Weekend Fun

As I mentioned, we went up to visit the Butts this weekend--we had a great time with them, their 5 kids (3 girls + 2 boys), and also our friends Amy and Alan and their son. It was quite the full house on Saturday afternoon, but fun!! 

 Lewis pushing around Princess Norah

 Lewis (getting into batteries) and Sweet Edison

This was as happy as I saw Edison around Big Lew--for some reason, Lewis made him a little upset when he came nearby. I did see him pull his hair once, so I'm not sure if that was why?? Probably so.

Norah and Lew tag-teaming to push around Ben

Up to no good. :)

Kevin and his buddy, Jenson

He really, really wanted Kevin to hold him.

Norah and Lewis, having a moment.

She was a bit obsessed with him.

Just a tad.

All the ladies love me. :)

This is the exact same face he had when Juniper pinned him in Boise last fall.

We had fun Saturday night after the children all went to sleep, chatting and playing board games. I turned in early because Lewis woke up at 10:30pm and then again at midnight, so I went to bed in case it was a rough night (and it was...he woke up again at 4am and 6:30am). In his defense, he only napped about 30 minutes on the drive up and refused to take his afternoon nap, so he was a textbook case of being overtired (and probably overstimulated from so much activity and fun). 

Sunday morning we hung out for a little bit and then hit the road early enough for Lewis to fall asleep around his normal nap time. Here are a few pictures before taking off.

Big Boy Edison

I wish I could have gotten a picture of him turning on the charm--he very sweetly cocks his head to the side and gets all bashful. It.is.adorable. 

Edison, Jenson, and Lewis (and Maya [dog]) playing

And then Norah woke up and came around for some more snuggles...

Gotcha!

I think it's safe to say they both had fun chasing and being chased by each other!

We got back Sunday right in time for the IU game (for me) and the Louisville game (for Kevin). I'd gotten Kevin and Lewis matching U of L shirts for Father's Day last year, and yesterday was the first time they've both worn them at the same time!

Go Cards!

(And they won, as did IU!)

And Lewis found a new playhouse of sorts in a big ol' cardboard box! It housed a new car seat for a new (used) car that we bought last week for Kevin to drive to replace the '97 Accord (which still runs but was feeling pretty rickety/unsafe). We decided on an '09 Camry and plan to drive it on out-of-town trips and around town more than the old Accord, so we decided to get a 2nd car seat instead of having to move one from car to car.

 Blurry, but a good ornery face!

 Just my size!

This week is looking to be calmer than last week was, and then we are making our first trip to Dublin, OH, next weekend to visit the Okrzesiks, so we're looking forward to that!

Wrap Up From Last Week

As planned at the end of last week, we did make it to the park (though 62 and partly sunny turned out to be the 50s, very overcast, and breezy, but oh well!). We still had a fun time. This time, Lewis was really interested in getting up on the gigantic grasshopper. He's been up there a few times before, but only this time did he seem steady enough for me to step back and take a quick picture.

 Bugs are cool, dude.

Then Thursday evening was our first swim lesson! Kevin was able to make it to watch what Lewis can do and to take some pictures (and to help get Lewis changed afterwards--it was great having some help!). Lewis seemed really excited to be back in a pool and picked up where we left off on his comfort level. He splashed and yelled out (in excitement) and went under quite a few more times than usual, and he seemed to enjoy himself. 

[Nevermind the frizzy hair (as always) and darkness of the pictures--we are in a small, dark therapy pool area.]

 Lewis is looking/smiling, I am not.

 I am smiling, Lew is not.

 Swimming is so fun!

Kick, Kick, Kick!

It looks like we will have the same laid back instructor as last time, with the stricter one filling in just the first week. I ended up liking the laid back one, but there were only 3-4 babies in our class over the winter. This 2nd class has 10+ babies (and parents), so the pool was pretty full. Hopefully it goes well! We had one familiar face from the first class, and one mom is actually a science teacher I observed while I was getting my teaching degree. I didn't chat her up just yet because I doubt she remembers me (it wasn't a very interactive practicum--just observation, early on).

