Still Trying

We're still trying to get pictures of Levi's teeth. These are blurry, but the teeth are there!!

I think Levi's two top teeth are beginning their descent. Time will tell...

We went to church today - don't you love his little man shirt? We had a "potluck" lunch with our Sunday school class after church. Two other couples in our class had girls last year - one in September and the other in October. Levi seemed to have fun with the girls. He got plenty of attention from the adults, too.

A New Toy

Levi was moving all around the house, and he found a new toy. He played with it for quite a while, just talking to it. So cute!

We're still trying to get a good picture of his teeth.

Look really close; you might be able to see them.

New Car Seat

I finally installed Levi's car seat in my car on Tuesday night. It is almost too big for my little Civic! When he first sat in his seat, he wasn't too sure what to think. He didn't get upset but just looked at and touched what he could of the seat. On the drive home from school, he just looked around. He has a new perspective in his new seat, because it is on the passenger side rather than in the middle.
He really seems to like it!

No More Gummy Grin

As I previously reported, Levi's two bottom front teeth broke through. They are getting more and more visible. Getting a good picture of them is difficult, though.

Levi is really getting around, but I'm not sure that he will ever crawl. He is just too proficient at his army crawl and rolling. Between those two modes of transportation, he can get just about anywhere he wants to go.

He loves to stand up, but he is still not really good at standing up using anything but my fingers. We're working on it, though.

Mama's Little Man

This morning before church, Levi threw his paci behind his dresser. While Kevin moved the dresser to retrieve the errant paci, I put Levi in his crib. Levi decided to show off his newly acquired talent (thanks Mama K and Aunt Audry) and pulled himself to a standing position!!


Levi got several compliments on his outfit for today, so I just had to share a picture of my little man.

Training Levi

Mama K and Aunt Audry had their spring breaks this past week. They decided to take advantage of their time and make a trip to visit Levi. Levi got to stay home from school on Thursday and Friday to be with them. They decided that Levi would be in "strict training". I came home from work each day to find out that Levi had learned a couple of new tricks. One was to pull himself to the standing position using the couch. He was so proud of himself!


The other thing he learned was to raise his hands in celebration for anything he accomplished.

Levi's teeth are still making their way through his gums, so I don't have any pictures yet to really show. Trust me, Mama K, Aunt Audry, and I really tried to take one!

Levi had such a fun time with them, and I think they had a pretty good time, too.

We bought a convertible carseat for Levi, but we haven't had a chance to install it yet.

St. Patrick's Day

I know I blogged on St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't have time to download any pictures. Here is one from Levi's first "green" day.

Breakthrough!

On Sunday, I was looking at Levi and noticed something on his gums. There was a tooth breaking through on his bottom right! It was much easier to feel than see. Today, I could see BOTH bottom front teeth breaking through his gums. Yes, at eight months, we finally have teeth!! The drooling and gnawing are finally working for him!

Eight Months

Today Levi turned eight months old. Honestly, where does the time go? He is such a big boy. We're going to have to purchase a new car seat soon, because he's almost too big for the infant car seat. I think I neglected to mention that when I took Levi to the doctor last week he weighed 20 pounds, 6 ounces (with his clothes on, but still)!!! So technically, he has less than two pounds and probably less than two inches now until he is "too big" for the seat. Thankfully, there are convertible car seats that are available that can be rear-facing, then forward facing, and then a toddler seat. I probably should have just purchased that initially rather than going with the infant car seat, but I had read that the convertible seats aren't as safe or comfortable for newborns, because they sit straighter.

Laughing Levi

For some reason, Levi thought it was very funny that his daddy was showing him this picture of the baby on the piece of cardboard.

Inch Worm

Levi hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing yet.


Of course, when I pulled out the camera, the movement wasn't quite as "inch worm" like as the first attempt I saw, but I thought it was still worth sharing. He is trying to get to these pieces of cardboard to which I glued pictues of babies. I made these "flash boards" when he was younger (did I really just say that??), because I read that babies like to see babies. Levi was never very interested in the pictures. Even now, he's more interested in holding the cardboard, passing it from hand to hand, rotating it around and around, and - of course - putting it in his mouth. I really try not to let him do that; I have NO idea where the original cardboard boxes had been. I know, I know, he's a baby and everything seems to end up in his mouth, but for some reason having him put this cardboard in his mouth doesn't sit very well with me.

All of this just to show you - Levi really wants to move!

All By Himself

Levi wanted to try his hand at feeding himself his rice cereal tonight. I just had to share some pictures of his effort.

What a Helper!

Levi wanted to help me do some laundry today. He's such a sweet boy!!

First Soccer Game

Levi attended his first soccer game today. His daddy's team was playing in a tournament in a little town near Columbia, and the weather was too pretty for Levi and I not to make the trip to watch. For those of you who don't know, Kevin is the high school's boys' soccer coach. The team finished fifth overall but won both games played on Saturday, which was very exciting for the boys. This is Kevin's second year coaching, and to say that last year was rough is probably an understatement. The boys look so much better; they're really playing like a team.

