Books, Books, Books

I got three new books for my birthday from my extremely well-read, older, and wiser sister, with a note. Something to the effect of, "Thought you might like to read something other than baby books.' I didn't realize how much I appreciated getting my mind taken away from what can be the doldrums of breastfeeding every couple of hours all day long. Or something to do while snuggling a sleeping baby, too. Rather than check my phone again to see that (still) nothing is happening in the outside world. 

I took those books down to my bookcase after they arrived for my birthday last week, which is *all* the way downstairs, where I don't always venture. On Christmas, Kevin got me four more books, so I started reading them right away, since they were right in front of me. I will move on to Emily's selections next.

I read Amy Poehler's book (Yes Please) in less than 24 hours which is highly unlike me. I usually get gung-ho for like a chapter or maybe 30 pages. But 375 pages? In a day? [Too bad I couldn't be as interested in my English lit assignments in college.] I love Amy. And I love Tina Fey. I'm now halfway through her book (Bossypants) at about the 12 hour mark so maybe I'll wrap it up by tomorrow. 

UPDATE: I did finish Tina's book within 24 hours and moved along to Lena Dunham's, which I also finished under a day. 3 books, 3 days. If I achieve nothing else these next few days while Kevin is off, I will have read more books than the entire past year! That's both encouraging and pathetic. I have read my fair share of news articles and People magazine (and Parents and Martha Stewart Living and This Old House) over the year, of course.

I really liked Amy and Tina's books because they not only tell about their upbringing and how they've come to be, but they touch on relevant-to-me topics such as babies and breastfeeding, and I appreciate their lightness and wisdom at this particular time (minute, hour, day) in my life.

Lena's book was about how I expected it to be, just as she is. I don't love her, but I do find her interesting.

And I've finally taken the plunge into the smartphone world, as of a few weeks ago. My old phone had been superglued together twice and has had unbelievably crappy reception from day one, so it was time. I am slowly figuring out how to use Blogger on there (thanks for the inspiration, Keith), but I'm not quite there yet. I started this post on my phone but had to finish on the laptop. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out how to add pictures (wow!) and be more succinct (yea right!) for maximum phone blogging success. We shall see. I make no promises. :)

Oh, and the 4th book from Kevin is Wild.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

After Kevin worked Saturday morning, it was nice to have him home all of Sunday. We slept in a little, Kevin made waffles, and we all lazed around most of the day. Kevin spent most of the day with Lewis, and I got a few things done for the play kitchen. As I was getting ready for bed last night, I realized I'd never changed out of my pajamas--oops! I guess days like that are fine every once in a while.

Lewis had some major reading time to catch up on with Dada:

 

 Lewis reading to Kevin

 Driving his monster truck on the monster truck page

 

 And his tractor on the tractor page, which is a little harder to maneuver :)

We went Target-ing Saturday afternoon and found these Lightning McQueen hat/mittens on clearance:

 They headed over to the playground at the school across the street, and Kev said Lewis kept the hat and mittens on the whole time! I was surprised--I figured he'd rip them off as soon as he walked out the door.

And, finally, toot toot!!!

Thomas :)

I found this costume at Goodwill today--he was SO excited to wear it around. I finally took it off so I could wash it, and I found one of his trucks and 3 Cheerios in the little pouch in the front. He is so funny! I also found a car costume (not Cars, just a car) at Target after Halloween, so now he has a car and a train to dress up as if he wants.

Thomas in the Crate, Lewis on the Table, New Books from The Smiths, a Hot Dog, and Wheel-a-palooza

Also known as the longest title by me, ever. I have a few pictures from a lot of events from the past week, so I'm just grouping them all together instead of posting them in a logical order. Apologies. I guess I could just call it 'Funny Things Lewis Did This Week.'

First, I encountered Peter in the hall with his ears back, slightly scurrying from our room. I went in to find this:

 Thomas needs a timeout, apparently

 Oh, nope. Going to try to ride him in the crate, which didn't end well. Thomas tipped to the side and pinned Lewis against the back corner of the crate. Good times!

 Lew still didn't get out right away, even after being pinned.

Next, it was onto our makeshift dining table for a snack:

  

 At least the fall isn't as far...

