Year Three

Emmy's turns 3!

It's amazing how much can happen in 365 days.  If you could make life's biggest decisions and package them all in one year - that's what we did.  Now most of you are connected to us through some sort of social media outlet but in case you aren't, here's what Emmy's been up to.

This time last year she was spitting out words in chopped up sentences.  Now, she corrects our grammar and has some of the most entertaining one-liners.  Here are a few of our favorite Emmy quotes:

"No, NEVER" - usually in reference to anything at any point in the day/night.
"Mommy, you pass out Daddy to me?" - every single night from her bed to ours.
"Daddy, ask Mama if she's wearing a pull-up!" - and then Daddy asks and she laughs
"You're NOT my best friend anymore" - usually directed at me, sometimes brother and Papa.
"It's all messied up!!!" - when her sock seams aren't perfectly set at the top of her feet.
"Can I PLEASE watch the Princess Diarrhea's?" - she loves the Princess Diaries.

She's still just a little babe!

We can't help but let her keep saying words like "bubritos, babloons, gagrage, paprise, nail pole-nyshe".  She speaks very well for her age but we just can't seem to get ourselves to correct her on these things.  She has taken to books and likes to pretend she knows how to read.  Even if the book is upside down.  Some of her favorite books right now are "Emmy the Great", Princess Sophia books, Bearenstein Bears books, "Big Sister", "Gerald the Giraffe" and Mickey Christmas books were really popular too.  I am so excited to see how she advances this year in her reading and comprehension.

Her first school picture, age 2.

We have decided that Emmy will stay home with Mama during my maternity leave and take her out of her daycare of almost two years at Bee Bops.  Once I go back to work, we are moving her over to Mayflower Montessori, located near my work.  I think this type of curriculum will be great for her curious little mind and it allows me to have both her and her little sister at the same location.  Speaking of her little sister...we're about 4-1/2 weeks away from her expected arrival.  Delaney Rae Lewman, due 3/15/15 is definitely getting big (and so am I).  Her room is nearly ready and we're really trying to encourage what it means to be a big sister.  Some of us are a little apprehensive on how the transition will be.  Emmy is excited to be a big sister but then I hear her singing songs like "D-e-l-a-n-e-y can't come in" and "Delaney can't wear my green clothes"...I think that will all change once she meets her. I hope.  Here's the video of her finding out she's having a sister.

LSD Trip (Lewman San Diego Trip)

We went on our first family vacation to San Diego in May.  We stayed right in Mission Beach and played in the ocean, played in the bay and played in the pool.  It was Emmy's first plane ride which she did great (except for landing always triggered a diaper situation for some reason).  We ate at taco shops and took a boat ride to dinner.  Rode bikes and went to Coronado.  We went to the San Diego zoo which is one of the best zoos in the country.  It was SUCH a fun trip but Tye and I were absolutely drained and exhausted from so much fun.  We could have definitely used a vacation after that.  I think between the two of us we drank 1/2 a bottle of hard cider. But it was worth it and Emmy still talks about taking an airplane ride to San Diego.  Can't wait to see where we go this year!!


This year was DEFINITELY a Christmas to remember.  It was the first year that Emmy understood who Santa is, gifts under the tree, Christmas traditions, zoo lights and Christmas movies.  She was very adamant on one gift she wanted from Santa; a Belle dress (from Beauty and the Beast). She talked about it nearly every day and made sure Santa knew that was her request.  She was also very proud of her ornament pick this year of a ballerina.  Naturally, she got a Ballerina outfit so that she can wear it this year during her first ballet classes (to be scheduled).  And of course, Santa got her a Belle dress

