So Where We Going?

Today was a bittersweet day.  I sold my 2000 Camry which I leased in January 2000 and then purchased in 2004.  It was time but it was still difficult.  I couldn't help but reflect on the many places the Camry took me and so many other people.  Some of the highlights over the last almost 14 years include:

• I drove it to four different jobs
• Been through 16 states, as best I can remember
• Drove around an NFL kicker on a Saturday night
• Been pulled over by a cop three times
• Never been in a wreck
• Picked up Kasey on our first date
• Took Kasey on our date the night I proposed
• Took Myla and Luke to school on a few occasions

It was a great car with a lot of great memories.  How great that I drove it to my first job, picked up my wife on our first date, and then I also have pictures of my children doing this:

 

Their first car wash

 

However, my favorite memory is on the night I picked up Kasey for the first time.  I drove to Lexington to meet her and some other friends from college.  She got in the car, I slapped my hand on her thigh, and said "so where we going?"  Her answer that night....I couldn't tell you.  The answer 12 years later to "so where we going?"  How about a move to Boston for a great couple of years, then a trip to South Bend where we have settled into awesome jobs, made great life-long friends, and had the two most beautiful children anyone could ever hope for.  What a great 12 years in my life with so many memories.  The Camry was  there for a lot of them but it was time to pass it along to someone else.  Especially since the moon roof doesn't open anymore, the fabric on the ceiling of the car is sagging, it's rusting, doesn't have the LATCH system for our car seats, is peeling paint, and doesn't have heated seats.  I think the final straw was the embarassment I faced when having to drive my boss in it.  Now it belongs in the hands of a family with several teenagers so that's exactly who I sold it to.  So long Camry....you will always be remembered (sniffle).

Superman Part 2

Luke was wearing his Superman shirt this morning, and as I was helping him brush his teeth I was struck by how much he looked like this one picture we have of Matthew.  The blonde hair and the shirt are nearly identical, and Matthew must be about three years old here.

I decided to try to recreate the picture (Luke was not terribly good at following directions like "Look at me and smile--show your teeth--now look off to the left--but just with your eyes!")  But it's still pretty cool.  See for yourself:

Greetings from a galaxy far, far away

To the surprise of no one, Myla is Princess Leia for Halloween. She got to wear her costume to school today so I snapped this picture this morning. I'm pretty proud of those buns!

She was really getting into character this morning. As I leaned over to help her with her socks because her long dress was giving her trouble, she said "Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!"

Quotes

Myla said two funny things this week while telling her babysitter about our trip to the Science and Industry Museum. First, she called it the "Science and Interesting Museum." Much better name, I think! And then, when talking about the WWII submarine we saw there, she says "My mom's grandfather was in World War II and my dad was in Seabiscuit."

I think Matthew had the easier mission.

The Little Mermaid

 Matthew was in Texas for the Notre Dame game this weekend, so I had the kids by myself.  They were as well-behaved as I've ever seen them.  Helpful, patient, fun--they were real team players!

One thing we did was watch "The Little Mermaid," which just came out on DVD.  It has some really scary parts, which we skipped, but Myla's biggest emotional reaction was at the end.  When Ariel gets married and says goodbye to her dad, who remains in the sea as king of the mer-people, Myla bawled.  Which made me cry.  It was ridiculous.  Heaven help us in 20+ years if/when she gets married.

The picture is one Myla drew after watching the movie.  I think this is really her best artwork yet.  There's a singing Ariel, Sebastian the Crab, and Flounder the fish.  It's so colorful and detailed--this one will be on display for a long time!

2028 Olympian

Luke has been doing gymnastics for about six months now, but in a parent-tot class where we helped him do everything.  Tonight was his first night in the solo class, and it was memorable.  He had a blast, but I probably had more fun watching him.  You can tell by the way my friend Jen and I are trying to hold in hysterical laughter in a couple of these videos.

I don't know which is my favorite, the somersault or the cartwheel. Very tough call.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Luke!

Today was Luke's 3rd birthday.  It's been a big week, sending Myla to kindergarten yesterday and this today, especially because I feel like 3 is the official end of the baby years.  And Luke has been such an adorable two-year old!  He's at a great spot right now, talkative and capable but still little enough to say and do the funniest things.  I want to keep him at exactly this age, even though I know this year ahead will be great, too.

At age 3 Luke is a really caring kid, as I described in a recent blog post.  He says the sweetest things and seems to know when you need to hear them.  "Mommy, I love you sooooo much," "Best-ever daddy," or "thank you for taking care of me!"  He's also super snuggly and gives excellent hugs.  He's gone through several spells this year where he gets up really early, and Matthew and I have survived it by letting him watch a little TV while we get another 15 minutes of sleep (don't judge).  When I'm doing this, he lays on top of me and is so affectionate that I can actually forget that it's 5:45.  When he does that, or sits in your lap, or when you carry him (which happens more than it probably should, but hey, he's my baby), he puts 100% of his weight on you and doesn't help at all.  It can be exhausting, but it's also kind of sweet the way he just relies on you completely.

