Levi at 1

My hair is blond and my eyes are mostly brown
I weigh 23 lbs and I'm 30" tall

I have five teeth and two more comin!

I can crawl, but I still can't walk by myself

I love to eat almost anything! My favorites are fresh blackberries, summer squash with tomatoes and corn, green smoothies, grilled salmon, cheerios, and anything my Mama and Daddy are eating.

My favorite time of day is the morning. The first thing I do when I open my eyes is smile really BIG.

My favorite toys are my Melissa and Doug puzzles, my walker, and my porch swing.

I can say Mama, Dada, awedon (all done), da (dog), up, and moh (more).

I have been pooping on the potty since I was 8 months old.

For my first birthday:

I had my first cupcake (chocolate with ceam cheese frosting) and opened presents!

Then, I went on my first backpacking trip with Mama, Daddy, Indy and Amelia. We went to the Upper Falls at Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was sooo fun. I had a special balloon tied to my backpack and everyone we saw knew it was my birthday so they all talked to me and I made lots of new friends. We camped on a little island betwen two streams and there were rocks and moss and sticks to play with. We picked lots of yummy blueberries and blackberries. My dogs were there too and we all slept in the tent together. We made dinner and had a fire and then when I woke up we were still there! I loved it!

August 2009

This month I ... I had lots more visitors. My cousin Metts came with Aunt Peach and Uncle Perry and we played outside and went hiking. We went down to Bradley falls and had a picnic in the creek. They brought some friends with them and they had the littlest dog I ever saw. She was way smaller than me and I wasn't even sure she was a dog at first. Then Big E came and we went swimming at the lake and at the swimming pool. I decided I definitely don't like cold water. My Mama keeps trying to put me in to see if maybe I will like it, but every time it is just sooo cold I just lift my feet up so high so they don't touch, cause I'm smart. Then my Aunt YaYa came with her friend Jamie and they let me stay with them all day instead of going to school. They took me to the Waffle House and let me eat waffles cause my Mama wasn't there. We also went walking downtown and played so hard that they had to take a nap when I took my nap cause I wore them out!One day when Mama didn't have to work we went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and picked yummy blueberries. We sat in the grass by a creek and ate lunch and she tried again to get me to play in the water again but I said no no no it's COLD! We also went to the lake with my friend Max, but I stayed in the baby pool cause that's where the water is warm and where all the toys are!!

After all that we all got sick. I was so sick that one day all I could do was lay on my Mama. I had to go to the doctor cause I had a bad fever and felt so yucky. He gave me antibiotics cause my ears hurt and they made me feel all better. I stayed home from school all week, which was good for me and for Mama and Daddy cause they were sick too. Daddy said it probably came from the germs at the Waffle House.

I'm working on ... talking and waving right now. I learned how to say "more" whenever I want more food so I say it a lot! I really love to say "dog" every time I see one or hear one bark. I'm also learning how to wave. I like to wave with my whole arm so you can't miss it.

I really love... my walker! I still can't walk by myself, but my Gigi got me a walker and now I can get everywhere! It even sings to me!! I get so excited that sometimes I can hardly contain myself. I also really love exploring. Now that I can get around really good there are so many things to see! I'm also really good at playing peek-a-boo. It makes me laugh and laugh.

I don't like... milk. Now that I am bigger my Mama said I could try regular milk but it just makes me gag. I also don't like my carseat anymore. Before I could move around good I didn't mind it, but now as soon as the backdoor of the car opens I start screaming cause I know I'm about to be strapped down.

July 2009

This month I … took my very first plane ride and my very first boat ride. It was pretty exciting stuff! We went all the way up to where Mama and Daddy use to live in a place called Cape Cod. It is a really really long way away so we got on a plane with a bunch of other people and it jumped up into the sky! I saw clouds and everything! I also made lots and lots of new friends in the airport and on the planes. I like to say hello to everybody.
The first thing we did when we got there was to go see my new friends Abby and Leighton. Their daddy and my daddy use to live together in the same house before our daddies found our mamas. Then we went to the house where we were staying and too see my Patti cause she needed me to snuggle with her.

