LOOK AT HIM GO!

I just had to show this video. We took him out to the cul-de-sac and turned him loose.
I think he will be walking soon, what do you think?

He's a growing boy!

We went to the doctor's office again today...to weigh in.

Two weeks ago he weighed 13lb 5oz. We were contemplating taking him to Riley Hospital for some tests on Failure to Thrive. I didn't feel at peace with these tests, but the doctor felt they were necessary. I have been praying about this for the last two months...I felt like something simple would fix this issue. We had tried solid foods, but he just wasn't consistently interested. I continued to pray about it while we tried one last idea.

I started giving him Yo Baby yogurt and also a bottle of formula each day in addition to all of the nursings. This sounds like a simple fix, but I had a hard time giving him formula...those who nurse could probably relate to that feeling. Anyway, he was getting an additional 12 oz of food to my nursing him 7 times a day. This along with prayers has given him the weight he needed to almost be on the charts again. He now weighs 14lbs 4oz!!!

Thank you Jesus! Also, thank you to everyone who has said a prayer for Levi. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate every word you have prayed on his behalf. At this time, we are going to cancel the tests scheduled at Riley Hospital and continue the yogurt and formula as I try to slowly encourage him to explore and enjoy other foods. Today I was hoping for 14 lbs and that would have made me very happy, but God showed up in a big "weigh" and gave him 4 more ounces!

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
-1 John 5:14

I am constantly humbled by God's everlasting love for us.

My Feather Weight

I have not been writing much about this topic because we weren't sure what to think about the whole situation. Levi has only gained 1 pound in the last 5 months...

We didn't really know the numbers until he went for his six-month appointment. He only weighed 12 lb 15oz. Since then we have been to the doctor at 7 and 8 months. He now weighs 13 lb 5 oz. So he is gaining weight but not a significant amount. He continues to grow in height and head circumference he is consistently staying at about the 25th percentile in both those areas, so the only real concern is his weight.

Furthermore, he has been crawling since he was 6 1/2 months, he has been pulling himself up to standing and walking along objects (ie the coffee table) since he was about that old as well. He just clapped for the first time on his 8-month birthday. (which I have been told is a 9-month skill). With all that being said his development is ahead of schedule and his height/head circumference is steadily increasing....so what should I do?

We have started him on coconut oil and yo baby yogurt. He takes both very well. He is up to about 8 oz of yogurt a day and about a tablespoon of oil. We also are giving him fish oil and some vitamins...just in case he is lacking an element or something. I feel frustrated some days...like I am a bad mother and then others I feel so proud of the way he moves and stands...(I really think he will walk soon). I guess what they say is true...there is no lack of guilt in motherhood. But, for the record, he is a healthy, happy little boy and he is God's child. I trust Him fully to bring the right information to me to make decisions concerning this matter. However, I must also note that prayers are always appreciated. :)

ONTO A HAPPIER TOPIC!
As I mentioned above, Levi has started clapping. Please enjoy the video below.

We were actually able to capture it the first day that it happened. He likes for you to clap first and then he claps for you.

MEMORIES OF JULY

Levi and I spent an afternoon with my mom. He decided to get cozy and take a little cat nap on Mamaw Debbie


His first Fourth of July! He really enjoyed the fireworks. As a matter of fact each time we have seen fireworks he gets excited and babbles after each one. As if he's saying, "OOOO, Mom, did you see that one!? OOOO, look at that one!"


This is another picture from the Fourth.
(We went down to the Canal for the first time with our neighbors, the Summerfields.) Levi was trying to grab my camera. I know, totally cute!


I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post another Daddy-Levi picture.
Here they are enjoying the fireworks together.



ANOTHER FIRST!
This is Levi's first trip to Symphony on the Prairie.



The Bath Time Cafe
As aforementioned, Levi is into Yo Baby Yogurt. He needed a bath, he needed to eat some more food, and it was late...so I just smushed my tasks together...it was a success!


YET ANOTHER FIRST!
Today we went to a festival and we got Levi's leg painted.


It is a Colt's horseshoe.
I know what he's thinking...I have very cool parents.

We have ourselves a cruiser!

Levi is in full on crawl mode. He is able to get where he wants and he can pull himself to standing. I can't believe how mobile he is!

