2007

Happy New Year, Everyone!! I hope you have a wonderful, adventurous, growing and exciting 2008. Remember to look back on this past year and think of all that God has done in your life. It will amaze you!

We're back!

We just arrived home yesterday from our wonderful vacation to Disney World, Sea World and my hometown. What a wonderful vacation it was! We had almost 2 weeks with my family and loved every minute. Well, maybe not the getting sick parts, but you get the point. Lukey was such a trouper taking naps in the stroller and going on all the fun rides with us. He absolutely loved seeing all the fish, sharks and dolphins at Sea World. He was captivated by the millions of lights at Disney. He even got his first taste of German food at Epcot and Mickey Mouse ice cream! YUM! What a fun time we had!! I'll be posting more about the trip when I have more time, but here are some of my favorite pictures:

My pants!

I was sitting on the couch this afternoon watching Luke when he started making all of these complaining whines. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I could only see his upper half and knew that he wasn't stuck on something or anything like that. Hmm... maybe he's just tired. I get up from the couch and finally see all of him. I couldn't help but start laughing hysterically. His pants fell down to his ankles so he couldn't move. HA HA! He usually wears cloth diapers, but since we're going on vacation and will use disposables while there I decided I better make sure the pack that we have still fit him. He's wearing one right now and I since they're a lot trimmer his pants are now too big. It never ends!! I guess I now need to find a belt!

Green Things

A friend shared this site with me a few days ago and made me realize that I can do this! I'm beginning my new journey of cleaning without harsh chemicals. I can't wait. I really hope this works well so that I can throw or give away all of the dangerous chemicals in our home. Hippyish? you might say, but I feel like I'm protecting Luke even more. Does anyone else do this? Let me know about your experience!

Life is busy!

No time for pictures! We've been so busy lately. I'm so ready for vacation! It's still snowy here and FREEZING! I've decided that I'm not a winter person. I don't like being cold and having to wear 8 layers to go outside. I don't like having cold feet no matter how thick my socks are. And I really don't like how dry the house gets because the heat is blowing every 10 minutes. Summer, where are you? Come back!!
JD's wrapping up the semester and doing a fabulous job! Luke is pulling himself up on everything within reach and scooting across the floor in record time. And I'm trying to stay on top of everything. What a busy life! We love it though and wouldn't trade it for anything!

Let it snow!

We woke up today to a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I thought that Luke was ready for his first encounter. Here's how it went:


"Oh, I think I like this. I really wish I could move though."


"Snow is so pretty. I wonder how it tastes..."


"Ahhhhhhh! It's cold!"


"Dada save me! I'm freezing"


"I did not like that at all! What did you guys do to me? Take me inside now!"

Magic Diaper

This is an odd thing to post, but I'm just so amazed by it. I made this diaper a few weeks ago and it turned out ok. Nothing wonderful, but it works and I like the fabric. So, we put it on Luke for the first time and he poops. Ok, next diaper, right? Well, after washing it we put it back on him one day and he poops again. Hmmm.... coincidence? I'm not sure. So, I again wash it and we put it back on him another day and voila, he poops again. Every time, save one, that he's worn this diaper he has pooped in it. I think it's truly magic. Amazing, huh? Maybe a little gross too! I'm never going to put this diaper on him when we leave the house. I just can't trust it to not use it's magic while we're out! HeHe!

Cheese!

Thanksgiving was a little different this year. We ended up staying home and invited some of JD's family over. We kind of put it all together at the last minute, but it turned out great thanks to my chef husband. I spent the day holding Luke because he had a high fever and was miserable. I'm sad to say that I have no pictures of his first Thanksgiving. He didn't get dressed up, and he wasn't in the best mood. He did however have his first taste of Turkey and mashed potato's, which he loved. I thought I would post a picture I had taken of him a few days before. He's much happier here anyway!

Look what I can do!

The other day I went in to get Luke from his nap and this is what I found. He had pulled himself all the way up to standing!! He was so proud of himself! He didn't know how to get done from standing, but he was grinning from ear to ear when he saw me. I guess he figured that if he yelled loud and long enough I would come and rescue him. He was right, of course. Now he pulls himself up all the time on anything that he can reach. We're trying to teach him how to get down, but so far he doesn't get it. Hopefully for his head's sake he'll understand soon!!

I thought I'd post a picture of JD and I. We haven't taken a picture of just the two of us in a long time. We were at his brother's wedding in a gorgeous church. It was beautiful.

I also wanted to update everyone on a prayer request. We took Luke to the doctor's on Friday and discovered that he hasn't gained any weight since August. He's doing fine developmentally, but he's below the charts on weight. The doctor is a bit concerned, but we're not doing anything drastic yet. He'll go back in 6 weeks to check again and we'll go from there. Please prayer for our little peanut that he will start to gain. He's very active now so it's not a huge surprise to us, but we still want him to be healthy. Thanks!!

