Oh yeah, I have this blog. Sometimes I forget about it.
Anyway, I need to do better about remembering it, because everyday I think to myself, "I should write that down... I'll probably remember it though. Hmm, what was that funny thing that happened yesterday?"
Nothing extremely funny happened today... just the usual types of stuff, but I had better write that down in case one day I can't remember what was normal when Gabe and Luke were 3 and almost 2.
Luke got very upset with me today as soon as he realized he was hungry, and started "bossing" me around: "Mommy, I want to eat! I want wunch. Wight now Mommy! Stand up now! Go! I wanta eat wunch!"
When he needed a diaper change, I asked him if he was poopy, and he said, "No, I don't want a diaper change, I just clean, Mommy. It's play time."
When I handed Luke a toy he was struggling to reach, he took it and said, with gusto, "Oh, tank you, Mommy!"
Gabe is also very good about saying thank you, and he will often add "Good job pouring the milk, Mommy, you did that so great!"
When I told Gabe it was almost naptime today, he at first said "No, I don't want a nap!" But then started saying, "Mom, is it night time?" I told him it wasn't night time, but it was sleep time, to which he responded, "Oh, ok Mom, but I a-better eat a snack first, and then take a nap. Maybe playtime first."
Gabriel is especially fascinated with my sewing machine and serger, which are off limits, but he gets into anyway. If (when) I catch him opening little doors and turning little dials, I give him a little reminder by saying "What are the rules?" and he will say "Don't play with Mommy's 'chines! But I just want to close this door, Mom. Can you close it for me?"
We just got back in town from Tayler and Heather's wedding. We were so glad we could make it. It was a crazy trip, but we all had a good time. We didn't actually get to see much of Tayler or Heather, but I guess there will be time enough for that. Heather is "Hedder" to Gabe and "Heddow" to Luke, and a princess to both of them since they saw her in her wedding dress.
While we were in Washington for the wedding, we were able to stop by and visit BJ's grandparents. We only had about 2 hours with them (plus 4 hours of driving) but we made the most of it, the kids were pretty good, and I am so glad we were able to have that time with them.
Speaking of that trip, I wrote about the crazy part of the journey and the tender mercies we experienced as a result on my other blog. Read about it here.
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
December 2011
Early(ish) December:
Ward Christmas Party Decorations:
Taylor Family Christmas Party
There were hundreds more pictures from the Arave Family Sing-Along and from Christmas morning, but I have shared those elsewhere. If you are interested in those pix and you didn't get them from the Christensen family blog or email, let me know and I can share them with you.
December Rundown:
We had lots of fun this Christmas! I was a busy bee making Christmas gifts, which was something that really helped me get into the spirit of Christmas. Our ward Christmas party was at the beginning of the month, and my friend and I were put in charge of the decorations. We had a very small budget and very big ideas, and we were able to pull it off pretty well I thought by using things we already had, borrowing where necessary, and in general spending very little. Another friend and I planned a Christmas playgroup for our neighborhood and we did some fun ornament crafts, which turned out to be a big hit with the kids. BJ and I went to a free dance at the senior center featuring a live big band. That was fun. We had a fun Christmas party at the Taylor's house, complete with nativity and musical program, and of course, the present exchange at the end. A couple of days before Christmas, we flew to Oregon, and arrived just in time for the Arave Sing-Along, a 20 year tradition! BJ and I sang a spoof on Baby, It's Cold Outside, which we sang as newlyweds 7 years ago, but this was the "7-year sequel". It was funny. Gabe sang "Silent Night" and did an awesome job enunciating and singing with a big voice. Not shy at all, even in front of dozens of people he didn't know. It was so cute. We celebrated Marissa's birthday the next day by eating at Macaroni Grill and seeing "We Bought a Zoo" in the theater. It was fun, but the kids didn't like the movie much. On Christmas, we went to church in the morning, then came home and took pictures all dressed up, then we got back in our jammies and opened presents. We like to drag it out for hours by only letting one person at a time open a present, and rotating who's turn it is by age. Haha! Tradition... The rest of Christmas break was spent visiting family, shopping, getting to know the significant others of Tayler and Cara (Heather and Dan), watching movies, doing a few crafts, and being sick. Bleh. Also, BJ and I took a vacation from our vacation (thanks Mom and everyone who helped watch the boys while we were gone!)- a one night stay at a bed and breakfast nearby. It was a restored 100 year old mansion- and it was lovely! We would definitely recommend it. We were the only ones there that night, and the lady let us wander around and check out the other rooms. We had dinner at a place called Dundee Bistro and I had the best pulled pork sandwich of my life. I usually don't get that excited about food, but it was amazing and journal-worthy. I need to go back next time we are in Oregon just so I can have that sandwich again. Haha. We made delicious fondue on New Year's Eve and stuffed ourselves silly. We flew back home on New Year's Day, and were surprised with a washed and vacuumed out car (thanks, Mom and Dad T., for that surprise and for picking us up)! We got in so late and were so hungry, that we ate and then went to bed at their house. Fortunately the next day was still a holiday so we had some time to unpack and rest etc. It was also about 55 degrees outside- can you believe it?!, so we had some fun with the kids at the park before going home.
Ward Christmas Party Decorations:
Taylor Family Christmas Party
There were hundreds more pictures from the Arave Family Sing-Along and from Christmas morning, but I have shared those elsewhere. If you are interested in those pix and you didn't get them from the Christensen family blog or email, let me know and I can share them with you.