Princess Emmy of Beaverton as Belle

to which she wears nearly every day.   She's certainly taken a liking to princesses and I think we can blame Frozen for that.  She loves the cinema!  Really likes movies and will try to negotiate everything with "can I watch a movie?"  We really try to curb the amount of time she spends watching movies since she doesn't watch any TV shows or cartoons but it's hard when we know how much she loves to see these movies.  Some of her favorites this year were Frozen, Mary Poppins, Twice Upon a Christmas, Wall-E,  & Beauty and the Beast.  Grandma Judi took her to Frozen on ice which she got her very own Elsa dress!  Grandma GG took her to the play Mary Poppins and she sat for the full 2-1/2 hour performance!  And next weekend Papa and Grandma Carol are taking her to see Skippyjon Jones, another play.  I am considering taking her to Cinderella since she loves plays and princesses and Daddy really wants to take her to Casper Baby Pants - her first concert!  I was really apprehensive of the princess obsession but I've decided to "let it go"...as long as she knows that dressing like a princess doesn't make you pretty or special.  You do.

A common face we get.

As fun and hilarious and smart as she is, she is also very stubborn and really figuring out how to share.  She has realized that she can make her own decisions and that we really can't make her do anything although I can flash a certain look that will make her bright eyed and quiet. She drives me crazy about 3 of the 5 week day mornings because she wants to pick out her own clothes, put them on her own self and if I suggest a warmer jacket "NO, NEVER!!!!!" or she will want a certain type of crunch in her peanut butter toast.  We try to allow her freedom of her opinions and expressing herself but sometimes (all the time) we're right and that's where she struggles.  She has tantrums, although never in public, and will scream and then moments later she's just happy as a clam.  Emmy remembers EVERYTHING.  So empty promises aren't accepted...like "we'll watch a movie later, okay?" because she will be sure to remind you that you said that.  We are so proud that she is about 95% potty trained.  Wearing underwear "unnies" during the day and telling us every time she needs to go and can go by herself.  Still wearing a pull-up at night but I think we are getting close to unnies at night too!  It's such a relief to only be buying one set of diapers!!

Her 3rd birthday was special with just a few friends and some paint.  We had some aprons that the kids could paint themselves and take home.  She's starting to explore a lot of coloring and painting so we thought this was perfect for a party.  We asked her friends not to bring any gifts but some hand made

Mama MAY have liked the painting more than Emmy...

cards to make a birthday book.   They were so amazing and thoughtful.  Exactly what I was hoping for so her birthday book would be really special. She got SO many Christmas gifts that we are a little toy/bear/dressed out and plus she will get gifts from us and her grandparents.  Birthdays are special but not just about gifts (neither is Christmas).  She had also requested that I make her a Belle cake as well.  We would look at pictures online for months in advance on which kind of Belle cake she wanted.  Hopefully that is the extent of her birthday cake requests because that's about the extent of my cake decorating talent!!

#99 Hayden P. Lewman as WR and DB

Back 2 Back...CHAMPS!

We have all had one crazy year.  We upgraded to a house about 4 streets down (which didn't make our move any easier). We have spent the last 6 months doing a lot of projects and sadly home improvements due to water issues.  We are hoping that we have a solution and it won't continue but it has been quite consuming.  The yard is perfect for the family and once spring hits, I cannot wait to get out and start working my vision (Tye is challenging my ability to execute this vision) so next year I'll post an updated picture! We won the championship again in summer softball and looking forward to getting prepped for this year.  Hayden started football this year and we are really excited to see where his talents take him.  He starts baseball next week and Tye is now the VP of Beaverton Area Little League.  Very involved with the coaching and kids during spring/summer/fall ball.  LOVE going to watch them both and excited at the possibility of Tye coaching Emmy in softball (assuming she will want to play).  Both Tye and I started new jobs and feeling like we are really making the right moves professionally to be where we want.  Tye's brother Chris married a beautiful and smart woman Laura in August and Emmy was their flower girl.  And of course finding out we were pregnant amongst all of the change was slightly overwhelming but so exciting.  We are thrilled to add the last piece to our family and welcome Delaney to this crazy Lewman clan.

We have enjoyed so many moments with you all this year and looking forward to so many more.  I promised I would do this blog every month in Emmy's first year and then every year after.  I will do the same for Delaney.  So if you would like to be removed from reminders, please let me know and I will be sure to take you off our Christmas card list :)

Thank you for reading!

