Lenore, From There to Here

A look back, especially for Auntie Schwee.

A few days old

 One

 Two

 Three

 Four

 Five

 Six

 Seven

 Eight

 Nine

 Ten

Eleven 

 One Year

 Thirteen

 Fourteen

That one was rough, apparently. :/

 Fifteen

 Sixteen

Pink Sleeper Appearance #1

 Seventeen

 Eighteen

Pink Sleeper Appearance #2

 Nineteen

 Twenty

 Twenty-One

 Twenty-Two

 Twenty-Three

Verrrry rough.

Pink Sleeper Appearance #3

Two Years

Lenore is TWO!

24 Months Old

Her appointment on Tuesday was fine--it took forever (like an hour and a half) and she has a double ear infection (lovely). That explains some of her extra fussiness the past week, though I'm having trouble distinguishing when she's fussy from being sick and fussy from being herself. (It has been  a rough week.)

Her stats:
Height: 34 1/4 inches [50th-75th percentile]
Weight: 30.6 pounds [75th-90th percentile]

What she's doing this month:

• The past few weeks, her vocabulary has really taken off. She jabbers to me more, like I'm supposed to know what she's saying, which is true half of the time (probably 70% of the time). Kevin is able to understand her better as well.
• She continues to love dancing. I haven't signed her up for a tumbling or dance class, but I have been asking around to friends who have daughters, to get an idea of what is available. She loves Creative Movement and Music at school.
• She continues to mimic everything Lewis does, both good and bad. I've been talking to Lewis about being a good example, but some days are rough when they are acting up together.
• She's getting better at feeding herself with a spoon and fork (less spillage). She's been drinking out of a straw cup at school, but I'm going to stop sending it so that she can continue working on drinking out a regular cup. She will do pretty well when I let her drink out of a cup or water bottle, but there are still spills (which makes me revert back to cups with lids and spouts/straws to save me from having to clean up another mess).
• She will take a pen, marker, crayon, pencil, whatever, and scribble on paper, thanks to practicing at school.
• She loves school. The morning drop-offs have become so much smoother this month--she will walk right in, willingly, once she sees one of her teachers. No more tears. Whenever I walk by her room with my class, she'll say 'MAMA!' and point and wave.
• She is tough (physically, probably due to living with Lewis), and very strong-willed. I'm realizing that the tactics I used on Lewis will not work on her (giving two choices, standing firm on certain things, etc.). She will let me have it--crying for 20-30 minutes if I do not let her have her way. I did not have to deal with that with Lewis--he is like Kevin and I, pretty black/white on things. She is much more emotional than I am used to dealing with. I've mentioned that before--not wanting to 'give in' to her and let her get away with everything, but I've got to figure out a better way than our current way. Eventually, a switch will flip, and she'll forget why/how/what she was mad about and move on, but those 20-30 minutes are brutal.
• When she's not angry, she is so sweet and hilarious and wild and free, and I love that about her. 
• She is wearing size 3T.
• Current Tooth Count: still 20, as far as I know.

Lenore at 23 Months

23 Months Old

aka Here Come the Twos
aka Just realized this is the third time she's worn this sleeper for a monthly picture. 

And then sound asleep for 3 hours. Yay, Lenore. :)

She was mad about something pretty much from the time we walked in the door from school, all through lunch, and now (trying to) nap. It has been one of those days. She still has a runny nose, so that could be part of it. Hopefully she feels better after she sleeps (and stops crying!). Mama's patience tank is running low.

What she's doing this month:

• Whatever Bubba (Lewis) is having to eat, she must have the same. She is copying most everything he does, especially when it comes to food.
• She's been sick the past few weeks. It was a runny nose, then a few days of fever, then more runny nose. The doctor thought it's probably a sinus infection, so she is finishing up antibiotics now (and still has a runny nose). 'Tis the season, I know. Kevin and Lewis and I all woke up sneezing the past few days with the changing of the seasons.
• Naps have not been as good the past few weeks. What once were solid 3 hour afternoon naps have now sometimes become 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps. Sometimes she wakes up around 3pm and goes back down until 4pm, but more often, it seems, she's up at 3 and stays up (and isn't happy about it, understandably). Hopefully she gets back into a better routine soon.
• Something else that she does (she literally just did as I was typing up this post yesterday), is open the freezer drawer, get out what she wants (i.e. an ice cream sandwich), and unwraps it and starts to eat it all on her own. I need to get a lock on that drawer.
• Still wearing 2T and 3T clothes. I did jump up to size 5 diapers, finally. The 4s still fit, but were starting to get a little snug.
• Current Tooth Count: still 20

