All Hail-

-Prince Luke!
We went to the Multicultural Festival for a bit last night and enjoyed seeing some interesting displays and lots of happy faces.
Luke was whisked away by Shanti, our friend that teaches Chinese at the hgh school, and he returned with a crown. Shanti really adores Luke and had a great time showering him with love and fun activities. I was happy that he went happily with her to play and explore.

I suppose I could have started this post with a title "all hail the potty" because we will be having a bottomless boy run around the house as much as possible and working to get used to this new part of the bathroom.

Here is ol' red...Wish us luck.
I am hoping it is a sign of potty readiness when his dad tells me that he will stand up in the tub in order to watch where the urine stream goes. I am betting from that piece of information he is fairly aware of at least one bodily function. I am also vowing here and now NOT to write too much about this subject. He will learn it and no one really is that interested in the whens and hows, right!?!

Love and Hope

Mom, I love you, and I hope that you have a great Groundhog's Day. I also love finding a cute picture of your favorite furry friend to put on this post.
It is February! Yeah! That brings hope that spring is coming even though there is still snow on the ground :) Thank you January for giving us a deep freeze and even some mild days, but I am glad you are dunzo...Spring is coming!

Luke and I were busy this morning with Wiggles, a cancelled musical performance at SIU, quick visits with both grandmas, seeing Gpa Nick at the grocery store, meeting daddy for lunch at Harbaugh's and a visit with our friends Hannah and Vanessa. Needless to say he was looking forward to his nap :) Fun, Fun, Fun!

Nostalgia

When my family lived in Moline (1982-ish), I have a clear memory of my dad coming home from a business trip with a special gift for me. How exciting! I remember coming down our staircase excited that he was home, and he handed me the package. Keep in mind that gifts upon arrival were not expected or the norm, and most times that he travelled I was excited to get the little soaps and shampoos from his hotel room. I had to be in K or 1st grade because we moved in the middle of 1st and my memory tells me that this moment was in our lovely yellow Moline home.

Getting to the point, Dad got me my first Care Bear, Tenderheart. I really loved this bear, and he immediately went to the top of my stuffed animal collection's pecking order. My collection of CB's grew over the next few years (memories of feeling packages under the Christmas tree and knowing a new one was there b/c of their oddly shaped package I could feel under the wrapping come to mind) but Tenderheart always remained my #1. He is much more worn than the others and still seems more special for some reason.

Getting to another point of this story, I have kept my CB's up in the attic the past few years not really thinking about them and when we knew we were having a boy, I figured they may never go to use, but...Luke noticed the characters on another vintage CB product in the house and seemed really interested in them. The item is a 25 year old metal garbage can with all of the bears on it that we use for the bathroom trash, he spotted it after his bath on Monday. This inspired me to get the bears down from the attic, throw them in the wash machine and see what would happen.


Well, once again, Tenderheart was the bear that Luke thought was cool, too. I am not making this up, but Tenderheart is the one that he picked out of the row to spend some one on one time with and even read a couple of books to this morning. Can I just confess to the surprising happiness that having these bears out brings me, and to how thankful I am that my dad brought this little guy home for me 25 years ago. (I have to wonder if my mom didn't tell him to find it and bring it home?)

Independent Fella

Once I notice Luke's eyes have become glassy from a busy morning and his belly full from a (hopefully) good lunch, we move our activities back to the playroom and his bedroom for a diaper change, lots of tickles and giggles because he goes into really amusing hysterics trying to avoid me on the futon all the while NOT avoiding me and laughing while I tickle him, and eventually over to his room for four or five stories then a few verses of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' before he cuddles up to George and knocks out for two or three hours.

The last couple of days Luke has completely banned me from the story time chair and has instead read to himself before he gets down and grabs my hand for some snuggles before he gets in his crib. Actually, on Monday he grabbed a warm blanket from the laundry basket and walked it and me back to his crib for nap time. So, the point to these run-on sentences is that our little fella is getting to be a really independent little fella and I am pretty impressed. Here are a few shots of him reading in his room and showing how proud he is to be the sole owner of the story chair now.


P.S. I am not sad yet over lost story time since now he wakes up and is eager to read right away. We read for nearly 45 minutes today before he tugged me by my index finger down the hall for a pre-breakfast and some juice.

Yoga props

Sometimes in a yoga class you will use props to help your body adjust to new or difficult poses. I recently purchased a really great DVD with five yoga routines on it that I really enjoy using.

The best session is when I need a little Luke prop. He will just give me hugs, sit real close, challenge me to stretch around him, etc...Yoga has never been more challenging or more enjoyable than with my little snugglebug trying to drive his tractor down my back and legs during a lunge or hugging me during a downward dog or wanting to sit on my lap during a twist.
Precious moments defined.

I especially enjoy these pictures b/c Luke is still a little sleepy in them from having just gotten up from his nap, and because of the fact that Steve took them with out any prompting from me...he just knew it was a moment to capture.

This was bound to happen

It was a warm but overcast day today with spots of rain and then sun...We did get out for a nice walk in the woods after a morning of cooking and playing, where Luke especially enjoyed chucking gumballs as far as he could, walking in puddles and climbing all over the benches. The dogs got to swim, we played on a dock and then had a quick visit with Gma Susan and Gpa Paul. Luke and Gpa put the Thomas train track together and then Luke played with it :)

The pictures are of a morning event. I was in the living room reading the paper and Steve told me we had a new development happening in the kitchen. Luke likes to throw dog treats out of the dog door to the girls, but today he tossed his cup and he followed it right outside. Yeah...can you sense how happy Luke was to be on the deck ALONE and playing at his water table in the rain. So much fun!

Peanut butter and sunshine

Earlier this week, we spent lots of time out in the backyard. Touching our trees, examining the fence, normal stuff people do in their backyards, right? I also spread some peanut butter on the deck for the wonderful birds that visit our backyard. Luke saw this and wanted to take part in the treat so he walked around with a spoonful of peanut butter, a big smile, a cup of milk and the dogs trailing him in case he dropped the spoon. I LOVE the simplicity of our life right now.