9 and 10 Month Letter to Levi

Dear Levi,

Mama is a slacker and couldn't get her act together, but here is your 9 and 10 month letter.  You, my friend, are an awesome little guy. I've been around a lot of babies and kids and you just top the list. 

We took you on vacation with grandma Elena and grandpa Stan in March and you were such a good little boy! You loved splashing in the pool, eating the local food (lots of yogurt, fruit, bread and cheese), and made lots of friends with the restaurant staff my yelling 'mamaaaa' with your little baby Spanish accent.

You even started crawling for the first time in the big king size bed we shared on the trip! You are moving more and more now and started pulling yourself up last week and love to stand and bang on the coffee table with papa, or look out at us from your baby jail.  You do baby situps whenever we try to change your diaper and you are a man on a mission. You want to go, go, go and don't sit still very much these days.

You love your toys- you have a stuffed monkey and you love your puppy. Their tails are your favorite part and you usually give them a hug as soon as you see them and them proceed to bite their nose and tails for good measure.  You also love taking baths, walks, and seeing all your friends and big cousin at Baba and Deda's house.

You and your papa are great friends!  Papa loves walking with you in the carrier and reads to you in Russian all the time.  He also hangs out with you while I hit the gym and you boys have your man time without me being in the way. 

Food has now become one of your favorite things. I keep trying to expand your menu with more greens and fruits and you seem to take after your big brother Chino and love carbs and cheese. Some of your favorite foods are yogurt, cheese, banana, waffles, pancakes, grandma's chicken soup and cottage cheese, applesauce, pears, cucumbers. You will try almost anything, but will often spit it out as soon as it hits your lips.  It's a good thing you have your brother Chino to help clean up.  I am still providing your milk for you, and while it's a struggle, we are still going strong with nursing and I'm pumping as much as I can.

 

You are wearing some 9 month and mostly 12 month clothing.  At your 9 month appointment, you weighed 22 lb 10 oz (80th percentile) and were 28.25 in tall (50%). Your head circumference is in the 70th percentile (18.5 in).  You are now sporting almost 5 teeth, 3 of which started sprouting once you turned 10 months and have been working their way through your gums for a couple of weeks now.

2 month and 10 month comparison

My favorite thing about you is your smile!  We joke around and say that you have a little elephant or dolphin smile because it is so wide and genuine.  You will giggle more often now and it is the cutest sound, next to your babbling.  You are quite vocal and say 'mama, baba, dada, papa' and other babbling sounds.  You are a very happy baby and I get stopped while we are out in public with you so people can look at you and tell me how cute you are :)

You are getting so close to your first birthday, my sweet little bear! I just can't believe it!  You are my little sidekick when I am home and I love spending time with you. Sometimes I can't believe you are all mine (OK, I share you with your papa) and that we have this beautiful little family.  I cherish every moment with you and nothing makes me happier than seeing you grow and discover things, even though I get a little sad that you are getting so big. 

I love you more than I can describe in words and then some more on top of that.

Love,

Mama

Baby's First Vacation

I have a lot of catching up to do! Here are a few snapshots from our first vacation with Levi. He was a perfect little angel and mama and papa got to go dancing one night. Win-win.

More to come!

Perfect Weekend

Weekends used to include fancy dinners, nights out with friends, long workouts, and adventures. We still have them with our little man along for the ride.

This long weekend we saw a movie, went out to two dinners, had some playdates, and enjoyed the sunshine. Nothing can beat that!

A Letter to Levi- 8 Months

Dear Levi,

You are now 8 months old!  You are such a cool little man!  You are killing us with your beautiful smile adorned with two bottom teeth and dimples.  Your hair is getting longer and you even have some super messy hairdos these days. I still can't believe I have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby.

You are wearing 9 month and 12 month clothing and weighed 21.5 lbs about 3 weeks ago.  You are also about Chino's height these days- however tall that may be :) Everywhere we go people say you are a big kid, and you are! I love that you are such a big boy.

You gave us a big scare last month when you got really sick for the first time.  You have such a wonderful attitude and you tried your best to still play and smile although you weren't feeling well.

You are learning more and more tricks.  You know who we are and started reaching your arms out for us to pick you up- it melts our hearts.  You also learned how to clap and break into spontaneous applause throughout the day- while playing, on a walk, or even while having your diaper changed.  And why not?  Life is pretty amazing, right?  You love playing with your toys and get excited when you see your favorites.

You are getting to be so strong!  You sit like a champ, roll over whenever you have a chance, and can pull yourself to standing with barely any support from us but our fingers for you to hold.  Crawling isn't really your thing yet, but you have plenty of time for that.

