Dear Levi - Fifteen Months Old

Dear Levi,

This has been another month of crazy development. I cannot believe how much you have grown and changed in the past 31 days.

The most noticeable has been in your increasing communication. While much of what you say continues to be incomprehensible to most people beyond our immediate family, that is changing slowly and as your pronunciation becomes clearer your vocabulary is increasing daily. You have mastered "stuck" and like to call for help often to get out of predicaments that you often put yourself in on purpose. Still hearing your little voice calling us, usually gets us running to save you, while you smile at us, knowing that you have wrapped us around your little finger :)

You also enjoy words to do with "football" like, "Hawk" when you see the Seattle Seahawk logo. This also includes "teevee" as you point to the remote and encourage us to turn on the television to see a football game. Your recent fascination with the television has certainly been convicting for me and we have not had it on during the day at all while you are awake. The weekends can still find us watching football games but I hope that your growing obsession with the sport can be contained with this limited exposure. The fall out from that decision however, has meant that you assume there is always football on the TV, because in your recent experience that is all you have seen :)

Your sleep at night is not quite back to consistent full nights, but it seems to be getting better (no thanks to daylight savings who threw a spanner in the works for a day or four). However, this not sleeping through started when your upper molars both decided to poke through at the same time, and today I notice bulging bottom gums which tell me your bottom ones are on their way too. Hoping they are not as painful for you, sweet boy. You have become such a snuggler in the morning. When you wake up we hear your little voice babbling, usually about "football" at first before you start calling for "Mama" and "Dada". You come into our bed for your first bottle of the day, you take it as you snuggle with us and you are so sweet. And as soon as its done you are off and running, full of enthusiasm for the day ahead. You especially enjoy turning on the radio on Daddy's clock to hear the music and start "dancy" (dancing) this includes your new signature move waving your pointer fingers as you wiggle.

Speaking of sleep, a new favourite game is to put our pillows on the floor and get your lovies and a blanket and tell us "ni ni" (night night) as you lay your head down, pretending to sleep. Then you pop up and  beam as we tell you "good morning sunshine" just like we do when you really wake up from sleep.

You have also started pushing boundaries much more as your understanding of the world grows. No longer can we tell ourselves you are unaware of what you are doing. You know full well when we tell you "no" or "stop" that you can make the choice to be obedient or not and its a toss up to which you decide :) We have had to be firm and practice consistency for follow through when we are asking you to do something and you refuse. It's a learning curve for all of us, but your Daddy and I really want you to grow up knowing that there are boundaries and that you don't always just get to do what you want to. It's not a lesson any of us enjoy sweet one, but its necessary.

You are quick to bounce back from any confrontation, and we still chose to use distraction as much as any other form of discipline, but sometimes wehn you are looking at us and smiling as you do something you know youa re not allowed to do, we have to take a step back and remember that your heart is not to drive us crazy it's simply fun to you. You certainly have a mischievous spirit and a sense of humor larger than your size :)

You have also entered into a phase of being quite a mummy's boy, and also our first experience of you having any kind of separation anxiety. I was called out of MOPS last week as well as church this morning because you were having a tough time. You love to play with the other kids as long as I am in eye shot. I hope it's a short phase for both our sakes.

This has been a month of new finds and watching you enjoy life and the world you with even more energy and joy. From the toilet paper middle trumpets - your instrument of choice, to sharing snacks with your stuffed animals you are a light in my life.

I love you so much and as exhausted as I am most nights when my head hits the pillow, I wouldn't trade being your mother for anything in the world. You continue to be everything I dreamed of and more.

Happy 15 months~

Love mama x

Here you are this weekend enjoying some quality Dad time with snacks during the Seahawk game.