Levi {11 Months}

Size: 12-18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, weighs a little over 20 pounds

Eating: Eats lots and lots! As of 2 weeks ago, he can now tolerate soybean oil! Thank you, Lord! I am still nursing/pumping (and dairy and soy free) but introduced soybean oil into my diet about 2 weeks ago as a trial and he has tolerated it just fine. Which expands our options significantly- woohoo! He either nurses or takes a 5 oz bottle of breast milk 4 times a day.  We are going to start weaning soon and transition to almond milk by his 1st birthday. 

Sleeping: He had some trouble sleeping again during the first part of the month and was up once or twice a night because of his teeth. He has been back to his normal 12 hours for the last couple of weeks now- thank goodness! He sleeps 7:30 p.m. - 7/7:30 a.m. and still takes a 1 hr morning and 1 hr afternoon nap. 

Milestones:
~His bottom two teeth have popped through!!! 

~signed "more" on 4.19.16 for more turkey and has been doing it consistently and in context ever since! :)

~first haircut today 4.29.16 and he did well. Jumped and squirmed the whole time!

Likes: playing in Finley's water bowl, opening and closing cabinets and doors, clapping and waving, walking/running around with his walker, eating cheerios, playing "games" on my phone (aka listening to the Fisher Price app songs), reading and looking at books in our laps and by himself on the floor, his paci! {Ever since his teeth starting coming in he has really wanted his paci. We usually only give it to him when he sleeps or in the car/stroller, but he has wanted it during the day now too-- I guess as a comfort from teething}

Dislikes: Being on his changing table- we change diapers on the floor now, also does not like scrambled eggs or broccoli

Before and After of his first haircut!

Mommy's boy

This boy and his books! :)

Let's Go Braves!

Exhibit A: opening and closing doors with Daddy :)

Sweet sleeping boy

Just reading my favorite book in the kitchen!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

((Psalm 73:28))

But for me it is good to be near God;

    I have made the Lord God my refuge,

    that I may tell of all your works.

Levi {10 Months}

Size: 12 month clothes, size 4 diapers, weighs 20 ish pounds 

Eating: Eats just about anything! He eats oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, fruit and puffs/crackers for snack, a combination of meat/veggies/beans/pasta/potato for lunch and dinner, and rice cereal for bedtime snack. He is still exclusively breastfed and I'm still dairy and soy free. He has milk 4 times a day and either nurses or takes 5 oz of breast milk in a bottle. Only 2 more months to go!! :)

Sleeping: It's been a rough month for sleep! Between teething, being gone for vacation, and daylight savings time... his sleep schedule got pretty messed up. My awesome sleeper all of a sudden started waking up very early, in the middle of the night, and would only nap for 30 minutes. It took several weeks, but we are FINALLY back to 11-12 hours at night. He sleeps 7:30/7:45 p.m. - 7:00/7:30 a.m. and naps for one hour in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon. 

Milestones:
~scaling furniture and walks with walker
~he can properly identify Finley, dada, mama, book, snack

Likes: MOVING!! This boy does not stop all.day.long. He loves crawling, walking with his walker, climbing, standing, jumping, scaling furniture, playing with his toys, reading books (we love the Llama Llama books!), swinging and sliding, grabbing my face and kissing me on the mouth (my favorite!!), and making a mess with his food. 

Dislikes: Hates when we rinse shampoo out of his hair in the bath and when we clean out his nose. Also does not like to have his diaper changed... he doesn't like to be still for that long!! ;)

Levi thinks it's his bone. He loves his puppy.

We love Pelican's!!

Had a great day trip to Greenville to visit Aunt Meg, Asher, and Isaac

Levi and Asher. 

All mess. All the time. :)

Happy Easter!

Loves to drive!

New bathing suit and some snacks from the Easter bunny!

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

((Deuteronomy 6:5-7)) 

Levi {9 Months}

Size: 19 lbs, size 4 diaper, 9-12 month clothes

Eating: Around 8 months I stopped making purees and started offering more finger foods-- so he is feeding himself for the most part with the exception of cereal and sweet potatoes, etc. We also introduced some protein (beans) and pasta (gluten free spiral noodles) and he loves them! He has had almost every kind of fruit, vegetable and bean now and we plan to introduce meat soon. He eats 3 meals, one snack, takes 3 (5 oz) bottles of breast milk a day, and nurses before bed (7 am, 10:30 am, 3:30 pm, 6:30 pm).

A few weeks ago I decided I would do an experiment and try to introduce a tiny bit of dairy, soy, and gluten in increments to see how he would react. He reacted fine to the gluten (Jimmy John's sandwich bread and oatmeal) but threw up and screamed with stomach pains after eating soy (Moe's chicken) and also with dairy (butter). It was miserable for everyone. It took several days to get out of my milk, but he returned to his normal self as soon as it left his system. So, I am still dairy and soy free but am now eating gluten by way of oatmeal. I have come to prefer the gluten free noodles and we don't buy bread- so I am still mostly gluten free as well. 

Sleeping: Sleeps 12 hours at night (7 p.m. ish - 7 a.m.) and still takes a morning and afternoon nap. I plan to hang on to both naps for as long as possible :)

Milestones:
~started crawling on all fours on Feb. 7. He is officially on the move and all over the place! He is lightning fast too! 
~pulling up on everything and standing. We lowered his crab a couple of weeks ago because he was standing and ready to jump out :)
~waves on command :) and clapping on command as of today! 
~reflux has been gone for a good 6+ weeks now. Thank you Lord!!!

Likes: riding in shopping carts, Finley's red bone (he thinks it's his toy), looking at himself in the mirror, still loves his jumper, finding every electrical outlet in our house, opening and closing doors, being outside, eating snacks, "yelling" and getting people's attention- this boy has some pipes!

