Kings Island 2011

We've made it a family tradition to go to Kings Island each year, and we were not going to let a little heat advisory get in our way...

Thursday morning we took Luke to my Aunt and Uncle's house south of Dayton so my cousin Emma could keep him for us. We knew there was no way he could stand the heat, and we are so thankful they agreed to keep him. We also knew he was in great hands and didn't worry at all. He did great (of course) and they even had dinner ready and on the table for us when we got back to their house that evening. Thanks Mark, Cathy, Adam & Emma!!!!!

While it was hot that day (the hottest day of the year so far!) it was not near as bad as we had expected. I think the heat index was 105, but there was a really good breeze in most parts of the park so that made it bearable. I kept saying, This is not an bad as I thought it would be! It also helped that I smuggled in 10 frozen water bottles. The heat also kept a lot of people at home that day, so it wasn't too crowded. I think the longest Caleb had to wait was about 10 minutes.

This picture cracks me up. He was so NOT excited or impressed with the swings. His unenthusiastic wave says it all! All day he wanted to ride the big rides (think Diamondback, not the Beastie!) and still talks about how when he is "tall like Uncle Luke" he can.

Ahhhh...the air conditioned ride! It is a haunted house these days (remember Phantom of the Opera? or Scooby Doo?) and actually pretty scary looking. Caleb LOVED shooting the ghosts with his "boo blaster" though.

We had lunch at Momma Rosa's (ahhh...air conditioning!) where they are again doing live entertainment, so that was fun. Caleb loved the singing and dancing. After lunch we headed to the water park and played until Caleb said he wanted to "go back to Kings Island."
Two thumbs up...that's what Caleb thinks about Kings Island!


Ahhh...air conditioning again. Daddy likes the boo blasters too! (Mine didn't work this time and I was so bummed!)

The sign of a good day. He napped until we got back to Mark and Cathy's house (30 min) but was awake the ENTIRE way home, and we didn't get home until 10. That crazy kid!

Christmas in July

Does it really matter when you play with your Nativity scene?

Swimming

Last Thursday we took Luke swimming for the first time. He seemed to enjoy it, despite the fact that his big brother kept accidentally splashing him.

Ava also came to the pool with us, and while Caleb refused to be in a picture that day, Ava was more than willing! She is so precious and just adores her new baby cousin! She even named one of her baby dolls at home Luke!

A Tight Grip

Guess what I discovered that has this smile on my face?

I have these two new toys that are just great. They are always with me, I can move them very easily, and now that I know they are there, I always have a tight grip on them. Playing with my feet is just the greatest!

5 Months

Luke Michael, YOU are FIVE MONTHS old today!

Over the past month you had your first surgery, went on your first mission trip, and began rolling over like it's your job! You are still our happy and content baby, smiling most the time. You love playing on the floor, in your exersaucer, and in your jumperoo. Your favorite toy is your alphabet wheel and you are a pro at spinning it.

You are a major drooler and chew on anything you can get your hands on. That includes toys, clothing, bibs, and of course, your hands. You are doing great at eating solid food. On a normal day you have oatmeal and prunes for breakfast and a vegetable and fruit for dinner. So far you have had prunes, prunes & apples, pears, applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes (your favorite!), and peas. To say that you hate peas would be an understatement. Each and every night I give you two bites, and each time you get the most disgusted look and shiver all over. You are nursing usually five times a day, but sometimes a sixth feeding sneaks in there.
You love to sleep! You go to bed around 8am and usually sleep until 9am, waking up around 4am to eat. With you in your bed for 13 hours, I don't mind the middle of the night meal! During the day, and as long as we are at home, you are down to 3 naps. You nap from 10:00 until 12:00, 2:00 until 3:30, and 5:00 until 6:30. But, you always, always, always wake up from your naps after 45 minutes. The trick is to give you your passie and 99% of the time you go back to sleep. You are still swaddled tight in your Miracle Blanket, but we've got to work on that this week. I'm hoping that's an easy transition! You also still prefer to have your face covered with a softie, especially when you are sleeping in your car seat. (I get some very strange and concerned looks from strangers when they see a baby with a face covered!)

You are just growing and changing so much these days! You won't stay on your back any longer because as soon as I lay you down you roll to your tummy. Before we know it you'll be rolling and getting into your brothers toys! Look out, Caleb!

We love you so much, Luke, and can't wait to see what your next month has in store!

A Bedtime Story

Rhett

Hahaha! Seriously I was laughing out loud when I walked in the playroom and saw this. Apparently Rhett needed to work on strengthening his neck muscles on the Boppy too. Caleb walked in and goes, "Look where he is laying- disgusting!" He cracks me up, too!

Time to change the cover on the Boppy.

Brothers

Caleb does so well with Luke, and for that we are so thankful. One morning this week Caleb was playing with his cars and I laid Luke down next to him. Luke loved watching his big brother play and never took his eyes off of him. It melts my heart that Caleb shared one of his "baby" trucks and gave it to Luke!

About Caleb's jommies...Yes, he is wearing long sleeves and long pants while the heat index soars above 100 degrees. If you look closely, you might notice that his jommies are rather small. Actually they are very small. That's because these are Caleb's favorite articles of clothing. No matter how many times I put them in the "Fall/Winter, 24months-2T" bin, he pulls them back out and looks at me like I am crazy for putting them away. I'm learning to pick my battles...

