Lewis the Truest, Vol. XVIII

It's been a while, but Lewis continues to be pretty hilarious. The first three of these are from back in November/December, and the last two are from this morning: 


My mom reminded me of this one. She stayed with us for part of a week to help me with the transition and recovery. She was immensely helpful, but that's beside the point. :) While helping get Lewis ready to go to school (I believe), she told him to go potty. 

Lewis: I don't need to potty! I'm not holding my penis!

I'm not sure where/when he picked that up. I guess we have called him out a few times for saying he does not have to go, when he's either very clearly grabbing himself or in the process of taking his pants and underwear off, randomly, in the middle of the living room. :) He's pretty good about going when he needs to go, on his own, but he's more resistant when we are the ones telling him to go (e.g. when we're getting  ready to go somewhere). As with most things... :) 

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Kevin and Lewis were sitting at the table one evening, talking about sleep and the importance of naps. Lew was particularly wound up that evening, as he is most evenings when he doesn't get enough sleep, doesn't nap, etc. Naps are almost nonexistent now, so crazed evenings are something we're trying to manage. Kevin was trying to explain to Lewis how tired he (Lewis) was and how much better he would feel and would be able to behave if he would just take a nap (for the love...). 

Lewis: I'm not tired...I'm just HAPPY! 

Kevin and I both got a good long laugh out of that one. So, so funny and not funny at the same time. :) We've been trying to get him to bed earlier to make up the deficit, and that seems to help. We've started quiet time in his room in the afternoon, too, instead of wasting time getting him ready for a nap that isn't going to happen.

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Kevin and Lewis were down in the basement watching a UL game:

Kevin: (yelled at the TV)
Lewis: What's wrong, Dad?
Kevin: Oh, the Cards just aren't doing well. (or something to that effect)
Lewis: Do we need to change clothes?

It totally cracked me up when Kevin told me. Just what we need--another superstitious UL fan in the house.

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While we were eating breakfast:

Me: Lewis, do you want some fruit to go with your breakfast? Maybe some grapes? A banana?
Lewis: Did you say crackers? 

Wishful thinking, buddy! (He'd eat crackers for every meal if we'd let him.)

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Sitting at a stoplight on the way to school:

Lewis: Why do the cars drive on the road?
Me: Because that's what they do. People drive cars on roads in order to go places.
Lewis: Are they going home?
Me: Yes, some people are going home. Some are going to school, some to work, some to Kroger.
Lewis: Some to train rides.

Of course, someone, somewhere is heading to the train station to take a train ride. And it was the way he said it, too. In the same tone as me, trailing off, finishing my sentence.

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.

Lew's Favorite Things - Age 4

What is your favorite...

...color?   orange

...toy?   an airplane

...stuffed animal?   my baby and my dog (his 'baby' is a little stuffed penguin that he got from his teachers, Ms. Shauna and Ms. Linda, for Christmas; his dog/puppy is the dog we take monthly/yearly pictures with)

...thing to sleep with?   my puppy and my baby

...fruit?   apple

...vegetable (new this year because I forgot last year)?   carrots

...cereal?   Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats (Not just the regular kind...made that mistake once) :)

...thing to eat for breakfast?   toast

...thing to eat for lunch?   peanut butter and jelly

...dessert?   ice cream (chocolate, specifically)

...candy?   worms (gummy worms, not real ones) ;)

...drink?   lemonade

...restaurant?   Moe's (the boy can throw down some chips and salsa)

...animal?   dinosaur

...book?   Thomas (specifically, Crack in the Track)

...song?   A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay :)

...game/sport?   basketball

...TV show?   Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

...movie?   Blue Mountain Mystery (Thomas)

...thing to do outside?   play with my wagon

...place to shop?   Goodwill :)

...shirt/outfit?   Thomas shirt

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?   toast (of ALL the foods in the world...) :)

Who is your best friend?   William (one of his classmates...they like to play trains together in their classroom)

What do you want to be when you grow up?   a train conductor


Clearly there is a strong train influence right now, so that was the theme of his birthday party yesterday. I'll get a post together on his party soon (right alongside that long-lost Boise trip post from last month), and I'll take his yearly picture with his puppy.

