Picture Purge

I keep forgetting to check the folder of Kevin's iPhone pictures, so I've missed posting some. Here you go:

 Grilling with Dada

 In his Idaho shirt (Schwee!), eating one of approximately 50 Cuties he's had over the past few weeks. :)

 New Game: Bury Mama in pillows and JUMP!

 Sweet Saturday (or Sunday?) morning of watching Thomas with Dada

These last two are from Kevin and Lewis' after-dinner play time in the basement that they get to do most nights:

 Constructing his railway

Blocks!

He's in a building phase right now--he loves to build tall towers and gets so intensely focused on doing so. Sometimes they topple over, and he says 'uh oh!' and immediately sets out to rebuild. He's getting better each day at making them less top heavy and more stable.

What a Hole in the Wall

I've been planning some changes for the hall bathroom to make it a little more Lewis-friendly. We've been spending more time in there lately, teaching him to wash his hands. Now that we're starting to sort of think about potty training, I want to make it into more of a space that he likes to be in. I know I'm going to paint, and I'd like to add some shelves and accessories that are more his style. [And maybe a new shower curtain if I can find the right one.] I would love to rip out the old funky tile (and its mint green counterpart in our master bathroom), but for now we are living with it. Hopefully a different wall color will make it fade away.

But first, there's something scary lurking behind these walls:

Looks normal, until...

 Shablam! 

Behind the huge mirror lies a huge hole. Thank you previous owners for covering it up and not mentioning it. We discovered it semi-soon after moving into this house, but we've just ignored it. My mom noticed it at Lewis' birthday party last month--sometimes when you open the bathroom door quickly, a rush of air comes up through the wall and blows the mirror out from the wall a bit. Like it's alive! :) It's so great. I decided it was finally time to fix it before I paint again. So here it goes!

First of all, whomever cut the hole in the wall, cut right through the drywall and studs (and not in a straight line). Our first step was to build a frame of 2x4s onto which the drywall could be attached. 2x4s, however, were too deep for the hole, so I cut each in half long-ways, which I guess gave me 2x2s.

The completed outer frame.

I had to call Kevin in for reinforcements--the screws I used were really long and didn't go all of the way in with the power screwdriver, so we had to tighten them down by hand. Lots of shoulder and arm soreness today.

Thanks for helping, Kev-o.

I stepped out of the bathroom, and I cracked up at how safe/awkward he looked, perched up on the sink.

We finished the outer frame last night (before the IU game), and then I worked on it some more this morning while Grandma and Grandpa T. took Lewis. 

First, I had to add two more supports. The pieces of drywall at Home Depot were 2 feet by 2 feet, and the hole was about 30 inches by 30 inches. Soooo, I had to create studs on which to hang the drywall. I just held up one of the 2x2 drywall pieces, marked where the stud should go, and screwed the stud in place.

 Not the most square/level thing, but it will do the trick. :)

 We have drywall!

I used one whole 2x2 drywall piece on the left and pieced in the area around it with three smaller pieces.

 I wasn't sure how closely to space the screws, so I probably used far too many. I don't think it's going anywhere. :)

Taped and 1st layer of mud.

I will sand it tomorrow and apply the 2nd coat, followed by another sanding and 3rd coat on Sunday. I guess after the final sanding on Monday, we'll be ready for paint! More pictures to come on that.

Pop-kerrrn

I've recently discovered/fallen in love with stove top popcorn (thanks to Ben/Adie). :) It tastes SO much better than microwave popcorn, and it's not nearly as hard to make as I thought it would be. I found a new popper at a thrift store and have started making it about once a week with Lewis (he loves it, too). He calls it pop-kerrrn. :)

He's kind of impatient, so I have to be careful that he doesn't reach up and grab the hot popper on the stove (maybe I'll move the operation to the back burners next time...duh).

Come on, popper! Hurry up.

Pop-kerrrn, please, Mama. :(

 Still nothing.

At last. The ten or so minute wait was worth it.

I've been using this recipe, and I add in Ben's tips. I do not use any additional butter (just the canola oil), and I add the salt at the end instead of in the oil. So, so, so good.

Consignment Sales and Basketball Games

This was kind of a busy week--I sold in my first consignment sale, so I've had to run across town to volunteer, drop-off my goods, and shop (of course). :) We just sold a small amount of things to see how the process works (things we didn't like, had duplicates of, didn't end up using, etc.). They take 30% off the top and charge a registration fee ($10 since I volunteered), so we ended up getting a check for $173.05. Not too shabby for things that we no longer had a use for! That's over twice as much money as we made at our yard sale last year. :) Of the 84 things we put in, 67 sold--I think that is pretty good. Lewis and I will go pick up what didn't sell tomorrow, and we'll start setting things aside to sell in the fall sale!

