Levi is 17 months old!

Here we are, almost a year and a half.  I'm actually behind on this post so in a few shorts weeks Levi will hit the halfway mark on his way to two.  Yikes!


Levi finally gathered up enough courage and tackled the climbing toys at the mall.  He is still not a risk taker by any means, but he does enjoy running around 'attempting' to climb and slide down the toys.  On the steep ones he still feels better if I hold his hand when he comes down.  I don't mind obliging.  So sweet!

His new favorite game is standing on the couch and trying to say "1, 2, 3" and then he falls down.  It sounds more like "da, tha, weee!!"  With a high pitch ending. 
 

"They put this here just for me?"  Genius!  Whoever thought of this at Town & Country must have had kids.

Soaking up the sun(actually staying in the shade) while it is still PLENTY hot!

Levi absolutely loves to hide and then be chased...as long as you aren't acting too scary.  Apparently my scary is pretty tame.  When other people chase him, he is much more scared. 

What would we do without that dog? :D

Stirring up some mysterious potion....still a favorite activity wherever we are.

First yogurt Popsicle.  He didn't even get a fourth of it eaten before he moved on to something he found more interesting.  Keller didn't mind finishing it off though.
 

We enjoyed a long trip to Nebraska this month to celebrate my cousin's wedding with my dad's side of the family.  Levi's enjoying my Grandma's tree.
 

Naps were a bit difficult to get in with all the hustle and bustle.  Poor guy!
 

My cousin Emily and her sweet babe, Gus.
 

My grandparents.
 

Grandparents and the great-grand babies.
 

That's right...a pic of just the two of us.  We realized when putting together a photo album for our adoption that we basically haven't taken a picture of just us two since we had Levi.  :/
 

My sweet sisters and I.  Love them!
 

Did I mention the wedding was great....and rather warm.  We roasted!  :D
 

Twinkies!  Love these two so very much!
 

We visited the Omaha zoo while in NE.  The aquarium was definitely the coolest thing!  So fun!
 

 

My mom does such a great job loving on all the grand kids!
 

Hi there monkey!

16 Month Update

We have turned a corner.  I'm not sure I was ready for this new Levi.  He has finally figured out how to climb on things...such as chairs.  Within a matter of days I find him on the kitchen table and 'typing' away at the computer whenever I turn around.  For so long he was very content playing with his toys and not exploring every nook and cranny of our house.  I thought, we have such a calm, content little guy.  Well, that Levi is gone.  And a far more curious, determined and exhausting Levi has emerged.  He's obsessed with taking out all of our dvd's and opening and pulling out the actually dvd, unrolling all of the tp, pushing buttons on the tv,  splashing in the toilet(if he gets that far), and dumping out everything he can get his hands on.  This new sneaky side is coming out too.  If he knows he isn't supposed to have something, he'll grab it when I'm not looking and then run go hide.  I have found him many times now hunkered down behind a bed punching buttons on my phone.  Oh dear!  I know I'll make adjustments and get the hang of it soon, but right now it has caught me off guard.

Paci's are his favorite thing EVER!  We've created a monster. :D  We have to completely hide them from view to avoid an insistent whining fit.  But it is so hard to deny it bc he just loves it so much!

I think Levi is going to be a lefty.  He holds just about everything with his left hand.

He loves playing hide and seek and chase!

He hates having his diaper changed!!
 

He loves eating with a fork, but as you can tell he is not awesome at getting yogurt in his mouth. :/  He loves most foods, but not really sauces like alfredo, marinara and such.  He'd rather eat casseroles decomposed and without the sauce.

I re broke out the high chair straps.  This little stinker kept wanting to stand up in his chair.  Strapped in you go.

We finally broke down and put child locks on cabinets and drawers.  We had already removed anything harmful from them, but for this momma's sanity, I had to be able to control what he could pull out.  We would literally have all of our pots, lids, pans, utensils, Tupperware all over the house, plus his toys of course.  Could. Not. Take. It!  Don't kid yourself, it is still a mess, but a bit more of a controlled mess...maybe?
 

Levi has outgrown his size four shoes but still fits in his 12-18 month clothes.  He is still in a size four diaper, but we are trying an extra absorbent night time diaper because this kid can pee!  Thankfully he doesn't pee out of his diaper and completely soak himself, blankets and sheets every night, but still some.

Time for another hair cut.  This kid's hair can grow!!
 

Levi loved getting to stand in the big part of the cart for the first time.  Oh the freedom!

Anything outside is still a favorite activity..and Keller of course.

Momo and Papa came to visit this month!  I feel so very spoiled when they are here!  Levi loves both for sure, but he does seem to have a special place in his heart for Papa.  He wanted him all weekend.  So cute!!
 

Eating our afternoon snack and marveling at the rain.
 

Levi seems to especially love to mix all kinds of things together.  Gross.
 

