Pull Ups

Hannah pulled herself to the standing position for the first time on Luke's birthday. As you can tell, she was pretty happy about it. Unfortunately for Luke, she can now reach his beloved "big trucks".

Birthday Cake

This year for Luke's birthday cake , I decided to make it a bit more special. I found a ball mold & thought that would be easy to do & the icing shouldn't be hard to do either. So, to work I went. Baking the cake was "a piece of cake" :) Then, came the icing. I had a decorator, but it wasn't the size I needed & I think the icing may not have been as thick as I needed it to be. I finally got the white icing on & thought there was no way that I could get the red stitching on it to make the simple baseball (or so I originally thought). I thought about it for awhile & decided that I had some extra candy laying around (thanks to buying halloween candy a bit early) & it would make for a good happy face. Plus, I had an extra party hat left over from last year that would also work. With no further ado, I set about making my creation. When I was finished, I thought it looked like the head of a snowman ready to go to a birthday party. Anyway, I think Luke enjoyed it & he immediately ate most of the candy when we handed it to him. Hope you enjoyed it, Luke, because I'm not sure I'll show my not so artistic hand again for another few years.

I'm 2!!!

Yesterday, was Luke's second birthday. Can he possible be that old already?! We just celebrated it as a family & enjoyed the "small party". We had one of Luke's favorite meals, pizza, followed by present opening & we finished it off with cake. I think he is almost getting to the age where he's figured out what gifts are. He really got into it towards the end.

Luke is such a special gift to us. It was neat the celebrate it with him even if it does mean just a bit more work. God has certainly blessed us with our little boy!

Murphey's Law

For the past week or so I've been praying that Luke & Hannah would sleep in later. This would allow me more time to shower, spend time with God & maybe one day fit in some exercise before they rise and shine. God has answered that prayer in that they are getting up much closer to 7 and not as close to 6. That is such a blessing!

Today, I still wanted them to sleep in. However, I had scheduled Luke's 2 year check-up and Hannah's weight check-up in back-to-back appointments beginning at 7:30, which meant we needed to leave home around 7:15. (I'm not sure why I did this to myself. Anyway...) Wouldn't you know, as it turned out, I actually had to wake Hannah up this morning and Luke woke up shortly before I needed him to be up. I was so very sad to wake Hannah. Hopefully, this won't come back to bite me on a more sleep-in worthy morning.

Scary Moment

If you know me than you know that Halloween is by far my least favorite holiday. About the only part that I enjoy is handing out treats to the neighbor kids that evening. I don't get into all the decorations or anything. So, if you enjoy it, have fun, but this post isn't favorable to Halloween.

Tonight, we were walking through a store so I could get my glasses & we had to go pass the Halloween display. I didn't even notice it, but Luke stopped dead in his tracks. He wasn't about to move. Off to our left was one of the ugliest witches I've ever seen that was at least a foot taller than Luke & it was making this horrible cackling sound with slight body movements. Yes, a bit scary!!! I picked Luke up and told him it wasn't real and it was just pretend. OK, he'll be 2 on Friday. I don't think he fully understood that. It was very real to him. Anyway, we had to go near that area again as we left the store. Again, Luke stopped at least 10-15 yards from the ugly manequin. We coaxed him pass the area. Thankfully, we didn't have to go pass her. I have to say that I don't know why anyone would want to buy the thing. Plus, why do people want to scare other people?! I don't get it. I'm going to try to pay better attention as we shop for this potentially scary junk & avoid it.

Another Night Out

Chris & I decided to go to the nearby town this evening just for a little bit. I needed to pick up my new glasses (yeah! these are in much better shape) & we were going to grab a bite to eat. Everything went smoothly. I got my glasses, Luke had his first escalator ride (he thought that was pretty neat) and then we headed to Burger King for a quick bite to eat. Afterwards, Luke & Chris had a great time playing on their playground for awhile.

It was on our way home when the excitement began. We hadn't even left the parking lot when we saw a young man being chased by an older man. Then, I man pulled up in a pick-up truck and also started chasing the young man on foot. Chris pulled into the parking lot across the street so we could keep an eye on him as he crossed a couple of residential lots & so he wouldn't be lost. One of the men nearly caught him , but fell when the young man began to cross a busy dual lane highway. It was up a steep hill so they both were winded & the young man didn't run any faster to get away. By this point, we had observed that mall security was across the street watching & calling the police. Chris was still watching & following in the van to make sure he didn't get away. Then, a female citizen pulled up in a vehicle, put the man on his stomach with her knee in his back. The gentleman who had been following him was also helping to hold him down. The police did eventually arrive. (You would have thought that they would have arrived a bit sooner since we were basically in the police department parking lot!) We think he had stolen some sort of CD or game from the mall. It made for an exciting few moments, but it is actually quite sad that someone would stoop so low for so little money and for a few minutes of fun.

