Beach Vacation: Days Three and Four

   
Day Three:  Levi decided drinking out of Mama's water bottle was much better than drinking out of a sippy cup.  Levi played for a little while in the water in the afternoon.  We attempted to take him to the calmer side of the island on Monday night, but a thunderstorm decided to make its presence known instead.  We saw some pretty impressive lightning as we were leaving the beach.

Day Four:  We headed to Charleston this morning to see the aquarium.  Well, to be honest there wasn't much to see, but we had a good time.  We went to lunch at A.W. Shucks.  Levi had a first - his first taste of pickle.  We got back in time to try the calmer side of the island again - and success.  Levi had a blast really being able to play in the water - and play with the sand.  He also decided that he needed some more dinner - and that the sand would be appetizing.  Levi had another first on the shoreline.  He walked only holding onto one of my hands.  Slight progress, but progress nonetheless.

    

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Beach Vacation, Day Two

    
    
More pictures from our vacation.  Levi is loving the water.  If he could walk by himself, I think he'd walk straight into the water and stay there.  He doesn't seem to have any fear of the water, so it is a good thing he isn't walking yet!!  He met a "friend" at the ocean, saw a really cool dog playing in the water, and watched the birds flying and diving for food.

Beach Vacation, Day One

Levi sat in the sand and felt the waves of the ocean for the first time today.  He wasn't sure what to think of it all at first, but he ended up having a great time.  

He had so much fun this morning that he fell asleep on his daddy.  We stayed at the beach for a couple of hours this morning, took a break (and another nap), and then headed back to the beach for an hour this afternoon.  

It was rather warm, and so any pink that you see on his cheeks is NOT overexposure to the sun - it is just that he got very hot.  He was lathered up really well with sunscreen for both of our trips to the beach today.

The Beach

We're heading to the beach today for Levi's first beach experience. We'll be staying a week - not sure if I'll be able to download pictures while we're away. So, it might be a week before a blog with pictures shows up.

A few updates on Levi. He is "talking" a bunch more. He is saying "mama" quite often but doesn't seem to say it for me. However, it is usually what you can hear him saying if he's bumped his head or has received some other bump, which is becoming more and more often with his increasing mobility. Levi has also started sounding ta, pa, and of course his first favorites of da and ba still remain.

He is crawling a bit more on all fours, and he loves to stand. Although, he is not confident enough to stand without holding onto something.

He still loves fans and anything with lights. He also seems to favor his left hand when reaching for things. Is it too early to tell if we have a lefty on our hands?

Well, my little man is now awake (this is late for him), so let the fun begin!!!!

Lions, Tigers, Bears

Kevin and Levi went to the zoo today, with Levi's grandma and great aunt. Here are some pictures from their day. The first picture shows when they'd first gotten there, and it is the perfect picture of his "shy" pose that he tends to strike the first few minutes in a new place. You can see in the progression of pictures he gets over the shyness rather quickly.

Kevin said that it was really cool to watch Levi. He was much more into looking at everything than the first trip to the zoo. He started pointing to the animals and fish. By the end of the day, he started paying very close attention to where they would point to show him things.

Of course, by the end of the day, Levi was tuckered out.

Weighing In

Kevin took Levi to the doctor today, because he has had a rash on the back of his left leg for a couple of weeks. It would ease up a little and then come back a little bit. The doctor gave us some ointment and said it should go away in a couple of days. A doctor's appointment also means a weigh-in, and Levi weighed in at 22 pounds, 6 ounces. Our big boy!!

Praying for Their Footsteps

Lord, I pray that Levi would know you as Savior early in his life. Work in his heart, mind, and spirit so that the fruit of the Spirit would be exemplified. Let Your joy be reflected through Levi's life so that others will see that he is set apart for You. Let his tongue joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Lord, open his lips, that his mouth may declare Your praise. Father work that same spirit of praise into my heart so that Levi and others will see You and not me.
Psalm 51:12, 14-15

Make Levi quick to acknowledge his sin to You. Father, instruct and teach Levi in the way in which he should go; counsel him with Your eye upon him.
Psalm 35:5, 8

Swimming

On Saturday, I put some water in Levi's pool mid-morning to let the sun have some time to warm up the water. A few hours later, Kevin and Levi went put on their swimsuit and swimmie diaper, respectively. The water was about the temperature of bath water. I guess about 5 hours of sitting in the sun was a bit too long. The warmth of the water didn't seem to bother Levi in the least. I guess he thought he was just in a bigger, more colorful bath! We ended up putting a little bit of cold water in the pool just to make it a bit more comfortable, though.

On Friday night, Levi and I went to the church to watch Kevin play softball. It was extremely hot. Levi sat underneath the "shelter" of the stroller's canopy. By the time we headed for home, Levi was red faced and his hair was so damp he looked like he'd just gotten out of the bath! We were outside in the heat for less than an hour. We're a bit concerned about how he'll do at the beach this coming weekend. Hopefully, the sun canopy we bought combined with the breeze at the beach will help things a bit. We also figure that our time on the beach will just have to be limited.

U.S. Open

Kevin introduced Levi to the U.S. Open. Here's Levi watching golf.

Praying for Their Footsteps

Father, I praise You for Your creation. You are amazing.

