Levi rolled over!!!

Levi rolled over from his back to his front for the very first time today! He is so excited that he was able to accomplish this that he has really been a little "roly-poly". One of his nicknames is Chubalub because he is getting rather round. His chuckles could easily be mistaken for those of Jolly Old St. Nick's. His very first laugh was a result of Teddy saying "Pirate Boat" in a rather country accent. Levi just lost it. Teddy realized that he was the cause of this contagious laughter and began to say "Pirate Boat" close to 300 times. Needless to say the laughter continued and Levi ended up getting a large case of the hiccups. Both Teddy and Naomi can make Levi chuckle at the drop of a hat. We have really been getting out and about with him lately. Just recently, we went to pick strawberries, visit all the local parks, stroll along the Riverwalk, and even went on a golf cart ride with Levi. We still do not take Levi inside public facilities other than for his appointments. A few weeks ago he had an appointment for his 6 month well visit and immunizations. Levi measured in at 13 pounds and 6 ounces. He did not seem to appreciate his shot one bit. Despite his painful reminder of needles, we were very excited to find a new practice that is familiar with babies like Levi . . . a practice that has reassured us that they will take any and all of his health concerns quite seriously. Right now, he is only on the apnea monitor at night and will most likely be taken off of it completely in a month. Currently he is taking only milk and will begin to take cereals when he is gestationally 6 months old (the end of August) unless of course my supply is unable to keep up or he seems to need additional food.

Teddy had to get five shots the following week for his 4 yr. old well visit. He came straight home to Daddy who stayed home to play with Levi and Naomi and said "I got one, two, three, four, five shots . . . and I don't like shots". He absolutely loves animals and has been toting their new kitten Jericho everywhere (in our yard of course). We have three others that we are still trying to find homes for if anyone is interested =] - They actually just turned 6 weeks old today. We had to explain to Teddy that we are only keeping one of them. He quickly suggested that we hide the kittens from others since the kittens need to see him. His humor never ceases to amaze us. Even when he is not trying to be funny he keeps us going. Teddy and Naomi are very interested in "what letter objects begin with" The other morning while they were brushing their teeth, Naomi asked me what letter sink started with. Teddy then tugged on the shower curtain and asked about it and then ran to the toilet paper roll and inquired about it. Later that week, we were working on our alphabet puzzles and Teddy held up the letter "T" for Naomi and said "T is for Teddy and T is for Toiletpaper" so now rather than all of the other "T" words such as Train, Tiger, Toys etc . . . that I have taught him, he continues to associate "T" with toiletpaper.

Naomi gets very excited about picking out her outfits each morning. It is amazing how innate her feminine side is despite the fact that her siblings, cousin, and many of her playmates are boys. She loves to play dress up and play with dolls just as much as she enjoys playing tractors in the dirt. Even though she is so petite, Naomi is easily one of the strongest people I know. If she happens to take a fall while running she doesn't hesitate to get right back up and go again. Sometimes she speaks as quiet as a mouse and others she is as loud as a lion - depending on her mood. Tonight after dinner we were enjoying some of the strawberries that we had picked and Justin was sprinkling a little bit of sugar on his. Naomi asked for some sugar so we got her some strawberries with sugar on them. She got very upset and began bawling that she just wanted sugar and not the strawberries. Confused Teddy looked to Justin to see why she had gotten so upset and Justin laughed "Welcome to the wonderful world of women".

Our Big Weekend

Once again, I find myself past due on updating everyone as to how we are doing. Perhaps you can take it as "no news is good news". This past weekend was a big one for us. We attended the March of Dimes/NICU Graduate Party at the State Fair Grounds. This was Levi's very 1st time to go outside (not counting the times when we are whisking him to the vehicle with a blanket overhead =] ) Many of the NICU staff members were able to attend. It was so nice to finally reunite with some of his favorite nurses, respiratory therapists, and lactation consultant. They could not believe that Levi is already a 13 pounder who is wearing six month clothing. At the event, we were also able to see two of Levi's best friends, Lynzie and Marshall. They were discharged around the same time that we was. They too were getting to truly experience the outdoors for the very first time. March of Dimes was having an annual march during the event and reported that they had over 400,000 dollars raised in their name for this chapter over the past year. It was also mentioned that they spend approximately four million dollars annually to save our precious babes. After singing Happy Birthday to all of the babies, we enjoyed delicious hamburgers and ate cake. Teddy and Naomi also had a blast at the "Baby Birthday Party". Auntie Rebecca was able to join us and as always was a big help with brother and sister. We were so glad that she wanted to be a part of this celebration especially since she was so much a part of our surviving his NICU/PICU stays. Levi now gets to go outside with us (in the shade ofcourse) and loves it! He is so happy. All it takes to make him grin from ear to ear is to say his name and talk to him. His brother and sister constantly have his attention. Their love for each other is so strong. I consider myself to be most fortunate for getting to call myself their mother and getting to spend my time watching them grow.