Caleb

A while ago I told Caleb that I needed to vacuum the living room and I needed him to clean up all his toys before I could start. I reminded him that it would be really sad if the vacuum sucked up one of his toys off the floor because then he wouldn't be able to play with it anymore. While I was busying doing something, I could hear Caleb working hard at cleaning up his toys. Or at least that's what I thought... He managed to pile everything onto the ottoman. In his defense, it was off the floor! I just had to laugh.

This is one of my favorite stories of Caleb. A few weeks ago he was at his Grandmom's house and admired all of her beautiful flowers outside. He mentioned to her that he wished he could have his own flowers, flowers that he did not have to give to Mommy. What did Grandmom do? She helped him pick his very own flowers. And, he was sure to tell me that they were his and he was not giving them to me!

At least he kept his flowers on his very manly workbench! ;)

More Indy

After we left the museum we checked into our hotel and all took naps. We then met our group at a local park and the church that we worked with hosted a cookout. After dinner we passed out fliers in the surrounding neighborhood.

The marriage conference was held at a small, but really nice, conference center. We had a huge room to organize all the VBS type lessons, crafts, and games for all the children. I was the "recreation coordinator" so I spent the majority of my time getting all the games ready. I did "minute to win it" type game and the kids all seemed to really have fun. Caleb had fun playing with all his friends in his "class" and Luke was a real trooper- napping in the stroller and nursing in a bathroom stall. (I think that also makes me a real trooper, but like I said it was a really nice facility.) Luke also loved all the attention that he got from the girls. He actually stayed on the floor while they talked to him and played with him for just under an hour while I set some things up!

Caleb's very favorite part of the trip was riding the hotel elevators, and it's something we did to kill time on numerous occasions. They were the glass front elevators so he loved to watch everything as we went up and down. He was the honorary number pusher that weekend. The hotel also had a pool, which he and Daddy did enjoy one afternoon. (We always had free time from 1-4 to accommodate nap time!)

Caleb really enjoyed the menu each day, which consisted of hot dogs, popcorn, giant cookies, snow cones, pizza, and more hot dogs. I love how he gives a thumbs up now without being prompted!
On Sunday we attended church at the local church we were working with. After the service "Mr. Andy" (he and his wife coordinate the trip every year and also volunteer in Caleb's nursery room at our church once a month) sat down with the kids and talked about the weekend. I love how Caleb is putting a stick in a little girl's hair. Ha! (She has a brother so she is tolerant!)
Like I said before, we are looking forward to the trip next year. I'm sure it will be easier (and harder in some ways) when we have a 4 year old and a 16 month old!

Errrr!

When you see the post on the Children's Museum you'll notice why I am so aggravated. No, I did not put those random spaces everywhere. In fact, when I look at the post it is spaced perfectly. Yet somehow every time I click publish those spaces magically appear. Instead of spending all of nap time trying to fix it, the spaces will just have to remain. Sorry!

Children's Museum

Day one of our trip to Indy began at the Children's Museum. We didn't have to meet up with our group until 5pm that day, so we arrived at the museum at 10am, hoping to have a great family day. I have heard so many wonderful things about the museum, and it didn't disappoint! I took so many pictures, but most didn't turn out due to the lighting or the simple fact that Caleb was running around so much that everything was a blur! Caleb thought the "kids museum" (as he calls it)

was the greatest thing and has asked numerous times about going back! It really was a great place to visit- I just wish it was closer... Closer because this little guy cried most of the drive.If you have spent much time with Luke then you know he is ridiculously happy. Smiling is just his thing! However, he is NOT a good car traveler. He is happy as can be to get in the car and ride for a while. He is even willing to easily fall asleep. The issue is that he doesn't stay asleep and when he wakes up- look out! He is going to be mad as a hornet that he is still in his seat. At one point I think I uttered the words, We are NOT going on another road trip for the next year! I said that same thing when Caleb was little and I think we actually did wait a while! Anyways, Luke was sleepy from all that crying so he slept for the first hour at the museum! A much needed nap!!!
*****
The Train Exhibit
Caleb really liked seeing all the model trains and riding on the train with Daddy! It was pretty crowded since it was near the entrance so we didn't stay too long.

*****
The Dora & Diego Exhibit

This was one of Caleb's favorite things! He likes the show and was pretty excited about playing with everything. Luke update: still sleeping!

*****

The Egyptian Exhibit

Caleb really, really liked the exhibit on Egypt. It started with an airplane simulator that "landed" in Egypt. The exhibit was set up like an Egyptian town, and Caleb got to go in the homes and businesses and learn about them.

*****

We made a pit stop so Caleb could sit in an Indy car. As you know, Caleb and Ricky Bobby have at least one thing in common- They like to go FAST!

Luke was all smiles when he finally woke up!

*****

Kids Zone

Surprisingly, Caleb was not as interested in the kids area as I would have expected. It had a water area, sand area, and then other play things. He liked it, but we didn't spend as much time there as I would have guessed. (And that was fine by me because it was packed!)

*****

Luke loved an exhibit on mirrors. It was really dark, with mirrors and black lights. He loved just looking at it all!

*****

Caleb and Daddy had fun on the carousel!

Proof that I was there... ;)

*****

The Science Exhibit

The next time we go we will head to the 4th floor first for the science exhibit. It was rated for ages starting at 6, but Caleb LOVED it. Since it was late when we got there, it was really, really crowded with bigger kids and we were exhausted so we didn't stay too long. But, I think Caleb would have stayed there all day!

*****

My attempt at a picture of the boys before we left. I actually took FIVE and this was the best one. Ha! We were all tired but it was a really fun day!