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.

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 9 Months

9 Months Old

The best I could get this morning. There was another, probably better, session before this, but I didn't realize the memory card wasn't in the camera. I can't find the cable to pull the pictures from the camera memory to the computer, so this will have to do.

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 29 inches [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Weight: 21 pounds [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Head Size: 18.5 inches [above 95th percentile]

What she's doing this month:

• She is a wild woman, on the move! She takes off crawling with a vengeance--she puts her head down and clip-clops as fast as she can across the floor. Sometimes she crawls on one knee and with one foot (maybe it's faster?), but she's usually barreling around on all fours.
• She is also still mildly obsessed with climbing the stairs. I've been barricading them, but every once in a while, I'll catch her on the 2nd or 3rd step. (There have been a few times where I've been on the phone or distracted for 30 seconds, and I've found her up in Lewis' room. Hence the barricades now. I tried to install a gate, but the &%*# wall and banister don't line up, so I don't exactly know what to rig up at the bottom of the stairs.) 
• Once she realizes she's been caught on the stairs, she tries to scurry up even faster to get away from me. I have heard that she got red-faced and kicked and fussed at Grandma Sharon when she took her off the stairs at their house--I haven't seen that yet, myself, but I don't doubt it.
• She is starting to cruise. She will move along the coffee table a little bit and will reach out and move from couch to coffee table and vice versa. Sometimes she will let go with one hand while standing, when she's feeling extra brave.
• She eats like a beast. She's nursing every 3-4 hours, and then eating all three meals with us. Some days, she'll eat an entire container of yogurt and a piece of toast for breakfast (sometimes only half a container), some fruit and cheese for lunch, and usually a vegetable and some of what we're having for dinner (or cereal). We still spoon feed her yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, etc., but she very much wants to feed herself the finger foods. Sometimes at dinner, she'll lay her head to the side and just shovel the food in her mouth. She is a big fan of meat--chicken is her favorite, plus turkey, ham, and hamburger, so far.
• If you are eating something that she wants (which is pretty much anytime I am eating), she will let you know it with an 'Mmmmmm!!!' sound (add grunting sound for the full effect).
• She hasn't turned away a food that I can think of (she didn't like apricots at first, but now she does). She will hopefully be a good influence on Lewis.
• Sleep is so close to being great, but not quite. She did sleep through the night a few times recently (like 8pm-7:15am), but 4:30-5am is her usual wake-up time. I go in and feed her, and she'll sleep until 7:30-8am, so I can't complain. She is having trouble falling asleep some nights (25% of the time), so that's been frustrating. I think it's probably teething-related, so I've been trying to be patient (teething is horrible, in case anyone has forgotten).
• She is napping twice a day, same as last month, really. Sometimes only for 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes much longer (around 3 hours).
• She isn't talking, of course, but she's starting to babble. I hear 'Buh' sometimes (like Bubba or Brother??) and 'Ma' (Mama??). And of course, Mmmmm!!
• She is recently interested in doors. We went to open gym the other day, and there was one of those big cubes with different activities on the top/sides. She sat and opened/closed the little doors forever. At home, she likes to close doors if they are open.
• She has also started pointing with her index finger. Not at what she needs/wants, but just in the air. Like, 'By George, I have a great idea!' I think I remember that being a developmental thing, along with picking up food and feeding herself.
• She and Lewis are playing together more and more. She's pretty happy to play with cars and trains or whatever is lying around, though she has taken to her baby doll that my mom got her, too.
• She is wearing 12 month clothes.
• Current Tooth Count: 4, and working on more.

Preschool starts back in a few weeks, and Lewis will be going 4 mornings/week. This year they are offering a Parents' Day Out, so Lenore will be going 1 morning/week, as well. 

A brief house update--we have had quite a series of unfortunate events this month. We had torrential rains and flash floods on two occasions (two nights apart), which flooded our finished side of the basement. We've had to move everything from that side to the unfinished side, in case it floods again, and we had to have the (new) carpet and pad removed so that we could dry everything out and keep it from getting in the walls and baseboards. Before we restore it back to a finished condition, we are working to resolve the bigger issues of why it floods. Through that process, we have discovered foundation issues that (we believe) were covered up by the seller, so now we are preparing to enter into mediation to try to get some of those expenses covered. Once we get through that, we can hopefully put our house back together.

