WebWilliams

Gloves

2012-02-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

I have said that Luke is so sweet to his sister and it continues. He simply adores her. On this day he wanted to put her gloves on her so she wouldn’t scratch her face – not an easy job to do even when she is asleep but he was patient and got them on her. So sweet! This happened to also be during the time of the Sleepyhead post.

Sleepyhead

2012-02-18T13:52:00.000-05:00

One of the nicknames we have affectionately given little Katelyn is SLEEPYHEAD! This nickname is wonderful when talking about overnight sleep which thankfully she is doing great for her age most nights. She does live up to the nickname when waking her during the day to keep her on a feeding schedule so she keeps gaining weight. On this particular day I think it took the 3 of us about 15 minutes to get her to wake up to eat. She makes the funniest faces and grunts when you try to wake her up.

If your sister won’t wake up then just lay beside her for a photo.

A poke from Big Bro!

Notice the drool on her cheek from Luke giving her zerberts and she is rolling her eyes without even opening her eyes.

Finally opening her eyes.

Last Chance Workout

2012-02-16T14:33:00.001-05:00

Little miss Katelyn was 18 days old in these photos. It was her last tummy time before Luke officially beat her at rolling over first. We had been joking with Luke to see if she would beat him but she didn’t. We didn’t think she would as her neck doesn’t seem as strong as Luke’s was at this age. As you can see she is still not a fan of tummy time.

She is doing a plank exercise in this next photo.

Here is the link to Luke rolling over at 19 days!http://webwilliams.blogspot.com/2008/04/luke-rollover-debut-at-19-days-old.html

Visitors

2012-02-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

The Morgans came to town to meet Katelyn last week. We had a house full of kids playing and it was great.

I knew we would be inside all day so I thought it would be fun to make a craft for Valentine’s Day. It ended up that Amy M did all the work helping the kids while I fed Katelyn – sure didn’t mean to make her do all the work but she was a good sport even with unruly contact paper.

Thanks for coming!

Happy Valentine’s Day

2012-02-14T08:06:00.001-05:00

Saw this idea during my last week of pregnancy and went to Hobby Lobby to get pre-made letters but they were out of the letter “E” so I just cut up some cardboard and taped on scrapbook paper. Thankfully they were both good sports to take so many photos.

WOO HOO: Weight Gain

2012-02-13T18:36:00.001-05:00

Thankfully Katelyn is now gaining weight – woo hoo! She was up to 7 pounds 10 ounces after getting to a low of 7 pounds 3 ounces. We are so thankful for this!!!! Here she is on the table at the DR office waiting to see the pediatrician. She was also 2 weeks old in this photo.

Sweet Feet

2012-02-12T19:33:00.000-05:00

Her little foot got scratched from her security tags that were on in the hospital.

And for fun – a comparison with big brother.

Cousin Love

2012-02-11T17:01:00.000-05:00

Oh she is one loved little girl.

Having fun around the house!

Uncle & Aunt

2012-02-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Katelyn getting some lovin from her uncle & aunt.

Pop & Granna

2012-02-09T16:21:00.001-05:00

Mike’s parents, brother, sister-in-law and our nephews came to meet Katelyn this past weekend.

G & P with all their grandkids.

Sweet Daddy Time

2012-02-08T13:24:00.001-05:00

Oh my!

2012-02-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

Oh my word, little girl clothes are just too cute (loved little man clothes on Luke but definitely there were no ruffles involved). This little sleeper has not only ruffles but also ballet slippers on it!!!

Just Being a Dad

2012-02-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Visit

2012-02-07T19:59:00.001-05:00

Sweet Boy

2012-02-06T15:33:00.000-05:00

I think Luke aged about 2 years during our short hospital stay. He is such a sweet loving big brother – always giving Katelyn kisses , helping to get out a clean diaper, helping burp her, or giving her a pacifier. We aren’t sure where he picked up this line but he always says to her in a sweet voice “How ya doing little fella?”

