To the Park with Memaw and Papaw Carter

We headed up to my parents' house this weekend for Easter and to see them off before they leave on their big Route 66 Road Trip on Friday! Saturday afternoon we went out to feed the ducks/geese at the park and to play at the playground.

Starting out a little timid with Memaw...

Not quite sure what to think of the geese.

Venturing out a little...

Grabbing onto the nasty duck-poo-water-coated branch.

I was SO glad to give him a bath yesterday morning.

He eventually started to warm up to the idea of being around the ducks/geese, to the point that he wanted to go with them into the water.

Spotting his prey

Going for it

Papaw, running interference

Not so fast, there, Sparky

Dad, still standing guard

And jumping into action (literally), deflecting Lew away from the water's edge :)
The mid-sidestep action shot cracks me up.

Much better, up in his arms.

He was really starting to bolt for the water, so we decided to head up to the 'new' playground at the park (which was new when we were kids, so it is now at least 20+ years old).

Cool old swings

Kickin' it Old School

Falling off the duck

Climbing the steps to the slide

Down Feet First

And Head First

Onto the merry-go-round with Papa

Dad retold/relived the time that he was spinning my brother David on this, and Dave flipped off backwards and went flying through the air, so we made sure Papaw took it easy on Lewis, at least while he's little. :)

Round and round with Mamaw

It was a great afternoon! It was fun to be at that park with Lewis--I have a lot of great memories out there, growing up. Family picnics, feeding the ducks, being bitten and/or chased by the ducks, paddleboating, ice skating, hiking, sledding, Girl Scout parties, the Carter family reunion (which is still there every year), the fair, the rodeo, etc. It's a great park!

We wrapped up the day with Lewis' first taste of Top Hat pizza, which was a big hit!

The End of an Era

Last Thursday ended up being the last time of breastfeeding for me and Lewis! I knew that this evening (it's our 7th anniversary!) we'd be away at bedtime (date night!), so I wanted to end it before now to make bedtime easier on Lewis and on Kevin's parents (who are babysitting for us). Friday night at dinner, Kevin and I were discussing it, and I decided that was the night to not offer it up any longer.


The transition has been easier than I anticipated, I guess. We'd already gradually cut back to just the bedtime feeding, so I haven't had any physical discomfort from ending it, which is good. It was a little emotional for me that first night without it. Not emotional like crying--more emotional like I didn't know what to do with myself. Drinking a couple of beers and going outside to work in the garden helped (Kevin stayed inside while Lew fussed a little). It was a weird happy/sad feeling. On the one hand, I am 'free' and on the other, he no longer 'needs' me (as a source of nutrition, immunity, comfort, whatever). WHICH I realize isn't true at all--he needs me in other ways. It feels like we've said so long to the Baby Days and now we're moving on to Toddler Days.


I took my My Brest Friend out of his room last night and will wash the cover and put it away for the next time. I also removed my little notebook/journal from his room--I have kept a record of each feeding session (except on weekends that we went out of town) from Day 1 until now. Very simple stuff--what time he fed and what side we started on. I had used a Breastfeeding Journal that took me through the first 6 months, but I realized once it filled up that I'd really begun to rely on it to know which side to start on next, so I continued recording in a little 50 cent journal. I guess I'll pack those away in his box of keepsakes. :)


I've mentioned before that breastfeeding wasn't easy for me at first. I remember crying that first week over the pressure I felt to succeed with it, and I felt like a failure because it was hurting and I was ready to quit (he didn't have a proper latch). I'll never forget the help I received from the nurse and lactation consultants over the phone and at my new mom group at the hospital (Jessica, Debbie, and Susan), and I'm so glad that they and Kevin helped me/encouraged me/accompanied me to find a LC (Heidi) through my doctor's office that ended up solving our latch problem in the first few weeks. I will never forget those who offered encouraging words, websites, books, personal stories, etc. I'm glad I reached out and asked for help (when that is usually SO not like me...haha). :) But for real, not like me. At all. So thanks to everyone.


I felt that breastfeeding was important for me and for Lewis, and I'm really glad that we were able to make it this far (just about a week shy of 14 months)!

Oh, Is THAT What You Had in Mind? (An Update on Solids)

I really appreciate the input and tips from everyone about solids! It's comforting to know that I'm in good company and that this is just one of the many phases we'll go through in the great adventure of parenthood. I'm trying to just go with it.

