Baby Bumble Bee

Myla has taught Luke the classic kids' song, "Baby Bumble Bee."  The way Luke performs the song is awesome.  See for yourself:

Easter Eggs 2012

We had lots of fun doing Easter eggs this year, as both kids were old enough to help.  Though Luke did "drop" a few eggs into the glasses a little too forcefully, resulting in some damaged product.  As you can kind of see in the bottom left, this resulted in some tears. 

Potami-watomi Zoo

We were excited when our zoo reopened in early April.  It's called the Potawatomi Zoo, which is already a mouthful, but Myla insists that the name is Potami-watomi.  It's a lot of fun to say.  These are photos from our first trip of the year--still chilly!

Fish Visit

Back in March (which is where we are with the baby book updating), my sister and her family came to visit us in the Bend, along with Nana and Pop.  A great time was had by all, but apparently pictures were only taken by Kelly.  I stole the photo on the left from her blog, but you can click on this link to see more.

Winter Play

Here are a few other miscellaneous pictures of the kids playing this past winter.

Word Play

I found this post I'd started but didn't finish from early February:

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Luke has started talking more. He now says mama, dada, Baw Baw, Nana (the grandmother), 'nana (the fruit), yes, ball, up, apple, and a handful of others that are recognizable only to us. Like Myla at this age, Luke doesn't use words that much, but it's clear her understands a ton. He listens to directions very well ("Go get a tissue and bring it to me," "Use your stool to climb onto the couch," etc.). He loves to read books right now, and can identify countless pictures in them.

Myla has had a couple of funny sayings lately. Last week I was walking Myla into her basketball practice, and told her she could have a treat afterwards. When she asked what kind, I told her it was a yellow sugar cookie. She screamed "I LOVE YELLOW! I LOVE SUGAR!"


Another evening, Myla had been telling me about her day with Holly, when we got interrupted. Later, I asked her again, "What did you and Holly do today?" She replies, "Well, we went to the mall, but you already know all about that . . ."


Then there's nothing like having a three-year-old repeat your oft-used phrases. Most often, this happens when Myla's talking to Luke, and she says things to him that I say. Like when he's not cooperating, and she'll say "Luke! Honestly!" Or when she tells him "Luke, you are all up in my Kool-Aid," which is something I say to her quite a bit.

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Update, 9/18: Myla has adopted another one of my sayings, which I in turn got from Mamaw Highbaugh. It's "I swannee to my time," the most Southern expression ever, used to convey exasperation. I honestly didn't even realize that I say it, until Myla started repeating it. Now I catch myself saying it a LOT. You can take the girl out of the south, but . . .

Only Snow Pics of Last Winter

Here are some photos from what was really the only decent snow we got last winter (related: I have a couple of barely-used snowsuits available if someone needs them). First, here they are getting ready to go out. SO CUTE.



Eventually we made it into the driveway! Myla was excited, but Luke wasn't so sure. And he got less sure after I accidentally tipped the sled over while pulling them and dumped him face-first into the snow. Oops.

Christmas 2011 Slide Show

Here's a slide show of photos from Christmas that haven't already appeared elsewhere on the blog. Most are from our time at Nana and Pop and Baw Baw and Grandma's house, where we had a wonderful time. Although I couldn't make a record of this Christmas without mentioning that Luke was about as sick as he's ever been on Christmas Eve. He had a temp of 104 and was just a miserable little guy. Many thanks to my dear friend Allison (that's DR. Allison to you), whom I called late on Christmas Eve for some professional advice. He rallied after a few days, but I hated that he missed out on some of the excitement.

Faux Christmas 2011 (!)

Now that it's fall, and dark by 8:30, and there are baseball and football games on at night that I can half-watch while sitting on the couch, it feels like I finally have some time to work on the blog. Of course, it's ridculous to be posting pictures from Christmas, but I'm just thinking of this as working on the kids' "baby books" (which is what the blog is for me). If anyone out there still cares, that's just a bonus.

