12 Things About Levi

Levi is turning two this weekend, so I thought I should take a minute to do a little update on him. I can't believe it has been two years since he came into our lives, but then again, I can't imagine life without him. More than anything in the past two years, Levi has provided hours and hours of free entertainment and a whole new definition for the word "love". So if you have time, I'd like to tell you a few things about this two-year-old Levi.

Levi at 2 days old.

Levi at one year and 51 weeks on the same changing table. My tiny baby has definitely grown!

1. Levi loves books. We read to him every night, and when we try to say goodnight, he points to the chair by his crib and says "chair". He also loves to look at books on his own, and his crib is filled with them. As lots of you know (or could tell by checking out the sidebar on this blog), I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Levi has obviously noticed, because he has started reading all the big chapter books we have in the house. Twilight has been a favorite (obviously inspired by me), along with The Oddyssey, Utopia, and Aristotle.

2. Levi is a natural sharer, and one of the best I've ever seen. Not perfect, but really good. I've really admired this about him.

3. Levi definitely has a sweet tooth (hmm...where could he have gotten that from?). Hide the chocolate everyone!

4. Levi's favorite person is probably Joe (Sam's brother). Close seconds are Mom, Dad, Brinley, Asa (possibly would tie with Joe if he still lived here), Nate, Jace, and Grandpa Thurgood.

5. Levi still loves anything and everything that has to do with balls. Sometimes he can throw a perfect spiral, and he is teaching himself to dribble a basketball.

6. Maybe even more than balls (is that possible), Levi LOVES balloons. A balloon can keep him entertained longer than anything I can think of right now.

7. Levi is very fond of praying... especially over snacks. The other day, he got a box of unopened cereal, yelled "Ma" until I paid attention, then said "Pray" and bowed his head and folded his arms. We often find ourselves praying over a grape or a couple of chips. It is adorable. I guess we must be teaching him something right.

8. Levi has figured out the camera (kinda...), and it is hard to keep him away from it. Whenever I download pictures to my computer, I'm always surprised at what I find. For example, the latest was a picture including a mirror in our bedroom. Reflected in the mirror was me in my underwear... yeah, that one got deleted! In the collage above is one such self-portrait.

9. Levi has started talking in a sudden rush. Every day there are more and more words, and I am somewhat (read: extremely) proud of myself for being able to recognize what he is saying. Just now, he held up a lid and said "lid" for the first time. My favorites right now are "pray" and "bike" which he pronounces "bike-ee).

10. Levi is the sweetest big brother. He treats Brinley so nicely and is only mean on accident. He loves to give her kisses and hugs and toys. He likes that she has started smiling. Whenever strangers talk to him, he always points of "Min-me" to them.

11. Levi must remember from his pre-Earth training what it means to be two. Just this last week, "no" has become his response for everything, he started saying "mine", and he can throw one heck of a fit. I do have to count my blessings, though, cause often when he throws a fit in runs into another room and slams the door. When he comes out, he's happy again.

12. Sam introduced Levi to the game Bloons on the computer, thinking it would entertain him. Levi loves it! However, the plan kinda backfired when Levi discovered you can click on other games in the sidebar. Now it is a constant "Ma, Ma, Ma" every three seconds when he wants to change games.