Birthday Interview

I love listening to the things that Levi has to say.  Hearing his answers to these questions made me laugh out loud and warmed my heart all at the same time.  We sure do love our sweet FOUR year old boy!

- How old are you? Four
- Favorite color- Green
- Favorite food- Green apples and steak
- Favorite toy- Buzz Lightyear Space Ship
- Favorite snack- Big Line Strawberry Sticks (Fruit snacks)
- Favorite TV show- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Super Mickey episode)
- Favorite drink- Chocolate Milk
- Favorite movie- The Incredibles and Wall-e
- Favorite animal- I don't have a favorite animal.  Actually, yeah I do- elephants because we have hoses.  An elephants trunk is kind of like a hose
- Favorite song- My bedtime songs- The Sheep and the Lord and Be Still and Know
- What makes you happy? Not going to time out
- What makes you sad? Going to time out
- Who is your best friend? Colton
- What is one thing you love about Daddy? when we hug
- What is one thing you love about Mommy? your necklaces because you're so pretty with those on
- What is one thing you love about Cole? playing with him
- What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't want to grow up- I just want to keep living with you

Four

Levi, I cannot believe that it's been four years since we first met you and kissed your sweet little face.  I miss that cuddly little baby, but I love watching you grown and learn.  You are a hilarious, smart, precious little boy.  We are so thankful for you and the FUN you add to our family.

Body
- You are 37 pounds and 39 inches tall.  You wear 4T clothes and 8W shoes.
- You're a very physical little kid and you play HARD.  You run, jump, slide, yell, squeal, and laugh.  I love watching you play...until you slide or fall into something.  But, most of the time, some cuddles and kisses from Mommy still make those bumps and bruises feel better.
- Some of your favorite foods are: spaghetti and meatballs, hamburgers, yogurt, applesauce, and green apples.  You still love most fruit and like most vegetables.  You know that they make you healthy and are very aware of which foods are "junk" and which are not.
- You love to play outside.
- You love to stand on your head on the couch.
- You still have rest time every afternoon.  Some days you sleep, some days you're content to sit in bed and read books, and other days you dump out every toy in your room.

Mind
- You have a vivid imagination.  In just the last few days we've been monsters, aliens, robots, and superheroes.
- You have an excellent memory.  You'll bring up things weeks or months after we've talked about them, and I have to stop and remember the conversations we had!
- You have an extensive vocabulary.  You remember words that you hear and use them in your play and conversations with others.  You like to learn new words and ask about what they mean.
- You love to build and create things.  Your legos are one of your favorite toys, and you are always building and creating new things- robots, transformers, spaceships...
- You always want to know how things work.  You are definitely one of those kids that likes to take things apart and try and get them back together again.
- You love to read books.  Your favorites to read on your own are Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Pat the Bunny.  You love to listen to just about any book on your shelf- Dr. Seuss books, Disney books, seasonal books...
- You are a MASTER at stalling before bedtime.  Monsters in your closet, having to go to the bathroom, water, the possibility of a thunderstorm...you know all the excuses.

Heart
- You love to be a helper.  You like helping cook, pack bags, and clean- not necessarily pick up toys- but really clean- wipe down the house, vacuum with the dust buster...
- You are protective of your little brother- but not always gentle with him.  ;)
- You've recently started talking about feeling left out.  Things morning at church while we were standing up singing, you looked up at me and said, "I feel left out because I'm not as tall as you are." (I don't hear that very often!)
- You still have quite the temper.  While you are having fewer meltdowns than you did at 3, we still see them frequently.
- You love snuggling and always make sure to give me a big bear hug before I leave your bedroom at night.
- You are afraid of storms and sometimes the vacuum.
- You are very particular (and stubborn) about things.  You know exactly what you want- and you're not afraid to let us know!
- You are friendly and enjoy meeting new kids.  You walk right up to them at the park or the grocery store or the doctors office and introduce yourself and want to play.

We love you to the moon and back, Levi!

Eleven Months

Sweet Cole,

I cannot believe you are eleven months old!  Where in the world has the time gone?!  You are at an absolutely precious age right now.  You love interacting with people, and you are so expressive.  You are doing this precious thing right now where you tilt your head and smile whenever you hear someone say your name.  You also love to point at things.  You have lots to say, and I'm pretty sure that you're saying Dada consistently.  Whenever I ask you to say Mama, you look at me and smile or sometimes laugh!  You will give me sweet slobbery baby kisses though.  :)

Likes- One of your favorite things to do is eat.  You seem to be a bottomless pit.  You love your brother's room, and if the door is open you head right for it.  You also think the word "no" is pretty hilarious.  Anytime you hear it (which has been more often lately!) you turn around, smile or laugh and usually go right back to what you were doing.  You also have a new love for books.  You like to read in the car and while you get your diaper changed, and the book baskets in our living room are some of the first things you go for when you're exploring.