As for yogurt, we have been able to give him 2-3 bites from our spoon (an improvement from last week), and then he decides he's done (throws up his hands/lashes away from the spoon). I've tried handing him an empty spoon, but he doesn't seem interested (puts it down). I've tried putting some yogurt on the spoon for him (usually with the spoon in his hand, and I guide his hand and the spoon as we scoop a little yogurt from the bowl together) with about a 30% spoon-to-mouth success rate (he usually turns it upside down on the way to his mouth and loses most of the spoonful). It seems like all he wants is the bowl. In his hands. Yogurt all over the place. Bowl smashed on his face. Licking the bowl. Biting the bowl. Rubbing yogurt everywhere. A total mess.

 

 

Do I have something on my face?

 

So it's definitely not the taste of the yogurt! He actually seems to love it.

He also figured out how to dip his Cheerios and grapes in the yogurt this morning, too--I was just going to video him making a mess, but he surprised me with a little dipping action. You can see a little face-in-bowl action, as well. :)

I went to Target today (and I will add here again how much I HATE the carts at our Target--they are the poorest possible cart design ever developed and they make me so angry). It was a rough trip. Anyway, while we were there, I found a spoon like the one below that you fill with food and then squeeze out onto the spoon. The thought is that we can just hand it to him and he can squeeze it out, eliminating the need for a bowl (for now). He's been doing well with the fruit/vegetable puree squeeze pouches the last few weeks, so we thought we'd give this spoon a try.

If it doesn't work, I also have suction cup-bottomed bowls I can try (but I have heard/have experienced myself that the suction doesn't always hold up to strong toddler grasps).

As you people suggested, I can also look for thicker yogurt that he can eat with his hands, and/or I can make the frozen yogurt drops that he can pick up and eat.

If nothing works, we might just be starting our days out with a yogurt facial every morning. :) And that is okay.

Back to the Petting Zoo

Yesterday was hotter than @#$% around here, so we headed out to Henry's Ark petting zoo. We went to see the animals, of course, but also to get rid of the three jumbo bags of carrots I'd bought for last weekend (in case we went out there with the Butts). There were a bunch of people there yesterday, and Lewis started to look a little flushed and hot after awhile, so we didn't stay long.

A few pictures:

 Ostrich Eggs! 

One on either side of the ostrich and then a third is that tiny dot straight back from the one on the left. There were 5-6 ostriches in this pen, and I'm not sure if the eggs will hatch and/or survive or what, but it was still neat to see! They were really big eggs.

 Lew's what-in-the-world-are-you-doing? reaction to...

 the very assertive goat.

The llamas were very friendly and were happily taking carrots.

 Sweet donkeys

 Two zebras

Hard to see the second one up and to the right, I guess--there was only one opening in the fence and it didn't give me a good angle to get both. In the past, I feel like there has only been one zebra.

 Another eager goat

 :) I remember him from before because he's bigger than the other goats and has the cool curved horns. He was very friendly.

CHEESE!

Lew and the camel.

This was the first time we were able to see the camel up close--they've had him/her gated off  on previous trips. I did pet his cute little face--he was really neat (and really huge).

Workin' in the Yard

After saying goodbye to the Butts on Sunday, we spent some time outside--the plan was to play, but I saw weeds that needed a-pickin' so I weeded while Kevin and Lewis played.

Lewis, trying to fix the broken lawnmower

I ran over a tie down strap (buried under leaves, in my defense) a few years ago, and seem to have bent the thing that the blade attaches to (I definitely did something worse than just bending the blade--a new blade scrapes the inside, too). I've been meaning to craigslist it, but fear murderers and/or am not one who is comfortable negotiating the price of things, so it sits. I've thought about just putting it on the curb with a "Free to a Good Home" sign--even throwing in the new blades I bought that didn't fix it (since they are the wrong size for our new mower and are just taking up garage shelf space). If anyone knows of anyone who wants to tinker with a broken mower, just let me know, and it's yours! :)

 I don't know, Mama. You broke it pretty well. I give up! 

Thankfully Lewis has gotten over his (short-lived) avoidance of the grass. Before, he would walk along the driveway, onto the brick patio, but always skirted along the edge of the yard and wouldn't step onto it. If we carried him into the yard and plopped him onto the grass, he would find the shortest distance to pavement and bolt. Not any more!

 Loving the feel of cold grass on his feet :)

 Doing laps around the garage

 Helping me weed

 Thinking about messing with my piles of weeds, I think.

 Hello.

 :) I love his scraped and dirty little knees.

Lewis and Norah: A Love Story

If not boyfriend/girlfriend, I think they'll at least be friends forever. They both seem to like each other and play pretty darn well together. She'll be three next month, so she's an older lady! Oww oww!! :) Here are some pictures we took Sunday morning, in the order that they occurred. It might be love!

