Christmas 2007

What a fabulous Christmas! Best ever! Luke and Nathan were absolutely thrilled and the excitment and anticipation made me feel like a kid again. :)

The boys got some really great gifts. I think Nathan's favorite was the box filled with Cars cars and Luke's was a book where you can pet the animals on the page. The boys took time to play with each gift before moving on so Christmas morning took 4 hours long! They stayed in their Christmas pjs all day and gorged themselves with cookies. Great day!

Nathan is a bit scared of Santa so he needed to be reassured the big guy had already left after dropping off the loot, haha. Luke gets so excited about everything so every time he opened a gift he gasped and hooted and hollered and acted like it was the best thing ever.

I had a fun year trying out new recipes and getting the BIGGEST tree on the lot. Mike had to chop the top off just so it could fit in our house. It was our first year getting a real tree so we went all out. :)

We have a few more Christmas celebrations to go, then we can try to settle down and have a normal January. Looking forward to a bit of normalcy! :)

My boys are really beginning to play and fight with each other. It is hilarious to watch Luke try to tackle Nathan and to see Nathan try to teach Luke the "right" way to play with things. Luke is obsessed with animals, especially dogs. He nearly flips his lid everytime he sees a dog or even a picture of a dog. Luke is saying quite a few words and phrases now. I love hearing his LOUD voice. He is such a character. He loves to make people laugh and is so determined once he gets an idea in his head. Nathan is my little professor and loves to learn facts. He has the most creative ideas and thoughts and is really so intuitive. I love just hearing what he is thinking about. Luke is a bit more trouble, haha. He learned to climb up on tables and loves to dump out containers of toys and knock over block towers. He is so much fun, but worries his poor mama, haha.

Off to try to contain the plethora of toys covering every inch of floor space in this house!

lookalike meter

October 2007

Wow, it has been a while since I have written. My boys are changing so much! Luke took his first steps at 9.5 months and now at 10 months is walking all over the place. He can climb stairs and walk carrying big toys in his hands. He is a powerhouse, haha. We went to the pumpkin patch and he was straining trying to pick up the big pumpkins. He is now saying (in order of when he started saying them) mama, hi/hey, dada, no, and all done. He is such a sweetie pie and is always trying to make everyone laugh. He puts blankets on his head and walks around like that. He makes these funny sniffy faces where he puts his head back and snorts. Luke cracks me up! He is getting really good at throwing and catching balls. I'd say balls, drumsticks, and maracas are his favorite toys.

Nathan is such a smarty pants. He spelled his name for the first time today. He is doing very well at potty training. He pooped on the potty a few days ago and has been doing it every day since. He is earning stickers on a potty chart and filled it up and picked out a prize (a tow truck from Target) about a week ago. I now put food coloring in the potty and ask him to turn the water colors with his pee---like I put in blue and tell him to make it green. For some reason this clicked with him and he is doing so well now!

Summer 07

We are having a great summer! We just spent a week in Ocean City along with Jon, Jenny, Bradley, and Hannah. Here are some of the memories of our vacation that I do not want to forget:
*Nathan laying down on the towel of a sunbathing cute teenager
*Luke covered head to toe with salt water and sand, but still grinning ear to ear
*Seeing Nathan being so brave trying out all the rides on the boardwalk
*how much Luke loved that silly maraca we bought for him---he never let it go!
*holding Nathan's hands and pulling him up to jump over the waves
*early morning coffee and donuts on the beach
*digging for sand crabs with Nathan---he'd gather as many as he could in his hand and then put them back in the sand and watch them dig
*Sharing goldfish crackers and juice with my boys on the beach blanket
*when Nathan stole the huge expensive chocolate truffle out of my hand and popped it in his mouth and gobbled it down in one bite
*floating around the indoor pool with my snuggly baby
*Luke dancing to any music he heard when we went out to eat
*Nathan sticking his head in the sand and trying to do flips on the beach
*taking all 4 kids down to the beach before bedtime and seeing them run back and forth from the waves
*how easily Nathan made friends on the beach
*Luke exclaiming "oooooooh!" at all the lights and sounds on the boardwalk

June 28, 2007

Everything is going great over here. We just bought a townhouse that we love and the boys are completely fantastic. I look forward to every day with my boys (especially now that they are both sleeping through the night---ahhhhhhhhh)! Luke is now crawling all over the house and starting to pull up on the step.