Dislikes- You're still such an easy going baby that I have trouble finding things that you dislike.  You do HATE having an empty highchair tray or bottle.  You also hate being buckled into your carseat and getting dressed.  Once you're settled, you're usually ok though.  You don't like missing out on what your big brother is doing.  If he's eating, you want to be eating.  If he's playing at the lego table, you want to be right there next to him. 

Eating- I know that they say babies will let you know when they're full, but I don't think you will.  You seem to be a bottomless pit these days (I think you may be getting ready for a growth spurt!)  You love food and pound on your tray fuss until we put more on your trays.  You aren't picky about what you eat, but we do have to plan carefully about which foods we give you first.  We have to hide any carbs until you've eaten your other food or you'll refuse them.  You are pretty much eating everything we are these days along with your 3, 8 ounce bottles.  I have to admit I got a little bit sad today thinking about transitioning my sweet baby boy from bottles to sippy cups.  

Playing- You are into everything these days.  You are so close to walking.  You've been cruising around the walls lately and have taken a few steps on your own here and there.  You love keys, remotes and phones.  You also love cords (which reminds me of another little boy that had a slight obsession with cords!)  

Sleeping- Not much has changed here.  You're still a pretty good sleeper.  You usually take 2, 2 hour naps and sleep from around 8-6 most nights.  You wake up happy most mornings and talk and pull things off your shelf.

I can't believe it, but we are in full party planning mode around the Kelso house.  Octobers will be full, busy, HAPPY months for our family.  We are excited to celebrate our boys!

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

Trying to get a picture of you two...Levi insisted on including the giant leaf.

Sometimes dinner is messy...

Black beans and avocado

And one of this sweet (not so little) guy...

He just went ahead and took his shirt off in preparation for a messy dinner!

All of this made me think of this picture of Levi from June 2010

Ten Months

Dear Cole,

This month has been busy getting back into our school year routine but still such a fun month.  I love watching you learn new things. You are wearing size 4 diapers and 9 month clothes.

We've started making plans for your birthday.  I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.  Life is busy, but I try to stop and cherish the little things you (and Levi) are doing and saying these days.  I love our quiet time at night before you go to sleep.  You play with my face and cuddle up next to me, and it makes my heart melt.

Likes- You love to watch your brother, and you follow him around the house to see what he's getting in to!  Misty says when you see him run by during the day you point and "ooohh" at him.  Before we know it, he'll be teaching you all of his tricks.  Yikes!  You still love to sneak into Levi's room if the door's open.  We have to watch you carefully.  You like to eat (more on that later...)  You love to cruise on the furniture.

Dislikes- You don't like feeling left out.  You want to be in the middle of the action with everyone else.  You don't like to rough house (probably because you're forced into it so often)  You used to like it when Daddy tossed you in the air but not anymore, and you definitely don't like it when your brother gets in your space!  You've also definitely started having some separation anxiety.  You don't like me leaving the room you're in which makes cooking dinner challenging.

Eating- You eat three meals (including 3, 8 ounce bottles) a day now and have one or two snacks.  (Most of the time you sleep right through your morning snack.)  You eat just about anything we eat now with the exception of shellfish, nuts, and honey.  You had grilled cheese and oranges for the first time recently.  You LOVED the grilled cheese, but the oranges took a little while to get used to.  You still love just about anything we give you.  You had pancakes the other day too!  Usually your fruit is the first thing to go, but you hardly touched it that morning.  Tonight I was cutting up some black olives for dinner, and I couldn't keep you (or your brother) out of them.  Luckily we had enough for our pasta.


Playing- You are in to everything these days.  You love when we open up the toy box.  We usually see a big smile and hear, "ohh! ohh!"  You like to stand with Levi at the lego table, and you do a really good job of getting in the way.  We're having lots of discussions with Levi about sharing (and being gentle!) with you.  You've also found the dishwasher and you love to try and climb inside.  Remotes and phones are also favorite toys.  You are all over the place, and you are FAST!  The only time you like to be still and cuddle is nighttime, and there are even some nights when you don't have any interest in cuddling then either.

Sleeping- We have our ups and downs, but overall, I'd say you're a great sleeper.  Most nights you sleep from about 8-7, and you take two naps during the day.  Most of the time you wake up happy and talking.  I love to walk into your room and see your big smile between the crib slats.


Sweet Cole, we love you so much and are thankful for the blessing you are to our family.  You make us smile and give your brother a playmate (or someone to pick on...)  I know the day is coming when you will hit him back or take his toy away.  He is in for a rude awakening, but you boys love each other so much!

Imagination

Levi has a great imagination.  He is always creating, inventing, or imagining something new.  Here are a few of his latest creations/adventures:

Riding in his pirate ship water table

The boys were both playing with their little laptops.  Levi decided to take both laptops and create his own little network.  

Flying his rocket ship to Pluto.  He ran out of gas twice but luckily he was able to find gas stations!

Levi loves to build with his legos, and he almost always builds gas stations.  This one has a really tall sign so people can see it from the highway.  

I sure do love my creative little guy!

Blessed

I love looking at these two precious little boys.  

Cole- July 2013

Levi- July 2010