The not-so-little lil sister...

Click here for the latest Ali-bug pictures

Our sweet little Sissy was 5 weeks old yesterday. Unfortunately, her sleep habits arent really improving...they seem to be getting worse. Or maybe that's just me. I'm certainly no stranger to sleep-deprivation b/c Bo-Diddly certainly broke me in with a much stronger and longer streak of it than Ali-bug has so far, but I'm no fan. If you know me well, you know that I thrive on sleep (and naps of any kind are my favorite). I'm finding it difficult to "nap when baby naps." Hopefully most of her sleep issues will be settled before I return to work on Jan. 4:)

Wild man Bo-Diddly is keeping us on our toes. He comes home regularly with *injuries* from daycare--and it makes you think--what kind of daycare are you sending that child to?? Let's just say I don't ask what the other kid looked like b/c I'm scared Bo-Diddly did more damage than he received!! haha. He turns 2 on the 15th & will be celebrating with a party this weekend to avoid the Christmas rush. He's having (of course) a Thomas party--only to fuel his recent obsession with Thomas. But hey, at least it's not the big purple dinosaur, which I'm hoping is a phase that has passed:) And it makes his Pop happy b/c it's trains. Guess that makes everyone happy. He is also into playing hide & seek. He even plays this game alone. According to his Mimi, he hid behind the curtain at church and said "Where's me? Where's me?" and then yelled "Here I am!" THAT, my friends, is true independent play. Am I a good mom or what?!?

Tyrone is well into science fair project season--yay us. After deciding on 12 different projects that werent really viable, he's finally going with a project on reaction time. He is testing reaction time by dropping a ruler between someone's fingers and comparing whether they are faster with their writing hand or the other hand. I thought it was kinda cool (and easy--love the easy project). He's also recently taken up yo-yoing (is that a word?) and says they have a yo-yo club at school. We'll see in a few years if he thinks that's really as cool as he does now:) teehee. He's also the (sort of) star of the Christmas play at church b/c he has to play multiple roles. The joys of a church so small that the lead angel also has to play Joseph!!haha. He cannot wait to use Sissy as baby Jesus in the play. We'll just hope she cooperates.

I recently got my Natl Board certification--thank goodness! Every penny of that will pay for daycare, insurance and diapers for baby Ali. Seriously, it's almost to the penny what she will cost us per month:) "God will provide." The 2nd baby is definitely cheaper than the first, but it sure cuts out the fun money for mom & dad:)

BLew is wrapping up his 3rd semester of masters classes (3 down, 4 to go). He's busy at church, overseeing the house project at school, helping coach when he can as well as balance 2 boys and a lil princess at home...not to mention work on my GROWING "to do" list. He can thank his mother-in-law for helping him balance all of the above:) Don't know what I'd do without my hubby or my mom--wait, yes I do--I'd go crazy!!

Ooooozing Cuteness

I am almost embarrassed to even post again (it's only been 3 mos +), but I thought this picture might just be cute enough to make up for it.

Our sweet little ALew has finally arrived & big brothers couldnt be more excited. I've been keeping (or trying) updated via facebook rather than here, but you can see more pictures if you click on "ALew."

1st: Motorcycle Ride, ASU visit, Haircut

Cannot BELIEVE the overprotective dad BLew let Tyrone ride on Pop's (CHIPS) motorcycle alllll the way to Price Park (& back!), but he did! Guess there is just a difference in how you're brought up--motorcycles are nothing special to me, but Tyrone/BLew are a little standoffish, while it's the opposite for guns. Scare me, nothing special to them. Anyway...Tyrone was grinning from ear to ear the entire day (not sure if that was due to the wind on the motorcycle or if he was just happy...teehee).

