All Aboard!

I'm not sure when Little Lewie's fascination with trains started...it may have been when we went on the trackless train ride at the mall...or...it may have been when we visited a little friend of his that had a Thomas the Train wooden train table.  All I know is that Little Lewie has been fascinated by them ever since...It's so much fun to hear him yell, "Choo choo!  Choo choo!" (especially while riding the train at the mall and waving to shoppers).

Since Little Lewie's third birthday is coming up on August 11th, I decided I could either have an elevator party (his other great fascination in life) or a choo choo train party.  Since elevators are hard to come by, we opted for the easier train theme.  I'm still trying to see if I can secure a trackless train for his birthday pary, but in the meantime, we already decided to buy him his birthday gift--his very own train table.  The Thomas the Train wooden tracks and train sets are pretty expensive (even the used ones on eBay), but we did find an awesome Imaginarium train table at Toys "R" Us on clearance for under $100.

Last Sunday, we decided to center the day around getting his present.  Since Toys "R" Us will not deliver the table, we had to use the store locater to find a store that had the item available for pick-up.  The closest store wasn't even in our state, so we opted to drive to Yonkers, NY (an hour and 15 minute drive from our house) to get it.  My husband wasn't thrilled about the idea of driving so far at first, but once we got the table and came home, our little boy's excitement made up for the long ride.  He was such a good boy during the car ride, and he couldn't be happier when Daddy put together his table. 

Here are some highlights from our day including a fun video showing Little Lewie tackling the box and yelling "Choo choo":

One excited little boy!

Giving a thumbs up!

Looking for an opening...

Playing with his train set before Daddy is even finished...

Poor Daddy still trying to put together the thousands of pieces...

Proof that our long trip for the train set was well worth the wait!

These Lazy Days of Summer

I love the summertime.  Simply put, I don't have to feel guilty about the endless hours of TV watching indoors.  No, but honestly, there's nothing more fun than going for a swim, relaxing under a tree with an ice cream cone, going for an evening stroll, enjoying a good old-fashinoned picnic, roasting marshmellows...etc. etc.

I'm happy to say that we've been enjoying the great outdoors.  Sure our work schedules sometimes get in the way, but over the last few days we've had a chance to take in some rays.  Here's some pictures from our last few adventures...

Swimming in Ninny and Papa's Pool

Happiness is swinging on the "Big Boy" Swing

Shark Attack?!

Getting some R&R on the beach with his pal Ryan.

Scoping the scene for chicks.

Searching for buried treasure.



Watching the campers across the lake.



"May we please have some ice cream?"

"Don't worry.  It's on me today."

Fast asleep. 

The Potty Monster

Okay, we've created a "potty monster."  If you're not sure what I mean, please...let me explain. 

Scenario 1:

Little Lewie and I are on our way out the door.  I'm late for work and call daycare to let them know that I will be dropping him off later than expected (again).  As I go to lock the door, Little Lewie annouces...
     "Potty Mommy, Potty."
     "What?  Now?  Are you sure you need to go potty now?"
     "Yes, pee pee Mommy, pee pee."

I unlock the door, bring Little Lewie to the bathroom, and help him pull down his pants and pull up.  We stand there for three minutes.  Nothing happens, but Lewie proceeds to tell me that he's done, so he can flush the toilet and celebrate...

Scenario 2:

This lovely picture is provided to
you by Google Images.

We're at the park.  We just finish playing on the swings and instead of being interested in going on the slides, Lewie announces...

     "Potty Mommy, Potty."

Well, what do you know?  Way out younder, yes beyond the parking lot and the ball fields, there's a pavillion that most likely has a potty.  If not, next to the pavillion are porta potties.  Well it must be our lucky day!

     "Are you sure you have to go potty, Lewie?"
     "Yes Mommy, poopy.  Go poopy Mommy.  Go poopy."
I hold his hand, and we walk through the playground, across the parking lot, across several ball fields, and arrive at the pavillion.  There's a bathroom that's open at the pavillion; although Little Lewie has his eyes on the porta potty.  (Even though it's stinky, evidently it's way cooler because it has a swivel lock.)
     "No Lewie.  We're not doing the porta potty.  It's stinky.  Let's go to the regular bathroom."
     "No Mommy. No!" he screams grabbing onto the porta potty door and not letting go.
     "We're going to the other bathroom Lewie," I say sternly, trying to release his grasp on the door.
Now my kid is really screaming.  Fortunately, we're not making too much of a scene since we're pretty far away from the park.  (Although I'm sure some moms can see us out in the distance--me yanking my little boy, and my little boy grabbing onto the porta potty for dear life.)

After what feels like a ten minute struggle, Mommy finally wins, and we get to the regular bathroom.  I proceed to pull down Lewie's pants and realize he's more interested in playing with the stall door.
     "Lewie.  I thought you said you have to go potty."
 He looks at me and continues playing with the lock on the door.
     "I'm not kidding Lewie.  No more playing with the door.  If you have to go potty, we need to go NOW."
The potty never happens; instead my little boy is fixated on playing with the doors, and going potty was just an excuse to get here.