There have been a few other issues, as well--chimney/fireplaces leaking, new front door warping, infested/dead ash tree that had to be taken down, driveway drainage issues (which we already planned to address), a new water stain on our bedroom ceiling (we are getting a new roof and gutters next week), etc. The joys of homeownership!

We are very much looking forward to a tropical beach vacation with lots of pina coladas and no stress!!

Lewis at 4 Years

Four Years Old

His measurements (percentiles from World Health Organization because he's too old for the BabyCenter one now):

Height: 44 inches (97.7th percentile)

Weight: 48.2 pounds (99.8th percentile)

We go to the doctor on Tuesday for his 4-year check-up, so I'll see if they agree with our measurements.

What he's into/what he's doing:

• Trains! Everything is trains right now! He still very much loves tractors and planes and construction trucks and the like, but he's been especially fond of trains these past few months.
• He knows his numbers, and we are still working on letters. He was doing pretty well with them, but recently he's either forgotten them, or he thinks it's 'funny' to get the letter wrong when we ask what it is. He's really good at 'reading' signs and brand names.
• We haven't begun to work on writing at all, but I think that will happen soon. He's doing better with coloring (scribbling, holding a crayon, etc.).
• He LOVES his sister. He gives her a hug and a kiss goodnight every evening, and they've started interacting more during the day. For instance, I can put her in the jumperoo, and he'll talk to her and play with the toys with her--she just giggles her head off at him, so I think it's safe to say she loves him, too. :)
• School is going really well--he loves his teachers and classmates so much. They've started Show and Tell this semester, so he's started taking in a toy one day a week to share with his class. We are trying soccer again this semester, and it seems to be going much better this time around (he bowed out last year after just the first week, I think).
• We are starting swim lessons again in April (we last took them when he was just over a year old). Hopefully now he's old enough to learn to swim on his own! I don't have to get in the water with him now, so Lenore and I will just watch from the sidelines.
• He asks great questions! For instance, in the car the other day, we were jamming out to Throwback Thursday, like we do every Thursday on the way to school. I was dancing like a fool (as usual) and said something like:
• Mama: Man, these are all the songs Mama used to dance to when I was a kid.
• Lewis: Who drove the car when you were a kid?
• I told him that it was Gramma or Papaw. Then he asked if they drove my car, to which I explained that my car wasn't around back then, but that we drove Gramma and Papaw's cars. We then went on to talk about what their cars were like, and he asked if Gramma's blue car was kind of like Dada's blue car and so on. It just kept going. It was sweet to have a whole conversation with him, with him actually thinking and inferring and contributing to it. He seemed so grown up!
• Sleep isn't the greatest at times. He hasn't napped in months (except for the occasional one in the car if we're driving a long distance). He still goes down for the night at 7:30pm (sometimes earlier if he's wild), and he's been waking up around 6am (maybe 6:30 if he's 'sleeping in'). A few weeks ago, he put himself to bed at 5:30pm and didn't wake up until 6:30 the next morning. The end-of-the-day-sleep-deficient-Lewis is quite a sight to behold, let me tell you!
• Eating is meh. He would definitely survive on bread and crackers alone if we let him. I didn't realize just how appalling his appetite was until we were in Boise and I saw how well Juniper and Otis were eating. [To be fair, we'd fallen into a particularly deep granola bar and peanut butter/cheese cracker sandwich habit between Lenore's birth and the Boise trip.] When we got back from there, we implemented a fruit-only snack policy, which helped immensely. (I've loosened a little on that, but he doesn't ask for granola bars or cheesy crackers anymore, thank goodness.) His list of foods he will eat is still fairly small, but we're working on it.
• He is wearing 5T shirts and pants right now and size 12 shoes. Some of the shirts and pants are getting a little short, so it depends on the brand--we've moved up to the XS (4/5) boys size in some pieces. His footed pajamas are size 6.
• We love him to pieces! Looking forward to 4!

