The best laid plans

I remembered my camera today on a trip to a state park with Luke, but as soon as I turned it on, the battery alert came on and it powered down :(

It was sunny out, but still chilly so our extended trip was really only a little over an hour of outdoor time in a lovely setting.

I remembered to bring a change of clothes and dry socks b/c Luke really likes to jump around in mud puddles, but didn't bring his other pair of shoes...so he played with chilly feet until we got warmed up for the ride home.

We got to see a tractor in action hauling tree debris (still from the devastating storm last May) but Luke was much more interested in the F150 pickup truck at the work area. That really shocked me after the millions of times a day that we read the John Deere ABC farm book :)

I brought strawberries and cheese for a snack, which Luke wrinkled his nose at and chose cheez-its to crunch all the way home instead.

I was beat from playing 4 hours of tennis (doubles) yesterday and really looking forward to a long nap when Luke went down only to get a small burst of energy and then sleep for a (mere) hour before he woke up...thank you Steve for the extra hour of nap time...after that and a cup of coffee at 6pm I felt normal again!

I was looking forward to making a pizza for dinner only to realize we didn't have mozzarella cheese. Cheddar works in a crunch!

This sounds kind of whiny, but for me it is just a reminder that things work out even when you are a compulsive planner and the day just goes a little bit differently than you would have thought.

Oh yeah - it was a good day with a stunning full moon shining at the end of it.

I have my fingers crossed that by the end of the week, we can FINALLY have the windows and back door open for some fresh air and for Luke to be able to explore as he sees fit. Luke is a believer in the philosophy that everything is better when you do it outside! Here is to spring and summer and all the good stuff that comes with it (like being warm maybe?)

Two 2 year olds

This was actually last week, but whatever...This is Luke with his buddy Addison, who turned 2 on the 19th. She and her mom have been so fun to get together with over the past year and the kiddos have a lot of fun playing!

A Two Year Old's (dream) Day

I at least hope it was a dream day because we had so many fun moments. I stayed up decorating on Sunday night so he woke up to his construction cone presents lining the halls and the living room, waiting for his trucks to get to work. He was so excited when he came out of his room and saw them! We had bacon and eggs (and a popsicle - hey, it is his birthday!) played lots, read his new John Deere book a few times and then ran out for me to get a quick workout (where he played with cars in the daycare) and then meet Daddy for lunch. Luke chowed down which pleased and surprised us. He must have known that he would need the calories because after lunch we went to True Value and explored the rental equipment, esp. the skid loader! He hadn't had his whole equipment fix yet so we headed to Rural King where he tested some riding lawn mowers, explored the toy isle and picked out some solar lights for the yard.
Whew...after all that he was STILL eager to play so we did and then had a couple of stories (Curious George and the Birthday Surprise & John Deere ABC's) before I sang him to sleep with the "Happy Birthday" song. Bliss. These are some of the pictures I took of the last minute cake that I ordered. So glad that the sugar fairy told me I should have a cake for Luke because it came out really well and we all enjoyed having a sweet treat later in the evening. Once Luke woke up from his 3 1/2 hour nap, we headed to our current favorite pizza place for ice cream appetizers, pizza and ravioli with his four amazing and loving grandparents. We all enjoyed the dinner, although Luke spent more time in the arcade then hanging with us at the table :) He also magically charmed a nice couple out of a dollar for his birthday. After dinner we came back to the house, and Luke got to open his wonderful presents from Gma's and Gpa's. He loved the cards and books that he got and was eager to investigate his new goods immediately. Our neighbors, Meg and Bob, came over in time to sing and cut the cake. Luke was more interested in playing with the toys that I used to decorate it than eating it, but he was able to figure out how to use the backhoe scoop to eat a few bites. Is that clever or what? We ended the evening with some laughs, some more adventures with 4 wheeled items, some stories and one more round of "happy birthday". I hope that he could feel how much he is loved, but have a feeling he did :)

1:17 am

That is the time today that Luke officially became eligible to wear this shirt.


Happy Birthday, Luke. You are so loved.

As far as the buildup to the big day, we had a pretty fun weekend. Some friends came over to visit, we went to visit some others and we enjoyed time together. Luke's favorite thing is to be outside so we tried to get out as much as possible even when it rained all day yesterday. I walked as it sprinkled b/c when it wasn't raining I got Luke all excited to take the dogs for a walk and by the time we were dressed and ready it was raining again. Ha! At least it was still pretty warm and we got some fresh air.

On our way home from dinner Saturday, we saw FIVE police cars speeding by with their LIGHTS ON and a runaway cow from a nearby farm standing in the middle of the road. We called the police to help get the cow back home which worked out and Luke got to see a big dairy cow up close and personal...talk about an exciting drive home!

Sunday, Andy and Franciene came over with some birthday treats (a CAT roller and scraper that Luke now takes everywhere with him and a John Deere ABC book that we have read at least 5 times so far) Luke opened his gifts and kept looking at Franciene with a big smile on his face like she was sent from heaven to deliver the gifts to him :) They came over in their big, awesome F-150, and Andy was generous enough to let Luke take the wheel. He just kept smiling and laughing as he pushed buttons and looked at all of the options on the console. When Andy turned the truck on, Luke had turned the left turn signal on and the lights were on :)


Talk about a fun birthday visit. THANKS SO MUCH A & F!!!!

Happy Day

This is what we do when it is 70 degrees and sunny outside...




We head to a favorite hiking spot and see how it looks after a long winter! We didn't take a stroller so it was a lllooonnnggg walk but totally fun and lovely. He even giggled over the tall weeds that tickled his chin.

On our way home, we stopped at the park. Not to play with other kids or on the play equipment or anything, but to get up close and personal with a working trackhoe and backhoe. Talk about exciting. We were able to watch both in action WHILE cars and trucks of all sorts went zooming by on the main road through town. Kudos to Luke for respecting the 'caution' tape and not just making a run for the trackhoe cabin. I am pretty certain he would know what to do once inside! Friends coming over tonight...yeah!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I am making tacos for dinner.

We did wear green and make it to storytime late today with lots of time to play with the many kids that arrived on time. We had fun seeing some pals that we hadn't seen for a few weeks (and the bunny Chloe) and playing with cars that had waited patiently for Luke's return :)




He was heading for the door after about thirty minutes because he knew there was a dumptruck outside unloading mulch for the library landscaping. After watching the truck and workers for a bit, we headed to a nearby park for a little fun in the sun...I think Spring really is trying to stick around!