December Rundown:
We had lots of fun this Christmas! I was a busy bee making Christmas gifts, which was something that really helped me get into the spirit of Christmas. Our ward Christmas party was at the beginning of the month, and my friend and I were put in charge of the decorations. We had a very small budget and very big ideas, and we were able to pull it off pretty well I thought by using things we already had, borrowing where necessary, and in general spending very little. Another friend and I planned a Christmas playgroup for our neighborhood and we did some fun ornament crafts, which turned out to be a big hit with the kids. BJ and I went to a free dance at the senior center featuring a live big band. That was fun. We had a fun Christmas party at the Taylor's house, complete with nativity and musical program, and of course, the present exchange at the end. A couple of days before Christmas, we flew to Oregon, and arrived just in time for the Arave Sing-Along, a 20 year tradition! BJ and I sang a spoof on Baby, It's Cold Outside, which we sang as newlyweds 7 years ago, but this was the "7-year sequel". It was funny. Gabe sang "Silent Night" and did an awesome job enunciating and singing with a big voice. Not shy at all, even in front of dozens of people he didn't know. It was so cute. We celebrated Marissa's birthday the next day by eating at Macaroni Grill and seeing "We Bought a Zoo" in the theater. It was fun, but the kids didn't like the movie much. On Christmas, we went to church in the morning, then came home and took pictures all dressed up, then we got back in our jammies and opened presents. We like to drag it out for hours by only letting one person at a time open a present, and rotating who's turn it is by age. Haha! Tradition... The rest of Christmas break was spent visiting family, shopping, getting to know the significant others of Tayler and Cara (Heather and Dan), watching movies, doing a few crafts, and being sick. Bleh. Also, BJ and I took a vacation from our vacation (thanks Mom and everyone who helped watch the boys while we were gone!)- a one night stay at a bed and breakfast nearby. It was a restored 100 year old mansion- and it was lovely! We would definitely recommend it. We were the only ones there that night, and the lady let us wander around and check out the other rooms. We had dinner at a place called Dundee Bistro and I had the best pulled pork sandwich of my life. I usually don't get that excited about food, but it was amazing and journal-worthy. I need to go back next time we are in Oregon just so I can have that sandwich again. Haha. We made delicious fondue on New Year's Eve and stuffed ourselves silly. We flew back home on New Year's Day, and were surprised with a washed and vacuumed out car (thanks, Mom and Dad T., for that surprise and for picking us up)! We got in so late and were so hungry, that we ate and then went to bed at their house. Fortunately the next day was still a holiday so we had some time to unpack and rest etc. It was also about 55 degrees outside- can you believe it?!, so we had some fun with the kids at the park before going home.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
November Pictures
November was a busy but fun month... we celebrated Cara's birthday, planned and/ or attended several really fun playgroups, spent lots of time getting ready for Christmas (making gifts, helping to plan the ward Christmas party which I was in charge of decorations for), and had a wonderful Thanksgiving with BJ's family.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
October 2011
I haven't written in months, and I'm not even going to try to recap what has happened right now, but I need to record some things about the kids so we can remember all the funny things they do in the future.
Gabe
3 years & almost 4 months
I asked him what his favorite foods were last week, and here is his answer: "Cupcakes, fruit loops, chocolate, cheese sticks." Funny, we don't give him much of that stuff... at least he listed one semi-healthy thing. He actually eats pretty much everything we give him, as long as it is room temp and not spicy.
Takes one nap, in the afternoon. Learned how to pedal his tricycle this summer, and can mostly keep up with us when we go for a walk. Loves to collect sticks on our walks. Loves to go on walks and visit his friends Kimberlee and Ethan. He's very friendly with all kids, although if it came to sharing his Thomas train, that would probably be a no-go.
Says "okie-dokie-a-chokie". Has been calling me his "baby mommy" and "little mommy". Regularly says stuff like "What are you doing, Mommy?" Oh! Uhhhh... dat's cool, Mom." Gabe knows mouth, nose, eyes, head, hair, ears, hands, tummy, and fingers in Spanish (our neighbor came over and did Spanish lessons for a while during the summer). He also knows a few animals and random other stuff.
Gabe's teachers at daycare (he goes just a couple of hours each week) are always impressed at how smart he is. He knows all his shapes, colors, counts to 20 sometimes, can accurately count objects (less than about 8), knows his ABCs, can identify all of them and most of their sounds, and knows tons of songs.
Sings Thomas the Tank Engine songs and always requests them at bedtime. Actually sings a lot of songs, all day long. Loves Thomas shows, Dora, Caillou, Blue's Clues, and even "the purple dinosaur". Yes, I let my children watch shows (on Netflix).
95% potty trained during the day, nighttime and naptime are another story.
One day at naptime I gave him his Thomas the Tank engine train and he said "Thomas is my best friend!" Another day we had played and I gave him lots of hugs and kisses at naptime and he said "Mommy, you are my best friend!" Melted my heart.
Naughty stuff: Gabe recently dumped a whole roll of TP in the toilet. A few days later, he unrolled a whole roll all over the floor. Not to much later, he pulled out every wet wipe from the wipes box. He sometimes likes to chew on the wipes. (yuck) He and Luke are partners in crime and they like to shred wipes, TP, napkins, anything they can get their hands on. They like to drink their drinks and spit them out- sometimes on each other (this is mostly just Gabe). They like to pull things out of the kitchen drawers and cupboards, sometimes the garbage. I have locks on the cupboards and the garbage, but they always manage to find something semi-dangerous that isn't locked up, so the kitchen is off limits, and we have a gate that closes it off.
Luke
18 months
Sings I Am a Child of God and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (somewhat intelligibly) on his own. Loves music and loves to dance.
Goes to sleep really easily most of the time, as long as he has his binky, blanket, drink, and a stuffed animal. Starting to take only an afternoon nap and not his morning nap. Loves all stuffed animals, but especially his zebra, cow, & blue teddy bear. Cuddly, but he's a screamer- he has an ear-splitting scream that he's not afraid to use at any time if he wants to get his point across. Started nursery last week- ran right in, played, no screaming at all. What a relief for all of us, because church has been... not fun... with him for several months (maybe 6). Hopefully nursery will continue to be a good thing for him.
Blows kisses and waves when daddy leaves every morning for work. Loves cheese, bread, bananas, apples, applesauce, yogurt, all cereal, all sugary stuff (but usually not ice cream), most fruits, all crackers, pizza. Sometimes likes broccoli and carrots (in ranch), beans, mexican food. Currently hates noodles and rice (texture thing), usually peanut butter and most other sandwiches.