Year Two

Happy 2nd Birthday Emmaline

The last time I blogged, Emmy was stumbling around on her chubby little legs, saying things like “dada”, “daddy”, “dad.”  Now she is darting out from my watch at lightning speed while yelling “leaf me lone”…my how times have changed!  One of the many amazing things that have advanced this past year has been her vocabulary.  I am honestly shocked every day with her level of understanding or pronunciation and even her phrasing, she is hilarious.  This is definitely the age where “kids say the darndest things”.  Here are a few of her most used one-liners:

“Wear brother’s shirt?” – every night and day while getting dressed

“I like those peoples, I do” – when we go through a drive thru

“Cover me up” – looking at her blanket pretty much anywhere

“Good job Mommy” – when she sees Mama use the potty

“Two minutes” – when negotiating bedtime every night

“I want my vitanim or I want my fru-nacks” – at any given time of the day

“Play with Ellie, Jayden, Marin, Miss Sarah, Miss Hurry (Hilary)” – on what she did at daycare

And my personal favs…

“My Daddy’s picking me up” – to anyone she talks to at daycare

“Go bye-bye Mama [while waving]” – the second I walk in the door from work (sad but really funny)

“Oh my goodnessssss, that’s too funny” – while looking at most pictures of kitties.

Emmy & Ellie - Besties for the Resties

She has been attending a daycare called BeeBops in Tigard since June and has thrived.  The curriculum is so perfect for her age and the other tots in her daycare are the best.  Her and her bestie Ellie are in separable.  They are the two youngest and Ellie helps Emmy take off her shoes when we arrive and hold her bear (which has been officially adopted and named, Red Bear Lewman).  They are so adorable together.  We get all kinds of gifts and art masterpieces that Emmy makes and I love how much she is learning there – even if it is things like “not yours, MINE”. We are working on our sharing. J

Emmy has been in good health other than a persistent cough she has had for the last 4 months.  She just started on an inhaler to see if the will help open up her lungs.  And of course cold after cold, courtesy of her cutest friends at daycare.  In November, she had a fever induced febrile seizure which was very scary to witness but a very important lesson learned on what to do in those situations. If you aren’t sure what to do, here’s a video that you might find helpful.  It’s very common in children ages 6 mos. to 6 years of age so if it were to happen again, we know how to handle it.  All in all, we are blessed with a healthy and active little girl.

Emmy and Gramma Judi on Christmas Eve.

This Christmas was very special because we introduced Santa to Emmy’s world.  I am not sure if it backfired or not because every time she heard a noise she would say “that Santa?!” even still in February.  She got more than necessary and had a really enjoyable time with the grandparents and soon-to-be-married Uncle Chris and Laura, and her family from Canada – congratulations to them! Excited to impose my ideas for their wedding!  And Emmy was asked to be a flower girl!  Can’t wait to see her protest her duty right at go-time…(I really can see her doing this). 

Toys, books, bears and shopping carts, these are a few of her favorite things.  She loves to pretend she’s a mommy at Gramma Judi's by feeding and burping Red Bear. She pretends that she’s the one saying ni-night, sweet dreams and covers Red Bear up with her blanket and asks if he wants the hall light on or music.  It’s so cute the things that she picks up and tries to imitate.  We read 3 books every night and she has started to memorize some of them so it might be time to hit up the library!! In fact, over the summer an incredibly special person wrote a book about Emmy titled “The Adventures of Broomgirl”. To make a long story short, I started following this woman on social media (in a non-creepy way) because I loved her writing and her photos and her creativity with words.  She then started following me on Instagram and loved all the “broom pictures” of Emmy.  We had emailed several times and became pen pals.  One day I received a package in the mail and it literally brought me to tears from the first page.  You can read it here. This is such a special book for me and for her and I still cannot formulate into words how much it meant to me.

Two little monkey's jumping on the bed.

