Lenore, From There to Here

A few days old, freshly home from the hospital 

(Oh, I still remember what a tired, hormonal mess I was and how much pain I was in...)

 One Month

 Two

 Three

 Four

What a little chunk!

 Five

 Six

 Seven

 Eight

 Nine

 Ten

 Eleven

Twelve

Lenore at One Year!

One Year!!

Her stats (from the pediatrician, percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 30 inches [in 75th percentile]
Weight: 23 pounds, 13 ounces [ between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Head Size: 18.74 inches [between 90th and 95th percentiles]

What she's doing this month:

• She is learning to communicate her needs/wants more and more, either with a calm yelp or a loud scream. She is pretty vocal (and always has been), even if she isn't saying many words. She still says Hiiii, Bye-bye, Bubba, Dada, and maybe an occasional Mama. Hi and Bye are the biggest, along with her sweet wave. She'll wave side-to-side, and then she also waves kind of touching her mouth and waving outward, I guess like she's blowing a kiss. (Did we teach her that? I don't know.)
• She still is nursing every 3-4 hours and taking her 4 oz. at bedtime (after she nurses). She can hold the bottle herself and chugs the formula down.
• She is still an enthusiastic, non-discriminating eater. 
• She had started drinking from Lewis' Camelbak water cup, so I bought her a couple of straw cups to try out. She has figured those out, so I'll give her some water at mealtimes, which she seems to enjoy. For her birthday, I've gotten her a couple of non-straw sippy cups so that she can work on tipping the cup up to get a drink.
• She was finally sleeping consistently overnight for a little while there, and then she got a molar! That caused a couple of rough nights (up at 2:30, 3, and 4:30 one night, what what??), but we are through that now. There were some residual wake-ups after the teething nights from busting our routine, but she has been better again the past few nights. Fingers crossed that she'll stay that way. Mama hit a rough patch there for a little while.
• She is napping twice a day, unless we get out of routine, and then it's once a day. She typically goes down around 9:30 or 10am and 2:30 or 3pm, and she will sleep around an hour and a half or two hours each.
• She's walking all over the place!! Last Wednesday (October 21), she started putting around 10 steps together, and she has gotten more steady and ventured further each day. In her attempt to stay balanced, sometimes she almost gallops to get her feet quickly under her body. She's a hoot and is into absolutely everything.
• She also really loves to be carried on my hip, and she always has. Usually in the afternoon after nap, she'll be a little clingy, so I'll throw her on my hip and start dinner or clean or whatever I need to get done. I started thinking back, and I remember her falling asleep in that position when she was really tiny--I'd put her on my hip and walk around and watch her eyes quickly get heavy and close, and I guess that movement is what is comforting to her. (Maybe due to her crazy sideways antics while she was in my belly!?) Even now, she is totally content to just hang out with me while I work. My arms, on the other hand, get a little tired!
• Her hair is starting to get curly in the back where it is the longest.
• She is finally clapping and thinks it's hilarious when we clap for her/at her.
• She is getting into mostly 18 month clothing. There are still a few 12 month pieces that fit, but it won't be long.
• Current Tooth Count: 7 (2 upper middle, 4 lower middle, and 1 molar on lower left)

A few outtakes:

  Hello, old tattered friend.

Lewis the Truest, XXII

We were driving home from a day of running around at an orchard, on a day when Lewis was also overtired from a few nights of later-than-normal bedtimes. He was going on and on in the car, nonstop, as we got to the pizza place to pick up dinner:

Lewis: What's that? Where's the ___? Who's making our pizza? Why?
Me: Lewis.
Lewis: Is that enough?

I usually say, 'Lewis, that's enough.' Apparently, I can get the point across now just by saying his name in a certain tone. 

----------

I was in Lenore's room, feeding her after a nap one day. Lewis was in my/Kevin's room with the dogs, doing who knows what. I heard a loud thud and an actual cry coming from Lewis, so I knew he did something beyond his normal level of bouncing about:

Lewis: (in tears) I hurt... my brain...and...my belly!
Me: (holding back laughter after he said he hurt his brain) You did? What happened?
Lewis: I ran into the door.
Me: Oh, oh dear. 
[I checked him out, and he was fine, but still upset for a few minutes. Then, after calming down...]
Lewis: Or maybe I jumped off the bed and hit the door?? 

Again, I had to stifle the laughter. He so sweetly presented the truth to me as a question.

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One weekend recently, we were discussing what to do for the afternoon/evening, and we settled on going to a park to play and have a picnic for dinner:

Me: Ok, so I'll run to Kroger and get food for the picnic.
Lewis: I know what I want!
Me: Ok.
Lewis: Bananas.
             Apples.
             Cucumbers.
             Hot dogs with ketchup and mustard.
             Grilled cheese.
             And spaghetti.
Me: (jotting everything down) Ok, is that all?
Lewis: Yes.

I don't know where he got such a list! First of all, he's never eaten a hot dog, and I'm not sure if he's had cucumber. I'm wondering if he saw a super elaborate picnic on Curious George or something? He was so sure about it, too. So funny.

----------

We are still working on Lewis being a willing participant in our dinners. It is like the last thing I want to do at the end of the day (argue with him about eating what I cooked), but we are trying to be more diligent about it. One night, we had asked him to take 3 bites of his meal. Later, he asked for privacy so that he could go to the bathroom. When Kevin went back to help him clean up:

Lewis: I had 3 poops. 3 poops, 3 bites.

Very matter of fact, our Lewis.