Here is his 3 year post.

And his 2 year.

And his 1 year.

School Pictures (and We're Still Here!)

We are starting to get into the swing of things with Lewis and Lenore--of course, I have a bunch of pictures to post, but not quite the time to do so right now. Things are going well--I'm so thankful for family and friends who have visited and sent gifts and brought over food and checked in to see how we are doing. 

Today is the first day that I've felt *almost* on my own, as far as getting Lewis ready for and driven to school. (I say almost because I couldn't do it without the help of Kevin.) Each day, we're figuring out better ways of doing things, and I think we're going to be okay. ;)

The day before Lenore was born, I went into school to pick up Lewis' school pictures:

I thought they turned out really well again this year. Here are his pictures from last year, and you can really see how much older he looks now! Especially when I see him next to his sister--he is just gigantic! His arms and legs are so big and strong, yet it seems not that long ago that he was a little baby like Lenore. (sigh)

Trunk or Treat/Halloween 2014

When I asked Lewis what he wanted to be for Halloween this year, he first said a tractor. I asked him again a few days later, and he said a plane, specifically a blue airplane. I gave him a few more days to make sure he wasn't changing his mind, and then I got to work on researching ideas. I came across this design and decided to recreate the look as best as I could. He found one of his toy planes the other day, and he has since been saying that he's a fighter jet, so I guess we'll go with that for now.

The whole thing probably cost less than $20, plus about 5-6 hours of work on my part. I save boxes, so those were free, of course, and I got the blue duct tape at Dollar Tree (I used about 1 1/2 rolls of blue) and used just a little bit of black and gray that I already had on hand for the propeller and wheels (and attached those with zip ties). Other than some heavy duty scissors, it was pretty simple to put together (though I had to stretch some brain muscles to make the cuts at the correct-ish angles). I was going to make a hat until I found this one on eBay for only $6 with no shipping. I found the bomber jacket at a consignment sale, also for $6, I think. It's a bit small (2/3T), but we made it work. I also spent a few dollars on some strap material I strung through the top of the box to hold the plane up on his shoulders.

I love it, and I think Lewis was happy with how it turned out:

 Ready to fly

Blurry, but that's a this-is-awesome face. :)

Whee!

We went to Trunk or Treat last night at his school--the first hour was pizza, and the second hour was trick-or-treating. Walking up the stairs took a little hand-holding, and he fell forward (once) and backward (once) and needed help returning to standing (which made me crack up). Otherwise, he managed pretty well! We took off the plane through dinner and for him to run around with his buddies, of course.

 This was his 'touch down' while we were waiting in line

 Snacking, post-pizza and pre-candy

 Trick-or-Treat!

He's asked if he can go again, so hopefully we aren't in the hospital with a baby on Halloween! :)

 He accidentally bumped a few kiddos with his wings, but just gently. He also ran into doorways getting in/out of school, which was pretty funny.

Caaaandy!!!

First Day of School (2014-15)

First Day of School (2014-15)

Jungle Juniors

He had a great first day (yesterday). He'd gone to camp off/on through the summer, so it didn't feel that much different, but I noticed a big difference when I picked him up. He suddenly seems so much older--last year, I'd ask him how his day was, what he did, etc. and would barely get a peep. Yesterday, he went on and on about it! He seems really excited about his new class. I've heard good things about his teachers, so I'm looking forward to it, too.

His rundown of the first day included:

• I did NOT do Art.
  [I'm not sure if they ran out of time or if it's a today or tomorrow activity or what, but he made it a point to tell me they did NOT do it.]
• I'm in the ANIMALS class.
  [Last year he was a Turtle Two--this year, a Jungle Junior.]
• I played on the playground.
• Tomorrow we are going to the LIBRARY!
  [They have a library at the school--I asked what type of book he would be looking for, and he said a book on TRACTORS.]
• Arthur is in my class.
  [Arthur is his potty buddy from last year.]
• There was a Lightning in my class, and I played with it for THREE minutes.
  [Lightning McQueen, which probably means he didn't let go of it the entire morning.] :)
• We had circle time and sang songs about the boys in our class and about the weather.
  [Then later, at nap, he was singing in his room, to the tune of Farmer in the Dell, 'Is Lewis here today? Is Lewis here today? Hi-ho-the-merry-o. Lewis is here today.' Followed by, in the same tune, 'The sun is out today, the clouds are out today, hi-ho-the-merry-o, the sun is out today.' So apparently his teachers are a bit more sing-song-y than they were last year, which is good since Lewis loves to sing!

