Half way to Three!

We have reached the half-way mark in Levi's journey to three. He officially turned Two and a half on Sunday the 16th, so this post is all about him!

Since turning two, Levi is capable of expressing complex ideas, his pretend play has jumped to a whole other level, and he has nearly mastered the art of using the potty to relieve himself. He has also become quite the eater. He enjoys an array of foods from chicken and hamburgers to broccoli and salad. He will always love yogurt and desserts though :) He has even recently begun to out eat me at a meal!

~Funny Story~
The other day we were at my Mom and Dad's house and Levi was acting up. I told him that if he didn't obey he was going to be put in the corner (a common practice at our house). And without missing a beat he looked at me and said, "Mamaw's house doesn't have corners." to which I replied, "There are corners everywhere buddy." Thankfully, I didn't have to prove my statement to him that day.

So what is Levi into these days?
His favorite show is Little Einsteins. He could watch them all day if we let him.
His favorite toy is anything Thomas or train related. Although his stuffed "rocket" from Little Einsteins is a close second.
His favorite food is probably cheese. He is cyclical with most foods though so it depends on the day.
His favorite book is his Thomas books. A four book set that he almost has memorized. Jamberry has taken a back seat at this point.
His favorite activity is still basketball. Although riding his bike is a close second.


What does the summer hold for Levi?
Well, we are currently in Level 6 at Gymboree. I hope to start school skills when he turns 3. He ended his last day of Mom's day out today so we will have the summer free to go on vacations and other fun stuff. He will be going on Wednesdays in the fall with his BFF, Grant. Besides that he will be doing all the fun things that go with summer time! We will keep you posted.

~Funny Story 2~
Last Thursday (May 20) was not a good day for Levi. He had gotten in a lot of trouble by 9:30am . I have bible study then and as we were on our way, we were having a discussion about his behavior. During this conversation he said, "Well, today you were mean Mommy, and the bible says that's terrible." Now it wasn't that fluid, but that is what he said. Who is teaching these lessons? It wasn't funny at the time, but it is now :)


Here are some fun pictures of Levi from the past couple of months:

Gymboree: Level 6

The zoo with the Ferris family

Mom's Day out 09-10 school year

(first day)

(Last day) Look how he's grown!

Miss Annette and Miss Carla

RACHEL IS EIGHT MONTHS!

I felt like Rachel deserved her own post today so this is all about her!

She turned 8 months last Friday. She is now in my favorite part of her first year. She is fully mobile, she feeds herself (sometimes), and our routine is pretty solid. I know what to expect from her on a daily basis. She is a happy, healthy little girl. Her smile brightens my day instantly.

I must say too that without comparing Levi and Rachel too much, they are quite alike. They look so similar it is scary at times. They also have the same zest for life and adventure. Rachel is much like Levi was at this point. Always moving and getting into mischief. They get along really well because of that commonality. HOWEVER, a huge difference between the two of them is that Rachel still finds time to eat. Levi had horrible eating habits at this point and his weight was suffering because of it. Rachel on the other hand nurses about 5 times a day and manages to put away about 12oz of solid food...that is three meals a day. She is a good eater and her weight is still on the low end of the charts...but at least she is on the charts :) But is does go to show that I do not make big babies. They come out at a nice weight, but then they just grow steadily at the bottom of normal. And as the one who has to carry them around all day, I don't mind one bit!

Currently we are working with our first baby signs with Rachel. We are big on using "more", "all done" "eat" and "milk". Beyond that we will see how quickly she talks and if she needs more of the signs. She is pulling herself up on everything and her cruising is improving daily. I will not predict when she will walk as there are no real indicators for that. She will when she does :) The other big milestone of the first year has yet to be reached...her first tooth still eludes us. Not a one in sight. I am not upset about this however since I am still nursing all day.

Here are some pictures of Miss Rachel or as Levi would call her "Ray Ray".

(Rachel ~ 7 months)

Well my little Rachel is almost eight months old now...in the seventh month she has learned to crawl and pull herself up on stuff. Her crawling is still not fluid, but she is quick and she can get anywhere she wants. Then the other day I went to get her from her nap and there she was standing up in her crib! The time has flown by. She is adventurous just like Levi is/was. I know they will have lots of fun together when she can run around after him.

Rachel in her "busy box"

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(Levi~ 29 months)

Levi has had an interesting couple of months. He finished the (day time) potty training just a few weeks before my cousin came into town. She has a 15 month old and so Levi experienced some major regression while she was here. Then I got him back on track and he was struck with diarrhea! This has been the worst case of diarrhea I have ever seen! We actually put him back in diapers because it was so bad. The frustrating thing about it was that he was fine other than the diarrhea. After the first day he had no fever, good appetite, tons of energy...just diarrhea! He is feeling much better now and is using the potty again (big sigh of relief). Let's just say it has been one LONG week. Anyway, enough complaining. I feel blessed to have such healthy kids overall. We made it through the entire winter without any one getting the flu...and no, we don't get flu shots.

Funny Story~
So yesterday (May6) Rachel was cruising along the couch and Levi came up and wanted to hold her. He says "Mommy, I need to hold her!" again and again. So I said "fine, just get up on the couch and I will give her to you." He jumps up on the couch and sits next to me. I sit her on his lap and he immediately lays her down across his lap and starts to pull his shirt up. I said, "What are you doing?!" He says, "I need to feed her now!" He then proceeds to try to push her head up to his belly while adjusting a pillow under his elbow! I was laughing my head off and trying to explain that she is not hungry right now and if she were Mommy would take care of it.


Here are some fun pictures from the past month. Enjoy!

(Hosting Easter was a lot of fun!)

(It was one of the first nice days)

(Levi could not let Rachel out do him)

But then again, he is no girl!

One of our Chicago cousins