Halloween

We opted for a very buggy Halloween. It all started with Maddie's decision to be a ladybug. I made Maddie's costume, and I found William's costume at Goodwill, and as you can definitely tell, Casey's and mine are homemade. We hit up a few Halloween events this year. We got invited to a party on Wednesday and Maddie spent the entire time with all the other little ones in the bounce house. Then Saturday night we went to our ward trunk or treat. Finally came the actual Holiday where Maddie had a slow start to trick or treating, but I finally coaxed her into gathering free candy from strangers. We headed home to an evening of candy eating and family fun.

We're now on week 2 of William's life and still adjusting. He's a noisy fellow; lots of squeaks and grunts. He still doesn't like his bassinet, so we're still not having great nights. He's gained 15 ounces since his birth because he's always eating! My doctor said to wait until he really cries from hunger before I feed him, so he's not snacking so much.

Maddie is still doing well with him; she doesn't seem to dislike him in any way. Every once in a while she'll ask to hold him. Mostly she likes to disrupt his daytime naps by shaking him and yelling, "Wake up baby! Wake up!" Which, I'm fine with his daytime naps being interrupted if it helps him sleep at night at all.

He's still doing great going back and forth between nursing and bottles, and I'm trying to build up a storage of breast milk so we don't have to use formula anymore. We're on our last container of the freebie stuff.

Mom is doing well and feeling pretty great; other than lack of sleep. I forgot how painful nursing can be, but I'm at least glad that the contraction type cramps stopped after a few days. I jump at any chance to leave the house since we're home all day long. I've been blessed with fabulous friends, who brought me dinner for two weeks! I even got gourmet breakfast one morning. I really feel so overwhelmed with how kind and generous people have been. It definitely makes me want to be that kind of person to other people.

William's Arrival

William Kenny Lewis arrived Friday, September 16th at 7:43 pm.

I had been to my weekly doctor visit that previous Monday, and the doctor told me to come in to his office that Friday (my due date) and he'd schedule a time for me to get induced. So I went in at 9am to my appt., he checked me out and said, "how would you like to be induced today?" I of course said yes and he said, "how about 11?"

So we hurried home, got all packed, I cleaned the kitchen and whatever else I could, then we dropped off our little Mads with the inlaws, grabbed some Taco Bell and headed in.

I was having light contractions when I got in, I wouldn't have noticed if the machine didn't tell me. They started the pitocin at noon. I began to feel them noticably. The doctor came in at 1 or 2 and broke my water. That hurt. By 4 I was ready for my epidural. Just in time for Jeopardy. At 7 my doctor came in, checked me and predicted the baby would be here at 7:40pm. At 7:30 I started to feel the contractiona pretty frequently and began to feel pressure down below. In came to doctor, he told me to go ahead and push, and within 2 or 3 minutes we had a baby! I looked down at the doctor and asked, "Is that usually how it goes?" I seriously couldn't believe how fast and easy it all was. Delivering thte placenta didn't hurt at all. I didn't feel the pain of getting stitched up afterwards. It was all so different than last time.

We love our little William and are adjusting to life with a newborn around. He's not a fan of his bassinet yet, so we tag team the recliner at nights. Maddie enjoys loving on him and telling him he's all done eating so Mom can play with her. Casey, as always, is such a sweet loving dad, and is loving that this baby enjoys bottles from Dad (as does Mom, except the whole pumping thing).

Countdown

5 days and counting...I told Casey about a month or so ago that I thought this baby was coming early. He just felt really low, I had lots more aches and pains this time around, and just a different feeling than when I was carrying Maddie. I think that difference is just the fact that I'm 3 years older and 3 years more out of shape. It's definitely been a harder pregnancy this time around, but I still think I have it easier than most because I don't really get too sick and what not. We're uber excited to finally have Baby William here, and every night I envision myself timing those contractions, and every night I'm disappointed. I have at least fully embraced the "eat whatever I want" mentality of being pregnant these past few weeks; along with lazy days lounging in my unmentionables and giving out tasks to the husband. I'm pretty sure the whole household is ready for the baby to squeeze his way into the world.

August

The adventures of Maddie's August.

We love the culture pass system at the local libraries. The past month we were able to go to the Phoenix Children's Museum (my fave) and the Natural History Museum in Mesa. Maddie was so tickled that I packed a lunch for both of us and we sat in their little cafeteria area and ate it together. I think we were there for 3 hours and I had to weasel her out of there because my pregnant body was tired.

