Levi at 20 months

Cutting his eye teeth may be the death of us all. He's been working on them all month and it has been rough, to say the least. It started with some major fussiness, hands constantly in the mouth, barely eating, nasty diapers, and a horrible diaper rash. I started giving him probiotics, using teething tablets instead of dosing medicine twice a day, and put our amber teething necklace back on him. It may be coincidence, but everything started to get better after taking those steps. He still shows signs of being bothered occasionally, but it's a lot better than the beginning of the month. I don't remember Isaac struggling with these teeth like this, but Levi has always had a harder time with teeth than Isaac did. Some kids just feel it more, I think. Those 4 teeth are right there but just won't break through the gums.

Levi is strong-willed. I'm finally saying it out loud this month. He and I are very alike and therefore we butt heads a lot. He's also the exact opposite of Isaac so I'm trying to figure this out as I go. Some days are one tantrum after another, so I try to really enjoy the good days when they happen. If anything goes any different than how Levi thinks it should, he throws a major fit. He just doesn't have the emotional capability to handle minor disappointments, and Levi feels everything very strongly. I'm trying to tell myself he is not spoiled and we are not bad parents, but it's hard when you're pushing a screaming toddler through a store or carrying a screaming toddler through the halls at church. This is a rough season but we're getting through day to day.

Thanks to teething his eating has been very picky this month. Some days he'll eat barely anything and other days he'll eat enough for 3 toddlers. Even when he won't eat anything else, he'll almost always eat a fruit/veggie pouch. He has always loved cheese, but this month he decided he really loves yogurt. He also has to eat anything Isaac has. Poor Isaac never got to eat cookies or m&ms at this age, but Levi gets to enjoy plenty of sweets (in small doses, of course).

Levi can now say his name and it's the cutest thing ever. Sometimes it sounds like "Yeyi" and other times like "Yaya". He will tell you his name if you ask and also point himself out in pictures. He usually points to his chest as he says it too. Also worth noting, he calls Isaac "Ida" or "Idee" (and has for several months now). It was around this age that Isaac also started saying his own name, calling himself Ida.

Isaac calls Levi "Boo Boo" a lot, to the point that Levi will sometimes call himself that. Isaac has also been known to call him Booby. Haha!

Levi with my dad, Grampy

Levi is obsessed with the iPad, to the point that I won't even let him play with it. He flips out when it's time to put it away, so I don't even do it, but my mom and Rodney let him play with theirs. He loves Peekaboo barn and the corresponding Sesame Street app. I would love to start letting him use some more educational apps but he just can't handle turning it off yet.

Levi this month also loves stickers, play dough, a silly green bowler hat that Rodney got for free on St. Patrick's Day, and is obsessed with the book Tubby, by Leslie Patricelli, which he calls "Bubble". In fact, he is sitting right beside me and when I looked up that link, he saw it and pointed at the screen. "Bubble!"

He is starting to "count". Most of the numbers are unrecognizable, but sometimes you can actually tell he's saying 5 and 6. 

Definitely the funniest thing that does month is saying "me". "Who wants to take a bath?" "Muuuhh!" "Who is ready to eat lunch?" "Muuuhh!"

Levi is obsessed with washing his hands. If he hears the bathroom faucet turn on he will run in and climb the stepstool and declare "hands! hands!"

When Levi is happy, he is HAPPY. Rodney and I often look at each other and say "Who is this kid?" He is a bundle of energy and brings us lots of joy (even with the frustration). I can tell he is growing up and getting closer to 2.