Dare Devils

Part 2...

Who would have thought our child who severely dislikes sledding in our own backyard would have braved the "big hill" at French Park?? Today was a great sledding day...30's, no wind, lots of sun and a beautiful blue sky. So, we met up with Chad and Aleksandra today after swim lessons to go sledding at French Park. We met at 10:45 and thought if we got 20 minutes out of them it would be a successful adventure. We were there until 12:30! The boys LOVED it. And when I say love I mean CRAZY LOVE. It wasn't busy at all so we could sled as much as we wanted.

Luke could not get enough of it. He went down the little hill with everybody and on his own, he ate lots of snow and even went down the BIG hill with Daddy and Blake. I wasn't sure how well that would go, but he was grinning from ear to ear and saying "whoa"! He would say "choo choo" sometimes too. It was pretty cute.

Blake and Aleksandra had a blast too. They both loved the little hill and went down the big hill with Daddy's a couple of times too. Blake was so much braver than he is at home. I'm sure having a friend helped, but I was so proud of him. There was only one tearful moment when a boy on sled came down the big hill as Blake was at the bottom of the little hill...seemed like a minor collision but Blake did end up with two bruises on his face. He rallied after 5 or 10 minutes and was back in action!

And yes, even I went down the big hill...once. For the record, it's pretty steep and essentially a solid sheet of ice. I nearly took out one little boy at the bottom, but pulled out some creative steering at the last minute. We all had a great time and can't wait to go again!

Swimming Lessons

Part 1 of a 2 Part "Proud Parent Day"...

Blake started round 2 of swim lessons last month. This time around there are no parents in the pool, only teachers, and a smaller group of kids. We thought Blake would be a little resistant to this change, but not so much. He loves it and he especially loves the "boy" teacher. We've missed 2 of the first 4 classes, but Blake caught up just fine and had a great class today. He followed all the instructions and looked like a little pro out there. We were so proud of him!

"What Up G"

This is "G"...our little Luke who lately has found an interest in pulling his pants down. I find it pretty cute at 19 months...not so much at 19.

Up and Down

This guy has had a rough week. As if his Mama being gone wasn't enough, he came down with something on Wednesday that has caused him to fever and cough for the last 4 days. We have tried everything and even taken him to the doc, but apparently this bug just has to run it's course. His throat would tell you he has strep, but the culture taken at the doctor's office would disagree. So he has been up and down for the better part of a week and we are hoping the end is in sight. We miss this little smile and that sparkle in his eye.

Hair today, gone tomorrow...Part Deux

It's official, my Little Luke is no longer a baby. He is every bit of a toddler now, with his new (and sort of first) haircut. He and Mommy headed off to Kid's Hair today for the big event. I was not looking forward to this moment, however, after being called a "her" twice last weekend, we decided enough with the curls. He hated it more than I did so I was able to curtail the tears in my eyes in an effort to keep him still and avoid some major 1st haircut trauma. Even the sucker trick did not work with this little guy. He is still obviously adorable, but it's going to take some getting used to. What will I run my fingers through now??

Bowlers Unite!

You are looking at what could be a picture of the 2024 US Olympic Bowling Team! Watch out all you wannabe's because there are some good little bowlers in here. Who cares that they use gutter guards and a ramp for some speed and direction. Seriously, Devon scored over a 100! I never score much over a 60 so I think he could beat me pretty easily in a few more years sans the ramp.

We had a really good time taking the kids bowling this weekend. It was everyone's first time and this was a great place to start. So much to see and do! Luke did get one turn bowling thanks to Aleksandra giving up her last go. Blake scored somewhere around a 46...I quit paying attention when I saw Devon take the lead by so much. Luke was a trip. Seriously, he had a perma-grin the entire hour and a half and NEVER sat down. I don't know if he was trying to impress his gal pal Riley or trying to keep up with the older kids. It literally took both Kurt and I and TEN other parents to keep him contained! One minute he would be heading off to check out other's people games and the next he would be making his way down one of our lanes. Stealth little guy!

We were lucky that the bowling alley actually had tv's playing the Colt's game right between the tvs that displayed the scores. Nice. After our fun bowling excursion we headed home to watch our Vikings blow their shot at a Superbowl appearance. Note that I said appearance...no way this Indiana girl is going to convert to the purple and gold 100%. Go C-O-L-T-S!!!!

Dear January...PLEASE Go Away!

I need a hug...

We are done with January. Other than my anniversary and few good friends' birthdays...it sucks! I can't remember a January in the last 4 winters that we haven't camped out at the pediatrician's office due to asthma or ear infections. Luke has been battling the most stubborn ear infection of his life since we moved (yes, the middle of December). Luckily his tubes are either working or the holes in which they once resided are still open, because he has had some nasty, stinky drainage this entire time. This week was a real doosie. Monday, Blake was home due to asthma. Wednesday, Luke got sent home from school because of his leaky ears and was told not to come back until they quit draining (not sure why they decided this was the week it was a problem when he has been leaky for over a month). Then by Friday, Blake had caught on to the idea of me being home with Luke and decided he was sick too. Oh and did I mention Kurt was traveling Wednesday thru Friday night so I was going it alone this entire time. I've been to the doc 3 times this week with Luke to get antibiotic shots. They finally identified this stubborn little germ today and now we start on a new oral antibiotic that will hopefully kick it to the curb.

The boys continue to entertain each other (aka - fight) and have found a fun new pasttime in running around the island. Luke is learning to run, walk backwards and get down the stairs on his belly (hallelujah). It's fun watching him practice and be so proud of himself. He is saying new words all the time...medi (medicine), blay-lee (blankie), window, door, bird, hat, nose, pillow, water, ju (juice), and the list goes on. He has added to his repertoire of animal sounds with a piggy, bird, and alligator/crocodile. My personal favorite is when he wants some goldfish he makes a fishy face/noise with his mouth. Really cute. We were so excited that our anti-cuddler actually sat on our laps and sat still for about a half hour Tuesday night. It made my day. What didn't make my day was finding out that he and Daddy had been keeping a very naughty secret from Mommy...I mentioned today that we might need to finally break down and get Luke's bangs cut. Not his curls, just his bangs. I'm still not ready to lose the curls even though I said I would let go when he started walking. Well, what response did I get.."oh, I've already cut his bangs a couple of times." What??? How could they do that? And how did I not even notice? I asked Kurt if he saved the hair and he said "no, it wasn't a real haircut." Maybe not technically, but it was still his first and I missed it and I have no hair to show for it. :(

Blake continues to amaze us everyday with thoughtful questions (aka - why, why, why) and a crazy, active imagination. I made the mistake of trying to explain what happened in Haiti to him the other night. After about 5 minutes of questions I realized I could never answer or at least not answer without leaving him traumatized for the rest of his life, I abandoned the conversation and offered him some candy. He loves to build cranes with his new building blocks and is still obsessed with Monkey George. He went on his first movie date last weekend. Michelle and I took he and Chloe to see the "Chipmunks, the Squeakel." It was a lot of fun. Oh and he has all the sudden found a reason to hate his new bedroom and has ended up in our bed about 99% of the last month. What happened? We have always prided ourselves in that our children slept in their cribs and their beds so well! Tomorrow a big group of us are taking the kids bowling. I believe it's a first for everyone and we are very excited to see how it goes.

Feeling a little better...don't I look like trouble?

Rare Edition - Blake smiling for the camera.

Very common pose....fighting over something. At least they are smiling.

Bathtime - always a favorite time in this house.

High Five - they must have just struck a deal on something mischeivous!