He also had his first two teeth pop through last Wednesday, June 25th. The bottom two are in and coming up nicely...then I saw that his top two are just under the last couple of layers of skin...so he should have four in the next week or so :)

Well with that said, I have been trying to introduce solid foods to him...it's a no go. This kid eats about 7 to 9 times a day (nursing) I try to get him to eat 2-4oz of solid food as well...that has been a real struggle. He will eat them some days and other days, he won't eat any. In the beginning, he ate pretty well, but he has experienced a major decline in the desire to eat any solid foods except puffs and cheerios. I am open to suggestions so please feel free to comment on this topic. If he is really hungry, only nursing will do. He does eat cheerios and puffs like they are going out of style, but I want to get him into veggies and fruits and stuff...what gives?!

FUN PICTURES FROM JUNE 2008

This is Levi at Grant's "pool party"

He's "helping" me with the laundry...

We take a lot of bike rides with Levi and he almost always takes a little cat nap...can you blame him?

The Boys Club
(Bob and Grant, Donnie and Gavin, and Matthew and Levi)
We had a neighborhood cook out in June and the guys got together for a picture.

THESE LAST 6 MONTHS HAVE FLOWN BY!

So I haven't been able to keep up with all of the things that have happened over the past month.

Starting with May...

Levi was dedicated at our church on Mother's Day. It was an extra special day because of that. Both sets of grandparents were there and we were able to get some good pictures of all of us together. Then they all came over to our house for lunch. It was a good day.

Grandma Judy, Me, Levi, Matthew, Grandpa Chris


Mamaw Debbie, Me, Levi, Matthew, Papaw Larry

Levi really began his form of crawling in May as well. He scoots his legs under his body, picks himself up on his hands and knees and then throws his body forward...this process continues until he gets where he wants to go. I is very cute, and I assume it will get better with time.

He is also cutting his first two teeth and man are they taking FOREVER! They started getting puffy and swollen about 3 weeks ago...now we are to the point where we can pretty much see them just below the surface. The skin above them is very thin, but nothing has popped through. However, I would have to say that his attitude has not changed very much. He still sleeps through the night and takes good naps (overall), he is just a little more clingy than usual.

We have also officially started solid foods. I am not weaning him at all yet, just adding some calories to his diet. He had his 6 month well check and he had only gained 7 oz in 8 weeks! He was gaining 32 oz in 8 weeks...the doctor didn't seem too concerned given that he did gain weight and he is healthy, but I have to bring him in this week for a weight and height check. So, that in combination with the fact that he is 6 months, we thought we would introduce some food to him. Nothing serious, just some avocado, applesauce, sweet peas, and sweet potatoes. He does pretty good with all of them, but right now he is ALL about sweet potatoes. He only eats about a jar a day, but keep in mind that is in addition to all of his nursings too. Hopefully we will see him gain a solid pound this month...I'll keep you posted.

This is Levi with sweet potatoes all over himself. He flipped the piece on his nose onto himself when he was chewing on his spoon at the end.

Other than that, we are just advancing towards toddler hood one day at a time. He pulls himself up to standing on various things so now the exersaucer is no longer a toy to be sat in, but a toy to stand on the outside of...he can stand and play with/hold onto a toy for about 30 minutes...it is unreal!

Levi has a new best friend...his name is Levi.


We went for a walk with my mom one day (his first wagon ride) and it must have been just too much for him, because he fell asleep rather quickly.


This is from our monthly play date.
Levi is having an in depth conversation with his cousin Kassidy.

There has not been much to report for June yet. Levi has played in his first kiddie pool, and I would have to say that is more work than going to the Y, because at least I can hold him in my arms at the Y. We have been trying to keep cool in the heat by wearing hats and drinking water from a sippy cup. We are selling our house so Levi has had to deal with fewer of his toys being available. We haven't sold our place yet, so we have to keep it really clean for showings...that is a bit stressful, but hey, it will be okay :)

Okay, so I have been completely neglectful of my duties as the blogger of the Ferris household. I accept full responsibility for my actions...or lack there of. Here are some pictures of the last month...

This picture is just adorable! We were taking his weekly picture and he was just being silly so I kept taking pictures...this is the best one!

We were at a restaurant waiting 45 minutes to be seated...at 8:00 at night! Luckily, he was in a good mood.