Hayden and Emmy – a true love story! She loves to be involved in her brother’s sporting events and friends and pretty much obsesses over wearing his clothes although I tell her she can only wear them at home because they are about 5 sizes too big.Hayden is so helpful with her and calls her “honey” and I smile inside every time.  He teaches her things and patiently shows her how to operate something and tells us about what he wants to get for her next time he’s at Fred Meyer.  He’s a true boy but has softened so much since she’s been in our life.  So happy that the two of them have each other.  You can usually find the two of them dining together on the weekends with Gramma & Papa Lew for breakfast/dinner all around Portland.

Emmy and Elmo ringing in another year together.

Emmy turned two yesterday and although the snow prevented a majority of her family and friends to come over– some were able to make it.  She had presents and balloons and cupcake and friends.  Who would have thought we would be snowed-in for her birthday in February! I might actually plan a get together at Playdate PDX for her little friends later in the month.  Gotta make time for your girlfriends!

A little update on the family – Tye and I (and friends/family) are happy to share that we are the 2013 Champions of our softball league last summer. 

Coach Lewman (on the left)
VERY PROUD!

We were all THRILLED and can’t wait to start the 2014 season.  Tye is in the midst of playing rec basketball through THPRD and so far no injuries…(fingers crossed).  I am going into my 4^th week of training for a half marathon.  It’s brutal but something I want to do for myself.  Can’t wait for it to be over!  Hayden is also playing basketball right now and is proving to be a fast and furious point guard.  Baseball tryouts actually start this week too so looking forward to many more hours on the baseball diamond.  Definitely an active year ahead!  We have a very needed vacation to San Diego coming up in May.  Surf lessons, sun, cocktail umbrellas, swimming and FUN. 

This year has been extraordinary in watching Emmy develop into a person.  Hayden as a thoughtful brother. Tye as the sweetest father to a little girl and I have learned so much about myself and put light on the things that are really important to me at this stage.  So incredibly blessed to know the people I do, marry the person I did and have the family I have.  Thank you to each of you for participating in our lives.  And I will get my Christmas cards out at some point :)

Here's a little slideshow that I made for myself and Emmy's birthdays.

em+my 2nd year

Until next time...

Lewman Family
Photo credit to Michael Byers

12 Months as a Lewman!!

My heart.

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” –Elbert Hubbard

That pretty much sums up the last year.  On top of all the amazing, miraculous, heartwarming and gentle moments this past year has given me – knowing that whatever I do, mistakes and all…”everything will be okay” has been the theme.  As a first time Mom, you are constantly thinking to yourself, “I should have read her that second book, I should have woken up earlier to play with her before work, I should not have fed her that many blueberries, I should have just gone home and given her a nap, I should have held her a little longer before putting her down” and so on.  These thoughts will most likely fly through my mind every day for the next 60 years.  But learning to be okay with what I have or haven’t done as a parent will only make me better.  I have made mistakes and I am certain, have many more to make…and that’s okay.  I have loved every second of being a mother from the time I found out I was pregnant.  Emmy has brought so much joy to my life that I will never be able to repay her.  Watching her grow this first year has been inspiring and is, for me, the reason I have always wanted kids.  To watch her develop her words and laugh after she falls down, stop crying when I open her door and scream when she is excited.  I love, love, love that little girl and so blessed to have her as my daughter. Here are all the things Miss Emmaline has done this last month of her first year!



Removing diapers from her changing table.

Emmy is a power walker. Walks everywhere at an incredible speed!  She is getting into EVERYTHING.  Cabinets, drawers, bathroom cupboards, her changing table, takes the art off her walls...and I am sure days away from crawling out of her crib.  I am putting fishing line on the top of her art so she can't actually pull it off the wall and lowering her crib and removing the bumpers.  We are letting her play with the Tupperware cupboard and pots and pans but do not let her in the baking cupboard!!  We have learned not to continually say "no" but to just redirect her attention and have her play with something else.  She completely understands when we ask her to do something or tell her not to do something (whether she does it is another thing).  She jib-jab's all day long with full-on conversations with herself and her babies.  Sometimes, Tye and I will be in bed listening to her crack up at jokes she must be telling herself. It is hilarious!!  Emmy loves to say DaDa, Daddy, Dad, Dadaaaaay...but no Mama :(  one of these days I suppose.  Maybe for my birthday! 