While visiting Ben, Adie, and Gordon, they gave Lewis some presents for his birthday. I gave them to him early because I knew he would love them:

 Books on Lightning, Mater, Doc, and Sally

 Sally!

 This is his 'Read to Me' face...he's on the move to my lap here.

Thanks again, guys! He loves them.

I was sitting on the couch this morning reading a magazine while Lewis was playing. He took interest in an article about clever toys/kid stuff--there was a picture of a wiener dog-shaped hot dog slicer that we just happen to have (I got it for Lew's Christmas stocking even though he doesn't like/doesn't eat hot dogs just yet). I said, 'Hey, you have one of those? Can you go find it?' I heard him go into the kitchen and rustle around in the basket where it is stored, but he came back a few minutes later without it. I figured he couldn't find both pieces or got distracted. Later, I walked in the kitchen to find this on the floor:

 The dog-shaped hot dog slicer with a piece of DOG FOOD in the little dog bowl (meant for ketchup and/or mustard if you're using it for hot dog purposes)

My sweet little buddy. :) It just made me smile and laugh and marvel at how smart he is.

This morning Kevin had to go into work for a half day, so Lewis and I headed downtown to the library for a free children's event called Wheel-a-Palooza (which I had totally spaced and am so glad Tonya reminded me of!!). They had bicycles, a unicycle, a bicycle built for two, skateboards, motorcycles, a scooter, a Segway, an adult tricycle, handbikes (the ones that ride low to the ground and you pedal with your hands), antique bicycles (with the teeny tiny back tire and huge front tire), etc. It was really neat! Lewis loved looking at all of the different wheeled things.

He also did really well sitting (in his stroller) through a StageOne (children's theatre) performance of two books. My favorite part was storytime--there was one with a theme of 'Things That Go' that we tried out. I was honestly ready to leave after wrestling him through the first story, but he started fighting me less and LOVED the stories and songs (all about trucks and cars and the like). We made it through the whole storytime with my anxiety at a normal level and Lewis happy. Hooray! I was/am so proud of him. It makes me more optimistic/comfortable trying out the 'normal' storytime again--I might try out a few different library branches to find who does the best job with active toddler types. :) We'll see how it goes.

Playing on the car mat after storytime

They had these neat mats spread around the room, and of course Lewis just wanted to jump all over them. :)

So that is some of what we have been up to the past few weeks!

Big Boy Things

Over the past few weeks, Lewis has really started surprising us with what he wants to/knows how to help us with. 

He helped Kevin transfer the recycling from our indoor bin to the outdoor bin this weekend:

 

 

We found him a miniature broom at the thrift store last weekend, and he walks around with it, swooshing the floor as he goes. I added a nail to the kitchen wall for him to hang his broom next to our broom.

 Get on that dog hair detail, Lew!

There were some hole punches on the office floor the other day, and he was totally moving them around with his little broom! Very exciting. There is always dog hair to be swept. Always.

When we last left off from Lewis' crib escape maneuvers, we'd been able to keep him in a bit longer by putting him to bed in sleep sacks every naptime and nighttime. However, Monday night we once again woke up to a big thump and a cry out from him falling out. (He'd been hiking his leg up on the rail again, despite the restriction of the sleep sack, for the past week or so.)

This time, we decided to go ahead and convert his crib to a toddler bed (the instruction manual says we need to do so after he is 35 inches tall, which he is). We took off the front crib rail and added the safety rail yesterday before nap. We didn't really give him time to get familiar with it before nap (our bad...not sure if it would have helped anyway).

 Big Boy Bed, ready for a big boy.

Soooo as you might guess, it didn't go well. He cried and came to the door and stuck his fat, little fingers under the door and pulled books down and did everything but sleep. I think he did fall asleep on the floor for about 30 minutes, and then we went in and got him after he definitely sounded like he wasn't going to nap any further. 

Here's what his room looked like after his first nap of having relatively free range:

 Piled up just a few books to read

 Emptied quite a lot of books from the shelves

(I moved the railing back to center after I read the instructions fully, by the way. I thought he might feel more secure if I closed off his favorite corner spot of the crib, but you're supposed to leave at least a 9 inch gap on either side of the safety rail).

