HAPPY BABY

December 6, 2008

Today I ... had a Christmas party at my house and all my friends came! My friends all brought their Mamas and Daddies to the party and we all played together. My Daddy even dressed like me so we would match. Mama said he was ridiculous. I was sleeping when everyone came over, and when I woke up my house was all full of people. Cause it was cold outside, we were all inside so it was really loud. It made me a little nervous cause I had never heard so much noise, it was kind of crazy. Once I got use to it though I had a lot of fun.

I really like ... I LOVE Christmas!! There is a TREE in my house with LIGHTS on it, how cool is that! There are shiny ornaments everywhere and everything is so pretty.

I don't like ... nuthin'. I'm the happiest baby I know!

December 5, 2008

my first pj's laying next to my big boy pj's

Today I ... turned three months old! I am more than twice as big as when I was born!! I am so big and strong, I can hold my head up all by myself, even though its really heavy. I smile smile smile all the time and sometimes I even laugh out loud. Mama still hasn't gotten a good picture of me laughing cause she is usually too busy laughing with me. When I smile really big I stick my tongue out and that seems to make everyone laugh even harder.

I really like ... my play tent. I can bat at all of the toys that hang above my head and then they light up and make different noises. I like to lay on my mat and kick and punch. It makes me giggle:)

I don't like ... always getting my picture taken. I don't mind it some times, but my Mama is always trying to take my picture and sometimes it gets so old. She wants to pose me and put me in front of different windows, when all I want to do is play.

November 16, 2008

Today I ... fell asleep right in the middle of playing. I was having the best time on my play mat - there are lots of colors and things to bat at that make noise and light up! My Mama turned me over so I could work on keeping my head up, cause right now it is kind of like an anchor that pins me to the ground. Its so heavy I just can't seem to lift it up. My Mama and Daddy said it's cause I've got so much brains in there. But it just made me sooo tired cause its sooo hard. So I just fell asleep!

I really like … looking outside. When it is warm enough, my Mama and I go outside and hike, but now that it's cold sometimes I just look outside the windows. I'm really lucky cause my house had lots and lots of windows, so there is always something to look at.

I don't like ... not being able to hold my head up, but I also don't like practicing on my tummy. It is very frustrating. Just when I think I've got it, I realize I can't hold it anymore and my face crashes into the floor. My Mama says she doesn't know of any little kids whose heads are still stuck on the floor, so I shouldn't worry too much, but being a baby is hard!

November 10, 2008

This week I … started SMILING! I’ve been practicing in my sleep for a long time now, but I wanted to be sure once I did it for real I did it perfect. So I practiced a lot. My Mama and Daddy were practically begging me to smile for real, but I just ignored them and kept right on practicing until I was good and ready.

I really like … my Aunt Sarah Ellen. She came to visit me this weekend. She makes really funny faces and sings me all sorts of silly songs. She makes up all the words, so they are special songs just for me.

I don’t like … the rotovirus vaccine. It made my tummy hurt for a whole week. I felt so bad and cried so much, Mama and Daddy were starting to think I had colic, but I’m all better now.

November 6, 2008

Levi at 1 week

Levi at 2 months and 1 week

Today I ... am a great big, huge, powerful, strong, healthy baby! I went to see Dr. Thomas for my two month check up. I weigh 10.5 pounds and am 22 inches long!! That means I have grown 3 whole inches in just 2 months and I have gained almost 5 pounds. Good grief that's a lot of growing. I have caught up to almost half the babies that were suppose to be born when I was - I'm like a baby superhero. Or a chia pet. Le-Le-Le-Levi, watch me grow!

I really like ... my new swing. It has lights and fish and I can watch the swim around and around. My Mama says the lights kinda look like disco lights and she worries I'll get overstimulated, but its soooo cool, man. I feel like I'm trippin'.

I don't like ... shots. I was just laying there all excited cause Dr. Thomas had just said how big I was getting when out of no where some crazy lady stabbed me in the leg, twice! It hurt and I SCREAMED. Daddy said I screamed so hard I turned purple. There are suppose to keep me from getting sick, and I've never been sick, but I think I might like that better than getting stabbed in the leg.

November 2, 2008

Today I ... got to help my Mama on a real photo shoot. We went down to Lake Summit and took family pictures for the Stierwalt's and Robinson's. I got to help my Daddy hold up the reflector while my Mama took lots and lots of pictures. It was fun cause my friends Slade and Walker were there. I know all about getting your picture made cause I'm always having my picture taken!

I really like ... practicing making faces. I like to sit and look at you and make all kinds of faces. It's even more fun when someone will make the same faces back at me. In the morning is when I smile the most, but in the evening when I am falling asleep I run through all of my expressions. It goes something like this - HAPPY!, SURPRISED!, pouty, smirky, kinda happy, sad, HAPPY!, mad (grrr), EXCITED! and I can do them all in about 15 sec.

