Bubble Soup

Going to the dentist has been one of those "things to do" that I have been avoiding ever since Nikolas turned two last March. As many know, my little man does not do well with new places or new people, especially when those people are touching him, so I had been imagining lots of screaming involved.
Strangely, our time at the dentist was exactly opposite of what I had imagined. He was a model patient!!! The dental hygienist even commented on how well he did for being two.

Here he is just after sitting in the big chair. Naturally, his kiki came with us. I love that he has a "lovey" other than me. It would have been rather cramped sitting in that chair with him:)


Truly, the props go to Barbara, our dental hygienist. She came in and was calm and quiet and not in his face. Then she asked him if he wanted "bubble soup", which peaked his interest. I don't know if "bubble soup" is a trick of the trade, but if it isn't, every dentist needs to know how to make it. It consists of spraying the water from the little sprayer they use to rinse your teeth and the air they use to blow out the water from your teeth and mixing those into a cup.
Water + Air = Bubble Soup

Brilliant!!!

Nik thought it was delicious and wanted more. She even let him make his own:)

The Verdict after all was said and done: No Cavities!!! and the dentist said he has great enamel.

Phew!!! I was really expecting something more along the lines of, "Looks like he has been soaking his teeth in sugar, lady." So thankfully, those 1 or 2 times a week we brush his teeth are working:} Heehee, better increase that before our luck runs out....

Happy Birthday Little Luke!

Lukas turned ONE this month!

It seems like it has been forever that he has been in our lives as I can't imagine life without him now, and yet it also doesn't seem possible that he is already one year old. He is still very much my little baby though, especially since he has yet to say a word and is not quite walking yet. His pediatrician assured me he is well within normal for a one year old as I was expressing the differences between Luke and when Nik was one. Apparently Nikolas was an overachiever, whereas Lukas, well, not so much..... I guess they are actually following the old "first born, youngest child" syndromes.

We had a small family party and had fun watching Lukas dig into his cupcake. He really liked the frosting! ( so did mama, I think I ate around 6 of them in two days!)

I made Lion and Monkey cupcakes for the Jungle themed party and they turned out ever so cute. They were pretty tasty as well:)I saw the ideas on a few different blogs and decided to try it out. I have always wanted to make cupcakes with the frosting squishes, (I have no idea what else to call them), ever since my mom made me a cookie monster cake with the squishes all over the whole thing. Truly, that is what makes a cake go from ho hum, to Oh Yum!

Parties for one year olds are humorous. A bunch of adults all stand around a baby who has no idea what is going on, then a candle is lit and placed in front of baby who up until this moment has been kept 5 feet away from all things fire. Then everyone starts singing "Happy Birthday" to baby who at this point usually begins to cry and then everyone stands there waiting for baby to start devouring a too large piece of cake, a food which, up until this point, had not been deemed healthy enough for such a little baby until he hit the magical age of one and suddenly it is cute to stuff baby with large amounts of sugar and ice cream.

Even more humorous are two year old parties, where suddenly, one year later, it is NOT cute to smear frosting and cake all over your body. How very strange we parents are.....

Luke, I Am Your Papa!

Not long ago,
in a city close by,
two little Jedi were up
late fighting the evil Darth Papa
who was demanding they go to the
Land of Nod and stay there until the sun
became visible on the distant horizon..........

The littlest Jedi, Luke I'mAlmostAWalker, tried to take Darth Papa on solo, but he was too inexperienced for the power of such a seasoned Master Sith.
Enter Nikolas the Ridiculous just in time to join forces with Little Luke I'mAlmostAWalker to overcome the forces of parenthood and gain a few more minutes of freedom!

The victory was short lived as Queen I'mtheMama came in and took everyones lightsabers away. It's no fun being the ruler, but someone has to get those little Jedi to bed.

70 Years Ago....

a little boy was born who changed my life. Mainly because he would grow up one day to become my father, but also because I wouldn't be the person I am today without his influence in my life, for good and for bad.

My brother, sister and I threw Dad a 70th birthday party on January 3rd with many family and friends in attendance. We put together a slide show of his life and so after everyone had eaten we all sat down and watched his life of 70 years unfold before us in pictures and in words as Kellie and I narrarated. I don't have the pictures on my computer, except for these few, but here is what I have:

As a young boy
He was born in 1938, so his first ten years were marked by World War II. I think that is simply amazing, because, well, that was a LONG time ago!

As a teen
He was a teen in the 50's, how fun!

In the army
He was in the army in the early 60's when he met my mother at a local lake. Thankfully he got out of the army before he was sent to Vietnam.

And a sudden jump to 2009 with grandson, Lukas
After the slide show we had a time for his friends and family to share memories about Dad.
Listening to everyone and talking to others afterward, it was quite clear that what describes John Graham the best is that he is a man with a servants heart who deeply cares for others. I don't think there was a person in that room who hasn't had Dad help them out in some way. In fact, that is how he now has a wonderful new wife! A recent widow herself, Sue needed her deck worked on and so Dad started going over there to help. So what do you do for a new bachelor who doesn't want money? You feed him, of course! And the rest, well....you know the rest;)

So besides giving me life, there is a long list of things I am grateful to my father for and I would like to name just a few:

Thank you Dad,
*For giving up many of your personal dreams in order to grow a family instead. Maybe you will get to fly a plane again in Heaven:) One never knows....
*For loving Mom always. I never doubted your devotion to her and I don't remember you ever raising your voice with her. Only now that I am married do I realize just how difficult that may have been as marriage isn't always easy.
*For giving us kids the best place to grow up. Having a farm and room to explore was better than any fancy house you could have bought. It is my goal to one day do the same for my boys.
*For teaching me "boy" activities like shooting a rifle and driving a tractor. And thanks for not ever making me help castrate the pigs:{
*For introducing me to Jesus and eternal salvation. I am constantly thankful for being born into a home of believers. Thank you for making God a priority in your life and know that I will do all that I can to continue your legacy in my own family.
*For always being willing to help me in any way. From flat tires, car wrecks, home repairs, babysitting and sickness, I know all I have to do is call you and you will be on your way to help your little girl.