We've also noticed his special talents more this year.  It's been the year of the puzzle for Luke, and he's pretty amazing at them.  He's really imaginative--one of his favorite toys right now is his "snappy snappies," which can be used to build things.  The other day he built "Baw Baw holding a frisbee."  He also likes to wear any kind of crazy outfit for pretending.  He has had some really athletic moments, and can throw and hit a baseball pretty well.  But he also runs with this chicken-wing action that really cracks us up.

Physically, he's now nearly 40 inches, tall--about Myla's height at age four!  He's 37 pounds, which is what Myla weighs right now.  He falls down a lot, though it's better than it was at the beginning of the summer!  He still has his crazy blonde hair.  Right now it's as straw-blonde as it's ever been.

As we have said multiple times on this blog, Luke's best friend is Myla.  His friends at school are Tanner, Hayden, and Addisyn.  His favorites things are Cars and Jake, any sweet baked good, Mumford and Sons, his new light-up shoes, his two bedtime blankets, sunglasses, and hats. And anything Myla is doing, or Matthew, or me.  The kid really loves all of us right now, and the feeling is mutual.

Tonight we read Sandra Boynton's "Happy Birthday Little Pookie" at bedtime, and it ended with a very appropriate line--"Here's to a child who is joyful and clever.  Happy day, happy year, happy always and ever!"  We love you Luke, Lukey, Lukester, Lukester the Dukester, Duke, Luke-a-Duke, Luka-Luka, and Chumba-wumba!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the long-awaited first day of kindergarten for Myla.  Everything went very well.  It was a beautiful day and Myla was so excited.  She looked adorable in her jumper and Mary Janes.  And during breakfast, Matthew and I gave her a little locket with a picture of our family in it.  She really seemed to get that it was an extra-special gift and was really grateful and sweet about it.  And then Mrs. Bassett asked her about it in front of the whole class!

I didn't get misty-eyed until we were taking Luke to preschool afterward.  There's a big picture of Myla on the wall, and as we passed it he said "There's my Myla!"  I think this is going to be harder on him than any of us, as he has been her shadow at school for the last couple of years.

I'll post the pictures from our good camera soon, but I was able to post these quickly from my phone.  I'll also have an update once I get the report from her this afternoon.

Myla with R2.

Myla with her friend Alex.

Raising her hand already.

Ready to go!

So Proud

Luke has had a really great teacher in his two-year old classroom.  Her name is Miss Crystal, and it's her first year.  She seems to have really taken to Luke (though she might make all the parents feel that way, which is a real skill).  Next week is his last week in her class, and in honor of his "graduation" she gave us a binder with pictures of him from this year and a letter about him.

I have to share some highlights from her letter because she really captured some of the things we love most about our little Lukester.

"It's truly a joy to get to witness the magic that Luke makes every day.  I have never met such a caring two year old in my life . . . he brings toys over to his friends that are sad.  He tries to make other kids happy with his hugs or a pat on the arm as he says, 'It's okay . . .'  He gives up his favorite things to play with in the class room so that another friend can be happy.  He is constantly encouraging his friends in the class room when they are trying to do something--we can always hear Luke saying, 'You can do it!' or 'You did it! YAY!!'  And on more than one occasion, when a child does something to upset another child, Luke has gone up to the child and says, 'That's not okay!  She does not like that.  Be nice.'  The best word to sum up Luke is caring."

And, "Whatever you guys are doing, please never stop!  Luke is an amazing boy!"

The thing that makes me most happy is that Luke has stood up for other kids in his class.  He's an empathetic little anti-bully, and it makes me so proud!  Keep it up, Luke!

Bingo!

We've had a few long drives in recent weeks, so I tried to get some non-video related entertainment for the car.  One thing I found was those old-school travel bingo cards, where you slide the little red door over the item you find.

I thought Myla would enjoy it, which she does, but that Luke would be too young.  It turns out that Luke is the Bingo fanatic in the family.  He now wants to play it all the time, even if we're just on a trip to the grocery.  We hear his constant narration from the backseat:   "We haven't seen a tank truck in a while!" or "I need a silo, an airport, and a cola sign."  And his delight when he sees one--"Gas station!!!"  Now that he's figured out what all the pictures are, he really does seem to get the game.  But he doesn't quite get that we are unlikely to see an airport or a 70 MPH speed limit sign on our way to school.  And in some cases he cheats.  "I saw a police car yesterday . . ."  Where yesterday could mean any time in his life before today.

