tricycle and the park

It's no secret that Lewis is not the most coordinated child. However, since it has been nice out, Justin put the tricycle together that the boys got for Christmas (it is multi-functional so we could push Owen on it too if set up slightly different). Beth came over for some bonding time with Lewis and he wanted to try it out so she helped him ride around some. He actually seems like he's getting somewhere with pedaling. Steering is another story. It's like he has no idea his arms can do something while his legs are moving.


All of this to say.....we are sure he'll get it. He can go for a few feet by himself if he doesn't run off the road. And he seems to really like it too, which helps a lot!

This morning I dropped off a grant application for help with Lewis' therapy etc. It has taken several months for me to get it together! It is a relief to have it done and to just wait to see if the committee has favor on us. To celebrate, Owen and I went to the park. He is a crazy man! He loved the slide and the wobbly walkway. You can tell how fast he is going in these pictures.




He also discovered the purple flowers growing in our yard.

egg hunt and the bunny

Lewis' class took a field trip yesterday to Bowling Green High School where some students had set up an Easter egg hunt (and I got to join them!). They had made these cute "baskets" out of milk cartons for the kids to collect their eggs in. Lewis did not have a super-competitive spirit when the teacher said "go!" He was very slow and methodical in putting the eggs in his container, and at the end had about eight eggs to show for it (not too bad!). I joked with his aide that he has yet to grasp the concept of greed.


Anyway, after the eggs were snatched up, many of Lewis' classmates lined up to meet the Easter bunny.Obviously a girl, the bunny was very friendly and tried to get the kids to give hugs etc. Lewis was totally freaked out by this bunny. It was an incredible mixture of fear and awe. He was terrified, but couldn't walk away. The bunny gave him an egg which he liked. Then she asked for a high five. That went well. Finally, I asked Lewis if we could take a picture, all three of us together. From then on he seemed okay with the bunny and followed her around for a good part of the time.

What a cute smile!

Lewis warming up to the bunny

Class photo

aunt beth

Since Lewis was diagnosed about a year and a half ago, my sister Beth has been hoping to get to move from the Chicago area to Bowling Green to help with his therapy. This weekend our dream is becoming a reality! It has been a long process. She put her condo on the market in September and was under contract in January. She came in February to look at apartments. She is choosing to live on the square, across the way from our own Spencer's Coffeehouse where Justin is spending most of his time these days.Here are some views of the empty apartment.

The boys certainly like the view from the windows.

It is a nice, wide-open space. After a whirlwind trip up to Evanston last week, we delivered her belongings with the help of friends so she could stay and close on her condo on Wednesday. She is coming tomorrow officially to take up residence downtown. Currently, her apartment looks like this:
The landlord put down new flooring in the bathroom, and Lewis was very interested in the shower. This is a lot of pictures. I might have to do a separate post about the trip itself. It was interesting! The hard part for us is done. Now Aunt Beth gets to re-learn life in Kentucky. She hasn't lived here in a LONG time. And she gets to unpack all of that stuff!

ABCs and library trip

Last week, I got to take Lewis to the library to get some books and videos. While I was checking out the kids' section, Lewis found a book about Mohammad Ali. The book had a picture of him on the cover in his standard boxing uniform: shorts and gloves, no shirt. Lewis started whimpering and said, "Put shirt on!" This happened over and over, followed by, "Put pants on!" It was rather humorous, but I felt bad for him not understanding why there might be someone who willingly had no shirt on, and why it might be okay. It's great that he noticed something different, all on his own.

He's also been going to the potty standing up. He needs help with that still. He tried on his own while I was getting Owen down for his nap and it was quite a mess. We were proud of his effort!

Owen, on the other hand, is spouting off his ABC's, numbers and colors like crazy. He's a little sponge, soaking up all kinds of information. Here's a video of a recent performance.

the warm up

It's been getting warmer, and we've been outside playing a lot. The boys have been spending some time on the stump and it's an easy place to take pictures where they won't try to run away.