*     *     *

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm very excited that Little Lewie has been doing pee pee on the potty.  He's really trying, and I don't want to discourage or reverse his efforts.  Still, since I made going potty into this fun celebration, Little Lewie wants to do it all the time, even when he really doesn't have to go, just to receive the praise, flush the toilet, or if we're out somewhere, to play with the bathroom stall/lock.  It's become way too fun for him...to the point that I'm battling with him over the difference of using the porta potty vs. playing with the porta potty lock.  Ugh!

Oh yes, and in case you were wondering what eventually happened in Scenario 2...let's just say I ended up carrying my little 45 lb. boy to the car since he still wanted to play with the bathroom doors...Sometimes it's better to go to a park that doesn't have any toilets...at least for now.    

Father's Day 2011

Now that Little Lewie is getting older, he's starting to understand the concept of holidays a little more.  And yes indeed, his little mind is catching on fast--he knows holidays are all about family, friends, presents, and CAKE (his favorite). 

This week, we started celebrating Father's Day by making presents and buying a special card.  He made his own special present for Daddy at daycare, and then on Friday, we went to a cute little children's art studio called the Giggling Pig, where Little Lewie and his friend had a chance to make special wooden picture frames and finger paintings for their daddies.

The only problem was...

Lewie's friend Ryan being attentive and ready for his art project.

Lewie deciding he'd rather play with the toy blocks in the corner.

Lewie deciding that he really, really LOVES knocking down the blocks.

Lewie watching Mommy make Daddy's picture frame from afar.

So, ahem...the only problem was that Lewie didn't want to do any art projects.  Both the picture frame and the finger painting captured his attention for point nine seconds.  After that, he played with blocks and the doors to both the art studio and the bathroom.  When I suggested he sit down to help me, he decided to do the complete opposite; instead, he ran around in circles trying to get his friend Ryan to chase him.  It, to say the least, didn't work out quite exactly as planned, but at least Daddy received a present made from Mommy's TLC.  (I didn't include a picture of it because you'd laugh at my extreme lack of artistic talent.)

The one gift, however, that Daddy received that was created by Little Lewie was his Father's Day card.  I bought a special Hallmark card that lets you record your own message, so after only two tries, I managed to get Little Lewie to say, "I love you Daddy," and "Happy Father's Day."  I'm not sure how long these cards last, but I thought it'd be great if Daddy could save the card all the way until Little Lewie becomes a grown adult.  It'd be so much fun to listen to his little two year-old voice again one day. 

On Father's Day, Little Lewie had the joy of spending the day with the other two Lew's in his life--Papa Lew and Daddy Lew.  Indeed, I was happy to capture a picture of the three generations of Lew's.  The reality is that Papa Lew continues to be a walking miracle.  In his lifetime he has survived two bouts with throat cancer, Mesothelioma, a heart attack, and as of only a month ago, several strokes.  (We are still in awe at how well he is getting around when his doctors thought he wouldn't be able to speak, let alone walk!)

Lewis, Sr., Lewis, Jr., and Little Lewie Jayden

Yes, Father's Day is a day to celebrate with friends and family, open presents, and have cake.  The only thing that could have made it more fun for Little Lewie would have been the chance to blow out candles.  (Little does he know that he will be doing that in only a few short months--yes my little guy will be turning three--gulp!)

Bossy

I have to say that the "two's" are unpredictable.  One minute my little guy is as charming as can be--listening to me and even helping me around the house.  The next minute he's screeching on the top of his lungs, throwing punches, and kicking because he's not getting his way.  Usually scenario number two happens when he's tired, but sometimes it just plain old happens.  Since he's a strong, solid little boy, I sometimes I have a hard time "making him" do what I want and yet, he has to learn that what mommy says "goes."  (My chiropractor is going to have to make a lot of adjustments this month.  My back has especially been thrown out of whack from all the times I've had to try and carry a 45lb screaming, hitting, and kicking toddler from the park swings to my car.)

Still, the most interesting part of this age is his desire for independence.  He wants to do everything and call the shots, and I find myself more often than not questioning who is the "real boss."  "Don't be so bossy," I find myself telling Little Lewie at least once a day.  He constantly tells me, "Mommy I do.  No Mommy.  I do.  I do it.  I do it."  This can include everything from opening our house door with a key to wanting to be the one to sit in the driver's seat.  If he had it his way, he could get his driver's license (or at least his permit) by age two!

In some cases when he feels like I'm threatening his independence, he will tell me to "Sit down" or "Stay there."  Like a cautious mom who's afraid he's going to dump milk all over himself (including the kitchen counter), I hover, and he can't stand hovering.  "No Mommy.  I do.  I do.  Stay there.  Sit Mommy.  Sit down."

