And finally...Christmas...

I know it's been a week already and I haven't posted. This week has been full of organizing and trying to recover from a couple of great days. Christmas morning was a lot of fun with the kids. Kate was so excited to see that Santa brought her a bicycle (or in Kate-speak "bikacle") and has gotten really good at riding it. We soon discovered that we could have saved ourselves a lot of money since she opened 2 gifts and was good to go. We actually had to talk her into opening the rest! Luke had the most fun with all of the paper.

Kate got lots of fun dress-up things, an easel with some art materials, and a Rose Petal Cottage, among other things. Can you say spoiled? Luke is enjoying many toys although Kate has discovered that 6 month old toys are great fun and insists on "helping him play with them."

We had two great days filled with family fun. Of course we ate way too much but that's one of the great things about holidays- those calories don't count!

As you can see, Luke's newest skill is standing up against things without Mommy's help!

Merry Christmas...

Well, its Christmas morning and I am up at 6 am (Luke's idea, not mine). He will go back to sleep by 7:30 when Kate will surely be awake. So, my day begins. It will be a fun day, though. Last year Santa came for the first time and this year she gets it. Last night we made cookies and Kate danced around singing, "Santa come and bring me presents and go away!" She's finally willing to be okay about this stranger entering our house as long as he brings her something good and makes his departure, as mommy and daddy promised, before she wakes up. So as not to overshadow the true meaning of Christmas, we've been reading the Christmas story and Kate knows what we are celebrating- "Jesus' birthday!" The pictures will be great. I'll post them ASAP. In the meantime, here are some from Christmas Eve and Sunday morning. Enjoy your Christmas everyone!

Christmas outfits

Cookies for Santa

Look what Santa brought!

Santa...

Brenna and I took the kids to see Santa on Friday afternoon. As you can see, Kate opted out of sitting on the big guy's lap. She is still warming up to the idea that he will come to our house to leave presents for her. She says, "No, that's scary!" We keep telling her that she won't see him because he comes when she's asleep-she's still not ready to give her permission. She was very sure that she wanted nothing to do with him on Friday, though. Fortunately, the babies were very good and we were able to get a good picture. Luke was squirming, like usual, and Brooklyn was holding on to him. =)
Two years ago Kate did much better- you know, when she was too little, helpless, and didn't have a voice to protest with- and had a nice visit with Santa, Jonah and Javan.
As I said above, it has become quite typical of Luke to try to squirm right out of your arms. I swear he's thinking, "Just let me go. I know if you put me down I could run like the wind!" He had his 6 month doctor's appointment this week and weighed in at about 15 pounds (we couldn't get an accurate weight since he would not be still) and was 27 3/4 inches long. So he remained in the 80% for height and dropped down to the 15% for weight. The doctor wasn't concerned since he is growing and certainly isn't inactive. In fact, the doctor seemed amazed at how active Luke is. He kept saying, "Boy, when he starts crawling..." and "You're gonna have your hands full with this one." Don't I know it! Luke has already started climbing or trying climb and he's not even crawling yet. God bless him, he's going to keep me in shape. =)

Family pictures...

Melissa Bench (formally Cape during BCHS days) is a wonderful photographer and was nice enough to come all the way from Bakersfield to do some family pictures for us. They turned out great, I couldn't be happier. Click here to see the rest.

Lists...

I love lists. At any given time I have at least one list going. Right now there are several...the usual list of things to do today (which I rely a little too heavily on to function day to day), a Christmas gift list (almost done!), a grocery list (for 3 different stores), a things to get done sometime this week list, and things to write on my 2008 calendar list. So I thought in the midst of all of this list making, I'd list some of the great things (in no particular order) that happened this year.

1.) Luke Tyler- June 15th What a great addition to our family.

He has been such a blessing to us and has truly made our little family complete.

2.) Our trip to Hawaii last January with the Irelands.

3.) We celebrated our 5 year anniversary on March 23rd- it feels like a milestone. =)

4.) Kate turned 2-years-old May 13th.

This is her opening her gift from Mommy & Daddy.

It was a cross necklace and, needless to say, she loved it!

What a year of learning and developing! She is much of the time so much fun. The rest of the time? Well, we're talking about good things so...

5.) We became an auntie & uncle & cousins for the first time-

Brooklyn Alivia was born May 31st

6.) We did 3 sessions of Toddler Club and had fun singing songs and making crafts.

7.) We saw the Wiggles in concert with cousins, Julie and Cooper.

8.) We've enjoyed countless playdates,

fun outings (zoo, museum, park, etc.) and

days at Disneyland with our friends.

9.) Our trip to the mountains with the

Clawsons where Kate saw

snow for the first time.

10.) We've been so thrilled to watch many of our friends and family grow their families with marriages and babies.

So many fun times and great memories! We're looking forward to so many more to come.

Catch up..