Anyway. Here are some photos from the morning we celebrated Christmas at our house. Santa was great to the kids--Luke got a bouncy horse and Myla got a pink sled with a black string (she was very specific in her request) and Snoopy and Woodstock buddies. We cracked up when Myla looked right at the sled and asked where her sled was. I think she'd seen old-school sleds in books, with the metal runners, and didn't recognize what Santa brought as a sled. But once she got on board (literally), it was tons of fun. In fact, this was the most fun had on the sled all year, since a freakishly snow-free winter meant it didn't get used!

Myla and Luke take the sled for a spin:

First Matthew pulls, then Luke gives it a try:

A few other present-opening pics--Luke gets a puzzle from Myla; Myla gets a basketball from Luke:

"Great kid!"

Last week Luke was sent home with a couple of notes from his teacher, saying how polite and considerate he is. Yesterday, we got this message: "Luke said lots of thank you's today! He even got his other friends to help clean up by simply cleaning up on his own. :) Great Kid!" We think Luke is pretty sweet at our house, but it's so nice to hear his teachers say that he's such a pleasure to have in class. And a good influence on others! Keep making us proud, Lukester.

My Boys

Questions and Answers

Yesterday we were driving in the car, and Myla asks, "What's humidity?"

The girl probably asks 20 questions like this a day. It makes me want to take a remedial course in grade-school science (and history, and geography), because I don't always remember the answers. And even if I do, sometimes it can be very hard to explain--our answers usually just lead to more questions (What's moisture? How does the water get in the air?).

Anyway, Matthew took this one and I thought he did a pretty good job. But then she said, "okay, so in Tangled, when Rapunzel is trying to get the guy back, why does she say, 'Where's your humidity?'"

I'm puzzled for a minute, and then say, "Oh! I think she says 'Where's your humanity?'. Not humidity."

Of course, Myla's immediate next question is, "What's humanity?" I think humidity was easier to explain . . .

Luke Turns 2

I'll try to post a full slide show of Luke's birthday festivities soon, but here are a few favorites.

Growth Chart

We had Luke's 2 year checkup today. Everything looks great, and he is one big boy! He's 37.25 inches (98th percentile) and 32 pounds (90th percentile). Apparently a diet consisting almost entirely of cereal bars and chicken nuggets can still produce a lot of growth. There's a rule of thumb that you can predict a child's adult height by doubling their height at age two. That would put Luke at 6 feet, 2.5 inches--just a half inch shorter than Matthew. That seems like a good height--nice and tall but still able to buy clothes in a regular store. :)

FYI, I never added Myla's 4-year measurements to the blog (it's almost as if I've been neglecting the blog or something). She was 39.5 inches (40th percentile), and 33 pounds (30th percentile). So she's a little on the small side, but not so much that she looks little when she's playing with her classmates. Doubling her age two height makes her at least 5'8"--I'm destined to be the shorty in the family!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Luke!

Today is my little Lukester's 2nd birthday. We had a great morning--the hallway outside his door was filled with balloons, he opened presents, and we had rainbow pancakes for breakfast. Then, while Matthew and I got ready for work, he and Myla had an epic dress-up session. See the results on the left--awesome!

Luke was in a great mood all morning, as he is most of the time these days. He's such a sweetheart--he seems to really be sensitive to other people's feelings, and if you're sad or hurt he'll be the first one to come see if you're okay. He's still a snuggler, which I love. He also has very strong opinions about things and knows how to get exactly what he wants. As maddening as it can be, I like his spunk. He's wild and daring, and it's even started to rub off on Myla a bit. At a baseball game the other day he was being a terror and Myla was following suit. A friend of mine remarked that Luke seemed to be capable of "leading from behind."

Luke and Myla are absolutely BFFs, and get so carried away chasing each other and teasing each other and pretending together. He calls her "La La" right now, which is so stinkin' cute, though Myla didn't like it at first. There are plenty of fights, but they make up for it with incredible sweetness to one another and by looking out for each other. And they give each other the best hugs.

