Levi, 15 months

I've been kind of awful about keeping up with this kid's milestones. So here's a snapshot of Levi right now.

Sleep: 8-7:30/8, mostly transitioned to one 2-3 hours nap in the afternoon, though sometimes he still sneaks in a morning one.

Eats: Everything! Mostly loves fruit, pasta and meat. Not a fan of goldfish or apple chips. Learned how to use a straw a few weeks ago. Drinks a combo of water, milk and frozen breast milk.

Words: Mama, more more (these sound deceptively similar), shhh, woof, kit-cat, da da, uh-oh, night night, this, yes, baa and grr (do animal noises count?). He'll also repeat stuff , as well as sign "please" and "All done." And he shakes his head no. Of course.

Likes: Loves to read, sit in laps, figure out how everything works, rip off a piece of toilet paper to put in the toilet, draw, climb on things, go down slides, and open and close doors. Oh man, does this kid love a good door! And a paci. He's all about the paci, sometimes putting 2-3 in his mouth at the same time. He's back to liking baths now too, thankfully! Oh, and dancing. His favorite is the "turn around in circles" move.

Dislikes: Cold water, being too hot, anyone eating when he's not, hearing me tell him "no." Welcome, toddlerhood. Overall, he's a really content little guy though, and is happy 95% of the time.

Skills/Play: Finally good going up and down stairs, though I still keep an eye on the down. Draws a lot with crayons and sidewalk chalk. I guess that's normal, but I never thought to let Samuel do any drawing at that age, so it feels really young to me! He's really good at walking, but keeps trying to run and having to catch himself. He's getting there, though! He can stack some blocks - notice how he's a total second child and I can't tell you exactly how many or anything, but it's 3+, so I'm pretty sure he's fine. Haha. He loves making cars and tracks go "vroom," flying his helicopter around, playing with his Little People, and attempting to do his puzzles (which usually results in just banging the puzzle pieces on the wood floor because it's more fun). He's starting to (maybe?) get attached to this little lamb stuffed animal we have, but right now he's way more into his paci than anything else.

Teeth: This kid cut 6 top teeth last month! He went from 2 bottom teeth (that popped out at 11 months) to 8! Two of which were molars. Its' crazy that I had no clue. He was a little more fussy and snotty than usual, but nothing crazy. I was in total shock when I peeked in there and some molars were peeking out! Maybe that explains his excessive diaper usage lately??? (Seriously, kiddo #2s 3-5 times a day lately!)
Oh, we also started brushing his teeth (sometimes... when we remember...). He likes that a lot too!


I'll have to add weight and height stats next week after his 15 months check up. Vacation schedules have every one messed up.

Suffice it to say that we LOVE our not-so-little Levi, and are so proud of our sweet 15 month old!!

May.

Oh, May. 

May was a tough one. Good, but tough. We had a lot of fun times. A lot of sweet times. A lot of struggle too. 

I think I posted I started weaning Levi back in April. I went super slow because I knew how bad my post partum anxiety had hit when I started weaning Samuel. I had no desire to relive that again. Somewhere around the first week of May, though, it began. I'm really thankful that I knew what was going on this time, so that "wired" feeling didn't make me feel quite as worried and anxious, but it did give me insomnia. Awful, awful insomnia for a week. At that point, I decided it was time to cut it off completely. I dropped a feeding every few days and was done the day before he hit 14 months. 

Thankfully, the insomnia/wired-ness only lasted that week or so. The rest of the time I fared pretty well. It was a little sad; but I feel like 14 months is a good amount of time. Plus he had started walking and was cutting some more teeth. He became a toddler in that month, and it was time to let his baby-hood go. Man, I enjoyed his baby year. 

Could I have nursed him longer? Definitely. He would have probably nursed for another year if I let him. I think it was the right choice, though, and I was glad to not be tied to nursing/pumping any time we left the house.

The other trying part of May came in the form of Samuel's ADHD diagnosis. Not a surprise, really. It's something I -we've - suspected for a while, though, to be honest, I realize now I didn't know all *that* much about it. I say that now, a month and a half later, when all I've done for the last month is read up on it. It's common enough, a struggle many are familiar with, and most days I'm able to laugh about it, about the fact that I pretty much could have called it in utero (and as a toddler. See here). He's always been a force to be reckoned with. 

