18 month update

Somehow my newborn baby is 18 months old.

Don’t ask me when my teensy little baby turned into a walking, talking, crazy little boy, because I just don’t know. Levi is entertaining, exhausting, adorable, hilarious, frustrating, sweet, fun, cheerful, cuddly, and energetic. He loves people but has a streak of shyness. He is quick to laugh, slow to sleep, and lives up to his name, meaning "attached," exceedingly well. I love being his mama, and cannot describe the joy of watching him grow up. He is changing so fast, and it seems like every day I find myself thinking, When did he learn that? Or, I didn’t know he could do that! And sometimes, I really wish he hadn’t figured out how to do that. Life is always interesting when you have a toddler around.

Levi’s favorite activities include: Emptying and/or rearranging every drawer and cabinet he can reach in the kitchen. Feeding Beau whenever he notices his food bowl is empty (which it often is, since Levi also enjoys dumping Beau’s food into his water bowl). Watering the grass. Watering the sidewalk. Watering Beau. (You get the idea.)  He adores water, balls, airplanes, being outside, bubbles, swinging, and books. Levi is quite the little helper and  is constantly following his mama and dada around offering his assistance. This leads to me saying things like "Please don't climb in the dishwasher" and "Let's not put the keys in the trash" about 400 times a day.

Levi has made a new addition to his list of favorites in the last month or so: Music. And when you’re Levi, music means dancing. His favorite song? Taylor Swift’s new single. Obviously. When the song ends – no, when the song is about to end – Levi frantically demands “More! Dance! Dance! More Dance! More!” I couldn’t, okay I wouldn’t, make this stuff up. I’m hoping Bing Crosby returns to the top of the list soon, because I don’t know how much longer I can Shake it Off.

We had Levi’s 18 month appointment last week. You may recall from his 12 month update that we were a little worried about our baby boy. Well, not anymore. Levi grew from a 16 pound, not on the charts 12 month old to a 24 pound, 50^th percentile toddler in the last few months! I’m not really sure what to think of him being considered simply “average”, but we are certainly thankful for a healthy little boy.

We have had a great summer. Countless trips to the neighborhood splash park, LOTS of time outside, a trip to Florida with Justin’s company, Levi’s first trip to Michigan, and welcoming a new nephew/cousin were definitely highlights. We have much to be thankful for. The weather is beginning to cool off (it was only 90 degrees today) and we are so eager to welcome fall. We have some fun things coming up and are excited to see how Levi changes and grows during the new season!