Lewis the Truest, Vol. XXI

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Lenore at 11 Months

11 Months Old
(The best I could get because she was squirrely and the camera was acting up...)

Her stats this month (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 30 inches [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Weight: 23 pounds [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Head Size: 19 inches [above 95th percentile]

What she's doing this month:

• She is walking (if a few steps at a time can be considered walking)! Only a few times a day and not great distances, but she is figuring it out. Her first steps were just this past Friday, September 25. 
• Lewis took a few steps December 7 and 15, which was right before/at 10 months, so he was a little ahead of her.
• She is sleeping better, overall. She takes two naps a day, usually around an hour and a half each. She is usually sleeping all night for me (around 11 hours), but there have still been a few nights with middle-of-the-night feedings.
• She nurses every 3-4 hours during the day, but I feel my supply starting to wane as she eats more solids. At bedtime, especially, she was having a hard time falling asleep after 'just' nursing, so I decided to make a 4 oz. bottle of formula a regular thing at bedtime after she nurses. There was one night she refused me, which was a pretty strange feeling (Lewis never refused me, ever), but that has only happened once. 
• Related to that, she does the sweetest thing after her bottle. Well, before her bottle, too. Once she's done nursing, she sits up and peeks over the side of the recliner to see if it's sitting down on the floor. I learned quickly that I needed to keep it out of sight because she gets so excited about it. So AFTER she's done with her bottle, I stand up and sway with her on my shoulder and burp her. She has started giving me the sweetest pats on my back as I pat her on her back. And she rubs my back in big circles like I rub hers to help her burp. She's going to be a good mommy one day. :)
• On that note, she so sweetly and quickly learned how to wave. We were sitting at the table one day, and I waved to her and said, 'Hi!' She laughed at me, and then she figured out how to say 'Hiiiiiii!' in the sweetest Southern accent, using every muscle in her little mouth, and she practically whacked herself in face, waving excitedly.
• She isn't saying much else new since last month. Just Hiiiii, Bye-bye, Bubba, and sparingly, Mama. She did notice a dog at the playground the other day and was saying something, like she was trying to say Dog, but it didn't sound like Dog just yet.
• She is still an eating machine! She has had a few meals where she's eaten more than Lewis has (granted, Lew eats like a bird at times). She still hasn't refused a food we've put in front of her, for now (I know that can/will change!). The pediatrician said (at her 9 month appointment, I forget if I've already said this...) we could try peanut butter since we don't have a family history of a peanut allergy, so she's had PB&J a few times with Lewis. She prefers to feed herself by hand, but she will accept food on a spoon, of course. I forget when they start feeding themselves by spoon, but she has shown no interest in it for now.
• She's getting into books. Kevin said she'll scream if he stops reading to her in the bath. [My sweet baby girl, scream? Never. ;)] I don't read to her yet as part of her bedtime routine, but I might start trying to see how she does. She likes the Touch and Feel books, which we have quite a few of from when Lewis was little.
• She is still a happy girl most of the time--if she's NOT happy, it's from the time she wakes up from her afternoon nap until bedtime. On those days, she will melt down unless I'm holding her on my hip, so there have been some nights when I'm making dinner one-handed. Overall, though, she is sweet.
• We haven't had any teeth for a while, so I feel like we're in for it soon!
• Current Tooth Count: still 6
• She is wearing size 12 months, but I'm noticing some things are getting snug. I think I've finally gone through and sorted all of Juniper's clothes that have been handed down. We won't need to buy anything for a few years! :)

A few outtakes from this morning:

We had a crazier-than-usual morning because it is Picture Day at school and it's pouring down rain. Lenore is only there Thursdays, so I took her in this morning with Lewis to try to get their pictures taken together. We'll see how they turn out--neither one of them were giving up many smiles for the photographer, but maybe we'll get lucky. :)

Lewis the Truest, Vol. XX

I was feeding Lenore one day in her room, and Lewis was sitting in there with us, chatting it up:

Lewis: Why does her milk come out of your body?
Me: Because we are mammals. All mammal mamas make milk for their babies.
Lewis: Oh!
Me: Elephant mamas make milk for their elephant babies. Goat mamas make milk for their goat babies. Doggy mamas make milk for their doggy babies. 
Lewis: Oh!
Me: Did you know Hattie used to be a mama?
Lewis: Yea.
Me: Can you believe she had three puppies that she cared for?