Big girl with sippy and spoon!

Emmy has 7 teeth now and we have officially started brushing her gums and teeth!  She uses these new fangs to chew on ALL regular food.  She is completely off of baby food and eats everything we do!  So far there hasn't been a food she doesn't like.  She has also almost completely been weaned off of formula.  We are still introducing whole milk with a little splash of formula.  She's doing really well with it and it's a lot nicer on our pocket book!  We started Emmy on a sippy cup about a month ago, just bringing it around at dinner and getting her used to it.  I imagine she will be done with bottles by March/April and solely be using a sippy.  I can't believe how much has developed in the last month.  I have a new project for Miss Emmaline! I found this awesome idea on Pinterest to help with fine motor skills for toddlers - it's a wooden board with all kinds of locks and latches and gadgets to figure out how to open/close/undo/etc. I am excited to see what she is capable of!  And as a family project we are going to build her a dollhouse.  She is obviously too young to play with her dollhouse and the little miniature pieces but we will get started on the construction, paint and decorations.  It's going to be a KID ONLY house...I have my wheels turning on how to make a mini-pinball machine!  She is going to love it!! Or am I...

The ever so colorful birthday girl!

Her hair is long enough to put clips and bows and mini-pony's.  But she is definitely over the headbands and still rocking a baby mullet.  She is wearing shoes and taking them off immediately as well as socks.  I have a feeling she is going to be interested in hockey...and sports in general.  She is very strong.  Instead of pushing her stroller, she lifts it and carries it with her.  Emmy has her own agenda and we all just try to keep up.  She has these bursts of energy that I wish I could channel.  I have never seen such a happy baby when she awakes from naps.  Just standing in her crib smiling, waiting to get out and get into something.   That's why I am letting her do a smashcake for her 1st birthday!  Just close friends and family came over for cake and ice cream and we (Michael Byers) snapped a few photos.  She loved the attention and the sugar!  She is currently, still awake!

Hayden during our snowboarding lesson.

Our life isn't ALL about Emmy...the other half is Hayden.  He has started basketball and then baseball tryouts next week.  Really cannot wait to see how much he has excelled since last year.  Whether Emmy likes it or not she will be growing up on the diamond, watching her big brother play ball.  His grades are outstanding and he is getting so tall and handsome.  We went to the mountain in January only to discover that Hayden and Tye are PHENOMENAL snowboarders (for only been twice)...I am rather challenged.  Hayden just picks it up naturally, like his Dad.  We are already looking forward to sunshine so we can build a treehouse and hang out in it ALL summer.  Hayden and I of course, Tye is a bit skeptical but maybe, we'll let him come up with Deegs (Rick). It's going to be a busy year for this family...lots of sports & fun. Of course, no one is a bigger fan of Hayden than Emmy.  Here's a little clip of the two of them playing while we're getting dinner prepared.

A year ago today I experienced what I can only describe as the beginning of my life. So, I began this blog as a way to document Emmy's first year and share with our family and friends.  I thought it would be fun for her to look back and see all the pictures in an online-like-scrapbook.  So, a year has come and gone and this is her last blog entry.   Such wonderful memories of her first year and so many exciting things to celebrate in the coming year and I cannot wait to see how our family grows!  Tye says one more, I say 3 more!!!  We'll see who wins.  I do intend to do this blog for each child, so I may be harrassing you all again! If you ever want to check in - just call.  Or email.  Or FB message.  Thank you for sharing the best year of my life with me.  

Love, Emmy & Lindsey

11 Months as a Lewman!!

Emmy the Elephant

What a doozie December was!! The month started off with Tye’s birthday and then Hayden’s birthday.  Then we moved right into the heart of Christmas.  Emmy loved the house decorations…especially the tree needles and bows on the presents.  She also liked the nutcracker ornaments and made her very first ornament for the grandparents.

