A Lovely Lewis Life

I don't know about you but we've been really enjoying this Christmas season! We have done so many fun things and I'm sad to think that in just a few short days this magical season will be over. If you're looking for some fun things to do this week prior to Christmas to get yourself in the spirit, maybe some of the things we've been up to will inspire you. We had our family Christmas photos taken with our sweet photographer. We did a mini session for the first time and it's probably our last. I LOVE the pictures but my kids weren't down with taking photos this time so the short time frame we had to work with wasn't great. [caption id="attachment_3190" align="aligncenter" width="273"] B's cheese face and L's 'over it' face.[/caption] [gallery ids="3192,3189" type="rectangular"] [gallery ids="3186,3188,3191" type="rectangular"] [gallery ids="3187,3193" type=...

I thought it would be nice to share a little update of my favorite baby items this time around. All my new and soon-to-be mommies take note and add these items to your Christmas list! I promise you won't be disappointed. I still love the items that I discussed last year ( read here ) but I definitely have an updated list that I'm excited to share. DockATot Deluxe Dock - I've received several questions lately about this item so it's at the top of my list of things to share. I had been seeing these all over the internet and read tons of glowing reviews so I knew that when it came to trying to transition L from sleeping with us after the first month to his own bed, something that made him feel like he was being held was a must. We use it in his crib (and occasionally I'll move it to our bed when Joey isn't home in the early mornings) while he's swaddled -with the Snuza on him- every night. I love that it can be easily be taken anywhere so he can sleep well no m...

I feel like since around the 6 month mark with Beckett we've said non-stop, "this is such a fun age" but age 2 just might be the best yet. Beckett is seriously SO fun right now. He makes us laugh, knows what buttons to push to make us mad, and overall is just the sweetest muffin there ever was. I thought it would be fun to start writing down some of the things he does and says so I can look back on them to remember this sweet time (and because I'm terrible at the whole baby book thing). I started writing this right after he turned two in April. He's now a little over 2 and a half so a lot of things have changed over 6 months but I still wanted to include what I had already written. He'll reach out to hold my hand in the car. Whether I'm sitting in the back of the van with him (because he insists "back, Momma") or in the front of Joey's car, he likes to hold hands. When he hears the garage door open he always gets excited and says, "N...

This month has been so much fun (minus the sleep regression)! I know I say this all the time but he really is the sweetest and most easygoing baby.   He gets fussy if we're not at home when he's ready for bed. He adapts well to wherever we are though so we don't have to plan around his bedtime. As long as someone is cuddling him, he's just fine. He wants whatever is in your hands. As I'm typing this on my phone he's trying to get it out of my hand. He learned to roll over He's pretty much waking every 3 hours to eat. Extra snuggles for Momma! His jumper is his favorite toy. He will jump his little heart out and fall asleep in it. I always hate when this happens though because I know I have to get him out and he usually wakes up. He can move the walker around and it's super cute. I feel like he's so tiny (he's not!) and shouldn't be able to do that yet. [gallery ids="2791,2784" type="rectangular"]   We're ...

[gallery ids="2716,2717" type="columns" link="none"] I can't adequately put into words just how sweet this baby is! He will light up a room with his precious smile and I can't get enough of him. I feel like many of his likes and dislikes are the same right now. I know he's getting close to the age where he can do things like sit up be a little more interactive with us which is when we felt like Beckett was the most fun. [caption id="attachment_2690" align="aligncenter" width="484"] Custom sheet from Carousel Designs[/caption] We go for his 4 month well-visit later this month so I'll edit to add his stats in then. Weight : I'm guessing 15-16 pounds Height: -- [gallery ids="2683,2688" type="rectangular" link="none"] He's sleeping in his bed at night and usually gets up once around 3:00. Most of the time I put him in bed with me while he eats and if I am still awake when he...

I'm a little late writing this post but better late than never! A few little things I want to remember about Lincoln at 3 months. He's a pretty great sleeper! I can lay him down after nursing him at night (awake or asleep) and as long as he's swaddled he'll go to sleep on his own. He usually wakes up only once and I just keep him in bed with me after that. He still doesn't like to be put down for long but I've been using the jumper for when I need to put him down and he seems to really like it. [gallery ids="2560,2561" type="circle" columns="2" link="none"] We've still been using size 1 diapers until we run out. We're using size 2 at night and will use them during the day once we're out of size 1. He is wearing 3 month clothes and some 3-6 month clothes fit him. [gallery ids="2562,2563" type="rectangular" link="none"] If he wakes before Beckett in the mornings and doesn...

Now that Lincoln is 11 weeks old, I figured it's time to share his nursery. I didn't intend on waiting this long but it wasn't finished up until about 3 weeks ago, and I use the term "finished" lightly because there are still a few things we'd like to do. His room is the best room in the house because it gets so much natural light all day and has the best views of the evening sunsets. I live for natural light so his room is a dream! If you remember my pregnancy updates, you may recall that we had a difficult time with the direction we wanted to go with this nursery. After randomly finding a sample of the finish on the furniture in a dresser drawer at BuyBuy Baby and falling in love, we knew we had to have it. We ordered the convertible crib and dresser and expected to have some time to gather our thoughts on everything else before worrying about the furniture arriving. We tried a few paint samples on the walls and I spent a lot of time looking at them at diffe...

