Oh teething....

Drool is everywhere. Soaking onesies, dripping on the floor, all over toys, splashing on my clothes. Everywhere! We have officially entered this next stage with Levi and he is most DEFINITELY teething. Any spare moment, he is shoving something in his mouth to gnaw and bite down on. Cold wash cloths, chilled teethers, toys of all shapes and sizes and even anyone who comes near to him, their fingers, instantly get grabbed a hold of and pulled towards his gummy, slobbery mess of a mouth.

Current favorites are his pal "Sophie" - a bendable, squeezable, bite-able giraffe that was created in France and has been around for 50 years (not mine... :) just the original toy concept). Also, he's loving chomping down on a wet wash cloth to ease those sore gums too. We're also currently trying out the "RaZbaby" teether too thanks to a thoughtful gift from a friend and new mommy too with her own little teething baby!

So now, we are just waiting to see those pearly whites pop up for the proof and explanation to why there's wet puddles of slobber everywhere! Here's just some shots of what Levi munching away!

Typically teether

Sophie

Toes!

And the side of his playmat?!

Getting caught up with the top 10 things that have happened since the last blog...

I have obviously been WAY behind on blogging....and those reasons are ones that don't make the top 10 (like Levi's first cold, acid reflux, and too many sleepless nights and undone dishes!) But to catch everyone up on what's happened in these last 26 days I made a "Top 10" list for the Month of October until present....

10. Levi started rolling from side to side...he lays there now playing with toys. He also found his toes around the same time and though they are not in his mouth yet, I'm sure like everything else they will be soon.

9. Graham came home from two weeks away in Asia!! Ahhh, it was SO great to have him home with us!

Dad's returned!

8. I celebrated a birthday and turned 26! (Which for the first time made me feel rather old....come on, 26 is closer to 30 than 20...) I had a great day celebrating with my boys and my sister. This included pool time, presents, frozen yogurt and the best - Levi drew a picture for me! Ha :) Graham had him pick out colors and then held the card still for him to "draw" on while his limbs were flailing away. This one is a keeper! 

Birthday Card with Levi's Picture

7. I started eating "dairy free" due to Levi's reflux. While this isn't exciting, the fact that it's completely gone and my little guy sleeps again is! Now I'm looking for new Vegan recipes and enjoying putting Pinterest to good use! 

6. Levi had his first giggle!! :) Now he can't stop when he thinks things are amusing - like us singing him silly songs or throwing him in the air, or playing with his feet!

5. We had our first skype calls where Levi actually engaged with his Grandparents on the screen. Too cute! I'm sure they love his talking, smiles and cooing too! The perfect thing for families that are apart. 

4. Graham and I reminisced when, one year ago on Oct. 29th we found out we were going to be parents while visiting our family in Florida. 

3. We applied Levi for his US passport. I also found out that he's already also considered a Canadian citizen since he is the first generation born outside of Canada....now we just have to get his proof of citizenship for him to be dual. 

I'm going to be a world traveler :)

2. Levi turned 4 months old - he had two vaccinations and had measurements of 12lbs 13oz and  is 24.25inches tall :) 

4 months old

1. We booked tickets home to Vancouver, BC for Christmas!! Levi will have his first plane ride, international trip and (hopefully!) a White Christmas!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Having parents from two different countries, Levi has the opportunity to celebrate multiple occasions and holidays. Thanksgiving is one of them! In Canada, we have Thanksgiving over a long weekend in October on a Sunday and Monday. Thankfully (no pun intended ;)...haha) my Mom has been here to help me while Graham has been away, and last night she cooked us an incredible Thanksgiving feast for us to share with other Canadian YWAM'ers here in Kona too. Levi, got all dressed up in his Turkey suit (thanks to you Cynde & Brooke!) to commemorate his first Thanksgiving! 

Levi's "Turkey Suit"

I am so thankful for so many people who are invested in my life, Levi's, our family and our ministry. It's so powerful to have days set aside to remember to walk in gratitude of what the Lord's poured out and how He's richly blessed us. Obviously, we shouldn't just be thankful on one day a year, but remember to express our love and appreciation everyday! It is so important to me that I teach Levi to have a heart of gratitude and thankfulness, and like most things, I'm learning that I will have to model this attitude in spirit and action so that I have a child who understands the goodness of the Lord and the graciousness of people and family. At least then, this little boy will grow up having that formal opportunity twice a year for sure! 

Levi, are you thankful for Mommy? :)

Thank you Mom for the delicious dinner!

The blessing of Family!

