The Business of Being...Levi

Well I've been hanging around this world for  SIX MONTHS now and here's what I think about things so far... 

The month started off with a grand celebration for my Tati and Uncle Chris...their wedding and I got to be in it! I left Virginia with Mommy, regrouped back in Boston for a couple days and off we went to New York. 

Once in New York, I helped Mom get everything ready for Tati and Uncle Chris's wedding shower with the family. Then I hung out with Daddy on the 4th of July all day AND all night while she celebrated Tati in the city. It was my first night away from Mommy, but lucky for Daddy I didn't give him too hard a time. I did decide I hate formula. Dad tried to give it to me in the middle of the night when he ran out of breast milk and I took a sip or two and thought, "Who is he trying to fool!?" and I spit it right out. GROSS! So much for having it as a back up. Mommy better get back to stocking up the freezer with backups. Hey, at least I'm willing to take a bottle occasionally when I have to. 

I stayed with Grandma and Grandpop during the rehearsal dinner and during the day some with Dad while Mom did the busy bridesmaid thing. I met her at the wedding for pictures. It was such a hot day out that Dad hadn't gotten me in my suit yet when we met her, so she actually got me dressed on a blanket in the grass where we were doing pictures. She's lucky I'm not a shy guy and my sweet cousin Maddy helped her get me ready too. I looked pretty sharp in my seersucker suit, crisp collared shirt and yellow bow tie. It was fun to see everyone at the wedding. I met new relatives and reunited with other relatives I had already had a chance to meet. I was in all the family photos and gave some pretty great smiles for the camera and then I charmed everyone when Dad carried me down the aisle and I actually did my part and held my sign that read, "Uncle Chris here comes your girl!" Since it was a late wedding, I wasn't up for much dancing because it was well past my bedtime. I had a sweet babysitter waiting for me right upstairs in the bridal suite, so Mom get me all ready for bed and off to sleepy land I went knowing Mom and Dad were just downstairs in case I needed them. It was my first wedding and a good time was had by all, myself included!

Grandma and Grandpop came back to Boston with us, so we all went down the Martha's Vineyard together one of the days they were visiting. It was my first trip to the Vineyard outside of the womb and also the first time I put my toes in the sand at the beach. Then the next week Mom and Dad took me to Singing Beach at Manchester by the Sea for a real beach day. I was a little timid in the water even though Dad was holding me. The sound of the waves crashing was like nothing I'd ever heard before really and it made me a little nervous, but I got used to it the longer we were there and I wasn't as nervous later in the day. It was also really fun to sit at the beach because I didn't topple to one side or the other as easily and if I did topple over the sand was a pretty soft cushion for my fall.

While we're on the subject of sitting, I'd like to pat myself on the back for sitting on my own like a champ! If I'm not rolling then I want to be sitting on my own. It's so much easier to play with my toys that way too! I can sit on the living room rug and look in my toy container and I can sit on the kitchen floor while Mom is cooking. Those are two of my favorite places to be when it comes to sitting. 

In other news, last month I started rolling and now I roll all over the place. Who needs to crawl when you can just roll around the room. I'm also pretty good at rotating, so once I roll to whatever I'm interested in I can rotate in a circle and roll back or head towards something else. Mom and Dad keep wondering when I'm going to start crawling. They tell me it's good for my brain development and athletic ability and coordination, but I'm making them wait. I've started to scooch or inchworm as Dad likes to call it on my own now, but it's such a slow way to get around when I can roll my way to what I want. 

I'm still laughing up a storm, but only if something is truly hilarious....the funniest thing I noticed this month was ping pong! The sound of that ball bouncing off the table just cracked me up! Mom even got it on video because I was laughing so hard and for so long. I am also ticklish! I laugh pretty hard if you tickle my underarms and sides and I still crack up if you tickle my belly or have me ride on your head.

The other BIG news this month is that I've started eating SOLIDS! So far I've tried rice cereal and oatmeal, which are pretty tasty. I've been eating them regularly for a couple weeks now. Mom keeps trying to get me to like pears, but I'm not loving them. She tells me I'm going to like fruit. I hope she's right because so far this fruit stuff is just plain weird! She told me she's going to let me gum some banana or avocado next. I'll keep you posted on what my taste buds enjoy.

My sleeping habits also seem to interest people and I've made some headway in the sleep department. While I'm not quite sleeping through the night yet, I am sleeping without my swaddle! Ever since I started rolling around I've wanted to sleep on my side or stomach and even though Mom puts me down on my back every time I go to sleep I always roll over, so she had to teach me to sleep without my swaddle in case I needed my arms to help me turn my head and stuff. It was tough the first few nights because I'd wake up pretty easily, but it's definitely gotten better. I hear I'm going to start sleeping in my crib in my nursery like a big boy this coming month too! I've always slept in my Mom and Dad's room in my pack n'play up until now, so that will be a pretty big change for me. Who knows, maybe it will actually help me sleep better.  

A couple other random things you should know...I am loving a couple special songs lately. Which songs are my favorites at the moment? So glad you asked...Elmo's song which mom shows with the video on her phone (this one was inspired by my Auntie Thais) and The Itsy Bitsy Spider which Mom sings complete with hand motions (and this one was inspired by my Auntie Cola). I LOVE THESE SONGS so much so that they will sometimes help me stop crying when I'm somewhere I hate like the terrible carseat! I've also become very interested and entertained by clapping and dancing. I don't clap myself, but I love it when other people do. I also don't dance on my own yet, but Mom helps me stand up and shake what she gave me (haha...get it?) Maybe it was all the concert going I've done in the past couple months. 

Of course this has been another month of firsts...

      Eating rice cereal and oatmeal.
      Trying pears.
      Sleeping unswaddled.

Overall,  in my  SIXTH MONTH I've enjoyed the business of celebrating.