So, what can I ultimately say about his bossiness?  Well, sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's annoying, and sometimes it just makes me late for work.  It's thrilling to see him have an interest in so many things and to be able to do things by himself, and yet, it's tough because there are many, many things that he just can't do at age two.  Ultimately I want him to learn to do things for himself, so I do my best to give him some free reign.  Still, there are some mornings that I wake up wondering, who's the one that's really calling the shots?

Here are a few pictures I managed to take yesterday at the park before he insisted that he wanted the camera.  "No Mommy.  I do."

Silly Antics

My little guy makes me belly laugh at least once a day--sometimes by the things he says, sometimes by what he does, or sometimes because he is deliberately trying to entertain me and make me laugh.  (Yes, my little two year old likes to tease me and is a practical joker...already.  Gulp.)

Anyhow, this week two things happened, which I need to document before the moment and memory of them fade.  They were, of course, two things that made me laugh so hard I almost couldn't catch my breath.

Scenario 1:  My mom and I decided to take Little Lewie to the mall for a special trip.  He likes to go on the kiddie rides, and even more, he LOVES to push the buttons and go up and down the elevator.  (Yes, anyone who's been following my blog for almost a year now knows how much this kid loves elevators.  It's been a fascination of his for almost a year, and there's still no sign of him letting up...)  My mother's car is older, and we still don't know quite how to make the back window baby proof.  So, as you can imagine, a toddler that loves buttons, absolutely adores making the window go up and down in the back seat.  When we pulled into the diner parking lot, he put down his window and shouted "Hi" to a few people talking outside their car.  They stopped and laughed at how friendly my little guy is.  It was almost as if he was trying to pick them up. 

Then as we pulled up to a red light, a guy (probably in his twenties) was sitting in his Mustang convertible with the top down.  Little Lewie decided to put his window down once more and yell out to him.  It sounded like he said, "Nice car."  The guy didn't expect someone to yell a compliment to him from such close proximity and literally almost jumped out of his car.  (I swear my little guy was a comedian in his former life.)

Scenario 2:  Three days after seeing such a beautiful rainbow by our house, we had a terrible thunder storm with such strong winds that a tree in our front yard smashed down on our house.  (Oh yes, it looks like we have several thousand dollars worth of damage!)  Little Lewie was napping at the time and didn't quite know what happened.  The very next morning I told him if he steps outside the house, he's going to see that a tree fell down.  He went outside, picked up a thick stick, brought it in the house and said, "Mommy...fall down tree...fall down tree." 
      "Oh no Lewie," I remarked, "that's not the fallen down tree..."  I led him to the front of the house and pointed to it.  The look on his face was priceless.  It was almost as if he said, "Holy Sh*t!"  He surveyed it from all angels, and after a few minutes, he looked at me and said, "It's fine, Mommy.  It's fine." 

Kind of the look he made when he saw the "real" fallen down tree.

The lovely tree.  This is shot # 1 for our house insurance.

Another shot of the tree.  I was so eager to get a picture that the storm
was still rumbling in the background as I took it; if you look close to
the TV, you'll see that the news is still tracking the storm with all the
bright red, yellow, and oranges.

Needless to say, the taking down of the tree is definitely going to be the excitement for the weekend.  He's already had the pleasure of meeting two tree guys, and in just a few short days, the guys are going to be out here with their bucket truck, the rope pulleys, and chainsaws.  As long as he doesn't open the window on the second floor and startle them by saying "hello" or "nice saw," we should be fine!
    

Promise

It's funny how life/God sends messages your way, especially when you are least expecting it.  This month Lewie's daycare has chosen a theme called "Rainbow Gardens."  As a result, he is doing all sorts of rainbow crafts--hand print rainbows, rainbow bubbles, rainbow sand art. 

He started talking about rainbows in the car.  At first I didn't understand what he was saying, but once I remembered this month's theme, I blurted out, "Oh rainbows.  Yes, did you learn how to paint a rainbow today Lewie?"

About five minutes later, it started to rain.  In fact, it almost seemed like rain was on one side of the car and the sun was on the other side.  "Look Lewie.  We're having a sun shower."

I no sooner commented on the sun shower when Lewie shouted, "Mommy, rainbow.  Rainbow, Mommy, Rainbow."  There, on the right side of the car, a beautiful rainbow appeared from behind the clouds.  I was taken aback.  The last time I saw a rainbow was about seven years ago.  I was taking a walk, thinking about my husband-to-be when it appeared.  At that time, I was certain it was a sign that our relationship was meant to be.

Now, seven years later, a rainbow appears again as I'm thinking about my husband and our marriage...Is it a sign of hope?  Is it a promise for a better tomorrow?   Little Lewie and I admire it until it fades into the backdrop.   I wish I had my camera; still, maybe if I stopped the car to take a picture, I would have missed the moment.  "Take a long look Little Lewie," I whisper.   "We might not get a chance to see another one for a long, long time."

A similar rainbow to the one we saw--courtesy of Google Images.