Making up for lost time

I think I've found a way to upload more pictures.  It's an additional step, but hopefully it'll work.

Our six month-old big boy!

First taste of cereal.  Not good.  Now he takes it like a champ.

Levi's dedication.  We squeezed it in before our Pastor retired.

Big boy in his boppy



These are in random order, I think, so just look at the date on the picture.

This was when he started to roll around a little bit more.  He got the blanket from the rocker.

First time using grandma and grandpa's high chair!

Cuddly with grandpa.

Sweet potatoes!

Our first family Christmas

Christmas at home

Leaps and Bounds

It's been for-ev-er since I've posted about our little man.  I think I got discouraged that Google wasn't letting me post any more pictures.  I'm still working on that little problem, by the way.
It's 2013 now, so here are 13 new facts about our big boy:
1. He's 7 months old now and time isn't slowing down.  He's become very active and loves to roll all over.
2. He sits up better in the cart now, so we've ventured out to Walmart and the grocery store.  He is such a good boy, always looking around and watching everybody.
3. Levi still wakes up at night to eat.  He goes to bed around 7:00 and then is up anywhere between 5:30 and 7:00am.  I really like it if it's closer to 7.
4. He's on a more regulated nap schedule now, taking one every two hours.  Most of the time, whether he wants to or not.  Mommy and daddy always win the nap war.  (Ok, 99% of the time.)
5. He absolutely LOVES his new big boy food.  Beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, you name it.  He actually prefers them to the fruit.  That is fine with me. :-)  Cereal did not go well at first but now it's one of his favorites.
6. The little bed is no more.  I put him down for a nap one day and then heard him crying.  It wasn't his normal 'I don't want to go to bed' cry, so I went back to check on him.  He had completely turned himself around and was stuck-and scared.  So that night he went in the big boy crib.  And has been fine ever since.  Much to my relief.  He does still roll all over and ends up tangled in his blankets.  It's always a guessing game as to where he'll be in the morning.
7. His new favorite toy is a singing ice cream cone from Aunt Katie.  The songs get stuck in my head.
8. Speaking of gifts, Christmas was a lot of fun.  Levi didn't really grasp what was going on, but everyone had a lot of fun helping him open gifts.  I got some cute videos of him that still make me laugh.
9. He still loves his jumper.  If he's jumping around by himself he gets upset if no one is there watching him.  He loves an audience.
10. Levi is doing a lot better in the car which makes my life a lot easier.  Aunt Katie got him a rear view mirror that also makes my life a lot easier.  We had to get him a new car seat but will have to study a book to install it.
11. We're still trying to determine the issues for his allergy symptoms.  I've cut out 'major' dairy from my diet: cheese, milk, yogurt.  That seems to help, but there might still be some environmental issues, too.
12. We hope to get some new pictures of him before the end of the month.  Now that he can sit up on his own we have more options.
13. He is such a good baby and every day is a joy with him.  He's so happy and filled with smiles.  Even at 2am.  We love him so much and he makes every day joyful.

Chatty little boy

I'm sitting here listening to Levi 'talk' to himself in his bed.  He woke up about fifteen minutes ago, but is perfectly content back there, so, guess what?  Mommy's perfectly content to leave him there.  Very important lesson #1, or at least tied for #1.
Maybe I should've included 'screaming' in my post title.  That's what he loves to do any more.  Scream, squeal, squeak and everything in between.  Especially when he's in his jumper.  That poor toy is getting a work out.  He loves it and it's so funny to watch him.
He is not getting very much closer to crawling.  He can scoot backwards again (he stopped doing it for a while) but still gets pretty frustrated on his tummy.  He is doing better sitting up.  I'll put him in the V of my legs and he needs the side support just a little bit.  Still falls backwards, unfortunately.  You can tell that he's frustrated not being able to do what he wants, but yet again he would rather have mommy and daddy hold him up standing and carry him around.
We went to the mall again today.  He really enjoys looking around at everything.  At this time of year we go only on a weekday morning.  It would be too much stimulation for him if there were a lot of people.  Well, that and mommy doesn't want Levi to see her freak out at all the people who don't know how to walk down the mall hallway.
We scheduled his dedication for the 16th.  Our pastor is retiring at the end of the year and I asked if he could squeeze one in before then.  Levi might be the only one.  Now to find something for him to wear.  Definitely not one of those crazy white dress things.  Gah.
I should probably add the pictures to this and then post it.  He's talking louder back there.
And I was just informed by Google that I'm out of picture storage space.  Don't they know this is really important?

5 Months (and 1 week)

The fastest five months of my life have wooshed by like, well, something really fast and wooshy.

Our big boy and his favorite snack

It does go so fast.  Five months?  We're well on our way to having a little boy and not a baby any more.  I'm taking advantage of everything that I can.  Especially nursing him and rocking him to sleep.  I love that he still wants to be close and snuggle. 
He's been doing well in the nursery at church.  The only problem is that it messes up his nap "schedule."  He's been going down about every hour and a half to two hours.  But with the different place and more excitement it's hard for him to sleep.  The past couple of nights he's gone to bed around 6:00 because the way his napping works out he's just tired then.
Not much else is new with the little guy.  He's getting stronger and wants to move in any way more and more.  His new language is squealing and squeaking.  At times it actually hurts my ears.
He's such a good baby and we're enjoying every day.

You can juuuust kinda see his teeth.  He won't let me get a good picture.

Our cute blue-eyed boy

Wordless Wednesday

Where no finger has gone before

I'm realizing that as a mother, I stick my fingers into more places than I ever have in my life.  Nostrils, mouths, ears, through hair, between toes, you name it.  Well, today I ventured into Levi's mouth and what did I feel?  Teeth!  Two little ones poking through on the bottom.  He doesn't seem to be bothered by them.  He normally drools, but the faucet has been turned on full blast it seems. 

He ripped a toy off of his play mat last week and he sat and chewed on it today for at least ten minutes, so apparently it feels good on his gums.

Levi is so ready to move!  He stands very well when we are propping him up, so his lower body strength is great.  He's still so frustrated with tummy time and now trying to do a 'tripod' sit, where his legs are bent and he tries to hold himself up by his hands.  He tips forward quite a bit.  He's very content to lean back where I'm holding him so that he can look around. 
He likes his jumper because that's pseudo-standing, but I think he still gets frustrated in there since he can't move.  (We're going to have our hands full with this little guy.)

I tell him, "honey, you have to practice this so that you can crawl and stand up."  I don't think it's sinking in. lol

Naked and unashamed

Since the weather has been warmer around here the past few days Levi has had a chance to 'flap in the breeze,' as Tim calls it.

He looks like such a little boy in these pictures.
A friend of mine had a baby on Tuesday.  I looked at her pictures I wondered if it was too early for me to miss Levi being that age.  I absolutely love him now, discovering more things and being so expressive.  But I remember those early days, too.
I just started reading The Second Nine Months by Vicki Glembocki.  Summary: One woman tells the real truth about becoming a mom.  Finally.  What I've read so far is hilarious.  Her daughter, Blair, was born jaundiced and had extra doctor's visits at first.  In response to her description of how nursing is going, the doctor says, "Hmmmm."  Her response: "I envision what Dr. Weidner is writing in that manila folder of his: Mother inadequate.  Bad boobs."
That made me laugh right out loud.  Quite a bit of what she says is spot on with some humor added in.  Which is necessary for motherhood survival.  I've found that if I don't laugh, I'll cry.  Thankfully Levi's big smiles and funny antics keep me laughing.