[She was taken in by a rescue as a stray, and all three of her puppies died of parvo soon after they were born. She was very depressed afterwards, until we met her and brought her home to be a companion, mother, boss, etc. to Peter and the rest of us. The rest is history.]

Lewis: Yea! Did they look like little Hatties??
Me: I don't know, I never met them, but I bet they did! Can you imagine--I bet they were so cute!
Lewis: What were their names? Gloodly?? (Or something made-up off the top of his head like that.)
Me: I don't know, buddy, I never knew them. What do YOU think their names were?
Lewis: Hmm. (long pause) Sun, Cloud, and Rain.

It made me smile on many levels. I was touched that he was so sweet about Hattie's long-forgotten puppies.

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Lewis tends to wake up early (5:30-6ish), and then will fall back asleep until his normal awakening time (around 7-7:30). He usually just needs to be covered up or reassured, and, as I am still on nighttime-Lenore-duty, Kevin takes care of Lewis duty.

One day, I *happened* to already be up with Lenore (lucky me!), so I slipped out of her room and into Lewis' room and laid with him. I wouldn't normally lay with him (he sleeps in a twin bed, after all, and he twirls my hair so that I can't fall back asleep), but I must have been extra tired that morning. I was in and out of sleep, but at one point, Lewis was saying, in a trance-like state (while twirling my hair):

Lew: Don't eat cows. Eat more chicken. Don't eat cows. Eat more chicken. Don't eat cows. Eat more chicken. (On and on...)

Over and over and over again. I thought I was in and out of a trippy dream, and I didn't even remember it until a few days later. I'm not even sure where he got that--he has a little stuffed cow from Chick-Fil-A that Grandma Sharon gave him, but I didn't know he even knew their slogan. Proves once again that he is ALWAYS LISTENING. :)

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I'd written this down on the notebook I keep in my car, and I just found it the other day. I vaguely remember it from earlier in the summer:

Lewis (totally out of the blue, staring out of the window): When I get older, I'm going to ride the Wing Coaster, ride The Beast, and get a John Deere lawn mower.

:) It made me smile. The boy has plans for his future!! He and Kevin sometimes watch roller coaster videos at bedtime, so Lew is very excited about being big enough to ride the big ones. There were lots of commercials earlier in the summer for The Thunderbird (aka the Wing Coaster) at Holiday World. And I'm not sure how The Beast came into the picture, other than Kevin and I agreeing that it's the best roller coaster we've ridden.

And then there's the John Deere lawn mower. He has said a few times now that he wants a JD Gator for Christmas (like one of the big Power Wheel ones that costs $400+). Either that or a blue train and an orange train, JUST like the blue and orange trains at the zoo--separately, but equally as difficult for me to make happen.

Lenore at 10 Months

*Editor's Note: Little Miss wanted to help celebrate her 10 month birthday by waking me up at 1:30, 4:30, and 5:30 overnight last night. Kevin got up with her at 5:30 and let me sleep, but now we are all heading for Family Nap Time.

10 Months Old 

(double digits!)

Her stats (from the pediatrician's office last week, percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 29.3 inches (between 75th and 90th)
Weight: 21.53 pounds (between 75th and 90th)
Head Size: 18.7 inches (above 95th)

We actually just went for her 9 month check-up last week because her doctor was on vacation and had to reschedule her original appointment. She only had to get one shot in the thigh (no tears!) and will go back at one year (in just two months). The pediatrician said her ears look good, which is good to hear--she's been tugging on one, in particular, so I was afraid her ear infection(s) had returned. I'd taken her in to have her ears rechecked a few months ago right after a round of antibiotics to treat an ear infection, and it turned out to only be teething. I wasn't sure what was going on this time, but she has just gotten 2 more teeth on the bottom, so teeth, it is. I don't remember Lewis tugging on his ears quite as intensely as Lenore does, poor baby. :(

What she's up to this month:

• She is into EVERYTHING! It feels like she's into things much sooner than Lewis was. I can't put her down and walk away for a second--she's in the cabinets (LITERALLY, INSIDE OF THEM), up the stairs, getting into the printer paper, etc. (these are just a few examples from the other morning). Oh, in the fireplace and in the dishwasher, too. I guess I need to do some child-proofing. :/

