happy birthday, natasha!

And happy Valentine's Day to you! We often do not mention birthdays on our blog.....not that we forget, but it's hard to keep up with it once you do one. But my friend, Natasha, who lives all the way over in Belarus, has to share her birthday with the day of love. And since she is so far, and i always forget to plan to send a gift far enough in advance, I wanted to post a little something for her before her birthday is over (which gives me only about an hour since it's 11 p.m. there right now!).

We became friends in the fall of 1998 when I moved to Belarus for the first time. We were not best buds right away or anything like that, but it's a friendship that has grown over time, and now I have to say she is one of my closest friends, in my heart anyway. She is funny and real and not afraid to share her thoughts and opinions which is something we Americans hold back all too often. Besides that--she has an incredible life story--growing up in one of Russia's "secret cities" and coming to know the Lord through meeting a believer in an aerobics class of all things. This woman just continues to grow and endure the twists and turns of life. I guess you could say she's one of my heroes (those of you who know Nate Jones may have heard a hero speech here or there). I'm praying for this to be an incredible year for you, Natasha. Thanks to skype, hopefully we'll be able to have many conversations through the wonders of the Internet.

This photo was taken by Natasha when she was visiting and I love Lewis' hairdo. She really captured him at a great post-bath moment.
















Before Natasha went back to Minsk, she spent some time in California. Desperate to meet a celebrity, she went looking in the Los Angeles area and found none other than:

















Chelsea Clinton!! She posted this picture on her Facebook account and it absolutely cracked me up. Here was her caption: "i wanted to take picture with a celebrety...somebody cool and handsome but all what i got is Chelsey Clinton." Natasha sure has connections!

We love you, friend! Hope your birthday was a blast. :)

bubbles, snow and the Gap

We finally got to meet Lewis' new speech therapist on Friday. John Paul (Logsdon) is a very enthusiastic fellow and hit it off pretty well with Lewis. He blew bubbles and had a ton of other fun toys that lured Lewis in. These items proved to be good motivators to get Lewis to respond. Hopefully in time we'll see him communicate through signs and/or sounds to express his anger or desire for "more" bubbles etc. We have hope that this will be a good match for Lewis.

This weekend we went to Louisville to see my family and so that Justin and I could visit the Gap Clearance Center near the Cincinnati airport. I had some gift cards to redeem which go a long way at this place. I found some great deals on maternity stuff while Justin stocked up on a wide variety of shirts. Our best deals were for Lewis--shirts for 49 cents and socks for a quarter a pair!

Our visit also gave Justin an opportunity to work with my sister Ellen on some campaign materials. If you haven't heard, she's running for a seat on the Louisville Metro Council to represent District 18. It's pretty exciting! I have to say that we're more excited about her race than the other elections this year. :)

We forgot to take lots of pictures this visit, but managed to get one of Lewis and Grandpa before we left.
















Side note: We did have a bit of a tricky ride on the way home in the pouring snow. Traffic was slow and there were some accidents (mostly on exit ramps), but once we got past Sonora things cleared up. We got home without any trouble and found that there was no snow in Bowling Green!

happy super tuesday

We don't get vote or anything special today, but we are enjoying the outside temperature! The unseasonably warm weather has allowed us to spend more time outdoors. Lewis enjoyed going to the park the other day when there was still a chill in the air.





















Since then he's actually gotten to go out without his hat a few times. He loves the play equipment at the park, but especially going up the steps,
















and beating on the big sturdy posts they makes those contraptions with.





















We also cut his hair again over the weekend. It has grown so much in the last six weeks! It was even starting to curl up after his bath.





















Now he looks like this.
















At the request of some of our faithful readers, here's my first side shot at 18 weeks pregnant. Not huge, but certainly bigger than at this point the last time around.





















My doctor says I'm growing right on schedule. The baby's heart-rate yesterday was 159 bpm. The poor nurse had a hard time figuring that out though, because the baby was moving so much. I'm only feeling small motions here and there, but this may be a wiggler! We scheduled our ultrasound for President's Day. This baby is sure to be a true patriot--due on the 4th of July, in an election year....it seems like every milestone is on some sort of holiday. Hopefully we'll get some cooperation and find out the sex. :)

We also get to meet Lewis' new speech therapist this Friday. We are excited to see what his approach will be. Lewis does seem more interested in communicating lately, even if that means screaming to get his point across. Hopefully John Paul will have some techniques to motivate him.

end of january

Lewis rediscovered his Elmo piano the other day. It has 3 settings, moving from easiest to most difficult. He has mostly played with it using the easiest setting where he just has to hit one piano key to play a whole song. The hardest setting requires him to "follow the lights" hitting the keys as they light up to play a song. He figured out how to do this, and it absolutely cracked him up at first. Now that he's a pro it's not funny anymore, but we're glad we caught him in this moment.