So Aunt LeLe was working Cannon Music Camp at Appalachian & I had been wanting to tour campus b/c there had been so many changes since I'd been there---WOW. Let's just say I had a difficult time finding my way around. More than one building that I frequented during my college days was...mmmm...gone! We ate at the lovely new cafeteria (which I discovered is actually really good when you don't have to eat it on a daily basis) compliments of LeLe. We toured the new library, solarium, bookstore & stadium with a few stops along the way--even got to walk across the new skywalk to the parking deck. Sorry we missed you Rob! *Sigh* it seems that this visit to campus has pushed my "fresh outta college" status back a few light years...I suppose the minivan mom must accept this fate:)

And now for the next milestone--Bo-Diddly's first haircut!!! Meems & I shared the duty b/c he was extra squirmy!!The ice cream was actually the 2nd distraction--bubbles lasted only a few seconds. We had no popsicles (his latest obsession)--so ice cream was next best.

I knew the day was coming soon--but he's been a baldy for so long, it kept him looking like my "baby." Alas--I saw a curl poking over his ear last week and Meems confirmed it a few days later--a haircut was needed if he were to remain in the Lewis family!! We only trimmed around the ears and neck, but he looks so grown up:(

Can't believe summer is flying by so quickly--3 months until our baby girl arrives & we have yet to find the perfect name. Some top runners,but nothing definite. BLew is recovering well from his back surgery and I am dreading the upcoming dreaded 3rd trimester of pregnancy---bleck!!
Meems & Pop have been working diligently to help us finish the upstairs bedroom & bathroom before the baby arrives-Tyrone will soon have his own domain. What would we do without Meems & Pop?!?! I have no idea...:)

Yay! Free Root Beer Floats...

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/prmtns/2009/frbf/index.html

The perfect after-Wednesday-night-bible-study treat:)

Just Like Pop??

Apparently both of my boys have decided to follow in the footsteps of their Pop...

Bo-ster stayed with his Mimi & Pop last weekend and they decided to prep him for church...literally! I'm guessing he already has the dramatic screaming and yelling down pat, so why not?? Maybe I'm a tish biased but isnt incredibly cute?? :) He prolly even asked for fresh water on cue...

Tyrone passed down his old motorcycle for the Bo-Diddly. Actually, he'd been saving it for him for a while. No battery yet because I don't think he's ready but he loves climbing on and off and listening the sound effects. He thinks he's big time like his Pop.

Tyrone's class had a special dinner last night for veterans (and a student reward for good manners in their classroom this year). The teacher asked them to dress nicely for the dinner so he & his buddies tried to pull off an attempt to coordinate-- all of them wear dress pants, blue shirts & yellow ties. Notice all of them was wearing at least one item from the plan (which cracked me up that they even came up with a plan--can you say GQ???) Yes, Tyrone's tie is yellow/gold, even though it looks white in the above picture. Anyway, it was reallyfunny because all the parents knew that when we dropped our kids off, a limo was coming to take them to the dinner reception hall (remember, reward for good manners). We stood around waiting for about 15 minutes and a limo pulls up. Their teacher says --"Hey look class, it's a limo. We need a ride to the reception hall...do you think they'd let us ride?" The kids went bonkers!!! After a few pics, they climbed in and cranked the radio up and went wild:) Definitely a memory maker.
The students performed a short program for the veterans. This is Tyrone reciting his poem "The Unknown Soldier"
That's my boys---all dressed up...and looking a whole lot like Pop to me:)

In other news~So I'm officially 17 weeks preggers today--feeling good but anxious to find out what we're having this go 'round....only 2 more weeks & we should know. Everyone is hoping/thinking it's a girl. I have pros either way. Girl=one more person on my team in the house/Boy=hand-me-downs are cheap:). Due date is Oct. 30 so for now the baby is just "Boo."

We are in the middle of finishing the upstairs bedroom/bathroom/bonus room for Tyrone to move into for when the baby arrives. Trying to do that on our tax refund budget (with a teacher furlough & baby on the way) is quite challenging. So far the free labor of Mimi and Pop has been very appreciated:):) Bo-ster will be moving to a big boy bed in Tyrone's current room at some point, which should prove for some interesting posts in the near future.