Says: Peeaboo (peek-a-boo), dit-de (binky), a-wight (alright), ok, ah-done (all done), ah-keen-ow (all clean now), poopoo, bum, eye, nose, mow (mouth), eah (ear), Babe/ Babiel (Gabe/ Gabriel), baby, Guke (Luke), mommy, daddy, Paw (Grandpa), Cah-kin (Collin), Ca-ya (Cara), Sessa (Marissa), Anna, Gook (book, drink, milk), eat, see-yal (cereal), nah-nuh (banana), be-ba (zebra), see ya, hi, hey-o (hello), bye bye, Ay-yuh-you (I love you), safe, don't, mine, want it, nie-ie (night-night), teeeee (teeth- wants to brush teeth), cah (car) goowuck/ cahck (truck), ah-side (outside), no, yes, yeah, uh-huh, uh-uh, no-way, icky, suuuuum (as in- I want some), lion, goggy (doggy), ti-tat (cat/ kitty cat), eh-pane (airplane), tain (Train), wow-ow (flower), messy, one-two-tee (1-2-3), sooooo (show- as in I want to watch a show).
He probably says more but I can't think of anything else right now.
Luke responds to most things we say to him- he understands and follows commands (if he wants to) and replies to questions.
At 16 months he:
Weighed 22.3 pounds (now he weighs about 25 lb.)- the 15th percentile.
Was 30.5 inches tall- 22nd percentile.
Had a head circumference of 19.2- the 86th percentile, down from the 96th when he was 9 months old!
Gabe
3 years & almost 4 months
I asked him what his favorite foods were last week, and here is his answer: "Cupcakes, fruit loops, chocolate, cheese sticks." Funny, we don't give him much of that stuff... at least he listed one semi-healthy thing. He actually eats pretty much everything we give him, as long as it is room temp and not spicy.
Takes one nap, in the afternoon. Learned how to pedal his tricycle this summer, and can mostly keep up with us when we go for a walk. Loves to collect sticks on our walks. Loves to go on walks and visit his friends Kimberlee and Ethan. He's very friendly with all kids, although if it came to sharing his Thomas train, that would probably be a no-go.
Says "okie-dokie-a-chokie". Has been calling me his "baby mommy" and "little mommy". Regularly says stuff like "What are you doing, Mommy?" Oh! Uhhhh... dat's cool, Mom." Gabe knows mouth, nose, eyes, head, hair, ears, hands, tummy, and fingers in Spanish (our neighbor came over and did Spanish lessons for a while during the summer). He also knows a few animals and random other stuff.
Gabe's teachers at daycare (he goes just a couple of hours each week) are always impressed at how smart he is. He knows all his shapes, colors, counts to 20 sometimes, can accurately count objects (less than about 8), knows his ABCs, can identify all of them and most of their sounds, and knows tons of songs.
Sings Thomas the Tank Engine songs and always requests them at bedtime. Actually sings a lot of songs, all day long. Loves Thomas shows, Dora, Caillou, Blue's Clues, and even "the purple dinosaur". Yes, I let my children watch shows (on Netflix).
95% potty trained during the day, nighttime and naptime are another story.
One day at naptime I gave him his Thomas the Tank engine train and he said "Thomas is my best friend!" Another day we had played and I gave him lots of hugs and kisses at naptime and he said "Mommy, you are my best friend!" Melted my heart.
Naughty stuff: Gabe recently dumped a whole roll of TP in the toilet. A few days later, he unrolled a whole roll all over the floor. Not to much later, he pulled out every wet wipe from the wipes box. He sometimes likes to chew on the wipes. (yuck) He and Luke are partners in crime and they like to shred wipes, TP, napkins, anything they can get their hands on. They like to drink their drinks and spit them out- sometimes on each other (this is mostly just Gabe). They like to pull things out of the kitchen drawers and cupboards, sometimes the garbage. I have locks on the cupboards and the garbage, but they always manage to find something semi-dangerous that isn't locked up, so the kitchen is off limits, and we have a gate that closes it off.
Luke
18 months
Sings I Am a Child of God and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (somewhat intelligibly) on his own. Loves music and loves to dance.
Goes to sleep really easily most of the time, as long as he has his binky, blanket, drink, and a stuffed animal. Starting to take only an afternoon nap and not his morning nap. Loves all stuffed animals, but especially his zebra, cow, & blue teddy bear. Cuddly, but he's a screamer- he has an ear-splitting scream that he's not afraid to use at any time if he wants to get his point across. Started nursery last week- ran right in, played, no screaming at all. What a relief for all of us, because church has been... not fun... with him for several months (maybe 6). Hopefully nursery will continue to be a good thing for him.
Blows kisses and waves when daddy leaves every morning for work. Loves cheese, bread, bananas, apples, applesauce, yogurt, all cereal, all sugary stuff (but usually not ice cream), most fruits, all crackers, pizza. Sometimes likes broccoli and carrots (in ranch), beans, mexican food. Currently hates noodles and rice (texture thing), usually peanut butter and most other sandwiches.
 |
| Luke loves to give kisses, but this time he was almost eating my cheek! |
Says: Peeaboo (peek-a-boo), dit-de (binky), a-wight (alright), ok, ah-done (all done), ah-keen-ow (all clean now), poopoo, bum, eye, nose, mow (mouth), eah (ear), Babe/ Babiel (Gabe/ Gabriel), baby, Guke (Luke), mommy, daddy, Paw (Grandpa), Cah-kin (Collin), Ca-ya (Cara), Sessa (Marissa), Anna, Gook (book, drink, milk), eat, see-yal (cereal), nah-nuh (banana), be-ba (zebra), see ya, hi, hey-o (hello), bye bye, Ay-yuh-you (I love you), safe, don't, mine, want it, nie-ie (night-night), teeeee (teeth- wants to brush teeth), cah (car) goowuck/ cahck (truck), ah-side (outside), no, yes, yeah, uh-huh, uh-uh, no-way, icky, suuuuum (as in- I want some), lion, goggy (doggy), ti-tat (cat/ kitty cat), eh-pane (airplane), tain (Train), wow-ow (flower), messy, one-two-tee (1-2-3), sooooo (show- as in I want to watch a show).