Just like mama, you are a fan of food.  We had a rough start with purees at first and you much preferred finger foods, but we found a few purees that you enjoy and you are now eating two of them at daycare with Baba Tania.  You sometimes cry when they are gone.  You are still drinking milk at school and at home and have had formula supplemented 3 times in the last 8 months with the rest being mama's milk. Your favorite foods are yogurt, the different kinds of fancy puffs, any fruit you can get your hands on, french toast or pancakes, and your sweet potato and cranberry butternut squash purees. You also steal any food that mama or papa are eating, but that's a given. You are very good at feeding yourself and will sit in the high chair in the evenings eating your snack while we eat.  Your brother Chino loves that you eat now because he hangs out by the high chair waiting for his snacks to drop!

You babble, squeal, and spit all the time.  You blow raspberries and say 'mama', 'baba', 'dada', and a few other sounds. You sing yourself to sleep and seem to really enjoy music.  You love going to daycare and seeing your friends and especially love seeing your baba and deda every day.

You are such a sweet, happy little boy!  You have really bonded with your papa over the last month and you boys really enjoy each other's company.  He reads you books, picks you up and swings you really high, and practices wrestling with you.  It makes me so happy to see you play together!

You're my little sweetie pie and we have so much fun together, or at least I like to think we do.  I make you laugh (more than anyone else. neener neener neener) and you have the sweetest laugh I have ever heard! You grab my face and snuggle against me when you are falling asleep and I wish I could bottle that up and take it with me everywhere I go. I refuse to believe you are growing up, but you are and you get better each day.

 

On your 8 month birthday I did this comparison- crazy, right?  You are so much cuter on the outside, although equally heavy. And mama sure had more time to do her hair before you got here but it's worth every moment spent with you. 

Happy 8 months, my sweet boy!

Love,
Mama

A Recipe

As with everything else, I am surprised by our little guy's eating preferences and tastes. We did not start solids until 6 months and by then he had only really had a taste or two of banana and sweet potato. He was pretty enthusiastic with eating from the spoon and seemed to like puréed foods.

Fast forward to a few weeks later and we have a picky little bear on our hands. It seems that he is way too cool for baby mush now that he grew 1.5 new teeth. He tries to steal our food and goes to town mashing things up with his teeth and gums.

Since he seemed to like my homemade waffles, I tried out a veggie version.

Zucchini Waffles:
5-6 grated zucchinis
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or baking mix
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

- mix all ingredients and make in waffle maker.
-also works in pancake form
-feed to dog, husband, and picky babe

A Whole Year

I must be getting sentimental in my old age. All I could think about was January 7 in my head all this weekend. This will forever be my favorite date. First, it is our sweet nephew's birthday (love you, Benny)! Second, this day is when we met our lovely boy last year.

As we counted fingers, toes, and vital organs my heart just about popped out of my chest. 10 healthy fingers and toes, a beautiful heart with all chambers, a cute button nose, and a perfectly shaped head made up our sweet healthy baby. The tech asked us if we wanted to know the sex and we found out our Levi was a boy! I was overwhelmed and so excited and I knew he would be a boy from very early on.

A year later I still marvel at that beautiful little boy and am grateful for each of his fingers, toes, and the beat of his heart when I hold him. What a difference a year makes.

6 Months!

So, it's almost time for a 7 month update, but here is Levi's 6 month stats and update:

Stats:

Levi was 19.75 lbs and 26.5 inches tall at his 6 month appointment. He is still holding strong at 90th percentile for weight and around 75th percentile for height. He has reached all his 6 month milestones and mama and papa are just so proud and thankful for our healthy boy.
 

 

Favorite Things to Do:

Levi is such a happy little boy! He loves playing peek-a-boo, jumping in his jumperoo, grabbing our faces, playing with all his grandparents, and squealing. He has a delightful high pitched squeal!

Highlights:

Levi rolled over on December 1 and did it again a few days after! He gets the most excited look on his face when it happens! Levi also celebrated his first holiday season with us!

Eating and Sleeping:

Levi started solids after his 6 month appointment! He is a fan of real food more than baby mush. We keep trying, but so far he has hated carrot puree and yelled at me when I gave him oatmeal. Levi prefers my bread, small pieces of boiled baked potato, veggie soup, and even rice.  He is still drinking lots of milk and lets me know when he is hungry!  

I have been doing some more research on feeding the little man and found these sites very interesting (family members- feel free to read these):

 

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/here/solidsmonths6-8_800.pdf

http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-food-revolution-new-rules-for-feeding-your-baby_10320504.bc

 

Nicknames:

Little bear, Levchik, dino baby

 

Every month I say it is my favorite month. It's because life gets better and better with our sweet little boy by our side.