18 Months Old!

Levi, you are 18 months old! You are growing up fast! Learning, developing, changing, growing in many ways. Here are some of the new things you have begun in the last 3 months...

I asked him if I could take his picture this morning... he had to have the camera facing him so he could see himself. 

And Zeke really wanted in on the action too! 

Sweet boy, 18 months old, 6/17/15

He kept running at me as I tried to take a full-length shot. 

- You have gotten in your 4 bicuspids, the pointy teeth! That means only your 2 year molars are left to complete your "baby" set.

- You can say lots of words now... if only you would :) What I mean is, oftentimes, I'll ask you to say something and you'll just nod and say, "Uh huh!" even though I know you can say it. In May I wrote down as many words I could remember you saying; I'm going to refer to that list now -- ball, balloon, Mama or Mah-meeee, Dada, dog, arf! (for a dog noise), lellow (yellow), blue, more, please, no!, push, up, "meh-meh" which means Amen (also, when asked at meal time, 'Do you want to pray, Levi?' you nod, bow your head, close your eyes, and wait for us to pray -- love it!), thank you (and in the appropriate context!), bee-bee (baby), hot!, ow (for meow/cat), juice, whoa, uh-oh, light, bye-bye (with double-fisted, backward/sideways wave), this, hi, bubble (apple), bubble (bubble), eye, ear, my (mine), yay (with clapping, after we finish a song or when you hear others clapping, you did this at the rodeo last week too!), dry (after you wash your hands). I think there are actually more, but I can't really remember everything!

Kisses for Momma on Mother's Day

- You took your first shower after the pool during our trip to Steamboat Springs. You loved it! I could hardly get you to leave.

A fun bath with cousin Miriam

- You are a fireball of emotions. One minute you might be belly-laughing, having a blast, the next, you're screaming at us, angry because we did something against your will. This is cause for some great highs, as well as lows for us.

Picture time with Momma 

Being silly! 

- You enjoy riding on Zeke's trike now. You like to be pushed around, but can also use your feet to make yourself move, just not with the pedals yet. You like the time we spend outside on these warm, sunny days, playing with the water table and whatever we can find in the garage that might be fun.

- You are starting to enjoy reading books. You'll bring them to me from time to time. I'm glad for this because I was afraid you'd never want to stop moving (which is still mostly true), but you are starting to take time to sit, read, and enjoy the books. You really like looking at Zeke's Ranger Rick magazine, and you're absolute favorite is your Highlights Hello magazine! You read at least one of the editions every day.

- You fall asleep with Scout at most every nap and bedtime. You are starting to sing along with the songs, sometimes even when your eyes are closed. In particular, there's one song that goes something like, "I want a dog, please, it's my favorite animal. I want him to be yellow, please, it's my favorite color. I want him to eat raspberries, please, it's my favorite food. And I'll call him Levi, just like you." You join in at just the right time to say "please" each time. Your timing is great and it just makes me smile because if you weren't singing along, I'd definitely think you were asleep.

- Against my will, I got out the 2T summer clothes today (June 15). It was hard because I just put them away from Zeke who was wearing them last summer. Most of the 18 month clothes fit ok, but are starting to just get a bit tight, so I thought it was more important for you to be comfortable and cool then try to squeeze you into clothes that were too small. You look pretty adorable in them, I have to admit :)

Your first Easter egg hunt

Brrr! Trying to enjoy an orange julius popsicle. 

Time for a walk!  

You look so uncomfortable! Yet you were excited to wear the big boy headphones. 

You're going to be such a great big brother! 

"What's with all the pictures Momma?"

Strength Training -- you are strong! I think you can do 10 pull-ups now.

Trying to get to the toothpaste?!

First "horse ride" in Steamboat Springs, CO 

PJ Picture! 

Matching Outfits! 

Picking some flowers before our walk, during which, you fell into a cactus on the way back :/ Mommy had to carry you most of the way back to the car!

Working on your selfie!

- You enjoy playing outside with Zeke at the water table you got for Christmas. Yesterday (6/15) some neighbor boys came over to play too and you got really wet! You didn't seem to mind. I'm hoping that means your swim lessons will go well later this summer.

Post water table picture! 

Levi Olin, Mommy and Daddy love you very much! We are thankful for the past 18 months with you in our lives. You make each day exciting and colorful! You challenge us to be more creative and patient than ever before. We love to hear you laugh, watch you dance, and play with your brother. We pray for you every day and look forward to the journey of life ahead!