Also this week we finally got to pick a new speech therapist. We chose a man named John Paul something who has a lot of experience in speech therapy, but also with feeding issues which should help us. We haven't met him yet or even set up our first meeting, but we should see him in the next week or so. We feel good about our decision so far! We're hoping that a man may have a completely different impact on Lewis in the area of speech.

We also had Lewis' hearing screening yesterday and he passed with flying colors. Our boy can hear! We figured he could, but wanted to be sure there wasn't a problem we were missing. Lewis' main passion these days is listening to his Laurie Berkner "Victor Vito" cd. We'll all be relieved when he passes through this phase. It's wearing us out!!

trying not to freeze

We have been cold the last few days! Really, Lewis does not seem to notice the colder temperatures, but it does give him an opportunity to wear all his cute sweaters. Here he is doing his new favorite activity--putting his shapes in his shape-sorter. He's gotten really good at it.





















Here's Lewis with some funky hair earlier this week.





















Because Lewis has improved so much with his mobility, his therapist (developmental interventionist) is now working on art skills. He's been exposed to markers, crayons and play dough. He liked the play dough best, and has enjoyed chewing on the markers and crayons. He did actually scribble some with the crayons this afternoon, which is a start! He also scribbled a lot on his face as he tried to sneak the crayons in his mouth.





















After coloring, he ate some Cheerios, which he has rejected for over a month. I guess that wax got his palette warmed up for a snack. He ate a ton of Cheerios. Here's a close up.






















Our meeting to pick a speech therapist has been rescheduled for Monday. We're looking forward to getting that going again. One more random note--Lewis had a molar come in this week. The other three seem to be trying to break through too. He's been a trooper even though he's been going through some discomfort! Hopefully he'll be eating steak in no time. We won't push our luck!

not today

Our meeting today to pick a new speech therapist was canceled due to illness by our coordinator. We have not rescheduled yet, but are hoping we can pick someone soon because it's been a month since Lewis had speech therapy. The sooner the better! But it gives us all more time to pray so maybe it's not so bad. We'll keep you posted.

bouncing and spinning
















It took Lewis a while to really get the hang of his Bounce & Spin Zebra, but he's got it now and really loves it! We took a video this week because the last time his grandparents were here, he was so excited to see them that he wouldn't "perform" by jumping on the zebra. So for your enjoyment and theirs, check out this clip.





Lewis is also eating much better these days. We made another attempt at spoon-feeding him vegetables and he is willing to eat them once again. We would LOVE for him to make more attempts at self-feeding, but at this point will take what we can get. This way we at least know he is getting some nutrients (though he's not eating the meat and beans he once did). He is also not starving, which helps his sleeping and digestive system. :)

At the suggestion of his pediatrician, we are picking a new speech-therapist on Monday. Lewis is happy to roar like a lion, but that is his only sound these days and we are hoping for something more for him. We often wake to his growling on the monitor, which is kind of scary! We're hoping for the more pleasant "mama" or "dada." Pray for this meeting with our First Steps coordinator. We have a couple of names (suggestions), but basically will be given sheets describing 10-15 therapists (similar to resumes) and have to make a choice without meeting anyone. It's hard! It will take a special person to motivate Lewis in the area of communication so please pray that Justin and I will have wisdom to make this choice well.

18 months

Lewis had his 18 month check-up on Monday. His current stats are:

Height: 32"
Weight: 25 lbs.
Head: large (don't remember the measurement)

He's slightly below average for height and weight, but his head remains in the very large category.

On the same day, my friend Natasha came back through town on her tour of America. She and Lewis spent some special time together Monday evening so that Justin and I could do the same. Thanks, Natasha!! On Tuesday, Lewis, Natasha and I spent some time shopping, and stopped in for lunch at Spencer's before heading for Nashville--the next stop on Natasha's travel schedule. It was great to have some extra time with her before she heads back to Belarus.

pregnancy update: 14 weeks

Today was my 14-week check-up, which means I'm in my second trimester, yay! Everything went fine. The baby's heart rate is still high at 174. At 9 weeks, the heart rate was 183 (I'm pretty sure). Lewis' earliest heart rate was 173 (at 10 weeks), so maybe this will be a girl? We'll have to wait 6 weeks for our next ultrasound to know for sure. My doctor likes to do them at 20 weeks, so I'll have another check-up at 18 weeks and then a separate ultrasound appointment two weeks later. It might be better that way!

