Post-Holiday Crash

We had a wonderful holiday visiting both of our families in Kentucky (photos and posts to come), but it seems to have taken its toll on Myla. We were just on the other side of Indy on our drive home when she started to have an uncharacteristic meltdown. Over the next couple of days she got worse and developed a bad cough. This morning we went to the doctor, and found out that she has double ear infections and bronchitis. Yikes.

Luke also has a bit of congestion so we got him checked out as well, but no infections for him. We did learn, however, that he is 18.2 pounds! FYI, Myla was 19 lb, 15 oz. at her one-year check-up.

P.S.--Our blog has passed the 40,000 hits mark! Thanks for following us these past 3 years!

South Bend Santa

While Grandma and Baw Baw were in town, we made our annual trip to see Santa in Downtown South Bend. Myla was happy to get to introduce her buddy Santa to little brother Luke!

Waiting with Baw Baw.


With the Big Guy. Myla walked right up to him and said "I want a train table!" as if she'd been practicing the moment in her head!


Afterwards, we headed to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe for some lunch and playtime. Here's a rare shot of the whole family:

Decorating cookies at the College Football Hall of Fame:

Light Fantastic

On this Christmas Eve, let Matthew's beautiful Christmas light display get you in the holiday spirit! As is always the case, pictures don't really do it justice.

Laughing Luke

Luke has become more interactive each day and as any parent out there knows it's especially fun to start to see your little one start laughing. As I was getting Luke ready for his bath last night he was in a really good mood so I captured these videos. Enjoy his laughter and try to ignore my "baby talk."

Snow Part II

More pictures of our first big snowfall of the season:



Love this one of Myla and Pop!


Our big pine trees look beautiful in the snow.

Matthew spent the morning putting the finishing touches on his light display. Pictures of that coming soon!

Snow Part I

At the beginning of December we had our first good snow fall, so we took Myla outside to play. It was really her first time playing in it, and she loved it (for a short time--isn't that how it always goes with kids and snow?).



Here, I show Myla how to throw a snowball. If you've ever seen me throw a snowball, you know I am really not qualified for this job.



Myla and I build a snowman. Yes, I realize he's very small. I was being lazy, and also (correctly) guessing that Myla wouldn't have the patience for a full-scale version. She had plenty of fun with this one, and especially loved kicking him over!



Boogies freeze!

More snow pics tomorrow!

"Christmas" Morning

Because we are always in Kentucky on Christmas morning, Santa pays a special early visit to South Bend each year. This year was incredibly fun--Myla calls Santa her "buddy" and couldn't wait for him to come to our house. Here is a video of Myla coming downstairs the morning after Santa came. First, she checks for evidence that he's been there. Cookies eaten? Check. Reindeer food eaten? Check--and they made a mess! That can only mean one thing--there's something under the tree!

The video is a bit long, the cutest stuff is at the beginning. :)



Here's another with Myla and Luke enjoying their toys:

Thanksgiving Slide Show

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Nana and Pop's house, and had delicious Thanksgiving dinners at both Granny and Pa's and at Mamaw and Papaw's. For many of my relatives, it was their first time meeting Luke, so the trip was especially fun and enjoyable.

Click on the slide show below to see some great pictures from the weekend!

3 Months: Bonus

A few extra shots of Luke at 3 months. If you see Luke soon, I give you permission to pinch his chubby little cheeks like Matthew is doing here. They're so big, and also solid muscle from all that eating he's been doing!

Luke: 3 Months

I love these pictures of Luke at 3 months. He really started looking much less newborn-ish around this time.


Look how long he is (Luke, not Matthew)! And love the funny expression on his face. (Again, Luke not Matthew.)

Cabbage Patch dance!

Christmas in Chicago

In years past, Kasey and I have enjoyed taking a weekend trip into Chicago or down to Indy around the holidays. Two weekends ago we went into Chicago for the day and took Myla with us while Luke stayed behind with Pop and Nana. We love our little man Luke, but it was a lot of fun to have just the three of us enjoy some time together. Especially since Myla is so into all things Christmas this year.

We had fun looking at the windows outside of Macy's, had a good lunch at Weber Grill, showed Myla the Lego store, and then finished off with a trip to see Santa Claus at Bloomingdale's. The highlight of Myla's trip was probably all the escalators she got to ride.

I was having some serious flashback to my own trips to see Santa when I was little. My sister will definitely appreciate this, but I couldn't help but reminisce about when we used to head to Shilito's/Lazarus in downtown Cincinnati to walk through Santa's workshop, drop off our letters to Santa, and then get our picture taken with him. I had mixed emotions of nostalgia as well as boiling frustration with the length of time we spent in the line. I'll spare you the details, but summarize by saying that we got in line at 3:05 with about 8-10 groups in front of us and didn't leave until 4:30. This wasn't some fancy walkthrough toyland either. It was just Santa sitting on his chair talking with kids and getting pictures taken. Santa was awesome, but he took it upon himself to have long conversations with each kid and they also let you take as many pictures as you wanted both with your own camera and the one they had. It felt like we were in a portrait studio at times as parents were agonizing over pictures in which their two-year old wouldn't smile. A far cry from the days of one Polaroid and then waiting to see what it looked like as you shook the image into focus.