Ch-Ch-Changes and General Updates

I have a job. I wasn't looking for one, but I had entertained the idea of having one for the past 6-9 months. When I was approached about one at the kids' preschool, I decided to say yes. It's very part-time (11-12 hours/week), but it's still a shift in our schedule, nonetheless. I am an assistant teacher in the 3-year-old's room. Lenore hangs out with me the first 15 minutes, then she goes to her class for 3 hours while I work. She helps me in my room for the last 15-30 minutes, and we head home for lunch, nap, and pick Lewis up at the bus stop. It really couldn't be more ideal. I'm still getting used to the new schedule myself and to teaching/loving/parenting these extra 15 kids three days a week, but I think it will work out well.

Lewis is in Kindergarten and loves it. His bus picks up at 8:24am (ish), and returns at 4:10pm (ish), so we spend quite a lot of time apart Monday-Friday. He still comes home from school SO very tired and SO very hungry. I'm not sure what he is eating while he's at school, but I've heard it can take 6-8 weeks for them to adjust to such a long day. I usually give him 30-45 minutes to chill when we get home from the bus stop, and then he does his homework while I'm making dinner. He has homework Monday-Thursday and gets Fridays/weekends off. He is getting really good marks for behavior every day, and he seems to love and respect his teachers and their rules.

I had hired house cleaners in the spring to help me, and I just let them go at the end of the summer because I thought I could definitely get a grip on things once school started for Lewis. I was supposed to have Wednesday-Friday mornings 'off' or 'free from children' to make doctor's appointments or clean the house. Then I got offered the job, and there goes my grand plans. The dog hair is everywhere, and I constantly feel like I can't get anything completed from start-to-finish. I'm always interrupted, and that just messes with me/my sense of accomplishment. Let me tell you, nothing feels as amazing as coming home to a totally clean house*. (*Which was accomplished with no children present, no mess-makers underfoot, no frustrations on my behalf.) I think I just talked myself into it, so I'm probably going to have to call and hire them back.

Lewis is in swim lessons again. He's taken the Beginner and Intermediate(preschool) levels, which were a tad disappointing. I don't mean to be critical, but I felt like they were too easy on him and didn't make him learn how to struggle through and learn how to *really* swim. Now he's in the Advanced (preschool) class, and it is a bit above his current level, but I think they're going to let him stay in. Just in the span of one class, he was able to swim with his face in the water, take breaths to the side, use a forward stroke, swim on his back, and try to do backstroke. Granted, his instructor was supporting him through most of those things, but he was actually having to work hard and seemed to be clicking more than the other classes did the entire time. 

Lewis is in soccer through the Y for the first time. He'd done a program through his preschool the past two years, but that was more skill-building than actual team play. He's only had one game so far and seemed to be running the wrong way for most of the first half. Kevin told him which goal he should be heading towards, and he got the hang of it more in the second half. :) He's having a lot of fun with it.

Lenore is the same. Bossy and hilarious. She HAS started hitting me in the face, which is not cute. I'm wondering if she picked it up at school and/or is doing it at school. I need to ask her teachers.

Kevin broke his big toe last Friday. He'd volunteered to be in the dunk tank for a work function, and it happened sometime in the course of those 30 minutes. He thinks it might have been from slipping on the ladder to get back on the seat, but he isn't sure. He, of course, proceeded to split firewood with my dad all the next morning before going to Urgent Care for an x-ray. He has to wear a special shoe for a few weeks and will hopefully be fine after that.

The owls are back in our woods. I can't wait to have consistently cool overnights (next week!) so I can sleep with the windows open again. I love our house and neighborhood so much, especially when it's cool enough to leave the windows up. The bugs are deafening, too--I love it.

Ta-ta for now.

Lewis the Truest, Vol. XXV

Back with another Lewis the Truest, the 25th installment (wow!):

After bedtime one night, I heard him yelling out for Kevin, then me, then crying, which is unusual:

Lewis: I'm scared. I had a little bit of a bad dream. Who is Bigfoot?
Me: Where did you hear about Bigfoot?
Lewis: On my Kindle.
Me: He is a made-up creature. He is not real. Try to dream about something real and happy.
Lewis: I'll have beautiful dreams.
Me: Ok, have beautiful dreams, buddy. Good night.
Lewis: I'll just dream about riding on trains.

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Randomly, while looking out the window/riding in the car one day:

Lewis: My favorite things are long trains, long fire trucks, and Southwest airplanes. Because they have two of my favorite colors.