• On that note, she started Parents' Day Out last week at Lewis' school (just one day, for 3 hours). She is one of only two kiddos on the day she goes, so she gets lots of love and attention from her teacher (who is Lewis' former teacher from his 2-year-old class). She has laughed in Ms. Cheryl's face as she tries to get her to nap, but maybe she'll eventually come around (if not, no big deal). All of the teachers I've talked to have said how sweet her giggles are, so I'm sure it's not exactly a conducive environment for napping when everyone was just wants to ooh and ahh with her. I love their school so very much--all of the people I've met are just wonderful, and I know that they love our kids. But anyway, I digress...
• She is saying Mama! Or Mamamamama, but still. She also has said Bubba (we think). She's reached that oh-I-just-found-my-voice phase, so she'll yell out at random when we're at the store or at a restaurant, just to hear herself.
• She is cruising, both side-to-side along a table and some front-to-back (like if she's pushing a box or Lewis is pulling her along on a box). She also has a walker she is practicing on. Our house is usually crazy-town. :)

• She is big on standing on her own. She might pull up and then let go of whatever she was holding onto. She seems to slowly be getting more steady on her feet, but she always ends in a plop on the floor. It won't be long!
• Sleep has been all over the place. She is napping twice a day, sometimes only for 45 minutes, and sometimes for 3+ hours. I'd say her naps are 'usually' 1 1/2 hours, but I can't bet on that on any given day.
• We were in a good routine overnight (going down easily at 7:30 or 7:45pm, sleeping until 5:30 or 6am), and then teething struck. (I think of my old camp friend Alycia--the one responsible for Kevin and I ever meeting--who said, 'Why can't they be born with teeth?!') Teething caused some middle-of-the-night awakenings for a few days. Now, lately, she's not been going down well at bedtime. I nurse her and leave the room, as I have from very early on. It seems like that is not enough for her now, so we have started either having me offer both sides and/or having Kevin go in with a bottle of formula after I am finished nursing. Maybe it's just from her getting bigger and having a larger appetite? I am fine with the formula if she needs more than what I provide. We've already made it way longer than I ever thought we would with breastfeeding.
• Speaking of eating, she is a beast. She nurses every 3-4 hours, and she eats a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Lewis and I. She loves her meat and cheese, especially, and she still hasn't really rejected anything we've put in front of her.
• She's hilarious to watch, too--she's very efficient with finger foods. She gets so excited to eat--she will put a bite of food in her mouth, and sometimes she'll change her mind on which food she wants to eat. So she'll put a piece of food in, spit it out into one hand, and then put a different food in with her other hand. She's getting better about how much food is dropped into her bib/high chair, but now she's started intentionally holding food for the dogs to eat out of her hand. She'll put it in her mouth, then change her mind and hold it out for Peter. :) Hattie waits for what is dropped, Peter takes things gently out of her hand.
• She is wearing 12 month clothes.
• Current Tooth Count: 6 (2 upper, 4 lower)

Outtakes, because there were many:

There was someone hiding behind the chair, believe it or not. ;)

Surprise!

And we're done. :)

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 the Truest, Vol. XIX

One day we were talking about Kevin running to Jimmy John's to get dinner. I was looking at the menu online, and said:

Me: I'll have a Slim Two.
Lewis: I'll have a Slim Four. Because I'm FOUR!

That ended up being turkey and cheese, which worked out well. Lucky him--who knows what he could have ended up with. :)

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On a regular Sunday morning...

Lewis: VRRROOOM. I love tractors.
             TOOT-TOOOOT. I love trains.
             (wings out, flying through the living room) I love planes.
              I love orange.

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One morning as Kevin was coming into the living room to sit with Lewis (he acts like this most anytime Kevin tries to sit next to him on the couch):

Lewis: Go away!
Kevin: I don't want to go away.
Lewis: Yes, you do, because leave me alone!

It is reminiscent of my brother in his teenage years. Leave.Me.Alone! He used to yell that dramatically at my mom when she'd try to wake him up for school. :) I've been saying that Lewis is a little teenager-ish lately...moody one minute, but wanting to snuggle the next. 

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The previous ones were from back in March (oops, forgot to post!). More recently...

In the car one day...

Me: Do you want to play soccer?
Lewis: Just golf.

It made me laugh. I'd be fine with golf, as I would be with tennis (another sport he says he wants to play/likes to watch on TV). It just caught me off-guard, as do a lot of the things he says! 