Lenore at 3 Months

My pretty girl at 3 months 

And showing her personality at 3 months :)

Lenore is 3 months old now and is a very sweet baby girl. No doctor's appointment this month (at least no wellness-checks...hopefully no more sick appointments, either), so I took the measurements myself:

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):

Height: 25 inches (in 90th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds (above 95th percentile)
Head Size: 16 3/4 inches (between 90th and 95th)

What she's up to this month:

• Sleep has been rough on me. With the sickness of the past few weeks, she's started waking up 2-3 times a night (at like 12:30-2-5 or 1-3:30-6:15), and I've had trouble falling back asleep some nights in between feedings. I put her down between 7 and 7:30pm, and then I've been going to bed shortly thereafter (8 or 8:30pm) to try to get enough, but it's still been rough. I try to get her to stay in bed until at least 6:30am--sometimes she won't go back down after a 5am wake-up, though. I know I'll look back on these days 'one day,' but man. What I wouldn't give for a continuous night of sleep.
• She has the sweetest giggle. That helps. A little. :)
• She is having more 'active' time...in the Jumperoo, on the floor, standing on our laps, etc. She really seems to like to stand.
• I've started trying to do her naps in her crib this week. She was napping in her rock-n-play or her swing up until now, but her naps were only lasting 30 minutes or so. I'm trying to keep her in her crib for at least an hour--it's going well in the mornings and at mid-day, but not so much in the late afternoon. (Update: we're back to napping in the rock-n-play. Still trying to avoid/wean off the swing naps if we can.)
• We've both noticed that she seems more verbal than we ever remember Lewis being at this point. She coos and makes all sorts of noises, like she's ready to talk already.
• Breastfeeding is better than it was, but still not as it should be. I no longer have the toe-curling pain at latch-on, but I do still have a lingering, burning (raw) pain after we're done feeding. She will not take a bottle when we've tried on occasion, which feels very limiting to me. I've been reading about how to get her to take them, and it seems a lot of people say to keep offering bottles-only (no boob) for a day or two, and that she will eventually give into it (and then reintroduce the breast once bottles are established). If I can get my *(&$ together, I can pump and try that, though. I'm just having trouble finding time to do much of anything besides keeping the children out of trouble right now. I also dug out a different brand of bottle we used with Lewis, and a friend might bring a third brand over for me to try out...maybe Lenore is just unsure of the particular design? I had a friend suggest that last week, too. I'm not sure, but I really hope we can get her to take one soon so that I can maybe sleep through a couple of feedings and let someone else take over.
• She is wearing 6 month clothes.

Crazy Busy Life

Phew! Life has gotten so crazy busy this month! I feel like every day has been an uphill battle to some extent, and I'm hoping that things will calm down a little in the next months. I still need to write my Boise post, I realize. I had some free time a few weeks ago and had to wait too long for Dropbox, so the moment passed. I will do my damnedest to get it together, I promise.

After Boise, both kids had colds. Lewis had it worse at first (fever and runny nose), but then Lenore got fussy and snotty (not fevered, though). I ended up taking her in because she had an exceptionally fussy day of only 30 minute naps, and they found that she had a double ear infection! They put her on 10 days of amoxicillin, and by day 7, she was still a fussy pants, so I took her and Lewis in that time to be checked again. Sure enough, they both had double ear infections, so we switched to 5 days of Zithromax and went on our way. The last day of that was last Friday, and I think Lenore is better. Lewis still has a runny nose and cough, so we'll see about him. Needless to say, these past few weeks have been difficult around here.

On top of it all, Kevin got a promotion at work (yay, Kevin), which means he's been working more and has more responsibilities. It is great, but the timing of it has made home life a little challenging at this particular juncture. I haven't been able to get into much of a routine yet, so home-cooked meals have been meager and the house is a bit of a wreck (from the infant stuff + toddler stuff coming together). Sooo, on top of all of that, we've decided to move to a bigger house! Why not just pile it all on at once? New baby? Check. New job? Yes. Move? Why not?! We've clearly lost our minds. I met with a Realtor on Friday, and we are aiming to put it on the market in March. Life definitely won't be calming down anytime soon, but we'll at least have a proper bedroom for my parents and our friends to stay in when they come to visit. And we won't be tripping over toys at every turn if we can get some sort of toy room set-up.

I'll get the 3 month post up this afternoon. I have to wait for Miss Lenore to wake up so I can take her picture and do her measurements.

