A Visit

Wednesday morning Grandma Beth flew into town and we were so excited to see her. And, we've kept her busy since then! Wednesday night we went to the fall festival at church, Thursday we went shopping and out to eat, Friday she babysat so Creed and I could go out to eat, and today we started our Christmas shopping. I also took her to the Zappos outlet where she came home with three pairs of really cute shoes. Luke loves all the attention he is getting and Caleb has said to her twice, "I'm so glad you came to see me."

Peepaw drove in late Friday night too, and he and Caleb have been inseparable since. Just today they've been to the donut shop, played at the park, had lunch at White Castle, and enjoyed ice cream at Graeters. We sure love when they visit!!

8 Months

Dear Luke Michael,

YOU are EIGHT months old today! Wow- I really wish time would just slow down a little. When I think about you I can't help but smile. You are such a little joy to be around. We never get tired of that precious smile of yours. Speaking of your smile, you now have 4 teeth! The drool is still out of control, though! You sit up fine now and have the rolling to get something down pat. When you see something that you want you attempt to scoot, although you haven't figured it out yet. You also love to stand at your musical table and can do it for around 5 or so minutes before letting go.

While we were at Lake Cumberland you had your first swinging experience and LOVED it. You were so excited that you were just jumping, much like you do in your Jumperoo.

On the eating front, you are now solely drinking out of bottles. After a rather unfortunate snapping turtle experience, we decided bottles were the way to go from here on out. You drink between 4 and 6 ounces, depending on if you will be eating solids as well. Sweet potatoes are your favorite vegetable and you love your baby yogurt. You usually eat 1 and 1/2 containers of Stage 2 food at meal times. You can put down massive amounts of Puffs in one sitting and love whole wheat bread pieces. You also like pieces of bananas and peas, but so far are not impressed with pieces of carrots, green beans, avocado, potatoes, and pears. You do the shake/gag when you eat those!
On the sleeping front you are still doing pretty good. You take at least an hour and a half morning and afternoon nap and sometimes, maybe twice a week, a third 30 minute nap. You go to bed at 8pm and wake up between 7:30 and 8am. Some nights you wake up around midnight and 4am and we have to stick your passie back in, while others you snooze all the way through. (We prefer those nights!) Because you are going such a long stretch and sleep on your tummy now, you wear your brother's size 5 overnight diapers to prevent leaks!
You love playing with your toys, watching your brother, and being outside. You love being held and giving hugs, and you crack up laughing when I kiss your neck. You love playing peekaboo and pulling the cover off your face. You love sleeping with your passie and your softie, but don't have a preference on which softie I give you. You love when Daddy walks into the room and when Caleb talks or sings to you. You love dropping Puffs on the floor and watching Rhett eat them. You really love drinking water out of a big cup.
You are in mostly size 9 or 6-12 month clothes. One piece outfits are a little harder because you are so long. While the pants fit, I always have to roll up the sleeves. During the day you wear a size 3 diaper, although we'll be moving to a 4 before long.
I've caught myself thinking about your birthday party, and that makes me excited and a bit sad. Excited because you are my healthy, happy boy who is growing up. But, sad because you are not going to be my baby for long. (One day I'll explain to you like I explained to your bother that no matter how big you get, you'll always be Mommy's baby.)

We love you more than words can express, sweet boy!

Open House

As a teacher myself, I'll be the first to admit that there are some absolutely amazing teachers out there, as well as some pretty bad ones. I know that Caleb will have teachers during his schooling that I won't particularly like (I'll do my very best NOT to let him know that though!) and it will be hard for me not to question some of the things that he does or doesn't do in school. Deep down I'd love to do some sort of home school, but I'm just not sure that would be best. But, can I just say that I couldn't be happier with his teacher this year!

Meet Mrs. Fisher! Caleb goes to school two mornings a week and loves everything about it, especially this lady!

