What is your favorite...
...color? Blue
...toy? My Polar Express
...stuffed animal? My doggy
...thing to sleep with? My big teddy bear (that used to be his auntie Schwee's)
...fruit? Blueberries
...vegetable? Carrots
...cereal? Cheerios
...thing to eat for breakfast? Toast
...thing to eat for lunch? PB&J
...dessert? Ice cream
...candy? Hershey's Kiss. Actually, Crunch bar. (I included all of his words because I love when he uses the word 'actually' in a sentence.) :)
...drink? Lemonade
...restaurant? McAlister's
...animal? Tiger
...book? I Spy
...song? Trolls (aka Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake)
...game/sport? Basketball
...TV show? Mickey Mouse
...movie? The Polar Express
...thing to do outside? Play tag
...place to shop? Kroger
...shirt/outfit? My choo-choo train shirt
What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? PB&J
Who is your best friend? Eli
What do you want to be when you grow up? Train driver
Here is a link to his favorite things at 5, and at the bottom of that post, there's a link to age 4 and age 3, if anyone is interested.
I'll take his picture this afternoon--he wasn't up for it this morning before school.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
What I'm Digging
As an ode to Young House Love Has a Podcast, I'm writing a What I'm Digging post. Randomness abounds, but we've had a lot of happenings around here lately. This was started about a month ago, so things have actually changed since then, which I will explain in a new post.
Facebook of Today Sucks
I wish I could hide all political/religious/etc. posts and just get back to babies and puppies.
I can still remember years ago when there were other heated discussions going around, and I lost friends over it. I remember thinking, 'How can someone so openly express their feelings for all to see?' Didn't their parents teach them that some things were best kept to themselves? Along with, 'God, I don't even know that person/morally oppose that person/etc.'
I want to say, 'Just. Shut. Up.' to everyone.
So Much Pee
aka Lenore is Potty Training
aka Peter is in Early Liver Failure
aka Lewis was Sick
That was short-lived. Lenore decided to potty train one day, which I knew she would. We started on a Monday, and I sent her to school Wednesday and Thursday of that week in underwear. Wednesday, she held it until the end of her three hours until she had an accident. Thursday, she went through three pairs of underwear/pants due to accidents. By Friday, I decided we were back to diapers. Once this case runs out, I am changing to Pull-ups because they are easier to get on/off given our current situation. She will go pee by herself when she needs to, but she still doesn't poop in the toilet. She is wearing a diaper for now and pretty much keeping it dry all day (except nap and overnight and except for poop).
Peter is still in liver failure, but it's not as serious as I thought it was. I thought he was going to have to be put down the week we found out, but steroids have improved things (while also making him pee all over the house for a few weeks there). He's tapering off the steroids now, and I think he knows that we will let him out 2x as often as our normal, so his accidents have stopped (thank God). We go back in two more weeks to recheck his values and see if we can taper the steroids further. He's always had liver issues, but this was different. He wasn't eating much for about a month, so we've switched his food to a lower protein one (to make things easier for his liver to digest) and the steroids have helped him perk up. He's also on an antioxidant to help rejuvenate the part of the liver that was failing, and he's on two medicines to protect his stomach from ulcers (caused by the steroids). So, four medicines for the old boy. I'm lucky to remember to give them half the time, but he still seems to be fine.
Lewis was sick a few weeks ago and took a nap on Kevin on the couch (unheard of for the past 2+ years). As he napped, Lewis PEED ON KEVIN AND THE COUCH. (I first thought he said he'd just sat in it, but Kevin corrected the details for me.)
So Kevin was covered in pee, and the couch smelled for a few days while it was being cleaned and drying out. I threw my jacket in the laundry that same night of Lewis/Kevin's couch/pee incident, only to quickly retrieve it to go out for a drink with a friend. As I got to the destination, I realized I was covered in pee from my jacket laying on top of a kitchen rug that Peter had just peed on.
Pee. Every. Where.
Working
I enjoy working. I don't know that I necessarily can handle being with little ones all morning and then coming home to my little ones for the afternoon/evening, but I do appreciate the freeing up that working has provided me. Before, it felt like everything fell on me because I was the one who was home and that was my job (which it certainly was). Now that I work three mornings a week, things are being divided and that unspoken burden has really been relieved. I'm so lucky to have Kevin to share in this crazy adventure of parenting. To be continued...
Facebook of Today Sucks
I wish I could hide all political/religious/etc. posts and just get back to babies and puppies.
I can still remember years ago when there were other heated discussions going around, and I lost friends over it. I remember thinking, 'How can someone so openly express their feelings for all to see?' Didn't their parents teach them that some things were best kept to themselves? Along with, 'God, I don't even know that person/morally oppose that person/etc.'
I want to say, 'Just. Shut. Up.' to everyone.
So Much Pee
aka Lenore is Potty Training
aka Peter is in Early Liver Failure
aka Lewis was Sick
That was short-lived. Lenore decided to potty train one day, which I knew she would. We started on a Monday, and I sent her to school Wednesday and Thursday of that week in underwear. Wednesday, she held it until the end of her three hours until she had an accident. Thursday, she went through three pairs of underwear/pants due to accidents. By Friday, I decided we were back to diapers. Once this case runs out, I am changing to Pull-ups because they are easier to get on/off given our current situation. She will go pee by herself when she needs to, but she still doesn't poop in the toilet. She is wearing a diaper for now and pretty much keeping it dry all day (except nap and overnight and except for poop).
Peter is still in liver failure, but it's not as serious as I thought it was. I thought he was going to have to be put down the week we found out, but steroids have improved things (while also making him pee all over the house for a few weeks there). He's tapering off the steroids now, and I think he knows that we will let him out 2x as often as our normal, so his accidents have stopped (thank God). We go back in two more weeks to recheck his values and see if we can taper the steroids further. He's always had liver issues, but this was different. He wasn't eating much for about a month, so we've switched his food to a lower protein one (to make things easier for his liver to digest) and the steroids have helped him perk up. He's also on an antioxidant to help rejuvenate the part of the liver that was failing, and he's on two medicines to protect his stomach from ulcers (caused by the steroids). So, four medicines for the old boy. I'm lucky to remember to give them half the time, but he still seems to be fine.
Lewis was sick a few weeks ago and took a nap on Kevin on the couch (unheard of for the past 2+ years). As he napped, Lewis PEED ON KEVIN AND THE COUCH. (I first thought he said he'd just sat in it, but Kevin corrected the details for me.)
So Kevin was covered in pee, and the couch smelled for a few days while it was being cleaned and drying out. I threw my jacket in the laundry that same night of Lewis/Kevin's couch/pee incident, only to quickly retrieve it to go out for a drink with a friend. As I got to the destination, I realized I was covered in pee from my jacket laying on top of a kitchen rug that Peter had just peed on.
Pee. Every. Where.
Working
I enjoy working. I don't know that I necessarily can handle being with little ones all morning and then coming home to my little ones for the afternoon/evening, but I do appreciate the freeing up that working has provided me. Before, it felt like everything fell on me because I was the one who was home and that was my job (which it certainly was). Now that I work three mornings a week, things are being divided and that unspoken burden has really been relieved. I'm so lucky to have Kevin to share in this crazy adventure of parenting. To be continued...
Saturday, October 29, 2016
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]
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.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
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.
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
Monday, September 19, 2016
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 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.
----------
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.
----------
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. :)
----------
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.
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.
----------
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.
----------
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. :)
----------
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.
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