Brushing

Can you see his two bottom teeth? The one on the top left still hasn't broken through, but his gums are bulging. He was a little more whiny today because of it.

I mentioned in an earlier post about Levi's new toothbrush. Here he is showing it off.

Clapping

Levi has learned to clap - not on command every time we ask him to do it,
but he has figured out to clap when he does something "worthy" of a clap - or just for looking cute.

Talking

Levi loves it when I pick up my cell phone. He gets the "all overs"; I guess because he usually gets to talk to whoever has called, too. Levi also loves to play with his own cell phone, too.

Forgot to mention

Levi did go to the doctor. No ear, sinus, eye, or throat infection. He is not wheezing. So, the doctor kept Levi on the breathing treatments and gave us a nose drop recipe to try for 4 to 5 days to "dry him up". Hopefully this will do the trick. Levi has been staying at home with his grandma and granddaddy Hughes in hopes that no more buggies will take up residence in his stuffy / runny nose.

In Control

Levi loves remote controls. He apparently thought this one needed a talkin' to. Just in case you didn't know, all conversations with remote controls also require leg movement.

What's that?

Levi sure was talking to me and Kevin. We just had to share!!

Be all that you can be

Levi's army crawl

Riverbanks

Levi's cough seems to have gotten a little bit better. His nose is still running. Neither of those things seem to bother him, though. No fever, no whining (except some at night, which really isn't different from when he's well) - just a bad cough and a runny nose. Since they've both lasted about two weeks, we are taking him to the doctor Monday (as I said in yesterday's post).


BUT, since he still acts like his happy-go-lucky-self, we weren't going to let his cough or runny nose keep us inside with this beautiful weather. So, Kevin, Levi, and I headed to Riverbanks Zoo. Kevin and I hadn't been in over a year, but we thought Levi would enjoy it, being outside and seeing the animals.

Well, he loved being outside, but he wasn't as interested in the animals as we thought he might be - all those people were much more interesting! He did watch a golden lion tamarin (a little monkey) for a while and the elephants for a little bit; a llama captured his attention and so did the flamingos. We went into the lorikeet enclosure, and he really enjoyed watching the birds playing in the water and flying over our heads.

We were on our way to the reptiles and aquarium, and well...

Update

Levi and I have been working on sitting from the laying down position. I'd put him on his side, position one arm for pushing off the floor, and offer him my finger to pull himself up with his other arm. He wouldn't really use my finger as he pushed himself up, but he acted as if my finger was vital to the process. Until today... I watched as he pushed himself from his right side into the sitting position. He knew he had done something special by my over-the-top reaction, but I couldn't get him to recreate it on his own. Guess we'll just have to keep trying. If you ask Levi's Mama K and Q, they'll tell you that they actually saw his first sitting from laying on Easter morning. He wouldn't do it again, though, so Kevin and I wouldn't believe them. Why not, you might ask? As grandparents, they seem to believe that Levi does things WAY earlier than he actually does. For example, over Christmas, they believed Levi was sitting up days before he was actually sitting up, because they could move their hands about an inch away and he'd stay seated about one second before leaning into their hands. Kevin wasn't here tonight to see Levi actually do it, so he probably won't believe me, either. Oh, well. We'll just keep practicing until he's proficient.

Levi won't let me get a good look at his top gums, but it feels like his top left tooth is breaking through.

This past weekend, I bought Levi his first toothbrush. It is green with little trains on the handle. The first night I introduced it to him, I put it in his mouth. He got the funniest look on his face and pushed it away - he really seems to be big into textures. For the past few nights, I've been giving him the toothbrush to hold while he's in his bath, just so he gets the feel of it and to see if he'd put it in his mouth on his own. Tonight, he kept putting it in his mouth - chewing on it and rubbing it on his gums. Hopefully this is a good indicator that he will not fight me on brushing his teeth when he gets older.

Levi is still sick. He seemed to be getting better until Wednesday; now his nose is really runny and his cough still sounds productive. We're still doing his breathing treatments, but his cough just isn't sounding much better. I made an appointment for him to see the doctor on Monday afternoon, but if he sounds any worse (or if he has another bad night) we'll probably take him to the weekend clinic.

Nine Months

Levi is nine months old. He is moving all over the house with his army crawl. He loves to sit in front of the tupperware cabinet. I put a wooden spoon on the shelf inside the cabinet, and it is always his first grab. He loves to wave it around in the air and beat it against the cabinet door, the cabinet shelves, and the tupperware. He also loves to pull out any tupperware that he can grab. Levi is learning to drink from a cup and a sippy cup. His two bottom teeth are really making a showing, and his two top teeth are really pushing on his gums. Levi loves to turn the pages of the books we read together. Levi is still in a size 3 diaper, except at night when he wears a size 4. I forgot to mention that when I took him to the doctor last week, he weighed 22 pounds, 5.5 ounces (with his clothes on).

Happy Easter

Levi's first Easter basket.

Levi had bunches of fun looking at his Easter basket and trying to figure out what was there for him.

Levi has figured out how to protect his eyes from all the cameras that continuously flash around him. He has learned, I guess, that the red light comes on before the camera flashes, so he has developed a protecive blink. We laughed and laughed at him, so he just kept up the game.


Levi dressed in his Easter best and had his picture taken with Mama K and Q before church. Mama K insisted that Levi needed the white knee socks and white shoes to complete his outfit. I think she was right... Thankfully, we could all agree that he didn't need the "bonnet" that came with his Easter outfit.

Happy Easter from the Hughes Family!!

The Masters

My parents came to visit for Levi's first Easter. Levi still has a horrible cough and is taking breathing treatments, but he had a great time with his Mama K and Q. Levi had his first finger foods today - organic banana puffs by happy baby. He loved picking them up and letting them "slip" to his lap or the floor. I put one in his mouth, and he wasn't too sure about it. None of the others we put on his tray made it to his mouth.

Earlier this week, I modified his Ocean Wonders gym from the "kick" phase to the "crawl" phase. He finally decided he'd try it out.

Here are a couple of pictures I took after Q and Kevin got back from the Masters.

Also, today was Aunt Chery's birthday. Happy birthday! We love you!!!

Sick House

Levi has been fighting a cold for almost a week, and this weekend his cough started getting worse and worse. Yesterday, he started sounding a little wheezy. When his cough interfered with his sleep last night, I decided not to go to work and took him to the doctor. The doctor confirmed he was definitely wheezy and put him back on breathing treatments. He also said that the chances are even greater now that Levi could be asthmatic. Not what I hoped to hear, so I'll just keep praying that God turns that prediction around.

Kevin is also sick and went to the doctor today. My poor sickly boys...

Teeth

Here are a few pictures of Levi's teeth from yesterday and today. Can you see them?

A Voice From the Past

A very good friend of mine who used to work at the plant with me, Carrie, came to visit me and Levi Friday night. Carrie and I are convinced that Levi remembers her, because while I was pregnant Carrie and I were carpool buddies. In other words, Levi heard Carrie's voice almost as much as he heard his daddy's!

Carrie and I have also decided that it would be REALLY great if Levi met her niece in about 25 to 30 years. The two of them would meet, fall in love, and Carrie and I would be family!

Levi and I were really glad that Carrie came to visit. We had a fun time. I really miss having her closer!!