Duluth or Bust!

Well we did it...we took our first family vacation with all 5 of us. It was fairly spontaneous or we would not have done it. I think the comment "you know in a few years this could be really fun" pretty much sums it up...

No, seriously, we did have fun. We drove "up north" (funny for those of you who already think we live in Canada) to Duluth, MN for 2 nights this week to enjoy the last few days of summer and see the beautiful Lake Superior while it's not covered in ice. The car ride was uneventful (it's only about a 2 hour drive) and Blake didn't even nap on the way there. He kept repeating "Mommy/Daddy ready?" for about a half hour on the way. This of course after we had asked him a few times Thursday morning if he "was ready?" for our vacation. Note to self...he repeats EVERYTHING!

Highlights - We stayed in a lovely hotel right on Lake Superior in an area called Canal Park. The view from our room was gorgeous. Since Molly was with us our activities were somewhat limited (no zoo or aquarium this time), but we had a really nice time going for long walks along the Lake and people/boat watching from our balcony. It was fun to walk out to the lighthouse and see the lift bridge going up and down. We also got to see quite a few shipping vessels coming out of the port and the Coast Guard coming in. We went swimming in a pool that was as warm as bath water (that's my kind of pool) and Blake had fun practicing swimming and jumping off the side and Luke enjoyed lounging poolside. We had a really nice dinner at an Italian restaurant one night and a couple even commented on how well behaved our boys were (note that half of the dynamic duo was asleep most of the time!). We had a toast to our first family vacation and for Kurt and my 11th anniversary of "dating" that falls this weekend.

Lowlights - Staying in confined quarters with a dog that has a tendency to bark at other dogs (and we were staying in a VERY pet friendly hotel) and with a 7 week old who tends to be on the fussy side some days and a 2 year old that without a nap and normal bedtime...well I'll just leave it at that.

Overall, we had a great time. It was good to get out of the house and enjoy what's left of our summer. The weather was absolutely perfect too. There were definitely some great memories made and we left excited about the possibility of a next time!

PS - Funderburk family, whatever you have done to train our dog for us....THANK YOU! She was so well behaved on our walks and we know we had nothing to do with it! We kept commenting on how she was the best behaved of our "kids"!

Get a Grip...

literally. Luke has a really strong grip and has a tendency to grab onto us for dear life whenever he's being held. Shirts, hair, necklaces...anything he can get his tiny little fingers around. It's almost as if he knows when we are about to put him down and then he starts hanging on. Sort of endearing and funny all at the same time!

Family Pictures Part 2

Yippee - We got the links to the finished product today!! I was so excited to check my email and see that the links had come.

Below are the web addresses for the slideshow and the online album which you can order from (because I'm sure anyone that views the pictures will want to plaster their walls with our family pictures!). The slide show is cool...she set it to music. It doesn't take very long and if you're related to me or know me very well you can imagine the amount of tears I shed watching it the 1st, 2nd, 3rd...time.

http://www.sewellphotography.com/jarrett/
www.jarrett.photoherald.com

The main point of the pictures was to capture Luke and his "newness"...I think she couldn't have done a better job. He looks absolutely precious. She was also able to catch Blake and his "I only live in this moment" two year old mentality. To me that is priceless as someday I will look back and will only remember that stage through pictures like these. I think she did a very good job of capturing how much Kurt and I love these 2 little boys and our sweet little Molly. Smile.

Who needs toys?

When you can have this much fun just laying around!

Luke and I were having playtime today...which for a 6 week old consists of him laying on his back or stomach and Mommy speaking nonsense to him in an abnormally high pitched, sing song voice to try and get a reaction. As you can see, the desired outcome was achieved (smile).

I really like the one that shows how strong his little neck is. It's been that way from the beginning. Oh and the one of his double chin...evidence that we are definitely not starving this little piggy!

And Daddy wonders what we do all day!

Movin' on up...

to size 1 diapers. We've officially grown out of the newborn sized diapers even though we've been trying to squeeze Luke into the last few packs we have on hand. I guess when they say 10lbs max on the package they mean it. The moment of truth came today when I was holding Luke and all of the sudden my favorite, fabulous, old, grey, IU t-shirt became soaked (and I mean SOAKED!!)! Not to divulge too many details, but I have to wonder how something so small could produce so much pee!

The best part (only a mother who had just been soaked by her own baby can say this) was that he was so happy and full of smiles once I changed him into dry clothes that I couldn't help but laugh and smile along with him. Luckily I had the camera nearby!

Gang's all here!

Today was Brandon's big birthday party and all the "gang" showed up...Chloe, Abby and Blake. His Mommy calls him "Tiger" so his party was all about tigers. The kids were in toddler heaven with the giant inflatable tiger bouncy thing that they had in their backyard. It was a blast to see all of them jumping around and squealing.

Blake also had fun getting to take a jeep ride before we left too. When you have older siblings you have much cooler toys!

We just love seeing these little ones together. They always have so much fun together and get along so well since they have been at Step by Step from the time they were tiny tots.

New friends and old friends...

This was a fun week. On Tuesday our friends Alissa, Sean and Stella came over for a visit. It's always so fun to see baby Stella and see what new tricks she has learned...this time it was crawling! We thank them for bringing us dinner too. It was fun to see Stella eat spaghetti for the first time too!

