Lenore is FOUR!

Lenore Elaine turns 4 years old today. We celebrated with two parties yesterday--one for our friends and neighbors at lunchtime, and another for the grandparents and uncles at dinnertime. She was so happy to have so many people around to help celebrate her big day. When she woke up this morning, I told her happy birthday, and she immediately said she wanted to stay 3, instead. :)

Four Years Old

Her checkup appointment was this morning and went really well. The doctor said one of her ear tubes is still in place, and the other one is sort of floating around waiting to fall out. She still slightly has the sound of a heart murmur, but we've gotten the all clear from the cardiologist on that. Our pediatrician said it's normal to still hear that whooshing sound for awhile after. Everything else looks perfectly normal, which is always good to hear. She had to get 3 shots, which she was SO brave in taking, and she's all up to date until she turns 11 (minus the flu shot).

Waiting at the doctor with Uni the unicorn and her new Fingerling monkey.

Her stats:

Height:  41.3 inches tall [83rd percentile]
Weight:  41.23 pounds [87th percentile]

At 4, Lenore is...

• Such a 'strong, independent woman,' as Kevin calls her. She knows what she wants, she knows how to get it, and you better let her go ahead and do that if you know what's good for you. Not in like a spoiled/bratty way. Just that she is so decisive and stubborn once she's set her mind to something. I think this will take her far in life.
• She is kind. She loves babies and snuggles and animals and little tiny things.
• She does NOT like scary things. We went to Lewis's school's fall festival the other night, and she just shrieked and trembled at the kids in costume who were trying to scare us in the haunted hall. But she's so pragmatic afterwards--she said, 'I did not like that boy in the mask who tried to scare us by our feet.' She's not so hysterical that she can't make sense of it all, I guess. Also, we were out on the deck the other day, cleaning out a beverage tub for her party. There was a cave cricket in the bottom, so I touched it to make it jump out so I could wipe out the bin. It jumped toward her and all around her and back again, and she screamed and screamed. I was laughing so hard as she just kept jumping and screaming and jumping up on a chair. It was hilarious.
• She holds her own with Lewis. She will snatch something from him and run like hell, fully knowing he's going to be so mad, chase her down, and probably whack her. She keeps doing it, though. 
• She's really been big on imaginative play since school started again. I will be in the kitchen starting dinner, and I will hear her in her kitchen, working away as well. She also loves her dolls and loves walking them in a stroller or making food for them or food for us. She will sit for long stretches of time now and just play. She will make her toys talk and she will act out whole scenarios with them.
• She is writing her name, which seems impossible to me! And she's just really interested in letters, in general. She will see a letter and say, '__, that's in _____'s name.' Her preschool teacher is wonderful this year. She has writing homework every week and is getting stronger with tracing and holding a pencil (better with crayons, but getting better with pencil).
• She loves milk. When we go out to eat, she might choose Sprite or lemonade, but every other time, it's milk or water.
• She was a really good eater, but I would say she's gotten worse/more picky over the past few months. She will eat chicken nuggets until the sun goes down, but she gripes over grilled or baked chicken. She complains about pasta shapes (Lewis does that, too). Together, they combine to find something wrong with just about everything I cook. It's better some days than others, or I'm just becoming more numb to the complaining.
• She has been doing pre-ballet once a week for about 8 weeks, and we will finish that after two more sessions. We are either taking the winter off or looking into gymnastics. She is fearless and always has a scraped up knee or toe, so I think that would lend itself well to gymnastics. We will see.
• I am not sure what she is going to be yet when she grows up. I could see Lewis's engineering mindset from very early on. With Lenore, she has definitely always been a caregiver and 'little mama,' making sure everyone has everything they need (esp. Lewis). I could see her as a nurse or a teacher or something totally different--I'm not sure just yet. Maybe I'll have a better idea by next year. ;)
• She is wearing size 11 shoes and 5T or 4/5 clothing. 

That is our girl at 4! Life is fuller and happier and crazier than ever.

Lenore's Favorite Things at 4

Lenore is 4 today! Here are her favorite things:

What is your favorite...

