Levi: 1 Year!

Yeah, right! I'm not wearing this sticker!

Ok, I've put off writing this entry long enough. It's time to admit that my baby is one and write his update.

Stats
He had a doctor appointment this morning. He weighed in at 18 lbs, 8 oz. (10%) and measured just over 28" long (4%).

He's just starting to grow out of his 6 month clothes. Haha. But most of the 12 month stuff is still too big.

He has 4 teeth (although his 5th is so close to popping through) - 2 top and 2 bottom.

Eating
I've weaned him down to nursing just twice a day - once in the morning when he wakes up, and once before bed. I was done nursing the girls by this age, but I'm not in a hurry with him for some reason. #lastbaby? I'm going away for a weekend at the end of the month, so I'll be done by then. I'm kind of dreading the pain on my part and the crying on his, so I'm putting it off. Haha.

He loves to eat table food. He's not a big breakfast eater (probably because of that morning nursing session), but he can pack away lunch and dinner. He likes pretty much everything. Some of his favorites are bean burritos, cheese roll-ups, pb&j, chicken nuggets, pasta of any kind, pea crisps, squeezies, yogurt, and fruit of any kind (except bananas - he doesn't like those for some reason). He usually eats whatever I make for dinner - chili, meatloaf, chicken, potatoes, etc. He's a big snacker and would graze all day long if I let him.

He's also a big fan of donuts. (And check out that sweet mullet.)

He smacks his lips together as soon as he sees food, and makes an incessant "eh! eh! eh!" noise when he wants more. Haha. And I think he signs "all done." Usually, he just starts throwing food on the floor so I know he's done. But sometimes, he'll swipe all his food down then start waving his hands.

We haven't made the transition to whole milk yet. He won't take a bottle and will only use one specific kind of straw cup. He likes to guzzle water (with a splash of apple juice) out of it, but we haven't tried milk yet. I'm not too worried about it while I'm nursing. We'll start working on it in the next few weeks.

Sleeping
He is finally sleeping through the night! He's the first of my kids to "sleep train" himself. I made both the girls CIO before they ever slept through the night. He just slowly transitioned on his own. For a while, he was nursing before bed, again around 11, then not again til morning. He dropped the 11:00 feeding on his own and now sleeps from about 8-6. If I don't have to bring Lucy to school, I put him back to bed after feeding him at 6 and he'll go back to sleep 'til about 8 (another reason I don't want to drop the morning feeding). He doesn't sleep through the night 100% of the time. There have been a couple nights recently that he cried for a while in the middle of the night, but I don't get him up or feed him, so I guess we are doing a little bit of CIO.

He takes two naps a day - usually 8-10 and 1-2:30ish. Occasionally he'll take an evening nap, but I'm trying to phase that out.

In the past month or so he has started sleeping on his belly. I lay him down on his back, he immediately flips over onto his stomach and puts his fingers in his Binky holes. Lol. Most of the time, he goes right to sleep when I lay him down. Sometimes he cries for a few minutes.

Movement and Mobility
In the past two weeks, he has really become mobile. He has perfected scooting on his butt to get where he wants to go.

But he does not pull up on anything, he doesn't cruise around furniture if I stand him up next to it, he cannot stand on his own. He doesn't even attempt to crawl. He will pivot on his belly, but can't figure out how to move forward. And he almost never rolls over. He does it in bed, but not on the floor. If he tips over or I lay him down on his back on the floor, he's pretty much a turtle. Haha.

So his doctor is referring us to "Early On." They suggested it at his 9 month appointment, but I decided to wait it out. Now, at 12 months, they don't mind that he's not walking, but the fact that he doesn't even pull-up or cruise around furniture means he needs a little bit of intervention. Honestly, he will probably do it in his own timing and I'm not that concerned. But it's free for us and they come right to my house, so why not?

Milestones and Personality
Levi is seriously the happiest kid. He's so laid back and smiley. He plays happily by himself much of the day. Now that he can get around, he's even happier to move from one toy to the next. He loves people and rarely shows signs of stranger anxiety. He smiles at everyone and has the best giggle.

He loves being outside.

He plays peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake, and giggles when I threaten him with the tickle bug (even before I start tickling him). He loves balls and cars and can spend 10 solid minutes driving anything with wheels around him (or on him) and making his "car noise":

He can say uh-oh and hi. I think I've heard him say "bye" a few times. I also think he tries to say "all done." And he says "dadada" all the time, but I'm not sure he knows what it means.

He has recently learned how to screech when he's mad, which is super fun. But he also learned how to dance.