I take my National Boards for Teaching assessment tomorrow morning (Sat) @8am. Prayers are appreciated--I'm nervous, which is unusual for me. Makes for an interesting testing session. But then I am FINISHED...until scores come back in December. But by then I will have another major distraction to deal with (Boo).

BLew started his summer session of graduate courses this week--3 nights a week allllll summer long. Might be a long summer! Tyrone is in the middle of baseball season. He pitched for the first time last game and caught a fly ball (yay! that's my stepson! i wash his clothes! go tyrone!). Bo-ster has decided his new favorite activity is driving the "CAR" and by car, he does mean get in the front seat and pretend to drive. I had Mimi's car this week and he thought that meant he drives everywhere we go...needless to say he has screamed most car rides this week b/c he thought he should be driving and not in his carseat...
Hmm...kinda sounds like his Pop doesn't it??

If you wanna see more pics since I've been a slacker blogger:
http://www.picasaweb.google.com/espicey

Dollywood or Bust (no that is not a reference to my frequent trips to the bathroom)

So the bulk of my Spring Break was spent preparing for and going on our Dollywood trip (sans BLew and plus Mimi, Pop & LeLe). THANK GOODNESS we took them because I just couldn't keep up with Bo-Diddly on this trip. He wore me out just watching him. We stayed in an sweeeeeet suite (yep, just like Zack & Cody for those of you with upper elem kids) for a great deal (sight unseen) thru Expedia. Dollywood was having their "Festival of Nations" while we were there. I highly recommend it...waaaay better than the BBQ&Bluegrass Festival we hit up last fall. The music/shows that we saw were amazing and I cannot believe that it doesn't last longer or we'd go back before it ends (Apr 27). They had Le Grande Cirque "Imagine" show that we saw twice, Jennifer Roland band (Scots-Irish fiddler), and a group from Zambia that LeLe saw twice--all 10's on a scale of 1-10. Bo-Diddly even starred in part of the Jennifer Roland show---and they didn't even ask for volunteers. haha. He just imagined that he was the only audience member and took a few cues from her dancing. Tyrone was picked to be a volunteer in the rain maker show...and surprised some people with a nice cold shower on a chilly morning. He was also the cause of Big Pop getting verrrry sickish after agreeing to ride the Mystery Mine. Big Pop was lying horizontal on a bench for a few hours...

Bo-Diddly loved the train, ducks and 50's cars...most of which Mimi rode with him b/c Mommy simply did not fit:) The 50's cars were voted most popular ride b/c we all took a ride, most of us multiple trips:)

Bo-Diddly's favorite toy during the trip was the electronic safe inside the closet at the hotel. Needless to say, he ran straight there everytime we got back into the room.
LeLe & Tyrone on the Lumberjack Lifts.

Cute family picture by the River Battle, which we didn't ride. It was a little too chilly for us, but we did squirt some people who didn't know any better!
Tyrone talked Mimi into riding the rampage on Thursday---talk about soaked. This was around 7pm, closing time. Did I mention we were all starving so they had to sit thru dinner soaking wet?? Tyrone says next time they're taking their ponchos.

Our last stop was the A&W on the way home...check out those ice cream cones!!! Good times...

Yep, it still snows in April....but we don't live in Boone...so these are from March

Bo-Diddly decided to walk around the house like a cowboy for a few hours...trying out his new snow boots. His swagger was oooohhh so cute and Tyrone laughed hysterically.

This captured Bo-Diddly's general attitude about the snow. He HATED it. Ok, he might have smiled once when brother slid him down the hill but the second they got to the bottom of the hill....the screaming started over. He was perfectly content to watch brother, Mimi & Le-Le out the window.