We also had a lunch date with Krissy and Carter this week. Blake missed out on that visit, but Luke and Carter became fast friends. We can't wait for Baby Hutchinson to arrive so Luke can have another new friend!

Family Pictures...

We had our first round of family pictures with all "5" of us taken on Monday. We had so much fun. Blake was being such a cutie and we captured Luke at a good time too. The one with Blake and Luke melted my heart instantly. There is something to be said for seeing your little babies together like that.

Our family and friends (specifically the Funderburks :) ) will be happy to know we got some good ones with Molly this time too!!

The photographer was great (highly recommend) and she has posted a few of the pics on her blog already. Click below to see more...

http://sewellphotography.typepad.com/weblog/

The rest of the pictures will be posted on a website in another week or so. I am dying to see them all and will share the link when they are ready.

Cousins make the best buddies...

If ever there was a reason to award a 7 year old an Olympic Medal this was it...

Cousin Jacob and Blake were an absolute riot this weekend. I'm sure there are much more fun ways to spend your weekend than having a 2 year old constantly hang off of you and boss you around, but Jacob was such a saint and not only tolerated it, but had some fun with it too. Blake already misses him and can't wait to see him again next month.

This picture sums it all up!

Room Redo

I had said if we had a little girl I would probably redo the nursery to add a little pink...but when we had Luke I became even more determined to add more blue. It was very neutral before - maybe a little more feminine than masculine. I found a really cute construction themed bumper that matched our yellow walls and other green accents. It just seemed perfect and it gave me a project to work on.

So ta-da! There are still a few details I'm working out, but you get the idea. Yes, I painted the picture of the dump truck. I know I am no Picasso, but it was fun to do.

Me and the boys!

We were getting ready to go to the Science Museum with Aunt Jill, Uncle Ross and Maddie and Jacob and both boys were being especially good so Daddy snapped this shot...me and "my boys."

Happy 1 Month Birthday Luke!

It is so hard to believe an entire month has passed since we welcomed Little Luke into our world. He is now up to 10lbs, 3oz!! What a little piggy! We have noticed that he eats ALL the time, but we weren't expecting 10lbs!

What a fun month it has been. We've kept busy with lots of visitors, trips to Target and other excursions, fun days (and nights) playing with Mommy and Daddy, and trying to figure out that crazy big brother! We had a really fun weekend with Aunt Jill, Uncle Ross and cousins Maddie and Jacob (pictures to come). And today Luke had his first modeling shoot...well family pictures, but he sure acted like a little male model.

Though we are all still adjusting to life as a foursome I can't imagine it any other way!!

Here's a video of the little guy...nothing too exciting but baby gurgles and grunts!

Pop Go the Wiggles!!!

Well today was the big day...Blake's first concert. Daddy took him to see the Wiggles ("insanely entertaining to children/oddly interesting to adults" group of men from Austraila) live at the Target Center. It reminded us of our first concerts...Metallica/Firehouse for Kurt and Travis Tritt for me (before you judge, remember we were teenagers in the 90's).

Anyway, Blake had a blast. Kurt said he was a dancing machine. Hopefully the video clip below works and you can see him in action. At one point in the show someone in a duck costume came out and Blake yelled "Ducky" so loud that Anthony Wiggle looked up at him and laughed.

We weren't really sure if Blake would be old enough to enjoy something like this yet. Clearly he is and the concert was well worth it. It can easily be summed up as this...

Two over priced tickets to a kid's concert - $100

Stuffed Guitar Souvenir - $20
Seeing your son smile and dance for 1 1/2 hours - PRICELESS!

Just chillin'...

Blake and Luke are becoming fast friends. So much in fact that Blake will let Luke hang out with him while he watches the Wiggles (or Mom and Dad's personal favorite...the Sesame Street 25th Anniversary Edition). Hopefully they will still enjoy each other's company when they are 16 and 18!

How bad could it be?

This was the question I asked myself before I gave him the chocolate pudding cup. The picture clearly shows how bad it was. Needless to say we are always well stocked on paper towels and wet wipes.

But in the end, look at how happy he was. That's what it's all about...right?

Thanks Mammaw and Pappaw...

Even though I'm not acting like it....I really like my new outfit. And Mom especially likes that it says "Mommy Loves Me"! Thank you!

Our newest US Citizen!

Luke's 1st official piece of mail came this week...his Social Security card. That makes him officially a US Citizen...and a future tax payer. Daddy couldn't wait for it to arrive so he could get Luke's college fund set up!

Since we're talking about water...

Blake had "Water Day" at school on Friday. We're not entirely sure what that entailed, but based on how wet his clothes were by the end of the day, I'm assuming it was pretty darn fun for a 2 year old!

This was him before he left for school...pretty cute huh!

Caution - X Rated....

Sorry Luke, but this was definitely a milestone we wanted to capture! I'm sure someday (post teenage years) he'll understand why I had to post a nudie picture of him online!

So, Luke got his first "real" bath this week. As you can see he is clearly not a big fan of baths. We're not sure if it was the perfectly warmed water or the thought of being squeaky clean he hated!

It also reminded me of when we gave Blake his first bath...we were so nervous that we were going to do something wrong or drown him (yes, in about a milimeter of way too cool water) and in the process realized we'd left his socks on as he was about to go in the water. All of which was captured on video tape for his viewing pleasure someday!