Otherwise, everything is going well. He measured my belly and said I'm right where I should be, and could definitely tell my uterus is growing. My clothes are telling me the same thing!

In other news, Lewis has been eating a little better. He has gone back to yogurt and fruit most days, letting us feed him again, though breakfast has consistently been graham crackers. Who wants to fight with a cute boy early in the morning about food?! He's also eating chicken at night, most nights, and even had some chili earlier this week when Justin got brave. He had part of a ham and cheese sandwich today. It all gives us hope that he'll continue to progress in this area.

Speech-wise Lewis is verbalizing less than ever, so I'm not sure what to think about that. Again, it may just be a phase. He seems to talk most after a good meal, so the eating issues may be affecting his speech too. Hopefully if his eating improves he'll vocalize more too.

We're looking forward to warmer temperatures and longer days! :)

new year's Belarussian style

A couple of my good friends from Belarus have been visiting the U.S. the last few weeks, and it has been fun to see them and catch up after our long separation. Because they were visiting, Justin and I spent New Year's Eve apart (he had to work the next morning at 7 a.m.!) so that I could attend the Belarussian celebration in Lexington. Several American friends have married spouses from Belarus and most of them live in the Lexington area, so it was fun to be with this crowd to ring in the new year.

The tradition in Belarus is to eat a big meal around midnight and basically stay up until 6 a.m. celebrating. This group only made it until about 2:30 which was pushing it for me! Due to the craziness of all this, Lewis spent the holiday with his Aunt Ellen, for which we were really grateful!

Here are some pictures:

Andrei Golubev holding Lewis at my dad's house in Louisville. Andrei stayed with dad and Martha for a few days before Christmas.






















Dad and Lewis playing a new game.





















Lewis and I; Natasha Rybinskaya; Val, Heather & Annabella Morozov; & Tasha Caruthers at our house in Bowling Green last week.
















Me, Tasha and Natasha having an interesting New Year's Eve dinner at Nagasaki Japanese Grill in Lexington.
















Our blurry group photo (not sure what happened here, but I'm hoping someone has a better one that can replace this one!) Front row: Yura Metelsky holding Val Jr., Val Morozov, Tasha Caruthers and Andrei Golubev. Back row: Natasha R., Heather and Annabella, Lovell and Vera Fouchee (our hosts) and Lovell's mom.

Christmas pics

We enjoyed Christmas this year, although Lewis and I were both fighting off infections which made things a little less fun than usual! Lewis did not get into opening gifts, but sure enjoyed the gifts once they were no longer hidden behind that boring paper.

He also learned to climb stairs at his grandparents' house and got lots of practice since we were visiting plenty of people with stairs over the last couple of weeks. He really loves climbing stairs.

Here's Lewis with his grandpa in Shepherdsville. He loves this ball!





















Here is Lewis at the Reitmeyers' celebration, sitting in a sea of unwrapped gifts.


















Aunt Ellen read Lewis his new book about Elmo.

















Along with the holiday cheer and our illnesses, Lewis also has developed some food issues. He would be happy on an all-liquid diet. Besides pretzels, there are few things he will eat consistently, and most of those foods have no real nutritional value. We keep putting a nice array of options before him, but most of it hits the floor (which is not so fun), and he is becoming more independent, not wanting to be fed like a baby, and yet not able to use a spoon himself. All of this adds to the fun of parenting these days. We're just grateful for Juicy Juice Harvest Surprise which helps him get fruit and vegetable servings each day. Fun times! :)

our latest project

You may have already heard that Justin and I have been working on a new project. Baby Shepherd #2 is set to arrive this summer (due date 7/4/08). We are pretty excited. I'm 12 weeks pregnant right now, and though the morning sickness I had with Lewis is back, it doesn't seem to be as bad this time around. The first hour is rough and then after a bagel, everything seems to settle down!

We have switched doctors to Joseph Gass, M.D. and have been very happy with our decision. He seems like he will be a great fit for my personality and the type of childbirth we are planning. The best part was the ultrasound they did at my first appointment. Here is our baby at 9 weeks gestation. He/she actually wiggled a little bit while we watched.
