He probably says more but I can't think of anything else right now.
Luke responds to most things we say to him- he understands and follows commands (if he wants to) and replies to questions.
At 16 months he:
Weighed 22.3 pounds (now he weighs about 25 lb.)- the 15th percentile.
Was 30.5 inches tall- 22nd percentile.
Had a head circumference of 19.2- the 86th percentile, down from the 96th when he was 9 months old!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Luke: May 2011
Luke is really at one of the funnest ages I have experienced with kids so far. Each age is fun in its own way, but he is at the point where it is all fun from here on out, and way more hazardous too. He is learning to get into cupboards and drawers, tries to climb into the bathtub, and he tries to take Gabe's snacks away almost as often as Gabe tries to take his away.
He is doing things a little earlier than Gabe (though not exactly an early- bird)- just so he can keep up. There is definitely some sibling rivalry developing here, though the boys clearly adore each other. Luke can walk short distances, maybe up to 6 steps on average without getting scared and sitting down. He doesn't fall much yet, but is very cautious, and would rather sit down before taking a tumble. I'm sure he could walk much longer if he wanted, and I think he will be before long! He still crawls with one knee and one foot, which is hilarious to watch.
He says a few words on his own (ma-ma, woof (dog, and the sound a dog makes), nana (banana, and any other food), da-du (thank you- yes, really, he says this after every time I bring him food)) and he mimics a lot of things we say (da-da, puh-puh (poopy diaper), ssu-ssu (Jesus), nuh-nuh (no-no).
Luke loves to be sung to. He doesn't have a favorite song that I can tell, but if cuddling and rocking don't calm him down, just start singing too, and he will relax very quickly.
Nights are finally starting to get better. He is now sleeping through the night- hallelujah! I think we just had to get through some hard stuff and I had to stop nursing him when he woke up. I think as soon as he realized he couldn't eat, and he got over some colds he had for a while, he stopped waking in the middle of the night. Now he goes to bed anywhere from 6:30pm to 7:30pm or so on a normal night, and he wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning to nurse, then he usually goes back to sleep for an hour (IF I let him fall asleep in bed with me, otherwise he will just play or whine). I try to get him to take a nap at 9:30 or 10 in the morning, and then another nap at 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon. I think if I am more consistent with getting him down for naps, he sleeps better at night.
Luke has had his 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom) for several months and a few weeks ago started cutting molars (skipping the canine teeth). He now has 2 molars that are mostly cut through, 1 that is close, and another one that is just starting to be swollen and painful for him. It seems like these things always happen at the same time.
Luke can put food away like no other baby I have seen. We were at a restaurant the other day and Luke ate the entire 2 bottles of baby food I had with me, and then continued to eat a bread stick and two small pieces of pizza, plus drinking his milk. We joked that he ate more than my brother Tayler, who was visiting. I guess he was just really hungry that day. Luke loves fruit, cheese, bread, yogurt, and Hawaiian haystacks (chicken and rice etc.). He is slightly more picky than I remember Gabe being. He is very particular about the textures of foods he eats. Also, just because he has eaten it before and liked it doesn't mean he wont spit a food out and refuse to eat it from that point on. Usually if we can get the first bite in, he will decide he likes it and will eat the food. He cracks me up!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Family Pictures
After Tayler got back, we needed an updated family picture, and BJ's dad was kind enough to take pictures of everyone. We got some really fun pictures!
When Tayler came home
Here are pictures from our trip to Oregon at the end of March, when Tayler came home from his mission. Mostly these are pictures at the airport when we picked him up, but there are some of Collin playing tennis and a few other random things.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Letter to Luke on his 1st birthday
My Sweet Luke,
Today you are one year old. I cannot believe how fast that year went by, and yet how long ago it seems that you were born. Oh, it has been quite a year! You have brought so much sweetness, energy, curiosity and laughter into our home! Your older brother loves you dearly, and I love to see the wonder and adoration in your eyes as you watch and follow him around, wanting to take part in whatever he is doing. I love that you are happy by nature, in spite of rough days and nights from earaches, teething, and your desire to not miss anything exciting for something so trivial as sleep! This birthday marks some happy milestones for you. Today you took your first steps alone. You were holding some stacking cups and you thought I was holding on to you, so you walked and were surprised to realize you had done it without help. This month you have started communicating better with us. It warms my heart to hear you say "mama" and "dada", "up", and even "woof". I am delighted when you sign "more" and your daddy and I were giddy when you mimicked the way we signed "I love you". I don't know how much you understand, but we can feel love just exuding from you. You have so much love to give. I smile every time you reach for me to pick you up and you rest your head on my shoulder for a moment. I love those open mouth "kisses" you bestow, and the morning cuddles that never last long enough! I'm just tickled to see you asleep under your blanket, holding tightly to your stuffed animal when I come to check on you. There are so many things you do to give us great joy, and having you in our family means more to us than I can express. I am still learning what it means to be a mother- a mother of two. I am so grateful for the things you have taught me about patience, forgiveness, optimism, and God's love. I am learning more about these things because of you and because of my opportunity to be your mother. Luke, I love you dearly! Happy birthday, Lukey- pie.
Love,
Your Momma
Today you are one year old. I cannot believe how fast that year went by, and yet how long ago it seems that you were born. Oh, it has been quite a year! You have brought so much sweetness, energy, curiosity and laughter into our home! Your older brother loves you dearly, and I love to see the wonder and adoration in your eyes as you watch and follow him around, wanting to take part in whatever he is doing. I love that you are happy by nature, in spite of rough days and nights from earaches, teething, and your desire to not miss anything exciting for something so trivial as sleep! This birthday marks some happy milestones for you. Today you took your first steps alone. You were holding some stacking cups and you thought I was holding on to you, so you walked and were surprised to realize you had done it without help. This month you have started communicating better with us. It warms my heart to hear you say "mama" and "dada", "up", and even "woof". I am delighted when you sign "more" and your daddy and I were giddy when you mimicked the way we signed "I love you". I don't know how much you understand, but we can feel love just exuding from you. You have so much love to give. I smile every time you reach for me to pick you up and you rest your head on my shoulder for a moment. I love those open mouth "kisses" you bestow, and the morning cuddles that never last long enough! I'm just tickled to see you asleep under your blanket, holding tightly to your stuffed animal when I come to check on you. There are so many things you do to give us great joy, and having you in our family means more to us than I can express. I am still learning what it means to be a mother- a mother of two. I am so grateful for the things you have taught me about patience, forgiveness, optimism, and God's love. I am learning more about these things because of you and because of my opportunity to be your mother. Luke, I love you dearly! Happy birthday, Lukey- pie.