The lamp is a new fascination these days.  He pulls it off his night stand and turns it on and off.  Then he touches it and yells "hot" over and over and over again until I acknowledge that yes, it is getting hot.  Speaking of hot, he asks me if just about EVERYTHING is hot.  He points and says "hot" over and over about food and non food items.  And then he repeats.  :)

He is quite the jabberbox lately.  Not a whole lot is discernible, but he tries to tell me all about it, all the time.  I mainly get "Daw, daw" while he points at something over and over about everything.  I am constantly explaining what every single thing is around him. 

He can say:
**"Dog" but it sounds like "daw" and then is followed by a woof woof.  I'm pretty sure he thinks all animals say woof woof.  If he hears any dog noise in the background, he immediately starts imitating.  Can you say obsessed?  :)
**"Thank you" but it's a little fuzzy.
**"up"
**"more" and he finally started signing more to me...yay!
**"hi" which is said to just about everyone we pass in a store.  They also get a little wave from him.  Such a friendly little guy!  We meet lots of old ladies that tell me all about their grandbabies.  :)
**dog
**hotdog
**hot
"uh-oh
 

We visited Josh's parents too.  Levi was not such a fan of the pool, but then again my husband's idea of getting him used to it was immediate dunking.  Didn't turn out so well.  :/ 

On that note, Levi still does not even like his baths.  He wants out about as fast as I can get his body clean.

 

But we still love Daddy!
 

My new climber.

We love our friends from church!
 

Still loves the dirt.

We had a wonderful 4th of July celebrating at Freedom Fest as a fam.

15 months...here we are!

Look who's 15 months old!  Crazy crazy!


This little guy thinks he's all grown up these days.  Loves to sit by himself if at all possible.  It's been so warm here the last month or so that our outside play is very scarce.  Levi doesn't seem to mind the heat, but I can't take it!!  Josh and I got him a little pool.....Levi was not so impressed.  I think it freaked him out that if he bent down his chin hit the water.  So...water hose fun is about the only water activity Levi gets/likes.
 

Even though Levi is standing on his chair, he is definitely a bit of a cautious baby.  He loves to play with his noise machine and lamp.  He climbs to do that, and has recently been able to climb on the couch.  Other than that, he doesn't really ever climb.  I even took him to the play area in our mall, he did not want to climb ANYTHING!  Nor did he want me to help him.  I'm thinking he needs time to warm up to new places....not necessarily people.  He'll go to just about anyone as soon as he meets them, but adventurous...no.  Love learning these little things about him!
 

He does love getting dirty still if we let him. 
 

Even though Levi generally likes to do his own thing, he will come and cuddle or want some momma time.  I  just love those moments!  He is just now learning more what I'm actually saying and responds to it.  I'll tell him to go get a book.  He'll go get one, bring it back, and then sit in my lap.  He may sit there a few pages, but then generally wants back up.  But I'll take it!  He'll sit longer if it is a flap book or animal book.  He LOVES anything with animals these days!  He points them out everywhere we go....especially dogs.  He does this high pitch sound while pointing. 
 

He's been slowly getting his eye teeth in.....but still no bottom four(only two).
 

These two bring such joy to me!  Thank you Lord!!
 

We went to a birthday party and Levi sat in a chair all by himself for the first time.  He looked so BIG! Tear.
 

 

Levi is into everything...all the time!  Our house is covered by the end of the day if I don't pick up in between. 

Favorite things to do:
**dump out toy buckets
**pull out kitchen utensils
**pull out pots and pans
**tear up tp and kleenex
**stir/cook odds and ends he puts in bowls/pans
**look at animals
**listen to and watch old mcdonald on youtube
**being chased(by Keller, Josh, or me)
 

So big!
 

Keller and Levi are still the best of buds!! 
 

Levi has been trying to talk for quite a while, but just recently I can tell he understands the meaning of way more words.  He tries to tell me them, but not always clearly.

Daddy: "Dada" (Levi uses lots of inflection at the end of his words...hard to capture in writing)
Mommy: he's not so good at this yet
Bye-bye: "dye-dye" as he waves
Hi:  "hiy"
Up: "up" with the p not so clear
Help: "he..." (he sticks is tongue out at the end)
Hot: "ho..."  (t not so clear)
Outside: "ousi" (leaves the t and d off)

It's been so fun as Levi has tried to communicate specific things with me now, but he still does a lot of jabbering and 'dada' with a high inflection at the end. 

Levi's frustration level has definitely gone up lately. Things that frustrate Levi: he wants something that I'm not understanding, when he can't get a lid off/on, or who knows.  He doesn't scream or cry, but he'll push his lips out and kind of grunt.  Pretty funny actually.
 

Levi discovered our drawers in the coffee table.  He either pulls everything out or/and sit in them.
 

Levi takes a bath without his baby tub but loves to pretend he's getting a bath.  He even leans his head back for me to 'wash' with water.

Ok...about the paci.  He has developed a much stronger attachment to it.  As in he wants it all day.  I hide it under a blanket while he's awake....seems to help.  But would pretty much have it constantly if I let him.  :/
 

Anything Josh does with Levi he loves.
 

Loves to get messy with food and 'make' his own special concoction.  He's still using his left hand for utensils and right for grabbing things.
 

 

So very grateful for another month with this little guy!  Such a sweet blessing...over and over!