8 Months

Levi Daniel is 8 Months Old!

According to our home scale, he's weighing in at a whopping 23 lbs. and growing bigger every day. He's so much fun to be around and has really begun to enjoy exploring his surroundings. He is content to play with his toys, crawl under anything he can get to (the coffee table, kitchen table, chairs, the dog crate...) and he is cruising with the use of furniture and legs and walls and stairs. He certainly doesn't sit still for long! The baby gates have been a huge help but the second there is a door open to a place where he's not supposed to be (the front door, garage door, bathroom door) he is in speed racer mode to the nearest exit and I'm in hot pursuit trying to beat him there. His newfound freedom is so exciting for us to watch but our little baby is still there a bit as he always is looking around for our approval and full attention as he attempts each new thing. He often will get to where he wants to be or do something he thinks it pretty cool and then turn and smile at us as though he saying, "Did you see me? Are you watching? I'm pretty good!" It sure makes my heart happy! He is still eating like a champ and some days I think he puts away more food than I do. He loves anything he can feed himself but is especially loving peas & carrots, blueberries, edamame and any kind of cracker I put in his hand. I don't think we're ever going to have to worry about his eating habits, in fact, everyone keeps warning us about our grocery bill when he turns 16! Daddy gave him another haircut last week (Thanks to Mike & Crista's suggestion about using a beard trimmer instead of full sized clippers. That was a HUGE help and a much smoother and less tear-filled experience.) and he's getting pretty good at the baby boy fade. And I thought for sure he we were going to have to get Levi some baby dentures but he finally is breaking in two teeth this past week. It sure seems to be slow going but there are definitely two little white teeth poking in those bottom gums. Our baby boy is certainly a baby no longer and we're loving his sweet and playful personality coming through more and more every day.

Standing up in the chair while still checking to see if Dad is watching.

New Toys

We had been putting off the purchase of a new backpack for awhile but tried out the Baby Bjorn one more time and realized that Levi was truly pushing its limits. So this Saturday we went to REI and used our co-op dividend check and the handy 20% off coupon and walk away with this bad boy. From the second we tried it on in the store and throughout our entire hike, Levi had a huge smile on his face. He "talked" incessantly and loved being able to touch (pull on) Daddy's ears and hair. We managed to go a pretty good distance and we all agreed this was a great purchase! We're looking forward to many more opportunities to use it in the future.

Crawling, Climbing, Cheering

When Levi puts his mind to something he sure does it! Once he decided to crawl it was on. Now there's not an obstacle that can stop him from getting where he wants. He's everywhere and he is fast! We bought some baby gates for the stairs and those have already come in handy. Now we're just wondering what else is a necessity as far as babyproofing goes? Can we just keep doors closed (like to the bathrooms) or do we need to babyproof the toilets too? We will obviously pull up any cords and plug up the extra outlets but then what else? There are so many schools of thought about babyproofing EVERYTHING or NOTHING but what's a realistic in between?

Here's my smarty pants who figured out that he can stand up in his crib. We've had quite a few days of no/terrible naps and he seems to have calmed down with the standing in the crib except when he's up from his nap. Then he's all smiles and so proud of himself. 

Look Mom! Who needs a nap?

My crawler wants to follow Hannity where ever she goes.

 Last night we drove out to Azusa to watch Fresno Pacific play Azusa Pacific in baseball. Dave helped start their baseball program when he was there a few years ago. This was a great excuse to get out of the house, enjoy the nice weather and, of course, see Auntie Sarah!

Taking a little tour of campus we found this gem of a statue. Cornelius & Levi just hanging out on the Cougar Walk.

We spent a couple of innings in the stands and then pulled out our beach blanket and played in the grass. Levi loved every minute of it and kept himself pretty entertained with all the attention from the crowd, the clapping and cheering, the really great (not so great) music and the GAME! 

Every day with our almost 8 month old is exciting and our lives are so much fuller with him in them. Where has the time gone?!

Monday Catch Up

We've had a busy couple of weeks in Lockridge land. Dave's been traveling for work (and fun) so Levi and I have made quite a few trips North to visit with Grammy and Grandpa. He's been eating new foods,  practicing his crawling skills and dealing with a couple of sicknesses along the way. He's such a trouper and enjoys the car as long as there is someone in the back to keep him company. Here's a few of my favorite pictures of some milestones from the last couple of weeks and a video of his climbing skills...

He's finally figured out how to put his pacifier in his own mouth, unfortunately, he got confused when he wanted to eat his puffs at the same time. Silly boy!

Looking good in Dodger blue!
The hat we bought him (and made him wear at his first Dodger's game) finally fits.

Practicing his standing up and walking.

Uncle Bryan had snacks on the table so Levi crawled to investigate.

Levi finally figured out how to crawl this week! He went from inch-worming his way around, to crawling, to speed crawling in a matter of days. I brought him home and he was showing off his skills for Daddy and headed straight for our stairs. They he proceeded to climb up the stairs. Our lives are certainly going to change and I guess we are past due for baby-proofing the house!

Standing Up

Levi has been pulling himself up to a standing position for a few weeks now, so we thought it was time to get him a toy that he could stand and push. We found this awesome train that has a ton of alphabet blocks and songs and has handles to push and even a caboose to ride on. He LOVES it! It's so fun to watch him learn new things and enjoy his newfound freedom.

Go Dodgers!

Dave drove out to sunny Arizona to watch some spring training baseball and Levi and I drove up North to hang out with my family. I sure wish we were all together this weekend but I know both of my boys are rooting for our Dodgers wherever they are! I love those two!!!

7 Months

Levi Daniel is 7 months old!

He is growing so fast and learning new things every day. He's talking constantly (babbles, squeals, squeaks and belly laughs), he's moving all over the place and he's trying lots of new foods. As of his 7 month birthday (two weeks ago... I'm running a little late!) he still wasn't officially crawling but he sure was trying hard. He could get up on all fours, rock back and forth, make some forward and backward motion, but not officially, traditionally crawling. He would sometimes work at it if we had a really cool toy that he could go towards but his best efforts were when his Daddy was sitting a few steps away. Levi is learning how to pull himself up to a standing position while playing on the floor with us. He'll grab whatever he can (hair, clothes, faces) and then get up on his chubby little feet and then he wants to let go. He is so proud of himself! He seems pretty over the exersaucer and instead prefers to eat his cheerios while standing and holding on to the outside of it. Crazy kid! He's begun to feed himself little pieces of food like peas, cheerios and little pieces of toast. He really enjoys being in his high chair and we can usually get a few minutes to eat lunch or dinner ourselves as long as the supply of food keeps coming on his tray. We haven't found much that he won't eat but he definitely has preferences from day to day. It's so fun to see his little personality coming through already. He's doing a great job of sleeping through the night these days and his bed time is inching closer and closer to the 7 o'clock hour. It's definitely been nice for us to have a schedule and some down time in the evenings to get things done. It has been a great month and we're already half way into the next one! 

Inching towards the camera. He does NOT sit still!

Most of my pictures were of this. His back side, his forehead or his hands as he tried to tumble off the chair.

Practicing getting that belly off the floor!

His famous swim techniques.
We can always tell when he's done on his stomach because his arms and legs flap about as though he is swimming. Who knows? Maybe he'll be in the Olympics... I was on the swim team in high school you know... for one year... :)