Love,
Your Momma
Monday, January 31, 2011
Luke: January 2011
I think the stage Luke is at (9 months old this past week) is one of the cutest and funnest stages of babyhood. My Lukie-pie is just so sweet. He is getting very curious about what Gabe is doing, and he wants to be in on the fun. He doesn't want to lay down or sit down, he just wants to stand. He is starting to try to walk (with help). He is super wiggly! This kid has a smile that could melt anyone's heart, and I'm afraid he has got us wrapped around his little fingers!
Favorites:
Foods: Cheerios, any fruit (especially applesauce, apricots, peaches, pears, and fresh bananas), sweet potatoes, and carrots, and rice husk crackers.
Toys: Luke likes toys that make sounds, have wheels, or which can be chewed on, or anything that Gabe is playing with.
He LOVES things with buttons, so any remote, cell phone, or toy with buttons is an Luke- magnet. Bonus points if something exciting happens after pushing a button.
Activities: Peekaboo and Pattycake are very entertaining, as are tickling and cuddling (sometimes). We took this video of Luke about one week before he turned 7 months old, where he is playing peekaboo all on his own. We were so surprised when he started doing it, but he loved all the laughs he got, and he continued doing it for quite a while that night.
Luke loves to watch Gabe run around and play, and he is beginning to want to be part of everything Gabe does.
We recently got out this jumperoo thingy and Luke has got the hang of bouncing in it and he is happy since he always wants to be standing.
People: Luke loves his Mommy and Daddy and Gabe tons, and he recognizes and is delighted to see Grandparents and aunts and uncles. Luke seems to pick up on and react to "love vibes"- or in other words he can sense when someone likes him, and he will cuddle right up- even if they are a stranger. This happened in church last week when a grandmotherly lady held him for a moment while I had to lead some music. He stared at her for a minute, then began smiling and snuggled right up in her lap.
Luke is happy any time Gabe is nearby, and thrives on attention Gabe gives him. He puts up with quite a lot of poking and prodding from Gabe too...
Stats:
Luke began consistently sitting up by himself for longer periods of time when he turned 7 months old.
I frequently walk into a room and find a picture like this- both boys just chilling together, often in unusual positions, and just content and jabbering to each other.
Favorites:
Foods: Cheerios, any fruit (especially applesauce, apricots, peaches, pears, and fresh bananas), sweet potatoes, and carrots, and rice husk crackers.
Toys: Luke likes toys that make sounds, have wheels, or which can be chewed on, or anything that Gabe is playing with.
He LOVES things with buttons, so any remote, cell phone, or toy with buttons is an Luke- magnet. Bonus points if something exciting happens after pushing a button.
Activities: Peekaboo and Pattycake are very entertaining, as are tickling and cuddling (sometimes). We took this video of Luke about one week before he turned 7 months old, where he is playing peekaboo all on his own. We were so surprised when he started doing it, but he loved all the laughs he got, and he continued doing it for quite a while that night.
Luke loves to watch Gabe run around and play, and he is beginning to want to be part of everything Gabe does.
We recently got out this jumperoo thingy and Luke has got the hang of bouncing in it and he is happy since he always wants to be standing.
People: Luke loves his Mommy and Daddy and Gabe tons, and he recognizes and is delighted to see Grandparents and aunts and uncles. Luke seems to pick up on and react to "love vibes"- or in other words he can sense when someone likes him, and he will cuddle right up- even if they are a stranger. This happened in church last week when a grandmotherly lady held him for a moment while I had to lead some music. He stared at her for a minute, then began smiling and snuggled right up in her lap.
Luke is happy any time Gabe is nearby, and thrives on attention Gabe gives him. He puts up with quite a lot of poking and prodding from Gabe too...
Stats:
Luke began consistently sitting up by himself for longer periods of time when he turned 7 months old.
- Luke still has 7 teeth (he had all those by the time he was 7 months old), but I believe that is about to change.
- Luke is NOT interested in crawling.
- After we came back from Oregon for Christmas, Luke started pulling himself up to stand so that he could see what was going on up on Gabe's train table (8 months old). Maybe he will skip crawling all together and go straight to walking?
I frequently walk into a room and find a picture like this- both boys just chilling together, often in unusual positions, and just content and jabbering to each other.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Gabriel: January 2011
Gabe is quite a character! He is becoming very inquisitive and opinionated. In true toddler fashion, he is exerting his independence and testing limits. It can be quite frustrating at times, but I keep reminding myself that he is doing what all two year olds do, and that it is a normal developmental stage. He is a bit of a charmer too, so my occasional frustration is tempered by lots of sweetness and delight. Here is a little bit about Gabe currently.
Favorites:
Colors: anything vibrant, but especially green at the moment.
Foods: Pizza, lasagna, raisins, Chex, ice cream, broccoli, ham, cheese, any Mexican food, any Chinese food. He will pretty much eat anything we give him, most of the time!
Toys: His train table set that he got for Christmas, his monkey (still), a little airplane on wheels thingy, magnets on the magnet board, dishes & measuring spoons.
Activities: Singing (Twinkle Twinkle, I am a Child of God, Heavenly Father Loves Me, Eensie Weensie Spider, I'm a Little Pile of Tin, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus, Saw a Little House in the Middle of the Woods, and MANY others), dancing (to any old music, or Just Dance- a Wii game), throwing balls, unwinding spools of thread or balls of yarn, looking at books, making Luke laugh, and climbing up on things, coloring (for short periods of time), and playing with Play- Doh.