Luke has many loves--he loves to read, and will still plop himself into any available lap with a book. His passion in life right now is puzzles. We have these four 24-piece Disney character puzzles, and he'll do them continuously, finishing all four and then starting over again. I think he might be a puzzle savant (though it's possible I'm biased). He loves playing sports of all kinds. He loves sunglasses and pancakes and cookies. His dislikes include ice cream and sprinklers.

Luke didn't talk too much until around the first week of July, when it just clicked for him. Now he says countless things. Some of my favorites--if he wants to show you something, he'll grab your hand and drag you, saying "Show! Show! Show!" And on this morning of his 2nd birthday, for the first time he said "love you too!" when I said that I loved him as he was leaving for school. Awwww . . . what a great present for me! Happy birthday to my wild, fun, thoughtful, clever, blonde-headed little chunky punkin'!

Funny Myla

A few recent, funny stories about Myla. First, her class took a field trip to the bowling alley last week. Her teacher wrote us a note on her daily report: "Myla liked bowling. She also liked using the arm brace once she recognized that it gave her an edge." That's our girl!

Also, while we were home in KY, our families made sure we ate very well and probably too much. After having a bowl of ice cream one night, Myla wisely said "that's enough food for today." When Pop went back for a second bowl, she told him he shouldn't eat any more ice cream because it didn't have very many vitamins in it. She went on to tell him that he shouldn't drink so many milkshakes either, because milkshakes have a lot of sugar bugs in them. If only we were all so disciplined! (Of course, she doesn't always walk the walk--as evidenced by the sugar bonanza that was her birthday).

Finally, she has been very interested lately in weddings and marriage. She makes Luke play wedding with her, complete with an aisle runner of blankets going through her bedroom. She also talks about who she wants to marry, and my favorite of the candidates so far is Joey Votto. Sean Kinnucan is also in the running, but sorry Sean--if I had to pick, I'd take Votto over you. You're cute and all, but really, Joey Votto.

Happy 4th Birthday, Myla James!

Today is Myla's 4th birthday! We've had a great time celebrating. This morning, she woke up and found some crepe paper taped to her doorknob. When she followed it all the way out to our driveway, her new Pinkalicious big-girl bike was waiting for her. By the end of the day, she was able to ride it (pictures/video soon, hopefully). She also got her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes for her ballet class that starts next week.

All day long, she's been able to eat pretty much whatever she wants. So she had doughnuts for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, and a chocolate pancake with whipped cream and ice cream at IHOP for for dinner and a sundae for dessert. Between the sugar and the excitement of turning four, she was wound up. As it should be!



I really feel like Myla has changed so much since in the last year. She's now such a little person, with her own interests, thoughts, and opinions. She's so much fun to talk to, and she seems to have no limits on what she's able to express to us or understand. I think she's also really come out of her shell--she's less anxious about trying new things and more confident all the way around. Sometimes she gives me a little too much "feistiness" or attitude, and I have to remember that it's a good thing that she's gotten so much better at asserting herself!

She loves watching and now playing basketball, and I was so proud of how she decided she wanted to learn to dribble and just practiced until she could. She's still great at puzzles and is able to write very well for her age. It seems like she's ready to start reading (and she can read and spell a few words), but she'll only do it if you don't ask her.

Other things she likes to do: cook, help me in the garden, dress up, read, snuggle, play with Luke (most of the time). She loves school and has lots of friends there. She's still great about saying thank you--this evening she said "I really appreciate" the new bike. :) She's funny and bright and curious and sweet. I've absolutely loved getting to know her this year, and can't wait for the next!

Luke: 21 months

This shoot brings us up to Luke's current age of 21 months. I think these capture his nature right now--mischievious, wild, and fun. For example, we couldn't get many pictures of him holding the sign because he would just chuck it as far as he could as soon as we gave it to him.