Can't wait to hear what he has to say today! He was really excited to go back this morning--he was wondering if they would have Art and what they would do in Art. They have divided the 3s into younger and older 3s, and he is the older class on W-Th-F. There are a few familiar faces from last year's class, but just a few. Should be a great school year!

Last Day of School!

Today is Lew's last day of school! It seems like the spring semester went by much more quickly than the fall semester did. We love his school and his teachers and have been so happy with how he has grown over these past nine months.

In the fall, with baby-on-the-way's impending arrival, we're bumping him up to three days a week (vs. two this year). We'll start getting him ready for that adjustment over the summer--they have camps all summer, so we've signed him up for six weeks of 3-day camps. He'll be doing camps on nature, cooking, community service and giving, sports, Legos and space, so hopefully he has a good time and can start to get to know some of the 3-year-old teachers better, too.

 Last Day of Preschool (in the 2-year-old room)

What a cheeseball! This morning was a very trying morning for ol' Mama (he was too excited to do much listening), so this was the best of the bunch from Wild Man Lew.

And, for fun, here is back on the first day of school, back in September:

First Day of Preschool

So young and innocent then. :)

Around the House and In the Snow

Since it's been so cold and/or snowy and/or icy these past few weeks, we've spent more time at home. It did warm up enough on Monday of this week to actually go outside and enjoy some snow without instantly being too cold. Lewis had another snow day that day, so I was glad for him to be able to get outside to play (and for me to do some preliminary shoveling that Kevin later finished). 

So here are some pictures from our time at home:

FIRST OF ALL, this sweetness that I captured last week when I woke up:

 Kevin and Peter, spooning :)

Hattie is back there behind Kevin, too--she's been sleeping in between my feet. I should take more of these because I've been waking up to some pretty funny sleeping positions on Peter's part.

Lewis brings home arts/crafts projects from school each week, and last week it was a pair of binoculars:

 

 I see you!

A new thing that Kevin started last week, I think, is the Dada Train. Lewis rides on Kevin's back (see below) as they travel around to pick up passengers and head to certain stations (i.e. Bathroom Station when it's time to brush his teeth at bedtime). After they pick up passengers, Lewis yells out, 'All aboarrrrd!' It's pretty adorable. :)

:)

 And Lewis loves it.

These are from Monday, our play-in-the-snow day:

 Rocking his new snow pants from Gramma Pat (in the proper size) :)

As I shoveled, he got out his wagon, his car, his basketball goal, and bubbles from the garage. I think he is ready for springtime! I wasn't sure what he was doing with his car at first: 

He would push it right up to the fence and started trying to stand on the seat (but kept slipping). I soon realized he was trying to see over the fence, into the neighbors' yard. Why? He saw that they have a 4-wheeler, and he wanted to see it! And probably wanted to ride it, too, if given the opportunity.

 I told him to try looking through the cracks in the fence, but that wasn't good enough for him. 

 The tears. Oh, the tears.

He asked me to pick him up so that he could see it for real, full-on, in all its glory, so I finally went over and gave him a lift. In the course of all of this, his boots came off, too, so he was walking around in the snow with just socks (very snowy socks) on. I think he made it 5 more minutes before we retreated inside.

Hattie, part polar bear :) Just hanging out, in the snow.

And finally, for Auntie Schwee (and family)...these are what Lewis' new figurines have been up to. He's been pushing his tractor/trailer around like this, with Mr. Grizzly at the wheel. :)

:)

Makes me smile.