Outfit: Blue Jeans (I love hearing him say that) and his brown or yellow long sleeved shirts. And his Thomas the Tank Engine Jammies and Slippers.
Movies: Thomas the Tank Engine shows, Curious George, The Jungle Book
Cute/ Funny Stuff
Overheard:
A week or two ago: Kissing sound, and "Luke, I love you! Be right back!" and little feet running down the hallway.
Last night: " 'Tinky, poopy bum. Diaper change? No! Mommy do it." (At the suggestion that daddy would change it.)
This week: "Luke, play trains with me! Come on!"
After a loud noise upstairs: Screaming, followed by "Mommy! Scary! You hear boom boom? Scary tiger, Mommy!" (I don't know where the scary tiger thing came from, other than maybe from The Jungle Book movie. He has been really spooked by loud noises lately.)
Common Phrases:
"Yes, sir, mommy" -over and over, every day. (Occasionally it is "Yes, ma'am, but usually everyone is a "Sir" to him.)
"Lukie- pie" -I guess I call Luke that enough that Gabe picked up on it. He understands that it is just a nickname. Last week we were joking together about calling grandparents "Grandma Suzie-Pie and Papa Ronnie- Pie".
Gabe occasionally calls BJ or I "honey", "sweetie- pie", "Sweetheart", or "Love" depending on what he hears us say. Today I dropped something on the floor, and he picked it right up and handed it to me without being asked, and said "Here you go, sweetheart!" (Picture me melting.)
"Hningermails" =fingernails, as in, "Long hiningermails? Cut them?"
"Mommy, want to see show!" "What show do you want to watch, Gabriel?" "Um...... Thomas The Tank Engine!" (enunciated perfectly, of course, after so much practice...)
Gabe and I had fun playing with homemade "instruments" this week- see this blog post on my other blog. So later that night, I just happened to see that my mom had posted a video of Anna playing the guitar and singing at her first ever guitar recital (she just started playing a few months ago), Gabe was mesmerized, and he demanded his toy guitar that we made, and proceeded to accompany himself singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It was funny, and adorable, and reminded me why toddlers are so much fun. I asked him to do it again a little later for the camera, which he did, but not with as much enthusiasm. Haha. Oh well!
We have reached the point that getting a good picture of Gabe is kind of hard. He will smile and cooperate for the first picture, but it often goes downhill from there (although still cute, the pictures that follow become increasingly cheesy- but at least they are happy in this series!)
I love that Gabe loves to be with his brother. He is starting to be really helpful in keeping Luke happy and entertained. I have to remind him sometimes that Luke is just a baby and he needs to be gentle and use a quiet voice to not scare him, but mostly they just love being around each other.
Toddlerhood is a challenge, but a fun one (almost all the time)!
Favorites:
Colors: anything vibrant, but especially green at the moment.
Foods: Pizza, lasagna, raisins, Chex, ice cream, broccoli, ham, cheese, any Mexican food, any Chinese food. He will pretty much eat anything we give him, most of the time!
Toys: His train table set that he got for Christmas, his monkey (still), a little airplane on wheels thingy, magnets on the magnet board, dishes & measuring spoons.
Activities: Singing (Twinkle Twinkle, I am a Child of God, Heavenly Father Loves Me, Eensie Weensie Spider, I'm a Little Pile of Tin, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Wheels on the Bus, Saw a Little House in the Middle of the Woods, and MANY others), dancing (to any old music, or Just Dance- a Wii game), throwing balls, unwinding spools of thread or balls of yarn, looking at books, making Luke laugh, and climbing up on things, coloring (for short periods of time), and playing with Play- Doh.
Outfit: Blue Jeans (I love hearing him say that) and his brown or yellow long sleeved shirts. And his Thomas the Tank Engine Jammies and Slippers.
Movies: Thomas the Tank Engine shows, Curious George, The Jungle Book
Cute/ Funny Stuff
Overheard:
A week or two ago: Kissing sound, and "Luke, I love you! Be right back!" and little feet running down the hallway.
Last night: " 'Tinky, poopy bum. Diaper change? No! Mommy do it." (At the suggestion that daddy would change it.)
This week: "Luke, play trains with me! Come on!"
After a loud noise upstairs: Screaming, followed by "Mommy! Scary! You hear boom boom? Scary tiger, Mommy!" (I don't know where the scary tiger thing came from, other than maybe from The Jungle Book movie. He has been really spooked by loud noises lately.)
Common Phrases:
"Yes, sir, mommy" -over and over, every day. (Occasionally it is "Yes, ma'am, but usually everyone is a "Sir" to him.)
"Lukie- pie" -I guess I call Luke that enough that Gabe picked up on it. He understands that it is just a nickname. Last week we were joking together about calling grandparents "Grandma Suzie-Pie and Papa Ronnie- Pie".
Gabe occasionally calls BJ or I "honey", "sweetie- pie", "Sweetheart", or "Love" depending on what he hears us say. Today I dropped something on the floor, and he picked it right up and handed it to me without being asked, and said "Here you go, sweetheart!" (Picture me melting.)
"Hningermails" =fingernails, as in, "Long hiningermails? Cut them?"
"Mommy, want to see show!" "What show do you want to watch, Gabriel?" "Um...... Thomas The Tank Engine!" (enunciated perfectly, of course, after so much practice...)
Gabe and I had fun playing with homemade "instruments" this week- see this blog post on my other blog. So later that night, I just happened to see that my mom had posted a video of Anna playing the guitar and singing at her first ever guitar recital (she just started playing a few months ago), Gabe was mesmerized, and he demanded his toy guitar that we made, and proceeded to accompany himself singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It was funny, and adorable, and reminded me why toddlers are so much fun. I asked him to do it again a little later for the camera, which he did, but not with as much enthusiasm. Haha. Oh well!