I had to take a photo of Luke’s spaceships set up as he is into space shuttles, rockets and space right now. We love hearing him explain about how each of them work.

My boy who didn’t want his photo taken just a few weeks ago asks to have it taken now that there is also someone else who I love to photograph.

Hehe

2012-02-06T15:30:00.000-05:00

Faces

2012-02-05T17:13:00.001-05:00

I love all the facial expressions Katelyn makes, especially when she is waking up.

Evening Fun

2012-02-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

Just some sweet low key family evening fun. Luke reading his “Easy Reader” book to Katelyn.

Luke asked us to take this photo and he went to get his train to be in the photo.

The obligatory silly photo for Luke.

Hat & Socks

2012-02-04T15:33:00.001-05:00

And here is the little outfit that included these two items. We love those sweet neck rolls.

Hoodie

2012-02-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

First Bath

2012-02-03T16:20:00.000-05:00

We gave little Miss her first sponge bath the Sunday after getting home from the hospital. She was rather content for most of the bath.

Luke being a helpful big brother.

Aunties Come to Visit

2012-02-02T21:22:00.001-05:00

My sisters came this past weekend to meet Katelyn and love on her and fight to hold her.

Luke Says….

2012-02-02T21:20:00.001-05:00

I asked Luke yesterday if Katelyn looked like he thought she was going to look like because when she was in my belly he would always say “I wonder what she will look like”. His response to me: “she is cuter than I thought”. Too funny!

Luke also said “I want to marry baby Katelyn”.

Luke also asked Mike if he would go with him to college and said he would call us every night. Need to remind him of this in 15 years!

Katelyn’s First Silly Face

2012-02-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

Luke loves silly photos and asked to take a silly photo when we were about to leave the hospital so Mike helped Katelyn. These crack me up.

D-Daddy and Me-Mommy

2012-02-01T18:23:00.000-05:00

My parents were in town this past week watching Luke while we were in the hospital, loving on their sweet new granddaughter and just helping us out around the house as we adjust to our new family addition.

Thanks dad and mom for everything!

First Tummy Time

2012-02-01T18:19:00.001-05:00

She wasn’t a huge fan.

Getting a little support from Big Bro!

Luke’s Family Portrait

2012-02-01T16:23:00.001-05:00

This is our favorite of all of Luke's drawings so far. He drew his first family picture this past Sunday at church. Guess he was waiting for Katelyn to join us. He pointed out each family member and then said the lines around us were the walls of our home.

Cool Big Bro Book

2012-02-01T16:17:00.000-05:00

One of my mom’s friends found this Big Brother book at the grocery store. The coolest part is that it is about a boy named Luke.

Alert

2012-02-01T16:16:00.000-05:00

Adorable Outfit Unhappy Baby

2012-02-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

Few More Hospital Photos

2012-01-31T17:40:00.000-05:00

We were thankful for the great care we got in the hospital but it was also nice to go home after 2 nights.

Day 1

Day 2

The hospital gives women that just had babies free hand and foot massages – what a treat.

Day 3

Going Home

2012-01-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

Katelyn got to wear home the outfit that I wore home from the hospital a few decades ago. I love that my parents saved it and that she got to wear it home. She looked like a little doll baby.

She wasn’t thrilled initially with her car seat.

In the car.

Just for a little flash back – here is Luke going home in the outfit Mike wore going home from the hospital.

BIG BROTHER DAY 2 & 3

2012-01-30T14:26:00.001-05:00

Just some more sweet Big Brother/Little Sister photos. He is going to be a great Big Bro!

BIG BROTHER DAY 1

2012-01-29T19:17:00.000-05:00

Luke had been so looking forward to his sister’s arrival and we counted down the days. On a number of occasions he would ask if she could come on out of my belly. He was so excited to see her in the hospital. We wish he could have kissed on her but sadly he got sick with a minor cold this past week which turned into an ear infection. The doc said that he could see her just not love on her too much – easier said than done.

