Levi is ONE YEAR OLD!

My itty-bitty baby has somehow turned into a toddler in what seems like overnight! The week leading up to his birthday I was a puddle of tears. Through all the endless sleepless nights and the fussiness in his early months I'm suddenly longing for him to be small and wrinkled again. He is such a big boy now. He is a great eater, a very happy boy and loves to get into absolutely everything imaginable. One of his favorite things to do is pull trash out of the garbage can and then put toys in it. He also loves to crawl into the dishwasher if the door opens for more than 1.5 seconds. He is sooooo much fun though. He is the biggest clown. He loves to play peek-a-boo and try to jump out and scare you from behind a door or corner. He certainly is his daddy's boy, and when you see all the animated facial expressions he makes you can see a carbon copy of Aaron.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch for Levi's 1st Birthday:

We picked out a ghostly-white pumpkin:

C'mere, Goat!

Mmmm, good birthday cake!

Loves that dishwasher! He only unloads onto the floor so far:

Nebraska In July

Levi had a GREAT time in Nebraska. He stayed for 3 1/2 weeks between his two Grandparents' houses! He had lots and lots of fun with his cousin Mani and was the Ring Bearer in Uncle Nate's wedding. Here are just a few of the pictures I've finally got rounded up. I'm still working on getting the rest uploaded and I've got to get the wedding pictures from Aunt Nikki.

Levi loves to swing outside:

Levi likes the toys at Grandma's:

I like to brush my teeth:

Grandma Nancy with Mani and Levi:

Mani eats her lunch in "Vee-Vee's" chair:

Dirt is more fun than toys:

Child Prodigy

...and he never had a single lesson! Carnegie Hall - Here We Come!

Yes, the light is dim, but he likes his mood lighting to fuel his creative genius!

What's New:

We've been having some fun and been away from home quite a bit this month. We just got back from San Diego where Aaron ran his marathon (26.2 miles!) and he did soooooo awesome. We were so proud of him and he even finished a half hour BEFORE I expected him to cross the finish line. He never even walked! I am still amazed at how hard he worked and how fun it was for him.
While we were in San Diego we got to stay with cousin Tara and have a little fun at the beach and seeing her helicopters and the flight simulator at Camp Pendleton.

A week before we went to California we took the long Memorial Weekend and went camping but it was cold and rained almost the whole time, so we didnt get much for pictures then.

Here's the family after Aaron's big finish from the marathon. Our shirts say "Team Lanka":

Sunny San Diego! On the beach:
Checking out the sea weed:

Dipping a toe in the cold water!

Fun at home in the laundry basket:

Hey! Let me outta here!

Ha! I got out and that was FUN!

Camping on the FREEEEEEEEEZZZZING and RAINY Memorial Day Weekend:

At least Levi was warm at night:

NKOTB

Hey girls! Guess what, New Kids On The Block are making a COMEBACK!

Here's a clip of them on the Today Show this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1K68EViOBI

Think I'm Crazy??? ...

...Okay, when I first saw that New Kids On The Block were getting back together, I thought "ummm, what?!?...why?" but it piqued my interest because in 1990 I was IN LOVE in NKOTB, and especially with Jordan Knight:
...whom I had a poster of by my bed ...and I was pretty sure we'd be getting married someday once he knew where I was. (Good thing Aaron swooped in during the NKOTB 15 year hiatus! )

This week the Today Show also featured the NKOTB's new song "Summertime" (Click here to hear the new song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohjzVshK_nY ) and I have to admit, watching them again brought me back to when I would sit in our basement in West Point with my hair in a side ponytail, wearing my acid-washed jean shorts and hypercolor t-shirt and watch their concert over and over and over again on my VCR.

Ahhhhh those were the days!

***DISCLAIMER***

Kirk, if you are seeing this, please know that until I met my husband in January of 2000 my heart truly belonged to you:

Levi at 6 months and family pictures

Levi is crawling!

Here's my little Levi crawling already. He started up a couple of weeks ago, and now he's off! He is already crawling into the kitchen and trying to climb up the chair rails. I am in big trouble soon, but right now he doesn't go too far and entertains himself quite well by going to new places on his own. I took this video with my phone, so the quality is poor, but it's fun to watch his determination. He is eating solid foods more and more and he is SOOOO much fun now. He's very sociable and loves to get tossed in the air and swung around and upside-down. He's going to be a little daredevil like his daddy I think. YIKES! He's seven months old next week too!