The expanding Shepherd Fam wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2008!

ups and downs

We have had a crazy week with Lewis' first real illness. After weaning him about 6 weeks ago, it didn't take long for him to get a nasty cold that turned into an ear infection and the croup! Lewis is now on antibiotics and some other drugs to kick this thing from his system. My doctor put me on an antibiotic as well. It has been rather rough here at times.

On the flip side, Lewis is the happiest sick toddler we've ever seen. He's still running around in good form and enjoying himself most of the time. He's starting to get his appetite back some too. (Sidenote: He even ate his first brownie today once the drugs started kicking in. He loved it!) We had to cancel his therapy session today with Krista, his developmental interventionist, who works on his mobility issues. She has been wanting us to work on getting him to sit up from a laying position, but also just to sit on his own (which he does a lot, but often prefers standing all day long!). He has never laid down on his own, aside from falling, but tonight he put himself through quite a work out, diving on the floor and then spinning around until finally standing at the end. Maybe it's the drugs doing their thing, but I took a video because he did this over and over and it was rather humorous.



After all of this, we got out a book called "Elmo's Twelve Days of Christmas." Lewis loves Elmo and looks forward to watching the Elmo's World portion of Sesame Street most mornings. We have been trying to teach him to point, or at least touch, items he sees in books. Elmo was featured on each page of this book with other characters and Lewis was able to touch Elmo on almost every page! This felt like a huge breakthrough because sometimes he starts turning pages so quickly it seems like he doesn't even see what is there. This might be my best Christmas present this year.

The other blessing recently is that Lewis is loving brushing his teeth. It was kind of a fight for a while, but he really gets excited now and we have to coax him to give up his toothbrush so he can go to bed.





















It is horrible to see Lewis going through his first illness, but there's so much good stuff coming out too. We can't complain!

partying for the holidays

We've found ourselves at several parties recently and wanted to post a few pictures. Here's one from the Spencer'sCoffeehouse "family" gathering, which was over a week ago. Jenny seems to be having the most fun!
















Next we went to a surprise party for Ryan Swigart. Lewis particularly enjoyed their pool table and pool balls. He's a blur in this picture with a ball in each hand. (photo courtesy of Derek Holt)
















He thought Rebecca was nice too, but he stole her party hat.
















He also had fun beating on daddy's face. (photo courtesy of Derek Holt)
















Finally we hosted our small group Christmas party. Here's Jo Ellen excited to get a decorative eggplant in the dirty Santa game. The Morgans seem rather envious.















Bryan Tillery opens the coveted reindeer tealight holder.
















Lewis enjoys Justin's prize gift, the Walmart/ USA themed gift pack.

babies, babies, babies!

Several of our friends have added a second child to their families in the last month. Congrats to Val and Morozov who had a girl on Nov. 15th. Also to Matthew and Sarah Wilson who had a boy on Dec. 1st, and Brice and Julie Boyer who had a girl on Dec. 7th. I almost forgot Cheyenne and Darla Olgesby who added a girl to their family on Dec. 4th. You are in our thoughts and prayers!!

new haircut, new zebra, new stunts

Lewis has had a busy week. Last weekend, his grandparents brought a pre-Christmas gift called the Bounce and Spin Zebra. Lewis is not exactly bouncing and spinning, but he is enjoying the lights and music it plays. Note in the below picture the new haircut he had to suffer through early in the week.





















Here is a before picture:





















It was getting a little out of control! Lewis has had several "firsts" in the last couple of weeks. He fed daddy for the first time the other night.
















He also is standing up from a laying position, which is amazing. He's working on sitting from laying and we have actually found him both sitting and standing in his crib this week which has never happened before. He is also clapping when we do pat-a-cake now too. He will clap sometimes at our suggestion but has not spontaneously clapped yet which we are looking forward to. No words yet, but we're happy with the progress he's making.

We took some pictures at Spencer's the other night. Our employees decorated for Christmas and we were pretty impressed with what they came up with. Here's a sample.

the return of derek holt

Our good friend Derek Holt returned to the U.S. recently from Austria where he'd been living for over a year. We gathered some friends together to welcome him back over a week ago. Justin, being the patriot that he is, insisted that we sing the Star Spangled Banner when he came through the door. So the alternate title for this video could be "The moment Derek would never want to re-live." But since we videotaped it, you can enjoy Derek's discomfort, and our own as the song goes on and on.....and on.