To be honest, one of Luke’s favorite things to do in the hospital was to raise and lower my bed.

Family of 4

2012-01-28T19:49:00.001-05:00

Our first photo as a family of four on Day 1.

How We Named Baby Girl

2012-01-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

Mike and I had a few girls names that we had always liked and assumed we would use one of them but Luke had other plans. Back in October Luke asked to make a drawing for his baby sister. He then asked Mike to write her a letter on it and said what to say, including her name. To be honest neither of us had even considered the name Katelyn.

A few nights later during our bedtime routine we asked Luke to pray for his baby sister and he immediately said. I hear my baby sister saying “I want to be name Katelyn, I want to be named Katelyn”. Over the months Luke was insistent on the name and finally Mike and I agreed. How sweet that she was named by her older brother.

The Eve of Her Arrival

2012-01-27T20:29:00.001-05:00

We went to eat the night before my c-section date with my parents. We went to O’Charleys since that is where we went the night before Luke’s arrival – guess it is our tradition.

She’s Here

2012-01-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

Katelyn Michelle

8 pounds, 6 ounces

21 inches

7.54am

Lots more photos to come – the grandparents will be elated about that!

Clifford

2012-01-23T08:15:00.000-05:00

Our Barnes & Noble had a story time about Clifford and then Clifford came out to see the kids. Luke said he loved hugging him and he is sure to let you know that it isn’t the real Clifford – he is just pretend!

Lazy Pajama Day

2012-01-22T16:22:00.001-05:00

We had a lazy day around the house one day this past week – I think we finally got out of our PJs around 4 PM!!!! Luke thought riding on his tiny 4X4 was fun.

Singing with his sing-a-long book that got new batteries!

Luke actually asked me to take this photo of him.

Coffee

2012-01-22T15:18:00.001-05:00

I jokingly asked Luke today if he wanted coffee. His response “I think I will start drinking coffee when I am 13”.

Birthday Party

2012-01-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

Luke and I headed to Raleigh for a friend’s 4th birthday earlier this week. It was a cars themed party and Luke loved everything about it – seeing old friends, car races, obstacle course, bounce house, playground & yummy food.

Little man fell asleep on the way home and I thought he looked so sweet. I captured the photo when stopped at the end of an exit ramp in case you thought I was taking photos while driving.

CEC

2012-01-20T16:03:00.001-05:00

Mike wanted us to do something super fun with Luke this past weekend as we know that there will probably be lots more low key days at home once baby girl arrives. We spent 3 (yes, 3) hours at CEC and Luke asked when we got home if we could go back the next day – um, NO! This time around his favorite games were the football and basketball throwing games.

To end our fun day we went to Krispy Kreme for a donut.

Drummin

2012-01-19T16:33:00.000-05:00

If you could only hear the music.

Workbook

2012-01-17T20:04:00.000-05:00

One rainy afternoon I decided to pull out a letters workbook. I had to pull out the camera of him doing his ‘work’ as I thought he looked so cute and even grown-up.

LOVE his sweet concentrating faces.

Luke used to always favor his left hand but he uses his right hand more and more but mainly just switches back and forth. I asked Luke why he switches hands on this day and he said “Just switch when my hand gets tired”. Wonder if he will end up being a righty or lefty or ambidextrous.

Single Digits

2012-01-16T20:17:00.001-05:00

Crazy to believe that we are in the single digits until baby girl arrives. Luke helped Mike lower the straps for the baby carrier.

Goggles for the Grandparents

2012-01-15T20:54:00.001-05:00

I know the grandparents love Luke in the goggles (as do I) so here are some shots from Luke and Mike’s recent Home Depot Kids Workshop visit.

The New Pullen Park

2012-01-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

Luke and I went to Raleigh this past weekend to meet my sister at Pullen Park. It finally reopened after 2 years of renovations and it sure is nice. The park was SUPER crowded – I think all of Raleigh was there. The temps were in the high 60s and we had fun riding the rides, playing on the playground equipment and walking around the lake.

