Here's the two videos I promised to load. The first is Lucas babbling! He says ba ba ba and da da da.
This one is a video I made of his progress crawling. He starts out just moving back and forth, leaning forward and going back into a sitting position. Then he moves forward enough to fall onto his stomach and pulls himself forward with his arms. Then he finally figured out how to get up onto his knees to crawl. And finally there's a clip of him crawling today - he's got it down and follows me all over the house if I let him! Now, he's trying to pull himself into a standing position to walk!
After Leyla was born, I think I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and clothes, like, immediately. This time around, though, the weight has not come off. I gained more with Lucas and those extra pounds want to stick around! Everyone says I look good, but there's just one little problem: none of my clothes fit! I had one pair of maternity jeans that fit me and that was it.
My friend Amanda cut out sodas and has lost weight eating healthy and exercising. I am so proud of her! And she inspired me to exercise as well. She has been using Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred program, so I decided to look it up. I was impressed with the results I saw in several others, in photos. I decided to give it a try...
The program works like this: there are 3 levels of workouts that you do every day for 10 days each. Ten days of level one, then up to level 2 for another 10 days, then finally level three. When you finish, it's been 30 days. Each one includes a warm up and 3 circuits of 3 minutes strength training, 2 minutes cardio, and 1 minute abs, plus a cool down. It's the cardio that kills me. And that last 3 minutes of strength training that is the hardest. I am currently on DAY 15, half way through!! Proud of myself and a little surprised that I have been that disciplined. Haven't skipped a day! It is hard, especially since I am mostly sedentary - and especially since you aren't allowed a break. But, I have already started seeing results, so that motivates me to keep going.
I've lost 4 pounds just in the first 10-11 days. I haven't retaken my measurements, but the pants I borrowed from a friend of mine are already loose, and she loaned me several other (smaller!) sizes. They are a mix of sizes, mostly juniors, so I believe I am now between a size 6 and size 8. Also, at my doctor's appointment, my pulse was down to 72. That was very exciting, since my pulse has never been under 80-90.
So, in 15 days, hopefully, I'll fit into my jeans again. And I'll post my results.
I had been trying to get Leyla to dip her face in the water for weeks - but she would only do it a couple of times singing "ring around the rosie...we all fall down" and never on her own. So at the pool in Roatan, I was talking to some friends while she "swam" but of course I had one eye glued on her the entire time. I'm glad I did because she stepped off the step once and I had to run and grab her - she wouldn't keep her floaties on for more than about 10 minutes! Anyway, I watched her and realized that she was watching JC (the other little boy in the video) go in and out of the water and under because she all of the sudden started doing it herself! All on her own! It was so cute to watch and I am so glad I had the camera handy!
Marcos's cousin Roger got married this past Sunday so we all packed up and drove to Tegucigalpa to be there! We made it to Tegus fine but had a flat tire right as we got in :( So, we were a little late but luckily they were all on Honduras time and hadn't even started! We had a lot of fun and stayed in a nice hotel that night for some relaxation and gourmet breakfast Monday morning!
Leyla had so much fun playing with her little cousin - They are 10 days apart.
The happy couple :)
We had a lot of fun and I was very happy to see them finally get married!
I haven't uploaded videos in awhile, so today I decided to get it done.
#1 - Leyla singing and dancing out front. I have no idea what she's saying, but it's hilarious.
#2 - Christmas morning, Leyla watching "Toddler Tunes" and singing along to her favorite, "Wheels on the Bus." She normally dances a bit more, but she was distracted with her new toys. She also likes to sing along to the ABC song, and at the end, they kind of pose, so she tries to pose as well - but her pose is a little overexaggerated and super cute :)
#3 - Marcos and dad in the mountains trying to vaccinate the bulls. I took a video because it's funny to watch!
I can't believe it has been two whole years....WOW. She was born 45 minutes and 2 years ago :)
We had a great party. We celebrated big for her 1st year, so this year we didn't think it was necessary to go all out again. I really wanted to try my hand at a fondant cake, so, I thought I have to at least invite a few people over to help eat the cake! So I decided we would have just a small party. We invited Angel and Carmen and their son Isaac (Leyla and Isaac are great playmates); Kyle and Bety and their daughter Mia (She will be 3 in December); Amanda, of course; and Eda. Everyone got here around 6:00 and Leyla showed up with Abuela shortly after. We surprised her with balloons at the door! Then she got really excited and started playing with all the balloons.
We all ate Chinese rice, YUM.......and visited some before cutting the cake. The kids had fun running around with the balloons and playing on Leyla's little tricycle-bike. Mia was very distracted by the cake and kept asking when we were going to eat cake! We finally convinced her to eat rice first or she wouldn't get any cake, and she understood that REAL well!
Tried to get a birthday picture with Leyla but she wouldn't put her water down!
And now, my first attempt at a fondant cake......The marshmallow fondant was easy to make but SO difficult to work with! It sticks like crazy! I used almost 2 lbs of powdered sugar! I had trouble at first but finally got the hang of it and it turned out pretty well. It slid a bit and definitely didn't look professional.....but it was pretty, and everyone like it :)
You can see the 4 layers in the cake! Oops...
I added dots to hide some holes....
The cake says "LEYLA" around the side and has three groups of balloons on top. Although I didn't ice it very thickly, the fondant started sliding a little and tore (I didn't notice until I had finished covering it). So using a friend's advice, I added extra details to cover the holes! But, for a first-timer, and for a two-year-old, I think it turned out alright :)
Leyla LOVED it (so did Mia.....) and she blew out the candle all by herself! She loved the singing and all the attention - she loves to be in the spotlight! Here is the video of her blowing out her candle:
And here are some more photos!
Mia wanted to get in on the licking too!
Leyla, showing her how it's done!
Opening her present from Joni!
She loves her little Cabbage-Patch Doll!
Dancing with her new doll :) Love her skirt, thanks Tom and Katherine!
Balloons from Abuela....aren't they neat??
Well, that's it! We had a great night, and Leyla really enjoyed it (She's passed out asleep!). Everyone loved my cake too. Thanks to all who came to spend the evening celebrating with us. Happy Birthday Leyla!
Marcos's best friend (Angel) came over with his wife Carmen and their boy Isaac. They were all playing ball in the house, in my living room, as a matter of fact! Luckily nothing was broken! It was cute to watch Isaac and Leyla play as the night went on, they played quietly in her bedroom all night! So sweet :)
Leyla is so cute trying to talk!! She is trying so hard! Each day she learns a new word and tries to put words together. These two videos are ones I took today of her singing/babbling and saying her new words!
Maria took this video of Leyla and I thought it was so cute, how she plays with the camera in the beginning and you get to see her sweet face up close. Then she says adios to everyone and a million times :)
Leyla loves to read. Here she is "reading:" I like to ask her "Where is the dog?" and other things and she points to the picture in the book. I learned that she actually has a very large vocabulary, even though several words she cannot say yet.
She is so sweet trying to "take care" of her baby. She wants to wrap it, feed it, and sometimes she even tries to put a diaper on it. I was so glad I caught her in this video being "mommy" and singing her baby to sleep!
Two new videos of Leyla! The first is of Leyla swinging her baby in the baby swing, taking care of her little baby doll. The second is Leyla and Daddy in the hammock swinging!
My name is Rebekah. I am married and living in Catacamas, Honduras with my husband and our baby girl Leyla, born October 29, 2009. We moved here last June and it has been a crazy year! I have had to adjust to many, many things and am still adjusting. I learn something new every day, about God, myself, motherhood, marriage, cultures - and while life is sometimes challenging, it is always rewarding! :)