It's been a while, I know. How do these weeks fly by?! We've had, yet another, full couple of weeks. Busy with birthdays, vacation, Christmas shopping, sick days, etc. Poor Luke has been battling a cold that has been passed around to all of us and seems to keep swinging back to him. In addition, I think he's teething. His poor little face has a very red goatee-shaped rash from drool and a runny nose. =( Between the time of year and Kate it's next to impossible to just stay home to let him get better. I've tried to keep things as low key as I can for him, so when we needed an outing last Wednesday, we met Nana and Brooklyn at the park to feed the ducks for a little while. Kate loves to feed the ducks, although when this swan got out of the water, she was done.
Brooklyn Alivia- 6 months old

We spent a few days this last weekend in Palm Desert for John's 29th birthday. John's parents have a very nice condo that we are fortunate enough to be able to use. We've had several fun "weekends" out there and this was Luke's first desert visit. We left Thursday evening, were joined by Curt, Brenna, and Brooklyn Friday-Sunday, and came home Monday afternoon. It was a nice little vacation. Kate loved "driving" the golf cart with Daddy and insisted on several trips around the country club to check out the Christmas decorations. Friday was a laid back family day- we went to lunch and Christmas shopped in the afternoon, made dinner at the condo, and waited for the Vander Molens to arrive. On Saturday the weather was nice enough to do a little swimming (only b/c the pool was heated) so the daddies and kids spent about 1/2 hour in the pool. We made dinner again and watched a movie after the kids went to bed. That is, we attempted to watch a movie- I think John was the only one who actually stayed up long enough to finish it. Sunday was John's birthday and God's gift to him was rain. We made a big breakfast and hung around inside. Fortunately, it cleared up in the evening and we headed out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Kate loved the gigantic pig statue outside a restaurant called Babe's so we had to take a picture. Curt, Brenna, and Brooklyn left after dinner and headed home in hopes of getting a good night's sleep (Brooklyn is not a fan of sleeping and didn't do well away from home.) We packed up and came home on Monday afternoon where John found his birthday present hanging on the wall in our bedroom. The one thing he really, really wanted...a flat screen TV. He was very pleased. Thanks Dad for hanging it for me. =)

Yesterday, Kate, Luke, mom and I went to Disneyland one last time before Christmas. It looked so nice with all of the decorations. We saw Mrs. Clause, real reindeer, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Goofy, and Ariel. Kate has gotten much more brave since the day she and Rebekah took a picture with Minnie and actually enjoyed seeing the characters rather than freaking out. We even waited in line to take a picture with the Little Mermaid. As excited as she was to see her favorite princess, we couldn't get a smile out of her to save our lives. The combination of wind-blown hair and that goofy look on her face didn't make for the most attractive picture but it's a memory. =)

Kate's new shoes...

Check out the super cute shoes that Pam sent for Kate! Needless to say, these are just up Kate's alley and she LOVES them. Thanks, Pammy!

Thanksgiving...

Well, so much for that Weight Watchers goal being met. But what is Thanksgiving without gaining several pounds in one day! We celebrated with the Jacobs' on Sunday because John and his brother both had to work today so today was our second day of thanks. Both days were filled with yummy food and fun with family. Here are a few pics from our day with my parents, sisters, brother-in-law, and niece...

Dad getting the turkey ready for the deep-fryer. That's right folks, we fry it up! This is our 3rd year deep-frying the turkey. Terrible for the arteries, wonderful for the tastebuds. :)

Kate kept the babies entertained with a Thanksgiving story.

Pretty much impossible to get everyone happy for a good picture with a toddler and two infants.

Luke and Brooklyn spent most of the day sitting up! They grow up so fast.

An eventful day...

It's a very news-worthy day today, November 19th, 2007. Our very dear friends, Brad and Lauren, had their first baby...Benjamin Bradley Schatzel. Yea! They are going to be the best parents. We are already planning a road trip from Arkansas to Oklahoma to meet him when we are visiting Gramma and Grampa next summer. Congratulations, Schatz!

On the home front, Luke had 2 new experiences today. First, rice cereal. It went as any baby's first time with a spoon goes and was very messy. He didn't love it but we'll keep trying. He also got to sit up in the bathtub tonight. That he LOVED! It definitely made bathtime easier on me. Up until now he's been laying on the bath pillow and I've had to keep one hand on him constantly to keep him from rolling over into the water on his face. Here are some cute pictures of them during bath and all ready for bed.

Family time...

