Lewie-isms (Age 5)

I know I keep on repeating myself, but...I can't help it.  I LOVE AGE FIVE!  My son is perpetually making me laugh, and he's still at the tender age where Mommy and Daddy is his everything.  Being with this kid just warms my heart all day long!

Here is a list of the ridiculously cute things my son says throughout  the day/week.  Am I wrong if I don't correct him?

1)  Lewie has inherited a number of non-working cell phones throughout the years.  He has two of from Mommy, two from Daddy, one from Gramy, and another from Ninny and Papa (my in-laws).  One of his phones is a Blackberry.  The other day, Lewie puts his hand out and says,

          "Wait a minute.  I have to go inside to get my phone.  I have to get my Blueberry."

2) The other night Lewie had some some congestion and we set up the vaporizer in his room.  After waking up the next day, he says,

          "Mommy, I'm feeling so much better.  That breather works great!!"

3)  Mowing the lawn is one of Lewie's favorite pastimes; he rides on Daddy's tractor.

          "Hey Daddy, do you want to lawn the mow?"

4)  Since Sponge Bob is a regular TV show in this house, Lewie uses Sponge Bob's words when he's frustrated.  Daily, I hear Lewie yell...

          "Oh Barnacles!" or "Oh, Tartar Sauce!"

Finally, since my little boy is going to Kokopelli, a preschool that focuses on music, dance, and the arts, we find that Lewie loves to break out into song A LOT.  Here is one of the cutest videos my husband captured this weekend:



Lewie, I have to say that Mommy is so proud of you.  You're growing up to be such a fun, happy, free spirited, and sweet little boy.  Thank you for gracing my life everyday with your wonderful smile.  You may every moment a "treat!"

Leaves!

This fall was warmer than usual, and so it took a while for the last few leaves to fall off our trees.  (Actually, there's still a few leaves that continue to hang on...)

In any case, it seems that every year, Lewie enjoys the fall more and more, and every year, I need to get a picture of him in a big pile of leaves...

These past few weekends, Daddy's been rounding up the leaves with his lawn sweeper attachment to his tractor, and if Lewie isn't riding with Daddy, then he's hopping into the piles of leaves left behind.

I usually rake the piles of leaves into a plastic swimming pool, and then drag the pool to the woods for unloading.  Remembering his fun last year, Lewie quickly jumped into the swimming pool, so that I could drag him and the leaves for a ride.  He weighs at least ten pounds heavier than last year, but I have to admit that dragging him was worth it.  It was fun to rake leaves on top of his head as he squealed with delight.  It was even more fun tipping him over as the leaves fell and piled on top of him.

All I can say is that life is fun with a five year-old.  The monotonous act of raking suddenly turns into a fun day of making messes, then cleaning up, and making messes all over again just to run and play and laugh and be silly.  So worth it!

Toy Flashback to 1981

I grew up as an only child in my family, and now it looks like my son may just be an only child too. Since I was an only child, my mom had the time to meticulously pack all of my toys in her attic. Perhaps she thought I might have a sibling someday, or maybe just maybe she hoped she'd have a grandchild who could use them...

In any case, the latter came true.  Ever since that fateful day of my son's birth, I've had the pleasure of watching my mom reintroduce my old toys to Lewie.  One of my favorite toys of all time is the Fisher Price Little People House Boat.

Picture courtesy of eBay.

While my boat is not in "selling condition" like the one shown above (it received lots of attention when I was a child), my son doesn't mind one bit.  It has become his favorite bath toy, and once again the Little People House Boat has been able to set sail to the mighty seas of our tub.

I mention this toy for two reasons.  First, it brings back a lot of nostalgia.  I spent hours in the tub pretending that Mommy and Daddy were having picnics on the boat, while the little boy and girl were practicing their diving and swimming skills in the "lake."  One time, my mom actually played "house boat" with me at the kitchen table, and it was one of my favorite memories of make-believe play.  My own parents were divorced when I was five, and so my mom raised me with her parents (my grandparents).  Playing houseboat for me was a way to "act out" what a "normal" family might look like.  (Of course, now that I'm older, I realize that there is no exact definition of a "normal" family.)

I tried playing "house boat" with Lewie but then quickly learned that there is a HUGE difference between boys and girls.  While I liked acting out family conversations and activities, Lewie prefers not to use any of the "Little People" at all.  The other day there was so much commotion in the bathroom that I had to peek from the door:

"Tidal wave!  Tidal wave!"  Lewie shouts.  "AGGHHHH!  THE SHIP IS SINKING. AGGHHH!"

CRASH. BANG. THUMP.

"Lewie, what are you doing?"  I ask curiously as I see my beloved toy turned upside down in the water.

"Oh, there was a major storm, Mommy.  The ship sank."

"Oh," I replied.  "Do you want me to throw out the life vests to the family members?"  (The toy comes with play life vests too!)

"No.  It's too late," Lewie replied.

With that, I said no more.

Yes, my Little People House Boat is getting lots of use these days.  It may have some stickers that are wearing off and a few marks and scratches, but it's hosted some very fun family picnics in the 80's and has even weathered some fierce storms in 2013 :)

Halloween 2013 - Choo Choo

I'm not sure how else to describe this year's Halloween except to say, "All Aboard."

Little Lewie chose a train costume for Halloween this year--Brewster from Disney's "Chuggington" to be exact.  In early October, we started viewing various train costumes online, and he fell in love with Brewster.  To be honest, I loved the costume too.  I know the years of dressing as a Star Wars character, a superhero, or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is coming soon, so I was happy to grasp onto one more year of "cuteness."

In order to join the fun, Mommy and Daddy decided to embrace the train theme too. Besides loving Thomas the Train and Chuggington, Lewie also loves The Polar Express.  (He's been obsessed with the movie since last November.)  I transformed a pilot costume into a conductor uniform for my husband, so he could be Tom Hank's character, and I bought myself an engineer's costume.  The outcome looked like this:

Lewie and me at his school Halloween party.

Lewie and Daddy getting ready for Trick-o-treating.

The three of us, right on "track" for Halloween.

The weekend before Halloween, we decided to visit Sesame Place for their Halloween Spooktacular event.  We had left over "free" tickets from the summer, and so we decided to make the four hour trip to Pennsylvania.

The event didn't disappoint.  Lewie had a chance to see several "Halloween" shows with his Sesame Street character friends, go on multiple amusement park rides, trick-or-treat throughout the park, and watch the Sesame Street Halloween parade.  Since we thought his Brewster costume might be uncomfortable to wear the entire day, we dressed him up in his train engineer costume instead.  (This is the same costume he wore for his trolley birthday party.)  Needless to say, Lewie had a blast pretending he was a train engineer throughout the day.  Adults, especially at the hotel, just loved his little imagination.

The best part of the day was when we went to see the Elmo's World Halloween show.  We sat in a studio that looked just like Elmo's World on TV, and when the characters came out, Lewie looked at me and said, "Wow Mommy!  I didn't know Elmo's World was real!"  I giggled and replied, "Sure it is Lewie."   I just love this age of innocence and make believe.  It makes every holiday super special!

                                                                               

Lewie and Daddy doing a "ropes" course.

Love all the Halloween decorations!

Lewie and me in the Sesame Street Pumpkin patch.

Big Lew and Little Lew.

Trick-or-Treating before the next ride.

Lewie's favorite ride...clickety clack along the track.

A great view of the parade on top of Daddy's shoulders.

Elmo float w/ his trick-or-treat pumpkin pail

The Count...Ah, Ah, Ah

The Count Pumpkin...Ah, Ah, Ah

One more squeeze before the next show...

Dancing to "The Monster Mash."