I really underestimated how difficult it would be to keep up with my blog while being home with two kids. I'm trying to soak in all this time with them because I return to work next month and being away from them for 9+ hours a day isn't something I'm looking forward to. 🙁  I love the newborn stage but it's really difficult with a toddler in tow so I'm just doing my best to bond with Lincoln while making sure Beckett doesn't tear the house apart. Lincoln is still so laid back and easy so that definitely helps when the terrible twos are in full force around here. He's such a blessing and the sweetest addition to our family. We had his two month well visit today so here's an update about month two of loving our little guy. He loves to be talked to, it makes him smile so big! He has the sweetest smiles! He loves to "talk" Mornings are the best time with him. He's so sweet when he first wakes up. Lots of smiles and talking. We joke t...

One month ago we welcomed Lincoln into our family and it's been a joy getting to know him. Here are a few things I want to remember from this time: He's a great sleeper when he's being held. My goal is to not become a nighttime pacifier for him so we're working on that. He will nap in the Rock n Play but absolutely will not sleep in it at night. He likes to be cuddled and the DockATot gives him that feeling so he's sleeping in that in our bed for now. I'm hoping to start putting him in his crib very soon.  He's eating every 2.5-3 hours during the day but we've seen longer stretches at night. He has the sweetest smiles as he drifts off to sleep. He deals with Beckett's endless, extra slobbery kisses. He's way more relaxed than his big brother. Beckett was more alert and active (holding his head up, kicking) and noisy. I call L lazy because he falls asleep eating 90% of the time and I have to nudge him to remind him to eat.  He likes...

I've been a mom of two for a month now. It's still so crazy to me that I have two kids! I wanted to write out some of my thoughts on the first month of having two because I was nervous about how life would be when we brought Lincoln home. I had a post that I never published so I'm going to address what I was feeling before I had the baby.   I was worried it would be difficult to shift our attention from one little one to two, but it's been fairly easy (partially because B has still be in daycare most days and partially because we were able to divide and conquer when he was home). I was worried Beckett wouldn't take well to having a baby around, but he's been a total rockstar and has probably drowned Lincoln in more kisses than even I have. I was worried we wouldn't get to bond like Beckett and I did, but we do. I was worried breastfeeding wouldn't go as well as it did the first time, but we're going strong (I forgot how tough those first couple of we...

This isn't really a full on birth story but I wanted to write these things out so I'd remember how I was feeling shortly after it all happened. [gallery ids="2406,2405,2404" type="columns" link="none"] We had a scheduled c-section on Monday, June 13 (I was 39w4d). I thought I'd be super emotional to leave Beckett that morning and not want to go but I was ready. I woke up at 3 and couldn't go back to sleep so I took a bath and took my time getting ready. We had done all of the pre-admission stuff the day before so when we got to the hospital at 5:30 they took me straight back to triage to get hooked up to the IV and went over how things would go down. [gallery ids="2407,2408,2409" type="columns" link="none" orderby="rand"] There was a lot of waiting around which was probably good for my nerves. We were scheduled for 7:30 but another lady was pushing just before they were to take me back and my doctor w...

This is for sure my final update. :-) At 35 weeks I wasn't sure I'd make it to this point but we're here and I'm happy and we're all just ready and waiting to meet (I almost typed his name here.. oops!) baby #2! ;-) How Far Along:   39 weeks!! I can't believe it! Weight Gain/Loss:  12-13 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but probably closer to 15-17 based on the weight that I lost at the beginning when I had no appetite. I weigh 3 lbs more now than when I delivered Beckett. Sleep:   Pretty good considering I'm 39 weeks! Best Moment This Week:  This week: our final doctor visit! This (past) month: Getting the nursery ready, washing all the baby things, installing the car seat, packing our bags... so many exciting things! Movement:  Big and painful movements. He's for sure out of room! Food Cravings/Aversions:  I've eaten more chicken in the last few weeks than I have this entire pregnancy. Not really because I've craved it but more because that...

Joey and I have said over and over how great our weekend was. It was honestly one of the best weekends we can recall in a long time and I think it's because we didn't have any major plans and just kind of went along with whatever came our way. Sadly (for me) I didn't have my phone with me the entire time so I don't have a ton of pictures (also probably another reason I enjoyed the weekend so much) so many of them included in this post are from my mom or Joey. Friday our office closed early so I picked B up from daycare and we spent the evening (+ Joey) at my Mom's house. Beckett finally let my step dad and brother take him for a ride (or 100) around the yard on the lawnmower and he thought is was the greatest thing ever. [gallery ids="2279,2280" type="circle" columns="2"] Saturday we had a water play date with my friend Jordan's family. Beckett and her little girl Reagan love each other and had such a fun time playing in the water a...

This could possibly be my last update. If I make it to 39 weeks then I'll probably do one then just for my sake but I know I won't have a 40 week update because we'll have already met him by then! Sorry for the picture overload in this post. I haven't shared all of my maternity photos and I love them so much! I'm glad we took a chance on the weather this day and went ahead with them. I didn't want to be any further along (I was 33w3d) and risk the chance of either not getting them or me being puffy and not happy with the way I looked. Beckett was a DOLL and many of the pictures he's in were the result of him getting jealous that Joey was holding my hand or kissing my head, so totally unplanned. haha I'm so glad we have them! Photos by Jenny Lind Photography How Far Along?  35 weeks! Size of Baby:  At my 32 week ultrasound they said he was about 4 lbs so I'm guessing he's around 5.5 lbs now, and about 18 inches long. Weight Gain:  The doctor I saw...