Long time, no blog...

I know I've been a terrible blogger! Life has been pretty busy and I have a feeling this is just the beginning. So here is a quick picture-less update with the promise of a better post to come. Of course next week will include some sure to be adorable Halloween pics. =)
Luke has become quite an active little thing. He can no longer be found in the position you left him in as he is rolling, rolling everywhere. The boy wants to crawl so bad he can taste it but only succeeds in pushing himself around with knees while dragging his poor little face along the carpet. He doesn't seem to mind it, though. John thinks he will skip crawling completely and just start walking around since he is happiest in the standing position. I think this is mostly because it's the best position for watching his big sister who he thinks is sooooo funny!
We met our new pediatrician, Dr. Aufdemburg, at Luke's 4 month appointment last week. He is really nice and has, in our opinion, a great view on the vaccine issue. Luke was 13 lbs. 7 oz. (25th percentile) and about 24 3/4 in. (50th percentile). So, typical of our children, the doctor declared him to be lean. He is in great health and will "keep us busy" said Dr. A after Luke destroyed the paper on the exam table. I'm sure Kate will help us keep him in line, though, as she has become quite a little mother. She recently lectured him about grabbing his cousin, Brooklyn, while they were laying on the floor together. It was so funny listening to her say, "Luke, no grabbing Brooklyn. That's not very nice. You listen to Kate."
Kate is staying busy. Every day she becomes more and more girly. Today she was walking through the house with her blanket acting as either a flowing dress or a train dragging behind her. She is still enjoying Toddler Club on Wednesdays and "Boogying to Books" on Fridays. We went to California Adventure last week for the first time and had a great time, she especially loved the Live Playhouse Disney show. She is looking forward to our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with cousins, Jonah and Javan. We were supposed to go yesterday but the air quality has been so bad with all of the fires we decided to put it off until next week. So stay tuned for those pics.
Speaking of the fires, we are so lucky to be safe and relatively unaffected by these devastating fires. The worst we've had to deal with is the layer of ash and dirt covering everything, the smokey haze floating around and the 90-100 degree heat. We do, however, know many people who have been evacutaed and are anxiously waiting to see whether their homes will survive. I can't imagine the feeling and my heart goes out to everyone in that situation. Say a prayer for them.