Over the weekend we ventured up to Indianapolis (technically Fishers, I suppose) to spend the night with friends, so I'll try to get that post up later today!

Busy Busy Busy!

We have been staying busy this past week now that Lewis is ONE! And a toddler! I've been getting weekly emails from BabyCenter for almost 2 years now, first as Your Pregnancy This Week and then Your Baby This Week. This week, it suddenly said Your Toddler This Week, which answered my question as to when Lewis officially became a toddler (the email said it is either at a year or when he started toddling/walking).


Finally, a Ball
I've been on the lookout for a good ball for Lewis for a little while (since he played with/loved his friend Clara's either at Thanksgiving or Christmas), and I finally found one last week at Rite Aid of all places. I normally only go to Target since it is closest to our house, and the only ball I could find there was smaller and super bouncy (and $14.99!!). Made for older kids. Anyway, this one was a much more reasonable $2.99--we gave it to him on his actual birthday, and he looooves it!

He kissed it,

 Carried it around very determinedly,

 Wouldn't really let go of it,

Shrieked with excitement at it,

And it was the only way we could get him to stand still enough to get his picture taken in front of his growth chart on his birthday.

His obsession has let up a little since the first evening, but he's still a big fan. :)


Peter's Liver
Peter had his six month liver recheck last week (since his liver values seemed to be improved after switching him to a prescription diet six months ago). The normal range for the ALT value is 0-100. Initially he was in the 400s. 6 months ago he was in the 200s. This time he was in the 300s (which is annoying), BUT a different value (BUN) went from being low to being normal (which is good). Sooo, the vet said she isn't concerned as long as he is still eating well and keeping his food down. So he most certainly isn't 'healed' but he isn't worsening, I guess. I kind of wonder if he'd do the same on his old diet, as well, but I guess we'll keep doing what we're doing. She wants to recheck again in a year.

Peter Dink this morning

Smiley Monster
Lewis was really super smiley yesterday morning. :) I mean, REALLY.

 The Big Cheese!

:)

Beginning to wonder if his face was stuck like that.

Oh, stop, Mama, I'm blushing. 

Solids
In Lew's 1 year post, I mentioned that we were kind of at the end of the line on new foods for him to try. I was mistaken--I forgot about the beyond-one-year-foods like the citrus family, strawberries, honey, and peanut butter! I'm in no hurry to introduce all of them, especially after giving him mandarin oranges this week. Shoo-whee! Grossity gross gross gross poopies. I'm definitely going to give him some time in between citrus introductions (I still need to do lemon, grapefruit, and pineapple--which might not technically be citrus but I think of it as sort of citrus-y/acidic). He loves the mandarin oranges, perhaps a little too much. :) Gross.

Labels
Speaking of Solids, that reminds me of Labels, and I just wanted to mention that a few weeks ago I went through the process of rereading every post and assigning labels to them (like keywords/general topics). Something I wish I would have done from the start to make searching easier. Over on the right sidebar, just under the email sign-up space, you'll see a 'cloud' of labels. You can click on any of the labels listed, and it will take you to a page of posts with that label. So if you click on 'Monthly Picture and Factoids,' for instance, you will be taken to a page with only the 12 monthly round-up posts we've had so far.


Mardi Gras
Yesterday we went to a fundraising lunch for Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday with my friend Kate and her parents for Kate's workplace. We had a very fun time (and great pizza!), and Kate even found some Mardi Gras beads for Lewis to wear (eat). He didn't even have to show his tatas. :) Haha.

Swim Lessons
They start up again tomorrow! It looks like Kevin might be able to come a few times to see how Lew does (and maybe take pictures for me). And his Gma and Gpa Carter got him some very cute swim trunks for his birthday, so I'm excited for him to wear those! :) And of course I'm looking forward to seeing what the next level of classes is like.