It just cracks me up, the things he has on his mind. And it warms my heart, the simplicity of it all.

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Sitting at dinner, talking about our different hair textures. How Lenore and I and even Kevin have wavy/curly hair, but how Lewis's is straight and thick as molasses:

Kevin: Our hair is kind of the same.
Lewis: Yea, except mine doesn't have that thing.
Kevin: What thing?
Lewis: That triangle thing.

LOL. He was referencing Kevin's receding hairline. :)

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Driving back from a mom-and-Lewis outing, he said he wanted to tell some jokes. The subject matter is a perfect snapshot of our lives right now:

Lewis: What happens if a train poops on the tracks?
Me: What happens?
Lewis: Another train runs over it and falls over it. HA HA!

Lewis: What happens if an earthquake poops on McDonald's?
Me: What happens?
Lewis: McDonald's explodes.

Lewis: What happens if a plane poops on a car while a car is driving down the road?
Me: What happens?
Lewis: It tips over!

Vehicles, natural disasters, and poop, that's what he's about. Vehicles and poop are kind of expected--natural disasters come from discussing safety drills at school the past few weeks.

Lenore at 22 Months

22 Months Old

What she's up to this month:

• She's in school and loving it. She's made a few friends in class and knows her way around the playground, according to her teachers (read: she's wild). She does get a little sad when I leave her in the morning, but I know it will get better/easier. She will see me in the hallways during the morning and say 'Mama!' but not run to me, which I think is pretty good for a not-quite-two-year-old. Her teachers keep saying she cracks them up, which I take as a good thing.
• She thinks her name is Sissy.
• She's very big about knowing where everyone is and what they are doing. As we are driving to school, she will ask where Dada is, where Bubba is, etc. She's always checking in on her little family flock. Even when we are just sitting at the dining table, she will go around and say all of our names.
• She's also started saying 'my' cup or 'my' whatever. And she'll say Dada's cup, Bubba's cup, Mama's cup, etc.
• She loves/is obsessed with Dinosaur Train. I turned the TV on PBS one day when it was on, and she's been hooked ever since. 'MY DINOSAUR!!!' is her request.
• She has started walking up and down the stairs with more confidence the past few days. Walking upright on her feet instead of scooting down on her bottom. She will still scoot if there's no handrail or wall to hold onto for support.
• She is still napping well, but we have had some time crunches with school starting. On days when she goes to school and I go to work (W/Th/F), we get home around 12:30 (or a little past). I try to feed her lunch and get her down by 1, but she doesn't always fall asleep right away. Most days, she is still sleeping at 4 when I need to grab her to get Lewis from the bus stop. I hate waking her up, but I can't leave her (though the thought has crossed my mind!). 
• She's still showing interest in going potty but hasn't gone yet.
• She continues to express what she wants, either verbally or physically. She will grab your arm or pant leg and pull you to where she wants you to go if you don't listen to her the first time. :) 
• As I think about it, she's really a lot more verbal this month, and we are communicating both ways, which is always helpful. I get what she is saying, and she (mostly) listens to what I am saying.
• She is wearing 2T and a few 3T clothes.
• Current tooth count: still 20.

Lenore at 21 Months

21 Months Old (in my outfit from 1983)

RIP Old Dog. You're officially MIA. I contacted the owner of the condo we stayed in on vacation, and he contacted the other people who had stayed there since us, the property manager, and the cleaning staff. The dog is gone. :(

What she's doing this month:

• She likes to sit at the computer and 'take notes,' I will call it. She takes a piece of paper and un-caps a highlighter, then makes dots all over the page. And sometimes on her outfit, too. Pen on her arms. I thought highlighter would wash out easily--turns out I was wrong.
• Mealtimes are a mess. She likes to move things from container to container. Or the other day at lunch, it was from the table to the floor. Bread, cheese, turkey, methodically dropped on the floor, piece by piece.
• She has a particular way of eating sandwiches...traditional ones and sandwiched cookies and sandwiched crackers. She opens them and licks the contents (making a huge mess). I keep showing her to take bites, but it's not her natural instinct.
• She does not like being told No. I could see it going one of two ways...either she'll be tough and won't take No for an answer, or she'll be a brat. I really hope she isn't a brat. Can I say that? I just did. I can just see it going that way, and I hope it's just a phase.
• She is in an I-can-do-it phase. For instance, she can climb up on the dog bowls, reach the banana tree, pull off a banana, and open it. She will do that a few times a day, but she only ever eats about half of one banana--the rest she tries to give to me (and I can only stand so much banana/day). She just does it because she can, not out of hunger. At least bananas are cheap.
• Kind of along those lines, I noticed that she has started relying on Kevin and I to carry her down the stairs. Once I realized I was doing it, I stopped, and we've had some battles. She has stood at the top of the stairs screeeeaming for many minutes. Eventually she will come down, either enticed by going outside or to the basement or to eat or drink something.
• She continues to be fearless. She will run up to me full-speed and expect to be swooped up in the air (which I do). She will confidently step off of things (stairs, tables, fireplace, etc.) into my arms, fully expecting that I will be there to catch her. I guess I have been there, up until now, but she could really take a fall if I'm not there or not paying attention. Definitely keeps me on my toes. I am still planning to get her into some sort of tumbling class this fall because I think she'd really enjoy it.
• Speaking of fall, she is starting school in a few weeks! We decided to go ahead and put her in the Twos class, even though she misses the cutoff by 29 days (cutoff is October 1, birthday is October 29). The director said that most of the other Ones are quite a lot younger than her, so we are skipping Ones. She will do Twos (starting when she's almost 2), Threes, Fours, Pre-K, then start Kindergarten (in public school) when she's almost 6. We were also going to just do two mornings a week, but we've decided to do three instead. She does so well there, and we love it, and I know she loves being with the other kids.
• She continues to show some interest in the potty, but she hasn't gone yet. She has asked to sit on it a few times and mimics Lewis's standing-to-pee posture sometimes.
• She loves SHOES! She tries to put her own shoes on and loves to try on other people's shoes, too. She also loves bracelets, purses, sunglasses, etc. and has started playing dress-up a little.
• She has been showing some interest in dressing herself. We went shopping the other day, and she got some PJs and a swimsuit. Immediately, she had a leg through the PJ bottoms and her head through the swimsuit top. A budding fashionista, for sure!
• Along with that, her love for Minnie and Mickey continues to blossom. She picks them out of a crowd and just stares lovingly. It was a set of Minnie PJs and a Minnie swimsuit that I bought for her because she was SO excited and she caught me in a moment of weakness. ;)
• We've been seeing a LOT of Monkey See, Monkey Do this month between Lewis and Lenore. The good, bad, and ugly.
• Current Tooth Count: still 20, but I can feel her two year molars way way in the back! They're on the move.
• She's currently wearing 2T and even a few 3T items.

Lenore at 20 Months

20 Months Old

So many funny/notable things about this picture, which are totally indicative of how life is going these days:

a) WE LOST THE DOG! The dog I sewed for Kevin, the dog that we've taken all of these monthly pictures with, has disappeared. We didn't look super hard, but it isn't in any of the usual spots, so I'm calling it lost. I'm sure it will turn up tomorrow. 
b) This picture is late in the day (post-bath, pre-bedtime) because we had to wait for Kevin to get home to use his phone to take a picture. The Apple people fixed my phone (it had a twitching screen), but they also broke my phone (the camera and flashlight aren't working since the fix). And, yes, I could have used our camera, but that, too, was broken the last time I tried to use it. I think it got sand in the lens mechanisms on last year's vacation, if I remember correctly.
c) I guess that's all. We are definitely still getting back to our routine since vacation last week.

What she's up to this month:

• She and Lewis are going to camp this week at preschool. I wasn't sure how she would handle a longer day (5 hours vs. the usual 3), but she has been doing well! They eat lunch there, and then she goes right down for nap after I pick them up. It has made her naps a little later (2-5ish), so bedtime has been a little later each night this week. I still put her down by 7:30, but she's been up chattering to herself until 8:30-8:45ish. We'll get back to our regular nap schedule next week (1-4ish).
• Otherwise, it has been much of the same! There aren't many new things happening this month.
• She does say Thank You (her version of it) after I give her something (i.e. her water bottle, usually). I didn't realize she was doing it until she'd been doing it for about a week.
• Her fits have been getting stronger (emotionally), when they occur (which still isn't very often, but they do occur). I had forgotten how utterly helpless/frustrating/angry/etc. I could feel until she threw a huge fit the other night over a tortilla. I'm talking 30 minutes of screaming/crying/needing held/throwing herself on the ground/etc. All while I was trying to finish dinner and end the day without losing my #$@^. I hadn't felt that way since Lewis was around this age, I guess. Hopefully we all make it through as peacefully as possible.
• She did great at the beach! She loved to sit in the shallow water and let the water come and go around her the first few days. Mid-week, she would walk around holding a hand in the slightly deeper water. Then, as the days went on, she got more and more comfortable and liked going out in the bigger waves (in my arms) to get splashed around. She did well in the sand, too--she wouldn't stay still for too long, but for a little bit.
• She started sleeping with a small pillow at the beach--I'd packed one for the car, in case her head was falling to the side, and she took to it as a comfort item for her crib. She's never slept with a pillow until now.
• Wearing mostly size 24 months/2T now (some of her 2T cotton shorts are snug in the waist).
• Current Tooth Count: Still 20!