He's such a fun talker right now, and the Bingo has been a really cute example of that.

Excellent Question

Myla has a little worksheet she has do to for "homework" and bring to the first day of school.  It has little tasks on it, like "draw a picture of something you did this summer," or "write the names of five books you read."  But one task asked us to "Go for a walk and write down something you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste."  I read this to Myla and she looks at me with this incredulous expression and says, "Taste?!?  How am I supposed to taste something on a walk?!?"  I start laughing, so then she does this little act where she says, "Here's some poison ivy, I'm going to put it in my mouth!"

That's a really good point.  Not sure whose idea it was to send kindergartners out on walks to taste things! Fortunately we have some cherry tomatoes in our garden, so we decided to end our walk there.

UPDATE:  In the car on the way home from school, I mentioned that today was the day we were planning to do the walk.  Myla says, "Do we really have to go on the walk? Couldn't we just say we did those things?"  So she figured out how to cheat on her first-ever homework assignment.

The force is strong with this one

Tonight I took Myla to pick out her lunch box for school.  If you've been following the blog lately, it should be no surprise to see what she picked:

I also love how Luke watches her in this video.  Two cuties.

Related:  This morning, I was putting Myla's hair in braids, and I mentioned that Princess Leia sometimes wears braids (trying to relate).  The following conversation results:

Myla:  Yeah, like when she's with Jabba, and also when she's with that other guy, what's his name?
Me:  I have no idea.
Myla:  You know, the one from Cloud City?
Me:  I don't know who you're talking about.
Myla:  Lando!  Lando Calrissian!  She has braids that one time when she's with Lando Calrissian!

And also, on the way home from the store in the car:
Myla:  Mom!  Did you know that the good guys all call R2-D2 "R2"?  Like a nickname?!?

I have GOT to watch these movies again.

Another Old Slideshow

I know we tried back in the spring, so here is a continuation of some of the picture albums containing photos from my phone.  We'll do one today and several more next week.  This week we start with sports-themed photos!

Sports

What Was I Thinking

Luke has shown no interest in using the potty yet.  One morning last week, Kasey thought it would be a good idea to let Luke run around for a few minutes in his big-boy undies.  I came out of our bedroom and saw Myla and Luke playing in Luke's room.  Since Luke has had a tendency to pee in his big-boy undies the other few times we tried this, I thought it would be good to ask for Myla's help:

Me:  Myla, I have to go get dressed for work.  You are in charge of Luke so don't let him pee on the carpet again.
Myla:  You are putting your five-year-old daughter in charge?  I don't think so.

I love to tease her in many ways (and she usually likes it too, though I have definitely pushed my luck a few times).  I loved this exchange because she had a comeback for me without any hesitation.

*****
UPDATE FROM KASEY:   I had a similar exchange with Myla this week.  I was trying to get myself and the kids ready before school, and I asked Myla if she could help by putting Luke's socks on.  She says to me, "I am not able to put on another child's socks!"  It was the precise language that killed me.

Thick as Thieves

Kasey shared the following exchange she had with Myla and Luke one morning last week while we were all trying to get ready:

Kasey was in our bathroom getting ready while Myla and Luke were doing something in the hallway.  Kasey walked out of the bedroom to check on them:

Luke:  Myla, somebody's coming!
Kasey:  (walks out into the hall and sees the two of them just standing at the top of the stairs with the gate closed but they had clearly been playing on the railing) Guys, this is not a play area.  You can play in my room, or Luke's room, or Myla's room, but this area at the top of the stairs is not for playing.
Myla:  I know mom!  I'm not new here.

Seriously.  My five-year-old daughter is using the line "I'm not new here." 

I Hear You Girl!

A couple of weeks ago when it was nearly 100 degrees for several straight days, Myla had clearly noticed.  One the way home from school, she made the following comment from the back seat:

Myla:  Dad, we went on a walk today at school and it.  Was.  HOT!  It was sticky.  Gooey.  DIS.  GUST.  ING!

I tried to capture in writing the funny and kind of grown-up way she put the emphasis on her words.  I love the way this girl thinks and communicates.  So fun to see the wheels turning in her mind as she grows up.

Me Too!

The kids had one of the funnier exchanges in the car on the way home from East Bank yesterday:

Myla: Dad, say that you are excited to see mommy.
Me: What? What are you talking about?
Myla: Just say you are excited to see mommy.
Me: Okay. I'm so excited to see mommy when we get home!
Myla: Luke, now you say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: No, say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: No, say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: (Now starting to giggle because Luke doesn't understand) Luke, say "me too!"
Luke: (Having no idea what is going on) You, too!