...color? purple and pink

...toy? my Minnie car, my Minnie plane

...stuffed animal? my unicorn, Uni (from her cousins, Otis and Juni)

...thing to sleep with? my unicorn

...fruit? blueberries and strawberries

...vegetable? broccoli and cauliflower

...cereal? raisin cereal

...thing to eat for breakfast? mac and cheese

...thing to eat for lunch? turkey cheese sandwich

...dessert? donut

...candy? suckers

...drink? milk

...restaurant? McAlister's

...animal? elephant

...book? Princesses Wear Pants

...song? Just Like Fire

...game/sport? basketball

...TV show? Mickey

...movie? Finding Nemo/Finding Dory

...thing to do outside? ride my bike

...place to shop? Kroger

...shirt/outfit? 'I love my butterfly shirt and my Belle pants.'

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? 'Broccoli, cauliflower. Cake for dessert.'

Who is your best friend? Kate and Addie and Dylan

What do you want to be when you grow up? Princess

Lewis's Favorite Things, Age 7

What is your favorite...

...color?  orange, red, and gold

...toy?  Driven crane truck (it was sitting in front of him as we were talking; he picked it out with his $7 birthday money from Carlton)

...stuffed animal?  my dog, Emma (the softest stuffed animal from IKEA)

...thing to sleep with?  my dog, Emma

...fruit?  apples, oranges, and blueberries

...vegetable?  carrots, broccoli, and red cabbage (he has discovered he likes r.c. from his salad lunches at school) :)

...cereal?  Honey Nut Cheerios (everyday)

...thing to eat for breakfast?  same as above

...thing to eat for lunch?  PB&J

...thing to eat for dinner?  Spaghetti Os (? - we haven't had these in a very long time; he likes when I make regular ol' spaghetti, too)

...dessert?  chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

...candy?  Blow Pops (he gets these as rewards at school)

...drink?  chocolate milk

...restaurant?  Five Guys with Milkshakes (which is different from the other Five Guys which does NOT have milkshakes; it should be noted, too, that he doesn't eat a burger--he loves their grilled cheese)

...animal?  tiger

...book?  Trains (by Gail Gibbons)

...song?  Thunderstruck (because of Planes: Fire & Rescue)

...game/sport?  baseball

...TV show?  Magic School Bus (the new one) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

...movie?  Planes: Fire & Rescue (which he hasn't watched in forever)

...thing to do outside?  go back into the woods

...place to shop?  Target

...shirt/outfit?  anything Louisville Cardinals (and this is true--he wears either a Louisville shirt or a red shirt everyday)

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?  Five Guys with Milkshakes

Who is your best friend?  Kingston, Kayden, Eli, and Osman (from his class)

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

Lewis Turns (Turned) 7

Yesterday at the doctor.

 The night before he turned 7.

With Lenore. Story of my (our) life.

LEWIS IS SEVEN!! It happened 13 days ago now, but we've been busy. The way his birthday and Valentine's Day fell this year, we literally had some sort of celebration for 5 out of 7 days. It was a lot of cake and ice cream and candy.

He just went for his 7 year check-up yesterday, and I feel like I haven't written a post like this in forever (because I haven't).

Weight: 71 pounds, 9.6 ounces [97th percentile]

Height: 52 inches [97th percentile]

Kevin said he still needs to grow 2 inches before he's tall enough to ride this one particular coaster at Holiday World this summer (The Thunderbird), so we'll have to make sure he's eating his Wheaties these next few months. ;)

School is going well. His teacher this year is just phenomenal--she's been teaching for 23 years, I think, and she cares so much for the students and knows what she is doing. His favorite subject is science (yay!)--they have science every day in class, plus a weekly visit to the school's STEM Lab. Still very much loving our choice of schools.

We have started looking at camps for the summer. He's signed up for one week at the history museum, one week at the nature center where he went last summer, and one week at a Lego camp with the theme 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.' We are deciding on probably one more outdoor option, and the other weeks will be spent at home, at a pool, and on vacation--we are venturing to the Oregon coast with my parents and my sister's family for a week, which we're looking forward to.