Ho-Ho-Horrified!

Tree huggers!

As our tradition, we went to Loch Lolly Farms to cut our tree down and Emmy came in tow. We picked it out, cut it down and then sat at the bonfire and had hot cocoa as Santa got pictures with kids in his sleigh.  Then we picked out our annual ornaments and headed home to decorate the house and tree…and then watch Christmas Vacation!  Emmy went to her first Christmas party at Gramma Judi’s company party.  As you can see, she was wild about Santa.

This month, Emmy started walking.  She was taking a few steps here and there but it was really noticeable Christmas Eve at my grandma’s house.  She is officially a walker and the most appropriate description is that of a drunken cowboy that yells "daa-daa". I have a really cute video of her naked prancing around the house, but thought I would respect her privacy.  This is a little clip of us gals just having a ball!

Baby at breakfast!

Baby at Christmas!

This year was our first year hosting Christmas dinner!  A new tradition for the Lewman/Moore families…looking forward to many, many more Christmas’s with everyone here.  Emmy did great with her gifts too…she sat patiently while we all opened our gifts and studied hers instead of ripping them open!  She got quite a bit this year (you can blame both grandparents!) - she got babies (we call them the triplets) and a stroller for her babies, a musical puppy that helps her with walking, a musical desk, a pillow-pet that puts pretty stars on the ceiling, toys and clothes.  She even got an elephant costume as you can see above!  We had a wonderful Christmas and so happy to have Emmaline be here to share.  As Hayden says, “Santa really stepped up his game this year”…because the whole family got snowboards, boots and bindings!  Ski trip coming our way end of January. One of us has never been and REALLY excited :).

We capped off a very busy 2012 with a movie and I was asleep by 10pm!  Tye woke me a quarter till 12 to watch the ball drop and we got Emmy up to celebrate the new year…then we all crashed!  Hayden stayed at his Mom’s to celebrate with his step-brother Aidan…evidently these party animals were up until 1am!! I was definitely ready to start the new year.  As 2012 has been the greatest year of my life…I am so excited for 2013.  I am thrilled to watch Emmy learn and grow.  Hayden is preparing for basketball and then it's almost baseball!  Tye and I are on our way to Mexico next month to celebrate our friends Alex & Hilary get married.  That is if my passport comes in time... (fingers crossed).  A lot on the horizon and looking forward to every minute.

Baby on Sunday Stroll with Mama

Happy New Year to all our friends and family!  May we find time this year to connect and celebrate!

-The Lewmans 

10 Months as a Lewman!!

Emmy's Princess ears from Disneyland.

10 Months!  This time last year I was picking out a Christmas ornament for Emmy so that on her 1^st Christmas, she would already have one on the tree.  I remember thinking “wow, what is life going to be like NEXT Christmas with a 10 month old running/crawling/barreling down the halls?”…I couldn't have possibly imagined how my life would change.  Emmy has brought so much laughter and happiness to my life that I couldn't have prepared for it.  So to all of my pregnant friends right now (Jihae, Caitlin, Jen, Bree, Beth, Sarah)…just wait.  This time next year you will look back lovingly like I am today. 

She looks like an angel.

 Emmy has literally transformed from a baby into a little girl in the last month.  Her hair is getting longer (ALMOST ready for a little pony) and started wearing little baby clips. Her dimples are more defined and her eyes widen when she likes something she likes, especially playing “kisses,kisses” with Grandma Lew.  It is so amazing to watch this transformation…and hear it.  She talks in elvish I believe, but has officially starting calling for “daddy” and “da-da-da-da”.  Still only the two front bottom teeth have come in but there are several just waiting to pierce through.  It’s impressive to watch her motor skills develop as she picks up her food and put it in her mouth.  From the time she has started eating solids, around 4 months, she has made “yummmmmm” noises after she takes a bite.  Here is a small clip of her while eating.  She has gotten a bit more demanding with her food over the course of the last 6 months but you can tell she still enjoys every bite!