Here are some moments and memories I don't want to let myself forget:
*how Nathan will make a funny sound and Luke will crack up and then try to imitate it. This morning it was a loud exaggerated gasp sound. Hearing Lukey do that made us all just lose it laughing
*how Luke feels the need to bop up and down everytime he hears even a few beats of music. I will bust out singing a silly song and he will just immediately start to dance. Love that kid! :)
*How Nathan loves to name his cars, tv characters, even food after family members
*The way Nathan begs to go outside every moment he gets the chance
*Nathan is learning the names to all the cars and tells me which ones are Fords and which ones are Hondas. He loves "Ford Trucks" and jaguars, haha
*the way Luke grunts all excitedly when he first wakes up in the morning and is famished, wanting to nurse
*the wild "mad scientist" concoctions Nathan makes in the tub with different bottles and bowls
*how Nathan will make mud and start playing in it, the moment he gets a chance with the hose
*how he told me he wants Frankie to live in his playhouse and that Frankie is "his favorite"
*how Nathan calls juiceboxes "schooboxes"
*how Luke gives huge kisses right on the mouth, and grabs your face and smooches you on the lips even when you are aiming for his cheek. He is quite fresh! haha
*the overly exaggerated way Nathan chugs his drinks
*how louuuuud Luke is when he nurses and how he hums and mmmms everytime he eats
*when I have both my boys snuggling in the recliner

Life is good.

Luke's 6 month checkup

Luke got his 6 month checkup today. He was 18lbs 6 oz and 26 inches. The Dr kept commenting that he was the "golden child" and how lucky I was. He said Luke was one of the most easy going sweet babies he's ever met. He didn't even make a peep when he got his shots! I love my little guy!

We started with some baby food recently. He gives me such a hassle! He spits out the food, smears it everywhere, and chews on the spoons, but doesn't really eat anything, haha. He is holding out for the real stuff! He is always begging for what I am eating. Soon enough, Lukey!

Luke is crawling everywhere now. He is such a little nut. He loves playing with Nathan's cars and books and ignores his baby toys. He is at that stage where he is much less interested in snuggling and just wants to play all day. He is a very content baby and can entertain himself playing on the floor for the longest time!

May 21, 2007

Lots of new activity here at our house! Luke has started crawling! It is amazing to watch him pull himself, scoot, lunge, and push himself around the room. He can get into so much trouble in such a short amount of time now, haha. He is also starting to sit up! He can sit for about a minute before getting distracted and wanting to play on his tummy again.

Nathan is such a sweet little boy. He wants Luke around all the time. He wants to take every bath with Luke and wants him to read naptime and bedtime stories with him. He gets so much joy out of making Luke laugh. My boys crack each other up!

Yesterday we all just wrestled and played and sang silly songs in the grass! It made me feel like a kid again and laughing so hard is such a HUGE pick me up. I love my boys!!!!

My boysies

Everyone is doing great over here! Luke is going to be 5 months in a week---I can't believe it! He is such a happy, energetic baby. Nathan is being quite "two" lately, but he is still my sweet little man. Here are some things my guys are up to:

*whenever I pick Luke up, he wraps his hands around my neck and open and closes his hand (like a light scratch)---it is sooo sweet!
*Nathan tells me "I am not feeling so well" when I ask him to do something---haha
*Luke is blowing raspberries constantly!
*Nathan telling Ava "you need a nap" when she is whining
*Luke jumping like a madman and spazzing out grabbing all of his toys wildly in his exersaucer
*Nathan naming his two new fish "Slarley" and "Starfish" and excitedly feeding them every morning
*When I read to my boys on the bed before naps, they like to hold hands and snuggle

I just recently switched to cloth diapers for the boys. I am loving it but am quite addicted to buying new cute diapers already----haha.