We have reached the point that getting a good picture of Gabe is kind of hard. He will smile and cooperate for the first picture, but it often goes downhill from there (although still cute, the pictures that follow become increasingly cheesy- but at least they are happy in this series!)
I love that Gabe loves to be with his brother. He is starting to be really helpful in keeping Luke happy and entertained. I have to remind him sometimes that Luke is just a baby and he needs to be gentle and use a quiet voice to not scare him, but mostly they just love being around each other.
Toddlerhood is a challenge, but a fun one (almost all the time)!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Christmas 2011
This year we spent the night of Christmas Eve at BJ's parents' house. BJ stayed up until 2 AM putting Gabe's train table together. It was fun for Gabe (and for us) to wake up Christmas morning and get to open presents with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Ron, and Rhonda (or "Panda" as Gabe still calls her). We enjoyed breakfast and visiting with Danielle and Kirk's family, and also got to see Taylor and Emily for a while. We headed home pretty late-ish and still had to finish packing so that we could leave the next morning at the crack of dawn to fly to Oregon. We got to have a 2nd Christmas with my family after Marissa and Richard also arrived, and it was great! Anyway, here are some pictures from Christmas 2010.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Indoor Fun
Sometimes you don't need toys to have a good time.
But simple, classic toys can hold my attention for a long time, especially at Grandma and Grandpa's house, in a cozy chair.
Building forts in the front room is exciting, especially if that means that Mom will come in too and play for hours...
... and even more when there are snacks involved...
... add in my favorite monkey, my cars...
... a good story...
... and my little brother, and I am a happy (indoor) camper!
But simple, classic toys can hold my attention for a long time, especially at Grandma and Grandpa's house, in a cozy chair.
Building forts in the front room is exciting, especially if that means that Mom will come in too and play for hours...
... and even more when there are snacks involved...
... add in my favorite monkey, my cars...
... a good story...
... and my little brother, and I am a happy (indoor) camper!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Blogging Delinquency
I have been not so good at blogging lately. Oops. I have posts that I have started and not published. I guess I will try to catch up. Part of the problem I think is that there isn't a ton of stuff going on that I could write about. So I guess that leaves me with writing mostly about the boys, which is fine, since they are pretty much the biggest most interesting parts of our lives right now.
Let's see, BJ has been playing tennis quite a bit this summer/ fall with his brother in law Andy and is looking forward to playing racquetball as the weather turns wet and cold. He has also been playing a little church basketball. He is enjoying the exercise he gets from doing that- it is hard for us to find the time to be active with little kids and busy schedules, but we try!
I have been working a tiny bit in the cancer screening clinic at the Health Department, and also spending time working on things for my craft blog, which will soon move from its blogspot address to its own, new address. My favorite projects from the last couple of months would probably be making a regular shirt into a nursing (breastfeeding) shirt, sewing infant scratch mitts, and recycling shoe boxes and magazines to make great wall art.
I have also been going to Zumba classes for the past few months, and I love it! I can only get away 1-2 times a week to do it, but it is amazing the difference it has made in my energy level. I feel really good.
Gabe is just too cute. He says the funniest things. He often calls BJ "honey" or "buddy". It cracks me up. He also occasionally calls us by our first names, which is also funny (for now). He has a slight lisp that is cute and he has some trouble saying certain short words, like "green", but has no problem pronouncing "dinosaur". He loves Luke, and Luke obviously loves him.
Sometimes it is hard to nurse Luke because he just wants to watch what Gabe is doing. He is very entertained by Gabriel's antics. Luke is a smiley baby. He takes great naps but is not doing so great at sleeping at night. We need to figure something out to help him sleep better. It has been hard because he has been sick for a couple of weeks, so we have a smiley but somewhat grumpy baby. It is kind of a bummer to not be able to use medicine to help him, but some of the things that have helped us make him more comfortable are the humidifier, "Little Noses" saline drops to thin those nasal secretions, letting him sleep in his padded carseat (it keeps him more upright, which makes breathing easier), and The Nose Frida (a kind of weird but very effective tool for aspirating baby noses). Luke hates tummy time. He doesn't cry any more, he just rolls over onto his back as many times as I put him on his stomach. He is getting stronger. He can almost sit up without help- well, he can already do it, but not for very long. It's kinda hard to do when your body is in the 20-30th percentile for height and weight and your head is in the 90th percentile, you know? Haha. Luke loves playing peekaboo and snuggling with anyone who will hold him. His cousin Marissa had him laughing hysterically last night at our family Halloween party (thanks, Danielle and Kirk for putting that together!) just by talking to him in a cutesy voice and pointing out things on his and her costume. I love how cuddly Luke is right now. He is also very grabby and wants to put everything in his mouth! He has been teething like crazy. He has two bottom teeth which came in a few weeks ago. He will be 6 months old in a few days.
We took some pictures of the boys in BJ's parents' photo studio. BJ did a great job photographing them. Gabe knows the drill for picture taking. Luke was tired and on the verge of tears the whole time, but did pretty well too.
Love those boys!
Let's see, BJ has been playing tennis quite a bit this summer/ fall with his brother in law Andy and is looking forward to playing racquetball as the weather turns wet and cold. He has also been playing a little church basketball. He is enjoying the exercise he gets from doing that- it is hard for us to find the time to be active with little kids and busy schedules, but we try!
I have been working a tiny bit in the cancer screening clinic at the Health Department, and also spending time working on things for my craft blog, which will soon move from its blogspot address to its own, new address. My favorite projects from the last couple of months would probably be making a regular shirt into a nursing (breastfeeding) shirt, sewing infant scratch mitts, and recycling shoe boxes and magazines to make great wall art.
I have also been going to Zumba classes for the past few months, and I love it! I can only get away 1-2 times a week to do it, but it is amazing the difference it has made in my energy level. I feel really good.
Gabe is just too cute. He says the funniest things. He often calls BJ "honey" or "buddy". It cracks me up. He also occasionally calls us by our first names, which is also funny (for now). He has a slight lisp that is cute and he has some trouble saying certain short words, like "green", but has no problem pronouncing "dinosaur". He loves Luke, and Luke obviously loves him.