Anyway, taking Levi to the game was a surprise for his daddy and for his grandparents and great aunt. I didn't want to tell everyone we were coming and then have Levi not cooperate. Levi had a fun time watching the people in the stands, I mean, watching the game. Right...

This morning before soccer game, Levi tried prunes for breakfast. Not even a funny face from the boy. He loved prunes! Who would've thought that?

Levi loves to talk on the phone, too. Today was Mama K's turn.

New Doc and Friday Fun

I forgot to mention in Tuesday's very long blog that I had taken Levi to a new doctor. Levi just seemed out of sorts on Monday. He also had not nursed well at all over the weekend. We thought he might have another earache. So, I made an appointment for Tuesday with a new doctor - the same doctor we had met early in Levi's life. Kevin and I had decided during Levi's long illness that we were going to change doctors. So, Tuesday afternoon, Levi and I headed to the doctor. I really liked him, and Levi seemed to like him, too. Both of Levi's ears were slightly infected. The doctor recommended NOT giving an antibiotic to Levi unless he seemed to worsen - stop nursing, elevated fevers, very inconsolable. He gave us the prescription, though, so we wouldn't have to make another trip to see him. So far, we have not had to fill the prescription!

Levi didn't go to school today. He had a play day with his grandma and grandaddy Hughes and his great aunt. He seemed to have a whole bunch of fun, and I don't think his grands had such a bad time either. :-)

Levi and I had a very fun night tonight. This past weekend when Levi was rolling from back to tummy and then tummy to back, he was only rolling on his left side. Thus, he essentially stayed in one place. Tonight, though, Levi got himself on his tummy, and he moved himself (by rolling on his right and left) all over the sunroom. He even made it into the breakfast room. For a little while, I copied his every move, and he thought that was such fun. Levi moved around like that for at least 30 minutes, just as happy as he could be. He is so precious!

What a weekend!

Levi and I made our first extended stay trip to Birmingham. We left home Friday around 1 pm, and about the time we left was when the rain started here. It rained on us the entire way to Birmingham. At some points the rain was quite heavy. It was quite a trip! But we made it safe and sound to Levi's aunt Chery's house, where Levi's aunts Chery and Audry were waiting for our arrival.

Saturday morning, Levi and I made a quick trip to see my dear friend Jamie and her two kids. Jamie's son is the one who is exactly one year older than Levi. We had a good visit, but it just wasn't long enough. It was such fun to see the three kids interact - much more entertaining than when we met at a restaurant around Christmas.

Then, we met Levi's aunts, grandparents, and one of Aunt Audry's friends for lunch in "SoHo" (i.e., South Homewood). Levi was a favorite with the staff at the restaurant. I think every waiter, waitress, and hostess said something to him. It was so cute.

Saturday night, Aunt Chery made Mama K's birthday dinner, including a birthday cake. Aunt Audry's friends, Karen and Lacey, came to help Mama K celebrate. (Saturday was also Levi's great uncle John's birthday - happy belated birthday!! We hope your day was as good as your sister's!)

Levi got a little tuckered out from all the excitement. Q didn't mind having Levi take a little nap on his chest.

Sunday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. We started getting concerned about Levi and I traveling back home, because we were planning to leave after the "main event" of the weekend. The instigating event for our trip was Aunt Audry's baptism on Sunday morning. There was no way I was going to leave early to "beat the snow" and miss the baptism, so we decided to "play it by ear" as to when/if we would start heading back to SC.

We made it safely to the church; all the snow was very beautiful. Unfortunately, AA's friends, Karen and Lacey, ended up hydroplaning and not making it to the church. Thankfully, though, neither of them was hurt.

When we got to the church, Levi met my cousin, Diona, her husband, Jody, and their kids, Trevor, Travis, and Alexa. It was really great to see them. Levi loved meeting them and being held by Diona. She let him play with her nametag, so she quickly became a favorite!

Levi got to see Aunt Audry's baptism and sat through about an hour of the service. Here is one picture of Levi holding onto Q's hand during part of the service. Isn't that sweet?


During the church service, at least two more inches of snow fell. All the snow was beautiful. I was so scattered, though, that I neglected to take any pictures. Oh, well...

After some conversations, we decided that Levi and I should stay one more night in Birmingham. I am thankful we did. The Atlanta area was hit pretty hard Sunday afternoon. Had we left right after the service, we would have been in the midst of it.

Levi also met his "cousin" Mia, Aunt Chery's dog. Levi really liked Mia, and it seemed that the feeling was mutual.



Levi became proficient this weekend in rolling from his tummy to his back!! The first time I saw him meet this milestone was VERY early Friday morning. By Saturday evening, he was rolling back and forth (back to tummy, tummy to back) so well that he looked like he'd been rolling both ways for months! He also started stacking those stackable rings really well. Whenever he would put a ring on the pedestal, he'd look around to make sure everyone saw him and cheered him in his efforts. Levi's uncle Chris had been out of town until Sunday. Once Levi saw UC again, though, he would always want to make sure UC saw his "feats" and was cheering. So cute!