The next day we all went out on a boat for a birthday party. It was really fun except for the life-jacket I had to wear. I was stuck and could hardly move my head! I had fun on the boat but didn’t go in the water cause I don’t like cold and the water way up there is brrrrrr cold! If you try to put me in there I am smart now and I just lift my feet up as high as I can so they don’t touch. After the birthday party we went to another kind of party, but it was sadder. My Deano has gone away and now I can’t see him anymore. So all sorts of people who knew him all got together to remember him and to give his family lots of hugs. That’s where I got to help cause I gave lots of hugs cause I am really good at hugs. So many people came that we watched them all stand in line all afternoon. The next day we all got together outside and said goodbye one more time. Daddy got up with Brittany, Sam and Corey and talked about how much we all loved Dean. Then we all went back to the golf course and I spent the rest of the day giving out hugs to everybody.

On our last day we went to play with some more of my new friends, Owen and CeCe. Owen tried to teach my Daddy about transformers, cause he’s bigger than me and has cooler toys. Mama and Daddy hung out with the other Mamas and Daddies and everyone had a good time. Then it was time to pack up and say goodbye.

Once we got back home I started really practicing my crawling. Now I can crawl on all fours, and boy can I motor! I can get where ever I want to go now and I can stand up on everything!! I also have my two bottom teeth and I’m working on my top teeth. I can say Mama, Dada, up and awdon (all done). Now I’m learning to say dog. I even got to show off all my new skills to Gigi and Poppy, to my Mimi, and to my Grandpa David, cause they all came to visit me!

I really love… getting to play outside on the deck. My Daddy put up a special railing so I can play outside and not fall in the creek. It’s so fun cause I can use it to stand up! I also love my superman smoothie. I drink one every morning and I get so excited when I see it I almost wiggle right out of my chair! My favorite books right now are Hello Farm Babies and Goodnight Moon. My favorite toys are my wooden safari animal puzzle and my stand up lunch table.

I don’t like … putting on my pj’s. I just don’t want to be still for that long!

June 2009

This month I… got my first two teeth!! I love to bite anything I get my mouth around now and I like to rub my tongue on my teeth cause they feel so funny. I also like to show them off with a new super big grin that shows off all my gums and teefers.


In the last week I perfected my commando crawl, so if I ever find myself in a foxhole I’ll know how to get around. I’m also pretty good at sliding backwards on the floor really, really fast. But mostly, I just want to stand, it makes me feel tall.

I love to be big like everybody else. I have been paying extra close attention so the other day when I was eating and my Mama turned around to talk to Daddy I just picked up my cup all by myself and started drinking. I spilled less than Mama and Daddy do when they hold my cup for me! I was soooo proud of myself and so were Mama and Daddy.

We went to the beach and the pool in SC cause we got to go to a wedding which was sooo much fun. We stayed right on the beach and I had so many friends. We went to the beach everyday and went swimming in the pool. I had my own special tent to take naps in and I got to drink lots of apple juice which was really yummy.

After we got back from the beach, there was a special day for daddies, so Mama and I got Daddy a present cause we love him. We rode up to a farm that didn’t have any green plants at all. It had fishes!! We got barrels of fishes and we drove them home and put them in our creek. Now we all go out everyday to feed our fishes and watch them swim around. I even have my very own swing that hangs right beside our creek and our fishes. It is so fun I just laugh and laugh.

We also went up to a special farm in the mountains where we got to walk around and learn all kinds of things about something called energy. Then we got to pick RASPBERRIES!!! We got to pick as many as we wanted and I LOVE RASPBERRIES! I got to eat them right there when Mama and Daddy picked them off the green bushes. If I could I would live right there in the bushes so I could eat raspberries all the time.

I really love… to stand and jump. Oh my how I love to stand. If I am sitting in the middle of the floor and you are near me, I will find your hands (even if you are hiding them) and move them so I can pull myself up on your fingers. I can even say “up” now, just in case the hand moving isn’t clear enough.

I also love that I can get to my toys when I want to now. I can even pull them all down and play with all of them at once if I want to!


I don’t like… the sound of the waves when I’m at the ocean. If I’m down at the water with my Daddy I can’t hear anything but the waves and it’s kinda scary. But I don’t mind so much right at the edge where the waves just barely get me, but I still want my Daddy really, really close.

Lately I also don't like to fall asleep by myself. I like to hold on very tightly to my Mama's hand while I fall asleep and that way I know she is right there. I open my eyes lots and lots while I am falling asleep just to make sure she is still there and if she isn't I scream so loud so that I know she will find me.

