latest stats

Both boys went to the doctor today for their check-ups since they both had a birthday in the last week. Owen turned two on June 21st. His stats:

Wt.: 27 lbs., 6 oz.
Ht.: 35 inches

Lewis turned four yesterday (June 28th). His stats:

Wt.: 33 lbs.
Ht.: 38 1/2 inches

Both seem to be very healthy, and got no shots (and we didn't have to argue with the doctor this time which was a nice bonus).

Special thanks to Aunt Beth for her assistance at the doctor's office.

mt. carmel picnic

My sister, Ellen, is always on the campaign trail. We went for a visit recently, and she convinced us to go to a catholic picnic and wear shirts in support of her friend's campaign.

Here's Aunt Ellen with Owen, just after we finished our fish sandwiches.

The boys got to ride some rides. Grandpa rode with Owen.







Justin won a stuffed monkey. We were all so proud of him!

nashville zoo

This has been such a busy month! It has been packed with a lot of great stuff, but it has gone by so fast. Lewis and I got to visit the Nashville Zoo one day with our friends, Liz & Jack Sternberg. Jack is another friend with autism, and so we have a lot in common. They have a zoo pass, and the lovely people at the zoo let us in free as guests even though their pass only covers one child.

The boys seemed to like the fish a lot. They spent a lot of time staring at these tanks with all the creatures swimming around.


Lewis liked the fighting turtle.



There was a petting zoo, and he also really enjoyed petting this little black goat. I had to drag him away from there.

There is an incredible playground too, and Lewis loved jumping around in this padded area.

But the fake drawbridge was his favorite.

We ended the day on the carousel. Lewis insisted on riding this tiger. We are grateful to Jack and Liz for inviting us to go. We had a blast!

more fun

On my quest to do fun things with Lewis, we went to the river one day. We walked around on the bridge and looked around. He was quite impressed. The last time we'd come here was just before he was diagnosed. We walked acrossed the bridge and he screamed vehemently when it was time to walk back across. He liked it so much more this time!


Justin took the boys to see his parents one weekend when I had some training to go to on financial planning for kids with disabilities. It worked out well. They had fun and I learned some things that I didn't really want to know.......but should think about!

Grandma and Grandpa have a swingset now for the boys to play on. They checked it out and had a good time.




And of course, they had to take a spin in the monster truck.

out in the country

At the end of May, we celebrated Grandpa's birthday. We headed out to Aunt Jeanne's country house to play and pick strawberries, broccoli etc. It was a fun and hot day! We didn't realize at the time that it would stay so hot, but it has not let up since. When we got there, we attempted a picture of Lewis and Grandpa and the tractor.


Owen enjoyed picking strawberries right off the bushes and eating them. We did most of the picking ourselves, but he was quick to ask if he was ready for more. He had a great time eating homemade ice cream and helping Grandpa open his presents.


Before we left, we had another attempt at a Grandpa & Lewis picture. Lewis loved riding around on the 4-wheeler, but didn't want to look at the camera. It was a fun day!

what's up with "O"

We are long overdue for an update on Owen's life. He'll be turning 2 in just a week! It's so hard to believe, and yet he's definitely in that phase. It's been about a month ago, but he finally got the swing of a regular sippy cup. He'd been drinking out of straw cups and finally started showing interest in Lewis' cups so we gave it another try and he got it. Now he loves drinking and uses a variety of cups with much better leak protection. :)

See how proud he is of himself.
Owen also decided he loves Playdoh. He asks for it regularly, and makes us do most of the work. He tells us what he wants "Ball, ok!" and then counts all the objects.

We still take walks around the block, and on the most special days, we get to see a train go by. Here's Lewis super excited while Owen watches in the distance. They both love seeing the trains.


Owen likes to take breaks on these steps when we walk around. Otherwise, he's been mostly jogging. He runs like a mad man and I have to keep up, but it's good exercise.


Our friend, Mandy, brought over her family's basketball goal, and Owen has taken a special interest in it. He needs help getting the ball in, but he's a magnet for that thing.

Just a couple more inches and he'll have it!

Of course, he still loves reading. Here's a daddy & Owen moment. Currently Owen is sleeping with 2 Snoopy dogs, a fluffy sheep, a small Elmo doll and a book. He always asks for one at bedtime and sometimes ends up reading it in the morning when the light shines through his window.

Other random facts: He loves pizza, and anything round gets that name. Other favorite foods are corn, rice & pasta. He loves balloons and has a special love for "Aunt Beth" (probably partly because she is the source of most balloons in his world). In fact, the tears he cries yelling her name when she leaves are some of the worst. It's rather touching! One final funny fact: Owen can't quite say "Lewis" so he calls his big brother "Reeses" like a peanut butter cup. So silly!

This is just a brief update. He is a crazy boy, and we love him. Life would be so much different without him.

garden update

Currently the garden looks something like the photo above. Our tomato plants have itty bitty tomatoes growing, and the squash/zucchini look like they might produce something soon. This is actually a couple weeks ago, so the plants are even bigger now.

We also had an uninvited guest, but he turned out to be dead. We are guessing that when the guys mowed the empty lot next door with their heavy duty mower, they lethally harmed a few snakes (we found two) which did not live long after traveling into our yard.

Hopefully, we will have pictures of vegetables to post soon.