Some outtakes of her advising me on what she'd like me to do, as per usual. She wanted the footrest up for her pictures, so the footrest went up:

 Put the footrest up!

Stinker Queen Lenore, on her throne

Lenore at 19 Months

19 Months Old

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UPDATED 6/1: She still has a small perforation (hole) between the left and right atrium of her heart, but it's pretty small. That is the Atrial Septal Defect portion of her issues. The doctor said that we should come back to have it checked in another year, and he's hoping it will have closed itself up by then without having to do anything to it (which is what he said a year ago). He said that they usually close up by the time kids are 2 or 3 years old, but it just depends.

He also said that her pulmonary valve looks great (so no more Pulmonary Stenosis, which was the report last year, as well). And her heart is normal-sized, which is great. He said we shouldn't be concerned, but of course I'm a little disappointed it wasn't an all clear report.

I thought of a few more things she's doing this month, too. She legitimately helps me unload the dishwasher. Primarily the silverware--she'll hand it to me, one-at-a-time, as I put it away in the drawer. She will grab a few other dishes, too. Such a little helper.

She also has started announcing her poops, so I have a feeling potty training will be a lot easier with her than it was with Lewis.
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What she's up to this month:

• She has sass! We have known this, but she's really asserting herself this month and has opinions on things. She might shake her head and say 'Nah nah nah!' Or steal a toy and take off running (from Lewis) like her life depends on it. It's usually funny. Occasionally, she doesn't want to get dressed and bucks and screams, but that's not very often.
• She LOVES to be outside. She loves to walk the dogs with me (riding in the stroller). She loves to walk the mower down the road. She loves to walk down the neighbor's driveway and into her backyard (only rarely).
• She loves pointing to the parts on her face and my face. Nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, etc. It's usually when we're saying goodbye at nap time or bedtime. I'll get down to give her a kiss in the crib, and she'll stick her finger up my nose and start through her list of parts.
• She loves the same books, over and over again. Her favorite this month is one that Kevin actually got her for Christmas, I am a Bunny. We found it in on the bookshelf in the basement a few weeks ago, and she instantly fell in love. It's fitting because her class at school was the Bunnies, so it was meant to be. She has nibbled the corners and the cover has fallen off, but it's still readable.
• She has really clung to comfort items this month for nap and bedtime. She sleeps with I am a Bunny and a Winnie the Pooh book, plus two stuffed animals, and a couple of pairs of her PJ pants. She will drag one of the stuffed animals (a hot pink monkey) around the house sometimes, too, and even wanted to take it to dinner the other day. (Lewis never took to comfort items, really.)
• She will say 'Ooo-ooo-aah-aah' like a monkey, too, which is adorable.
• Naps and sleep are going well. Twelve hours at night, plus a 3 hour nap (most days). We will be able to have a more consistent nap schedule this summer with Lewis out of school, which is good. She was starting to have trouble taking a late morning nap because it was too early.
• She notices when I paint my toes a new color, so I painted hers for the first time last week. She sat surprisingly still in the stroller while I put on one coat. In the time it took me to run inside to get the dogs to walk, she had smudged a couple of them, but not bad for the first time.
• She is much stronger on going down the stairs safely this month. She slides down on her belly, and I feel like I don't have to be right on top of her now. I still like to be below her, just in case she misses a step, but she's had no incidences so far.
• She is still wearing a few 18 months clothes, but leaning more towards 24 months.
• Current Tooth Count: SO MANY! She got 8 new ones, finally, so I guess the total is 20.

Lenore at 18 Months

18 Months Old
(and ready for nap)

Her stats (from the pediatrician's office):
Height: 32 1/4 inches [66th percentile]
Weight: 27 pounds 7 ounces [94th percentile]
Head Size: 49.2 centimeters [98th percentile]

She had her 18 month check-up this morning, which went pretty well. We did have to wait a really long time, but Lenore checked out ok. Her iron level was up into the 'normal' range, which is great (she's been taking a vitamin with iron the past few months). It's still on the low end of normal, but on the way up. She did well through the finger prick process, but she was pretty sad about her vaccination.