Lord, please work in Levi's heart, mind, and spirit, so that he would come to know Jesus as his Savior early in his life. I pray that Levi will bear the fruit of the spirit, love. I pray that Levi's love may abound in real knowledge and all discernment, so that he may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Galatians 5:22; Philippians 1:9-11

Daddy's Birthday

Today is Kevin's birthday, and it was the first men's Monday (i.e. Kevin and Levi). Kevin said they had a really good time together. Levi started acting like he was ready for a nap so Kevin put Levi on the floor so he could finish something before he took Levi to his crib. Apparently, Levi couldn't wait.

I also finally got a video of Levi's hands and knees crawl.

Eleven Months

Honestly, where does the time go?? Our little man is eleven months old today. He is growing like a weed. He has four teeth - with the Rains gap on top.

Levi still loves for me to read books. He also loves to pull out all his books from the bookshelf, and then he'll select one and give it to me to read. He loves to turn the pages for me and will sometimes let me know that he is finished reading the page before I am! ;-) The past day or so, he has started to want to read to himself (i.e. hold the book and flip the pages himself). He's growing up so fast.

As you've seen in previous posts, Levi loves remote controls. He found the one that was in the living room, and he has carried it all over the house. I'm not sure what he finds so fascinating with the remote he chose, because the light is very small on it. However, it is just like his daddy's TV remote, so that is probably why he likes it so much.

Bathtime is one of Levi's favorite times. He has a few toys he loves in his tub. He is particularly interested in two green turtles, a crab, a duck, and a penguin.

Today, Levi started crawling on his hands and knees more. I wasn't able to catch it on video yet, but I'll keep trying. It is funny, because he'll crawl really fast across the kitchen and then flatten out like a pancake and continue moving using his army crawl. He's so funny.

Levi is having bunches of quality time with his daddy since he is no longer going to school. We have officially decided to withdraw him. Not sure of the long term plan at this point. Kevin and I are still in discussions.

Day Eleven

and still no chicken pox. Kevin and I were both very afraid though that he was getting very sick, because he had a very bad night last night. I guess it was a combination of his snotty nose, cough, and more teeth that kept him from sleeping well. I felt so terrible, too, because one of my friends from the plant, Sarah, was staying with us last night. Today was her last day at the plant, because starts working at the corporate office on Monday.

Levi's school has a rule that a baby must be eating table food prior to moving up a class. Even though I told them our doctor said that Levi shouldn't eat table food before he is one, the school decided to feed him spaghetti on Tuesday. Kevin and I talked it over and decided to send him to school on Wednesday and that Kevin would pick him up well before lunch so that they wouldn't be able to try it again. Despite him already having breakfast at home, they decided to feed him grits. Needless to say, Levi hasn't been back - and we've pretty much decided not to ever take him back.


Levi loves lights, and the light shining on Kevin's computer really captures his attention.

Praying for Their Footsteps

Father, I pray that Levi will come to know you early in his life. Begin to write Your Word on his heart even now and continue to do so throughout his life so that his steps do not slip.
Psalm 37:31

In his illness, Lord, restore him to health. I pray that in all respects he will remain in good health.
Psalm 41:3; 3 John 1:2

Lord, make Levi dwell in safety so that in peace he will lie down and sleep. Let his sleep be restful so that he will be rejuvenated each morning and after each nap.
Psalm 4:8

Stand Up

Levi loves to stand up. He's moving around most often on his belly still, but he is pulling himself to the standing position and then stepping while he is holding on to things. He uses the couch, kitchen chairs, us, window sills, his crib rail, and even his bouncy seat. Really whatever he can get his hands on!

A Visit from Aunt Audry

Aunt Audry visited this past weekend. She actually stayed with Levi while I went to work on Friday. Levi was feeling a bit under the weather, so he had a bunch of cuddle time with his auntie.

He was all snotty again (it seems like a constant thing with him), but Aunt Audry said she had TONS of fun even with all the nose swiping and suctioning.

The three of us hung out Saturday and Sunday while Kevin was deep sea fishing with some friends. Levi was a trooper just running errands with us girls on Saturday. We didn't make it to church on Sunday, because Sunday was day 7 after having been exposed to the chicken pox. A parent of a kid in his Sunday school class told the church last Sunday that the kid broke out with the chicken pox that afternoon. We're watching Levi very closely to see if he ends up with them. We've read that the incubation period could be as long as 20 days. Day 7 - no chicken pox...

Anyway, we had a wonderful time with Aunt Audry. I am so blessed to have her as my youngest sister, and Levi is so blessed to have her as one of his bestest aunties.

We love you, (Aunt) Audry!!

Wake Up!!

I had hoped this little clip would be clearer and show his paci smile a little better. Oh, well. You can still tell why I LOVE to be the first one to see my little man in the morning. If his little smile doesn't get the day started off on the right foot, nothing will!!

Praying for Their Footsteps

Father, thank You for Your creation. Lord, please work in Levi's heart so that he comes to know Jesus as his Savior early in his life. Then, create in Levi a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within him. Keep him in Your presence and fill him with the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 51:10-11

I pray that in all respects Levi may prosper and be in good health.
3 John 1:2