And for a little flashback, here Luke is on the same train when he was just about 2 weeks old and his cousins were in town visiting.

The carousel is now indoors.

I think his boat days are about done. Every time he passed us he would say “This boat is SLOW”.

Golf

2012-01-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

Luke was having so fun playing golf I had to run in and get the camera.

Silly First then Sweet

2012-01-11T15:31:00.001-05:00

Getting Ready for Baby

2012-01-10T12:39:00.001-05:00

We pulled out the swing and bouncer recently and Luke decided to try out the swing. He actually said it was quite comfy.

He also tried out the crib – we have since put the front on it so no worries of baby girl falling out.

Crafting for Baby Girl

2012-01-09T13:36:00.001-05:00

This craft was inspired by a gift bag I was given at our shower. My friend Stephanie embellished a plain white gift bag with a little piece of cardboard covered in pink, brown and white ribbons which happen to be the colors in the baby room. I thought it was so cute and so I took it off the bag and taped it to a basket that I am going to use to hold diapers & wipes on the dresser. So that isn’t the craft, just the inspiration.

I needed to think of some type of artwork to go over the double bed that is also in the baby’s room. I searched Pinterest and Etsy to see if anyone had made a bigger version of this ribbon covered cardboard but couldn’t find much. After debating if I should do it or not Mike encouraged me just to go ahead and make it and I am glad I did. I got the frame and 3 rolls of ribbon at Michaels for 12 bucks (woo hoo for a good sale just in case it turned out to be a bust) and then used ribbon I already had. It didn’t take long and here is the final product. The back is ugly as I just used tape to hold the ribbon in pace on the back of the cardboard.

Concert

2012-01-07T07:06:00.001-05:00

Our friends stopped by on their way back home last weekend and Luke loved playing with the kiddos – the highlight was the concert. I loved their facial expressions.

Silly Faces

2012-01-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

Luke asked Mike to take photos of him making silly faces. So here they are:

Other Random Christmas Photos

2012-01-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

Playing – he pushes his trains and cars all over the place.

Crafts with Aunt Melanie – must have been some dangerous crafts if the goggles were needed.

Fun at the playground.

Celebrating my mom’s birthday – Luke conducting the birthday song.

Christmas Day

2012-01-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

We had a small Christmas breakfast with my family and opened some gifts before heading to church and then went to my sisters house for dinner and to finish opening the gifts.

Christmas with Amy’s Family

2012-01-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

We arrived home from TN a few days before Christmas to celebrate with my family. We started out by celebrating my dad’s birthday.

The men.

On Christmas Eve we put together a gingerbread house before heading off to a Christmas Eve church service. Luke loved decorating the house and licking the frosting.

A TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS–Part 2

2012-01-01T19:33:00.001-05:00

On our second full day we went to an open gym time with the cousins. The foam pit and the rope swing were Luke’s favorites.

Later that evening we had a big Christmas dinner and exchanged gifts.

While dinner was being made we turned on a video for the boys to watch – loved these photos of the boys and you can see after a while they just couldn’t sit still and watch.

V-O-L-S

2011-12-31T20:48:00.000-05:00

Greg and Tonya had a great idea of the 7 of us going to a UT men’s basketball game while in town.

The boys all decked out in orange before we left!

We bought super high seats but it was so empty since school was out for Christmas break so we moved down a little closer after these photos were taken.

Luke even won a shirt and the VOLS won – WOO HOO!

A TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS–Part 1

2011-12-30T09:06:00.000-05:00

We went to TN before Christmas to celebrate with Mike’s family. We packed our few days with lots of activities – VOLS basketball game, train ride, Christmas Stuff at Bass Pro Shops, open gym time and lots of playing trains with cousins.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

2011-12-28T14:05:00.000-05:00

Again this year we just took our handy tripod to a little waterfall area and snapped some photos in hopes that one would be OK for our Christmas card. Lets just say that getting Luke to sit/stand still and actually smile for a decent family photo gets harder and harder each year. I joked with Mike afterwards that we should all just do a crazy face photo for our cards – maybe next year???