Anyway, we finally got up to Santa and Myla was so excited it made the wait worth every second. She went right up to him and told him all about her request for a train table. She even told Santa to make sure he brought "baby toys" for her brother Luke. Our stinker of a daughter is in this fun phase right now where she refuses to smile for pictures so despite what the pictures will portray years from now, she really had fun and even got to take home a stuffed puppy that Santa gave her.

Myla gets her day started right with a hot fudge sundae at Weber Grill!

We build some pretty cool things out of Legos at home, but nothing like Woody!

Kasey and Myla in front of a Christmas tree.

Kasey and I were cracking up when we looked over at Myla standing so patiently with her arms in front of her while waiting for the elevator.

Here is a video of Myla with Santa. Don't you love how I yell at Santa that my daughter wants a train table. Better get it right!

This video doesn't do it justice, but this is Santa's exasperated reaction when the camera and computer crashed. The man was having a long day.

C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS!

It's basketball season in the Blazejewski house! Love these pictures of Myla and Luke getting in the spirit--especially the last one, where Luke has thrown in the towel and Myla is doing nothing to help him out. :)

Awww . . .

Luke has started to suck his thumb regularly to soothe himself. We'll worry about orthodontia if this goes on for months, but for now it's just really sweet.

12 Days of Christmas Posts

Let's count down the 12 days of Christmas with a posting marathon! We'll start with a couple of pics of Matthew, Myla, and Luke having fun in what Myla calls "Luke's tippy-tippy gym." That's "activity gym" in case it wasn't clear.

Gratitude

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving--not the least of which is a healthy pregnancy that resulted in the birth of our second happy, healthy, beautiful baby. But I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to a few people who have done so much for us this past year and especially these past few months: our parents.


Matthew and I are both lucky to have incredibly supportive and helpful parents. We have always known this, but lately they have really outdone themselves. Both sets of parents have visited several times in the months before and after Luke was born, and every time it was like a mini-vacation (or at least as close as we get to that around here!). They cook, they clean, they hold babies, they do laundry, they babysit, they run errands. They take on bigger tasks like pulling the ivy off our house, trimming hedges, mowing the lawn, baby-proofing drawers and shelving units, painting big-girl beds, and assembling swings and pack-and-plays. They host surprise second-baby showers. They bring my grandparents to visit. They take Myla to the zoo, a baseball game, or the park, to make her feel special and show her a good time when little brother has been getting lots of attention or even when Matthew and I were at the hospital.

In short, we have the best parents and our children have the best grandparents we could ever hope for. Nana, Pop, Baw Baw, and Grandma--we are so thankful for you!

Mamaw & Papaw Visit

In October, my Mamaw and Papaw Highbaugh came up to visit us and meet Luke. Luke is their seventh great-grandchild (all boys except for Myla!). It was so good of them to make the long trip--especially since Papaw had to stay in a hotel, which he doesn't like to do! We really enjoyed our time together, and Luke and Mamaw got along particularly well. :)

Pumpkin Patch Slide Show

There's nothing like a pumpkin patch for great pictures. Here are some from the 2nd and 3rd patches we visited this October. In addition to these favorites, I made a little slide show for some of the overflow. Click on it (at the bottom) to see the show.

Shots of Luke and Myla. I love that the scary pirate on Luke's shirt has a happier expression than he does.


Myla and Matthew on the cow train. This was a highlight of Myla's Halloween season. I am not such a fan, since my tailbone still hurts from being bounced around in that tiny car when it was my turn to go with her!


Finally, this picture totally cracks me up. Look how much fun I'm having and how terrified Myla looks. Who said these things were for the kids?


Here's the slide show if you're ready for more:

First Tub Bath

The 10-day posting marathon has ended, but we still have a few things to share. Here are a few pictures from Luke's first bath in his little tub. He really loves his baths and is such a cutie when he's all soapy and clean! :)

Buddies

These two are really starting to enjoy one another. Here, my only attempt (thus far) at matching outfits:



Myla loves to hold Luke, until he starts kicking her or she says he's "too heavy" (in her defense, he's a chunky monkey).


Tummy time. Myla likes it much better than Luke does and always wants to do it with him. Lately we've been having tummy time in Luke's activity gym, which Myla calls his "tippy tippy gym."

Fun Day at Home

Here are some pictures from the last week before I started back to work part-time. It was a really nice day, Myla was home from schoool, and the three of us had a great time at the zoo. (Luke doesn't look like he was having much fun in this picture, but he was.) Although by the end, Luke had had it with the stroller and Myla was wanting to walk--so I was looking pretty silly holding one kid and chasing another while pushing a huge double stroller with nobody in it. :)



Later in the afternoon, Myla kept herself busy with her Lego magic while I took care of Luke. The girl does really incredible things with those blocks!