Entertainment by Kade

what not to do....

Okay, just a bit of advice from me and a lesson I learned: It is not a good idea to let pictures accumulate for one year before having them printed. The last pictures I had printed were Christmas 07 and I decided I better try to catch up. Well, about 3,000 pictures is what we ended up with to document Kade's 1st Birthday, a big snow in West Memphis, Easter, a trip to Dallas, Colorado, and Washington, Halloween, a new home, Christmas 08, and every cute and fun thing Kade did in between. The mailman delivered two big boxes and we now have 31 pounds of pictures to sort through and put in albums. If you hear of any good photo album sales let me know, I'll probably be needing a few!

Growing Boys and Old Friends

Today is Ryne's 4-week Birthday. To celebrate we took Kade to the doctor for his two-year-old check up. He was such a good boy. Let the nurse check his blood pressure and let the doc poke an prod all over and then did everything that she asked him to do! I think he actually had a fun time....in fact, he didn't want to leave.....kept saying "play more Doctor Lirio's".
He weighed in at 30.1 pounds and measured 34 inches long. Above average in weight and just below average in height, looks like he got his Mommy's genes. The doctor also said that he had the speech development of a 3-year old...wonder where he gets that?
Ryne is growing and changing all the time. He actually rolled over onto his tummy just yesterday and he smiles at us from time to time (I can tell the difference from his smiles and his gas). He watches us closely and really responds to our voices. We've had to start giving him some Kade-free time every day so that he can get away from the busy-ness and rest and we have noticed a significant difference in how his day plays out.
Last night we had a special treat. Some friends of mine from college came over for dinner. I haven't seen them in probably ten years so it was pretty exciting. Laura was my pledge sister in college and Todd and I had a couple of science classes together. Todd is a doctor with the army and just got back from 15 months in Iraq. Laura and their daughter Avery came up to welcome him home and they are waiting on the outprocessing stuff to happen so that they can head back home to Arkansas. We had a great time getting to hang out with them.
Check out some pics below...

Kade showing off his new car that he got to pick out at the store for being such a good boy at the Dr's office today!

Ryne at 4 weeks old. It is hard to get a good picture when you're holding the baby and taking the picture too...not to mention with a two year old pulling on your leg to take his picture instead.

Laura, Avery and Todd.

Laura with our little guy Ryne.

Todd with our big guy Kade.

Kade and Avery having some toddler adventures and practice in sharing!

And for those of you who have been wondering, Squirt is doing great...seems to be adjusting quite well to his new home in Washington.

I'm Feeling Spoiled!

Okay, so let me just say that this weekend I am feeling pretty special. Yesterday the ladies at Sunbreak had a Diaper Shower for me and Ryne and today our neighbors had taken a trip down to Vancouver and brought me home a special prize (see pictures below). Who in the world could ask for better neighbors! Plus, today both of the boys took good naps and I had enough down time to get all of my school work caught up. Yep, feeling a bit spoiled!

Eric, Justine, and Stephanie brought me SONIC!!! A vanilla Dr. Pepper all the way from Vancouver. Kade needed to get in the pic so he could say "cheeseburger".

Stephanie may have a really big smile in this picture but I promise that I'm the happiest!!! Oh, how I miss Sonic.

A shot of me, Ryne and our friend Dawn at the Baby Shower.

Diapers!!!! With Baby #2 you realize how great a gift diapers really are!!!

Our friend Nonee reluctantly (yea, right) took care of Ryne while I opened gifts. Turned out these ladies tried hard to make this shower all about the Mommy. Nonee is giving me a spa gift card. I got lots of pampering goodies just for me...it was sooo nice. Of course Ryne got some cool stuff, too!

A gift from Glenda...Starbucks and a gift card for manicure and pedicure at DuPont nail salon. Can't wait!!