Tyrone FINALLY got to use his snowman kit that Mimi & Pop bought us for Christmas a few years back. Bo-Diddly tried to tear it down but we blocked him. Please notice the (very) retro "Kitty Club" tobaggan that Mimi is sporting. Yep, I do believe that was mine (and prolly a hand-me-down even then....)

And finally...the famous snowcream family photo. Give me your opinions on the reactions that you see...shock, amusement, cluelessness...? BLew took the pic and was in on our surprise---instead of "Say cheese....say E---'s pregnant!" Notice Tyrone is busy studying facial reactions while I giggle. What a great way to announce we have another Lewie baby on the way--loved it!

I'm a Slacker

OK, I'm doing the thing everyone else does on their blog. I'm posting the "I'm a slacker" post with a few old pictures--in hopes that I'll be forgiven b/c the pics are so darn cute. I promise to do better and catch up up through March...soon! Besides, I just finished my National Boards for teaching portfolio this month so I DID have a good excuse:)

This is Bo-Diddly teaching his Daddy how to tie his shoes..."See Da-Da, you just knot them real good and even Mommy can't get them undone."

I was just typing away at the computer (probably blogging since I am so diligent in updating) and Bo-Diddly was hovering as usual...next thing I knew he was tuckered out on the floor beside me. I thought it was so cute, I had to take some pics. Enjoy:)
I'll be back to fill you in on the rest of the last 2 months soon....or maybe later. Tyrone did start baseball season this week....haha.

The ascent has begun...

Bo-Diddly has figured out that reaching up gets you things...like water in the face from the fridge...

and climbing up gets you a really cool jungle gym right in Mom's very own kitchen....

(and of course a cute photo...)

And growing up makes Mommy a tish bit sad...but still in love with her baby:)

I haven't had time to post many of our adventures lately--but we've had a few. Bo-Diddly still has a mysterious allergy rash (likely food) that bought him a trip to the ER a few weeks ago. He's started saying a few words..."lilillir" is his favorite=milk, water, Aunt Lele & his favorite bear (Giggles). But he does say real words too--the latest is "car", which I'm sure Aunt Amby is proud. Choo-Choo (woo woo) is for Pop. I love it when he says a new word because his reaction is that it's sunddenly magic that people understand him. As you can see, still no major hair on the head. More than before and very blond, but still a baldy. He's definitely a daddy's boy and loves watching basketball on Tv with daddy--"ball, ball!" he says. He has learned the head shake and the nod (yep is pretty funny b/c he can only do it with his mouth open). Needless to say, the "no" head shake gets waaaaaaaaay more practice.

Tyrone's latest news is his struggles with division. I can't blame him because the vocabulary they use in the 3rd grade is waaaay advanced from what I remember. They actually asked for the quotient, divisor, dividend,etc. in one problem (I will disclose here that I snuck into the other room to Google those terms before I assumed my role as teacher to Tyrone last night..haha). Seriously...quotient?? These kids are still picking their noses and trying to skip their daily baths.... Anyway, I told T that if he didn't "get" this math, he was going to fall behind in math. He got upset thinking he was going to fail 3rd grade (yes, I did have a heart and tell him that wouldnt happen--even in the thros of homework anguish). So here's the funny--we were sitting by the tub while Bo-Diddly took a bath and T started drumming around on the sink, toilet and his legs and he said--"When I get in high school, I'm gonna be a drummer...well....if I make it to high school." I thought I would crack up!

And lastly...I am greatly enjoying the minivan. LOVE LOVE LOVE the room. I have said it once before and will say it again... even with the shot to the ole ego, I can't believe I did make the switch sooner. Besides, I can always put on my shades and pretend...

In Honor of the Minivan...