May 2009

This month I… went to my first college and my first honky-tonk! My Uncle James graduated from college so we got to drive all the way to Nashville so we could watch him up on stage. But when we got there, everyone was wearing the same outfit, so we couldn’t really tell which one was him at first cause there were sooo many people that looked alike. But then they said his name and everyone cheered yeah James!!! Then we went to a fancy hotel where my Daddy and Mama knew the man in charge of the kitchen and we had lunch and cheered more for Uncle James. Yeah James!!! I’m really good at cheering. Then after lunch we went and walked around and Daddy kept trying to find cowboy boots that would fit me cause that’s what you do in Nashville, you buy cowboy boots. But we didn’t find any so we decided to go to a honky tonk cause that’s what else you do in Nashville. So we went to Tootsie’s and everyone was looking at us funny, I guess cause I was the only baby there. But then the band started and the lady singing sang a special song just for me!! I stood up in Daddy’s lap and danced and danced!

When we came home I gave Mama a present that Daddy helped me pick out cause it was a special day for Mamas. It was a pretty tree cause I like trees and Mama likes trees! Daddy hung it up in the kitchen and now we can look at it every day.

I have been trying so hard to crawl. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I spin around and around on my belly pretty good. I’m also really good at standing. I like to grab ahold of people’s fingers and pull up. I like it so much it makes me laugh and laugh. I can stand up for a really long time. I also like to talk. I can say Dada and I say it all the time. Mama just laughs and asks me who I want to change my diaper. I don’t know how to say anyone elses name yet so I always say Dada. And then Mama laughs again.

I also still have my breathing machine, but Dr. Thomas gave us a new mask that makes the medicine go faster and now I don’t mind it so much, especially if I get to stand up!

I really love… my dogs! I love to pet them and let them lick my face. Indy is always near by wherever I am. Mama and Daddy say its cause he is protecting me. Amelia Bedila is always near when I am eating cause sometime I drop things and she likes to help clean up. She lets me rub her ears and give her kisses. I love to give kisses. I want to kiss everybody all the time. I also love the bathtub. I like to splash and play with turtle. Oh, and mangos… I LOVE mangos. I will eat a whole mango all by myself cause they are YUMMY.

I don’t like… that my friends Serena and Ethan are moving away. They are moving where people eat crawfish. I have crawfish in my creek but I don’t eat them. We had a big party with lots and lots of people to say goodbye. It is going to be so sad when they don’t live here anymore.

April 30, 2009

This month I… I got to see lots of new things! We went to the beach to see the Boger’s and I got to feel the ocean for the first time. We played in the sand and I got to smush it through my hands and feet. There was so much sand! We all played in the sand and I got to take a nap outside under the umbrella. When I woke up I tried to eat the sand but I figured out it didn’t taste very good at all. Then we went looking for alligators at Huntington State Park, but we never found any. It’s probably a good thing though cause Mama said I’m so rolly polly now they might want to eat me up!! I weigh 20 pounds now and sometimes when my belly is really full I can hardly sit up its so big! I can eat lots of new things now besides sand. I eat all kinds of cereal, kiwi, mango, pears, bananas, blueberries, apricots, avocados, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, carrots, peas, green beans, broccoli, spinach, black beans, lentils and cheerios. Cheerios are my favorite. I like to crunch, crunch, crunch on them. What I can’t eat yet is chocolate. But a really nice bunny rabbit brought me some anyway, so Mama said she’d take one for the team and eat it up for me! My Mama is sooo nice!

After we went to the beach, we came home for a while and then some of Mama and Daddy’s friends came to visit. Their names were Mark and Sue and they came from MA where Mama and Daddy use to live. When they were here I got to go to my first ever music festival! We spent all day outside at Merlefest and I got to listen to Emmylou Harris and Doc Watson and Sam Bush. I had my own special wristband and my own special tent to keep me out of the sun when it was time to take my nap. When it was hot we all went down to the creek and waded around in the cold water. Since it was a special day I got to stay up late. It got dark outside and I got to put my pj’s on and dance outside under the stars with Mama while we listened to Emmylou, but then I fell asleep and when I woke up I was in my crib all the way back home.