Dislikes: occasionally resists being put in car seat or high chair

Mommy's running buddy

My littlest valentine 

Look mom!!

standing and playing like a big boy

((Psalm 73:28))

But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Levi {8 Months}

Size: Size 3 Pampers Cruisers and size 4 Pampers Swaddlers. Wearing 9 month clothes. Weighs roughly 18 lbs on our home scale.

Eating: Right at 7 months we started solids 3 times a day (added solids at lunch to make 3 meals a day). He's had all kinds of homemade fruits and veggies and eats all of them really well. His favorites are squash, zucchini, and carrots! He hated avocado at first but has grown to love it. We introduced Puffs right at 7 months too and he is doing great with his pincer grasp and putting them in his mouth. Since the normal Puffs are not dairy/soy/gluten free, we found these "safe" Puffs and they are yummy! Levi nurses or takes 5 oz. breast milk in a bottle 4 times a day (usually around 7:30a, 11:30a, 3p, 7p). He is still intolerant to dairy, soy and gluten so I am still excluding those things from my diet. 

Sleeping: Levi is now sleeping 11-12 hours at night (usually 7:30 p.m.-7:30 a.m.) and still takes a morning and afternoon nap. He loves to sleep on his tummy with his tush in the air!

Milestones:
~Babbles dadada and "talks" allll the time and usually quite loudly
~Inches, scoots, army crawls, and rolls all over the floor. Has no trouble getting to what he wants. Rocks and moves on all fours but not crawling.
~Had his first cold this past week with a runny/stuffy nose. It was thankfully very mild and did not affect his happy mood or sleep! We are even more thankful this was his first ever sickness considering he is in the church nursery for 2 hours every Sunday morning and on Wednesday nights.
~Catching on to waving, clapping, and imitating other things we do.
~We started baby sign language right at 7 months. It could take weeks/months to see him produce a sign, but we are being consistent with it and hoping he will eventually catch on. So far we have introduced signs for "more", "milk" and "water". He has put his hands together several times for "more" so I know he is watching and learning! 

Likes: his sippy cup and finger foods, banging on pots and pans, watching Daddy and Finley play on the floor, feeding his Puffs to Finley, reading/looking at books, splashing in the bath and playing with the water spout, dropping things out of his crib/the tub/his highchair/our lap/changing table... seriously his favorite little game!

Dislikes: when I turn the bath water off :) 

Not letting go of this cup, Mom!

Best buds.

Mommy's sweetie

What?!

"I've got these two wrapped around my little finger" :)

Lunch with Daddy at Jimmy Johns 

Running with these two=my fav

((1 Chronicles 16:11))

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

A Step of Faith

Over the last several weeks the Lord has brought the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to my attention multiple times. The story has appeared in a variety of places.... through my husband, my friend Abbey, and through the Proverbs 31 First 5 app to name a few. I love when God pulls out all of the stops to show me something through His people and His Word.

A couple of weeks ago Ryan was preparing to speak a message to the senior adults in our church. He was looking to put a new perspective on an Old Testament story. When he asked me for suggestions, Exodus 14:14 immediately came to my mind. A well-loved verse that Moses spoke to the Israelites as they stood at the edge of the Red Sea: "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 

Moses had taken quite a journey to get to this point. God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and out of captivity under the hand of Pharaoh. Moses was unsure of himself and even more unsure that he could do what God had instructed of him. In Exodus 4:10 Moses says to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” So God does Moses a favor and assigns Aaron, his brother, to go with him to Pharaoh to speak on his behalf. 

Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. God hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let the people go. God sent 10 plagues on Egypt and the people of Israel are eventually freed and begin their quest to the promised land. Once Pharaoh learns of this he changes his mind about them and sends his army to capture Moses and the Israelites who are wandering in the wilderness.

When Moses and his people reach the edge of the Red Sea they are terrified. They have rugged terrain on either side of them, the sea in front of them, and Pharaoh's army coming to destroy them from behind. A challenge literally from every direction. Moses calls out to God and He assures him that He will fight for him just like He had done before. He freed them from slavery for goodness sakes! He surely wasn't going to leave them in the wilderness to die. 

The verse that follows those well-loved words from Moses is what jumped out at us most as Ryan and I read this together. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.'" Translation: stop talking and start moving.
 
In verse 21 we see how God ultimately delivers His people through His servant. "Moses then stretches out his hand over the sea and God divides the waters with a strong wind and the people of Israel walk across on dry land." After they had safely reached the other side, the Egyptians and Pharaoh who were chasing after them were swallowed up by the sea. The enemy defeated. 

I love this story for so many reasons. One of them being how well we can often relate to Moses. Sometimes we feel unsure about our ability to do what God has asked of us, too. Not sure how to love a difficult person, how to weather a stormy season of life, how to trust God through the unknown. We learn from these chapters in Exodus and through the life of Moses that God is preparing the way for us and ordering our steps even when we cannot see what is ahead. Even when it seems there are challenges on every side. 

God doesn't need our words, our competence, or our effort. He needs our obedience and willingness to take the next next step in faith, whatever that may look like in our individual lives. Perhaps it means we need to be still and let God fight for us. Or perhaps we need to get rid of ungodly attitudes or habits. Maybe it means we simply obey, like Moses did, and trust God when He calls us out of our comfort zone. 

When we are willing vessels to be used by God for His Kingdom purposes, we can rest assured He will fight for us. He will equip us. He will be our mouthpiece. He will defeat the Enemy. And just like for Moses, He will make straight the path ahead of us on our journey to the Promised Land.