February 2007

My oh my, where does the time go? I cannot get over how big my boys are.

Luke is almost 3 months old. He is such a sweet, silly baby. I love him so much! He laughs all the time now, especially when I call him "Boogers" or nibble his toes. His laugh is contagious, it is way too adorable. He hates being tickled though. He gets so mad and grunts when I try, haha. His new trick is trying to fling himself out of his swing so he dangles upside down. We put the toy bar up across his waist though so he can't do the fling thing and now he gets mad that he can't. I have so much fun with my baby. I absolutely adore this age. Can I keep him this age just a bit longer???? :)

Nathan is my little walking encyclopedia. He chats all day long about dinosaurs like the parasaurolophus and trucks like the giant excavator. He loves to line up his dinos or trucks in little lines. Everything in order! He will be in trouble once Lukey starts crawling. :)

Weird/cute little thing Nathan does: sometimes I lay Luke in facedown on my lap and pat his little bottom to help with gassiness. Sometimes while patting him, I count the pats for no particular reason. Well, one day Nathan took over and was patting Luke's little bottom. He kept counting to 20, but would go "18, 19, hit the butt!" Well now, everytime he counts to 20, he says "18, 19, hit the butt!" instead of "18, 19, 20", haha. It cracks me up because it is hard to explain the context of why he does that.

Luke's 2 month appt

We had Luke's 2 month appt yesterday afternoon. He was 13lbs and 23in meaning he gained 3lbs and 1.5inches in the past month. Woohoo! The Dr said not to change his diet at all in the next two months. He seemed very happy I was exclusively breastfeeding.

Talked to the Dr about Luke's off and on congestion. Seems like one minute he sounds stuffy and the next he is fine. He gets stuffy when he gets upset or excited or if the heat is running too long. Poor guy. The Dr said he is fine and just use saline drops. It will probably get better when it gets warmer and when he gets older and starts breathing through his mouth more. Poor guy always sounds sniffy and snorty though. Plus he snores!

Luke got 4 shots yesterday. Mike came to the appt right after work and made it just in time to hold him for his shots. I have such a hard time with that! Luke fell asleep about 30 seconds after his shots, lol. I guess it took a lot out of him.

Anyway, the Dr was so happy with how strong and verbal he is. He cooed and chatted for a while with the Dr. and charmed all the nurses. He loves people!

7 weeks

Everything is going great over here! I wish I could freeze this moment in time and have more time with my boys at this age. :)

Lukey Poo is such a snuggle bum. He loves to be held as much as humanly possible. I think he would still be in my stomach if he could, haha. He curls up into a little potato and snuggles so hard against my chest. He is a great nurser and eats every 2-4 hours. He is very efficient and nurses for only a short time and then is done with it. He is not a comfort nurser like Nathan was. By the size of his cheeks and thighs though, he is definitely getting enough! :) He is 13lbs according to our scale. He is growing out of his size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothing so quickly. He sleeps well as long as you don't put him down, haha. Quite the struggle! He really doesn't like sleeping anywhere but in your arms.

Luke is cooing and talking so much lately. He loves it when you talk to him. He can "agoo" with his mouth shut, which is very talented, haha. His eyes sparkle and he nods his head and coos and clicks his tongue like he is really carrying on a conversation. He is a very social guy!

Nathan is such a sweet, smart little boy. He sings the "Lukey Poo" song: "Lukey Lukey Lukey Poo...Lukey is a baby", haha. He is always so thoughtful and loves making us laugh. He makes his trains and cars talk to each other all the time. A typical train conversation: "You want lunch?" "I want a cereal bar." "NO cereal bars!" "Awww!" He really does play so well independently. He loves playdoh and painting and reading to himself.