11 months!

Levi is 11 months now. I'm actually getting this post in under the wire, because he'll be 12 months in - gulp! - one week! He weighed in at 16 pounds, 15 ounces at his 11-month check up. That's a gain of just 1/4 of a pound over the last month. He measured 28 inches again and I've finally lost complete faith in the length measuring tool at the doctor office. I am responsible for holding him down straight as a board, and making sure my end of the measuring tool is flush against his feet, so it's operator error, and I'm looking forward to the time that he can stand on his own two feet and be measured against the wall. Here's his 11-month picture with Tex, all dressed in his sock monkey pajamas:



We just returned from a trip in Oklahoma, and somehow, his hair doubled in length and lightened while we were there. I can now see his golden, downy hair from a distance. While we were there, he called out for his Pop Luttrull, which often sounded like "Tot!". He also stood up unaided in Deedo's living room early in our visit. We haven't had any repeat performances, but it gives me hope that his balance is improving such that it won't be too long before he starts walking. Here are some pictures from our visit:


Reading with Pop




Bathing in Deedo's sink

Exploring with Pop

Having a quiet moment with Daddy

We returned home to our first big snow. Winter is unaware that she's early!

The night we got home, Levi was sitting in his high chair when Aggie walked through the kitchen. He pointed at her and said, "Cat!". We celebrated so much that he has continued to say "cat" (which sounds a lot like "tat") over and over the last few days. It's a lot of fun to see him make these verbal connections. His vocabulary is now up to five words: oh, Pop, cat, hi and bye.

I am happy to report that I evidently left morning sickness and nausea behind when I started my second trimester. I feel pretty good most days; there are still a couple of foods I can't quite bring myself to eat (including my favorite, Taco Bell), but otherwise, this is much better than the first time. I'm still not showing, but I will post pictures when there's something to see. The baby is about 3.5 inches now, or the size of a lemon. Levi will provide the visual:

I started my 15th week today, and I'm looking forward to feeling the first baby 'flutters' soon. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time two weeks ago. It is really an amazing thing to hear that rapid heartbeat and know that all is apparently well. We've mostly referred to the baby as a girl; this is probably more desire than intuition, but from the get-go, this one just 'felt' like a girl. Our obstetrician, Dr. K, told us that mother's intuition is right about 60% of the time. We'll be thrilled either way. If the baby is a boy, we'll know what to expect, and if it's a girl, she'll be the first born on Rob's side of the family in a generation. A girl would probably make my niece Sophia happy too, as she'd have someone to do little girl things with. I have no idea what those things are since I was a tomboy, but Sophia will be a good teacher. We'll have an ultrasound sometime in January, and will share the news right away.

Well, that's all from our neck of the woods. Tomorrow is Halloween, and I'm very excited about Levi's costume. Stay tuned for pictures...

Lynda

Ten Months

Ten months already! Levi is getting so big! He now weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces, and measures 28 inches. He's measured longer on prior visits, and since I know he's not shrinking, I can only conclude that measuring baby height is not an exact science. Levi has started signing 'all done' when he's full at mealtime. Sometimes he's so proud of signing that he indicates he's done when he's really not, but he gets it right more often than not. A couple of days ago, he surprised us by waving goodbye to Rob without any prodding. We didn't know he knew how to wave goodbye! He claps a lot, and really likes us to clap for him. If you clap for him, you can even convince him that it's fun to fall. Here's Levi's ten-month picture with Tex:

Every few months I go through Levi's clothes, packing away the ones that are too small and replacing them with the bigger clothes. I was thrilled this time to see that he's big enough to wear the dinosaur sleeper and hat that Rob and I picked out months before he was born. What a precious boy!

Raaaawwwwwrrrrr!

This is a picture of Rob and Levi holding a lima bean:

Why are Rob and Levi holding a lima bean? We've had so much fun showing Levi's growth next to Tex. We thought it would be fun to use Levi to show the growth of...the baby we're expecting in April! I'm eight an a half weeks pregnant, and the baby is about the size of a lima bean, hence the picture. The tentative due date is April 23rd, which would make Levi about 18 months when the new baby is born.

I'm feeling all right most days with the aid of some anti-nausea medicine. I haven't figured out what to eat that will satisfy my stomach without offending my mind. I lived on chocolate milkshakes and clam chowder last time, but just typing those words makes my stomach turn. I'll figure it out eventually, and I hope it's sooner than later.