What a big boy!

Just thought I would share with all of you that Luke pulled himself up to standing today! We were so proud! You should have heard all of the clapping and chearing for him. He just looked around and smiled at us. I don't think he knew what to make of it, but he was excited to be standing. Better watch out now, Rome! He's coming to get you!
Here's a pic of Luke yesterday in our new favorite shirt. He was even eating it for a while. Gotta love him!

Happy Halloween!

From our little Pumkin!

Pumpkin patch and Corn Maze

I don't have time to write much, but I wanted to post some pictures from this weekend. We went to a corn maze and pumpkin patch with my sister. It was lots of fun! Here are some pictures of us. I haven't uploaded them all, so this is a short preview. Thanks for coming up Auntie!!

Slow down!

Life gets so busy sometimes. I have to remind myself to take a breath and enjoy the moment. While I was busy doing 8 things at the same time today Luke looked up at me from the floor and reached his hand up. He was asking to be held. I realized that I won't have this time with him forever, and I really need to treasure the time I do have. So, we sat in the rocking chair and cuddled, and I sang songs to him. He loved it and so did I. Those are the things that I'm going to remember, not how clean the kitchen counter was.

Here is a picture I took of Lukey today. He was so happy to just sit there and pose!

What have I been up to lately?

Well, the answer to that is EVERYTHING. Luke is now scooting around the whole house exploring everything he can get his hands on. I have to watch him constantly now. It's so fun to see him discover something new.
I've also been doing lots of sewing lately. It's my new favorite hobby during nap times. (of course while also doing laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc). Here are some of my latest creations:

A shopping cart cover. Yes, I am a germaphobe!!


A diaper cover. I've actually made several of these.


And KatieLegs for everyone.


My next endeavour is making Luke some soft soled shoes/slippers. I'll post a pic if they turn out.



Oh, and my parents came for a visit too. We miss you guys!! Thanks for a great weekend!

Teeth, Teeth Everywhere!

Look how big this boy has gotten! Here he's playing peek a boo with me while he's eating lunch. He figured out that when he close his eyes, I disappear. So when he opens them and I say, "Peek a Boo" he laughs hysterically. So cute! You can see all four teeth too.



This one is just for fun. He's modeling his new pirate diaper.

Big Boy

We've been so busy lately! Sorry! I will post a pic of what I've been up to soon, but I wanted to post this picture of Lukey that I took today. It's not the best lighting, but you can see how big he's getting. Hopefully soon he'll let us take a picture of his 4 teeth. He looks so grown up now! Oh and it got hot here again, so that's why he's so cooly dressed.

Look what we found!

We were surprised to discover this earlier today! Poor kid! He's a trooper though! Oh, and at the beginning we were trying to get his cute laugh on film. He wasn't too into that at the moment!

Jumping Lukey!

Here is a video from last month of Lukey playing in his Jumperoo. He loves it. Don't mind me talking!!

Going Green

I was thinking today about the things that we do around here to help our Earth and honestly to obey God. We started cloth diapering at the beginning of August. I wasn't sure how it would go, but it's been easy, fun, a little messy and maybe a little addicting too. Luke does much better in them too! We make our own baby food. That is REALLY easy and cheaper! So far, Luke likes it. We recycle. You're kind of forced to here in MI, but I'm glad that we are. We wash our clothes in a HE (high efficiency) washer (thanks to J's parents:)) We hand wash our dishes. We try to eat more natural things instead of processed junk food. I'm proud to say that we do these things. I'm not a hippy by any means. I just think it's valuable to teach Luke to take care of what God has given us. What do you do that's green? Any more tips for me?

Here come the pics!

Ok, you asked for more pics, so here they are!


This one is Luke showing off his new mom made babylegs. He loves them, they work great and they were super easy to make!



Here I was just trying to get a cute pic of Luke, and he decided that it would be fun to touch the camera, eat the camera strap and generally just laugh at me. He's such a ham!


This one is kinda gross, sorry! These are Luke's two front teeth trying so hard to make their appearance. I should've timed how long it took me to get this pic. He was not excited!


This is what we wake up to every morning. He has the sweetest face and almost always gives me a huge gummy smile that just makes my heart melt (even at the crack of dawn).


And lastly, this is of Luke sucking his thumb. I love that he sucks his thumb. I feel like I passed that on to him. He loves doing it and it's SO cute!

My how this kid has grown! I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is such a sweet, loving and beautiful baby. Can you believe he's already 7 months old? Where does the time go?!?

It's been a while!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been really busy here. JD started back to school today, Luke is trying to cut both top front teeth, I'm really into sewing right now, and we moved Luke out of our room and into his nursery. He's loving it so far. Oh, and did I mention that he can now scoot across the floor in seconds. He's so fast and into everything!! I promise that I'll post pics soon. I need to get the camera out and start taking pics again.

