Lenore is FOUR!

Lenore Elaine turns 4 years old today. We celebrated with two parties yesterday--one for our friends and neighbors at lunchtime, and another for the grandparents and uncles at dinnertime. She was so happy to have so many people around to help celebrate her big day. When she woke up this morning, I told her happy birthday, and she immediately said she wanted to stay 3, instead. :)

Four Years Old

Her checkup appointment was this morning and went really well. The doctor said one of her ear tubes is still in place, and the other one is sort of floating around waiting to fall out. She still slightly has the sound of a heart murmur, but we've gotten the all clear from the cardiologist on that. Our pediatrician said it's normal to still hear that whooshing sound for awhile after. Everything else looks perfectly normal, which is always good to hear. She had to get 3 shots, which she was SO brave in taking, and she's all up to date until she turns 11 (minus the flu shot).

Waiting at the doctor with Uni the unicorn and her new Fingerling monkey.

Her stats:

Height:  41.3 inches tall [83rd percentile]
Weight:  41.23 pounds [87th percentile]

At 4, Lenore is...

• Such a 'strong, independent woman,' as Kevin calls her. She knows what she wants, she knows how to get it, and you better let her go ahead and do that if you know what's good for you. Not in like a spoiled/bratty way. Just that she is so decisive and stubborn once she's set her mind to something. I think this will take her far in life.
• She is kind. She loves babies and snuggles and animals and little tiny things.
• She does NOT like scary things. We went to Lewis's school's fall festival the other night, and she just shrieked and trembled at the kids in costume who were trying to scare us in the haunted hall. But she's so pragmatic afterwards--she said, 'I did not like that boy in the mask who tried to scare us by our feet.' She's not so hysterical that she can't make sense of it all, I guess. Also, we were out on the deck the other day, cleaning out a beverage tub for her party. There was a cave cricket in the bottom, so I touched it to make it jump out so I could wipe out the bin. It jumped toward her and all around her and back again, and she screamed and screamed. I was laughing so hard as she just kept jumping and screaming and jumping up on a chair. It was hilarious.
• She holds her own with Lewis. She will snatch something from him and run like hell, fully knowing he's going to be so mad, chase her down, and probably whack her. She keeps doing it, though. 
• She's really been big on imaginative play since school started again. I will be in the kitchen starting dinner, and I will hear her in her kitchen, working away as well. She also loves her dolls and loves walking them in a stroller or making food for them or food for us. She will sit for long stretches of time now and just play. She will make her toys talk and she will act out whole scenarios with them.
• She is writing her name, which seems impossible to me! And she's just really interested in letters, in general. She will see a letter and say, '__, that's in _____'s name.' Her preschool teacher is wonderful this year. She has writing homework every week and is getting stronger with tracing and holding a pencil (better with crayons, but getting better with pencil).
• She loves milk. When we go out to eat, she might choose Sprite or lemonade, but every other time, it's milk or water.
• She was a really good eater, but I would say she's gotten worse/more picky over the past few months. She will eat chicken nuggets until the sun goes down, but she gripes over grilled or baked chicken. She complains about pasta shapes (Lewis does that, too). Together, they combine to find something wrong with just about everything I cook. It's better some days than others, or I'm just becoming more numb to the complaining.
• She has been doing pre-ballet once a week for about 8 weeks, and we will finish that after two more sessions. We are either taking the winter off or looking into gymnastics. She is fearless and always has a scraped up knee or toe, so I think that would lend itself well to gymnastics. We will see.
• I am not sure what she is going to be yet when she grows up. I could see Lewis's engineering mindset from very early on. With Lenore, she has definitely always been a caregiver and 'little mama,' making sure everyone has everything they need (esp. Lewis). I could see her as a nurse or a teacher or something totally different--I'm not sure just yet. Maybe I'll have a better idea by next year. ;)
• She is wearing size 11 shoes and 5T or 4/5 clothing. 

That is our girl at 4! Life is fuller and happier and crazier than ever.

Lenore's Favorite Things at 4

Lenore is 4 today! Here are her favorite things:

What is your favorite...

...color? purple and pink

...toy? my Minnie car, my Minnie plane

...stuffed animal? my unicorn, Uni (from her cousins, Otis and Juni)

...thing to sleep with? my unicorn

...fruit? blueberries and strawberries

...vegetable? broccoli and cauliflower

...cereal? raisin cereal

...thing to eat for breakfast? mac and cheese

...thing to eat for lunch? turkey cheese sandwich

...dessert? donut

...candy? suckers

...drink? milk

...restaurant? McAlister's

...animal? elephant

...book? Princesses Wear Pants

...song? Just Like Fire

...game/sport? basketball

...TV show? Mickey

...movie? Finding Nemo/Finding Dory

...thing to do outside? ride my bike

...place to shop? Kroger

...shirt/outfit? 'I love my butterfly shirt and my Belle pants.'