Determination

Finishing line in downtown Kona

Yesterday in Kona was the annual Ironman World Championships, which is quite the event in our small little town! I was amazed to watch athletes, both professional and those that race for fun (?!), push their bodies to extreems in incredibly hot weather in literally a FULL day of exercise. 


An Ironman race consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (42.195 kilometers (26.219 mi)) run, raced in that order and without a break. Most Ironman events have a strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the race, where the Ironman race starts at 7am, the mandatory swim cut off for is 2 hours 20 minutes, the bike cut off time is 5:30pm, and all finishers must complete their marathon by midnight. Wowzers! Talk about determination!


Determination is such an incredible thing. It can cause someone who is completely exhausted to continue to run for just one more mile, as I witnessed last night, or not give up and continue to press on. And who knew that at only 14 weeks old, a person can already have developed a sense of determination! 

Reaching-man....next Ironman? :)

In the last two days, Levi has been learning to reach for toys, or really anything that is overhead, in front of his face, to the side of him - it's amazing! But what has truly caught my attention is the level of concentration he's exhibiting to get this skill down! He gets the cutest, most determined expression, that I can only image that he's thinking something like...."if I just hold my arms still, open my fingers and reach a little, I KNOW I can pull that round circle!"...which in turn, when he does plays music, bringing a huge, beaming, proud, "I did that!" smile to my boy's face. 


This is where determination to complete a task or learn a skill can start; it's the same force that drives many of those Ironman tri-athletes. And then who knows....Levi, you could just be the next Ironman!

Three months!

Yay!! Levi is three months today!! Highlights of things he's learning are....rolling over, babbling (a ton!), that if he kicks his play mat all his toys move and jingle, major leg kicks and stretching :) Oh I love this little boy! 

Hi! I'm three months old!

Just the two of us

This morning Levi and I sent Graham off on a two week adventure into Asia! Part of our job here entails that we travel to the locations where we send our teams to meet contacts, set up ministries, and learn how to better plan, prepare and equip the young missionaries we are sending out. We love this part of our job! But this is the first time I'm not going, and the longest Graham and I have been apart in our 5 years of marriage. So, before the sun was even up this morning, we said our goodbyes, anticipating 15 days of our family being on two different continents. When I tell people my husband will be away for 2 weeks and I have a 13 week old, people sort of look at me like I'm nuts. Who does that? But I can confidently say, that I know without any doubt this is the right time and season for Graham to be traveling. That's what obedience to the Lord looks like. It doesn't always make sense to everyone, or is even easy, but there's a grace, favor and peace in your spirit that is like none other.

Levi @ 13 weeks, dressed like Dad :)

So here we are, Levi and I - just the two of us.....we have a few days for me to really experience what single parenthood entails (I'm only 16hrs into it, and I already know you guys are champs!), and then I'm super blessed to have my Mom fly over for a visit and to lend her time, wisdom, energy, love and care to the both of us. See what I mean by favor!

But to Graham - Levi and I are praying for you every night, trust the Lord for safe travels, incredible wisdom, fruitful and effective ministry and divine encounters with both the locals and in your own heart with the Lord. We are so excited for the adventure you are embarking on, and know that you are bringing the kingdom to some remarkable places! The picture is just to show how much your little boy looks like you!

Here's to joyful obedience and the fruit that remains when we trust in Him!

Fall is here....

Today I realized that regardless of the hot days here in Kona, fall is here! It's almost October for goodness sake! I love what I do with ministry here with YWAM and these next few days are some of my favorite. As we start our last quarter of the year here at the University of the Nations we welcome hundreds of new faces and students to our YWAM family. I love how the campus is buzzing with so many passionate young people, who are ready and excited to encounter the living God is a fresh way! So many come in for a Discipleship Training School, which is the ministry of discipleship and training (hence the name, obviously), that Graham and are specifically plugged into and love working with. Students come from all over to be trained as missionaries to go out literally "into all the world" to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19&20). And that is truly why I live here in Kona - not because it's Hawaii, for the beaches, warm weather, lack of seasons....but because I am called to raise up a generation and release them to bring the gospel and with that, revival, to the nations!! The base here in Kona is the LARGEST young adult, evangelical, mission sending, facility in the world - so if that's my calling, it only makes sense to be here, right?!

This quarter is incredibly special to me to because my sister is coming (in fact she arrives is just a few hours!) to do the Community Transformations DTS!! Though she is my younger sister, she is actually my best friend, and I am beyond thrilled to have her here for the next three months to run together again. It is such a treasure even for Levi to spend time with her too and for him to get to know his Auntie even better. The Lord is so good and he sure surprises us sometimes!

To learn more about what we do here, check out our website! www.grahamandalissa.com