I've had the opportunity to watch Caleb interact with Mrs. Fisher both in and out of the classroom and I always love watching it. I love how she always pays attention to him while he is talking (which is a lot) and never cuts him short. She makes him feel like he is important all the time. I love how when she is volunteering in the church nursery on Sundays in the room next to Caleb's room, she always checks in on him and says hello. It melted my heart when I saw her squat down and basically let him sit on her lap while watching Uncle Luke and his friends shoot their news video after school one day. After all, it was after school and she didn't have to do that! I love how even though most of the toys were put up for open house, she still got into the cabinet at his request and got out a few cars. I really love how she let him choose a (princess) wand from the treasure chest, and only tried to talk him out of it for a moment. (It's his magic wand!) And I really, really love how at open house when she had a room full of parents she still got on his level and listened to every word of "Clean It Up" while he sang. He has learned a lot already this year- he can count to 30, sing some Spanish songs, and knows some letter sounds, but somehow none of that matters near as much to me as how much I know she truly cares about my son. That, to me, is by far the most important!

Little brother had fun at open house too!

So proud of his classroom!

Lake Bluff Trail

Before checking out of the hotel, we decided to check out one more trail. The Lake Bluff Trail is a really long trail that basically goes around the entire state park. The sign said "No hiking alone," and since I figured a 3 year old and an almost 8 month old in a Baby Bjorn didn't count as another person, we didn't get too far. But, the exploring that we did was awesome! I'm not going to lie...I probably shouldn't have done it by myself with just the boys, but I really didn't realize how remote it was until we were there. Honestly, I would have loved to have walked the entire trail with Creed...maybe one day!

First (and Last) Boat Ride

With the perfect weather that we had at Lake Cumberland, we decided to take Luke for his first boat ride, and what I am fairly confident in saying will be our last family boat ride of the season. Luke didn't mind his infant life jacket and even fell asleep for a little evening nap. Caleb had a blast driving the boat and he even got a turn at working the trolling motor. The lake was so beautiful and peaceful- much nicer than Memorial/4th of July/Labor Day weekends!

Uncle Drew

How cute is this?!! Uncle Drew (far right) and some friends on an advertisement for Champion! Pretty cool!

The Overlook at Cumberland

While it was fleece weather in the mornings, by afternoon it was in the 80s and we were back in shorts. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, we played outside most of the time. A few yards from our hotel door was a trail that led to "The Overlook," a spot high up on a cliff looking over the lake. The trail was easy, so easy we were there numerous times!

Caleb liked hiking the trail, collecting sticks, playing in the dirt, and simply getting up close and personal with nature.

Luke was along for the ride too!

Lake Cumberland State Park

After leaving Bernheim Forest, we headed down to Lake Cumberland for a mini-vacation. The State Park has a hotel with an indoor pool, game room, awesome walking trails, two playgrounds, and a restaurant with amazing "home cooked" food. We got two adjoining rooms- one for the boys and one for us which worked great for nap time and Luke's early bedtimes. And, since I am a state employee, I get a discount! ;) Creed took his boat and spent the mornings fishing. The boys and I enjoyed all the area had to offer.

For playtime I covered the hotel bedspread with a sheet I brought from home and Luke was as happy as could be! Much nicer than traveling with lots of baby gear. (And no, I don't do hotel bedspreads, and make no apologies.)

Caleb LOVED the game room! While we never actually put quarters in the games, he still thought the simulations were great. It was the first thing we did both mornings!

The view out the hotel balcony...We L-O-V-E Lake Cumberland!

There were two separate playground areas- an older one with the metal slide and a newer one with the plastic equipment. The older one was so much better! I forgot how fast the "old school" slides were!

Looking down at the State Dock (left) and Jamestown Marina (right.)

And this kid definitely preferred the hot tub!

Many more pics to come! And, a lot of "firsts" for Luke!

Colorfest

On Saturday we met our ABF class at Bernheim Forest for a fun afternoon. It happened to be "Colorfest" at Bernheim that day, and we had no idea how big of a deal it was...it was packed! There was pumpkin and face painting, music, food, hayrides, and a great hay maze. The weather was perfect and we had a great day!