Levi - 11 Months

Levi, you were 11 months on November 18th!
You are so incredibly big and cute! This month has been so memorable as you've gotten to be so much fun! You're growing like crazy too! Up that is, not outward, which is a bit of a struggle with your pants.
You weigh around 19 pounds (just guessing) and are wearing size 3 diapers. You are in 12 month clothes because you need the length in the pants. But we're so thankful for cloth diapers because the extra fluff in the bottom helps your pants stay up. Otherwise, you'll crawl right out of them.

You are wearing size 3 shoes, size 2 is definitely too small now! You now have 8 teeth but are constantly drooling so some more may be on the way. That 8th tooth finally came through this month and now you have 4 on top and 4 on bottom! You're even finally!!

You're now crawling the "normal" way and you figured out that it's a lot faster so you do it all the time! You are very fast! You've even managed to sneak up on the dog once or twice. He's so surprised that we just laugh. You can crawl up stairs on your own too!! You tried to go down them on your own too but that resulted in the fabulous rug burn you're now sporting on your head. You can open cupboard doors and pull books off the shelf. You stood on your own for the first time on the 17th. You were holding things in both hands and stood for about 10 seconds on your own. We're so proud! You're constantly on the go, you never sit still unless it's to watch Elmo for a few minutes.

Speaking of Elmo, you love him!! You're definitely a fan. You get so excited when he's on and if he leaves the TV screen you lose interest pretty fast. Christi and the girls bought you a small stuffed Elmo and he's now your favorite toy. You wake up in the morning and immediately look for him in your crib and spend time talking to him.

Talking wise, you said your first word!! "Uh-oh" it is! You say it so clearly and most often when Dexter is barking. It's pretty humorous. You do say "Da-Da" and you're attempting to say "Puppy" as well. You're learning how to say "Please" in ASL. You pretty much just wave your arms, but you know when to do it. You know what "Hi" and "Bye" means and wave at the appropriate times. You're still a growler! You growl a lot and it's really funny. You talk a lot. You're always jabbering and chattering a lot. From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed you're moving and talking. If you're quiet it usually means you're getting into something. Which you do often. You jabber at us and reach to be picked up too. You try to pull yourself up if we're not fast enough. You're a little more cuddly now and will at times lay your head down on our shoulder if you're sleepy.

You went swimming again this month and you're finally big enough that it wasn't too cold! It took a while for you to relax but eventually you were kicking and splashing and even put your face in the water 3 times all by yourself!! You're going to be like your daddy and a big swimmer. At least we hope so!

You know what "No" means and you know what you're not supposed to touch or get into. But you're definitely stubborn and a sinful boy. You want into stuff no matter what. We're working on teaching you to obey the first time. You are very rebellious and holler and scream when you don't get your way or get something taken away.

You eat lots of big people food!! You feed yourself very well and have your "pincer" talent down pat. You always want what we're eating and you love to feed yourself.
You've learned to hold your own bottle and sippy cup though!!

It's so amazing to watch you grow and develop this month. No matter how stubborn you are, you're a great joy and we love you so much!! You are so fun at this age! You're constantly learning and growing and discovering things. You've changed so much this month and it's amazing how we can see you learn and realize things. There's no way to express how much you've changed, except to say you're really no longer a baby, you're a little toddler boy. It's just amazing to talk to you and realize that you understand and are processing it. It also makes what we say and do so much more of a responsibility. Because you're watching and listening always! I could go on and on because you've changed so much this month. But the biggest thing is that you continue to grown and realize your need of a Savior. Because you are sinful Levi, and that's more evident now than ever, and you need to ask Christ to forgive you one day. So we pray that you realize your sin at a young age and your need to be saved.

We love you Levi Nathaniel!! You're our boy and we're so thankful for you!