James is potty training?!?!

Last night James wanted to sit on the potty and then threw a fit when Ryan tried to get him off. I had told James he could wear underwear when he pooped and peed on the potty and James really wanted to wear underwear... right then! Today he's pooped and peed 3 times and knows he gets to go to Chuck E Cheese when he's potty trained... but I'm not sure that he knows what potty trained means because he keeps asking to go to Chuck E Cheese. I'm not really mentally/emotionally ready to potty train him at the moment because cleaning up accidents with a new baby is a bit stressful. My mom comes back into town next week and maybe we can focus our efforts then, but for now Ryan needs to tell me when he puts James in underwear and then leaves for work or I might just go over the edge (not that that's happened :)

Balls of the Eagle Christmas Party

Santa appeared at Ryan's Battalion's Christmas party (or as Alexander said "that's not really Santa", my response was "that's one of Santa's helpers") 

 Alexander and James didn't want anything to do with him other than retrieve their candy canes and presents (which were generously donated by a school in KY).

Benjamin couldn't think of what he wanted to ask Santa for so Santa told him to write a letter when he decided.

Clarksville River Walk

Benjamin's school hosted an evening on the riverwalk complete with hot chocolate and I got a few hours alone with baby Levi.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Ryan for humoring me.

Welcome Levi Serhiy Lewis!

I woke up at 3 a.m. and by ~5 my contractions were 4 minutes apart. Ryan said if they stayed that close for 30 minutes we'd go to the hospital. We had joked about me having the baby in our bathtub (okay, I had joked and Ryan wasn't into the idea... The midwife at my last appointment also warned against it b/c I'd have what is considered a "dirty baby")... so we wanted to play it safe. I was also strep b positive for the first time and sure they wouldn't get their 4 hours of antibiotics into me (which they were able to do).

(Yes, I have a really short birth ball. I thought about getting a bigger one, but I actually really liked having the smaller one. Sitting on it was much more like being in a squatting position and not just sitting on a rolling chair).

I'm spoiled... after only 4 hours in the hospital I was bored... bored. I was dilated to 7 when we arrived and I was still dilated to a 7... and getting a little discouraged. We had a discussion about breaking my water. At first I just wanted to wait it out, but like I said, I was getting bored and discouraged...

This discussion was all intermingled with a discussion about how to get keys to my mom who was supposed to be taking our boys to the ward Christmas breakfast starting at 9 a.m. Ryan had packed my keys in my hospital bag and we didn't think we had a spare van key. He almost left to take them the keys, but I wasn't sure he'd be back quick enough. She did find a spare van key and the boys had a great time!

They had a "snowball fight" with tube socks that were later donated to a local shelter.

 Levi's bag of waters was bulging through my cervix, but apparently there wasn't enough amniotic fluid to keep it taunt and the midwife wasn't able to break it. She did do some pretty good damage on Levi's head though and I gave birth to him within the hour even without my water being broken.

I was on the monitor for 20 minutes and then they said I could get up and walk the halls more, but I was pretending to sleep through the contractions and it seemed to be working. It was easier to relax when I was laying down. I told Ryan to let me know when it had been another 20 minutes so I didn't stay in the same position too long. I was also actually enjoying having the monitor on because it helped form my mantra and imagine Levi moving down the birth canal.

 Levi Serhiy Lewis was born Saturday, December 1st (on his due date) at 1007 a.m. He weighed 8 lb and 5 oz. and was 21 inches long (the same weight and length as Benjamin). We're 3 for 4 on  the midwife missing the birth of our sons. We warned them I have precipitous labor, but I think the real problem would be precipitous transition. You'd think 4 minute long crazy hard contractions would have tipped them off that it was time to stick around. The nurse was there for the first one, but then left the room. After one or two more I needed to push. 

Ryan ran out of the room and as he went, I cried "Don't go". He's fast. He didn't even hear me. I could visualize our baby falling on the floor. By the time Ryan got back (one push later) the baby had crowned. Ryan was a bit worried he was going to have to catch the baby. Luckily a random nurse was in the hallway and he didn't have to go all the way to the nurses' station. By the time she arrived with her gloves half on (her fingers weren't in) on my second push, our baby's shoulders were rotating and he was out.