Check out this cool pillow that Tonie made with our new family picture on it. What a treasure!
Just wanted to share a few of the things that I was blessed with. But the blessing is really in the people. Amazing people that I'm surrounded by! My Husband, my Boys, our Neighbors, and the precious people at Sunbreak that have taken us in and loved on us since we got here.

Where has January Gone?

Is January really almost over already? It has been a busy month. This week has been quite crazy. It was our first week of "normal". C.G., Granna, and Paw are all gone and we were flying solo....well, just the four of us....trying to figure out how to do life again. Kyle trying to get back into routine of spending time in his office working, me trying to catch up on my online teaching work and feed Ryne and change diapers, and Kade trying to get the attention that he is missing with the grandparents all gone. Needless to say, some days have been easier than others. But all in all we are doing well and I know we will get the hang of it.
Kade turned two last Saturday and we went out for ice cream with our neighbors to celebrate since we had already had the Birthday party. It was fun. Then Sunday Kyle got to preach at Sunbreak and they had a commissioning service for us and the new church plant in DuPont. It was really nice to get to hear Kyle preach....he did a great job! Sunday afternoon we took a trip to Seattle with Derek and Alissa and our neighbors Eric, Justine and Stephanie. We went to the Space Needle and then to dinner on the sound. It was a great day!
Last night we had our first Bible study in our home and it went really well. We think God did some really big things through it. We are so excited about God working in DuPont!
Below are some pics to hopefully help catch up on the past couple of weeks. Sorry the blogging has been slow....Ryne is in my arms a lot during the day and typing is hard with one hand!

William, Dina, and Jude came to visit while Granna and Paw were here.
Kade and Jude had a great time together...here they are getting all ready for bed.

Kyle and Kade got to take Granna and Paw to Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful clear day. Ryne and I just got to enjoy the pictures so we thought we would share with you.

Look at the beautiful snow. I think Kade really enjoyed seeing snow again.

Paw, Kade and Granna at Mt. Rainier

A beautiful evening shot of the big volcano!

A cute shot of Kade on the day he turned two!

"Lissa" and Kade peering up at the space needle, getting ready for the ride.

We got to the top just in time to watch the sunset....it was breathtaking.

Seattle...with Mt. Rainier rising up in the background.

Me and the BEST husband and Daddy EVER on top of the Space Needle.

"D" and "Lissa" enjoying the view.

We had to be sure to get a pic of Ryne's first trip to the Space Needle, even if he did sleep through it all.

Kade hanging out with Stephanie...she had enough energy to keep up with him!

The view of the Space Needle as we were leaving...very cool at night!

Kade is quite the serious guy when it comes to coloring.

Kade's kiddie menu doubled as a mask...pretty creative.

Ryne turned three weeks old yesterday! I can tell he's growing.

Kade asked to hold Ryne and then wasn't satisfied because he couldn't see his hands and started trying to dig them out. It was pretty funny.

My New Favorite Picture

Don't these boys just melt your heart?
Well, they sure do melt a Mommy's heart!

Sorry I haven't updated much lately...it's been kind of busy around here. Paw and Granna are here for another day and then they have to head back home....after that we will see what becomes of the Lewallens in DuPont....just how will life be with two little boys in the house!
It has been a good week. Kyle and Kade have gotten to take Granna and Paw around to see some sites. An afternoon of shopping, a trip to Mt. Rainier, and today they headed out to Seattle. Ryne and I have stayed behind, for two reasons, one...he likes to eat way too much to spend very much time in the car and two....we don't all fit in the car to make a trip together!
Ryne went for his two week check up yesterday and he is doing great. Has passed up his birthweight and is at 7 lbs and 10 ounces. Has grown almost an inch and a half, now measuring 21 3/8 inches long. Doctor said he looks great!
Kade is doing great with Ryne. Everytime he hears him cry Kade says "I kiss him"...wants to make his baby brother all better.
Will try to post more pictures soon.

C.G. goes home...

Well, it has been a week and a half of adventures...

