Sweet Potatoes

Today we ventured into the world of "real" food. Levi tried sweet potatoes! He seemed to like them, but wasn't overly excited by them. He just acted like it was the same old stuff he'd been eating!

Our Top Draft Pick

6 Months

Dear Levi,

I cannot believe you are already 1/2 a year old! You are such a curious little boy. You are taking everything in and learning so much! You are starting to explore everything with your mouth- your toys, your feet, other people's hands... You love cups and love to watch people drink out of them. The other night, you grabbed my cup, pulled it to your mouth, and started sucking away.

Tonight we gave you a sippy cup for the first time. Dr. Spellings said to start giving you one with water when you were eating solids. She said it would be good for you to explore for now and eventually you'd figure it out. Well, it didn't take you long! You pulled it right to your mouth and started sucking. You were a little surprised to get water instead of milk, but you didn't seem to mind!

You are still enjoying your rice cereal, and soon we will start to feed you "real" food. You are much more distracted now when you are eating. You'll eat for a few minutes, look around, laugh, smile, watch George, and then go back to eating... This makes feeding you a little more difficult, but I can't resist those sweet smiles and giggles! You are also very particular about where your feet are while you eat. You will kick my arm and wiggle your feet until you get them just right.

When you are playing, you would prefer to be sitting up rather than laying down. This is frustrating for everyone since you aren't too sturdy on your own yet. If I sit you up, you can sit there...but not for long! When you are laying down, you grunt and struggle to try and sit up. A few weeks ago you got a jumper, and you seem to like it as long as Mom or Dad are nearby.

Today at the doctor you were 25 in. long (10%) and 14 lbs. 4 oz (10%). You're a little guy but growing just as you should be. The doctor said you looked great! (She used the word perfect 3 times and perfectly once). You are wearing size 2 diapers and finally into your 3-6 months clothes! That's a good thing since all of your summer clothes are at least 3-6 months!

Most nights you are still sleeping pretty well- from about 8:30 to 5:30. We still have some challenging nights, but for the most part you are a great sleeper. You seem to have gotten into a routine with naps at Megan's house too. Most days you sleep for a few hours in the morning and catnap throughout the afternoon and early evening. I can always tell when you are sleepy because you start rubbing your eyes and then just before you fall asleep you start grunting.

"Mmm...This looks good."

This month you have become even more attached to me. You love Dad and have a great time with him...as long as I'm not in the room! When I walk in the room or you hear my voice, you freak out!

You've also seemed to start enjoying music recently. Pops bought Dad a new CD called Rockabye Baby. There is a whole series of these CDs that have turned songs from bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, and the Pixies into lullabies. Dad loves it, and you seem to also! We also got you a few Praise Baby CDs, and you love listening to Mom and Dad sing to you.

"Hey Mr. Bear! What's up?!"

Levi, We love watching you learn and grow. We are so blessed to be your parents!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Blessed

Sometimes (or a lot of the time!) I get caught up and overwhelmed with life. The end of the school year is coming quickly (which I am thankful for!), but it is a crazy time of year!! Taking time to stop and think about how blessed I am helps me refocus on what is truly important in my life.

Just a few things I am thankful for:

1. Mat- I have a husband who is more than I deserve! He loves the Lord and strives to live a life that is pleasing to Him. He works hard at work and then helps me keep up with everything at home. He loves me unconditionally, and he keeps me from going crazy (or at least tries- it's a tough job!)
2. Levi- I've reworded this line quite a few times- I can't even adequately put into words what this precious gift from God means to me! I love him so much it hurts.
3. My family and friends- I was thinking just this morning in church how blessed Mat and I are to be surrounded by so many people that love and encourage us- our extended family, our friends from all stages of our lives, and our church family.
4. My team at school- They are so supportive- especially this year! I don't know how I would've survived coming back to school without them!

P.S.- Mom, I know you've been looking for Levi's 6 month post...it's coming. I'm waiting for our Dr.'s appointment, so I can update his stats too!

Bluebonnets

I've always loved bluebonnets, and I knew that I wanted to get some pictures of Levi in them this spring. We found a beautiful field of bluebonnets and indian paintbrushes close to our home that were perfect for a photo shoot.

There were quite a few families out there taking advantage of the flowers. I took about 125 pictures in about 20 minutes. :) Here are a few of my favorites:

This is Levi's Easter outfit that I didn't get a picture of last week!

My dad got me some new filters for my camera. I was amazed at the difference they made. Here's a picture for comparison. The other pictures I posted were taken with the UV filter, and this one was taken without it.

Thank you, Dad!

Friends

Levi has finally noticed George. He loves watching George, and he squeals and shakes his arms when George comes near him. When George walks away, he watches him and will search the room until he finds him again. He's not afraid at all when George walks over or licks him (which kind of scares me!)

I know that when Levi gets a little older George and Levi will both love playing together!

Update

I have all these posts started (in my head), but since I'm so far behind in updating, they're all getting rolled into one giant update.

We went "camping" again with my family for Spring Break. Mat hates when I call what we did camping. We stayed in a furnished cabin with electricity, running water, beds, a kitchen, and had a horse drawn carriage to the restaurant for breakfast every morning. If Mat had his way, we'd all hike out into the woods and find a place to camp. We all enjoyed a relaxing week of nothing but conversation, games, and food! We enjoyed our beautiful surroundings and spent a lot of time out in the canoes. It was so much fun! Levi was getting over a stomach bug and spent most of the first few nights awake, but once he adjusted to the new surroundings, he did great.

On March 28th, we had a baby dedication at church. All of Levi's grandparents made the trip to Austin for this special time. He his so blessed to have so many people that love him so much. I don't have any pictures of all 3 of us (what was I thinking?!), but I here are some cute pictures of Levi with his grandparents. Levi looked pretty adorable in his button down shirt, khaki pants, and sweater vest!

Grammy, Levi, Gran

Pops, Mat, Levi, Granddad

We've also been out on a few more walks around the lake. Levi really seems to like being outside. I love his little hat! He got it in his Easter basket along with a matching swimsuit. George also loves going on walks (even though he usually freaks out!) He loves swimming and barking at the other dogs he sees.

Last Sunday was Levi's 1st Easter. He had the cutest outfit, but we were running (very!) late for church and didn't get our pictures taken before we left. I am always nervous to wait until after church and lunch because you never know what will happen! Well, we got home from lunch, and when I went to get Levi out of his carseat I found a GIANT diaper explosion. It was so bad we had to take the carseat apart to wash it all. SO...no pictures of Levi in his cute Easter outfit. Hopefully we'll get some pictures of him in his Easter clothes in the bluebonnets.

I did take some pictures of him in the backyard. He was more interested in the tags on his bunny than anything else, but at least he was happy. I didn't get any of him looking at the camera, but I have his 1st Easter documented.

Mat spent a lot of time working in the yard this week, and as soon as things get finished up, I'll post some pictures of his hard work.