Apparently I'm not the only one that took a hit to the ego with the purchase of a minivan...
Check out this funny video..."It's Hard to Be Cool (In a Minivan)"...haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2tt1cg1h_I

Lil Helper

What an adorable little helper Bo-Diddly is:) He loves the Dustbuster--although he should because he is the #1 reason why it is constantly in my hand. Or maybe he's like his mommy and just loves the Dustbuster in general. Definitely my favorite gadget. He did manage to get some dustbunnies for me from under the bookshelf. I'm training him early! Hmmmm or so I thought... Last night I was putting away laundry and didn't realize Tyrone left the bathroom door open---but Bo-Diddly did! He decided to start his teenage pranks early and TP'd the inside of the house...he tried to escape...but alas, mommy followed the trail! (some of the pics are pretty blurry b/c I was laughing so hard, but you get the idea....

He even stopped to show off in front of brother in the recliner...And finally runs to hide behind the side table:)

Boys! Gotta love 'em:)

My next couple of Mommy badges...

Badge #4: Hmmm...you look at this nice family picture and imagine a typical Sunday morning (Christmas Sunday even). And look at that mommy--what a nice sure grip she has on her baby boy. She must be a most excellent and capable Mommy. One who always packs the diaper bag just right, never forgets baby's milk and ensures that he is always within eyesight. Well it was this very Christmas Sunday that baby Bo-Diddly decided he didnt want to take his morning nap, so being the best mommy ever--his mommy decided to slip out of church and take him on a short drive to put him to sleep. What a great idea!! Asleep in an instant. As Mommy was unstrapping him from his carseat, she thought it would be a good idea to put the car key in the diaper bag (to make SURE the keys were not locked inside--good idea Mommy.). Bo-Diddly stirs and begins waking up, so QUICK!--Mommy shuts the door to run around and hop inside to calm him back to sleep....only....the keys were inside...and the doors were...definitely NOT unlocked. So to make this ever-growing long story short, I earned my 4th or so Mommy badge by having to run inside to get BLew(daddy) and Meems(grandma). We had to call 911 with the meek request that they not turn on the sirens (just FYI--they can't do that because of some stupid protocol---geez people leave me a little pride here). The big fire truck swept in (after what felt like at least an hour) and popped the lock in 30 seconds flat. Long story short--I have learned my lesson about the keys (I know, I know--you are thinking things like this never happen to you---but do you know where your keys are this very instant...better yet, do you know where your KIDS are???). Oh yes, and I also learned that it takes 5 firemen to free up a 1 yr old and calm the hysterical craziness of a VERY capable young mommy:) Sorry Bo-Diddly...love you.

Badge #5: Ok you can probably already see the boo-boo on Bo-Diddly's head so we'll just jump right into this badge story. Only 2 short days after earning badge #4, I thought it would be a good idea to allow Bo-Diddly and Tyrone to jump on the bed....haha JUST KIDDING. Seriously, the day before Christmas Eve, Bo-Diddly decided to ruin the upcoming Christmas festivity photos by gashing his head open enough to require a stitch or 2. He was running from his brother and hit his head on my footboard (YES, he was on the floor, not the bed). Fortunately for everyone's sanity after the eventful Sunday, it did not bleed a lot because a slight "pump-knot" came up, but it was still a nasty gash. I have always been a pretty calm person when crisis occurs, but some kind of hormone or something has messed with that part of my brain since becoming a mommy. The drama-filled portion of this story is that BLew was gone with the *new/hot/hip/ultracool MINIVAN*that has Bo-Diddly's carseat in it (or at least I thought I had no carseat at the time...I did not think past my nose to realize the truck with a carseat was parked in the cul-de-sac...but let's get back to the story). BLew rushed home like batman in the batmobile,er--minivan, and zipped us to the doctor's office where we were infamously referred to as "the laceration." Bo-Diddly was very scared and screamed the entire time the doc stitched him up, but as soon as we could pick him up...he was all "oooooo's & Dada's."

So the excitement of earning my latest badges overshadowed the grand festivities of Christmas, but I am thankful to God that he kept us safe and well despite the little roadblocks that reminded me that I am not an invincible Mommy and He is in control.