Outside Time

I sure can handle February when it's sunny and in the 60s! While I would love for Caleb to get to go sledding and play in the snow at least once this year (a dusting does not count!), I wouldn't trade this weather for anything! Both boys are loving all this outside time, and we are simply in better moods when we soak in some rays.

3 in one week

So, Luke has been a little off recently. Nothing big at all- I haven't thought he was sick or anything, but "off." I HAVE noticed that he is soaking through bibs frequently and needs a change of shirt if we forget his bib. He has also been gagging himself (and even spitting up!) because he is sticking his fingers in his mouth.

I thought I'd check his mouth and see in any new teeth have popped though. (I checked at the beginning of last week and none were found.) Imagine my surprise when I found THREE new teeth, already through the surface! Molars, I think, because they are all in the back. (Two top, one bottom.)

No wonder he has been a little off!

He's up to 9 now- bring on the steak! :)

We Have Ants!

(And, yes, they love oyster crackers!)

Cousins

There's nothing better than playing with cousins, and sadly, that isn't something that we do enough of. Between work, school, nap time, etc., it's hard to find time to get together- which I hate, but I guess it's just life. (Wait till there's ball practice, homework, etc.! We think we are busy now...) Last week Erika brought Ava over last minute for an afternoon and evening of fun for these kiddos. The weather was great, so most of the fun was had outdoors!

Luke's Party

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Luke's birthday with a sports themed party. We all had a blast and it was evident that Luke is one loved little man!

Before the party I attempted to take a few pictures of Luke in his birthday shirt. While most are blurry because of his constant movement, you can still see how happy he was!

Going along with the sports theme, we turned our kitchen into a concessions stand, complete with hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and soda. (One of my friends, Laura, made the banners and I think they turned out too cute!)

The "big" kids. Caleb, Luke, Eli, Madalyn, Hayden, Caroline, and Ava. (I think Jackson was hiding from me in the tunnel at this point.)

The babies- Kathryn, Harper, and Luke

The AMAZING desserts!

Luke got so excited while we were singing and even clapped at the end of the song!

Very anti-climatic. The cake was no big deal and he acted like it's something he eats every day! And if you've ever wondered if all that sugar can hurt a baby's stomach- the answer is yes. Sadly he puked his cake up about 45 min later. :( Oh, the memories!

At the end of the evening, Luke was wore out, but still his happy self. And, he had fun playing with all his new toys!

One

Luke Michael, today you are ONE YEAR OLD!

I tried so hard to get a picture of you this morning but every single one was super blurry- why? Because you are constantly one the move! You are still a ridiculously fast crawler and have no interest in walking. You cruise some (especially if I strategically place Cheerios along the side of the ottoman!) and will take steps while pushing your walker- but you don't bend your knees, so it's a challenge. You are quick to drop down and crawl to get what you want!

At this point you take two formula bottles a day (morning and night) and drink whole milk with breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. You'll also gulp down a cup of water throughout the day. You love "ham seasoned" green beans, cheese, breads, fruit, and pizza, although you will really eat everything we put in front of you. At the moment you get really excited over Baby Goldfish and yogurt melts.

Over the past month you are more intentional when you are playing. You love to push cars down the ramp on your garage, stack cups in the bathtub, stack your Playschool gears, and are great at cleaning up. It's so cute watching you put your brother's Legos back in the container! You've also started to hide your face behind something when playing peek-a-boo, which is just precious!

You love your Mommy and Daddy- but it's your big brother that holds a special place in your heart. You love watching him and trying to do what he does. You love to wake him up from a nap and wrestle with him in his bed. You also really, really love when he talks, sings, or makes noises at you- you crack up!

Happy, happy, happy birthday, Luke!

We love you to the moon and back!

Drum Lessons

Last fall I saw a Living Social deal that I couldn't pass up- 3 private drum lessons for Caleb. It was possibly the funniest 30 minutes of my life. By the end of the lesson our boy was telling the instructor what to do..."Now hit this one! Ok, this one next!" Yes, the instructor did as he was told. :) And everyone in the waiting area was cracking up...apparently their walls aren't that thick!

Pajama Pirates

We have adopted a new routine on the nights that Daddy is home before bedtime. After bath, Caleb and Daddy play pirates- pajama pirates, that is. It is a full contact game, and pirate Daddy usually has battle scars as proof. :) Caleb always wants to be Captain Hook, and he never lets me play! I guess I'm just not very fun when it comes to sword fighting!

Fighting from his "ship."

In just one week...