What she's up to this month:

• She is starting to say more and more words. BYE! is the newest, and she says it very loudly and very twangy, which is adorable. She also says 'UH OH,' but not always at the appropriate time. Like the other day, she said a pre-emptive 'uh oh' and THEN pushed her spoon on the ground. Lewis used to do that, too.
• She continues to eat and sleep the same as last month. She IS finally drinking milk, sporadically (hooray!).
• She is finally pretty sure-footed on the stairs, but I still stay with her in case she misses a step. She will fly up them on her hands and knees and scoot down them on her butt. 
• She is tall enough to reach door handles and things on countertops/tables/etc. now. Not quite tall enough to turn a door handle, but tall enough to pull on them, and we have quite a few doors that just pull open. There was also a flipping-of-Lewis's-Cheerios-bowl incident before school a few weeks ago. And I worry about her in the kitchen while I'm cooking--a couple of times, she's walked by the oven door and grabbed the handle and tilted it open a little. Nothing has happened, but I have to be  extra careful that she doesn't reach up and burn herself on something on the stove or otherwise. On the bright side, though, she can put dishes in the sink for me.
• She 'gets' so much. I can tell her to do something, and she'll hesitate for a second while she processes it, then she's off to do the task. It's just little things, of course, but she seems proud of what she's accomplished, and I'm happy to see her being more and more independent.
• She is crazy-brave when it comes to climbing on things. Like from a chair to the tabletop to swinging on the light fixture, in 10 seconds, flat. The only time I am at peace is when she is napping or at night. I'm looking into tumbling classes for her to get out and harness some of her energy.
• She is wearing mostly 24 month clothes now.
• Current Tooth Count: STILL 12, but she has 4-8 of them so close to coming in. We had a week or so of having to use Orajel around the clock this month, but now she doesn't seem to be in pain anymore.

Here she was at the doctor's office this morning, trying to unlock the cabinet with my car keys while we waited:

The cabinet was actually open, but I thought it was cute that she tried with the keys. It wasn't so cute after she started opening all of the drawers over and over, but I was able to hold them closed with my leg.

Lenore at 17 Months

 

Happy Girl at 17 Months Old

What she's doing this month:

• She continues to know what she wants, and she will get her point across, no matter what. She points and grunts, mostly, until we have answered her.
• She has started to vocalize more, overall. She babbles, but has also started repeating words. For instance, she loves putting on her socks and shoes, so I've started saying sock-sock-sock when she brings them to me. She'll say 'dock-dock-dock.' Or shoe-shoe-shoe is 'djoo-djoo-djoo.' She hasn't really said many new words, but the repeating words back is new this month.
• She's also remembering her animal sounds this month! Last month was just 'boof boof' for the dog's bark, but this month she's doing her best chicken (bock bock), cow (some sort of moo), and bunny (hop hop).
• She continues to be a good little helper. If I'm yelling at Lewis to get ready, she will get his shoes and deliver them to him, without even a prompting. :) She loves to help carry a water bottle or Lewis's lunch or someone's jacket when we are going out the door, too. She'll also go under the kitchen sink (which is/was locked/childproofed, but she's broken through it), and gets a spray bottle and washcloth and walks around to clean up. She doesn't know how to spray, of course, and it's just vinegar/water, so there's no worries of her doing great harm. It's just too cute, the way she's taken to mimicking certain tasks. She's a blossoming little mama's helper.
• She is a bowl bandit. She 'gets' that we put our food into bowls, so every time I offer her food, she runs over to the kids' cabinet and gets a bowl. That is fine, but then 3-4 more bowls make their way out by the time snack/the meal is over, and before long, we have no clean bowls. She, like Lewis, insists on having a separate bowl for each food, as well.
• She is getting better and better at feeding herself with a spoon. She still makes a mess of her shirt, but I'd say 70% makes it to her mouth.
• She loves to pick up tiny pieces of trash and either give them to me or put them in the trash.
• She loves to get a piece of paper and a pen/highlighter/marker/whatever she can get her hands on, and she'll pretend to draw/write. Lewis was never into putting pen to paper, so it's neat to see how they are different.
• She is tough! Currently, she has a scratched knee and nose (how did that happen?!) and a bruise on her cheek (from falling off the couch and hitting the coffee table). She pulled a play kitchen down on herself at open gym yesterday and didn't react much at all. She just laid still until I came over and picked it up off of her, and she got up and played with it again. I'm sure being around Lewis has helped.
• She looooves to be outside. At some point, though, she will decide to walk into the road or onto the neighbor's driveway (and then down said neighbor's driveway and into her backyard), so then playtime is over. She thinks it's funny, of course, to run away from me, so I'm doing my best to kibosh that action. Until we reach that point, though, outside time is good.
• Sleep is still going well. She sleeps from about 7:30-7:30 at night, plus a 2-3 hour nap during the day. The 2nd nap has gone away this month, and her midday nap ranges from 10:45-1:45 or 1-4, depending on whether we have to pick up Lewis at 12 or 2.
• She has also just started sleeping with snuggly items this month. She has a seahorse that lights up plays music for 5 minutes or so, and she has a monkey that my mom got her at the zoo. Last week she was also snuggling with an extra pair of pajamas, Lewis's (clean) underwear, and a John Deere hat. I got rid of those, though, and just stuck to the stuffed animals. ;)
• She is still in her 18 month clothes, inching ever so closer to her cache of 24 months.
• Current Tooth Count: STILL 12. She's been gnawing on her finger on one side the past few days, so maybe they're on the move again. Or maybe not! Maybe she'll have 12 teeth forever. ;)