Before our first photo Luke had already fallen in the mulch and gotten dirt all over his jeans – guess that is just real life.

Luke kissing baby sister. He adores his sister on the way and always wants to ‘hug’ and kiss her. He even gives her toys to ‘play’ with. On the flip side he has already started blaming her for stuff – for moving a toy and saying she might take one of his crackers.

Two photos that didn’t ‘make the cut’ to the Christmas card.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T07:21:00.001-05:00

We hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Oh My! Luke in a Tie!

2011-12-21T22:30:00.001-05:00

Mike had the privilege of marrying our friends Nick and Gwen this past weekend. All 3 of us had a great time at their wedding festivities and we broke out the suit and tie that were passed down to us for Luke. I told Luke the day before that he was going to get to wear a tie to the wedding just like daddy (really just prepping him so there wouldn’t be any push back). I thought it was funny but he was so excited to wear a tie. Then on the morning of the wedding one of the first things out of his mouth was “I want to see the tie again”. I still love little man clothes.

I forgot to bring a belt (the wedding was an hour away so we changed him once we got there) so Luke had a hard time keeping his shirt tucked in and pants staying up while running/jumping. You can dress up a 3 year old boy but you can’t keep him from acting like a little boy but I wouldn’t want it any other way!

The happy married couple!

Just one last photo of that sweet face up close!

Church Christmas Program

2011-12-19T20:33:00.001-05:00

Our church had the children sing 3 songs from a Christmas musical during service last Sunday. Luke loved learning the songs and singing them – they were quite catchy songs and I have them all memorized as well since we listened to the CD so much in the car. You could definitely hear Luke above the others during certain parts of the songs – guess that is what you get when you add a 3 year old who LOVES to sing into the mix of mostly Elementary kids.

Aunt Melissa came in town to hear him sing.

ALL ABOARD!

2011-12-17T07:55:00.001-05:00

On our last day in Charlotte we went to IKEA and then headed up to Spencer to the NC Transportation Museum to ride the train and check out all the trains, airplanes, vehicles they have there. Even though Luke looks bored in the train photos he did enjoy it.

LOVE his cheeks in the reflection in the photo below.

Pretty train station.

We got to ride the Turntable at the Roundhouse – you stand on it and it spins around.

One of the Wright Brothers planes is currently at the museum and we also got to see them pull the engine into the roundhouse.

Light Show

2011-12-15T20:19:00.001-05:00

Last year we went to this huge light show at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and thought we would go again this year while in town. It was fun and we were able to do things outside since the weather was bearable but the lights weren’t as spectacular this year (we thought)– oh well.

They had a feeding and petting zoo. Surprisingly Luke got really into feeding them.

They also had a few little rides and we let Luke pick one to ride and he chose the train. After Luke rode the train he said “I wish I was a train”.

Trying out the cars inside – these were for sale!

Kids Museum

2011-12-14T21:39:00.001-05:00

While in Charlotte we went to the Discovery Kids museum and WOW what a nice museum. We stayed much longer than we had anticipated and I think Luke could have stayed a few more hours without getting bored.

NASCAR Museum

2011-12-13T22:38:00.000-05:00

We are not big NASCAR fans so when Mike first mentioned going to this museum during our little family getaway to Charlotte I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Then he found a Groupon deal where we got in 1/2 off so I thought at least we aren’t spending as much money. Mike thought Luke would absolutely love the museum and he was correct and to be honest we all really enjoyed the museum. There are so many hands on exhibits.

About to get in and race each other in the simulator. I would brag and say I won (which I did) but that is only because I didn’t have a little 3 year old on my lap that liked to spin the wheel and make Mike’s car crash.

There was a challenge to do 3 pit stop items in 60 seconds – jack up the car, change a tire, and refuel the car. I think this was Luke’s favorite part of the day.