I don't like ... the time change. I know I haven't been here long and still have a lot to learn, but I think the time change is just silly. I don't know why you people think its a good idea.

October 27, 2008

Today I ... went to the beach for the first time. It was a beautiful day and there was hardly anyone on the beach. My Daddy was sooo excited because he loves the beach and he was so happy to be able to show me the ocean. It would have been really cool if I had woken up at all while we were there, but I didn't. So maybe it didn't count as my first trip to the beach after all...

I really like ... the Boger family. We have been visiting with all of them at the beach. There are a bunch of them, and they really seem to like to get together and eat. They also seem to like me, which makes me really happy. Dean is the man who married my Mama and Daddy, so without the Bogers there wouldn't be a me.

I don't like ... funerals. That's what we were doing with the Boger's. I don't totally understand them, but I know they make people sad. My Daddy said I did a good job of making people feel better, so that was good I guess. He says I'm kinda like a therapy dog, and that people feel better when I snuggle up with them.

October 25, 2008

Today I ... went to my first Halloween party. I'm still new at all this, but I think the idea is that you dress up as something you are not and then people give you candy. I'm too little to eat candy, but my Mama dressed me up anyway (as candy!). I think she may be exploiting my cuteness for chocolate. I'm on to her now.

I really like ... getting in the hottub. My Mama and Daddy turned the temperature way down so it's like a warm bathtub. We all get in it and I get to float around on my back. It's sooo fun. If they hold my head up, the rest of me just floats.

I don't like ... getting strapped into my car seat. The five point harness is like a straitjacket. I look like I'm preparing to launch into orbit.

October 16, 2008

Today ... Big E came to visit me! We had so much fun. My Big E loves to hold me, and I like to snuggle in his neck. He told me I could run away and come and live with him whenever I wanted. He promised that he would teach me everything I needed to know about wine and cigars, which is probably why my Mama said I couldn't go live with him yet. Daddy said I needed to be at least in elementary school before I could learn about that stuff.

I really like ... 2:00 am. Its my new favorite hour.

I don't like ... sleeping at night. It is so much more fun to keep my Mama and Daddy awake. Good thing I'm so cute!

October 14, 2008

Today I ... went to visit my Daddy at work and then went to see my daycare. My Daddy is working on a wine bar downtown with a lot of really nice people, so my Mama drove me down and my Daddy was so proud showing me off to everyone. Then we all went to my new daycare so we could meet my teachers. Everyone was so nice. There are six other little babies in my room and three teachers. They were playing my favorite Baby Einstein CD and some of the babies were sleeping and some were playing with the teachers. One baby was just a little bit older than me and she is in cloth diapers too! I think she and I will be friends.

I really like ... my friends Serena and Ethan. Every time I go over to their house, Serena brings out her doll pillow and blanket for me to use. She says I'm a little cutie pie. She had hoped that I would be a little girl named Tinkerbell, but now that I'm here she likes me a lot. Ethan always comes and rubs my feet and smiles at me. I'm so happy I have friends.

I don't like ... when my Daddy doesn't shave. He kisses my face and its scratchy!

Can you guess what my Mama's favorite color is?

October 5, 2008

Today I ... turned 1 month old!! Happy 1 month birthday to me!! I'm now 21" long and I weigh more than 7 1/2 pounds. I fit into all of my newborn clothes, and my Mama packed up all of my preemie clothes and put them away. I'm like a big boy now, and I still haven't even reached my due date:)

I really like ... laying on my Mama and Daddy's bed and looking out the window. I like the light and the trees. Sometimes I'll just lay there and look for a whole hour, because it's sooo pretty.

I don't like ... PACIFIERS. I mean, come on, do really think I can't tell the difference?

September 26, 2008

Today I ... got all dressed up in fancy clothes and went to see baby Miller get baptized. The baptism was in a kind of church that had a rock band and people were clappin' and dancin' and gettin' down. It was kind of crazy. While we were in church I also got to have my first bottle. Daddy got to feed me and he was very proud cause I did really good. Then we went back to Miller's house and all the grown ups ate a big lunch.

I really like ... SMILING. Especially when I am falling asleep. I still can't smile at you yet, but I practice all the time!

I don't like ... laying down after I eat. It makes my belly hurt and then I spit up everywhere. But my Mama found a way to fix it with a special pillow that holds me up when I sleep and now I feel so much better.

September 24, 2008

This week I ... went on my first road trip. We (even my puppies) drove all the way to Charleston so I could meet all the rest of my family. And if we decide we want to drive all the way to Mexico, we could cause my Mama and Daddy packed so much stuff. We saw all sorts of people, and I got to play with my cousin Metts. He's big (almost 1 year old!) and can walk and eat all by himself. One day I'll be big like Metts.