It's been quite a while since we have gone out and done anything on a Saturday. John has worked Saturdays pretty much his whole career and, until Kate was born, I did too. So our "weekends" have always been on weekdays when the crowds are at a minimum...just the way we like it. But yesterday the four of us packed up our wagon and some lunch and walked down to the park for some quality family time. It appeared to be the last day of the AYSO soccer season and there were games everywhere. Kate brought her soccer ball and spent most of the 2 hours running and kicking while Luke practiced sitting up. She has not had much exposure to the game aside from playing with Daddy in the yard but she seems to be a natural. We parked ourselves under a tree about 10 yards from one of the fields where the teams of 4-year-olds were playing. So cute! John was reminicing about his many years on the soccer field and got very excited for the day our kids will be out there. John had to get ready for work so we had to drag Kate away promising to have a "soccer picnic" more often. I love family time!

Tagged...

I was "tagged" by Rachel to share 7 weird/random things about myself, so here we go:
1.) I hate the feel of velvet or velour or anything that feels like it. It makes my hands feel dirty. Blah!
2.) I could watch Lifetime movies all day long and have done so. This was pre-kids, of course, but I spent many a Saturday afternoon folding laundry and watching back to back movies starring many of the "90210" favorites.
3.) I use a chocolate shake as my "dipping sauce" for McDonald's chicken nuggets. Not exactly a Weight Watchers-friendly meal, but so delicious.
4.) With the exception of #3, I usually eat one thing at a time during meals and I don't like my food to touch on the plate.
5.) I don't like walking on freshly vacuumed carpet- it looks so nice and I hate leaving footprints.
6.) I still want my mom when I'm sick.
7.) I love throwing things away. Cleaning out drawers, closets, etc. is a huge stress relief and I measure my success by the number of trash bags have filled.
So, there you have it. Odd, I know, and there are probably so many more weird things about me but isn't that what makes us all so interesting. What about you? Leave a comment with just a couple of weird things about yourself. I'm supposed to "tag" someone else to post an entry of 7 weird/random things on their own blog. So...Lo and Cori/Nathan, you're it!

Goals...

A couple of my personal goals were accomplished this month that I'm pretty excited about. I made the first promotion level in Arbonne, District Manager. It's been fun so far and I am really enjoying myself. I also got to my goal weight at Weight Watchers this week! Yea! This means my Christmas list will be full of clothing requests. =)

Luke has made some accomplishments this month also. He is reaching and grasping anything and everything he can get his little hands on. This includes hair, food, clothes, etc. Today he almost pulled Kate right over onto himself. He is also sitting up more and more every day. It's more balancing in an upright position than sitting but today he stayed up for about 30 seconds. The little booger refuses to put his hands down in front of him to "tripod" so when he loses balance he just topples over. It's still so amazing to me how fast they develop at this age. He had his 5 month doctors appointment this week. (Our new doctor sees his patients every month rather than every three months since he does an alternate schedule with vaccines.) He was 14 lbs. 3 oz. and 26 3/4 inches long. That put him in the 20% for weight and 80% for height! So, as the doctor put it, he is getting longer and leaner. No shots this month since Luke is still recovering from his mild bout with croup. He is feeling much better now. The doctor told us to go ahead and start introducing rice cereal and then some fruits and veggies. I'm not rushing out to the store, though, since that means I'll have just one more thing to do. =) Luke is going to love it though. He does not appreciate it when we don't share what we are eating. =)

Kate is, as usual, keeping us quite entertained. Her new favorite terms are, "That's amazing!", "Oh, she's beautiful!" (said anytime she sees someone wearing a dress, especially a wedding dress), "I need to run errands.", and "I love you guys!". She's so funny and we get a kick out of watching her pretend. Here she is with her new favorite hair style: the ponytail. Doesn't she look like such a big girl?!

California Adventure...

Last December, we decided to get annual passes to Disneyland. They turned out to be a great purchase, very well worth it. So for the past year we have enjoyed meeting friends and spending a couple of hours in Disneyland. Today, we visited Disney's California Adventure for only the second time ever. While very different from Disneyland, we really enjoy many of the things California Adventure has to offer. It's much less crowded and has a lot for toddler aged kids. Today, we met our cousins, Marikka, Jonah & Javan, and our friends, Andrea & Ryan and Emily, Rebekah & Anna. We rode a few rides (not Kate's favorite part), saw a couple of shows and had lunch. Luke fell sound asleep after lunch and since Kate was still going strong I decided to let her continue to enjoy herself well past naptime. Quite unprecedented but fortunately she did not make me regret it. On our way to the parking lot we decided to warm up with some coffee and hot chocolates. The girls felt very grown up with their "coffee".
Thanks, Emily, for the great pictures!

Just like mommy...

We were off to the grocery store today and had to get a picture... Kate has turned into quite a good little mommy to her baby "Tony" and loves to copy everything I do. So cute! Our shopping trips are getting much easier thanks to the genius who invented the Baby Bjorn front pack. Luke could not be happier than when he is in that thing and I'm hands free to load, unload, and deal with Kate if necessary. Fortunately, today that was not necessary as, despite feeling under the weather, she was very cooperative and we had a pleasant experience.
And Luke in the "exersaucer" so generously loaned by the Irelands.