My little man turned one. An entire year old. Amazing.

It has been a long year- and at the same time- flown by. I just can't believe he is already a year old. I wonder if I baby him more because he is the "baby", or if I have forgotten how little a one year old really is. But my goodness, do we love this little one!

So, at a year old- he is just as sweet as can be. And everyday he seems to grow so quickly! We love the way he communicates and interacts with us, and especially with Emma. He is a quiet little one when it comes to words. In fact, his first real word with meaning behind it was Emma, followed by Dada and ball. Then came "quack". And it seems he is stuck. Every animal is "quack" and everything else is "daaaaa" as he points his tiny little finger towards whatever it is he wants.

He waves "bye-bye", sways & dances to any music, knocks on Emma's bedroom door when it is time to get her from bed, snuggles & cuddles his dolls/teddy bears and sings his "noo noo" song, zooms his cars around, actually cleans up toys putting blocks back in their containers, puts on his pretend hat when he hears the word, points to his belly when asked....and pretty much seems to understand everything we say to him! He is so fun and laid back (minus the screeching)- truly enjoyable to be around (again.....could do without the screech!).

He will sign "more", "eat", "drink", and "all done" for us when he is really desperate.

Otherwise, he still has his signature screech (as mentioned above). It is out of control. And in public, people turn their head in shock to see what is happening to the poor little guy- and I'm sure they are relieved to see that he is, in fact, not getting brutally murdered- but simply just bored/frustrated/happy/excited/who the heck knows!!

He is a gutsy little guy climbing everywhere. And a curious one- so very interested in what is in our cabinets and fridge and TV and DVD player and electrical outlets and toilets....to name a few. And he isn't afraid to test ANYTHING with his mouth- dust balls, toys, srews, chair rails- you name it!

He is amazing, and he is happy, and we love him more than words could ever explain! He is friendly, funny, smart, and even a little flirt! He tests his mommy......and just giggles with excitement when I come over to stop whatever bad behavior he is attempting to get away with. Emma watched in horror as I put Levi in "time-out" for the first time the other day! (Emma)"Babies can go in time-out????". Oh yes Emma girl, oh yes.

But this kid, I tell ya- we can't believe how snuggly and cuddly and loving he is. Hugs and kisses ALL day. Walked over to Felix and intentionally threw his arms around his neck to hug him! And we would never guess the baby who refused to sleep more than 4 hours at a time for the first 8 months of his life, actually likes to go to sleep now- anticipates the naptime/bedtime routine, and even flashes us a little smile and giggle sometimes as we lay him in the crib.

And yes. He started walking- still in the early stages....walking until he falls down and then resorting to crawling. I think he is doing it this way because he knows it makes his mommy sad that he is growing up too fast! And I am so glad he is such a mama's boy. He LOVES his mama....and he LOVES nursing- even though he isn't actually drinking that much. I'm trying to cut back on some of the nursing, which makes for some pretty tough mornings for him- he gets quite moody when he can't get what he wants!!

My sweet little boy, I love you more and more each day- and you change so much from day to day.....I always remind myself to slow down and enjoy the moment.....they go by way too quickly.

Happy Birthday Levi love.......can't imagine life without you, little guy!