometimes I do indulge, which is ok once in awhile but not ok all the time. I must chant in the mirror "I will not become frumpy, I will not become frumpy". That oughta do it.

6. Find new music. It's hard to find inspiring bands these days, which is why I usually resort to my collection of tried and true standbys. But I'm getting pretty sick of my iPod, so it's time to find some new tunes. If anyone has suggestions, lay 'em on me!

And in other news, I cut my hair! I was horrified of looking like...well...a mom, but my post pregnancy hormones have my hair falling out in horrifying quantities and it was looking a bit scraggly. So I figured now's the time to chop off all the damaged ends and start growing it out again. No time like a new year!

Christmas pictures to come...we're off to the beach right now! Yay for January heat waves...just the thing to get us through winter :)