Casey took her to the Natural History Museum, and she loved all the dinosaurs. Her very favorite is the Triceratops. She was also so excited to show me the gold her and dad found in the river. I love when just the two of them get to spend time together, because she's so attached to me; it's a good change for her to fully enjoy her fun dad.

We also had Mercedes come stay with us for three days and two nights. Maddie was in heaven; Mercedes is pretty close to her idol. We set up a little tent in the front room and they spent a lot of time playing witches and ghosts and screaming. Poor chubby Raheem also had a few days of being chased and tackled and loved on.

And finally, we started back in joy school! Maddie had been so excited to have school at our "new house," and I was the first mom to take a turn, so she was quite happy. This year we have 7 kids, so it's quite busy. But I love that they're a year older and more capable of sitting still and learning more. I have this next week as well, then I'm on hiatus until February, just to have time to deal with a new baby and such.

Fourth of July Weekend

We spent our 4th in St. Johns this year. The 4th is also my dad's birthday, and this year was his 50th birthday. So we decided to throw him a party, and I'm very surprised that he agreed to go along. It was at my sister's and her husband's house in Lakeside. They have such a beautiful property: two acres with a catch and release pond (slash doggie swim hole), horse corral (no horses), fire pit, picnic benches, three tire swings, and just wide open space. We spent the day just hanging out then guests arrived in the evening.
While is St. Johns we went to the fireworks show up in Springerville, which I think I was watching the blazes on the ground more than the actual fireworks. We also attended the Springerville parade. Maddie was all waves in hopes for some candy. The BBQ and foot races at the park are always a favorite; so Americana. Maddie of course refused to race, so we sat around in the hot sun and eventually got a snow cone and headed home.
That night we had a cookout at my mom's then Casey and I decided to head back home...sans Maddie. My mom kept her for the rest of the week. It was nice to be able to get fully moved into our new home (pics to come eventually). We get to pick her up today and we are more than excited to see our little girl. I feel so lazy and bored without her around to entertain all day, but I have enjoyed the lazy tv watching and sleeping in.

Mother's Day

I'm a bit behind, but here is my Mother's Day...
I awoke to a very excited child bringing me a present in bed. Maddie and Dad had worked hard to make me a very beautiful flower brooch. I was so impressed with them both and proudly wore it to church that day. I was also very impressed with my husband's culinary skills as I watched him make me eggs benedict for breakfast. you can see the pic below where he is very carefully poaching the eggs. Breakfast was the best I've had in a long long time. Grandma helped Maddie with the giant cookie to give to me. Maddie is the world's best gift giver. She is always so enthusiastic and sincerely excited to give gifts; I love it.
I've been contemplating some of my favorite things about being a mother...Although it's very hard at times, it truly is so rewarding to see your very own child grow and play and just be them. So here is just a glimpse of some of my favorite mothering privileges.
1. Maddie is insistent that I put her to bed at night (I actually get a bit burnt out of this) but before climbing into bed to hear her stories, she always grabs a stuffed animal to sleep with, but she also brings one to me. Sometime in the night she always climbs into bed with us, and she always brings that same animal for me to sleep with. She is so sweet and thoughtful about it.
2. I love to listen to her in her bedroom talking and playing with her dolls and toys. I seriously could just sit and listen to that with no need of any other entertainment.
3. She is a wrap-around-the-neck-teeth-gritted hugger. She will randomly fall on top of me with one of these hugs for no reason.
4. She is obsessed with playing with my hair. I usually have to pry it out of her hands at night when she falls asleep.
5. She is so excited about the new baby and talks about him a lot. She is going to be a stellar big sister, and I can't wait to see how they love each other.

Thanks to my wonderful husband and daughter for the best Mother's Day!

Easter

Easter at our place was pretty low key. I woke up early and was out watching TV when I heard some movement in the kitchen. I waited a few minutes before going to see who was up. There stood little Maddie in her pajama shirt and diaper (she is particular of her pajama outfits) just looking, but not touching her Easter basket. She had set out the empty basket the night before for the Easter Bunny to fill, and she also left a carrot from the garden. I told her it was okay to open it. She was most excited about her Ni-hao Kailan band-aids, but I'm also very happy that she was excited to get her own little Book of Mormon and Jesus bookmark. She's not much of a candy girl, but she did get a chocolate bunny and nasty Peeps.
We later dyed some eggs and let Maddie color on them with markers. We only did 12 between the 3 of us; we were pretty tired that morning. We then hid them in the yard and Maddie very unethusiastically found her eggs. Raheem helped out and ate one of them, at least he was excited.