We were at a friends house...it's just a cute picture.

So these are the pictures that he will hate when he's older, but I feel like it is my right as a parent to do these kind of things...it makes up for the rough nights and cranky days that each baby has from time to time :)

When we were at the same friends house as the two pictures above, Levi and Reid decided to taste each other's fingers...what Levi doesn't know is that Reid has several teeth...don't worry no digits were lost.

5 months and tough enough!

Here is Levi showing you how tough he can be. You would think that by this picture he likes the sunglasses...but you would be wrong. He has yet to keep them on when we are outside

Another priceless Levi/Daddy picture.
This is the first picture that I took with my new camera
(thank you, Honey!)

22 weeks old in this picture...it is hard to believe!

Not that 22 weeks is a long time, but he is 5 months old and it just seems to be flying by. Now I understand what people say about time flying once you have children. But I guess that means the the old adage that says, "time flies when you're having fun" is true too. I am having the best time with him and Matthew. The three of us together is my favorite time of day. I really enjoy being with Levi all day and I know that I am blessed to be at home with him, but I like getting to experience the cool stuff with Matthew instead of just telling him about it when he gets home.


As far as the cool stuff I am referring to...he is rolling over from belly to back and back to belly like a pro. He is sitting up beautifully, and he babbles non stop. He smiles and laughs by himself now, no one has to prompt him. He is showing all the signs of wanting to eat food, but we want to wait until he is 6 months old. Then, we will start with some fruit and veggies (slow and steady for a while, I still want breast milk to be his main source of nutrition for as long as he allows, hopefully, through the first year...and that's it).

Then after he is at least 9 months we will introduce grains. That probably sounds strange to a lot of people, but through some research, we have found that to be the earliest opportunity for their little digestive systems to really break down the grains. I am not knocking anyone else's methods, this is just what we want to try. There seems to be a million and one theories out there on what to give your child when, and I am not saying that ours is the best by any means, I personally don't know what is best, but as a mom I find more comfort in being wrong about a decision I made, then being wrong and feeling like I didn't go with my gut.

And finally, here is a video that I took with my new camera...I really just wanted to get a video in the blog, just to see if I could do it. The video is just of Levi babbling...nothing super special. I want you to know that it takes FOREVER to upload videos though so please appreciate all the work that I just put into this, and know that videos in the future will be much more poignant. Enjoy!

He is growing very curious...it is wonderful.

You would not believe how busy we have been!

Levi is just growing like a weed these days! We have really been enjoying watching him advance. He now gets excited when we come to get him out of his crib in the morning and when we come over to his exersaucer and talk to him. He knows who we (Matthew and I) are. He also has picked up this new habit of spitting on himself or whomever is holding him. I don't mean drooling. He actually spits a blob of bubbly spit out onto his face which usually drops on my hand or he rubs it on my shirt. I am not sure what to think about this habit. Is it normal? I know all babies drool, but do they all do this? Someone may what to shed some light on this for me.

We recently went on a trip to Tennessee. Levi did very well considering that we traveled at the worst time of the day. He only fussed a few times. He also got his first taste of great weather. It was warm and sunny the day we left. We let him feel the grass for the first time with his bare feet. Things like that are pretty special. We take that experience for granted, but Levi just felt grass under his feet for the first time, and we introduced him to it...cool huh?

This was Levi's first experience in the water. He didn't fuss at all, it was a bit cold but he didn't seem to mind.

This is a four generation picture.
My Grandmother (Naomi Berry), Mom (Debbie), Myself and Levi! We took this when we were in Kentucky at the end of March.

Here we are at my cousin, Christie's wedding.
We even danced like this with Levi in the sling!

This is the first opportunity that we have had to get all the Ferris grandchildren together. Drew doesn't seem to care for all the babies to be laying all over him...

While Melissa (Matthew's sister) was in town, we decided to go to the pool again. This was Levi's second time. He and drew are sporting their matching swim diapers. Levi's is a little big on him...we hope that it fits better this summer :)


When we went to TN, we stopped in Nashville to visit my friend Rachel, evidently, the trip was already exhausting Levi.

Here we are enjoying the great outdoors in Tennessee.


Here is his first time in the grass in bare feet.
I think he likes it!

Levi was obviously whistling for a cab.

Bath day always brings lots of smiles!

