ONE, is the new number!

Can you believe it that my baby boy is ONE today? Yes, I said one. I sure hope you can, because I definitely cannot. I'm 28 years old and this past year has been the fastest year of my life. Seriously. I thought time was moving quickly when I graduated high school, then college. Time was moving quickly as my job went by, friends had babies that were growing. But nothing and I mean nothing compares to when you have your own child.

This past year has been amazing. And amazingly hard. I love being a mom. But figuring this whole mom thing out, hasn't always been easy. We've had our ups and downs, but I'm thankful for God's grace and the grace of others when the downs were present.

We celebrated Levi's first birthday on Saturday, November 26th with a rock star (guitar) themed party. Surprising, huh?  Levi was (and still is) a little under the weather. We later found out he has a double ear infection. He's currently battling that so things haven't been so pleasant around here. We were blessed to have so many friends and family come to Levi's party to help us celebrate.

A few things I don't want to forget:

• He weighs around 25lbs. (He has lost a pound due to being ill.) 
• He is 30.5 inches long. Which I'm told is tall. Maybe we have a basketball player on our hands!
• He can walk. He's quite good at it now. He started around 11 months old. 
• He still loves his pacifier. Momma is going to have a hard time taking it away. 
• He had his first haircut! 
• He says the words mom, mom, and mom. :-) He can also say Hi. And he repeats the word good. Well when he wants to. :-) 
• He loves food. Meat is his favorite. 
• He loves music. Really, are you surprised? 
• Levi LOVES and I mean loves his Daddy. 
• Levi also loves Yo Gabba Gabba. That is the only show that holds his attention. He gets so excited when we turn it on for him. 
• He has learned to wave hi and bye. Again, when he wants to. 
• He loves to shake his head "no" now. 
• He loves computers. Just like his daddy. Oh and iPhones are his favorite.
• Sleep is something he does NOT like. We so wish he did. 
• He has four teeth.

That pretty much sums up our one year old little boy. He bring so much joy to our lives. And we are so blessed that God gave Levi to us. We treasure him everyday.

A coworker asked me today how I feel. I said the same as a year ago: exhausted. :-) My one year old sleeps like a newborn. Or maybe even worse! I'm sure being sick and teething does not help. He just would rather be up, I guess. I've been told to read books, try this, and try that. But Levi is Levi and babies are all different. So it is what it is. It's a season of life and I'm getting pretty used to only 5 or so hours of sleep a night, if that.

I have to give a HUGE shout out to all of my wonderful friends and amazing family who has helped us "survive' the first year. It really does take a village to raise a child. I'm so thankful for my friends who love Levi like their own. I'm thankful for his babysitters. I'm also thankful for my family who cares for and loves Levi just as much as we do. And I'm super thankful for my mom, Ree, who watches Levi one day a week and is by my side whenever we have needed anything. She also has supplied Levi with diapers the first year of his life. :-) We are beyond blessed. And thankful.

Our first family picture, 11-30-10

Our family picture at his first birthday party!

The YUMMY treats!

Happy Birthday to Levi!

We had a photo booth at the party (thanks John!) and this is my mom, dad, and aunt. And Levi's expression says it all!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LEVI BECKETT KELLY!

Oh where has the time gone....(and Levi's first haircut!)

I'm fully aware that I'm way behind on my blogging. I have no excuses. Just the normal daily life that is busy. I'm going to try and catch up the months I've missed and I'm really, really going to try and make it back for his 1st Birthday post, yes you heard me right, he's almost one. Really, where has the time gone. I ask myself that everyday. 

Well today, 11-19-11, we took Levi to get his first haircut. Let me start by saying that yes I know, he's not one yet. Some folks may think we took him too early. But I have yet to see a rule book on when you should take your child to get their first haircut. :-) We chose to take him because his hair was longer than his ears. It was growing like a weed and it was time. And Levi did GREAT. He wasn't at all phased, of course the sucker (his first) helped. Here are a few pictures of my almost one year old! 

First Haircut

Happy Baby Boy

 All done! Handsome baby boy! 

 

 

 

 

4, 5, 6, better late, than never!

Levi is 7 months old! Where has the time seriously gone? I'm a little behind, but wanted to post a pictures from 4, 5, & 6 months! I won't even promise 7 month pictures any time soon. Ha! I have tons of summer pictures to upload as well. I have every intention of blogging during nap time, however I either end up holding him or falling asleep with him during nap time. Oops. Hey, he's only a baby once! And I only have summer break with him, then it's back to work!

My first attempt at rice cereal....you see how well that went! But he LOVES food now! 

Levi's first wedding!

Levi and his (Great) Nana 

I hope to be back soon to tell you about all of the summer fun we've been having!

