A Construction Party!

We did a construction-themed party for Little Man to go along with his busy board.  All our family (plus the Abbotts and Dan) came to celebrate him on his big day.  When it came to present time, he was pretty uninvolved.  He would yank out the first piece of tissue paper or two and then let the big kids finish things off.  Izzie made a great assistant, "ooohing and aaahing" over everything and displaying it for the guests.  Levi got a lot of adorable clothes, a red push car from Grammy and Popper, and a yellow chair from Nana and Grandpa.  He is a huge fan of both the car and the chair.  And Levi LOVED his cake -- he was not at all shy about it like Izzie was.  He totally went for it and had a blast.  

The night before his party we had our first urgent care visit.  Levi's finger got stuck in the hinge side of the bathroom door when it was closed.  We had to open the door to get his finger out.  It was pretty smushed and cut around from one side of his nail to the other.  Eventually, the whole flap of skin came off, but it wasn't bad enough for stitches and nothing was broken.  He ripped off every bandage we put on, so eventually we just gave up and let him leave it off.  Little stinker.  

Levi Turns One!

Little Man has been with us a whole year.  It's hard to believe.  He is the sweetest, snuggliest, most darling thing there ever was.  We have yet to feed him something he won't eat, and he has yet to actually pop a tooth out of his mouth.  He cruises everywhere, but hasn't taken those first steps on his own yet.  His favorite book is "I Love You Stinky Face", and his favorite thing to do is throw balls and chase after them himself.  His second favorite thing to do is climb the dog stairs to get up on our bed, flop on his tummy, throw his feet over the side, shimmy down by holding on to the sheet, and start the whole process all over again.  He's an agile little monkey man.  He gives excellent high fives and has a funny little crawl he does when he's carrying something where he uses one foot and the other knee.  He laughs the hardest at his sister, and is pretty partial to Mommy.  Levi has been such a precious addition to our family and we don't know what we would do without him.  

At his one year doctor's appointment they called him "long and lean".  This made us laugh, but the stats are there to prove it, I guess.  "Lean" doesn't come to mind when looking at him, but we'll go with it.  He is 23 lbs, 11 oz (64%) and 31.5 inches long (93%).  His head has finally caught up to the Daniel standards and measured in the 98%.  Atta boy!  He doesn't really use any words yet, but talks and makes noises all the time.  The only thing he "says" clearly and at appropriate times is "uh-oh".  But he likes to mimic what we say and the noises we make (especially grunts and growls).  

Birthday boy is awake!

Finally got this shot -- you can see the funny little shape he makes with his mouth when
he sucks on his blankie.  He was never a binkie baby, but he loves sucking on his blankie.

Big sis making him a breakfast treat

Even little ones need some decorations on their big day!

Food = awesome

Izzie gave him the Mickey Mouse plate

A present from Mommy and Daddy

We met Daddy at the park for a picnic over his lunch

Big boys stand up in the cart, apparently

Love this face

Another delicious surprise!

Busy board created by Daddy!

Helping Daddy set things up

The Zoo

Omaha Zoo trip with the Meyers, Grammy, and Popper. Fun tradition and fun times. What a great weekend!  Izzie's favorite is still the giraffes.  Levi was happy as long as he was eating.  Business as usual for the Rahns.

Not a fan of a pack n play nap.  But a 20 minute snuggle with mom is good.

Punkin is getting braver in the water.

Dinnertime.  Girls in one booth.  Boys in the other.

This cracked me up.

Popper was worried about these bitties so he bought them some hats.

"Peel" the zebra was Izzie's gift shop choice.

Levi got Jack the Jaguar.

Swimming lessons

We have two little water bugs.  Izzie was in her second session of swimming lessons by herself, and Levi got to try it for the first time with Daddy.  Isabel loved it, and Levi was obsessed.  By the end of their sessions, Izzie was a master back floater, held her breath underwater really well, and even learned to like jumping in the pool.  Most noticeably, my darling with no upper body strength actually managed to get herself out of the water on her own.  Levi couldn't wait to slide into the water, learned how to hold his breath really well, and basically had the time of his life licking and chewing and relaxing.  

At their first lessons, Izzie's teacher was trying to help the kids understand they can't reach if they come off of the steps.  She dropped a toy in the water away from the steps where they wouldn't be able to touch.  She then asked, "Can you get this toy?" to a little boy who said "Nooo..." (he was on to her).  My darling Izzie, when asked the same question, shouted "YES!" and jumped in the air with her fist held high.  I was so proud of her for being brave and confident... and yet... she was clearly missing the point.  The teacher told her to go get the toy then, and my little-miss-not-so-daring surprisingly jumped right in the water and grabbed the toy proudly before dropping like a rock.  Her head popped up once, and the look on her face was like, "Oh, crap.  I get it now."  The teacher let her bob a bit before rescuing her and talking to her, but the lesson was learned.  Later, when looking through the pictures, Izzie saw the ones of her during this time and said, "That was NOT a good idea."  Hilarious.  (I'm betting you can guess which picture it is below!)