Yes, he is totally relaxed

Well, I know it has been a while since I have posted anything,
but I have a few new things to report.

Levi finally rolled over for Matthew yesterday! We were at his parents house for lunch and after we ate I sat him down on the floor in the front room and I told Matthew to watch him because he was going to roll over for him today...for the past six week he has been rolling over (from belly to back) in his crib two and three times a night, but Matthew had yet to witness the actual rolling over...until yesterday that is. Ironically, he was wearing the exact same outfit that he was the very first time he rolled over! (I know, only a mother would actually know that).

Also we had his four month well check on Tuesday. He weighs 12lbs. 8 oz. and is 25 1/4 inches long. So he is towards the bottom of the weight and towards the top of the height. I expect him to be a bit of a lightweight through most of his infancy...and that is just fine with me :) He is gaining a pound a month and that is a healthy, steady increase according to the doctor :)

Levi must have learned this trick from his cousin Drew.

LEVI has a new Cousin!
Today we welcomed a new baby girl into the Ferris Family!
Kassidy Alyse Ferris was born
at 7:03 am.
Amy, Jeremy, and Kassidy are all doing great!Levi is already taking a liking to her.

Levi let me know on Sunday that it was going to be a girl. I asked him if it was going to be Kassidy or Austin and when I said Kassidy, he started babbling up a storm, but when I said Austin he quit talking and looked away. So I told Matthew on Sunday that Amy was going to have a girl, because Levi said so :)

You can see his dimple in this picture!

Levi pooped and it got on his onesie. I decide that I could change his onesie without taking all his clothes off...I did it,
but at one point he looked like this. In my mind he is saying,
"Help! This lady obviously doesn't know what she is doing!"

************************************

So I have gained more ground this week as a mother. It seems that each week I get a little more into the groove of parenthood. Some weeks I grow in the area of my son and other weeks it I grow personally. This past week was a personal week. I am trying to branch out socially, but I didn't realize that my son would end up being that branch. For instance, I went to a cloth diapering support group. Levi sat on my lap and played while I socialized. He is the reason I was there, but it didn't really benefit him any, ya know. The same way with the holistic moms group. I am also starting a play group at my house, and there will be lots of moms with their children, but the goal is for me and other moms to socialize. So when I think of all these new opportunities to connect with other moms, I know that Levi is the reason I have these opportunities, which makes me think of that guy who buys a dog just so he can go to the dog park and meet girls...but then again I didn't have Levi to join/create social groups ...

Its like Levi is the key to this whole other world where I can connect with women on a mom level. Which, some of you may know, is a very deep level sometimes. Moms have been through more selfless pain than most people. They are (at least in this moment in their lives) living for everyone else most of the time and for themselves a little of the time. And we wouldn't trade it for anything, but meeting another person who is in that same place can make the journey that much more enjoyable. No one understands the sleepless nights, the crying (mom and baby), and the growing pains (mom and baby) like another mother can. The same is true for the wonders of motherhood. The first smile (and every subsequent smile), the first real laugh (I'm still waiting for that one), and the way they wiggle with excitement when they hear your voice and see your face.

Levi looks so cute!

Although, due to the angle, I look rather strange...

BY THE WAY- If you read this blog could you please leave a comment. I changed the filter on the settings page so it should be easy to do now. Thanks :)

We had another wonderful week with little Levi. He is making Matthew wait even longer to see him roll over. He must be working on some sort of routine to go with the roll over. I also tried to get the video to upload to this site and was unsuccessful. I keep getting an error message...I will try again when I get the time.

We had a good Valentine's Day. I took the liberty of making valentine
messages and putting them beside him and taking pictures...it was fun :)

We have had a challenging few days and they are definitely showing me how hard it is to be a mother, and I have a very low-key baby. I actually don't think I could do it without God. I depend on him so much at those times when things are chaotic. I am a logic-based person and when my son is crying for "no good reason" I just get so frustrated. That is when I look to God to help calm my nerves. He is really good at that!

Here are just some cute pictures that I want to share with everyone.

Here we all are in our Colts outfits.


Aunt Sammy took this picture the other day when we were at her house.


This is how we travel these days. We bring "Love You Bear"
with us because he is small and he doesn't make noise.


This is the latest daddy-Levi picture...isn't it cute?