 Took out a few fabric drawers

After the failure of that nap, we took some time to get familiar with his new bed.

 Sliding out

Climbing in 

Bedtime was MUCH better. Kevin got down on the floor and told him under the door that he needed to get in his bed and go to sleep, and he actually did! He fussed about it, but he did it!

After like 30 minutes, Mom and I creeped in to see if he'd stayed in his bed or ended up on the floor--he was fast asleep in his bed, cute as can be. He stayed there all night (to our surprise).

 Our Sweet Little Buddy

 My, what a lot of drool that is. :) 

He also likes to help us put leftovers into storage containers and put his water back in the fridge after he is finished taking a drink.

Speaking of big boy, I've started noticing that shopping carts have a child's weight limit of 35 pounds--uh, if places don't have the race car carts, what am I supposed to do? Do people put children in the basket part or is that against the rules? I guess I could put him in the stroller again. Also, I'm pretty sure he is creeping up to the maximum height to be rear-facing in his car seat (which his pediatrician suggested might happen since he's so tall). I need to get a ruler out to see where we are. We might be going forward-facing sooner than later!

#BigBoyProblems :)

New Shades, Yard Sale, Reading Lots of Books, and Chasing Tomatoes

I found these cute little sunglasses for Lew at Target the other day. I didn't think he would wear them for long and/or figured he would totally break them, so I bought two pairs (they were in the $1 section). He kept them on for quite awhile and carefully folded them up when he was done. Totally surprised me! Of course trying to get him to stand still for a picture was a total fail--he doesn't stand still. :)

We had our first-ever yard sale yesterday, which was mediocre. We made a whopping $86.75. Not quite enough to buy a fabulous new couch, but better than nothing, I suppose. I spent most of a day going through all of our closets and storage bins, pulling out items to part with. Then we spent a few evenings pricing and organizing things and about 30 minutes setting up and 45 minutes shutting down. I'm not sure that it was worth it--it totally wasn't--but at least it was a beautiful day.

I did have time to weed the front flower beds, so there's that. :) And, most importantly, we took two carloads of leftovers to Goodwill and only brought a few items back into the house. I'm feeling good about clutter in the house and am feeling semi-organized at the moment.

Reading just a few books with Dada this afternoon:

Just one more!

Lately, he's started going over and grabbing ALL of his favorite books for us to read. He usually doesn't let us read cover-to-cover--we just have to skim the highlights as he flips through them. Unless it's a truck book--then he'll point and 'dah!' at his favorite trucks over and over.

We had a little bit of time to kill before bedtime tonight after our walk, and Lewis was all about his new favorite toy in the backyard--tomatoes. He'll go pick one off of our ridiculously large cherry tomato plant, and he'll throw it (and laugh) and chase it down and throw it again.

I've got my eye on you, little tomato! You're mine!

Where is it?

He had trouble spotting it from that far away.

Got it!

Got it again!

I see you, Mama!

This is the ridiculous tomato plant. (Sharon, I meant to give you some this weekend!) It's been spilling over the side nearest where it's planted, and since I've taken other plants out, it has started spreading the length of the raised bed, too. It's crazy.

Boy Wonder (not really), Derby Party, and a Baby Shower

Last week I was taking video of Lewis reading (turning the pages, 'reading' jibberish aloud), and I just happened to catch him correctly pointing out his new favorite animal, the puffin. I know he isn't really a Boy Genius--still, I think it's cute and thought I'd share.

He always points to the puffin and then the owl (and he does the same with a ball and balloon in another picture book). I look forward to taking him to see real puffins sometime. I wonder if he'll think they are as cool in real life. I thought maybe he liked the picture because of the round head shape (like a ball). Kevin thought he liked it maybe because it's just kind of funny-looking.

Last weekend we headed to a Derby party on Saturday at Kevin's friend's brother's house--we entered in a few drawings for the Derby itself but didn't win (though we did get our money back on a horse that scratched!). We had a nice afternoon visiting with our friends who live in Michigan (the Littles). Their son is around 19 months old, and he and Lewis had fun walking around the yard and splashing in the dog's water bowl. :) The house is great, but it is surrounded by woods that have a fairly steep slope/drop-off, and the driveway itself is really steep. So, needless to say, the four of us spent most of the time trying to keep the boys from falling down the hills. And out of everyone's beer and Jell-o shots!

