Before we go forward, let me go back a few weeks to December 2010. Calen got to be Santa for the first time. this year. Christmas Eve, after we put the little ones to bed, he got to eat the cookies. At first, he just sat there grinning and uncertain. We had to assure him it was okay that he ate the cookies that he put out. The kids (and I) were very excited to have a beautiful White Christmas!
This was a whirlwind year in the Lewis household. I'm not sure where it went, even Calen has remarked several times how fast it seemed to pass. Here are some highlights of what the year brought us.
January: The new year rolled in and kept on going. We had LOTS of snow to enjoy!
February: This month started off rocky with two sick little ones. Riley seemed to bounce back quickly, but Jax did not. He was diagnosed with mild pneumonia and sent home with antibiotics. He seemed to be on the bends, but later nosedived and spent the next 48+ hours in the hospital. Later, Calen turned 8! The half way point to getting a driver's license. He's growing up. Not a big party or anything. Family and a couple friends. The cake? Tennessee football! Orange and White! GO VOLS!!
March: This was my third trimester and my first experience with sleep apnea. This was by far my most trying pregnancy, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I came to realize why God designed our best child-bearing years to be in our early twenties.
April: Time to get ready for Lewis 4.0! We had planned to go to Disney World, but I was not about to walk around all day, every day, for a week the month before my due date with a 3 and 2 year old. Calen had speaking parts for the first time in the Kids' Choir Spring Play. In fact, he ended up doing the speaking for two separate characters. At this point, the kids begin to spend a lot of time with grandparents. We had some visitation though.
May: Baby time! Gideon arrived on Cinco de Mayo. Everything went smoothly, and I was able to walk out of the hospital less than 30 hours after I had a C-section. The rest of the month was spent enjoying our sweet newborn, recovering, and watching his older siblings adore him.
June: Gideon took his first road trip at five weeks old. Danny, the boys, Danny's dad, and I went to South Carolina for a weekend fishing trip. I had dreaded this trip due to the fact that Gideon had not done well being in a car seat, but he did very well. It was the first time he didn't scream in his seat, and scream, and scream, and scream.
July: Calen started 3rd grade. The kids and I spent almost 2 weeks with my parents while Danny was out of town. We had a great time cooking, gardening, and playing.
August: Jax turned 4, and just like Calen he had a dinosaur party. We hunted for dinosaur eggs, dug for bones, and exploded a volcano. This party presented me with my first challenge of different age groups. We had Jax's friends and then we had siblings who are around Calen's age. With some planning, it worked and everyone had fun. We also took a family trip to Fairfield Glade for a week. It was a great get-away, and the kids loved the tub that was the size of a small pool.
September: Family trip to the beach. We hadn't been in about a year and half. Jax and Riley had no memory of the last time, but they took to the ocean like, well...fish. Calen started taking formal trumpet lessons. Jax started biddy soccer. So this is what it is like to have mulitple kids doing multiple activities.
October: Calen started this month out with breaking a molar on a sucker. Yes, kids, you CAN break a tooth by biting a sucker. We would visit the dentist 9 times over the next several weeks. This year for Halloween was the Wizard of Oz. Our cast of characters were Riley as Dorothy- complete with a basket,Toto and ruby red slippers; Calen as the Tinman (finally!); Jax the Scarecrow; and Gideon was the Lion. I must say they were ADORABLE!!! Riley turned thirteen, er three. I had a blast planning her party! O-liv-ia, O-liv-ia dut dut dut OOOO-liv-iAAAAAA!
November: This was a busy month. Danny turned 34 and began preparing for a major job change. While he would still be in his two clinics half-time, he would become the new CMO in January. We also took the postponed trip to Disney World. This was the first time for the kids. Riley had lunch with the Princesses. She didn't have a clue who or what one was when we got there, but, by golly, she knew them by name before we left. She was a trooper who had fun (and a little bit of a princess complex). Calen fit right in at Epcot, and can't wait to go back because we didn't get to spend nearly enough time there. He's our nerdy scientist. Jax loved Animal Kingdom and would ride anything he could at any of the parks. He's the fearless dare-devil. Gideon got to spend some time in the pool, he too, is a fish. He was a super-trooper! A cool bonus, we were able to watch the fireworks for both Epcot and Magic Kingdom from our balcony every night while we ate ice cream. Gideon also turned 6 months. Over the next few weeks he would achieve some major milestones. He started sitting up, became mobile, and got his first tooth!
December: We spent the month hanging out the family and friends. This month flew by, and we didn't get to do nearly as much as we had hoped. Calen spent the month playing indoor soccer and taking a break from karate. He had a great team this year, finishing second in the regular season- tournament, here we come! Jax seemed to become this big boy overnight. He became interested in learning his letters and sounds. Riley had lots of tea parties (with coffee to drink) and practiced being a mommy to her baby dolls, Olivia and Lucy. Gideon perfected his mobility by crawling on his hands and knees Christmas Day.
I hope to get some pictures up in the next few weeks.
Father Knows Best. Spring 2011