He's not doing any sports at the moment. We did a short fall basketball season, but he seemed to lose interest (so no winter basketball for him). He just finished a soccer skills class that was offered after school, but he decided not to sign up for spring soccer with the Y. He is definitely looking forward to doing baseball again, especially after I told him it is machine pitch at this level. Baseball might be his thing, or it might not. Not sure yet. We might look into soccer again in the fall if he shows interest again, or we might not. Everything is kind of up in the air right now!

He is currently obsessed with the Titanic and asks me multiple times a day why they hit the iceberg, why the 4th smokestack fell, why they didn't put on enough lifeboats, etc. He is full of questions, over and over. We are going on spring break to Pigeon Forge, and coincidentally there is a Titanic museum there (woot woot). That should be fun for all of us.

He still loves his trains, Legos, riding his bike, and going for hikes in the woods behind our house. He also loves drawing--vehicles, usually, or scenes.

He has lost his top two teeth, bottom two teeth, and he has a very wiggly bottom tooth just next to the middle two.

That's all for now. I'm working on typing up his favorite things list. He's answered the questions--I just need time to type it. It's been busy around here!

Lenore is 3!

Lenore is THREE (yesterday)! Things have been really busy with my cousin's wedding this past weekend, and (subsequently) my sister, niece, and nephew are staying with us for a few days/nights. I'm a day late.

Lenore at 3 Years

MoanaElsa (Moana's necklace + Elsa's dress with train)

Her stats (we will get at her doctor's appointment on Friday):

Height: 38.15 inches [77th percentile]

Weight: 36 pounds 6.4 ounces [91st percentile]

Her doctor's appointment went well! She didn't have to have any shots or finger pricks (Lewis was really concerned she'd have to have a finger prick). We just talked to the doctor about things, and he checked her out. All looks good!

What she's up to:

• She is in 3 day 3s (half day) preschool at a new school this year and loves it. She bounds in the car every day at carpool, wanting to show me what she's made or to tell me what she's done that day. 
• She loves to dance and sing. She'll ask me to sing 'that pink circle' song or 'that song about a blue rectangle in Gramma's room,' and I have to make up songs on the spot to her requests. Some times are easier than others. :)
• Her favorite things to watch are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Moana, SING, and Frozen (which is becoming slightly less and less).
• She loves wearing tutus and dresses and crowns and necklaces and bows in her hair. She loves pretending to be her favorite characters (Moana, Elsa, and Anna). She loves having her nails painted, and she lets me cut and fix her hair. [It's kind of fun to discover the sides of myself that I never really had time/interest/confidence in while growing up.]
• She likes to play with Lewis, but Lewis doesn't always like her to play with him or his toys. They will fight and scream and chase each other, which is hard. They are sloooowly starting to play better, which gives me glimpses of what it can be like.
• She loves to play outside and isn't afraid to get dirty. In that way, she and Lew play really well together. She likes to ride her tricycle and to play with the neighbors.
• She is potty-trained! After 2-3 false starts over the past 9 months, she's finally stuck with it and is doing really well. She was almost there when school started, but I kept her in pull-ups the first two weeks, just in case. Then we had one intensive weekend of only-underwear-commitment training (which she initiated), and we haven't looked back. We've had a few accidents when she's gotten really busy playing, but she is doing great. It was a lot easier than what I remember with Lewis. :)
• She is still napping 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I can see it waning a little bit some days--sometimes she will stay up in her bed past her 7:30 bedtime, but sometimes she still sleeps a lot. I'm trying to stick to her nap schedule as much as possible. It certainly helps with me not working this year--I can get her from school, do lunch, and get her down for nap early enough that she can wake up on her own before it's time to go to the bus stop to get Lewis. Sleep is everything.
• She also sleeps with a crib tent, like Lewis did. She started climbing out 3ish months ago, and she didn't do well in her toddler bed (getting things out of her closet, pulling off books, etc.). I think by the time the crib tent arrived from Amazon, she was STARTING to get the hang of it, but the peace of mind from the crib tent (safety/containment/etc.) is better for right now. 
• Along with climbing out of her bed, she is fearless on the playground. She will follow Lewis up any sort of climbing structure, and she might fall but pops right back up again. Fearless. I'm considering getting her signed up for a tumbling class or something similar because I think she would love it.
• She is pretty manipulative, I would say. If you tell her not to do something, she will tilt her head to the side and say 'But I'm just touching it' or 'I'm just looking at it' or something similar. She does NOT like to be told what to do or not do. :) It can be challenging, to say the least.
• She is wearing size 4T clothes and size 10 shoes.