She's pretty darn sweet! (Minus the fussing and demanding for food she'll pull occasionally.)

Lenore at 16 Months

16 Months Old

Today is Lenore's 16 month birthday, and it dawned on me the other evening that she normally would have to celebrate such an occasion on March 1. Today is Leap Day!

We started the day/week out at the pediatrician's office this morning. I was on the fence about whether to take her in, once I realized her thick, yellow-greenish snot has been around for two weeks. I decided to take her, and it turns out it's just a cold. :( Her ears had a little bit of fluid but no pus, and a strep test came back negative. The doctor said since it's been so long, we could try antibiotics for a sinus infection, but I decided to just wait it out and see if we can clear her up with saline and the NoseFrida (snot sucker). Unfortunately we had to wait in the room for an hour before seeing the doctor, so it's kind of a crummy way to start our week, but oh well.

She weighed 26.5 pounds [75th-90th percentile] and was 31.5 inches tall [50th to 75th percentile] this morning.

What she's been up to:

• She's had this runny nose for a few weeks now, and before that, she was in a lot of teething pain. I still haven't seen any new teeth, but they're apparently on their way. Must be those terrible, awful molars coming through.
• She is sleeping well (probably from feeling crummy). She's still going between one to two naps a day, depending on the day. If we have to pick Lewis up at 12, I keep her up until after lunch. On days when he stays until 2, she'll take a mid-morning nap that is usually 10:30-1:30ish, and that's it for the day. If her morning nap lasts 3 hours, that's all we'll do, but she's had a few days of napping 1 1/2 hours in the morning and again in the afternoon. She is clear with communicating her napping needs, way more so than Lewis ever was.
• Her appetite has been a little puny from the snot, but she continues to eat pretty well. She HAS started to throw food on the ground once she's finished, which is super annoying. She has also started gagging herself at mealtimes, which I remember Lewis doing as well. I haven't seen her do it since last week, so hopefully she's forgotten about it.
• At certain times of the day, she might point to a banana, go to the pantry and grabs raisins and bread, and wants in the fridge. All at once, in that moment, she wants it all (though she rarely eats much of it, she is very demanding). She eats way more than Lewis does, overall, though he drinks milk and she still doesn't. 
• She's getting better at feeding herself with a spoon. She's got the scooping part down pretty well, but then she flips the spoon over and dumps out its contents half of the time. She's getting there, though.
• I might have said this last month--she loves to pick up little pieces of trash, dog hair, etc. around the house and take them to the trash. She loves to 'clean up' with a wash cloth or paper towel--she'll wipe her face and her body, wipe off her high chair, clean the floor. 
• She is back to waving. The other day, I was at the computer and she was playing next to me (we were by the front window), and I saw that Kevin was pulling in the driveway. I said, 'Who is here?' She looked out the window and started full-body waving like crazy, saying 'Dadadadadada!' The cutest thing.
• She doesn't say much beyond an occasional Dada, Bubba, or Mama. She has started trying to say Peter and Hattie--she'll point to one and say 'Buttah' for Peter or '___' for Hattie (I forget). She's got shrieking down pat. Otherwise, she gets around pointing and grunting at us. Oh, she also says 'woof' when reading one of her peek-a-boo books. Two cute, little 'boof boof' and that's it. 
• She looooves to play outside. I keep having to wipe down her shoes because they're constantly covered in mud. Or her socks or pajama feet. I did find some outdoor shoes for her over the weekend, so we'll try to keep those as the designated muddy shoes. I'm definitely looking forward to consistently nicer weather because Mama loves being outside, too!
• In clothing, she is still wearing 18 months for the most part (a few sleepers are getting snug). She has a few smaller 24 months/2T pieces that are working, too.
• Current Tooth Count: still 12, but I expect some molars to make their grand entrance soon.