Levi had a short umbilical cord (James had a battledore placenta -- is this a product of GMO foods?!) and he was laying on my belly when the midwife showed up (she said it's the first delivery she's ever missed). I think she was really flustered. I'm hoping Levi's umbilical cord had stopped pulsing by then (and she said it had), but I'm not sure.

 Grumpy baby getting his first bath.

Basking in the warmer and happy once again.

 In honor of Levi's circumcision (and the 45 minutes I had to myself), I painted my toenails. I'm glad I can reach my feet again!

 Napping with daddy! I think we have a photo like this of Ryan with every baby.

 James (as happened with Benjamin when Alexander was born and Alexander when James was born) seems so huge now. He brought my hospital bag back with daddy when they wouldn't release me Sunday night and he kept saying "I miss you mommy". He also says "Baby Levi is so cute."

 One happy Grandma, a B'jamin, and one happy Xander (notice the cookie!)

Stir crazy Mama taking photos.




I was blessed to have nice roommates (a new maternity wing is under construction with private rooms) and only one nurse without good bedside manner... the one who told me I wouldn't be discharged and then took my blood pressure and said "They won't let you out with blood pressure like that" (It was 94, but had been in the 70s all day). He probably shouldn't have been in the mother baby unit!

Originally, Ryan was supposed to be deployed right now, but there was another Chaplain who REALLY wanted to go and took Ryan's place. Ryan has mixed feelings about not going (I told him I would have hired a doula and a photographer if he had been gone and everything would have been okay)... but I'm really grateful he was here. He's a great labor coach!

James-y is Two!

James has gotten 4+ days of birthday celebrations.

 I took him to Sears for his photos on Wednesday.

 I had an OCD quandary because I wanted a matching collage of him on our upstairs hallway wall, but they only had one with a "linen" background and I couldn't change the template to white and it was smaller than the ones I got for Benjamin and Alexander. I really do like the photos though, so I need figure out the rest of our order (I was under the impression I could order them online and have them shipped to the store with our original order, but maybe not). The photos were really good and James posing with his hands in his pockets and looking so cute was all him... (with a bit of tickling by Alexander and a few smarties from me).

Ryan surprised us by getting home from work a bit early on Thursday afternoon. I was planning a dinner of Mac 'n Cheese and pinto beans (which we had on Friday -- James is a Mac 'n Cheese eating machine).We asked James if he wanted to go to the park or to Chuck E. Cheese and he had a hard time deciding, but Chuck E. Cheese won out. 

 

Chuck E. Cheese didn't get much $ out of us. We were basically able to get a party for $25. 

If you come back with their birthday party cups, you can get free drinks. We had 2 bobble-head cups and I tried to buy a 3rd for James, but they have a new design. The cashier offered to exchange our old cups for new ones, but I wasn't sure the boys would want to give up the bobble heads, but I was sure they'd be jealous in one way or another if James got a different cup. The manager ended up letting us keep the old cups and giving us 3 new cups.

 I had a coupon for 1 large pizza, 2 drinks, and 40 tokens and brought coupons for 50 more free tokens... 90 tokens is enough to entertain us all evening quite well.

Jet pack ride... It didn't say anything about being bad for pregnant women.

Jurassic Park. Alexander was the one keeping us alive.





This Chuck E. Cheese had a great toddler area!












There were 2 "ticket blasters" with the one in the main area for a dollar. James was looking inside the window like he wanted to do it until he watched someone and then he didn't, but Ryan did. We told Alexander and Benjamin they could do it when we went back for their birthdays. Ryan collected 40 tickets.