Come on, guys! We're JUST friends!

Smooth Move #1: Playing shy/disinterested of one another

  

Smooth Move #2: Sweeping an imaginary stray hair from her forehead

GOTCHA! That sweet girl cracks me up!

 

 

Okay, FINE, I'll go out with you!

A Visit from the Butts

We just spent a great weekend with the Butts--it's their spring break this week, so they came down to KY for a few nights. They pretty much took over the basement (except during the time that the UL/UK basketball game was on Saturday), and we had babies in Pack n Plays all over the house. The quiet life that Kevin, Lew, and I have was certainly spiced up with the liveliness of a family of seven coming to stay! We had a great time with them!

The Twins, getting so big!

Jenson aka 'Mini Lily' (left) and Edison aka 'Mini Sophie' (right)

They each take after their sisters so much, in looks and in personality. They are sweet, sweet boys. 

Lewis and Norah, two peas in a pod

 Now you see it...

('it' being the box that Norah is standing on...Lew has also loved climbing on top of it)

Now you don't!

That box was an IKEA dresser that had been sitting in our living room since last month when we visited the Okrzesiks in Ohio. We wanted something for our entryway that was a) heavy enough that Lewis can't push it around and b) high enough that we can put our mail basket back by the front door without Lewis being able to reach it/pull it over on top of his head (oh, that happened...).

I jokingly told Tony he could assemble it while there was a calm moment (babies were napping), and he jumped up and did just that! Thank you so much, Tony! I would have gotten around to it eventually. :) I plan to fill up the drawers with extra blankets or maybe sheets--something that will allow our closets to have some breathing room.

After naps on Saturday, we got ready to head to the park--I had to take a picture of Lewis' new shoes before we left:

 My Uterus Just Did a Flip :)

I will never forget my sister calling me from Target's baby shoe aisle, years ago (pre-babies of our own)--she was shopping for a friend who was pregnant and said that her uterus was doing flips at the sight of all of the baby shoe cuteness. I, too, have had similar reactions (which has surprised me since I'm not much for fashion). I still think of her and that phone conversation when I see cute baby shoes.

Lewis finally outgrew his trusty size 4 tennis shoes that he wore all of the time, so I went through his shoes to find a new pair that fit--two different pairs of size 5s were already too tight on his Fred Flintstone feet, so I went with these little Nikes, and luckily they fit! I just bought them at a consignment sale a few weeks ago--while I knew they were cute when I bought them, seeing them on his feet was almost too much to handle. :)

Edison's ready to go!

Notice the sweatshirt and jeans--it was chilly! They had to borrow sweatshirts/jackets because the forecast had said sunny and in the 70s, but thankfully we didn't need the jackets once we got there.

We headed down to Waterfront Park for a picnic and time at the playground! As we ate, the sun came out and it ended up being perfect weather! Jenson and Edison hung out in their strollers, Lewis and Norah tore up the little kid playground, and Sophie and Lily (and later Norah, too) took on the bigger kid playground. We had a really great time! 

We had to tag team it with watching Lewis while we ate since he had eaten his lunch back at the house, the twins were in our strollers, and Lord knows Lewis wouldn't sit at a picnic table. Kevin and Lew walked around and played while I ate, and then Lew and I played while Kevin ate.

Big Boy Lew

Going places with Papa

:)

Hey, Papa--how's your lunch?

Norah coming down the big kid curly slide

Lily and Sophie, braving the boulder

Lewis and the Butt Girls

(L-R) Norah, Lily, Lew (and his belly), Sophie (with her bouquet of dandelions)

And then again without Lew's belly hanging out, but Norah isn't looking at the camera. :)

Walking with Mama (and eating my hair, as usual)

Saturday evening, we had a campfire and cooked hoboes and s'mores. There might have even been s'mores with a Reese's Easter Egg instead of a Hershey's bar, and they might have been pretty amazing.

Sunday morning, Lewis had fun messing with Edison and Jenson. Edison hung out in the highchair while Jenson was getting a bath, so Lew was climbing the gate to say hello and bang the tray.

Edison's probably thinking, "You silly, silly boy."

Jenson on the other hand, looked a little unsure of Wild Man Lew (understandably so):

Jenson looks like he's thinking, "Uh, lady? Some help?"

Juniper did this same thing to Lewis one time at my parents' house. He was in the Jumperoo and Juni would come over and shake it--Lewis did the same to Jenson. Both boys were giggling and enjoying themselves.

So that was the majority of the weekend! I do have one more post dedicated just to the sweet bond developing between Norah and Lewis--I'll post it next.