Love Deeply: 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.