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? 'Broccoli, cauliflower. Cake for dessert.'

Who is your best friend? Kate and Addie and Dylan

What do you want to be when you grow up? Princess

Lewis's Favorite Things, Age 7

What is your favorite...

...color?  orange, red, and gold

...toy?  Driven crane truck (it was sitting in front of him as we were talking; he picked it out with his $7 birthday money from Carlton)

...stuffed animal?  my dog, Emma (the softest stuffed animal from IKEA)

...thing to sleep with?  my dog, Emma

...fruit?  apples, oranges, and blueberries

...vegetable?  carrots, broccoli, and red cabbage (he has discovered he likes r.c. from his salad lunches at school) :)

...cereal?  Honey Nut Cheerios (everyday)

...thing to eat for breakfast?  same as above

...thing to eat for lunch?  PB&J

...thing to eat for dinner?  Spaghetti Os (? - we haven't had these in a very long time; he likes when I make regular ol' spaghetti, too)

...dessert?  chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

...candy?  Blow Pops (he gets these as rewards at school)

...drink?  chocolate milk

...restaurant?  Five Guys with Milkshakes (which is different from the other Five Guys which does NOT have milkshakes; it should be noted, too, that he doesn't eat a burger--he loves their grilled cheese)

...animal?  tiger

...book?  Trains (by Gail Gibbons)

...song?  Thunderstruck (because of Planes: Fire & Rescue)

...game/sport?  baseball

...TV show?  Magic School Bus (the new one) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

...movie?  Planes: Fire & Rescue (which he hasn't watched in forever)

...thing to do outside?  go back into the woods

...place to shop?  Target

...shirt/outfit?  anything Louisville Cardinals (and this is true--he wears either a Louisville shirt or a red shirt everyday)

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?  Five Guys with Milkshakes

Who is your best friend?  Kingston, Kayden, Eli, and Osman (from his class)

What do you want to be when you grow up?  a train driver

Lewis Turns (Turned) 7

Yesterday at the doctor.

 The night before he turned 7.

With Lenore. Story of my (our) life.

LEWIS IS SEVEN!! It happened 13 days ago now, but we've been busy. The way his birthday and Valentine's Day fell this year, we literally had some sort of celebration for 5 out of 7 days. It was a lot of cake and ice cream and candy.

He just went for his 7 year check-up yesterday, and I feel like I haven't written a post like this in forever (because I haven't).

Weight: 71 pounds, 9.6 ounces [97th percentile]

Height: 52 inches [97th percentile]

Kevin said he still needs to grow 2 inches before he's tall enough to ride this one particular coaster at Holiday World this summer (The Thunderbird), so we'll have to make sure he's eating his Wheaties these next few months. ;)

School is going well. His teacher this year is just phenomenal--she's been teaching for 23 years, I think, and she cares so much for the students and knows what she is doing. His favorite subject is science (yay!)--they have science every day in class, plus a weekly visit to the school's STEM Lab. Still very much loving our choice of schools.

We have started looking at camps for the summer. He's signed up for one week at the history museum, one week at the nature center where he went last summer, and one week at a Lego camp with the theme 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.' We are deciding on probably one more outdoor option, and the other weeks will be spent at home, at a pool, and on vacation--we are venturing to the Oregon coast with my parents and my sister's family for a week, which we're looking forward to.

He's not doing any sports at the moment. We did a short fall basketball season, but he seemed to lose interest (so no winter basketball for him). He just finished a soccer skills class that was offered after school, but he decided not to sign up for spring soccer with the Y. He is definitely looking forward to doing baseball again, especially after I told him it is machine pitch at this level. Baseball might be his thing, or it might not. Not sure yet. We might look into soccer again in the fall if he shows interest again, or we might not. Everything is kind of up in the air right now!

He is currently obsessed with the Titanic and asks me multiple times a day why they hit the iceberg, why the 4th smokestack fell, why they didn't put on enough lifeboats, etc. He is full of questions, over and over. We are going on spring break to Pigeon Forge, and coincidentally there is a Titanic museum there (woot woot). That should be fun for all of us.

He still loves his trains, Legos, riding his bike, and going for hikes in the woods behind our house. He also loves drawing--vehicles, usually, or scenes.

He has lost his top two teeth, bottom two teeth, and he has a very wiggly bottom tooth just next to the middle two.

That's all for now. I'm working on typing up his favorite things list. He's answered the questions--I just need time to type it. It's been busy around here!