college reunion

Yesterday, several college buds met up in Glasgow, Ky. to see our friend Emily (Wilson) Pierce and her new baby, Lily. You may remember seeing Emily in a post last month, when she was still toting Lily in the womb. Lily is now 3 weeks old, and doing just fantastic. Below you can see Lily's aunt, Amy (Wilson) Betts, hanging out with Lewis.





































Amy was the one who gathered the rest of us together. She's getting ready to head back to Kansas where her husband, Jake, is getting reconnected with nature in a very rural area. Amy has a lot to look forward to in Kansas, including the prospect of aiding some cows in giving birth. We're glad we got to see her, even if the visit was slightly chaotic. Maybe in 10 years or so, we can have a more peaceful gathering, where we can really catch up. :)

Here's the rest of the group (L to R): Lewis, Shelley, Emily & Lily Pierce, Keegan Miller, Jennifer (Gray) Miller, (son Grayden seated), and Darla (Johnson) & Liam Oglesby. We're hanging out here in Lily's custom-designed nursery. Lily's parents put this room together especially for her. She's pretty lucky to have some talented parents like Gary and Emily!



















Here you can see mom introducing Lily to a fun toy, with Grayden's help.

An International Affair

This weekend was the big International Festival in downtown Bowling Green, and I had to work at the shop all morning, before going to the newspaper in the afternoon. The grandShepherds came down, though, and hung out with little Lewis... they even took him to the festival for some cultural enhancement!

It just so happens my coworker Dave (who didn't know my parents or my son) snapped a few pics of Lewis in his beloved wagon. They're kinda artsy and so you can't see the grandShepherds, but they're there! Lewis loves that wagon and loves hanging out with his grandma and grandpa.

fifteen months

Today marks 15 months of Lewis' young life! He celebrated by eating some spicy black beans!

















He has been such a joy, and so much fun. We love him more and more each day. We wish we could say that he's progressing right on schedule for his age, but he is definitely behind in some areas. So, recently Justin and I made the tough decision to get some help and have Lewis evaluated by First Steps (part of WKU's early education dept.) to determine how to best help our boy move forward.

While Lewis scored right on target for adult interaction, he is in desperate need of some communication skills. If you've ever waved at Lewis, for example, and gotten no response, don't take it personally! He's never really waved at anyone. With the help of a speech therapist and a developmental interventionist, we are hoping to teach him how to communicate (both verbally and using signs and/or gestures) and to close the gaps in his mobility. Honestly, we're really curious to see what these professionals' approach will be. We feel like we've tried everything we can think of, so getting a fresh perspective should breath new life into our efforts.

Please pray for us in the coming months. Much of this therapy will be to train Justin and I to be "therapists" when the pros are not around. It is painful to see your child struggling, even when he is mostly unaware of it! We just want to give him every resource we can to help him succeed and catch up to where he needs to be. We hope to share a lot of breakthrough moments in future posts of how Lewis is developing, but we may have some setbacks along the way too. Next week we will meet with the rest of our "team," the two therapists and our initial contact through First Steps, to come up with a game plan with specific goals for Lewis. At that point we'll have a better idea of how all of this will work.

The good news is that Lewis is really liking his new "friends" so far. He has enjoyed all the visitors we've had at the house, and he's smiled and laughed through most of the evaluations which gives us a lot of hope for the coming sessions.

too much traveling!

Lewis and I made our all too familiar trek back to Louisville once again on Friday. This time, our visit was in honor of a family friend, and my former youth pastor, Greg Austen. He was visiting from New Jersey, and so we could not miss an opportunity to catch up with him since he was so close, relatively speaking. He works for an organization called the National Fatherhood Initiative which looks at the role of fathers in our society and how fatherhood (or the lack thereof) affects people and is at the core of many of our societal issues (poverty, drug abuse, crime, abortion etc.). Greg was speaking at a conference in Louisville over the weekend which didn't give us a long visit, but did catch us up on his family and their lives in N.J.

















Since this past week marked the 4th anniversary of my mom's passing, we stopped by the cemetery to let Lewis have a look around. Oddly enough, he liked the peaceful surroundings which made the experience much easier!
















