Rhodes Rules

Although Levi was in great need of a haircut, it was a tough decision…I just couldn’t bring myself to cut off his sweet little curls. Finally, after a passerby called him a ”she”, I finally decided it was time. He just got a little trim, mostly in the front, and kept some of his curls. After a cookie, he sat up like a big boy in the chair, squirmed a little bit; but cooperated pretty well with the stylist. Then, he was rewarded with a sticky sucker that he licked down to the stick. It was all worth it!

 Waiting in his own red chair…

 Getting his cape on….

Trying to figure out the water bottle…kept him occupied 

 Tired of the water bottle, time to finish up…

All done…enjoying his sucker!

Since Levi turned one, we got him a new, forward-facing car seat.  We took him for a ride yesterday, and he thought he was big stuff.  Here’s him turned around to see the world coming instead of going!

Now, Levi is almost one year old.  Jeff and I were afraid he would start walking last week while we were in California; but he held off until the day we got home.  We watched him take his first 2 steps the night of February 25th.  The next day he took about 4 steps, and the next day 6 steps.  He’s now starting to take a few steps on his own without us even coaxing him. 

Since the entertainment center drawers are blocked, Levi is off to bigger and better things.  He makes his way all over the house, his favorite room being the kitchen.  He helps unload the dishwasher, and also the cabinets.  We have just begun blocking the kitchen, which makes Levi extremely mad.

Levi has become our best source of entertainment.  He’s so happy and very active.  One of my favorite things to watch him do is dance.  Every time he hears music, he begins bouncing and smiling and clapping and laughing.  One of his favorite TV shows is “American Idol.”  I think Simon would get a kick out of him. . . we sure do!

In February, we had to take Levi to the doctor because he was running fever almost 104 degrees.  He had a cough and runny nose, too.  After a strep test, a flu test, and a chest x-ray, he was diagnosed with nothing more than just a cold.  Thank goodness!  This was his first time being sick, and he did not like the doctor’s office.  A sucker did make it much better. . . until I took it away when he started biting off little pieces.

So that’s about it.  We plan to have him a birthday party here at home on his birthday, and then another one during Spring Break when we go back to Minden to visit.  I can’t believe it’s already that time!

During Levi’s 10th month, he spent a lot of time learning how to get into EVERYTHING!  Not any drawer at his level remained shut, and he thought all pictures and knick-knacks and books and photo albums within his reach belonged on the floor with him, or in his mouth.  He learned what “no, no” means; and also learned he doesn’t like that word and how to ignore it.  His favorite activity was pulling out all the DVD drawers of our entertainment center.  He was not satisfied until all 4 drawers were open for his rummaging.  He would rummage around until he found his favorite toys . . . the batteries.  We finally got tired of having to tell  him “no,” especially since he ignored it, and fixed the problem.  We pushed the coffee table in front of the entertainment center, much to Levi’s disapproval.  After a while, he discovered there were other fun places in the house to explore. 

Here are a few pictures of Mr. Levi in action!

Also, at 10 months, Levi started to crawl on all fours and he realized he could stand on his own without holding onto anything.  He’ll be walking before long!  My baby’s growing up way too fast.

December 11 marked Levi’s 9 month birthday.  By this time he had begun sitting up on his own, playing patty-cake, giving high-fives, and having even more fun.  His crawl was more of an army crawl, scooting around using his elbows to drag the rest of his body across the floor.  It was also at 9 months when he started pulling himself up on the furniture and cruising along.  Here are a few pics of the little mover and shaker.  Enjoy!

Levi turns 1/2 a year today!  Here are some 6 month pictures we took.  He got tired of all the hoopla, so I just had to take what I could get!  He’s developing his own little personality, and he may be a little rotten; but he can melt my heart with just one smile across his face.  This month, he cut his bottom teeth and is still experimenting with sounds he can make.  He stretches his feet up to his mouth and sucks on his little piggies.  Levi loves to play with and chew on his toys while he sits up and watches everything going on around him.  He rolls all over the living room now, and is starting to pull his knees in like he’s ready to start scooting across the floor.  It won’t be long, and we won’t be able to contain the little man!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, my dear sweet baby!  I’m so proud of you, and I’m sooo happy to be your “Mamamamama”!  You’ve been a huge joy to me, your daddy, and your big brothers.  We love you and your little grins very much, and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will hold for you.