The next day we went hiking and I got to sit on top of the great big rock above our house and look out over all the mountains.

I really love… mornings. When I first start to wake up in the mornings I start smiling while I am still sleeping and then when I finally open my eyes I smile really really big cause I am so happy to be awake. Sometime I lie in bed and look out the window and listen to the birds. Other times I like to lie in bed and pat my Mama and Daddy on their arms and faces and smile big at them. Mornings are my favorite time of day.

I also love to bounce. Even if I am not in my bouncy seat I will try to bounce wherever I am. Anytime I am on my feet I try to JUMP. It’s so fun it makes me laugh out loud every time. Oh and my feet!! They fit in my mouth and they are so good to chew on. Sometimes when I am sitting I will see one of them and just flop forward with my mouth open to chew on it.

I don’t like… being sick. I have been to the doctor lots of times this month. I have had viral hives and a double ear infection with two different kinds of antibiotics. And I had baby bronchitis. Now I have a special breathing machine that I do not like, but I have to breathe in steroids two times every day. And now I have a runny nose and a cough. Mama says it cause of the germs, but I don’t even know what a germ looks like, so I don’t know.

I'm starting to look an awful lot like my Daddy!

March 31, 2009

This Month I ...
saw my very first snow. It was so pretty, and I liked to watch it from the window. I even got to go outside and play in it but it was cold - brrrrr. It was better inside where I didn't have to wear socks. We had so much snow that Mama and Daddy couldn't go to work so we all stayed home together and I loved it!!! When we were outside Daddy zipped me up in his jacket so I would stay warm, but my nose was still freezing. Then Mama zipped me up in her jacket and we watched Daddy go flying down the driveway so fast cause he was on a snowboard. He was so fast I couldn't even keep my eyes on him!!!

After the snow got melted we went on two road trips. We went down to Mt. Pleasant to see all my grandparents and stay with my Gigi and we played at her house all weekend. It was really warm and sunny and when its warm and sunny you can be outside without your socks on and I really liked that. Gigi and Poppy had a friend called crazy Mickey at their house and he was soo crazy he made me laugh all the time. He talked funny and I couldn't understand what he was saying but his face was really stretchy and it changed shape alot.

The next weekend we drove to Williamsburg with Aunt Paige and Metts and Grandpa Dave. We were in the car for a whole day. I like to watch out the windows and see the sky. Mama and Daddy said I did really really good cause I don't really mind being in the car so I didn't cry hardly at all. We saw lots of people in Williamsburg and had to get all dressed up and go to a wedding.

I also finally figured out rolling. Once we got back from Williamsburg, Mama and Daddy had me down on the floor and I just started rolling all over the place. I was rolling front ways and back ways and right ways and left ways. I was all over the place!! Now I know if I'm over here and I want to be over there I can just steam roll over and get where I need to go.

kisses... and hugs...

I Really Love ...

my Johnny Jump Up. I go bouncy bouncy bouncy, laugh laugh laugh. It is so fun, and I can jump so high. Right now it is my favorite place to be:) I also love my tongue. It is so fun to stick it out and spit with it and lick things with it. I can make funny noises with it and I can taste different things now too cause I can eat sweet potatoes and carrots and spinach and avocados and peas and oatmeal and rice and squash and pears and bananas but not yogurt cause we tried that and I broke out in a rash all over my whole entire body.

I love to laugh and smile all the time... In the morning, when it is still dark outside, I get to get into bed with Mama and Daddy. When I wake back up I am right in the middle and I can reach one hand out and touch Mama and the other hand out and touch Daddy. Then I look at Mama and I smile soooo BIG and then I turn my head and look at Daddy and smile soooo BIG. I love to wake up there.

At the nighttime before bed I get to take a bath. My favorite part is getting to stand up in the tub so I can get my bottom washed. It tickles and I laugh out loud. It makes Mama and Daddy laugh too!!

I Don't Like ...

earaches. I had to be out of school for a whole week cause I got an ear infection and had a fever. We went to the doctor and he gave me some medicine that was pink and tasted like bubblegum. I had to take it for ten days but now it is all gone and I don't feel yucky anymore.

I also don't like pooping in my diaper. Actually, I don't know why anyone ever thought that was a good idea. Talk about yucky. I just wait till someone takes it off and it's much better that way (at least for me!).