If you've been keeping track, Lewis and I (and sometimes Justin) have been to Louisville 5 out of the last 6 weekends for some reason or another. Throw in a couple trips to Nashville and a quick visit to Glasgow, and we've logged too many miles and spent too much money on gas to keep this up! So while we love everyone, we will be sticking close to home in the coming weeks and saving our money. Should someone come down seriously ill, we will make an exception, but we are going to pray that doesn't happen. We are also looking forward to real fall weather and maybe even a few storms later in the week. Bowling Green is lovely in the fall.

yay fall!

The cooler temperatures this weekend were a welcome change! While fall is still a few days away, Lewis had to break out his windbreaker to take the edge off the chill on Saturday. Our friend, little Val, had his 3rd birthday party in Gallatin, Tn. Lewis was a little too young to participate in the organized activities, but enjoyed running around in the yard and exploring dirt and grass.
















Here's Lewis trying to figure out what that green stuff is, while the party continues in the background.






















Val opening his presents.

















Lewis watching the bigger kids running around.


















On Sunday, Lewis got to wear some of his new fall clothes. Peekaboo!! Finally, he has some jeans that don't cut off his circulation.






















Besides all of his social engagements, Lewis has been learning about magnets. His magnetic fridge farm has been a favorite toy for the last couple of months. Now he is discovering all of the things he can attach those magnets to around the house. Though he is disappointed often that magnets will not stick to wood (although our back door is magnetic, which seems odd!), he is delighted that they are not confined to the refrigerator. Here's a short video of Lewis in action:

makeover/sleepover

The last couple of days have been exhausting!! After watching too much HGTV, I encouraged my sister to spruce up her condo that she is hoping to sell right away so that she can move to a neighborhood nearby. Because she was feeling quite overwhelmed, Justin and I went up to help her paint and put in a new kitchen floor. In less than 24 hours, we got the job done! These photos are not going to give the total picture because we had to leave immediately when we got done to get Justin back to work, and before things had been put back where they belong.

BEFORE living room:































AFTER living room:

















BEFORE kitchen:































DURING:


















AFTER kitchen:





















These photos are not the best, but it gives you an idea of how much work we got done! It was exhausting, but actually kind of fun. We hope Ellen sells her home soon.

While we were doing all of that, Lewis had his first-ever night away from mom and dad with Justin's parents. It was great to know while we were slaving away in a not-so-kid-friendly environment that he was being well cared for (and doted on) in a safe place! We could not have gotten this job done with Lewis around, that is for sure, so we are grateful that he got to spend that time with the grandparents!! He was excited to be reunited with us, and we felt the same way. :)

happy haircut?
















Today Lewis had his first haircut at Bonita Jo's Barber Shop just off the square. It was a father-son bonding time. Here is the before picture:

















Here are Justin and Lewis after both of them got haircuts:





















Apparently Lewis did not enjoy the experience overall. Maybe Justin will post his first-hand comments on the matter. But I think this picture is the "Why did I have to get my hair cut?" look.

APPENDIX: Justin here... Yeah, Lewis was a little frightened at the barber shop, at least at first. I don't know if it was the absolute silence of the place, or the shiny hospital-esque floor, or the fact that the barber was a 250-lb. dude with a shaved head and many tattoos. But once Lewis had flailed and yelled for a while, I guess he got tired; once I started singing "ABCD" to him over and over, he just looked at the window--probably dreaming he was in some far-off land, a land with no scissors and no diapers, a land where he could watch Baby Einstein all day long (instead of the 30 min. a day we allow him), a land where he could fall and fall and never hit his head.

Well, his hair's cut! And he looks fabulous. 

--Justin

hanging around

We got to visit our friends, the Morozovs, this week. Little Val, who is almost 3, and Lewis had a good time playing. Val was a little frustrated that Lewis mostly liked chewing on his blocks, but he was a very gracious host! We are awaiting the arrival of Val's little sister in November. He's ready to be a big brother. We missed his dad due to work. :(

















Then, we got a visit from some old friends, formerly Amy and Emily Wilson. Amy (now Betts) is visiting her sister Emily (now Pierce) in Glasgow. Amy's hanging around in the area until her first niece is born later this month. Darla (Johnson) Oglesby also stopped in with her son, Liam, 9 months, to see the girls. Their visit overlapped with our regular weekly play group, so it was a full house!