Happy Daddy Day!

Happy 1st Father's Day to my wonderful husband and the best dad a little boy could ask for! Levi loves his daddy so much. He's gets so excited to see him after work each day. I can't wait to see the bond they form as Levi gets older. Thank you for being a great Godly example for our son.

This was taken at my baby shower. (I did not see the button said Baby on it until after I had written the word Daddy. So it says Baby Daddy. Some of us got quite the chuckle!)

The day we came home from the hospital, you are a daddy! 

 

Your little Colt's buddy! 

 

Levi and Daddy at his Baptism 

Levi LOVES his Daddy!

 

Mark and I are also very lucky to have great dad's. And they are both wonderful grandpa's to our little guy. Levi just adores his Papa (my dad.) Levi is the first grandchild on my side and my parents can't go a few days without seeing him. We are very blessed to live in the same town as them and have them be a part of Levi's life. 

The day my dad became a grandpa. Levi and his Papa.

Papa, Grandma, and Levi on Christmas Eve

Levi with his Daddy, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa

 

 Happy Father's Day Mark, Frank, and Dan! And to all of our family members and friends who are dad's. We love you all and are so very blessed to have you in our life!

Time is flying by!

Just a quick post about my baby boy, things I don't want to forget... (I hope to get pictures uploaded soon and I'll of course share!) 

Levi is now 6 months old! (hard to believe) 
He had his 6 month check up yesterday and he weighed in at 20lbs 1oz. Yes, he's a big boy and I love it. He's also very tall, 28 and 1/2 inches. He's a little off the charts, the doc said. He comes in at 102%. And the doctor also said he's developmentally advanced. (Must be all that music he listens to!) It just baffles me how much he has grown up! Makes me sad too...
Some tidbits I don't want to forget---

• rolls from front to back and back to front
• sits up on his own
• holds his own bottle
• loves his sippy cup
• so far he loves all the veggies and fruits he's been given!
• size 3 diaper
• wears 6-12 month clothes, depends on the brand, however he has to have 18 month one piece outfits, the boy is tall!
• loves to grab glasses, hair, earrings, etc. 
• loves music! he "sings" right along 

Levi is growing quick! I have 10 days of school left, then I'm free for the summer! (Well between church & family events, I'll be kept busy...but at least I'll be home with my baby boy!) And I truly hope to blog more and get things done around the house. 

Happy June!

Mother's Day

What a beautiful day. My heart is bursting with joy today as I celebrate my first mother's day. Although parenting isn't always easy, every rough moment is worth it. Totally worth it.

Levi wanted to make sure mommy remembered that today... Mark was up and out the door early, he had to lead worship today at church. I had to get myself and Levi ready and out the door by a certain time. Usually not a hard task, I've done it many times in the past five months. However, Levi didn't want to cooperate this morning..or I should say his bodily functions did not want to cooperate. :-) I was ready to give Levi a bath and he pooped everywhere. Thanks, Levi. After the bath, I dry him off and get ready to diaper and clothe him. I turned away for one second to grab his butt cream and the next thing you know he is peeing EVERYWHERE. All over his clean body, his clean diaper, and his changing table. Thank you, again. And the whole time he was happy as a clam.

I'm so grateful for my own mom. I love her and she is one of my best friends. I thank God everyday for amazing parents.

Happy Mother's Day to all you momma's out there. And I mean all (step moms, grandma's, aunt's, teachers and friends who care for children.)

My mom and Levi

The day I became a mom. I love you Levi Beckett. 

Off to another week of work! I am counting the days down until summer break. I can't wait to spend my summer days with my baby boy!

Blogging Fail

Aye, aye, aye... I'm having a hard time finding the time to blog! But when you have a very, very fun almost five month old at home, it's hard! And he's quite adorable these days. Fun too! I promise, okay I'm going to try, to blog on Saturday, Levi's 5 month birthday. I'll also post his 4 month pictures on his 5 month post, since I kind of missed it! Oops. :-)

See what I mean by adorable?! HA!

And here is my happy baby boy!

I hope to be back here on Saturday blogging away about my little guy turning five months old! Oh where has the time gone?!

Better late, than never!

We've been busy here in the Kelly household! Levi turned three months old on February 30th, oh wait...there is no 30th in February! So he turned three months old sometime around then!  And my little dude took the cutest three month old pictures. We were OH SO PROUD of him.
So in the month of March we've/he's done the following things...

• Sits in his Bumbo seat and loves it! 
• He can roll from his stomach to back
• He's teething. No, momma is not ready for this! 
• Levi was dedicated at New Creation Vineyard. God is so good!
• Had his first St. Patrick's Day
• Laughs. It's more like a giggle, but such a wonderful sound! 
• Is eating more (6oz. a sitting), he's a growing boy
• His uncle bought him a Jumper-roo and he loves it! 
• He loves basketball. He is enjoying the NCAA tournament. And yes, I'm serious. 