Baby Blessings

2011-12-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

Our church family threw a shower for us and our little girl on the way and WOW did they outdo themselves. I didn’t take many photos as we were busy opening the abundance of gifts we were graciously given. Our little girl is one blessed and loved little girl. One photo I did take was of the adorable little napkins one of the ladies made – the buttons are little pearls!

Caboose

2011-12-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday after church we went to a neighboring town as we thought the mini train railway system they have was going to be running but it wasn’t. Even though what we went for wasn’t open, Luke still had fun on the caboose.

ALL ABOARD!

Light Show

2011-12-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

I had read and heard about a gated community in town that opens up for the public to drive through 2 days each Christmas. It was really well done and the lights throughout were beautiful and there were tons more that we had expected. I especially loved all the lights out over the lake. It is a seniors community and there were folks at every corner waving, saying “Merry Christmas” and even dancing. We will definitely be making this an annual event. I know the photo quality is horrid being through car glass and night but wanted to capture the event.

Airport Park

2011-12-10T22:36:00.001-05:00

Luke and I went to see my sister one day this past week for lunch and to hang out at the airport park. It was in the high 60s which was a bonus for early December.

Unexpected Fun

2011-12-09T21:12:00.001-05:00

On our way from the parade to the grocery store we saw signs for a grand opening of an urgent care with a fire truck and a race car in the parking lot so we changed lanes and decided to check it out (hooray for grand openings this past week with lots of fun). Ends up we got to see all of that plus have free pizza, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, face painting and see the Chic-fil-A cow. Not too shabby!

Sitting inside the fire truck.

First time Luke has ever wanted to get his face painted.

He chose a robot.

Another Parade

2011-12-08T23:05:00.000-05:00

Luke and I met up with a friend and one of her boys for another Christmas parade. Luke loves parades and was quite insistent that I wave at every float/car/person that went by in the parade.

Chillin before the parade started.

Big Foot

2011-12-07T22:05:00.001-05:00

A new tire store opened in town and for their grand opening they had a Bigfoot monster truck, a monster truck bounce house and prizes free for the public. What a great time for a little 3 year old boy. Luke was mesmerized by the truck. He would bounce for a while and then go stare at the truck, back to the bounce house and then out to stare at the truck.

New fun fact: There is an opening on the passenger side which you have to crawl up through to get into drive this truck.

New Indoor Playground

2011-12-06T16:27:00.000-05:00

We were so excited to hear that a new indoor playground was opening in town. We checked it out last week. We had the place to ourselves. Luke had fun bouncing and climbing and sliding. They also have a glow in the dark putt putt course that we will have to check out some time soon. Hooray for some fun indoor activities for the winter.

Dentist

2011-12-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

Luke went to the dentist for the first time this past week. He did so great and sat there so patiently while they cleaned his teeth. Later in the day he was pretending his cars were going to the dentist so at least he was not traumatized.

He looks so little on the big chair.

The Tree

2011-12-03T14:29:00.001-05:00

We had some fun family time putting up and decorating the tree. We didn’t put up a tree last year with our house on the market so this was Luke’s first year really getting into it and helping. Our tree may be a little bottom heavy with ornaments but we are just going to just let it stay that way. We played Christmas music while decorating and then had cookies and hot cocoa after we were done.

We let Luke put on the star.

Thanksgiving–More Fun with My Fam

2011-12-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

We spent Black Friday at the bowling alley, park and pizza place and didn’t make it to a single store.

It is still quite a site to watch Luke bowl without the ramp. He just runs up and throws the ball. I think the highlight for him was watching the balls come back to the holding area and picking them up.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we spent almost 2 hours at a local park.

Two trains passed by while we were there!

Thanksgiving Day –Amy’s Family

2011-12-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

Some Thanksgiving Day photos with my family.

Thanksgiving–Mike’s Family

2011-11-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

We had lunch on Thanksgiving Day with Mike’s side of the family. Tonya, her mom and Mike’s mom made a delicious spread. We have to pace ourselves as we know another feast is waiting for us for dinner.