The week was also busy because Kevin had tickets to see Louisville play in the NCAA tournament games in Lexington on Thursday and Saturday. He'd bought the tickets like 6 months ago, on the off-chance that Louisville or IU would play there. Thursday he and I went while my mom came to town to visit/babysit, and then Kevin took a friend (Justin Juhasz) Saturday. Thursday was fun--on the way to our seats, we walked into a crowd of people who were crowding around someone. We passed by and almost bumped into Denny Crum and Darrell Griffith. I knew who Coach Crum was, but Kevin had to tell me who Darrell Griffith (aka Dr. Dunkenstein) was.

We missed getting an up-close picture because they were heading away from us, but I spotted them from our seats and took a faraway picture.

They are in the 6th row up from the floor. Coach Crum is wearing the black, red, and cream argyle sweater (which made him super easy to spot from afar), and Griffith is sitting to the left of him in a grey sweater.

Tip-off!

This week we have IU on Thursday (and hopefully Saturday) and Louisville on Friday (and hopefully Sunday). It's basketball madness up in here! :)

At Least We Had Saturday

This weekend was a wild one, weather-wise. Saturday, we were out working in the yard, grilling (lunch and dinner!), putting on sunscreen, and sweating some, with temps near 70. Today was cold, dreary, rainy/sleety/SNOWY, and just an overall inside-on-the-couch-in-sweatpants kind of day. This morning, Kevin and I went to see Oz The Great and Powerful and to lunch while Grandma and Grandpa T. (and Uncle Scott) hung out with Lewis. This afternoon we stayed in and made chicken noodle soup. Now I plan to sit on the couch in my sweatpants for the rest of the night. :)

We took a few pictures/videos of Lewis helping us with the yardwork yesterday. This is what Lewis started doing while he and Kevin were running the scraps from the front yard to the back yard/compost area:

 Hitching a ride

 Faster, faster!

 

It was cracking us up. At first, Kevin was making him get off the tarp on the driveway portion (to save Lew's knees), but eventually he figured out how to jump up into the scraps and not get his knees scraped.

Day Out at Iroquois Park and Garden Day

This weekend's weather was gorgeous--highs near 60 and sunny! I had a volunteer event to attend Saturday morning (with the Olmsted Parks Conservancy), so Kevin suggested he and Lewis tag along to play at the playground while I worked. Afterward, we had a picnic at the park--it was so nice! We really haven't spent much time at Iroquois Park since it's on the other side of town, but we will go back. The amphitheater looks like a really cool place to see a concert, and Kevin and I both reminisced about our Frolf-ing days (apparently that's one way to say Frisbee golfing) back when we lived in Bloomington. Maybe one of these days we'll get our 'bees out again and try out the course at Iroquois. :)

Kevin took some pictures of their time at the playground, so here are some of their adventures:

 Listening to water flowing underground

Running away :)

Sitting at the rocking table (with some other kiddos)

Kev said the playground was pretty well-suited for big and little kids. There were a few bigger/more challenging things that Lewis tried to get on, so he had to keep a close eye out that he didn't fall/hurt himself.  

Picnic time:

We brought along his clip-on chair which worked perfectly at the picnic table. It was a really nice, peaceful spot to have lunch. Behind us was a trail in the woods, and two different groups of horses (and riders) passed by while we were eating. It was neat to see that in the city.

Hooray for picnics at the park!

We went over to Kevin's parents house for dinner Saturday to celebrate Uncle Scott's birthday (happy birthday!), and then Sunday morning we tackled our yard. 

I worked out front while Kevin and Lewis worked in the backyard. Their main task was to empty the compost barrel, put the compost onto the raised bed, and start a fresh batch of compost. Kevin said Lewis was actually pretty helpful with helping him load the barrel and spinning it. They also dug up some liriope and split it for me to replant in the front bed.

And damn if I didn't cut through the #%&*@^$ extension cord with the hedge trimmer. Every.damn.year it seems I do that. So, Kev and Lew also ran to Home Depot for a new extension cord. :) I didn't get around at a second attempt of cutting back the liriope and shrubs, so that is a big-ish task we'll have for the next nice day.

 Giving the new compost a spin

Shoveling the compost into the raised bed :) 

Spreading it around

And then bringing the tarp over to help load up the liriope for Mama. :)

I'm telling you--if we can harness this helpfulness, it could really work in our favor! He really is a good little helper (in most circumstances). :)

Science Center

Yesterday we finally got a membership to the Science Center! We've taken and Kevin's parents have taken Lewis a few times, so we decided it was worth it to go ahead with a membership now that we have to pay for Lewis. We had a great time in KidZone--my camera batteries died while we were in the water table area, so I missed a few funny moments, but I'll describe them after the water pictures.

