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!