The fam out for pizza one evening.

Thanksgiving–Cousins

2011-11-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

When my sister asked Luke on the way home what he did with his cousins he said “I only did 2 things – wrestling and playing trains”. Yep, that is about correct but he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way – he LOVES time with his cousins.

Thanksgiving in TN

2011-11-27T19:47:00.000-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving in TN with both sides of the family. Here are some of the little man in his beloved TN hat. More photos of time with the fam to come.

Christmas Parade

2011-11-26T17:16:00.001-05:00

We went to a Christmas parade last weekend with my sister and her boyfriend. Again, Luke loved it but would say “another marching band” each time one came by (he loved them but there were a ton). After the parade we enjoyed some pizza before heading back home.

It was so crowded that Luke enjoyed the parade from Mike and Melissa’s shoulders.

First time I had ever seen a toilet in a parade.

Swim Lessons

2011-11-23T07:48:00.000-05:00

We signed Luke up for swim lessons for this past week and I am happy to report that he absolutely loved them this time and even agreed to take them again. It helped that everyone in his class had a great time and there was no crying. At this point I just want him to enjoy being in the water and to get more and more comfortable. He had the same teacher as this summer and she is great with the kiddos.

His little class.

On the last day the teacher had them ‘swim’ with noodles tied around them in the 10 feet deep end. Luke thought that was great!

Swim lessons absolutely wore Luke out this time. A few nights this week he was in bed by 7 PM and slept for 13 hours one night which is rare for him.

Shrinky Dinks

2011-11-21T07:17:00.001-05:00

I have memories of doing Shrinky Dink art when I was a child. I was excited when I found a little kit at Michaels a few months ago and had been saving it for a rainy day at home to do with Luke. This week we had a cold rainy stay at home day and so I broke them out. Luke enjoyed watching them shrink in the oven (they shrink to about 1/4 of the size of the colored items).

Check It Out

2011-11-19T20:14:00.001-05:00

My talented friend and former neighbor Kristen has opened an etsy shop with some super cute pouches/clutches/ipod cases she has made. Right now she even has a grand opening sale of free shipping (no code needed) and 20% off (enter code: GRANDOPENING). Check out her site – the items are going fast but I am sure she will add more in the days to come.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kdellasega?ref=pr_shop_more

I snagged the pink small clutch with the zippered pouch.

Playing

2011-11-19T20:02:00.000-05:00

I love watching Luke play.

Science Experiments

2011-11-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

Luke built a Science Kit at Lowes one weekend with Mike. It came with some science experiments you can do with household items so we gave 2 a try on day this week– one using milk and food coloring and one called ‘Dancing Raisins’.

Zoo Again?

2011-11-14T14:50:00.001-05:00

Yep, we went to the zoo for the 3rd time in a month – this membership is getting its workout. We went with Cheryl and her kiddos this time and the morning started out as a beautiful fall day but around lunch time it started to rain and get chillier. Thankfully the rain didn’t keep us from enjoying the zoo. Amazingly, even during the rain tons of animals were right up where we could see them – a zoo keeper said that some of the animals love that type of weather.

Some animals got loose!

Little monkeys.

Luke got to sign his buddy's cast.

Catching the rain.

G&P

2011-11-11T14:01:00.001-05:00

Mike’s folks were in town for a few days last week and sadly these are the only photos we took. We had a good time hanging out together.

And of course, time for a silly photo!

Operation Christmas Child

2011-11-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

I love packing shoeboxes each year for Operation Christmas Child. It is humbling to think that this box is the only gift that some kids around the world get. Our new church has the kids collect change during the month of October and then buy goods and have the kids get together one Saturday morning and stuff the shoeboxes. The kids filled out a form for each box saying their name, age, where they are from, favorite food, toy, why they love Jesus, etc. Then they went through the assembly line over and over and filled up the lots of shoeboxes. On Sunday morning during the service the kids carried in all the shoeboxes and we dedicated them and had a time of prayer for these boxes going to so many children.