We figured out a while ago that no matter how many tickets we get, it's worth paying $2 for mylar ballons that are great entertainment for a couple weeks and come with balloon weights. Alexander said he wanted Fun Dip and would get a balloon next time (he's my candy guy). We didn't quite have enough tickets, but I had found the online game where you can earn extra tickets. I didn't realize you couldn't print from the chrome browser though until later and asked the ticket girl if people had been redeeming online tickets. We probably would have had 120 extra if I had been able to print... so the girl gave us the balloons and candy without us having to pay the difference.

I told Ryan I felt bad that they didn't get their money's worth out of us, but he said not to worry b/c they do from everyone else. I do like being thrifty though :)

 James wanted a "choo choo" cake! I based the design on the Freight Train board book. I'm pretty impressed with what I came up with while avoiding a trip to the grocery store. Yes, it is whole wheat, but the frosting is pure butter and sugar.

Ryan took the boys to a Ft. Campbell HS vs. Paducah Tilghman football game on Friday night. James was ready to go home at halftime, Alexander fell asleep on Ryan's lap in the 4th quarter, and Benjamin "fell in love" with one of the cheerleaders.

We Have a Healthy Looking Baby #4!

If you hadn't heard yet, we're expecting baby #4 at the beginning of December. Today I had my 19 week ultrasound. They normally won't schedule the appointment until after 20 weeks at this clinic (b/c it's in the middle of Provo where there are LOTS of babies), but they made an exception for me since we are moving this week. The ultrasound tech said she got a good shot of the baby's gender, but was able to put the pic in an envelope without Benjamin reading it so that we can either have a "gender party" or just open it when we are together again with Ryan at the end of August. Stay tuned to find out what we're having! (Hoping for a boy... but can I say that out loud? Our potential daughter will get a complex if I'm not careful :)

An Adventure on the Roof

A maintenance guy was on the roof to clear off all the stray balls. We were hoping our soccer ball would be located before we moved, but to no avail. Benjamin thought he needed to be in the stairwell when the guy went onto the roof and asked if he could go on the roof with him. I'm sure the guy didn't think Benjamin could reach up ~5 or 6 feet and scale the wall to get on the ladder, but he didn't know that Benjamin has been practicing. So, he told him that he could go up if he could get on the ladder (and if I said it was okay). He was surprised to see Benjamin climbing up behind him. I promised I wouldn't incriminate the maintenance guy by including details of the location of these photos so he wouldn't get in trouble with his boss for allowing Benjamin to go up on the roof.

Platoon Marching Compitition

We practiced marching on and off for during Chaplain Initial Military Training (CIMT). This was supposed to take place a week earlier, but it kept getting delayed. My Platoon was the only one that stuck with standard military movements. The other three Platoons made it look like an interpretative dance. It made sense why they were spending so much time out there. It was frustrating to have it pitched as a military marching contest, to only see a bunch of silliness that was not remotely in the Field Manual (FM).

Battlefield Movement

This was a long day of ranges. The pictures are from the morning. In the morning we practiced individual movement under fire (no pics of me doing this one). We high crawled for 50 meters, than we low crawled for 50 meters, crawled under barbed wire for 5 meters, and than rolled over a small wood wall. There was pyrotechnics going off the entire time.

The pics are from when we practiced battlefield movement with Chaplain Assistants. These young men and women are trained to protect the Chaplain at all costs. You can see from the pictures, that the Private is rolling on top of me and than I got up, grabbed onto him as we rushed to the next piece of cover. It really opened up my eyes to what the Assistants are trained to do.

Here we are taking cover behind a rather beaten up Pontiac Fierro. What you can't see in the picture is that just prior to getting there, I slipped and fell cutting open my hand on the rocks. On our way to the car, the Assistant slipped, and I was able to haul him up and we got to our cover.

I am looking forward to meeting the Chaplain Assistant that I will be assigned. I was impressed with all of the Assistants at the range that day.

I Have a Six Year Old!

It's hard to believe Benjamin is six. It's also hard to fathom what six means. I heard a lady who had triplets once say, "Now that they're six, I'm trying to give them some more freedom by letting them play outside by themselves." I thought she was crazy at the time. Now I understand.

