Bumbo Baby

No blog would be complete, without a picture of their baby in a Bumbo seat!

So here it is: "little" Lukas sitting strong with his head held high. Actually, he still isn't very good at holding his head up for long yet, he does have a rather large melon though. I finally realized I should probably start putting him on the floor so he can practice trying to roll over and hold his head up and such. It is so hard to tell if he likes it though, as his facial expression looks about the same as when he is pooping.
We are being homebodies for a few days to make sure we don't spread the flu to anyone else as Nikolas still may be contagious. We did get to go puddle jumping today with the 20 minutes of sun that was out. We made it back inside just in time to miss the downpour. Phew!

I'm Up and Running Again

Well, almost. Friday night i went to bed only to wake up at 11:30 and start puking hourly until that morning at 7:00. Puking is bad enough, but add nursing a baby and having Tone' gone at the mens retreat and it becomes a little scary. Around 4am I headed for the bathroom yet again, running into the dresser on the way, I felt like i was going to pass out and then a thought entered my mind. "What if i passed out, hit my head on the toilet and was knocked out or worse and the boys were stuck in their cribs with no way of getting help and Tone' wouldn't be home for two days!!!" So after i finished throwing up I called my good friend Sheri (remember it's still 4AM) and asked her to call me at 8 in the morning to make sure i was still alive and up. Well, she did more than that and made up a concoction to sooth my tummy and brought it over at 4:30 and proceeded to take care of Lukas and Nikolas as they woke up while i languished on the couch groaning. Then my dad and soon to be wife, Sue, came over around 7:30ish and took over care of the boys and i was able to nap most of the day except for when Lukas needed sustenance.
Sunday morning I woke up to "mama, mama", which isn't totally abnormal, and i stumbled in to find Nikolas THROWING HIS PUKE OUT OF HIS CRIB! Poor guy, he had been laying in it for a while we suspect but he didn't seem to mind too much. He just didn't want it in his bed anymore. Gross.
Oh, and Tone' was able to come home SAturday afternoon, thanks to Mitch Texeira, and took over care of me and the boys. He also cleaned up Nik and my puke. Wasn't that sweet? :)
So far, as of Monday night, Tone' and Lukas, Sheri and Sue are still well, but my dad wasn't so lucky and called me Sunday night to tell me, "thank you" for giving him the flu as well.
Sorry Papa:(
It definitely made me grateful for many things such as having friends and family to care for me, even at odd hours of the night. Also I think of all those mama's in underdeveloped countries who are nursing their babies and aren't able to go to the store and buy formula when they are so dehydrated that their babies can't get enough to eat and are screaming for more like my little Lukas was. So sad.

Best Buds

Lukas has a few buddies who were all born close together and this "little" guy is one of them. Nathan is not considered a "small baby" by any means, but I would like to point out that Nathan is 3 months older than Lukas and yet there isn't much size difference. The next few months will be fun to watch:)
They both are pretty happy at this point, but then Nathan started chewing on Luke's hand, which he didn't exactly appreciate, so we had to break them up soon after. Sounds like a typical friendship between boys already.

Aren't they scrumptious?

A Boy to the Core

Nik, Lukas and I joined a few good friends and their children on an outing to the Woodburn Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. The tulip fields were absolutely stunning, though they did little to impress a two year old boy. His greatest delight that day was running from mud puddle to mud puddle.

At one point I tried to head over to the steam engines knowing he loves big trucks and tractors. On the way, I stopped to take a picture of the field only to turn around and see Nik wallowing in the ooiest, gooiest mud puddle. Puddle is not even the correct word as there wasn't any water, just mud. I didn't even take a picture of that one as I was busy scooping him out of the slimy mess while he was saying, "icky, icky"..... ya think!

To add to his boy traits as we were walking back he spotted, from about 15 feet away, this little bug. He started yelling, "Bee, Bee!" which all bugs are called and headed over to gaze at the little creature.

It wasn't exactly the "picture perfect" outing that I had envisioned, but my little explorer had a fine day enjoying the little things in life like mud and bugs. It is a good reminder that I don't need to spend money on the latest toys or gadgets or expensive vacations in order for my children to have fun. I just need to get outside, step back and let my little ones discover on their own the world that God created.

Top Ten Reasons I Miss Being Pregnant

10. handy crumb catcher
9. comfy place for my hands to rest
8. the precious little kicks that remind me of the little life within
7. having an excuse for my lack of memory
6. having an "excuse" for passing gas
5. finding out if it is a boy or a girl
4. trying to imagine what he/she will look like
3. ultrasound pictures
2. hearing the heartbeat, especially for the first time
1. Did I mention the precious little kicks?

any others?

Who's Who?

My sister bought me these cute shirts for Nik with 3,6,9 months and 1 year on them so I started taking pictures as he grew into each of them. It was fun to see how much he had grown and so now i am doing the same with Lukas.
I'm sure you can tell who is who as Luke has quite the chubby round face and looks like a linebacker. (I actually don't know what a linebacker is, but I imagine they are big, beefy guys.)
Do you notice a bit of mischief in those eyes? NIk was trying to warn me of his personality to come.
Luke's expression looks like pure fun and happiness.

Lukas Has Still Graduated

Yep, three nights in a row now. The first night i brought him to our room at 3am and didn't want to get back out of bed so into the co-sleeper he went. The second night he woke up at 1am and i fed him on the couch and put him back in his room until he awoke at 5am, then into our room he came for a couple hours. Tonight he is sleeping peacefully in his crib and i am hoping for a long stretch. Come on Lukas, you can do it!