Here is a photo of the reunited alumnae from L: Darla, Liam, Shelley, Emily (Lily in the belly) and Amy.


















After that it was back to me and Lewis. He ran around with a monkey on his back for a while on Thursday evening. He's in no hurry to part with this walker aid, though Justin is talking about taking it away in a week or so to encourage him to be more independent. We'll keep you posted on that one!






















Here are a couple other pics of Lewis being his cute self:

Back to Louisville

Last weekend, Lewis and I headed back to Louisville to see my sister (otherwise known as Aunt Beth) who was visiting from Illinois. Beth and Lewis spent a lot of time reading together. Lewis' new favorite book is called Toes, Ears and Nose! They read that one several hundred times, or so it seemed.
















Lewis and Grandpa Norm got more aquainted while the rest of us went to the Kentucky State Fair for a free Switchfoot concert. It was really entertaining despite the high temperatures, and the strange aromas coming from the livestock pavilion.

At one point, there was a downpour of rain which Lewis took special interest in, since we have not had any at our house in so long!! Lewis stood at the window and watched for the duration.





















Then he taught the rest of us how to rhythmically beat on the table. He had great fun watching us follow his lead.
















Lewis tried his first bagel at Panera Bread before coming back home. He was not impressed. The rest of us were happy to finish it for him.

weekend travels

Last weekend we headed to Louisville for cousin Mallory's 4th birthday! She had a fun Ariel theme. Notice the cake below.
















Lewis munched on a carrot while Mallory posed for pictures.

















Aunt Ellen helped Lewis splash his feet in the pool after Mallory opened her presents. We had a good time seeing my parents, and my step-sister Leah and her family.

















After the party we stopped in to see the other grandparents (Shepherd side). Lewis got into quite a conversation with his Grandma.

















We caught the convo on film too!

week's highlights

A catch up of the week in pictures. Lewis has been learning to brush his own teeth, which is especially important since he's getting two more on the bottom! He's been rather cranky as a result.


















Tuesday was a busy day because his grandparents came to visit.

















Lewis and my dad had fun playing the "go through Grandpa's legs" game. Both seemed to thoroughly enjoy that one! Here's before:





















and after:





















That evening we celebrated our friend, Jo Ellen's, birthday. She turned 25! Here's Jo blowing out the candles.
















and a close-up of the DQ ice cream cake, yum!
















Last, but not least, our beloved kitty, Sumatra, has been recovering from yet another surgery. She is now clawless, but it doesn't seem to be getting her down. She's as feisty as ever, but much less harmful!

vacation photos

Justin kind of took over the blog for a week or so with his fun videos, so we never got around to posting the rest of our vacation photos. I posted them on facebook however, so if you'd like to take a look CLICK HERE to view this album.

A couple of highlights--Justin and I in Paducah.

We went to Paducah to catch up with my old roommate, Sarah W. Here she is with Lewis:

Back at the lake, Lewis poses with his aunties Monica and Jeanne.

Lewis trying to get some attention from Grandpa.

Another video!

What'd'ya know, I'm back again... this time with the first improvisational movie project by Lewis and his pal Corrie. A guy named Roy directed it... hope you like!

—Justin

Lewis Walks...

I don't check in here too often. But I decided to give y'all a lil' taste of L.C.'s smooth moves. Watch it below. — Justin

lost at sea

We just got back from Kentucky Lake, where we forgot about our normal day to day stress, and just enjoyed some rest and relaxation with family. Lewis especially enjoyed sleeping on the water. Here's a couple of photos of just that.........we'll be back with more soon!

Lewis getting aquainted with Big Bertha
















Lewis having some fun with Shari (check out the great view from our cabin!)
















Lewis checking out the water from the side of the boat.






















Sleep hit about 10 minutes into that first ride.