We also filled a shoebox on our own and I thought Luke would really get into buying items at the store for a little boy who has very few toys but it really only gave him a case of the “I want this toy as well”. Oops, guess it is good we at least tried. One neat thing you can do with OCC is to pay for the shipping online and print a barcode and they will send you an email showing where your package ends up. It will be neat to see where in the world our box goes.

This morning gave me a glimpse that maybe he is getting it…or at least a little bit of giving to others in need??? He wanted to wear his shirt with an airplane on it as he said he is going to deliver boxes on the plane to kids in other countries that don’t have many toys.

Another Zoo Trip

2011-11-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

We were excited to make use of our zoo membership last week and meet up with some of our sweet friends. It was a beautiful fall day, the zoo was empty and we took our time at each exhibits. I think the kids had as much fun climbing on all the statues as they did seeing the actual live animals.

Yikes – he is HUGE!

Last Day of the Season

2011-11-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday afternoon Mike attended a funeral and then had a meeting so the little guy and I went to our cool park with rides. It happened to be the last day the rides were open for the season.

First Time Writing His Name

2011-11-02T14:22:00.001-04:00

I had been asking Luke if he wanted to work on writing his name and he always says “no”. I was helping out in his class at church recently and some of the other kids were writing their names on their paper so I asked him if he wanted to and he did (see photo below of paper). His letters are all over the place and check out all the lines on the letter “E” - I love it. He has since been willing to write his name but always needs help remember how to make the letter “K”. Guess it is time to work on all the other letters.

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-31T14:13:00.001-04:00

We went to our first ever Trunk or Treat tonight at our church (they have done it annually) this past weekend. Luke enjoyed dressing up as Thomas and enjoyed handing out candy from the trunk as much as he enjoyed getting candy from all the cars. They had lots of candy, a costume contest, pumpkin carving, hot dogs, chips, drinks, & popcorn. It was cold once the sun went down but thankfully we were prepared.

One Photo Please

2011-10-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

Luke and I were headed to a wedding shower last Saturday and since we were both in something other than playground attire I begged him to let Mike take one photo (he is in an anti photo phase). Thankfully the one photo didn’t turn out too shabby.

Trip To the Zoo

2011-10-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

I am wanting to make the most of some good family outings before the weather gets too cold and I start to waddle so last week we went to the NC Zoo – this was Luke’s first time there and Mike and I hadn’t been there in a few years.

Love Luke’s face as he sees the huge chimp through the glass.

I think Luke was as excited to ride this tram as he was to see the animals.

Beautiful fall day – leaves starting to change colors!

State Fair

2011-10-21T23:10:00.000-04:00

My family was in town this past weekend and we all headed to the State Fair for the day – yep, we were there for 7 hours – YIKES! After Luke got over his ‘mood’ we had a good ole time and it wore us all out – fun rides, lots of animals, good food and overall good times.

Luke is missing from our annual family pumpkin picture – he started crying when we tried to get him to be in the photo (part of that mood I mentioned).

Of course the rides were a hit. Luke rode the hot air balloon for the first time this year. It went up and down and round and round and he could also spin his own balloon. About 4 minutes into the ride he started crying – maybe he was getting dizzy.

He said this slide was his favorite this year.

My dad even went down the slide – go D-daddy!

The PBS area is also a big hit for our little man.

Luke collected quite the sticker collection at the fair.

It’s probably a good thing it only comes once a year but we love the good ole fair.

Fire Station Visit

2011-10-19T16:29:00.001-04:00

There is a man from our church who is a fireman at a nearby fire station and graciously invited us to come visit. We got a grand tour of the firehouse and all the fire trucks. Luke even got to turn on a fire truck (which scared him) and hold a fire hose. When Luke was asked if he wanted to drive the truck Luke kept saying “I can’t really drive I can just pretend.”

This was what Luke did when he knew they were going to turn on the siren. The concerned face quickly turned into a happy face.