But, especially that last week or two of May, when we were going through meetings and evaluations and I had just weaned Levi at the same time and was completely emotional anyway - it was hard. It's hard to hear and feel like your kid isn't quite "normal." It's hard to hear someone refer to you as a "special needs parent" for the first time. It's hard to hear about the uphill battles he's going to face in a lot of areas of life in the next few years. It's hard when everyone points out all the negatives and very few people point out how sweet and loving, fun and adventurous he is. There were a lot of tears that last week of May. And I'm sure there will be more to come throughout my parenting career, but for now, I've made it to the "acceptance" phase. I think. 

Anyway, enough about all that. There were lots of fun times in May too, a lot to celebrate and so many joyful little moments that the Lord allowed us to have even in trying times. So how about we look at some of those?

There was a "family fun day" at the gym and Samuel spent so much time in the bounce house that he didn't get to have his face painted like a giraffe. Enter, super non-artistic mommy. I should add that he tried Body Combat with me, and that was super fun!

Oh yeah, they have dress up clothes at the gym too.

I could totally do without their wrestling, but it makes them so happy (until it doesn't)!

Good grief, I just can't handle how cute he is sometimes!

Oh yeah, Levi does stuff like this now.

"shhh." It almost makes up for the squealing he's been doing.

Baby shower for a sweet friend at Polo Park. Levi got on the teeter totter for the first time (with 10 other kids). Total exuberance. 

Samuel and his "dinosaur" friends.

Chick Fil A one Saturday.

Samuel loves to write. He drew me a flower ("fawr") one morning before he got me out of bed.

Samuel had his cavity filled. I was so so impressed both with him and with our dentist. He's been telling me ever since that he wants to get another cavity because they made it so much fun for him! How about not, little man?

Samuel photography.

One of our local parks opened an awesome splash pad! It wasn't too crowded in May because word wasn't out yet. It has been PACKED ever since.

Samuel selfies.

OH man, I almost forgot about this. Starbucks did frappuccino happy hour in May. Pretty sure I gained like 5 pounds from that.

Mother's Day Tea at Samuel's preschool.

Levi's first "real" trip to Sci Works.

Mother's Day dinner at Village Tavern.

And flowers from my boys.

Levi's first "artwork."

I loved walking home with Samuel from school just about every day in May. The weather was perfect and he always had lots to tell!

Walks around Miller Park.

This boy love love LOVES all animals, but especially dogs. "Woof Woof!" Is one of his favorite phrases. We walk with Jib and her dogs a lot. Levi just can't get enough!

Struck by a smooth criminal.

I mean, seriously, could he get any cuter/happier??

Goofball.

Splashpad date with the Kauffmans. Levi + Anna. SO cute.

Samuel helped me make sloppy joes. 

Eric seriously took this picture at Samuel's spring program. Oh my. 

Slide + his favorite book.

This picture makes me laugh every time. This kid.

Greek Festival.

Fresh Fest at the Children's Home Farm.

Corn box. I had to drag Samuel away. Levi was not enthused. 

OH, and I have to brag. I took these two to a baby shower during their normal "rest" time, and I have to admit that I was totally expecting the worst. They were AMAZING. They played quietly and were polite and gentle. Seriously, they knocked my socks off!

And then, post-baby shower, my car blew a tire. And after a nice man stopped to put on my spare, we moseyed over to Wal-Mart and spent an hour or two hanging out, watching Madagascar, and getting a little shopping done. Oh, and Samuel got a Gatorade, which I'm pretty sure was the most thrilling part of his day.

Pre-church photo-op. Terrible lighting, because Samuel insisted we take it there. Whatever.

Poor Eric. Over loved.

If there's a place to sit, this kid will find it.

I almost forgot about this! Samuel went through a month or so where he wanted to build "roads" with everything, but mainly books. He would set up these intricate designs and run his cars all over them. Cool, but OMG they took up so much space! I'm so glad that's over (for now anyway!)

OH man, is there anyone cuter??

Levi's first "real" trip to the Children's Museum.

Playing at Ardmore Methodist's playground.

My boys love to play with sidewalk chalk! We spent a lot of afternoons out front.

Our little plants sprouted a few peas. Samuel liked to pick and eat them in the mornings. 

Playing at Tobaccoville Park.

Proof that his room can be somewhat clean!

One morning (Memorial day?) we walked over to Samuel's school playground since Eric was post-call and needed to sleep. I let them wear whatever. Levi stayed in his pjs (okay, that was my choice), and Samuel chose the outfit above. It was like 80 degrees, too!

Proof that I can still hang upside down. Photo cred: Samuel J.

We had a little play date at 10 Little Monkeys. Samuel and Avery played together the ENTIRE time. So cute! (Pictured below).

Anyway, that about wraps up May. It was tough, but God is good, as always, and I'm so thankful of the sweet reminders of His presence He gave me throughout those weeks!