Maddie Ramblings

Little Miss Maddie will be 3 soon, and I need to reflect on her 2 year old self for a while.

We've been on and off potty training for about 6 months now, but it's just not coming along. I was really worried she wouldn't be trained by 3, but I honestly don't care at this point. I've realized I'm much too lazy to take her to sit on the toilet every 30 minutes, and I doubt she'd cooperate with me anyways.

She does make trips to the bathroom every 30 minutes to get her band-aid fix though. Seriously, this kid is obsessed. I had bought some Hello Kitty ones for her and quickly found that those were far too expensive for her usage.

She loves playing outside in the garden, and the other day while picking spinach, I found a little caterpillar. She quickly took a liking to him, and 3 days later he's still living in a jar in her room. His name is Woggy. She often makes up words, and this name was one of them. As well as her Barbie horse named Fance Fance.

She is long done with naps, and we're okay with that because if she does nap, she's up till midnight in our bed. We often have to keep her awake in the car if it's after 4pm or she'll quickly drift off. Otherwise, she will usually go down between 7:30-8:00, but not without a miserable fight.

She loves to play computer games every chance we let her, and she now can navigate around the page well enough that if she doesn't understand or like a game, she can find another. It's a wonderful time for me to get some laundry folded, or more often, rest on the bed next to her.

The last two pics on here show her sense of style. I used to get quite peeved that she wouldn't wear the cute clothes people bought for her, and we would very often (very often) get in fights over getting dressed. I've learned this battle is one I'm okay with losing, and I actually am quite fond of her crazy attire each day. I am not fond of her not being able (or willing) to dress herself, because she does about 5 wardrobe changes a day.

She's super smart and loves asking all kinds of questions to figure out the world. We watched Bambi the other day, and she was quite focused on why Bambi's voice was different when he got bigger. I tried to explain that when we get older our voices change. She just wouldn't believe me that her voice was going to change someday. She also wanted to know why Bambi's mom died, and I told her that people eat meat, so they hunt animals. I then told her that we eat cows and chickens and pigs (hoping I wasn't scaring her away from eating meat). But she listened and seemed to understand and just said, "Oh." At this rate, I need to make sure I'm well read and know a lot about the world, because she's definitely going to be one who will ask me.

4th Anniversary

Four years together and we finally get a weekend getaway! My mom came and picked up Mads on Friday, and we left directly to Sedona. It was wonderful to spend alone time with my Love. We ate out (yummy Indian food), slept in (kind of), I took a bath, took a nap, went on a 5 mile hike (my poor body hasn't seen that much effort in a long time), ate some more, watched movies and just relaxed. We enjoyed the atmosphere of Sedona and had many giggles and eye rolls over vortexes and aura readings. We definitely could have used one more day, but we were excited to see our little girl.

This first picture is a sand painting done by some monks. First of all, I only thought Native Americans did sand paintings, so I was enlightened on that fact. I was a little disappointed in that I thought it was going to be very large and on the ground, but I'm still so impressed with the patience and time this took. We weren't there when the swept it up and did the ritual, but I'm glad we got to see it.

Why do I always look so much larger than my husband? Okay, yes I am larger, but he IS taller than me.

Oh la la.

February Birthdays

February is always fun because Casey and I share such close birthdays. We always enjoy all the freebies that restaurants offer, and this year took advantage of: Benihana, Rubios, and Souper Salad. The day of Casey's birthday, I had to babysit, and Maddie was mega sick. Like, the sickest she's ever been. I managed to get over to the house and make his crepes for breakfast, then took both kiddos with me to the doctor. Turned out that Mads had RSV, a double ear infection and a temp of 101. Casey tended to her all day until I got home around 4pm. I then attempted to make his birthday dinner and cake all while trying to comfort my sickly child who only wanted to be held. It was stressful, and I felt bad that Casey took second on his birthday, but he's a good dad.
My birthday was less stressful, and we enjoyed Panda Express at home. Casey made me a strawberry cake with purple frosting. It looked like an Abbey Cadabby cake, and Maddie still talks about it; it was yummy of course.
I now look forward to Maddie's birthday where I can go all out, or at least as far as our budget will take us.

