Levi - 14 months

It has been another HUGE month for little Levi. I feel like this was kind of a turning point for him from baby to 100% toddler.  After practicing taking steps here & there, walking between furniture, etc. I would say he can officially be called a walker. Last Thursday (5/2) was the first day he really took off walking. He has started standing up without needing to hold on to anything & he can change directions and get about any where. It is a lot easier to take him outside when he can walk around instead of having to crawl everywhere. He's loving it!

If I could describe his personality in one word this month I would say ASSERTIVE! He knows what he wants & will yell, climb, or do whatever it takes to get it. He's always climbing up or over something (bath tub, chairs, chair to table, my leg, etc) or trying to get his leg up onto something.  He also doesn't take any crap from Charlie. If you try to take something away from him, he'll pull it close and let out a loud squeal. You have to literally pry it out of his fingers. And he's fast. Once he starts pointing at something, I've got to figure it out and quick or else I will hear about it.

hmmm...

I am really amazed at how much he comprehends. He is pretty good at following directions. My favorite thing he has started doing is if I ask him if he wants to read a book, he will pick one out, bring it over and sit on my lap. I love it! When I tell him it's time for a bath or to brush teeth, he takes off for the bathroom. I've also recently noticed that he "gets" trying to be funny. He loves trying to make us laugh. Charlie usually goes down for a nap first and when we're done reading I will tell Levi that Charlie is ready for his nap & he will come flying over to his bed to give him kisses.

He babbles & chatters all day long. his definite words are: mama, dada, daisy, nana (banana), hot and uhhhhh (for everything else). He'll say "hot, hot, hot" and blow on his food. And when asked what a cow says, he will say, "mmmmmm" and for a puppy, he will pant (and he likes to pretend he's a dog with the tire too). He also likes to click his tongue & shakes his head yes & no. He's a pretty good little copy cat. He also likes dancing & trying to jump. I can't wait until he tries to stand on his head like Charlie did.

Multi tasking. Still loves pens.

We took away the bottle mid-April. I should say, we stopped offering a bottle. He lost interest & was just wasting most of the milk & spilling it. It's so nice to have all of that stuff out of the way. We also quit nursing last week & so far he has had no issues with that change in the nighttime routine. He gets a sippy with some milk before bed, we started reading some stories, and he babbles himself to sleep. His last 2 teeth are poking out now so we should have a nice break in teething for a bit. He is a big eater, especially at breakfast. He enjoys trying to feed himself with a spoon and is pretty good at it, but generally makes a huge mess as well. He loves eating grapes but I'm debating whether or not they sit will with him because it seems like he gets really fussy after he's had them. So, we try to only give him a few and then hide the rest.

Eating cottage cheese right from the container

Practicing

Since it FINALLY got nice out, we've been spending some time outside. He loves going down the slide & is starting to remember that he liked the swing last summer. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time outside this summer. He's starting to like Daisy a bit more, of course as soon as I think he's warming up to her, she will lick his face which sends him into hysterics. The cat has also tried to snuggle with him & he does not like that. He pushes her away & hollers.

The biggest battle continues to be nap time. At daycare, he is only taking an afternoon nap, but most days at home he will take 2. In the afternoon, he sleeps for 1/2 hour (same at daycare) and then he is super grumpy. For a couple of days now, I have been laying him back down. He cries for a couple of minutes but has fallen back to sleep for another good hour both days. Not sure why he wakes up after 1/2 hour but again, I sure would appreciate a little bit longer nap out of him! He's going to bed around 7 still and has been waking up around 6-6:15. Even though that's a lot of sleep at night, a 1/2 hour nap during the day is just not enough for 13 hours of play!

Very, very, very rare occasion. A post-nap nap.

He has gotten very good at going up the stairs and it's not very often that he will just take off up there when he's not supposed to. He does make sure we shut the gate at the top though. He has found a new favorite thing - if there are ANY diapers around (usually clean ones on the drying rack) he will bring them over to the toilet and throw them in there. He also freaks out if he can get into Erik's office & will scream & carry on until Erik picks him up or gives him the remote for his radio. When I am reading to Charlie, Levi usually listens for a bit & then takes off and spends timing sitting on the dump truck & car, climbing on & off over and over again.

He loves doing this. 

Likes:
Blankie (we bought a duplicate in case of emergencies but he is NOT interested in that)
all fruit
Carbs
Cottage cheese
Nutella & peanut butter
Sitting on the table
Digging in the cupboards
Playing outside
Playing on the couch
Playing peek a boo
Being messy
"Farm Alarm" book
Brushing his teeth (by himself)

Dislikes:
Diaper changes
Wearing shoes & socks
Naps
Haircuts
Being told no
Being patient
Sharing