 Dr. Lewis Pete, examining x-rays

Working hard in the construction site

One of Lew's new words is TARC Bus

(which is the name of the city bus system in Louisville)

 Either Carlton or Lewis pushed the button that made Wheels on the Bus play continuously while we were in the bus. :)

Fun at the water table (we saved it for last):

I think Carlton managed to soak his shirt but kept pants relatively dry.

 

Lewis started out just dipping his hands in the water for a drink... 

 

And then decided grabbing the hose was more efficient. :)

By the end, he was completely soaking wet. That water from the hose went down the front of his raincoat and onto his jeans and shoes. I did think to bring a spare dry outfit, but I failed to check what that outfit was. It was a one-piece shorty short outfit from the summer. Oops! So he had to wear that the rest of the time. That with just Lightning McQueen socks, too (since his shoes were soaked). I did have a dry fleece jacket for him to wear out to the car, but he was looking pretty funny. I wish the camera batteries hadn't died at that moment!

Sleep Revision 17-1.0

So the nap situation was horrible last week. Nonexistent except for one day (Wednesday, I think?). Bedtimes were also bad--a couple of nights of falling asleep behind the door. By Thursday, I was feeling ready to implode. Kevin's parents were sweet enough to take Lewis for me Friday morning so that I could escape the madness get a pedicure, do laundry, start packing for the weekend, etc.

This was what happened during Monday's 'nap' in his big boy bed:

 Total disaster zone

One day he pulled every last wipe out the dispenser. Another day he squirted out 2/3 of a tube of kind of expensive baby face lotion out onto the floor. Pulled all of his diapers down and spread them around his room. Moved his bookcase out from the wall. Pulled his dirty laundry out of the hamper. Pulled every last alcohol wipe out of its box. Put a new box of trash bags in the trash can (which I luckily caught before emptying his trash can...). Pulled his blankets out from under his bed. He is a beast (and apparently still not ready for the freedom of the toddler bed). :)

Every day I had to remove one more thing that he got into, to the point where he just has the bare minimums in there now. I was/am wishing for a sleeping room for him. Like in a house whose bathroom has a separate toilet room, I wish there was just a plain box of a room that he could go into and just sleep. Free from distractions and temptations. Just sleep.

After talking it out over the weekend with Keith and Maggie, we decided to turn his crib around so that the open side is butted up against the wall and the (taller) back of the crib becomes the front. (Dietgard had also told me that she did that with Mathilda, but I'd forgotten to try it.) So far, so good. He's now slept Sunday night through Wednesday nap (as I type) without much trouble, and most importantly he has NOT figured out how to climb out yet (he could get over the sides if he wanted to). I'm sure it's a matter of time, but for here and now, we are good. I remember Emily saying that Juniper just suddenly decided she was ready for her big girl bed, so I'm looking forward to when that happens for Lewis!

To Dublin We Will Go

This weekend we headed up to Keith and Maggie's for what might become an annual trip (we went last year around this time, too). I didn't take as many pictures as last year, but here are a few!

'Hey, Colin, it's Lewis. I'm on my way!' 

Lewis spent most of the drive up on his smartphone, repeating the ABCs song over and over. He was a really good rider on the way up and even better on the way back (because he slept 2/3 of the way). :) 

We arrived as a UL game was beginning, so we ate lunch while Kevin watched that. After nap, we headed out to Graeter's for ice cream and play time--it was crowded, but Lewis and Colin seemed to have a good time running around. And the ice cream was great! I got Buckeye Blitz (even though I despise those OSU Buckeyes...) and Kevin got Cupcake Confetti (which I tasted and it was very good!).

 Riding a banana split teeter totter

Back at the house, watching Cars 2

Storytime, later that evening

Lewis isn't wearing pants because...hmm. I think he needed a diaper change near bedtime, and rather than put forth the effort of putting jeans back on, we just let him go without until it was pajama time.

And I think that is Caroline in Maggie's lap. I think Julia had on darker pink pajamas, but I could be wrong. They are both such sweet girls.

We borrowed one of the girls' mattresses and put it on the floor of our room, along with the stuffed Mater and Thomas blanket we brought from home. At bedtime, Kevin had to stay in the room with Lew for just a few minutes for him to fall asleep, and then we were all able to watch the IU game together and chat. I think Lewis woke up around 6:30am, so that was pretty good sleeping away from home (compared to our weekend at the cabin).

Trains the next morning

We had a really nice visit and were glad to catch up and get to see everybody. Thanks again for having us!