Miss Maddie Modeling

Maddie is usually a stinker about letting me take her picture, but on this night that's all she wanted to do. She kept going to different locations and doing different poses. She would immediately want to look at the picture after I took it. I think we have a future model on our hands.

Showing off her new "Valentine" tree (we had to improvise to get her to take down all her Christmas decorations and tree).



Future Mousekateer.



Katie Kangaroo and Baby Joey. An exotic shoot in Australia.



Sneaking a peek.



E.T. impersonation.



I think she's going for "saucy" here.



This is her vogue pose.



Mona Lisa smile

Christmas

Maddie's fantastic Christmas.
She gets plenty of time on her tricycle, cruising to the park, cruising around the block, cruising at the zoo...she always asks to ride her tricycle to whatever destination we're going; near or far.


We were about a month too late in buying her the Cars dvd, she has yet to watch it even though we ask everyday. (As opposed to watching it EVERYDAY at her cousin's house the previous months). But she is quite fond of her Cars garage from Grandma and Papa. Every so often, when she decides she can entertain herself for a few minutes, I can hear her in her bedroom playing with her cars. I love her little sense of imagination and pretend conversations.



Of course Christmas was a lot more than just presents for us. Maddie really understood a lot the birth of Christ and who was involved. She loved all of Grandma's Nativities and visiting the temple lights to see baby Jesus. Although, she was always concerned that there was no angel at the temple. And we went once during the day when baby Jesus was inside "taking a nap", she was quite distraught at his disappearance. I loved being a mom during this time of year and teaching my daughter about Christ and how special he is. It's so fulfilling to see your child learn and understand such important topics.

New Year...New Attempts

High lights and some low lights of 2010.

At the beginning of 2010 I never thought we'd be where we are now...living with the inlaws. We're so grateful for their kindness, but hope 2011 goes a little better in some areas. Here's a year in review for Jessie Lewis; a list of things I remember most (in no significant order).

1. Maddie learning and talking and growing! She went from speaking words to speaking full conversations. She had a few encounters with the potty, but has remained faithful to her diapers. She loves to sit and listen to us read her books every night and often throughout the day. She's loving joy school and doing well at remembering her letters, and definitely loves all her friends.
2. Anniversary date with Casey (and dates in general). Ice skating and dinner with my main man was so much fun.
3. Maddie's 2nd birthday was so much fun to plan and create. I'm excited for this year's!
4. Last year I made a goal to read a book a month and I was so close to succeeding. I loved reading a new genre each month and hope to continue trying new books.
5. Summer checklist was a fun adventure for the Lewis family.
6. We were so happy for Tasha and Derek and their fun Vegas wedding.
7. Maddie's emerging diva. We've had several recent meltdowns (and I mean meltdowns) concerning mom's choice in her wardrobe or in having to dress at all. Getting dressed for church is always fun, as is trying to get jeans on this kid.
8. Wonderful sewing nights with my friends, cabin trips, girls' nights and farewell parties.
9. Babysitting my nephew Chase. He turned one in June and is just getting more and more fun to be around each week. Maddie loves going to his house and is learning to love being nice to him.
10. And of course, the big move. Unfortunately we couldn't afford to stay in our condo and had to trim our already trimmed budget. We're working hard to find Casey a job at a hospital and hopefully get some student loans to help us out as well. We're so excited for Casey to get into his "real" classes, the ones that are specified to his Business Administration major.

I truly think this upcoming year is going to be a good one for us. I'm excited to see what comes of it. And of course a post on new year's day must include a list of my resolutions. So here goes another attempt at bettering myself on an upcoming year.
1. Study/pray everyday (this seems to make the list every year)
2. Sew a wearable garment for myself (I had to add "wearable" because I've attempted clothing in the past, and have yet to wear them)
3. Read one classic novel.
4. Make one pretty cake.
5. Learn to identify one new bird (yes I aspire to become a bird watcher)
6. Learn to identify one new tree/plant (yes I aspire to become nerdier)
7. Learn to play one new hymn on the piano
8. Learn to drive Casey's scooter
9. Make a quilt
10. Make one family movie (I'm soooo behind on home videos)

Make it a good one folks!