I really like ... riding in the car. Since my puppies were riding in the way back, I got to look at them when I wasn't sleeping, and they are really silly. Amelia kept wanting to jump over the seat so she could sit in the back seat with me, cause I'm her favorite.



I don't like ... being hungry. I'm growing really really fast this week and I need to eat LOTS. It took my Mama awhile to figure it out, but after I screamed enough one night, I think she understood.

September 21, 2008

This weekend I... played with my Grandma Gigi. She came from Charleston and spent four whole days with me. I got to go up to Asheville and out to lunch and breakfast. All sorts of people would stop to look at me while we were out. Every time someone said how tiny and young I was, I wanted to say how big and old they were, but I can't talk yet. While my Gigi was here I got to be held all the time. Sometimes I even had my Daddy and my Gigi fighting over who would hold me. My Mama said it was a good thing she was the only one who could feed me, otherwise she would have never gotten her turn.


I really like... the big bathtub. My Mama put me in the bathtub with her and I got to float around on my back. It was so warm and I was so happy to be swimming around. It was like before I was born, but there was more room to stretch out. I even stretched my head back so far that I got water up my nose.

I don't like... water up my nose:)

September 15, 2008

Today I ... had my first real bath. I really liked it and I didn't cry at all, but there aren't any pictures to show. You see, my Mama and Daddy seemed to think that it took both of them to give me a bath, so there was no one to hold the camera. They were afraid of all sorts of things like that I might slip out of their hands, or roll out of the tub or drown. But I didn't. In fact, I don't really think it two grown ups to give me a bath at all.

I really like ... holding onto my daddy's fingers. I grip on real tight and then we do what he calls "strength training". I'm not exactly sure what that is, but he says I'm really strong!

I don't like ... whatever my Mama ate today that made my tummy so upset. It hurt!! My Mama felt sooo bad, cause she didn't know what she had eaten that hurt me so, but I fussed and fussed all night and nothing made it better.

September 14, 2008

Today I ... went to the top of my first mountain. Mama, Daddy and I went back to the Carl Sandburg house and hiked all the way up to the top of Big Glassy. I missed the view from the top, cause I was sleeping, but that's OK cause Mama and Daddy really seem to like that place and I bet we go there a lot. Also, the yucky black stub fell off my belly and now you can see my bellybutton! Yeah!!



I really like ... being carried around on my side like a football. I smile just like in this picture every time!



I don't like ... being cold. The grocery store is cold, and I scream and scream in there cause its so cold. I don't mind being hot so much, but if its cold I want all of my snugly blankets.

September 13, 2008

Today I ... met my great grandma Neine, great aunt Lori, and my cousin Allie. They drove all the way up from Columbia just to say hi to me! My Mama was joking that Neine might try to steal me and sneak me out under her shirt. She seemed really nice, but I'm glad I got to stay here. I'm starting to really like my house a lot. I sit out on the porch with my Mama and Daddy and listen to the creek everyday. Some days we also listen to the rain.

I really like ... my cloth diapers. My diaper rash is all cleared up now, but I still don't like having it changed. It took Mama and Daddy awhile to figure them out, but I think they got the hang of it now. The diaper covers are kinda sporty too. Way cooler than the other kind of diapers I got in the hospital.

I don't like ... having my bellybutton cleaned. I'll be really glad when this yucky black stub falls off and everyone can quit messing with it.

Sept 11, 2008

Today I ... went to the doctors for a weigh-in. Dr. Thomas wanted to be sure I was gaining weight cause I'm so small. He was amazed when he found out I have been gaining 3 oz. a day! I only have 2 more ounces to go before I am back up to my birth weight (5lb. 13oz.). Bring on the milk - I love to eat!!!!

I really like ... the new preemie size clothes my Grandmomma Sue and Grandma Gigi bought for me. Now I have clothes that fit! Before, my Mama and Daddy had to roll up all of my pants and my sleeves, cause everything was way tooo big.

I don't like ... having my diaper changed. I scream and scream cause its sooo cold.

Sept. 10, 2008

Today I... went on my first hike. Mama, Daddy and I hiked the Memminger Trail at the Carl Sandburg House! We went 2.5 whole miles. I got to ride with my Daddy in my sling and I loved it. We saw trees and mushrooms and fish in the pond. We even saw little baby goats in the field.

I really like ... being swaddled. Mama and Daddy have been practicing and they are getting pretty good. I like being all snug like a bug in a rug. Then I can check out everything around me.

I don't like... when my Mama takes my clothes off to wake me up so I will eat. The doctor told her she had to so I could grow up big and strong (I'm kinda little now). I don't always wake up when I am suppose to, and the only way to wake me is to undress me. I don't like it cause its cold out there.