Christmas 2014

This was our first year to stay home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, in the 12 years we have been together. Our 'usual' routine was to drive up to my parents' house a few days before Christmas, do Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family and Christmas morning at my parents' house. Then we would pack up and drive (2 1/2 hours, if no stops) to our house to drop off and reload gifts, and then spend the afternoon/evening at Kevin's parents' house. All that running around clearly is too much with two little kids. It was too much for me before we had kids, too, but we didn't do anything about it--it's nice to start traditions of our own. I think it worked out well, even though we missed getting together with my side of the family. We did get to see them a few weeks before at Thanksgiving dinner, though. 

We made an Italian meal for Christmas Eve and went to the Episcopal church where Lewis goes to school. I thought taking both kids to the service would be a nightmare, but Lewis was pretty well-behaved, and Lenore slept through the whole thing (she sleeps a lot!). :) It was neat to see some of the same traditions at this church as at my parents' church--I might have started crying during the candlelit-singing of Silent Night at the end of the service, thinking of my family doing the same thing, missing my sister (we used to sing like maniacs, especially on Christmas Eve), etc. I felt very close to them, even though we weren't with them.

Here is video Kevin took of Lewis walking in to see what Santa brought for him on Christmas morning:

A Construction Train!

He wanted to set it up and play with it immediately, so we did that before opening his other presents (from Kevin and I and my parents).

We went over to Kevin's parents' house later that afternoon to have lunch and open more gifts. Overall, it was a nice day. Much more relaxing than in years past.

A few days later, from Kevin's phone:

Sibling Hugs!

Snuggle Time!

There are probably 50 other pictures similar to these on Kevin's phone. :) Lewis likes to hold his sister, a lot. Life is very full and busy and pretty wonderful right now.

The Polar Express and I Turned 34

While we were waiting for Lenore's arrival, my parents came down to stay for if/when I went into labor. My mom mentioned taking Lewis to The Polar Express ride in French Lick around Christmastime, so we decided to go for it. I bought him the book (which came with an audiobook) and the movie, and he and Kevin went to the Science Center to see it on the big screen sometime either before or after Lenore was born. (It's all a blur!) :) We listened to it in the car just about every time we drove anywhere, so that we were up on the story, and Kevin read him the book most nights at bedtime. Lewis could recite the book to you if needed.

We drove up to French Lick on a Friday afternoon and met my parents at our hotel for the night. They were sold out of the train tickets, so the only way we could get tickets was to book a package at this hotel with an indoor water park, so it became a whole getaway thing, which was great. We unpacked and got ready to go for our 5:30pm departure:

 They encourage kiddos (and adults) to wear pajamas, like the kids in the book. :)

 Waiting at the train station

 Lenore was there, too! 

She slept the whole time, of course. Maybe next year she'll be awake for it. :)

The conductor came through and punched our tickets like they do in the movie. 

I think Lew thought that was pretty cool, seeing punches/confetti flying everywhere. :)

They did a really great job of reenacting the book and movie details. Lewis thought it was pretty great--it stops at the North Pole and heads back to the station, at which time Santa comes aboard the train and talks to each child. Lewis' face, seeing Santa walking down the aisle, was priceless. He wasn't much into talking to ol' Mr. C, but he happily took a bell from Santa's sleigh (which is from the story) as a souvenir, which was pretty cool.

The next day, we headed to the water park at the hotel where we were staying. Lewis was tall enough to ride the big water slides with an adult, so we took turns taking him down and going down ourselves. Despite feeling like I might crash and seriously injure myself (they were FAST), we had a blast. We all switched off holding Lenore and riding the slides and/or lazy river. It was a really great set-up, and we'd like to go back sometime. After lunch, we headed over to the French Lick Resort to see their Christmas decorations, which were beautiful.

The next day was my birthday--the big 3-4! It's kind of a blur--I know there was cake and ice cream. I might have gone for a pedicure, I honestly can't recall! [Update: Kevin reminded me that we went out to dinner and to see Wild.]

 Getting some help from Big Lew

There are a ton of pictures that I haven't posted--of Lewis and Kevin raking leaves, visits with family at Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. I could do a whole posting of pictures of Lewis and Lenore snuggling--Kevin has so many on his phone! I'm working on getting the pictures off of my phone so that I can post about our trip to Boise--it's just taking a while.