Lenore's Favorite Things (Age 3)

What is your favorite...

...color?   Yellow

...toy?   Tomato (from her kitchen)

...stuffed animal?   Dog (from IKEA)

...thing to sleep with?   Frog blanket

...fruit?   Watermelon

...vegetable?   Potato

...cereal?   Lucky Charms

...thing to eat for breakfast?   Pizza

...thing to eat for lunch?   Pizza

...dessert?   Ice cream

...candy?   Eyeball (apparently she just had one yesterday)

...drink?   Lemonade

...restaurant?   Donald's

...animal?   Elephant

...book?   Clifford

...song?   SING (all of the songs)

...game/sport?   Riding my bike

...TV show?   Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

...movie?   Moana

...thing to do outside?   Ride my bike

...place to shop?   Kroger

...shirt/outfit?   A dress

What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner?   Cake

Who is your best friend?   Juni

What do you want to be when you grow up?   Big :)

Hopefully a Final Mama Health Update

I can see the finish line for driving again (Monday!), and I feel a lot more certain now than when I did three months ago (when I was also nearing the finish). I feel like we have a diagnosis and the medicine is working like medicine is supposed to, and I am trying really hard to trust in that and not get anxious about the 'what ifs.' Scientists are paid lots of money to research and develop these things, and it's for good reason.

I definitely feel better having had a seizure in the EMU (Epilepsy Monitoring Unit) that I could see with my own eyes and that my doctor could see and feel confident in what's going on. There are still a lot of whys and hows that I want to know the answers to, but we've run the only tests we can run, and the rest is 'philosophical' as my neurologist has explained to me.

My check-up a few weeks ago with my neurologist went well. He was very reassuring and reminded me that it took torture (by them) to make me have a seizure in the EMU. I have had a few symptoms that have kept me on edge for the last 87 or so days (since switching meds), but it turns out they're just side effects of the medicine. Some memory issues, tingling in my head, loss of words, lightheadedness, etc. I can get used to them, as long as I stay seizure-free. My medicine level is 'great,' so onward and upward we go.

As I reflect on the whole not-driving experience, I am most thankful to Kevin for picking up the slack and driving us everywhere. From dropping off Lewis at camp and picking him up on lunch breaks, to stopping for milk on the way home from work. 

I am also thankful to my in-laws and my parents for driving us around. For taking me to doctor's appointments and/or staying with the kids.

I am thankful to my neighbors and friends who have offered up rides and/or adjusted plans for us. Some have driven to us to hang out, some have come over and taken me on errands, and some have just opened their (car) doors to us. I didn't take advantage as much because I don't like to inconvenience anyone, but I am so glad to have so many kind people in my life. I never did call an Uber, like I thought about, and I never used the city bus that I was going to try to use to get around (car seat stresses). Since quitting my job, we didn't have any regular places to be, so it was unnecessary.

I am thankful for ClickList, which I have now fully embraced for my weekly grocery shopping. In the spring, I was walking to Kroger, shopping, and getting a ride home from Kevin and the kids, but the hotter summer months have made me change things up. I've really only done it 3-4 times, but it's been such a lifesaver. It was free at first, but even paying $4.95 makes it worth it. I'm looking forward to grocery shopping by myself again, but I will consider CL if we are having a big party or just get too busy sometime.

So things are looking up! Lewis starts school next Wednesday, and Lenore starts 3 days/week after Labor Day. I'm working on our calendar for the fall, and I'm looking forward to getting on with our more 'normal' life again. Hooray!