Sometimes it is hard to nurse Luke because he just wants to watch what Gabe is doing. He is very entertained by Gabriel's antics. Luke is a smiley baby. He takes great naps but is not doing so great at sleeping at night. We need to figure something out to help him sleep better. It has been hard because he has been sick for a couple of weeks, so we have a smiley but somewhat grumpy baby. It is kind of a bummer to not be able to use medicine to help him, but some of the things that have helped us make him more comfortable are the humidifier, "Little Noses" saline drops to thin those nasal secretions, letting him sleep in his padded carseat (it keeps him more upright, which makes breathing easier), and The Nose Frida (a kind of weird but very effective tool for aspirating baby noses). Luke hates tummy time. He doesn't cry any more, he just rolls over onto his back as many times as I put him on his stomach. He is getting stronger. He can almost sit up without help- well, he can already do it, but not for very long. It's kinda hard to do when your body is in the 20-30th percentile for height and weight and your head is in the 90th percentile, you know? Haha. Luke loves playing peekaboo and snuggling with anyone who will hold him. His cousin Marissa had him laughing hysterically last night at our family Halloween party (thanks, Danielle and Kirk for putting that together!) just by talking to him in a cutesy voice and pointing out things on his and her costume. I love how cuddly Luke is right now. He is also very grabby and wants to put everything in his mouth! He has been teething like crazy. He has two bottom teeth which came in a few weeks ago. He will be 6 months old in a few days.
We took some pictures of the boys in BJ's parents' photo studio. BJ did a great job photographing them. Gabe knows the drill for picture taking. Luke was tired and on the verge of tears the whole time, but did pretty well too.
Love those boys!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Family Pictures
We took a drive up the canyon yesterday and really enjoyed the changing colors of the leaves- brilliant reds and yellows mixed in with the greens. Gabe loved being up there. We took pictures right before we left, so the kids weren't too thrilled at that point, but I think we got a few good ones. Here are some of my favorites. All photos were taken by BJ's dad, Ron.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
August
Here are a few pictures from the goings- on of August. By way of explanation, we had my family here for almost a week while they dropped my sister Cara off at school. We loved having them stay with us. And we love having Cara nearby now. I will post more updates soon.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
4 months old- Luke
This is Luke in a nutshell:
Loves being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, being held, going for walks in the front carrier, being part of the action going on at any given time, and watching Gabe play. He is a pretty "go with the flow" kind of guy- as long as he's getting attention, he isn't too picky about what's going on.
Likes binky, car rides (usually), sitting upright, being wrapped up tight to fall asleep, the baby swing, playing in the baby gym, trying to put toys and fingers in his mouth.
Dislikes: being cold, hungry (well, don't we all?), um, can't think of anything else at the moment that he doesn't like.
About half the time, Luke sleeps around 7 hours at night, but he also frequently wakes up at 4am to eat. He would probably go back to sleep if I didn't get up and feed him, but you just don't think of these things very clearly in the wee small hours of the morning when your baby is STILL IN YOUR ROOM. (What am I thinking? It is definitely time for Luke to move to Gabe's room.) He is a fantastic napper, however. I love that he takes 2-3 decent naps a day (1-2 hours each).
Luke is a pretty happy guy. It is easy to make him smile and laugh, and he seems to be trying to be happy even when he is not feeling well (like last week when he was super congested and struggled at night for several nights). He, like Gabe as a baby, is serious about eating. He gets hungry and he must eat right now! He is pretty solid, and all that chub makes for delicious cuddling and cheek smooching!
Luke now has a head of fuzzy hair, and I get the feeling he is going to have my complexion: the reddish hair, the freckles, light skin, the whole bit.
It is such a miracle the way babies so quickly entwine themselves into your heart and you almost cant remember what it was like without them. I so love my little Luke, and his smiles just melt my heart. Life isn't necessarily a bed of roses all the time, but those smiles help me get through the crazy puke-and-multiple-blowouts-in-public days when I have to take him home practically naked because he messed every single outfit in the diaper bag while we were out. Not that that ever happens to me. Ha. Really though, Luke radiates love and happiness and is really delightful to have around- we love him so much!
Loves being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, being held, going for walks in the front carrier, being part of the action going on at any given time, and watching Gabe play. He is a pretty "go with the flow" kind of guy- as long as he's getting attention, he isn't too picky about what's going on.
Likes binky, car rides (usually), sitting upright, being wrapped up tight to fall asleep, the baby swing, playing in the baby gym, trying to put toys and fingers in his mouth.
Dislikes: being cold, hungry (well, don't we all?), um, can't think of anything else at the moment that he doesn't like.
About half the time, Luke sleeps around 7 hours at night, but he also frequently wakes up at 4am to eat. He would probably go back to sleep if I didn't get up and feed him, but you just don't think of these things very clearly in the wee small hours of the morning when your baby is STILL IN YOUR ROOM. (What am I thinking? It is definitely time for Luke to move to Gabe's room.) He is a fantastic napper, however. I love that he takes 2-3 decent naps a day (1-2 hours each).
Luke is a pretty happy guy. It is easy to make him smile and laugh, and he seems to be trying to be happy even when he is not feeling well (like last week when he was super congested and struggled at night for several nights). He, like Gabe as a baby, is serious about eating. He gets hungry and he must eat right now! He is pretty solid, and all that chub makes for delicious cuddling and cheek smooching!
Luke now has a head of fuzzy hair, and I get the feeling he is going to have my complexion: the reddish hair, the freckles, light skin, the whole bit.
It is such a miracle the way babies so quickly entwine themselves into your heart and you almost cant remember what it was like without them. I so love my little Luke, and his smiles just melt my heart. Life isn't necessarily a bed of roses all the time, but those smiles help me get through the crazy puke-and-multiple-blowouts-in-public days when I have to take him home practically naked because he messed every single outfit in the diaper bag while we were out. Not that that ever happens to me. Ha. Really though, Luke radiates love and happiness and is really delightful to have around- we love him so much!
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