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Sometimes, Lewis fends for himself while I'm putting Lenore down or working on something around the house. I think I was coming downstairs from putting her down for nap one day, and I came upon him sitting at the dining room table:

Lewis: (sitting with a jar of peanut butter, jar of jelly, bread, knife, spoon, and train cookie cutter--for train-shaped PB&Js, of course)
Me: What are you doing?
Lewis: Making a peanut and butter jelly sandwich. I need some help. (And he says sandwich as swam-wich, which I love.)

He had the sweetest tone to his voice, like he was so proud for gathering all of the ingredients himself.

Lewis is a Train

Many months ago, Lewis declared that he wanted to be a train for Halloween. Halloween is still weeks away, but we had a couple of events at the beginning of the month that merited a costume, so I had to get to work on it early.

This is the very intricate/fancy train at the zoo that is his inspiration (there is also an orange one). He also wants a toy version of one for Christmas, which I think I'll have some wiggle room with (as long as there is some orange and some blue on it). I forewarned him that I would do my best to make him a blue and orange train, and so far he has simple tastes (thank goodness).

We already had a couple of train whistles and conductor hats, and, as things have a way of working themselves out, I stumbled across a conductor's jacket in his size at Goodwill for only $1.50. I saved up some diaper boxes in anticipation, and I was able to use duct tape leftover from last year's cardboard airplane costume. The plane just got smashed in our move, so I was able to remove and reuse the webbing (for shoulder straps). We did have to go to Home Depot to pick out spray paint (and primer), which was fun. Lewis wanted an 'orange and blue train' like the train at our zoo--I think it wanted it like half orange and half blue, but I explained that would be challenging to do neatly with spray paint. We settled on a blue train with orange accents. We had looked at some ideas on Pinterest, and he liked one that had a '4' on it because he is 4. Although, eventually, he decided he wanted a 4, 5, and 2 for reasons unknown to me. And he declared that he wanted to wear one blue glow bracelet and one orange one as part of his costume. He had/has it all planned out this year, let me tell you!! We also bought a headlight for the front, which I attached with Command velcro strips and a touch light from Walmart.

 Can you see the vision of the train??

 I scored and bent the box flaps to build the front cylinder (and added a piece of cardboard to the front to enclose it)

Primed

 The steam pipe is an empty duct tape roll tube that happened to come available as I was making it

 I expanded the box flap holes on the sides so that they were big enough for Lewis's arms to go through them to help take the weight off of his shoulders a bit (it's kind of heavy!)

 The conductor with his train :)

 I think he's happy about it!

 #2

 #4

 #5

 Taking it out for a spin at Creasey Mahan's Haunted Hike

We were at the zoo the night before, but the train stayed in the car while we trick-or-treated in raincoats and under umbrellas.

We don't have another event until Halloween weekend--he has a Trunk-or-Treat at his school, plus trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Hopefully we get good weather for both of those!

Lewis the Truest, Vol. XXI

After throwing a football around with Kevin in the basement for a good five minutes, Lewis proclaimed he wanted to 'take a rest,' as he does when he's tired. Then, after about 15 seconds of resting on the couch beside me:


Lewis: (shrugs) I still have some energy. (in the most defeated tone possible) 
                             Do you still have some energy, Dad? (again, sounding so pooped, but                                                       wanting to get rid of that last little bit of energy he had left)

If only we had as much energy as Lewis does at any given moment of the day. :) (At least that's how I feel.)

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We went to two events last weekend where there was trick-or-treating, so Lewis has amassed a small collection of candy that he keeps sneaking into.


Lewis: (whispering) Mom, I have a surprise for you.
Me: Oh, you DO?
Lewis: Yeah, it's in my pocket.
Me: Okaaay.
Lewis: (hands me a candy bar)
Me: Oh, thanks, buddy!
Lewis: No, it's mine. OPEN IT!

He must have sensed that I was mildly disappointed about the candy, he said, 'Oh, let me get another one for you!' and quickly ran into the other room and grabbed another. I was not his first thought, but that's okay. ;) It was sweet, even after the fact.

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We have a behavior chart on the fridge that we have not been very consistent with. It started out of Lewis wanting a toy at the store--I was getting sick of him throwing a fit and wanting a toy every time we went to Target, so I told him maybe we could 'earn' a toy through good behavior. 

Again, we haven't been consistent with it, so I'm sure the point will be lost on him. Regardless, we have a chart, and he has been working towards a Piston Peak Air Attack Training Set (from Planes: Fire and Rescue) for months now. He has to earn 15 stickers from having a good dinner (staying in his seat, eating well without a fight, etc.).


Lewis: Can I get the Piston Peak Air Attack Training Set?
Me: Have you earned all of your stickers?
Lewis: No.
Me: You need two more stickers, right?
Lewis: Yeah, let's go put those on there (in a really sneaky whisper of a voice).

Like, your point, Mom? Let's just put the stickers on, and BAM, the toy is mine. It's as simple as that, Mom.

----------

I put Lenore to bed while Kevin puts Lewis to bed, and Kevin has very sweetly started to have an end-of-the-day conversation with Lewis to recap their days. Like, 'How was your day?' and 'What did you do?' Kevin said Lewis is slowly starting to give more information. Tonight was the best yet:

Kevin: Did you get to play outside?
Lewis: I played on the playground with Koko.
Kevin: Oh, yea? What did you play?
Lewis: Married.
Kevin: Oh yea? (cracking up on the inside) Did you hold hands?
Lewis: Yea.

I can just imagine the tone in his voice. Part serious contemplation/part mild defeat (like she made him play). Koko and Lewis have been in the same class for two years now, and I guess they are getting closer. Last year, he was pretty close with Lily, but she's in a different class this year.