Thanks Papa,
you have truly been a blessing in my life,
and also in many others.

Your youngest,
Rebecca

Our Little Prayer Warrior

Recently, one evening, as I was putting Nikolas to bed, he folded his little hands together and said, "Pray Mama, me pray." So I folded my hands and closed my eyes and listened as my little man talked to Jesus.
He said, "Jesus; Mama, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, Amen." That was it. Sweet and simple yet full of meaning. Though I imagine he was thanking God for the people in his life, I don't really know what was going through his 2 1/2 year old mind. The wonderful thing, though, is that Jesus knew exactly what Nikolas was saying. "for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts." 1 Chronicles 28:9 It is strange to think that there is One who knows my son better than I do.
A few nights later I was again putting him to bed when he folded his hands and stated he wanted to pray again. I followed his lead and he started talking to Jesus. This time it went like this: "Jesus; Thomas, Gordon, Henry, James, Edward, James, THOMAS. Amen."
For those of you with little boys of your own, you know exactly who he was praying for.....

His trains:)

I couldn't help but smile as I sat there in the dark with him. At first it might seem materialistic to be praying for toys, but to a 2 year old, those trains aren't toys, they are friends. After he finished I said, "Nik that was very kind of you to pray for your friends. We all need to pray for each other."
Children have such a simple way of reminding adults of what is important, and that is: relationships. That was and is what is important to Jesus as well. I need to keep that in the forefront of my mind more often as I tend to get caught up in all my lists of To Do's. I especially need to remember the relationships right under my own roof, though they are sometimes the ones which are easiest to put off. Sad how that happens; the ones we love the most are the ones we hurt the most.
Thanks for the lesson on love, Nik.

It looks like I will be learning a lot from my children, funny, I thought it was supposed to be the other way around.

Back to Blogging, Let's Start With Christmas!

After a very long blogging break, I think I am ready to start posting again. The craziness all started on Christmas Eve and continued all the way through January 3rd, which is why I just didn't make it to the computer until now.
Christmas was good, though totally different than years past. With my mom gone and my dad having recently remarried we didn't end up being all together on Christmas morning like we used to. It was a bit hard for me as I really like waking up with all my family and eating monkey bread and opening stockings and such, on the other hand, it was kind of exciting to start a new tradition, possibly, of Tone' and my growing little family celebrating Christmas in our own way.
On Christmas Eve we went to Tone's Dad's home and opened presents with Leon, Jane and Tone's brother, Bill. They absolutely spoiled our boys like you wouldn't believe! I mean, it was a bit over the top, wow.
Nik's highlight was probably his new bike, which he won't be able to ride for another year, which means all day I hear, "Mama, I ride my bike. You push me." (Have I mentioned he is talking really well these days?) So the bike is going to need to be garaged for a few months, or more. His other highlight, which he has been playing with non-stop, was his remote control Thomas Train. He slept with it for the first week. Mama had to kiss Thomas goodnight even.

Mama's of girls kiss dolls and stuffed animals. Mama's of boys kiss trains and Jedis. I find that rather humorous.


Lukas received his first "video game". Okay, it isn't really, but he does move a little joystick to make the monkey dance which made me think of a video game instantly. Really, what will they think of next?!

The toys were fun and had their moments, but what really caught Lukas' attention were the water globes. It looks like he is looking into his crystal ball: " I see.......
a big red man with a white beard bringing lots of gifts for me" :)
Of course, he had to test out the reindeer antlers to see if they were real.

Then he found this box.........

And spent about 5 minutes trying to maneuver his whole body into it.

Notice the bright green toy behind him, totally forgotten? Sorry Leap Frog, you just can't compete with a box.

Over at my Dad's he discovered this basket and spent a great deal of time trying to do somersaults into it......

He was overjoyed when someone opened a present and gave him the wrapping paper so he could play his favorite game, Peekaboo, or as we call it, "Where's the Baby?".

There he is!

(note to self: don't buy Lukas toys)

My family also gave some wonderful gifts to the boys, like toddler snacks and sippy cups for Lukas, (always in need of those!), and more Thomas fun for Nik including an outing coming up with Grandpa and Grandma to go see Thomas the Tank Engine Live at the Coliseum!!! He is so going to Flip Out!

The morning after Christmas Tone' and I hosted the Graham Extended Family Christmas at our house. That had me busy all day and then the next day I took my 3 nieces and nephew out to eat and then to see the "Wizard of Oz" play downtown. We had a lot of fun and the play was done really well, especially the melting witch part. By the time I dropped them all off and made it back home I had been gone from Lukas for 7 hours, which is the most so far that I have been a way from him. He did wonderful with Tone', which means, haha Tone', now I know I can be gone for long periods of time.

You would think that I would be able to take a break after all that and have some down time, but, oh no, my dad had to be born on December 29th, of all days, and he just happened to turn 70 this year! So my sister Kellie and I started pulling everything together to celebrate his birthday a few days late, on the 3rd.

And that, my friends, is another post......