Collage

Here are some random pictures that I put together. This program is so easy to use and fun. We always have so many pictures of Luke, and it's hard to post them all. Collages are a great way to resolve that issue!

More Pictures

I haven't posted pictures of Lukey in a while, and thought I would show you what he's up to.


"Mmmmm! This looks delicious mom!"


Here I was trying on his winter hats to see if any of the ones from last year fit him. I think I'd better get knitting again. Or maybe even Auntie??


This is his favorite teether. Nana bought it for him.


And last but not least, here is a group shot of our family!

Stitches Through Time

I finally drug this out of the basement and put it to use. This belonged to J's grandmother, and it has been so fun to use! I'm in the process of learning how to make my own cloth diapers and have been practicing different stitches and patterns to see what works best. I'm no where near perfect, but I'm having lots of fun. As I was looking through the manual, I found LOTS of hand written notes from his grandmother to tell me how to do things in simple terms. I'm so thankful for those little clues! If she hadn't taken the time to write it down I would still be trying to figure out how to back stitch! Makes me think of what I've written down that will hopefully one day help someone else. Hmmmm. That's something to ponder for today!

Barefoot

I was just looking at this and decided I wanted to post it on here. I love this picture!! Makes me think of summertime and picnics. I love running through the grass, barefoot and feeling the grass in between my toes. It's just the best! What do you like to do in the summer?

Rome

It's been a while since I've posted anything except pics of Luke, so... I thought today was a good day to post other pics. Before the baby I loved taking pics of our adorable, big O' dog, Rome. He is such a sweet, lovable dog. I'm so glad that he's part of our family. He's easy going and wouldn't hurt a fly (actually, he would probably be scared of it)! His life-long love is tennis balls, hands down. I've never seen a dog more addicted to playing ball. He keeps our throwing arms strong and gets us outside no matter what the weather is. We love him!!

Look what I have for you!

"Ohhhhh. What's that mom?!?"

"Taste's funny."

(Do I even need words?)

We'll try again tomorrow!

We miss you already!

We were so excited to have Luke's uncle here for a visit this past weekend. He just left us to fly back home and we already miss him. Thank you so much for coming, J! I know Luke enjoyed seeing you and playing with you (and so did we). Come visit again soon!

Swimming Baby

Luke loves the pool! He splashes and smiles as the water ripples. He kicks his little feet, though he doesn't really move. He even went under water a couple of times (much to his dismay). He never cried but was shocked at the cold water on his face. I wish we had gotten the look on his face on film. It was funny. I'm such a mean momma!
We miss being able to go to the pool whenever our heart desired. We miss watching the little children taking their swim test and getting so excited over their pink bracelet. We miss the tadpoles playing tag in the shallow end. We miss hanging out with our friends on the pool stairs. Oh, the days of summer camp. We miss you!

We're Home!!

We finally made it home. It was a long trip and many miles, but we made it. We're glad to be back, but are not excited to unpack all of our stuff. It's amazing how much stuff we brought back!! Oops!
I'm so glad to be able to post again. I must admit it was hard to do so this summer. All of the pics in the collage were taken by my talented sister- Thanks, Auntie!! Now you can all see how much our little guy has grown.
I promise to post more soon! Summer friends, we already miss you all!!

Having fun at camp

That's right. We're having a great time here at camp. Life is busy, but it's great to be here and to be around my family and our friends again. It will be hard to leave. The first week of camp both JD and I caught a horrible sickness that took us down for a couple of days. That wasn't so fun, but now that we're over that we're enjoying the kids again and laughing like normal. It's amazing how much we take for granted that we have good health. It's only when it's gone do you realize how truly blessed you are.
JD is driving boats this afternoon, so I think Lukey and I will join him and go for a ride. Happy 4th of July to everyone! Have a great holiday!!

As soon as I figure out how to post pictures from the net, I'll post some new pics of Lukey. He's growing like a weed!

Packing!!

No time for pictures. Our house is full of suitcases, there's tons to be done and there's still everyday life that continues without fail. Will we ever get everything finished? Good thing I have a plane ticket! That makes it so that we cannot delay leaving and I will get to MD no matter if everything's accomplished or not. Luke has decided that he is finished with sleeping through the night, which makes it really hard to do anything during the day because our eyes are only half opened. Oh well! Beach- Here we come!! I call the hammock!!

Only 1 week left before we leave for vacation then camp. Wow, summer is already here! Can you believe it? Most of these pictures you've probably already seen, but I had fun making this collage and wanted to show it off. Luke is growing up so fast and getting so big. He already weighs 13 pounds! He's "talking" lots now and blowing bubbles. He loves to try to stand up with our help of course and he is quick to smile at anyone. He's such a little ham. I can't wait for all of you to meet him or see him again. I just love showing him off to everyone!