I'm off to hunt for food...

Lynda

Nine Months

Since Levi is almost ten months old, I should probably give you all a nine month update! At his nine month checkup, Levi weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 28 inches. He's getting to be such a big boy, and he didn't even cry when he got his vaccinations. This is Levi's nine month picture with Tex:

In the last month, Levi started using the 'big boy high chair', as I like to call it. He is now feeding himself part time; only about 60% of what he picks up makes it into his mouth, so we always spoon feed him a little bit to make sure he's eating enough. He's eating several fruits, vegetables, cheeses and some occasional meats for meals. He usually has Cheerios as an appetizer or dessert at each meal, too. God bless the person who invented Cheerios! They can keep him happy in restaurants when no other food or toy can. I know I'm in for it when I check his diaper bag and realize that I forgot to pack the Cheerios. Here are a few pictures of our proud self-feeder. The first, is of course, before the feeding:

And during:

Yes, that is a carrot cube stuck to his chest. Look how proud he is to have it there! Then there was the time he was managing carrots and Cheerios and got a Cheerio stuck to his chin:

He's still not aware that it's there.

He's still not aware that it's there.

He's STILL not aware that it's there. Oh, well.

Levi sprouted his two upper, middle teeth (which are about a mile apart), and just yesterday got his fifth tooth - one on the bottom right. All these new teeth explain the runny nose and the buckets of drool we've wiped for two weeks straight. He's been a little cranky, too, but we can't figure out if it's due to the teeth or a transition in his nap schedule.

Levi's learned to do so much in the last month or so. He graduated from the army crawl to the traditional, straight-arm crawl over the last week and a half. His Grandma and Pop Luttrull visited last week, and in that one week he learned to stand up in his crib, play peekaboo, wave, drink from his sippy cup, and say his first word: "oh!" (as in uh-oh, said when he drops something). Peekaboo is my favorite new skill; we can sometimes initiate a game by asking, "Where's Levi?", but mostly we realize that he wants to play when he's gotten very quiet and he's covering his eyes.

Levi and I spent some time in Texas last month, visiting family and friends. We went to meet my best friend Stephanie's newborn, Clint, and my grandmother (who goes by 'GG'). Stephanie and her husband Craig are wonderful parents, and I love how intentional they are about Clint's routines. From the start, they've practiced the same bedtime ritual, which includes a prayer and a special song that Craig wrote and plays for Clint. Their intentionality inspired us to start a bedtime routine for Levi when I returned home. Somehow, I got away without a single picture of the boys together. Shame on me.

Levi loved meeting GG. He smiled and laughed any time he heard her talk or laugh. They have quite the mutual admiration society.

One last picture...this is Levi in his new kicks. Lest you think we have more money than sense, we bought these shoes at the Nike outlet store for a super-low price, and we also bought them a size too big so that we'd get our money's worth out of them. Besides, it would be impossible for us to have more money than sense. We're very, very smart. He looks so grown up in his tennies!

For fun, you should go back through the pictures and observe Levi's nose. Does it look a bit orange to you? I noticed several weeks ago that his nose looked a bit yellow...then a bit orange. I said something about it to Rob, but forgot about it once I reasoned that it probably had more to do with the lighting in the room than actual skin color. I could not deny it once I began to notice it in pictures, though...I asked our pediatrician about it, and he said it's quite common for babies who eat plenty of carrots, squash and sweet potatoes to acquire an orange nose. We're trying to vary his diet a little more now.

We are midway through our final week-long family camp. We have a short family camp over Labor Day weekend, and then just a few weekend conferences. I can't believe how quickly this summer has passed! Over the last couple of weeks, we lost so many staff as they returned home for school that I found myself back in Kid's Club. I forgot what hard work it is! In the off-season, I'll be busy trying to write or adapt a new curriculum for next summer, then I have several little projects I want to finish, like Levi's Christmas stocking, birth announcement cross-stitch, nursery curtains, and room decorations. Something tells me that if I don't get them done by next summer, they'll never get done. I'm going to be a busy mama...