And now we're off to run a few errands and hopefully make it to the park. It is supposed to be 62 degrees and sunny today! Wahoo!

From There (Two Days Old) to Here (One Year)!

Day Two

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

One Year

One Year Old!

Lewis is a year old today!

Yesterday I looked at the clock a few times and remembered when I felt the first contraction (finally) and then later when the epidural came (finally). Then this morning, Lewis ALMOST woke me up at his exact arrival time (he woke up at 5:37am, so he was a little late from his 4:55am birth time). [And thankfully he didn't stay up for long this morning--he fell back asleep until 8ish.] After Lewis was born, Kevin wrote up our birth story here if you're interested in reading or rereading it.

One Year Old

Height: 31 3/4 inches (98th percentile)

Weight: 24.8 pounds (90th percentile)

Head Size: 19 inches (95th percentile)


We went to the doctor this morning, and they said everything looks great! He did look 'slightly viral' on his bloodwork (his white blood cell count was just a little high), which the doctor said she isn't concerned with--she said that it might mean he is in the beginning stages of having caught something, but she said it could also turn out to be nothing. 


He received two vaccinations and had to get a finger prick (for a routine blood test and to test for lead) and they also taped a bag to his nether regions to catch a urine sample while we were waiting. So he got rather poked and prodded this time around, but he was a trooper. He did get fussy towards the end as we were waiting because it was nap time, but Kevin saved the day by finding a toy buried in the diaper bag. 

What he's doing this month:

• He has started kissing! Rather, he'll hold his mouth open and will let me kiss him. Sometimes he sticks out his tongue. Once he burped (after meat+vegetables for dinner) in my face, at which I thought I might puke, but otherwise it has been very sweet.
• He started trilling the 'R' sound over the weekend. And my mom noticed he's making another funny noise from the back of his throat, like a sound a zombie might make (that's all I can think to compare it to). He'll look at us like he WANTS to say something, but nothing comes out yet. We think we've heard him repeat No-No-No (which is what I sometimes shout at him like when he is making a beeline to the dogs' water bowl) and even Hattie Dog (which I'm sure he didn't really say), but we keep hearing things that sound like words. Still, he mostly sticks with Da-Da-Da (Dada) and Duh-Duh-Duh (Dog).
• He is doing better on the changing table (fusses sometimes, but hasn't been trying to flip over/sit up as much), but now he is a bit of a nightmare when having his teeth brushed. He seems to be getting a little better about it the past few days.
• He really likes to push big things around the room like his activity table, my big plastic storage box of fabrics, the wicker storage cubes, chairs, etc.
• He has started climbing! We've had to rearrange the furniture to keep him from climbing through the cut-out wall in between our living room and dining room. We've also had to take the top off of his train table because he became obsessed with climbing on top of it (and really didn't seem to be too fearful of falling off). It made me really nervous with him being able to climb up there so quickly, so I decided to take the top off so the basement could be safer (for him) and more relaxing (for me). Also, the other day (I've since posted videos), he latched his claws (toes) into the baby gate and took a few upward steps before Kevin brought him back down to Earth. Wild man! He is also just a smidge away from being able to hoist himself onto the couch, ottoman, etc. It won't be long. :)
• He is still nursing 4 times a day. Now that he's a year, he can start to have cow's milk, so that is on my 'to do' list of things to read up on.
• As for solids, I feel like we've kind of reached the end of the road for now as far as 'new' foods go (unless we went into the more obscure fruits/vegetables). For now we're going to start working in more table food/more of what we eat (while still making sure he gets the recommended amount of each of the food groups since Kevin and I don't eat enough fruit/vegetables ourselves).
• Also, his appetite seems to have picked up this month. I used to give him half of a small container of steamed vegetable chunks, but now he eats an entire one (at lunch and again at dinner). That means we are going through his frozen stash twice as fast, which means I'm having to steam up vegetables twice as often, which is fine--I have made cubing carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips into a little game. I try to find the most efficient way to cut the most perfectly cubed pieces. Aaaand I'm a loser. :)
• Also now that he is a year, he can have things in the crib with him, so I gave him a lovey (a soft, small blanket) last week to sleep with to see how that would go. When we go in to get him in the morning or after a nap, he usually has it in his hand, so I guess he likes it! He did drop it/throw it out of his crib before nap the other day, so I snuck in and tossed it back in to see if he'd settle into his nap better (and he did). Update: We're noticing that he fusses/cries when he throws it out of the crib, so it could actually be doing more harm than good. I'll give it a few more days, and I might take it away for now and try again later.
• Speaking of sleep, naps have been better the past few weeks. After getting pretty out of sync there for a few weeks, he seems to be in a good groove now. He's napping for about an hour and a half in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon.
• Current Tooth Count: 8 (4 top, 4 bottom)