C.G. was here helping us out and ultimately spoiling both Kade and myself! Kade had his own personal play pal on call 24/7 and I didn't have to worry about laundry, dishes, floors, food, or anything. Well, I did have to worry about whether Kade was letting C.G. sleep in her own bed or making her sleep on the bean bag next to his bed. Yes, multiple times we found her asleep in his room on the bean bag! Ryne has been doing well. Didn't get to hang out with C.G. just a whole lot because Kade was jealous...doesn't like sharing C.G. at all. He didn't seem to be jealous of Mommy or Daddy having Ryne...just C.G. Kade and I both cried when she left this morning...I think I probably cried more for Kade because I knew how attached he had gotten to her. But thankfully Granna and Paw flew in on Thursday so we have someone else here for him to "play" with. He's been trying hard today to teach Paw how everything is supposed to work around here...trying to show him just how he and C.G. do things. I think it's working out pretty good for him so far.

Also this week, Ryne went to the doctor for his one week check up and is doing great! He is a good baby and we are loving having a new little guy in the house. Kyle and I are getting back into the swing of getting up for those feedings and diaper changes! We are amazed at how much Ryne is like his big brother and yet totally different at the same time. We are so blessed!

And the latest fun in the Lewallen household was an early birthday party for Kade. He will be 2 on January 17th but since C.G., Granna, and Paw were all in town we decided to go ahead and have his party while they were here. D and Lissa also came over and we just had a big time. Kade had a blast! Pizza, Cake, and Presents...what more could a two year old ask for? He got lots of cool stuff to play with and several things to add to his "one-man band" collection....a keyboard (Kade calls it a piano), an accordion, and a "rock" guitar! This guy is surely to be a musician one day! I'll try to post some video soon so everyone can enjoy his musical talents!

Hope you are all having a Happy 2009!!

Enjoy the pics:

Kade was a pretty good boy at the mall so C.G. let him ride the train.

No wonder, this kid is so attached to his C.G....she sure is good to him!

All wide awake after a visit to the doctor's office! Doc said he was looking great!!

Ryne, just being cute!

Kade is sporting C.G.'s glasses so that he could see just what he wanted at Target.

What do you think, Dr. Monk Monk...are these his style?

This was the day after we brought Ryne home...Jan 1, 2009! Happy new year little guy!

Paw and Granna made it here this week to see their little boys.

C.G. and Granna both checking out Baby Ryne

Does this look like a boy who's ready to party, or what?

Kade is checking out his party guests.

Look, Elmo came to my party and he even brought me a present!

Bowling! Thanks D and Lissa!

He blew out that candle in one little puff. Good work!

Kade checking out his very own personal cake....just how many bites is it going to take me to get this one all down? "I need milk, please"

Ryne attended the party as well...even though he did sleep through most of it. He was just being a good little brother and letting his big brother have his time in the spotlight.

Kade with Mommy and Daddy

Yummy Cake!

Monk Monk, got to come to Kade's B-day party via web cam...she even got to wear a party hat (with a little help from D)! Thanks for making the trip all the way from that wedding in Nebraska, Monk!

Playing his new "rock" guitar...looks like a pro, doesn't he?

Drawing on his new MagnaDoodle...Kade loves to draw...maybe this will keep him away from the pens and pencils! Quick story...one night while C.G. and Grandaddy were here for Christmas we heard Kade upstairs in their bedroom and assumed he was just hanging out with them while he was supposed to be in bed. When we finally went upstairs, out came Kade from C.G. and Grandaddy's room, C.G. and Grandaddy were both fast asleep and Kade was in possession of an ink pen. We asked Kade what he was doing and he quickly answered: "I drawin' " Sure enough he had been perched in his Daddy's office chair with a note pad and pen just drawing away while his grandparents were fast asleep. So, this kid LOVES to draw!

Guess who got to pick out his own Birthday Card? Of course, C.G. didn't care if he's only 2...it was the one he wanted!