The sad thing about the month of March is that mommy had to return back to work. For those of you who do not know, I'm a Pre Kindergarten teacher. I work at a public school just down the road from our house. I have 44 total kids (3, 4, & 5 year olds!) I teach a AM and a PM class Monday through Friday. And yes, it's tiring. But also very rewarding. I love my students, but I'm missing my little guy. He goes to a sitter four days a week and my mom watches him one day a week. Dianna is Levi's babysitter and she's wonderful. She has four children and the youngest is just three months older than Levi. So they hang out all day together. It's been very hard on me, but I'm handling it well. It helps to know he's being taken very good care of! So this is our new normal and we've survived so far. Going back to work has been one reason for the lack of blogging. I work all day, pick Levi up, and come home and crash for the rest of the evening. Yep, that's my excuse.

I'll leave you with pictures of my handsome three month old (soon to be four!)

Levi's Dedication

I have other photos to add from my iPhone and will do so when they get uploaded. Hopefully it'll be sooner than later. I'm going to try very hard to do a four month post on the 30th of March. We'll see how that goes.

We are anxiously awaiting spring break, so momma and Levi can be home a whole week together!

Train Up a Child

"Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it."
-- Proverbs 22:6

Today was Levi's baptism at First Presbyterian Church. I went to this church for 21 years. I was baptized there, attended Sunday School, conformation, youth group, and Mark and I got married there. My parents still attend every Sunday. 

Even though the weather was rainy, we were blessed with a beautiful service filled with our family and friends. Levi is a true blessing from God. We are so very thankful for him and cannot wait to teach him about Jesus. 

Happy Baby

Nana, Levi, and Go Go

Levi's Sponsors, Jimmy and Sarah

My Family of Three!

Auntie Kelly and Levi

Auntie Dara, Bradley, and Levi

This picture is very important to me because Levi has the bib on that my Aunt Brenda made for him. She was married to my Uncle Al (my dad's brother.) He passed away unexpectedly almost two years ago. This bib is made from a shirt that he used to wear. My Aunt Brenda sewed it into a bib for Levi to have. I just know my uncle would have loved him.

There were a lot of people who shared in your special day-- Grandma and Papa Labaj, Grandma and Grandpa Kelly, Kelly, Dara & Bradley, Go Go & Sam, Nana, Tobi & Michael, Reese, and Isabella, Auntie "O", and Sarah & Jimmy. 

God Bless You, Levi Beckett. We love you.

Bad Blogger

Okay, okay so I'm not the best blogger these days! My little guy is growing up so quick and I just can't keep up! So lets play a little catch up with pictures...

I just can't get enough of this little guy!

Levi's Great Great Aunt Ree and Uncle Canton, they just adore him!

Kelli, Levi, Domonique and Rachel (Dom and Rach are my friends from college)

Jimmy and Levi, cheering on the Packers!

My smiley baby boy!

The best Valentine ever! 

I'm going to try and keep up better! But no promises, this momma goes back to work in less than two weeks, eek!

2 Months Old

Oh, Levi Beckett stop growing so fast! My baby boy is 2 months old today.
Some things about Levi at 2 months old:

• He got his first shots (since birth) and did amazingly well, he's a strong boy
• He weighs 13lbs 12oz (his doctor said he's the size of a 4-5 month old baby!)
• He's 25.5 inches long
• He wears a size 2 diaper
• We changed his formula to one with a rice starch base, reduces his acid reflux
• He eats every 3-4 hours and eats anywhere between 2-4 ounces, usually 4
• He does NOT like it when you take his bottle away to burp him, my boy likes to eat! 
• He started drinking one prune juice bottle a day to help with constipation
• He wears 3-6 month clothes
• He loves to be swaddled at night and held during the day (oops!) 
• He loves his play mat
• He normally is calm, but is starting to show a little temper when his bottle is empty, he's fighting sleep, or when we put him down
• And he finally started smiling at mommy and daddy! Yay! 

 Mark and Levi had a little 2 month photo session tonight at home and boy does our son have some funny expressions! 

My smiley baby boy!

He's so strong!

Mr. Serious

Daddy's Rockstar

Close Up

Welcome to Levi's Spit Up! Comes quick! Ha!

Whoa! I'm 2 Months Old!

Levi, you bring so much joy to our lives. We are so proud to be your mommy and daddy. You are growing up so fast! We love you very much!

On to another month with my baby boy...

Oh and I just want to add, I'm not sure when I'll do his three month post, because there is no February 30th! So does that mean he can stay two months old longer?! ;-)