You might remember a couple of months ago we also had an interesting trip home from this same nearby city when we got stopped at a sobriety check point. I doubt if I will be going alone by myself at night any time in the near future.

Heartwarming Luke Thoughts

It is so very neat to see Luke beginning to learn about God, hearing His stories and praying. The times that really touch me are when we pray & to see him fold his little hands (ok, he's not perfect. Occasionally, he sneaks a bite to eat before the end) and say "Amen" when we're finished. Most mornings I try to read out of the Beginner's Bible (it was a gift from the church when we had Hannah dedicated). It has stories from the very beginning of Genesis to the end of the New Testament. I like it because the stories are quite short and in basic terms that Luke can understand. I love it when he says "more" at the end of the story. He wants to hear another story before we put it back. We'll make it through the Bible in short order. I think I'm just going to start at the beginning when we finish it, though.

Funny Luke & Hannah Moments

These pictures just makes us laugh.

Who Knows?

I have been so excited for Luke this fall that he now can go to a real Sunday school class. Plus, they have AWANA for 2 year olds at this church, Puggles (very similar to Sunday school at this age, but later they have a primary focus of memorizing Bible verses). He's actually a little young, but I think he enjoys it a lot more and I feel that its a better use of his time. All of that to say, it's kind of funny when you ask him what he did. One early conversation sounded like this:

Did you sing songs? Ummmm no
Did you listen to a story? Ummmm no
Did you have a snack? Ummmm no (yes, you did there are crumbs on your face)
Did you have juice? Ummmm no

Ok, I think you get the point. I guess he's getting a bit better. Last night I asked him similar questions after Puggles

Did you sing songs? sing
Did you listen to a story? story
Did you have a snack? snack
Did you have juice? juice

I guess each answer is no longer "ummmm no". We're moving in the right direction. It will be fun to hear what he has to say once he can communicate that to us.

The Chair

Today we bought our first official desk chair. Until now, we had a plastic lawn chair that served us well for the first 4 years of our marriage and who knows how many years it served Chris before we were married. Unfortunately, last winter it met its demise. I guess it really wasn't made to hold two grown adults at the same time. Since then, we had resorted to one of our folding chairs. So, it is with great delight that I'm now sitting in it. You can now be assured that as we catch up with each of you through e-mail or in your blogs that we are now sitting in comfort.

Writing this post seemed a bit materialistic, but I decided to write it just so I could sit in "the chair".

My Little Shoplifter

Hannah loves things that are very soft. She clutches them, gets excited & buries her face into them over & over again. This morning we were shopping & she grabbed a super soft sweater & was having the time of her life with it. The unfortunate part was that I didn't notice that she'd grabbed anything until I was well into the next store. Then I had a dilemma because Luke was also telling me had to go potty. (He's not communicating that very well yet so I definitely wanted to encourage that behavior). I did decide to quickly return the sweater before taking Luke to the restroom. I figured wet pants were far better than a shoplifting accusation. Thankfully, Hannah easily relinquished the sweater & Luke made it to the restroom in time (Actually, that's another story that I'll save for later).

It's a Small World

I know this is a well used phrase, but every once in a while I am truly reminded of how "small" the world really is.

Yesterday afternoon, Luke, Hannah & myself took our daily afternoon walk to the mailboxes. Along the way, I ran into some other mothers & all their kids were playing together. I had met a couple of them, but there were a couple that I had not. Anyway, we all made introductions & Luke was off to play (he hesitated a little bit, but didn't want to leave later). I found out one of the other moms was originally from Terre Haute, Indiana. It's not really near where I'm from, but when you're far from home, it's the same state & that's all that matters. As we talked further, her brother taught at Tipton High School, which is only about 10 minutes from where I taught. She went on to say that she had dated a guy from Hamilton Heights, which is where I taught. She had been to Cicero, Indiana! It's always fun for me to have these conversations & it makes home not feel so far away.

Our Sick Car and My Handy Man

Kim: Did you turn the car off?
Chris: Yes
Kim: Why does it sound like it's still running?
Chris: The fan stays on if it gets too hot
Kim: Oh
Chris: It got hot on the way home (not too long of a trip & he can't go over 35 mph so this is not a good sign), plus the alternator isn't working and the power steering went out. I'm going to have to look into it.

