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 . . .