Lukas has Graduated

Tonight, for the first time, I put Lukas in his own crib for the night. Sniff, Sniff. He is going to be 3 months this Thursday and that was my deadline for him to be in his own room so I decided to just do it. I am a bit more proactive with Luke than I was with Nik who was still sleeping in my bed with me at 10 long months old. We will see how the night goes and if I can handle getting up out of my bed to go feed him. He usually only wakes up twice a night, so I am optimistic.
Here's to future sleep.

Top Ten Reasons I'm Glad I'm Not Pregnant

10. I don't fret about every little food or drink thinking it might do irrepairable damage to my little one.
9. no back pain
8. I can put on a shirt without a draft hitting my belly.
7. I can once again squeeze through tight places.
6. I can rock climb, wakeboard, snowboard, mt. bike, etc.... once again!
5. I can go longer than 5 minutes without peeing.
4. I can put my socks and shoes on without doing acrobatics.
3. I can sleep in any position I feel like, thank you very much.
2. No morning sickness
and the top reason I am glad I am not currently pregnant is:


1. Labor is NOT looming in the near future!

Anyone like to add anything?

Set in Stone

Making memories of my little boys is one of my favorite pastimes. So I was really excited after finishing my latest project of imprinting their little footprints into concrete stepping stones. My plan is to make new stones each year until they are around 10 or so giving me a nice long path in my garden.

Already Nik has been having fun stepping on his stone and I imagine they will have fun over the years looking back on how they have grown. I, especially, know a few years down the road I am going to look at their little footprints and miss how tiny they were. It actually gets me kinda teary eyed.

Excuse me,

I have to go cuddle with my baby right now:)

Irrational Fears

In my search for some reason to get out of the house, Nikolas and I went to a puppet show. (Luke came too, but I don't think he was into it as much). Things started out well with Nik laughing, clapping and dancing. Then a cow puppet came out and Nikolas FLIPPED OUT! He started screaming and crying then crawled into my lap yelling "kiki,kiki!" (that means blankie, by the way). Then Lukas started screaming so with the help of 2 ladies I made it out of the very cramped theatre where both of them calmed down. Unfortunately, the fear of the cow puppet didn't end there. When Nik woke up from his nap later he started whimpering "cow?cow?". For 2 days I have had to explain to him the cow did not follow us home.
Which brings me to my next point. I had been thinking Nik's fear of the cow puppet was so ridiculous as it is such an irrational fear. Then I remembered my own irrational fear:

Creatures that lurk in the deep.

Oooooo, sends shivers down my spine.

I'm sure you can all understand my fear of sharks while surfing. Maybe less understandable is my fear of sharks or "something" while I am wakeboarding. The irrational part of my fear is the unlikely event of a tentacled creature that lives under my shower and could someday come through the drain and GET ME!
Nik's cow puppet fear doesn't seem so irrational anymore, does it?

So, I am curious. Do any of you have any irrational fears or phobias?

Do tell:)

Poor Baby:(

"Little" Lukas went to the doctor today and had his two month checkup and five shots. Poor baby, needless to say, he was not happy. Here he is with his snoopy bandaids that make everything better. Thanks Snoopy:)

As far as Luke's stats go: I think the picture clearly indicates that this chubby bubby is well fed. He weighs 14.4 oz. which puts him in the 95th percentile! He is 24" long putting him in the 75th percentile and his noggin is in the 75th as well.

"Big" brother Nikolas better start growing and putting on the L.B.'s or his little brother is going to catch up to him really soon. Nikolas has never been above the 25th percentile for anything, except for his own rather large head, which is also in the 70th percentile. Currently Nik is in the 5th percentile for both height and weight. Sorry Nik, you have mama's and daddy's genes. Not sure where Lukas got his.

Happy Baby

Here is our perfect little Lukas smiling for Mama. He loves it when someone is paying attention to him and rewards them with big smiles and little coos. The poor guy, he has to compete against needy brother Nikolas for mama's attention, and since Luke is so easy going he is usually the one who is ignored. I try to remember that, though, and will swoop him up out of his bouncer and tote him around so he doesn't think i forgot him.

It Finally Happened

Here it is: my very own blog. After succumbing to peer pressure, (yes, it can still happen after 30), I have finally decided to share the wonderfully crazy world I live in with my two boys and husband.

To my 4 friends who insisted I do a blog: "yeah, yeah, I know I said I never would, ... but hey, it was inevitable with all the crazy stories I have with Nikolas at my side!"

A big "Thank you!" to Mel for getting me started. I am SO twentieth century.

Bath Time!

After washing the dishes I took Lukas into his room to change his diaper. When I came back to the kitchen; this is what I found.
Nikolas had pulled a chair over to the sink, taken OFF HIS CLOTHES, and climbed into the pot that had been full of warm soapy water. Apparently the bi-monthly bath I force myself to give him isn't enough for him. Imagine that.

He's a strange one, what can I say.

Well, I guess I don't have to say anything, you can see for yourself:)

Nikolas Turns Two!

This past weekend we celebrated Nikolas' second birthday with a few family memebers. What a difference a year makes with his reaction to a party.
For his first birthday he was utterly disinterested in gifts, cried when we sang to him and barely touched his cake. Obviously that wasn't a problem this year. He devoured his cupcake, with no hands I might add, and said, "Woah!" after each gift. He had a great time playing with his new bubble machine and dragging his two cousins around.
I have to add that the cupcake idea was mine, but my cousin, Chelsea, who was visiting from Alaska, decorated them. Thanks Chelsea! And thanks Chad for decorating the house and sacrificing your eyes to chop onions!
I can't believe I have a two year old. He has quite the personality, though not always the personality I would want him to have. He is exceptionally cute, (if I may say so) and very funny, so that helps when he is screaming his little head off for one reason or another.