Well, this was the conversation when Chris got home last night and is a good synopsis of what our evening was like. When I heard all about those problems, I thought it was going to be a pretty big deal. However, my husband, who never really gets flustered about anything, ate, changed his clothes, got out our handy Saturn fix-it book and got to work. He originally thought it was a belt, but it ended up being some tension thing that the belt sits on broke. It was a chore getting it off (& probably back on, but I wasn't home for that part), but he did and got it fixed. Luke was his little helper all evening and he had the time of his life, which was evident by the amount of black he also had on himself. So, our 10 year old car with 116,000+ miles on it continues to keep on chugging thanks to my very handy man!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

OK, I know I keep talking about the weather. However, the mornings and days have been absolutely beautiful here. It has been in the mid-50s in the mornings and around 80-85 during the afternoon - a pleasant change after the intense summer heat & humidity. I think I could live most days right at these temps.

Despite the beautiful weather here, it still doesn't seem too much like fall. I'm used to cool, cool mornings, the chance of frost, beautiful leaves on the trees and blue jeans and a sweatshirt (it's not quite cool enough for those here). I think I'm going to missed the more defined seasons, though. Yes, it's a beautiful day and don't worry it will be enjoyed. However, I miss the beauty of each separate season.

Sweet Dreams

Luke has always been a good sleeper. However, sometimes he gives us a good laugh as to how he fell asleep. It's almost as if he was playing/moving around and fell asleep mid move. Last night, I went to check on him before I went to bed and this is what I found. He was deep in sleep - never knew that the camera flash went off or that Daddy put him into a safer sleeping position. It was sweet dreams for Luke!

Germs II

After reading Kim's post the other day I thought I needed to add my first comment. She wrote

Chris took complete care of the kids - feedings, messes, everything!

I didn't really think that was descriptive enough. WARNING The following may be considered GROSS and/or GRAPHIC. I would have described it as "In spite of having milk that curdled in the stomach of our children thrown up on him multiple times, Chris took complete care of the kids - feedings, messes, everything." That sounds much better doesn't it? Did you know that a raisin in your stomach for 6 hours looks surprisingly similar to an uneaten one? I've also decided that changing diapers will never compare to picking raisins and other small bits out of the carpet.

Life Through the Eyes of an (Almost) Two Year Old

Life for Luke is rather carefree. It is such a delight to see how he views the world. It would be nice if I was just a fraction as carefree as he. Here are a few examples:

Luke's view: the big balls at Target are meant to be thrown and chased in the store and bounced to the checkout (ok, he had a little help with that one)
Mom's view: please be careful and don't hit anyone

Luke's view: fuzzy slippers say "meow"
Mom's view: those look comfy

Luke's view: things that go "beep, beep" are really neat
Mom's view: quick! turn the van alarm off before it wakes up the neighbors (Luke had Chris's keys on the other side of the house & the van alarm started going off. You wouldn't think that it would work that far away & through so may walls, but it did!)

Even though life is quite carefree for Luke, he also is quite particular (hmmm. . . I wonder where he got that from). Anyway, here are a few "musts" in his life.

He must wear his shoes. He wants to wear his shoes nearly all the time except in bed. I'm not exactly sure why, but maybe it is so he's ready to go the minute we are. Not only does he want to wear his own shoes, but he will get us our shoes when he thinks we need to go somewhere.

This morning he spilled just a little milk. Without any prompting, he went and got a towel and cleaned it. OK, the towel didn't make it back to the kitchen, but he got the job mostly all done.

He must also have all articles of clothing at all times. He doesn't like it if we leave his shirt or shorts off even for a short period of time.

Germs

Well, the area germs have found us. We all are or have been sick over the past couple of weeks. Luke, Hannah and myself ended up with a really bad head cold a couple of weeks ago and I think we're still getting over that a bit. Then, bug number two got us this week - the stomach bug. Hannah got sick Tuesday and the Luke & I followed yesterday. Chris is the last one to get it today. I think the kids are fine now. I'm still a bit leery about giving Luke anything besides crackers & Siera Mist, but he doesn't really act like he wants anything else anyway. I'm also on the mend, but it's taking a bit longer to get my energy back. Thankfully, Chris got his flight in last night & isn't scheduled to do anymore this week.

I do have to sing the praises of my husband. Yesterday, I was pretty out of it (Chris's words). Chris took complete care of the kids - feedings, messes, everything! I'm so thankful for this.

We should be back in commission shortly and I hope I don't have to miss anymore Bible studies because of sickness. I think we've had enough!