She is crawling super-fast and walks with her mobile toys that Gramma Judi bought for her.  You can tell she just wants to hit the pavement and see what’s out there!  Anywhere we go, she has to look at every person within a 20 ft. radius.  Emmy is smitten with kids, especially babies!  She just got her very own little baby.  I could see the excitement when she first laid eyes on baby because she was shrieking with delight.  Only to realize she caught view of the water bottle I was holding behind the baby and thought she was getting food.  Typical.  She was labeled “the bully” at daycare but they say it’s in an endearing way not an aggressive way.   Although, she tends to be a close talker – always right up in their face and wants to touch their bodies.  Nothing worse than a touch- close-talker!

Ari & Emmy

Emmy had her first Thanksgiving and it couldn't have been more special. My mom hosted and had Jay and Carol as well as my Grandma over, we were just missing Chris as he was in NY for a wedding. Emmaline was such a good girl and happy all day.  She event met a little boy that may or may not have been scared away with because of her touchy-close-talking. He was really great with her though!  She tried mashed potatoes for the first time and had some of our delicious feast too.    It was pretty special.  I have a feeling Thanksgiving might be Emmy's favorite holiday...

BrewCycle buddies!

We are FINALLY getting our Christmas tree this weekend for Emmy’s first Christmas – I wonder if she’ll get to Santa’s cookies before he does?  December is always a busy month with Tye’s birthday which was last weekend and we had a surprise birthday party doing  BrewCycle which is a 15 person bike that rides through NW Portland from brewery to brewery.  It was a blast and even though he guessed his surprise the night before (for the 4^th year in a row) he still had fun.  Now we are prepping for Hayden’s birthday on the 10th!  Hayden is having a basketball party at The Hoop and a slumber party at his mom’s house with friends.  Tye and Hayden are 9 days apart – and coincidentally, Emmy and I are 9 days apart.  I did that on purpose so Tye feels my pain!  Papa Lew (Jay) shares a birthday with Hayden also so I am sure we will have a lot of free Bennihana dinners to attend this month!  I cannot wait to take Emmy to see Santa…I think she will like his beard and giggle on his lap…fingers crossed.

We are embarking on a new year and so many things to be excited about and grateful for. 2012 has literally been the best year of my life with our new home, new baby and new responsibilities.  I truly have a new appreciation for my family.  Thank you so much to everyone in our lives for all you have helped us with this year and cannot wait to see where 2013 takes us.  I hope it’s to Paris ;-)  

Happy Holidays from the Lewmans.

Lakeview Farms getting punkins!

9 Months as a Lewman!!

WHAT A MONTH!  Emmy is now 9 months old and I feel like she’s ready for her permit.  We have had one helluva month and can’t wait to share all our stories.

Emmy has progressed so much within the last 31 days – it’s amazing.  She is on the verge of talking.  I can tell she gets so frustrated trying to explain something that sounds like “dophbu aaaaye gon”.  I am nearly positive she is saying, “yes, I would like more of the spinach/apple meal” …or “you look lovely today Mama”…one of the two!  She is constantly sounding out letters.  She is really chatty in the morning and sounds like she’s trying to go through the alphabet.  We think we have heard “dada” and “banana” but nothing confirmed.  Looking forward to hearing her sweet little voice tell me she wants “up”!



She was sick nearly the entire month with a wheezing cough.  After taking her into the doctor three times, I got the hint that she is okay and it’s just a cold.  Every time I went in, I thought she was going to have gained at least 5 lbs…nope.  She has remained at 20lbs for the last two months.  Now that she has a turbo boost in those little knees, she is lightning fast.  We have covered the outlets, moved the glass décor and rearranged our living room for more play space.   Emmy pulls herself up on chairs, ottomans, pant legs, stairs, fridge, cupboards and anything that will hold her.  She has stood a few times on her own but pretty wobbly.  With all this exercise she is just slimming down while growing tall.  She is 28” without heels and growing a beautiful head of hair.  It’s in a perma-mohawk but I am sure it’s just a phase.  