Photo highlights:

Ashley and Ryan Swigart playing with niece Taylor Wilson under the hanging decorations.





















Foxhole reunited

so far, so good

Well, we took the plunge and put up a Christmas tree. It is in the corner between two couches for maximim security. So far, Lewis has shown relatively little interest in it, though he has pulled off an ornament here or there, and tried to pull off a few more without success. The cat on the other hand is known to sit up in the tree (not too far up, mind you), re-living the days of her youth when she had claws and could climb trees outside at will.





















Otherwise, Lewis has been enjoying walking around outside a lot!! He loves being out there and cries whenever we come inside. He has also become an avid reader, looking at books on his own and bringing us books he wants us to read to him. He is loving building towers with his blocks, and can stack them pretty high all by himself. He is quite proud when he can get that next block on top of an already high tower. Of course, he loves knocking down the towers too.

He got us excited last week at a therapy session when he clapped on his own. Once he realized what he was doing he stopped immediately. He wouldn't want to let on that he can do some of this stuff! What a puzzle he is sometimes. But we love him!

thanksgiving in Bowling Green

We spent a very pleasant weekend in Bowling Green with my sisters, Beth and Ellen. Our parents were out of commission in Belarus, so we gathered at our house, which was really convenient. Though we were few, we had a lot of fun. Lewis had more books read to him, and towers of blocks built for him than he could have dreamed possible.

Aunt Beth and Lewis:
















Aunt Ellen and Lewis
















Ellen and Justin ready for turkey

















On black Friday, we attempted to shop a little bit and only ended up getting Lewis a new hat and coat since the weather has turned cold. Here's a picture of Lewis all bundled up for one of our walks. (He's really into kicking off his shoes lately too).

lewis stands by himself!

Our habit with Lewis has been to get him playing with toys on the floor when we need to get something done around the house. My dream has been for him to come barreling through having discovered how to stand up without our help. Today it happened! Twice he was left playing and all the sudden he appeared.......my thought was that his stool (that he has learned to use as an aid in standing) was not far and maybe he scooted close enough to use it.

After dinner, Justin set up a scenario where we ignored him so he wouldn't feel like we were watching, but the stool was a few feet away and Lewis was sitting in the middle of the floor. Sure enough, he turned away from the stool and stood up all by himself! For the rest of the night, he was sitting down and standing up, practicing his new skill. He was cracking me up because he has never wanted to sit much because it meant he was trapped. Now he has really found new freedom. We are really proud of his progress!

He's not very fast, but he is consistent. Here's a video.

back from California

Justin and I returned from our vacation/anniversary trip yesterday. We were so happy to get home 3 hours early and to be reunited with Lewis at the Louisville airport! He spent time with both sets of grandparents over the five days we were gone and seemed in good spirits. He slept like a rock his first night home in his own bed. We all did, really!

We spent the first two nights of our trip in Mariposa, Ca. This tiny town did not have much going on. In fact, we may have been the only guests there for a while. We had dinner at the only open restaurant in town, called Pizza Factory. Thankfully, it was really good! We stayed in Mariposa because it is close to Yosemite National Park. We spent a full day hiking up to Vernal Falls, checking out the view at Glacier Point and finally seeing a few huge sequoias in the dark!

Our hotel in Mariposa (notice all the cars)
















In front of Vernal Falls





















View from the top of Vernal Falls





















Justin at the top





















In front of Yosemite Valley






















We're exhausted, and so glad we got away to celebrate our 4th anniversary (yesterday). We'll try to post more later.

the latest

After a few weeks of therapy, we are seeing some good results. Lewis is consistently pushing himself up with the use of his step stool, and without our assistance. He has even tried standing without it, but it is still a little too difficult at this point. He is becoming much more vocal too. No true words, but he is willing to watch us talk now, which should help him learn to put his mouth in the right position to say different words.

Here's a video of him standing up with his stool, and very quickly I might add! It often takes a little while to maneuver his little body, so this is his best attempt to date. He is on his way to independence!


Lewis is going to get to spend some time with his grandparents next week, and so here are a couple of photos of his grandpas from the last couple of weeks that we forgot to post earlier. Lewis LOVES his grandpas. He loves their female counterparts as well, but he has a special affection for these two gentlemen that is precious.

Grandpa Shepherd:
















Grandpa Reitmeyer