MOPS

I attended my first MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting this past Tuesday. I wanted to blog about it, but I'm not really sure what to say, but "interesting". I think I'll need to go to a few more before I feel a real connection at these meetings. Plus, this was the first one of the year so it wasn't the same format that they always use - I think. Anyway, they spent a good portion of the beginning time getting to know a few of the ladies at your table. They had a questionnaire & you basically shared your answers. Then, they proceeded to present ideas on various housewarming gifts. (The theme this year is about the house). We finally finished our time together with a craft. We made coasters out of common white bathroom tile, paper napkins & mod podge - easy & neat.

Hopefully, the next time I blog about a meeting, I can find a better description than "interesting"!

Finally

Even though summer doesn't officially end until the end of next week, they said at church yesterday that fall had arrived since our temperatures were now below 100. We are very thankful for this. I've finally been able to take the kids out for a bit in the morning and today we actually got to play for awhile since it was so nice and cool. I even opened my windows since the outside temp is lower outside than inside. I can hear the birds singing. That is sooooo nice! It will be short lived since the high for today is still in the mid-90s. Yes, there is hope on the horizon, but I'm enjoying each little piece as I get it.

Freedom Fest

The church we've been attending has an annual outreach event called "Freedom Fest". They have a kids area, food vendors and a free outdoor concert (the headliners are big names). We didn't really know what to expect, but it is a really big deal drawing several thousand people from the surrounding area.

Luke's favorite part was the pony ride. He thought it was so neat. Obviously, Chris walked beside him, but Luke did great & didn't even really need his Daddy there. We had to wait in a pretty long line, but it was worth it after seeing him smile. He also gave Daddy an impromptu, huge hug when they were done.

Monitor Confusion

We regularly speak with Luke & Hannah's grandparents over the web cam. It's a great invention! It's really nice for them to be able to experience just a little bit how they are growing and for us to share in each other's lives.

Anyway, tonight, we decided to call the grandparents on the laptop. We usually use the desktop, but tonight Chris set it up on our coffee table so they could see more of the kids & watch them play better. Luke was very cute but a bit confused. He really likes to show Grandpa & Grandma his trucks. So, the first thing he did was show those to them & then set them behind the monitor. I think he thought they could see them better. He then went on to really investigate whether they were behind the monitor or on the monitor. He really wasn't sure. He also gave them kisses. However, he was out of range of the camera so they couldn't see him and we were the only ones who could enjoy it. His final attempt at "loving" them was patting the back of the monitor. Maybe he was giving them a pat on the back. Even though I don't think he ever figured out exactly where Grandpa & Grandma were, it was really neat to watch him attempt to give them love.

Where in the World was Chris?

Did you figure it out from the hints above? Probably not since there aren't too many landmarks.

Anyway, we are very thankful to have Chris back from his first TDY (temporary duty) to Spain and Portugal. He was only gone for about four days and we were very blessed to be able to talk every day he was gone. I'm just glad that he's now home. Things seem to run so much more smoothly when he's here. I think we'll all sleep better with him now home as well.

Oh yes, where was Chris when the above pictures were taken. He was at Lajes, Azores, Portugal (for those of you like me who would have to look up where that is, it is one of the tiny islands off the coast of Portugal). He said this was a really pretty area. A green, volcanic island with very old buildings, marinas and beautiful weather. He thought it would be a fun place to visit. In the top picture, he just climbed a tree because it was near where they were doing a bull run (not like the running of the bulls. These were small cows with horns on a rope.) By the way, I don't think he was up there to get away from the bull. In the bottom picture, he just found a wall near the beach and decided it would be fun to try to climb.

This was our first test run for the deployments to come. God is good and provides so much for us. We're glad Chris is back, though!

Sweet Gesture

Today I went on my weekly trek to get my allergy shot at the base clinic. To make sure that no reactions happen, they have me wait a half hour after getting the shot. It's really not that big of a deal. Most of the time, I need to take the kids with me so that makes the time pass either quickly or not so quickly depending on how you look at it. They usually do a pretty good job. Anyway, today they had a few extra copies of a local family magazine sitting around. Luke decided that nearly everyone else that came to wait after us needed their own copy of this magazine to peruse for the duration of their wait. They would sit down and he would promptly provide them with a magazine. I thought it was a very sweet gesture. I'm thankful that the receivers of his gift were also quite gracious.

Hannah's "First Steps"

I thought you might enjoy this short video clip of Hannah the first day we saw her crawl. She's getting much more efficient and it helps not to wear dresses (very cute, but not too practical for crawling). She's also starting to adventure from the six foot radius around her. She really enjoyed checking out under the kitchen table yesterday. Plus, Luke has some pretty fun stuff so she's been checking that out as well.

By the way, this is my first experiment at including a video clip. I hope you don't have any problems viewing it. If so, I might have to forgo this in the future or figure something else out. Enjoy!