Levi - 11 months

AHHH! I can't believe Levi will be 1 in a month. The year has flown by & it seems like every month the days seem to go by faster and faster. This month we weren't quite as busy but still went by fast. I started working a "real" part time job instead of just subbing & it was good to have more of a consistent schedule but still be able to be home early at night & have 2 days off during the week. I also realized that I must suffer from camera burn out after Christmas because every January I take barely any pictures on the camera.

Napping seemed to regulate again after Christmas. Poor little guy is just too busy to relax and will not nap anywhere but home & Cheri's. He's still going down around 9-9:30 and then again around 1-1:30. We are putting him to bed right around 7pm and he will get up anytime around 6:30-7:30. So again, he's getting plenty of sleep :) Levi also continues to be super easy to put down. I just put him in his crib & he goes right to sleep or will jabber to himself for a few minutes first. And when he wakes up he seldom cries. As soon as I walk in the door he is standing up with his blanket hanging out of his mouth. He always pulls his socks off when he wakes up too. He almost never has his pacifier in his mouth and I keep telling myself I should just take it away but I haven't done it yet.

Still likes the Ergo & it allows me to get something done when he wants to be my shadow.

He continues to be a good eater too. He is a sorter though and will pick through for the good stuff first (fruit) and then move on to the rest of it. He is still crazy about all fruits especially bananas and blueberries. Erik gave him a chunk of grapefruit one morning and I think that might have been a little too sweet for him. Otherwise I just try to offer him a variety of things so that he'll keep eating it. Oh, he doesn't really like cooked carrots. Then again, who does? I can't blame him for that one. I am curious to see if he likes peanut butter too. He has started to throw things off of the high chair & pushing the food off of the tray which is pretty annoying. Of course, Charlie usually laughs at him so he's not helping the situation.

I have also been better about giving him a sippy cup and he has that figured out too. He prefers Charlie's cup and will snatch it if he can get it. We are trying to keep Charlie's cup up to prevent further germ spreading but sometimes he finds it.  I also figured out he can drink from a straw. He was drinking some of Charlie's smoothie one morning. I don't remember offering a straw to Charlie often but I know it took him a long time to figure it out and he was much older.

Levi has had swollen gums where his molars are for weeks now and I noticed mid-month that the 2 top ones had finally poked through. There is another bottom one that will be through any day now and seems to be related to a lot of drooling. It sure does look like it would hurt. I have been brushing his teeth regularly and he isn't a huge fan but he doesn't mind either.

He is definitely a little stinker though. He gets into everything & leave a huge mess. We have to make sure to keep the bathroom door shut & he gets pretty ticked if he hears the door shut & he is denied access.  His drawers & cupboards of choice are on the island (except for the 2 that are locked). After dumping out the baking soda for a second time I wised up and moved it to where he can't get it. He also likes to put blocks or things back into containers and that keeps him occupied for a long time. Other than that, he just likes to wreck whatever Charlie is trying to do.

For a couple of weeks now he has been walking behind toys & if he isn't paying attention will stand for a couple of seconds on his own. I don't think he'll be walking by his birthday though.

He says "mama" & tries to make other sounds but I'm not sure there's other words yet. Since he loves "so big" and will mimic other games, I have tried to do more signs with him, he will do his version of "no more". Within the last week or so he has started screeching more to get what he wants so hopefully if we can do some basic signs that will help. Charlie likes showing him the signs too so I guess it will be fun. I know Charlie was about 15 months when he went through his screaming phase & that helped him a lot.

He has started dipping his face in the water & trying to blow bubbles like Charlie. Usually just swallows water though.

Of course, we also had his first hospital stay :( and his first time on antibiotics. He does not like takings his antibiotics (the nurse informed me that Charlie is an exception to the rule since he practically stands and begs for more medicine...). When they weighed him at the hospital he was just under 22# so if that's accurate he hasn't gained much since his last appointment. However, he hadn't ate much all day. He's wearing 18 month clothes & he still has plenty of baby rolls & chins to go around.

I'm getting anxious to start planning his 1st birthday party, where has the last year went?