Merry Christmas

Levi loved his gifts.

I had turned on his laptop, and I think it drew his attention from the golf clubs and the car. So, he played with it for a while.

Once he saw the golf clubs, he played with those for quite a while.

He then moved to the car. And that was pretty much how the day went: laptop, golf, car, laptop, golf, car... He had little to no interest in opening any other gifts until his nana and papa came with other gifts. Then we got him to open those - with a little help from me...

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was spent with Kevin's extended cousins. Cindy became one of Levi's favorites very quickly - she bribed him with cheese! After lunch, Cindy braved the cooler temperatures and the other kids and took Levi on the trampoline. He loved it!

The other kids on the trampoline are just a few of Kevin's cousins' kids.

One of the Christmas traditions that Kevin and I have taken from my family's traditions is the giving of Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve.

Jumping

Levi started "jumping" today. Kevin said that earlier today, he would sometimes get one foot off the ground, but this is what happened when we asked him tonight.


Kevin took Levi to the allergist today, which is why he has a Batman sticker on the front of his shirt. (He got the sticker because he was such a good boy at the doctor.) When she saw Kevin, she immediately remembered him - and the difficult time she had getting his allergies under control. She didn't do any pricking, since she assumed that Levi had inherited Kevin's allergies. She gave us some allergy medicine to give him every day. Perhaps that will help him. She also told Kevin that having me nurse Levi only protects him from allergies while he is nursing - which is not what I had heard. Guess the year's protection was at least somewhat helpful...

Christmas at the Zoo

Kevin found out that the zoo in Columbia was decorated with lights, so we decided to see what it was like. We bundled up with our coats, hats, mittens/gloves, and a blanket for Levi.


Levi loved the lights. He would clap and point.

Levi saw the carousel and wanted to ride, so Kevin de-bundled him and found a place for Levi to ride. It was the fastest carousel I've ever seen, but Levi didn't seem to mind. He cared more about the lights on the carousel than finding me for pictures or video clips.


Before we left for the evening, we decided to take a walk through the reptile house and aquarium - mainly to warm up a bit before we left.


Levi really liked to watch the fish.

Seventeen Months

Levi turned 17 months old on Sunday. He is such a character. He still loves to play ball. He calls football, "touchdown", and he loves throwing it with his daddy (mama is an okay second best). Levi also likes to be tackled by daddy while they're playing. Golf is usually still called, "pow" or "pow pow", as is baseball.

Levi likes to eat and say, "cheese". He has started signing "help" more consistently. He is still working towards one nap.

Levi started acting sick again last Thursday night. If you look real close at the picture, you can see some evidence of it... We're taking him to an allergy doctor next week to see if she can help us to know how we can get Levi to feel better on a more consistent basis. It just seems like he's been sick much more often than he's been well over the past couple of months.

O Christmas Tree

Kevin and I put up the Christmas tree on Saturday night after Levi went to bed. We didn't put up all of our ornaments, fearing that little hands or thrown balls could destroy them. The tree still looks relatively full; although the bottom portion of the tree is a little sparse - a few small stuffed ornaments and that's about it. Levi doesn't seem to mind, though.

This was Levi investigating the tree on Sunday morning.

Levi quickly spotted two ornaments - one Auburn football and one Carolina football. He still points to them and says, "Touchdown" (or what we think is "touchdown").

Feeding the Ducks

A few more pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend. There is a park near where my parents live, where there are ducks and fish that love to be fed. So before the Carolina v. Clemson game (11-28-09) we headed downtown with some bread. Here's Levi and Q just getting started.

Levi got a little adventurous - or perhaps it is the goose who was getting brave.

You can see the colorful fish and some of the geese in these pictures.

I can recall only one time that Levi even attempted to put a piece of the bread into his mouth. Quite a feat for a little guy who loves to eat!

Kevin even got in on the action. He had these geese practically eating out of his hand!!

Me and my boys.

Thankful

I am thankful for God's Love. I am thankful for His many blessings. I am thankful for my husband and for Levi. I am thankful for Levi's grandparents - my parents and my in-laws.

I am thankful...

for Levi's great-grandmothers.

for Levi's aunts (those pictured and not pictured - sorry AA and GAK; see GAJ below).

for Levi's uncles (those pictured and not pictured, sorry GUWa; see GUWe below).

for Levi's cousin (well, my cousin, but close enough!!).

that Levi doesn't have to wear reading glasses quite yet.

for hoola hooping.

I am thankful.