Words, Words, and More!

Levi just turned 14 months old!! Time sure does fly. He continues to develop such a sweet personality. He is very sociable and engaging. He loves being playful and laughing. Knowing one of us is in the kitchen or around the corner in another room, he'll slowly creep up then bounce himself around the corner with a boyish smile on his face, proud of "surprising" you. Along the same lines, he loves to play peek-a-boo and will initiate it on his own many times. He also loves to dance--you can catching him bopping his head to some music coming from his toy or playing on the T.V. Sometimes he'll just be silly and put a toy on his head, look at us, and just laugh at his own silliness.

I'm so proud of his language development, I wanted to document some of the words he's saying these days:

Ball
(This is his absolute favorite word. He'll spot a ball anywhere and yell "ball"--be it among his toys, out in a restaurant decorating the wall, on T.V. , or in the background of my pilates workout video. It's so cute. And, he'll keep saying it the entire time his playing with one of his balls and throwing it around. He's really taken to watching baseball with Dada.)
Bye, bye
(This was actually the first word, other than Dada, that he said clearly. He surprised me in saying it when I picked him up from Daycare, and he waved "bye, bye" to them. He continued to say it multiple times that day. I think this phrase is #2-3 on the favorite-list.)
Dada
Mama
(A LOT less frequent than he says Dada. Sometimes he calls me Dada too.)
Tiger
Bubbles
Diaper
(This one is so surprising. But, he says it almost every time I'm changing his diaper. Lately, I've handed him the clean diaper, and he even tries to put it on himself! He'll also help me pull it up, just before I fasten it! Maybe this will translate into early potty-training?? *wishful smile*) Banana (pronounce "nana")
Doggie
Bop
(Dustin taught him to say this when he discovered Levi could make his "p" sound. It's just so adorable to hear him say this.)
Yeah
(his enthusiastic "yes" he's just recently started saying. It's so adorable. And, it's funny because I think he gets saying "yeah" from me because I say it a lot, as opposed to "yes".)
Moo
(usually when we say "cow" or show him a picture of a cow. Also, so much fun!)
Night, night
(pronounce "Na Na"--you can definitely hear a difference between this and banana.)
Duck
(he went through a phase saying this word all the time, but has dropped off saying it lately)
That
(Said only occasionally, sometimes when motioning toward something.)
Flower
(He said this once when we were on a walk last week, and I gave him a black-eyed susan to hold. He repeated "flower" after me and kept saying it over and over!)
Papa
(The name for my father-in-law who visited recently)
Bottle

Words he's only said a few times after we've said it:
Michael
(As in, Uncle Michael. This word will likely soon join the list above. Levi loves playing with his Uncle Michael!)
Watch
(Usually when he's playing with my watch when I'm changing his diaper, after I've said it)
Water
Block (almost sounds like "bop")
Bellybutton
(pronouced, "Be-bon". It looks like he tries so hard to say this word!)
Bath

We had been doing sign language with Levi since he was about 5 to 6 months old, but he really didn't catch on to doing it himself until he just turned 1 year, about when we were ready to give up on it.

Words he can sign:
Milk
Drink
Eat
All Done
More
Please
Thank you
Fan
(Fan is actually first word he signed. It's part of his bedtime routine to turn on his fan. He's just always been fascinating by fans (and lights), even when very little. Now, he'll "say" fan whenever we're out and he spots one!)
Light

Lately, he's been jumping straight from signing "more" when eating directly to "please" because I think he's discovered quicker response when he's being "polite". :-) It's also fun because at Daycare, they say that Levi was the first to sign "Thank you" and have finally got the other kids to do it also. He's even one of the younger ones there. Apparently, he can say more words than the older kids. However, they are walking and even running, and Levi still is afraid to let go and walk on his own. I hear that some kids progress more quickly physically and others verbally/socially. I guess Levi fits in the latter group.

Other Sounds Levi makes:
Oohhh (When he discovers something interesting and new to him. Be it a new item or toy or a pretty flower.)
WooOww (Kinda a long "wow" and said interchangeably to the one above. When discovering something interesting. I think he copies these two from me.)
MmmMmm (Usually after eating something that's new and delicious. Also probably from me. it's funny how much you discover about yourself when you have a child around!)
WooWee (What we say when we change his diaper. He thinks it's hilarious and has been imitating us, sometimes even saying it before us.)
Aaaahhhhh (when opening his mouth very wide to get some more food.)
Aaayumm (Said when he scarfs some food into his mouth. He usually proceeds by repeating this action and sound over and over when he's hungry and likes the food [and likes our subsequent giggles])
Pfffeeeee (Ok, not sure how to spell it, but it's the noise that an elephant makes. You know, when you purse your lips together, blow, and then make a high-pitched noise. Levi loves it when Dustin does it, and he's been trying to do it himself. Hopefully I can catch this on video. It's so cute.)

So, that makes 18 words he can say on a regular basis (24 counting the newer words; not counting the sounds) and 9 words he can sign! Thirty-three words in total (with 7 bonus sounds)! Not bad for a 14 month old!

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Now, onto the picture-update, the real reason people follow along . . .

Yum, chocolate cookie!

My father-in-law and sister-in-law (aka, Papa & Aunt Melina) came in town to visit for a long weekend!

Bro & sis

I thought a cool picture Michael took of Levi. We left the mirror in the car, which provides a great deal of entertainment for Levi!

As a belated Father's Day present, we took Jerry out to a Reds baseball game. These few shots are just before it started raining through most of the game . . .

Levi and his Papa.

DiChiara men, before BBQ dinner.

Levi likes his dinner!

Not the best picture, but Melina and Levi had a lot of fun playing together.

Swings!
I can't help but take a picture of Levi in the swing when we go to a park b/c he loves it so much.

Levi swinging with his friend, Olivia.

Fountain Square, downtown.

Water, Mama!

Our friends, Jordan & Hannah Self and their son, Solomon (who is 1 month older than Levi), came in town to visit for a weekend. We're in front of Dustin's store, downtown. They are raising support to go to Guatemala to be on the mission field long-term. They're a real neat couple and have a heart for ministering to missionary kids (Jordan was a Youth Pastor and former MK [missionary kid]) who often can get left behind while their parents are giving their lives to serving others. Let me know if you're interested in hearing more! We're praying they can reach their support goal!

Walking around, I pointed out a flower to Levi, and gave him one that had fallen off. He immediately started saying the word "flower" over & over again! Amazing!

More Swinging!!

Solomon having fun in the background, too!

Levi & Solomon looked so cute riding side-by-side in the car together.
This is the BEFORE picture.

This is the AFTER picture--after church & a long weekend. :-)

These pictures are from this amazing sunflower field we came across in a north Cincinnati suburb. We stopped to get some pictures.

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Dustin's new store is coming along in construction. Here's a shot from this time.

Dustin stops by the construction site frequently, so he has his own hard hat he wears.

As you can see, Levi LOVES putting Dada's hard hat on while riding in the car. So cute!

These next couple pictures are of Levi's crazy hair after waking up from a nap. We thought it was funny, but Dustin really liked it in particular. He wouldn't let me brush it down b/c he thought it was so cute.

This is one of the cute strollers available in Kenwood Towne Centre Mall. Levi loved taking it for a spin!

Here's a little random video of Levi. It captures him cruising a bit at this time and crawling rapidly to Dada when he hears him talking in the kitchen.