So that is Lewis at ONE YEAR!!!

Oh, Dear...

He really, really wanted to get that dog toy that he dropped over the top of the gate. :/ So far, he has been unsuccessful in his attempts.

1st Birthday Festivities!

Even though his birthday isn't until next Wednesday, today we celebrated Lewis' 1st birthday with the grandparents and uncles. We had a great afternoon of food, fun, CAKE!, and gifts.

The Invite

I snagged the make-the-word-One-out-of-dots inspiration from tinyprints and the dot technique itself from Pinterest. To make the dots, I dipped a pencil eraser onto an ink pad and went to town. And the candles were scrapbooking stickers I found at Michael's.

 The Birthday Boy's Seat

The Pom Poms
Thanks, MacKenzie (for the inspiration) and Martha Stewart (for the tutorial). I hung them from our light fixture so people wouldn't bump their heads on it (like Kevin and I do almost daily). :)

 The Lunch Spread

We had two types of chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers, spinach/artichoke dip, and queso.

 The Biggest Hit - Balloons!

 The Birthday Boy with his Grandmas

 The Desserts - White Smash Cake for Lewis and Carrot Cake for the Rest of Us

I'd made a special, wholesome, lower sugar, baby-friendly apple/raisin bread last evening for Lewis--I went to carve it into a '1' this morning and found the center to be raw, so I had to send Kevin to the grocery to pick up a cake mix for a quick change of plans. Unfortunately for him, he was en route to McDonald's to pick up breakfast, so he had to go into the grocery in sweatpants and house shoes and a shoeless baby--thanks, babe!!

 Mamaw and Lewis Pete

 GIVE ME CAKE!

 Ah, the look of Keep the Baby Away from the Flame whilst Keeping the Flame Away from the Helium!

 First Taste of Cake

 Digging In

The Finished Product

He didn't go crazy with it--after a few minutes, he started trying to flip the plate over, which we took as an 'I am done' sign.

Then it was time to open gifts!

Opening a gift from Auntie Em, Joe, and Juniper

(a peek-a-boo book)

And another from his Grandma and Grandpa Thompson 

(a super cool handcrafted wooden dinosaur puzzle)

And Great-Grandma DeeDee

(a set of cars and road construction pieces)

:)

A Growth Chart

This is the gift I made for Lewis--a growth chart that looks like a ruler! I found the tutorial on Pinterest and decided to give it a shot--it was super fun and easy to make. We are going to measure him next Wednesday (his actual birthday) and make it a birthday tradition for him and future sibling(s).

A knife from Uncle Joe

The backstory is that Joe has a bigger version of this same knife. Also, for his first birthday, he received a belt buckle engraved with his initials. :) So very sweet and thoughtful. I tried to get a close-up of the engraving, but my camera isn't a fancy one, so in case you can't read it, it says: Lewis Pete Thompson 2/15/2012. aka The Day Lewis Became Burly. :)


And finally, post-afternoon nap, once all of the guests are gone:

He Partied His Pants Off!

If Lewis could talk, he'd say: What a great day we had! Thanks so much, everyone, for making my day so special!