This goes back and forth close to 10 times with Luke as serious as can be repeating the same thing over and over again like a spoof of Abbott and Costello. Myla never gets frustrated and actually finds it very funny, but she is determined to get him to say "Me too!" She finally changes her tactics....
Myla: Dad, can you get Luke to say "Me too!"
Me: (I'm now laughing pretty hard too) Luke, Myla wants you to say "Me too!"
Luke: Me too!
Myla: (With great delight) Me three!
Luke: You're not three! I'm three (even though he isn't), you're five!
Myla:  (Just starts cackling with delight)

So fun to listen to these two clowns interact with one another. Kasey and I are blessed that they get along so well. I hope they stay best buddies forever and keep making each other laugh!

Star Wars Art

Myla's mania for all things Star Wars is most easily seen in her artwork.  No matter the medium--sidewalk chalk to watercolors--the subject stays pretty much the same.

Here are some examples she cranked out this morning while I was getting ready for work.  In the first, she created her own Star Wars coat of arms: a heart, with a blue, green, and red light saber in the middle.  Then she drew stars, to show me she could do that now (impressive!), a W for "Wars," and then a random design.

The next picture has an X-Wing (good-guy plane), with music notes coming out of it indicating good-guy music (dun dun dun DUUUUUUN dun, dun dun dun DUUUUUUN dun, dun dun dun duuuun).  Yoda and Luke Skywalker battle Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers at the bottom.  This one is a bit unusual in that it doesn't feature a bunned-out Princess Leia, but she probably just ran out of time.  Love this girl.

County Fair

In early July we went to the St. Joseph County Fair. We all had a fantastic time, but Luke loved it so much I'm worried he's going to run away and be a carnie. He loved the food, the spectacle, but mostly he loves the rides. Hopefully soon we'll get the pictures up of him and Myla on the froggy hop ride. 

Hot Chocolate

The kids have an Advent calendar with little boxes that they

open each morning for a little treat.  Sometimes it's a little 

trinket, but usually it's a slip of paper with a fun activity for the

day.  This particular day, the activity was "drink hot chocolate!" 

They both loved it (and mom did too!).  I especially love

Luke's reaction below.

Christmas in Chicago, 2012

Every year we try to take a trip to a city for Christmas, usually Chicago.  This year we spent the morning at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  It was our first trip there, and we were very impressed.  They had a great exhibit of Christmas trees from around the world, and a special Charlie Brown exhibit!  And the surprising hit of the trip was the German U-boat they have there.  We'll definitely be going back.

We followed that with a trip to visit Santa at Bloomingdale's on Michigan Avenue.  This is the third year that we've managed to find the big guy there, and he was worth the long wait in line.  Here the kids get their first glimpse:

Talking to the man himself!  Myla asked for real kitchen tools, and a Clarice lunch box.  Luke asked for race cars.  They very accurately reported that they'd been good that year.

That was fun!

Tree Decorating

Halloween 2012 Slide Show

A Cupcake Baker and Joey Votto

For Halloween this year, Myla was a cupcake baker and Luke went as Joey Votto.  Myla's outfit was inspired by the contestants on Cupcake Wars, which was one of her favorite shows at the time.  She was also excited about the fact that I told her we could make cupcakes to go with her costume.  Luke was still a little young this year to have much say in his costume, so we picked Joey Votto because 1) we had most of the stuff already, 2) the Reds were having a good season so we were in the spirit, and 3) he looked really cute with eye black.  See for yourself!

The Halloween festivities included a trip to Zoo Boo and our usual trick-or-treat outing with friends in the Johnson's neighborhood (sadly the last one, as they've now moved!).  This was the first year that Myla seemed like a big kid, running from house to house with her friends the Smokers, and generally acting crazy and having a great time.  It was so much fun to see.

I've pulled a few of my favorite pictures here; check back Monday for a full slide show.

Leaves

 

Patches 2012

A highlight of every October is the local pumpkin patch scene.  Besides being fun, the patches provide lots of great photo opportunities.  Here are some pictures from our 2012 trips.

Florida Vacation: Slide Show

Florida Vacation

Last October, we met Nana, Pop, and the Fishes in Destin, Florida for a much-needed vacation.  It was Luke's first trip to a beach, and Myla's first since she was one year old.  The kids loved every minute of it (with the exception of the plane ride, which led to an eventful car ride from the airport to our hotel).  They played in the sand for hours, walked in the water, lounged in the sun, and had a great time with their extended family.  We can't wait to do it again--Myla still talks about Florida as if it's a magical place.  And for our week of relaxation and perfect weather, it was.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.  Tomorrow I'll post a slide show with a lot more.