Janelle & Cowboy Blake Louwagie, Wade, Dinosaur Carter, Mermaids Laurel & Norah, & Lesley
Laurel, Lesley, & Norah in the Holiday Extravaganza Lighted Parade
December 23, 2009
Dear family and friends,
Greetings from the Leuwerke household. As many of you know, we got socked with a great snow storm a couple of weeks ago so we are going to have a very white Christmas this year. We had a great drift in the front yard, I blew (loving the snow blower!) as much of the driveway snow as possible onto the drift and the girls were able to sled down a small snow hill in our yard. Carter stood at the door watching me blow the snow and we snuck out for about 5 minutes when the work was done to sit in a snow bank on the curb. He seems to be an outdoor kid much like Norah.
Carter turned 1 in September. For his birthday Lesley and I took some time off work and we all went bowling and then to a hotel in Des Moines that has an indoor water park. We had whole the place to our self for some great swimming and sliding. Carter is the most laid back & patient of all of our children. He is growing like a weed. He took a while to start moving on his own. When he started moving he scooted on his bottom, which was a bit slow but he got where he wanted to go. He hasn’t started walking yet but is pulling himself up all over the place, is sometimes able to stand up in the middle of the room, and can climb up stairs. We expect him to be racing around soon. Carter certainly loves his sisters and often calls for them when he can’t see them. All three get along well for the most part; we are fortunate.
Norah started pre-school this year. She started in the middle of the summer, on the year round calendar. She loves it and is disappointed on the days when she doesn’t have school. Norah’s teachers report that she is very quiet. We recently went for an open house and she was her normal, vocal self as we were leaving and they were quite surprised. She also talks all afternoon at daycare after school. She is getting more comfortable with school and the weekend after Christmas 5 of her pre-school friends is coming over for her 4th birthday party. She continues to amaze and amuse us with the things she comes up with. She is sounding out words with Laurel when we read in the evening. She loves books, play-doh and other crafts, playing outside with Laurel and the neighbor kids as well as adventuring on her own in the back yard. This summer she took swimming lessons and proceeded to start jumping off the boat and swim around when we were able to get to the lake. She and I also did sports camp together and had a few daddy-daughter outings to the movies and hardware store.
Laurel had her 6th birthday a couple of weeks ago. We took 8 kids to the science center for the morning. We had a family party that evening. Just before dinner Laurel managed to slip and catch her chin on the bench in our kitchen. Grandma Penny and Lesley put their medical expertise to work and we were able to get her presents open before we all went to the ER for stitches. A couple of hours and a sedative later Laurel had 5 stitches in her chin. Overall she handled it quite well. Two days later she managed to scratch or pull 3 of the 5 stitches out!! She is now about healed and doesn’t care at all about the scar, we’ll see in 8 or so years! Laurel loves recess and her teacher. One of my students is her school counselor and reports that Laurel is a sweetheart and participates in guidance lessons, quite a far cry from the very quiet kid from 2 years ago. Laurel participated in soccer and tumbling this year and had great fun on the boat again, riding on the tube alone this year.
Lesley continues to work for Medicap Pharmacy LTC in town as a consultant, long-term care, and infusion pharmacist. She has taken on additional management responsibilities this year as the business continues to grow. The favorite part of her week is the 1 ½ days she spends at home with the kids. She enjoys photography as a hobby and has come to the realization that it is much more difficult to photograph 3 kids at the same time. Lesley is looking forward to a bachelorette party in Colorado this spring, then we are off to a wedding in the Cayman Islands in May.
Teaching continues to go well at Drake. I had a good year getting some work published and ramped up a major project with one of my professors from grad school. We developed an instrument to measure motivation and engagement with college to help identify students at risk of dropping out. We worked with 7 schools this year and hope to double or triple for next year. It is interesting work and hopefully keeps some kids in college. The project took me to Salt Lake City, Dallas, and Flagstaff this year with visits to Kentucky and Denver in 2010. On the home front Lesley and I worked very well together to tile the laundry room and two bathrooms. Our different styles caused her some frustration but her attention to detail had a great impact and our new heated floor is wonderful. We are in the middle of small remodel in the kitchen and looking forward to that being done.
We hope all is well with you and your family. Have a very Merry Christmas, great holiday season, and wonderful 2010.
Love,
Wade, Lesley, Laurel, Norah, and Carter.
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