Bye bye B... hello Binky bear!

Today was a big day in the Petersen house. Levi decided it was time to turn in all  his "B's" for a bear instead. We were so excited for him! We hopped in the car this morning, drove to the mall and he and Noah each got to make their very own teddy bears. Noah named his bear "Dandy".  The most special part of the morning was that inside Levi's bear we put all THREE of his binky's. It was no the point of no return... no matter how sad Levi or Mommy got.  But on a happy note, Levi named his bear Binky Bear and I think this picture says it all:

I love this sweet smile so much!

The boys also got to put a heart in each of their bears...

and give them a "fluffy bath". 

I'm sure that Levi will have moments of being sad... but we are very proud of him!

Update: Levi went through all the classic withdrawal symptoms... denial, rage, and hysterics.  Nap time was rough and after he woke up his bear's head was soaking wet. We discovered later (after observing him with his bear) that he had been trying to bite his bears eye ball's off to get to one of his B's... yikes. We are praying this is a short transition for our sad and sensitive little guy. 

Update on the update:  Levi went to bed without crying, and woke up so happy this morning saying to Binky Bear, "I am so big, just like my daddy is so big. See? No B!"

TWO

Levi, you are two today. TWO. I can't believe it. Time with you has gone by so quickly... and I want it to slow down a little so I can keep you under our roof longer. You are growing up to be such a sweet, tender, funny, happy, CURIOUS, and determined little man. You have an amazing spirit of adventure, and you love your brother like crazy. You're not discouraged by the word no (we're working on that)... and you're not intimidated by anyone... even kids that are much MUCH taller than you. But I'm not going to lie... I like that about you. And I think that one day you will be unstoppable at whatever you set your mind to. We just pray that whatever you decide to put your energy towards that it will be for Jesus. We are so proud of you... and can't believe that we get to be your mommy and daddy.

Here you are last year:

Here you are this year (we made you a pizza, since it's your favorite):

Love you dude. Our family wouldn't be the same without your spunky, cheerful, silly self. 

My Little Gerber Baby

We started solids with you about a week ago and so far you are loving the taste of food! You're still having a little bit of a hard time figuring out how to keep it in your mouth and how to swallow it... but up open up your mouth wide every time you see the spoon! Here you are eating squash in your airplane PJ's (your daddy's favorite).