Christmas Program at School

Lewis' Christmas program was Thursday evening--it was pretty chaotic (understandably), but also nice and short. The 1s and 2s performed together, Twinkle, Twinkle, Christmas Star (which was a new twist on the old classic) and Jingle Bells. They had little hand motions they were supposed to do for Twinkle, Twinkle, but Lewis kind of just stood there with his finger up his nose the whole time. :) When it came time to jingle a bell, though, he was much more enthusiastic about it.

:)

Clapping for their class :)

Jinglin' and Janglin'

Here are videos that Kevin took:

We were a little ways back from the stage, so this was the best we could do.

After the program, he went up on stage and found the handbells that one of the older classes had used:

 

Ding Ding Ding Diiiing! 

 

Enjoying some cake afterwards

Thanks for coming to see me, Grandma and Grandpa!

Baseball and Thanksgiving Feast at School

While Kevin and Lewis worked on leaves this weekend, I worked on cleaning and organizing some things inside the house. Among the things I uncovered was Lewis' baseball glove and ball set that Papaw Carter had gotten him last year for Christmas or his birthday (I forget which one). I think it was a bit big at the time, so I put it back for 'later'...and now that he's found it, he is obsessed with it!

So obsessed, in fact, that he's slept with it the past three nights:

I think all three mornings when we've gotten him, he's still had it on his hand, ready for action. Like, 'Put me in, coach!' Thankfully it's soft and doesn't appear to cause him any discomfort from sleeping in it. :)

He likes to play catch, too. At first we played in the basement, then upstairs in the living room, and now outside. He makes us put on our gloves, too, and we toss it back and forth a few times. He's got the throwing thing down--the catching part and how the glove works, we are still working on.

Today was Lew's Thanksgiving feast at school (which we had told him about), and he seemed pretty excited to see us when we walked into the gym to eat lunch with him. Mama and Dada at school!? Each of the classes was responsible for an item (rolls, turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie), and we enjoyed a nice little meal with him and one of his teachers and another mom/boy from his class.

  

Happy Thanksgiving!

School Pictures

I finally got the CD of Lew's school pictures today. We think they turned out pretty darn great, especially for having an ear infection. :)

 Our sweet boy :)

Trunk or Treat

Tonight we went to Lewis' school for their trunk-or-treat event! Lewis is a race car driver this year for Halloween. He's really into racing things right now, so it worked out well. We already had his costume supplies on hand--I'd bought the race car costume on 90% clearance last year at Target (so I think it was just a few dollars), and I'd found a race car driver pajama set at Goodwill a few months ago (unintentionally) for $1.50, so his costume was cheap and easy.

As I mentioned, Kevin came up with the idea of he and I joining in on the fun as the pit crew, so this week I was focused on coming up with our get-ups. I found two coveralls at The Unique (thrift store), so I added a few duct tape stripes to them to unify us (for added 'racing flair' and because they were two different colors of coveralls). I appliqued Lew's Racing to the back along with some checkered flags (his pajamas also have checkered flags, so we matched).

The final piece was our trunk decoration. I made a sign for Lew's Garage, and we put his Thomas ride-on toy and John Deere ride-on toy on display in the back of my car. We set out some of his plastic tools that a pit crew might use, and we added some glow sticks to make the candy more visible. Much to my surprise, the kiddos wanted the glow sticks more than the candy! They took all of them (which I didn't care about at all)--I was just surprised. We set the candy out and roamed as a unit for a while, and then I went back to man the car to make sure that people were taking plenty of candy.

Here are some pictures of our outing:

 Ready for trick-or-treating action!

Fittingly enough, right after I took this picture, he took off vroom-vrooming and running through the parking lot. The costume couldn't have occurred at a more fitting time in his life. Haha. :)

 Dropped some candy? Don't worry--Lew will pick it up.

 :)

 Big Lew and his pit crew

 Trying to pose, but all he wanted to do was get in the car and dig into his stash.

Ahhh, what a beautiful Rolo.

It was a fun event! I got to talk to his teacher for a little while, too, which was nice. I'm really hopeful that, come Monday, he'll be all better and can go back at school.