 

 Buddies, relaxing by the fire pit

Sunday, Lew and I headed up to a baby shower for my cousin's wife and had a really nice afternoon. It was great seeing aunts and cousins on my dad's side and, of course, celebrating Dave and Jessica's baby on the way. Lewis had lunch as soon as we got there, so I was able to eat and sort of play the shower games. Then he was ready to roam--he was happy walking their hallways for awhile, but eventually he started picking up the gifts as they were being opened and bolted for the cupcake table once (close call--he grabbed a decoration off but somehow didn't make a mess of the icing). I eventually decided to take him outside to roam a bit while they were finishing up gift opening. 

 Lewis loves baby showers!

 Wild and Free

I was having major yard envy--there is so much space to run around! It was so peaceful out there.

 

 We went up to the fence to visit the neighbor's horses, but they weren't interested in visiting with us. :)

 Old Farm Equipment to Explore

 The Perfect Shade Tree

I would so be out there on a blanket reading whenever I could.

And, finally, a ball.

He is obsessed with balls! This gazing ball in my aunt and uncle's garden, the big red concrete balls outside the entrance to Target (he hugs them), bouncy balls at every store we go in lately (it seems). He can't say ball yet (they are all called 'Der!'), but he'll pick them out of a line-up like a mad man. He doesn't miss pointing them out. Ever. :)

Storytime, Climbing, Reading, and The Mini

We finally made it to storytime at the library last week, now that Lewis is settling into a one-nap-a-day routine! It was a bit of a struggle to keep him in my lap during the stories (eventually I just let him roam), but he did seem to enjoy singing and dancing in between stories. At the end, while the other kids were doing a craft, he insisted on roaming the room and climbing every chair he could get his hands on. 

He also lost a shoe very early-on, but I'd already wrestled with him at home that morning and had enough shoe-tying-frustration for one day, so I just let him go shoeless. :)

 Conquered. 

 Making music.

He has this same keyboard here at home, and all of a sudden the past week or so, I've noticed he has taken an interest in this and his other musical instruments (especially his maracas). He likes to shake-shake-shake them.

 Topping another chair.

 Really pretty and big and old marble stairs to climb.

I made the mistake of bringing the stroller with us, not thinking about the big, old building, lacking modern accessibility. I discovered a handicap entrance and an elevator as we were there, so we did have an easier time leaving. On the way in, however, I ended up just throwing Lew on a hip and the stroller on my shoulder to get up the stairs because we were running late.

Later that day, still climbing...

 These are our storage cubes that he has been climbing up on top of. Now he has progressed to sliding the lid off and climbing up and inside of them. He likes to hang out in them for little bits at a time. Sometimes he gets stuck, and he (naturally) gets mad until I help him get free. :)

 Pop, Goes the Weasel!

We did some reading at home last week, too.

Looking mighty gigantic, lately.

I tried to take some video of his new skills of reading to himself (nothing vocal, just staring intently at the pictures) and turning the pages himself. The first video is kind of lame because he was already at the end of the book, and then for the second one, Kevin walked in to say hello. Still, cute. 

Finally, Kevin ran in the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon yesterday and reached his goal of breaking the 2 hour mark! 1:56:52! Kate and Lewis and I found a spot on the final stretch and literally got there less than 2 minutes before Kevin ran by, despite my efforts of getting there early. One of these days, I'll get there with plenty of time to spare! Kevin's parents and brother came down to cheer him on, too, and we had a fun morning. It was really exciting to watch all of the people finishing--such an accomplishment!

Go, Kevin, Go!

Just to the right of the 3rd cone (from top or bottom), white T-shirt/gray shorts

Way to go, babe!

They announced his name on the loudspeaker and everything! It was very exciting!

Way to go, Papa! 

And a happy belated birthday to my niece/Lew's cousin, Juniper Lynn Bergstrom, who turned 2 yesterday! We love you, June Bug!