Hayden barreling through the lilypad obstacle

We headed up to the Great Wolf Lodge and it was pretty amazing.  And crazy.  There must have been about 3 million kids of all ages there in costume and running around like they had been up for days on sugar.  The water slides were SUPER cool and they had a wave pool and a wizard scavenger hunt throughout the entire hotel.  Emmy and I spent most of the time sick in the room but Tye and Hayden had a blast.  It's a pretty penny but you can get good deals.  Definitely worth a two night stay to do everything they have to offer.  For the little gals they have a spa called Scoops - which I thought was pretty neat.  It was definitely worth the money and we all had a really fun time.

Then of course the annual pumpkin patch at Lakeview Farms.  We ride the boat over to the punkins, pick out our punkins and ride the train back.  This time we had Emmy and she appeared to really like all the action.  We found the perfect pumpkins and some quality photos that I can't wait to frame.  Can't wait to see her running around the patch next year and maybe get her face painted (a logical reason for me to FINALLY get my face painted).

Mama & Baby

She is still eating really well.  I have not once, seen her full or turn food away so we have to be careful with how much we feed her. She would easily sacrifice her body to get a hold of that bottle.  I started making her food this month.  Just some basic squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and applesauce.  It’s really easy, just really time consuming and messy!  But she seems to like them so it’s a money saver and I love being able to make her food.  Eventually I will move on to more complex meals like Chicken al Genoa or Lobster bisque (just kidding).

Getting ready for her first game!

Thanks to you all, Emmy made it to the Top 10 in Portland’s Cutest Baby contest this month.  I honestly felt like I was on the campaign tour…that’s tough work!  She didn’t win but she sure had a lot of people voting for her.  Thank you to everyone that helped get her that far in the contest.  I thought for sure with her Duck gear she would take the cake.  She was able to wear her Duck gear to an actual game this month against Colorado.  She loved all the people watching and the rain held out for us.  This was a perfect game for her to attend because we knew the following week was going to be CRAZY... 

Star Tours - one of our favorite rides!

Hayden Barner

We surprised Hayden with a trip to DISNEYLAND & the Oregon/USC game!  After several almost slip-ups by family members (I won’t name names, Jay)…we pulled it off.  We stayed with (expecting) friends Zander & Jenn Brown and went to Disneyland, California Adventure and Venice Beach.  It was a non-stop, exhausting, incredible vacation with so much laughter and excitement.  Hayden was on Cloud 9 for about 5 days straight (so were we).  The highlight might have been when Hayden got to take a photo with RB Kenjon Barner’s family! Although we had a blast, we missed our little Emmy so much.  We talked about her all the time but knew she was having so much fun with Gramma Judi and Grandma & Papa Lew.  Thanks to our parents for allowing us to go have this vacation with Hayden! 

The night before we left for Disneyland was Halloween.  Hayden was a Hazmat Hazard and was honestly, really creepy.  He wouldn’t even let Emmy see his mask for fear it would haunt her.  Emmy was a little blue Garden Gnome.  I was really excited to make her first Halloween costume…even though it took 5 hours and she only wore it for 30 minutes – totally worth it!  We went trick-or-treating with Hayden’s mom Jenny and now step-dad Mike (they were married 10-11-12) and Tye’s parents.  Lots of candy at our house so if you are running low and need some – let me know!  I dressed up as well for work and discovered I make a very believable man.  I was Steve Prefontaine and sadly, all I had to do was draw a mustache with eyeliner and I nailed it.  Tye was not attracted to me that day.  We also went to our friend Garrett’s Zombie Tombstone themed Halloween party with the Byers.  Amazing costumes and everyone had such a fun time.  I am already scheming next year's costumes!!  I am thinking Wizard of Oz?

Looking forward to Thanksgiving at my mom’s this year and Tye’s 32^nd birthday which is December 1^st.  And of course the rest of this amazing football season for the Ducks.  Happy Holidays and see you in December.  Maybe we’ll have a walker by then??