Lynda

Eight Months

Levi turned eight months old on Monday! He weighs 15 pounds, 15 ounces and measures 28 inches long. He sat unsupported for the first time on July 4th, but he doesn't really care for sitting up much. He's more interested in army crawling and scooting on his belly. He's been rocking on his hands and kness for a couple of weeks now, and I think that we're just days away from crawling. Here's a rare sitting moment:

And a peek at his teeth:

He loves to play with us when we go get him in the morning or from naps. As soon as he hears our footsteps or voice, he flips over on his stomach and hides his face. We'll ask him, "Where's Levi?" and he just grins. Every once in a while he picks up his head and smiles, before burying his face again. He's so much fun!

He's always been fairly vocal, but it's gone into overdrive over the last few days. He 'talks' continuously - to us, to himself, to his toys. He's eating a lot, sometimes requiring us to make a small second batch after he finishes his first helping.

Here's his eight-month picture with Tex:

We went hiking up Twin Sisters a week ago. Levi's been going on short walks in the hiking backpack, but this was his first lengthy hike. He feel asleep after about 30 minutes and had his standared 40-minute nap. We can't get him a trail patch since we had to return before reaching the summit, but it won't be long before he gets one.

When I lay Levi down to sleep, he turns on his belly and puts his bottom in the air. I passed by his crib to check on him yesterday, and took a picuture of his odd sleeping posture:

Rob caught Levi and I both before we blinked - an amazing feat:

This last picture is so sweet and it wasn't posed; Rob was playing with Levi and the ranch photographer caught the moment. This one will be framed on our wall soon.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lynda

Now I Can Say I Have

In their spare time, the summer staff plays a game called "I've Never". Here's how it goes: the group sits in chairs arranged in a wide circle around one person standing in the center. The person in the center completes the sentence, "I've never ______" (example: "I've never been to Europe.") and everyone who has done that has to stand up from their chair, and find a new chair to sit in before someone else gets there. The person left standing without a chair is now "it" and is responsible for the next statement.

We've got some adventurous types on our staff, but since I've not done a lot of things, I spend a lot of time sitting. I've never been to Europe, skydived, been surfing, or gone hunting like many in the group. I've also never gotten my nose pierced, had a sister, climbed Longs Peak, or been to Africa. It's fun watching everyone play, but it would be more fun if I had more shared experiences. This week, I had a couple of new experiences that may increase my participation. If anyone says, "I've never been thrown from a horse." or, "I've never dislocated a finger.", I can happily join the mad scramble for a new chair.

[Full disclosure: there is an image of the aforementioned dislocated finger below. I am stalling so that you can decide whether you want to see it, and skip it if you don't. It's pretty gross looking, and if you're at all squeamish, you should either skip it, or have a trash can handy.]

So I was having a riding lesson earlier this week, and my wrangler friend and I left the horse pen to practice trotting on some roads in the lower meadow. My wrangler friend is a great teacher, and she'd just given me some instructions when her hat blew off. I remember her hat blowing toward me and my horse, seeing my legs in the air, and picking myself up off the ground. It seems that the flying hat spooked my horse, and in my inexperience, I was unable to ride out the horse's buck and hop. I stood up pretty quickly, told Laura that I was fine, and then I spied my finger. Though it didn't hurt, it didn't look right. I looked at my friend and told her that my finger was either broken or dislocated, and that we needed to get back to the barn.

I'm aware now of the Lord's provision, big and small. I am grateful that He set me in the grass next to the road, far from the horse. I'm relieved that my finger was only dislocated and not broken. I am appreciative that I ran into Levi's babysitter on the way back to the barn so that Rob and I could get to the medical center faster. He really took care of me in the whole situation.

Rob and I were at the medical center within thirty minutes and the finger was reduced (I prefer relocated) in a short time. By the way, having my finger put back in place was not as bad as I thought it would be. Even if it took four attempts. The description that the physician's assistant gave me beforehand was worse than the actual procedure. They sent me home with a lovely finger splint and I'll return next week to have it checked.

Here's one last chance to skip the picture, if you're inclined to do so. Without further delay, I present my gnarly dislocated finger:
When you return from throwing up, do you think you might like to play "I've Never"?

Lynda

He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy

Clint Cox was born in the wee hours of the Fourth of July. He weighed 9 pounds, 8.4 ounces and measured 21 inches. Stephanie, Craig and Clint are all well. I can't wait to meet little Clint. Thanks for you prayers!

Lynda

Stephanie and Clint

My best friend Stephanie checked into the hospital today to deliver Levi's best friend, Clint. If you're reading this today or in the next few days, please pray health and safety for Stephanie and Clint. Please pray for Craig, too, who is about to meet his son!

Lynda