Lewis at FIVE!

Five Years Old

----------Updated 2/23/16 with doctor's appointment findings:

His stats from the doctor:
Height: 46 5/8 inches [96.4th percentile]
Weight: 54.1 pounds [99.6th percentile]

His appointment went very well. They tested his urine and blood and screened his vision, hearing, blood pressure, handwriting, colors, walking on toes/walking on heels, touching his toes (to check for scoliosis), and a few other things I'm probably forgetting. It took longer than any appointment we've been to, but Lewis seemed to enjoy the tasks, except for the finger prick. He was VERY brave while the nurse pricked and then squeezed his finger, but after she left, he was VERY upset that there was a hole left in his finger. I'm talking sobbing tears, upset about why there had to be a hole left in his finger. I tried to calmly explain to him that his body would repair the hole right away (definitely by bath time), but he was soooo upset! 'But why does there have to be a hooooole?!' Thankfully all looked back to normal by bath time--phew!

All checked out well except for his iron. It was just a little low (11.8, and the minimum should be 12), so we are going to get him back on a multivitamin with iron. He didn't have to get any shots and is up-to-date until 2022!
----------

It's hard to believe that Lewis is turning five years old. My memories are a little foggy from his birth day now that time has passed and Lenore has joined our family, but it definitely feels hard to believe he's been with us for five years. Kevin and I have been parents for five years! [Ten years, if you count the dogs, I suppose. ;)] 

Here's what he's been up to lately:

• He is doing very well at preschool. We had a parent-teacher conference in the fall, and they said he was pretty much on track, as far as Kindergarten-preparedness goes. At the time, he did need to work on gripping a pencil and using scissors, so we've been working on those. He's just starting to want to color and draw more--it's just not been something he's been interested in before. His handwriting needs some fine-tuning, as well. In time. ;)
• We have applied to his elementary school, which is a whole process here in Louisville, even with the public schools. Everyone lives within a cluster, and you rank your choice of schools within your cluster, and you hope that you get your #1 (or #2) choice. Our #1 is just a mile away from our house, so I really hope we get it. There is a more well-touted school in our cluster that we hope others will try for, so that should leave us a better chance of getting into ours. We will find out in March, I think.
• He has played soccer at school last fall and this spring, and we are going to sign up for T-ball this summer with one of his buddies. I need to sign him up for swim lessons, again, too.
• He very much loves his trains. He caught Hand Foot Mouth disease at school right before Christmas break, so we were home in quarantine for a week, and his love of trains kind of got re-energized then. He spent hours working quietly and built the most elaborate set-ups. He can be so meticulous and patient when he is in the train zone, unless he gets frustrated or Lenore gets too close. We actually got him a beginner's model train set for his birthday that is meant for a slightly older age group, but he can handle it.
• He loves to play outside in the yard, either digging in the dirt or playing in the sandbox. He likes to pretend that he's camping, and he loves when we build a real campfire. He loves to collect things he finds outside in the yard and/or on bike rides, and he brings them home and puts them in a treasure box (a small box he made at school). He has feathers, acorns, rocks, pine cones, etc.
• He does have some angry outbursts at times, which are usually followed by a big hug. I feel like he is definitely working through how to express his emotions properly, so we work on using our words. Sometimes he tries to hit or kick/trip Lenore or twirl her hair aggressively, hits a toy, shrieks, or stomps around. We, of course, are trying to teach him that it's not okay to put his hands onto other people out of aggression, but it's an ongoing battle. He has twirled my hair and her hair as a comfort thing for a while now, which is fine, but it's not fine when he pulls her hair as he does it.
• He has started saying he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. We have started seeing a particular fire truck more often on our way to/from school, one with a REALLY long ladder on top, and he wants to have the job of the 2nd driver of that truck. Someone sits on the top of the back of the truck to help the truck turn corners.
• He's starting to try to tell jokes, which is funny in itself. He hasn't quite gotten the comedic timing down yet, but he's trying. And he cracks himself up, just walking around saying silly words.

Outtakes from this morning:

 Snuggles

His CHEESE Face