 Benjamin was excited to open grandma's package a day early. Part 2 of her gift is still in the mail... He's waiting for it with eager anticipation.

 Alexander was excited there was something for him in the package.

 Benjamin woke up at 6 this morning ready to open presents. I had hardly gotten any sleep so I told him I needed to sleep another hour. He kept asking me every minute or two when 7 o'clock was. I asked him what the clock said and after he told me, I'd do the math for him. I'm not sure it was effective sleep that last hour, but it was nice to prolong getting up.

There can't be gifts without a Disney Cars vehicle. I had to remember not to call it "Jeff Gorvette" because Alexander loves Corvettes like Benjamin loves Mustangs and would have been extremely jealous.

 Benjamin loved being read "Jack and Annie" books at BYU Kindergarten so when he saw a set of them in the Scholastic catalog, he was sure he needed them. Gram was visiting at the time and ordered them for him. Benjamin didn't know it, but then saw them on my dresser before I got them put away. I'm not sure how he knew what the package was, but he knew. He had a hard time waiting 3-4 months to get them and I had to move where they were hiding a couple times. Luckily, I didn't forget where they were in the end. I read one today and he's already picked out ~15 more he wants me to read tomorrow! (These are small chapter books w/~100 pages each, so I'm thinking one every day or two is more reasonable.)

Daddy send him an e-card with a cat mariachi band and dancing mice and Alexander thought it was great. He must have spent 30 minutes dancing to the music this afternoon. Ryan also sang "Happy Birthday" and sent it as an MP3. I love technology! Benjamin was excited that he was sung to so many times today (Daddy; Grandma; Gram, Gramp, Uncle Kendall, and Aunt Stacy; and then with his candles).

 Benjamin never cared AT ALL about stuffed animals until the last couple of months (He also pretends a lot more then he used to. I think it's a byproduct of kindergarten experiences... He really liked "dramatic play"). I gave him a choice of going to Chuck E Cheese or Build a Bear. He picked Build a Bear. We had never been there before. It was cute how they put a heart in the animals before sewing them up. She went through a whole routine with Benjamin about rubbing it between his hands to warm it up and putting it on his muscles to make it strong, etc.

 Here he's testing it to make sure it wasn't stuffed too much or too little. I wasn't surprised that he picked the bunny.

 I love to see Alexander so excited!

 They are "washing" all the excess fuzz off. I never got a photo of Benjamin's bear dressed, but he picked Lightning McQueen jammies and slippers. Normally he has a really hard time picking things, but once he found that outfit, he was sure he wanted it. I think it's b/c he has matching slippers.

 Benjamin and Alexander got backpacks (it was that or a little tent to share) and beach towels (a current Build a Bear promotion) too. I had a coupon which made the whole experience a bit more reasonable.

 We went and played in the mall play area for hours afterwards. Benjamin "met a new friend" and didn't want to leave, but Alexander was ready to go long before we left.

 James on his 2nd or 3rd nap of the day (We had a rough night last night and with the way he's been coughing this evening, it sounds like I'm in for another long night). James was asleep when we went in to Build a Bear, but the stuffing machine woke him up. He almost came out with a stuffed Angry Bird, but he put it down at the end. I thought the cow was the cutest and figured he'd like it since he likes to moo (Oinks are a harder sound to make). He carried it around most of the time at the play area, so he seems to like it. Benjamin dubbed it "Moo-y".

I figured Alexander would pick Spider-man for his bear and he did. But he wanted to name it "Barry" (After one of the stuffed animals that used to come home with Benjamin from Kindergarten every once in a while) and not "Spider-bear" or something like that.  

We went to our friends' for dinner and I provided mini-cupcakes and ice cream w/ magic shell. I forgot to grab my camera (this is low-res from my phone). I knew Benjamin wasn't feeling well b/c he went and laid on their couch between his cupcake and ice cream. He threw up when we got home. Alexander was sick Sunday morning and I was hoping the rest of us would avoid it :( At least it seems to be a 24-hour thing so Benjamin should be fine by the time he flies to Colorado on Thursday.