In just one week, our sweet baby boy will turn ONE. (Tear, sniff, sniff.) Someone commented that this has been the fastest year, and I couldn't agree more! I remember taking every single picture on this video, and I will cherish all of those moments forever.

Without further ado, Luke's birthday video...

My Animoto Video

Terrible 3s?

From my prior babysitting days, and experience with Matt, Paige, Drew, and Luke during their toddler years, I knew that 3s were much more "terrible" than 2s. We were so lucky that Caleb didn't throw many fits during his 2s, yet sure enough, his 3s have brought some drama. However, 3 is SO INCREDIBLY awesome at the same time! He imagination is just off the charts and he is so, so, so funny! Watch out- he'll be sure to call you out if he notices anything! He remembers everything, so don't think you'll get anything past him, and his mind is such a sponge. He has a remarkable ability to remember specific details and always questions if something is different. For example, they are remodeling our Kroger so everything is moved is a new place. He kept saying, "They are out of bread!" and "Why is the toothpaste there? That's not right!" And at 3, he doesn't say anything...he basically yells everything. :)

So, while the 3s are pretty challenging (down right hard on some days!!) they are even more awesome at the same time!

Pirate Caleb

I had to also include the picture of Brody driving his Jeep- He and Brody (lives 2 doors down from us) play great together and it always makes me SO happy to seem him sharing his toys! Plus, they are just so cute. Emily (Brody's mom) and I kept talking about how this might be in our future. I prefer the Power Wheels much more than the real thing!

The Library

Because both Olivia (the pig) and Curious George visit the library, Caleb decided that he wanted to check it out too. (Um, not sure why he is 3 1/2 and I hadn't taken him yet!) So, one day after I picked him up from school we stopped by. I helped him find some books that I thought he'd be interested in and said that we could sit down and look through them. A few minutes later I realized he was sitting down reading a book on his own- a chapter book from the young adult literature section! Ha! Sweet boy! He sure wishes he could read it...

He did find two Olivia books to borrow, as well as a few I suggested. Now if I only I can remember to return them on time!!

Nicknames

Sweet Luke Michael has a few nicknames that fit his little (well actually BIG) personality perfectly...

"Lukezilla"

Lukezilla usually comes out to play during laundry time, while I am trying to cook dinner, or sometimes while I am unloading the dishwasher.

and
"Brozilla"

Brozilla (a name Caleb heard in one of his getting ready to be a Big Brother brother books) refers to Luke as he is clearing off a table full of Caleb's Legos, ripping apart snap block towers, or throwing all of the play food out of Caleb's kitchen. It's actually really sweet because as you'll see, all Luke wants is to be like his big brother!

The Circus with PeePaw

It worked out perfectly that while PeePaw and Grandma Beth were in town with the boys the circus was here too! Caleb was so excited to go to the circus, even though he really had no clue what to expect. I don't think any future circus trip could top this one- Caleb got to meet Captain America, play in a bouncy house, take a pony ride, eat cotton candy for the 1st time, ride an elephant, sit in great seats, and take home a light up sword. Whew- see what I mean? How could I ever top that?!! I guess that's what grandparents are for!

Our Last Day

Our last day in Islamorada was spent on the water- the perfect ending to a perfect vacation together. We decided to rent a boat and spend the day fishing, so we got a map and followed the channel markers out to a reef, about 3 miles from the coast.
I learned something on this trip...a very valuable lesson, and I actually learned it the hard way. From now on as soon as I feel a bite, I will reel as fast as I can. Apparently grouper will bury themselves under a rock, which makes it nearly impossible to get them off the bottom. Seriously, I would reel with all of my might and each time the fish would take that much line back out, plus more! I had bruises all over my stomach from the pole as evidence to the fight.

Holding on with both hands...I just knew Creed would leave me out on that reef if I lost his pole. ;)

Still fighting. (The grouper was winning!)
Since I wasn't making any progress at all, I let Creed do his magic and he pulled with all his might, finally getting the fish off the bottom.


And since I won't hold, or even touch a fish for that matter, Creed posed with my prize! I actually hooked up with two more- the line broke on the second one but I got the third in the boat all by myself! Yes, Creed baited my hook, lifted the fish into the boat, and took the hook out. But I at least caught it! ;)

The water started to get a little rough, which really bothers me, so we headed back in and finished our day near the bridges.


Robbie's, the marina we went out of, has "pet" tarpon that you can pay $2 and feed. They are huge- some like 7 feet long. While we were there watching people feed the tarpon, this fella swam up. We learned that manatee LOVE drinking fresh water and he (or she?) seriously drank from this hose for as long as we were there. It was pretty cute.