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Discussing dinner the other night, he was having trouble making the words come out of his mouth.

Me: What would you like for dinner?
Lewis: Toast. I'd like toast, but I'd like it to not go through the toaster.
Me: So you want bread?
Lewis: Yes.

Again, made me laugh. :)

Lenore at 8 Months

8 Months Old

See my two bottom teeth!?

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 29.5 inches (above 95th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds (between 50th and 75th percentile)
Head Size: 18.25 inches (above 95th percentile)

We went to the cardiologist last week and received a good report! Her heart is normal-sized (which I'd never heard them mention it being other than normal-sized, but still good to know). The pulmonary stenosis is no more, as well--it all looks normal now (hooray!). There are still some areas between the upper chambers that are open, but our doctor believes they will close up entirely by the next time we see him (in a year). So YAY! He said that things look great and that we have no reason to be concerned.

We also went to the pediatrician last week for an ear check--she'd had a runny nose on vacation and was extra fussy and fevered over the weekend, so I took her in Monday afternoon. Sure enough, another ear infection. Mid-week, she had a mild reaction to the antibiotic, but the nurse I spoke with said that it was not a full-on allergic reaction. She said that some kids, some times, develop a rash from amoxicillin that lasts 1-8 days (usually around 3 days), and that it wasn't a concern unless it worsened, which it did not. She just had some small, light pink polka dots all over her body for a few days.

What she's doing this month:

• She is still crawling and pulling up whenever she can. We've seen maybe some slight and/or accidental attempts at cruising, but nothing consistent. Not as many bumps and bruises so far (fingers crossed!) as Lewis had in this phase. I feel like she's learned how to get out of a situation safely, fairly quickly.
• She, of course, still gets into things she shouldn't (blinds, the dishwasher, etc.), and I say 'No No' and shake a finger at her. She looks at me with the biggest grin, which is too cute for words.
• She still plays shy sometimes--if you sweet talk her, she'll tilt her head to the side, sometimes even batting her eyes. 
• She takes two naps a day. There are some days when it's 1 hour + 1 hour, and others when it's 45 minutes + around 3 hours. She's a little unpredictable still, but at least she's napping.
• Sleep has improved overall this month. She's been sleeping a lot more with the ear infection and teething, of course, but even before that, we did some moderate sleep training that she caught onto pretty quickly. I haven't had to get up with her overnight this week (which I'm sure will end now that I've written it down). She has been waking up between 5-6am, and I feed her, and then she goes back down for a couple of more hours.
• Nursing is better this month! I realized the other day that I haven't had the after-pain for a while now. We must have figured out a better latch again, thank goodness. With her eating more solids and not being nursed to sleep at naps now, I feel like the number of times a day that she's nursing has dropped quite a bit this month. Like maybe 5 times a day??
• Speaking of solids, she now eats all three meals with us. Dinner is still the biggest meal for her, followed by breakfast, then lunch. Breakfast and lunch were only added as a way for me to keep her contained (to keep her in my sights and NOT climbing the stairs) while I finish making dinner or while Lewis is eating dinner if Kevin is working a little later. She hasn't been as much into food this week, probably from her mouth being tender--she has still eaten some finger foods, but she's been pretty anti-puree, for whatever reason.
• The day before and on our way to vacation in Pensacola, we ended up accidentally stopping at Chick-fil-A 3 days in a row (we wanted a place for Lewis to be able to run around a little). In that time, she got quite a taste for their chicken nuggets. She and Lewis would split a 4-pack, at first--she would eat 2, and he would, with a fight for every bite, eat 2. We then started getting a 6-pack, and she totally ate 3 one day to his 1-2. Lenore + Chicken = Love :) She's also a fan of their waffle fries and the blueberries from their fruit cup. 
• She LOVES playing with Lewis. They both light up when they see each other. Lewis loves coming in and saying goodnight to her and giving her a kiss. He also loves twirling her hair, as he does mine, but we have to get on him about being too rough with her baby hair/scalp.
• She is wearing mostly 12 month clothes now. There are still a few 9 month ones that will stretch and fit her, but just a few.
• Tooth Count: I'm going to say 3! One of her top front teeth is fully visible now, but the other one is still hiding under her swollen little gums. It should pop through any day now, I predict.

Couldn't pick a favorite picture, so here are a few more:

My sweet girl :)