Oh My Little Levi

My little baby Levi is 17 months old! SEVENTEEN months told! That's how old Max was when Levi was born. That seems insane looking back, and definitely reminds me how different these boys are. At this age with Max I was on bed-rest, and had people constantly coming over to help me out. I remember feeling bad having help at times because all Max wanted to do was sit and read books, or would contently watch a movie while playing with his little Thomas trains. So chill. An active boy-yes, but so chill.

Levi is the opposite of chill on every level. He's a wild maniac really. He runs, jumps, climbs, rolls, falls, throws, digs, hits, and occasionally he bites (this has only happened twice). He hasn't gained a pound in over 3 months which is no surprise to me because he never stops moving. Unless Praise Baby is on, and in that case he will sit on his little Pottery Barn chair like a little angel. We watch Praise Baby every night before bed, and it's a good wind down for us all. Max knows every word to the songs, and Levi calls out whatever he sees on the TV.

I am starting to see some new, calmer interests develop in him, however, so that's good. He is really starting to enjoy books, and loves to run over to his bookshelf and bring me something to read. He get excited and yells "book" and those little legs come running!

He's athletic. I can brag because I'm him mom, but he really is. He can throw and catch a ball, and also kick a soccer ball. He is already going over to his t-ball set and hitting the ball with his bat, all by himself. This week the nursery worker said "did you know he can shoot the ball in the basket all by himself?" It really is pretty impressive, and very different than Max. Balls of any sort are by far his favorite toy, and he will play "fetch" for an hour straight. I promise i'm not trying to treat him like dog! He really just loves the game!

He can climb up on anything. Yesterday I found him standing on top of the dining room table. He loves running full speed and face planting into Max's bed, and loves to jump on anything. Instead of hugs and kisses he gives fist bumps. When Cody gets home from work he will say "dada bump" and hold his little fist out. It's too funny. He is such a coordinated little guy, and loves to climb up and down ladders. We have been painting so there have been ladders and step stools around the house. I keep and eye on him of course, but he has never fallen. He LOVES going to the playground, and hangs right in there with Max. Neither of them love the slide, but he is much more daring, and will go down if he has to.

He sleeps great and takes one nap a day between 1 and 2. Usually it's about 2 hours, and he'll sleep between 12 and 13 hours at night. Right now he goes to bed around 8:30, and will usually sleep until close to 9. Sometimes waking earlier. He is SUPER attached to his lovie dog, and also sleeps with a blanket and paci. He calls both his paci and lovie "dog-dog" and always asks for his blanket too. He isn't really into rocking and cuddling before bed, but will usually let me sing him a few songs, and then he just puts himself to sleep. He almost always wakes up smiling and happy, and frantically searches for dog-dog before I pull him out of bed in the morning.

He's off his bottle (for the most part) unless he's having a massive meltdown at bedtime, and in that case I let him have it. This is pretty rare though. He eats great, and craves healthy food. He's not interested in sweets really, and loves fruit. He will try anything I give to him, but his favorites are: clementines, apples, grapes, strawberries, cheese, turkey, mac n cheese, hot dogs, corn, sweet potatoes, pasta and many many more things. I count my blessings that he loves to eat. He has a little bit of ezcema so of course with our history makes me worry about allergies. He's eaten everything other than eggs and nuts, so if he does have an allergy I'm assuming it would be one of those things. I gave him a bit of a Reeces Pieces and he was okay. I think I will up the dose this week. We are also taking him into Max's allergist to do the skin prick test so I can know for sure whether or not he has a nut allergy before we send him to school. Their pre-school isn't peanut free, and you have to request a nut free classroom if you need to. Praying he's allergy free. My gut tells me he isn't allergic to nuts, so hopefully i'm right.

He started talking up a storm this month too! He repeats everything, and has dozens of words and phases he says on a regular basis. Here are some of the things he says regularly:

Uh-oh
Oh-no
Bye-"insert name"
Hi-"insert name"
Mama
Dada
KK (Kayla)
G-Ja (Cody's mom)
Lance
Laur-Laur (his Auntie Lauren)
MiMi
Show
Praise Baby (his favorite movie)
Cheese
Snack
Juice
Water
Bottle
Baby
Sky
Truck
Car
Vroom-Vroom
Cow (and lots of animal sounds)
Giraffe
Snake
Help
Book
Ballon
Bubble

I'm sure there are more. It's so much fun hearing his little voice, and watching him take in the world. He is still quite the mommas boy, and has days where he is clinging to me constantly. This is getting better, and I'm trying to enjoy him wanting me to hold him and be around him all the time.

He weighs around 28 pounds, and i'm not sure how tall he is. A little above average in size, but not gigantic like Max.

Remember this guy?! Oh my heavenly stars I miss that little newborn man! It's looking more and more like he will be our last baby, so I am trying my very best, (even on the days when I am counting down the minutes to bedtime) to enjoy him, and my life with two little tiny boys who still want and need me for everything. It really does go SO fast, in a "this has been the longest day of my life, why are my children acting little starving gremlins" kinda way. The days are long, but the years are short. That phrase really is the TRUTH.

We love you Levi Hayes. Every day gets better and better watching you grow, and become the person you are meant to be!