Here is a collage I made of favorite photos of 2008. I picked one photo for each month of the year. One of my resolutions last year was to take more pictures. I definitely did that! Although--I failed miserably at Project 365. Shauna kept up with hers for the most part and it makes me wish I did too.
You can click on the image to view it larger. Happy New Year!
We had a great Christmas despite Luke coming down with Hand Foot Mouth Disease (which sounds way worse than it is) and a stomach bug. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Kingsland with my (Suz) side of the family. Luke was pretty fussy on Wednesday but we just thought it was because he wanted to be home so he could play with his new Cranky the Crane at his Thomas table. Then we went to Temple on Christmas day and Luke was miserable. We came home early and ended up taking him to the doctor on Friday and found out the diagnosis. Mark and David both had the stomach bug too. Sadly, we couldn't go to Brownwood on Saturday to have Christmas with my Mom's side of the family. We had to quarantine ourselves at home. Luke is getting better every day and I think both illnesses are on their way out. Mark is still dealing with the stomach bug. So far, it has missed me--thank the Lord!!
Even though he felt bad, Luke really enjoyed Christmas and got so many fun things. He got several wonderful additions to his Thomas stuff and has been having lots of fun playing at home over the last few days. I got a new iPhone for Christmas and I love it. I can see why Mark is so obsessed with his. We really enjoyed spending time time with both sides of our family. Here is a little slideshow I made of pictures and videos from Christmas. As usual, I didn't do too great of a job of taking pictures. I didn't manage to get any pictures of: Mom, Shauna, Jeff, Grandmother, Grandad, Pat, Maggie or Jo. So, I'll have to do better next year.
Luke participated in his first Christmas program at school today. It was adorable watching the kids up on the stage. Luke noticed Mark just after his class started singing, so he was pretty much focused on his Daddy during the performance. I wish we would have brought our real video camera but we just brought our little Flip camera, so here is the video:
After the program, Luke's class had a birthday party for Jesus. They all got to decorate a sugar cookie and then we ate lunch. Then the teachers brought out a birthday cake for Jesus and we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Last, the kids did a book exchange and Luke opened up a new book for us to take home. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the day.
Luke all dressed up before school.
Luke and Mark posing by the Christmas tree.
Luke on the stage.
Luke decorating his cookie.
Luke clapping after we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.
Luke's finger trying to get some icing.
Luke opening his book from the book exchange.
On Sunday afternoon, Luke got his first (and hopefully last) black eye. It is his first big injury since this. He decided it would be fun to spin around really fast. He got dizzy and hit the edge of the coffee table with his head. It made the loudest noise! I'm thankful a black eye is all we're dealing with. He cried REALLY hard for a couple of minutes, but as soon as he had his pacifier, monkey and bear, he calmed down. He's a tough little guy!! It's not very good timing--we were planning to get a family photo this week for our Christmas card. But I guess that's just life with an extremely active two year old boy.
This is what it looked like right after it happened:
This is what it looks like today:
On Saturday we had a fun reunion with the McAnelly and Carpenter families. This was the first time all of us could be together with our kids. Jen, Cristi and I were in a prayer group many years ago--before any of us were even close to being married. We've all stayed close through the years and it was fun to get together. We need to do it more often. My child opted not to cooperate for the photos. :) Maybe one day we'll be able to get one of the three boys smiling.
Mark and I made a decision recently that we won't be moving from this house for a couple of years. So, we decided to start some home improvement projects. First, we extended our patio in the backyard. We really love having the extra space!
We also put up a playscape for Luke in the backyard as his Christmas present this year. Last weekend, Jeff, Jim, Dad and Mark spent about six hours putting it together. Luke loves it and calls it his "pirate ship." So far, Lily and Nathan have played on it too and they seemed to love it as well! We are so thankful for all of the help from our families putting it up in the backyard. Who knows how long it would have taken if I had been Mark's only helper! Here are several pictures of the kids playing on the new playscape.
Christmas came early for Luke. Yesterday Ammy and PawPaw surprised him with his very own Thomas table with tons of tracks, engines, destinations, and accessories. I was speechless. This is truly Luke's dream come true. Lately we've been going to Barnes & Noble at least three times a week for hours at a time so he can play with the Thomas table there. Any time we get in the car lately, he starts saying, "Thomas store" over and over again. Now, he has his very own Thomas store at home. He got to play with it a little bit last night and cried when we told him he had to go to bed. He went to bed with two of the little train engines. This morning, he remembered and ran into the living room and basically played there until nap time. He couldn't be bothered to eat breakfast, but took a short break for lunch. I guess his hunger finally got to him.
Last night when he got to see the table for the first time, he immediately started picking up as many engines as he could because that is what he does at B&N. He hoards them until other kids come around and I make him share. We had to remind him that this is his table and he doesn't have to hoard them. Lily and Shauna were over at the time. Maybe Luke thought Lily was going to compete with him for the engines. Don't worry, we'll still make sure Luke shares anytime we have friends over. Actually, lately, we've gone to B&N so many times, he says, "Thomas store, share with friends" because that is what we tell him he has to do if he is going to play there.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Ammy and PawPaw! You have one happy grandson.
Mark made this video of Luke the other day. I guess the cat is out of the bag on which way we are voting this election. My family (Suzanne) won't be too happy, but the good thing is they love all three of us no matter who we vote for. I've been undecided until recently. But reading things like this helped me make my decision.
On Monday we went to the Sweet Berry Farm pumpkin patch with Nana, Shauna and Lily. We didn't stay too long. I think it was better suited for older kids. But Luke did get to see a couple of goats and lots of pumpkins. Today we went to the park and Luke wore his UT outfit from Maggie. It was finally cool enough to wear the pants and the jacket together!
I think he looks like a little coach in this picture. :)
It's been a long time since we've updated. I don't have time for a long update--Luke and I are off to Ikea, Target and Chick-fil-A--but I wanted to at least write a short update. Luke is doing great at school. He doesn't cry at all and says, "Yay school!" when we tell him he is going to school. He also doesn't cry when he drop him off at the nursery at church. He just goes right in and starts playing. So those are great new developments! He is REALLY into Thomas the Tank Engine these days. He still likes the Wiggles too. Lately he has been carrying around a tube of toothpaste with Thomas on it. I had to convince him to leave it in the car before school yesterday.
We bought one of these in the hopes that we will record more videos of Luke. Here is a video from yesterday:
We had a wonderful second birthday party for Luke on Saturday at Gymboree. Earlier in the week Mark and I were contemplating changing his party to Sunday because of Hurricane Ike. The weather forecasters were saying it was going to hit Austin pretty hard. Fortunately for us (but definitely not for people in the Houston area), the hurricane shifted and all we had was a windy and overcast day. So, it was a perfect day to play at Gymboree! Luke's Grammy (Sharon) made his AWESOME cake to look like Gymbo the clown:
She also made adorable cupcakes, personalized with each child's name:
She did an absolutely WONDERFUL job and we are so thankful, as always, for her and PawPaw's help.
I think all 10 of the kids had a really great time (including baby Brody!). I don't think many of them had been to Gymboree before, so this was a new and exciting experience for them. Luke got so many fun gifts from his friends and family. My only complaint from the day was how quickly we had to leave Gymboree. They strictly enforced the 1.5 hour we paid for (or at least they did that day). Most of the kids were not ready to leave when our time was up. But really--when are kids ever ready when it's time to leave something fun?? Here are some pictures from the party (I'm mostly posting pictures of Luke in case our friends aren't okay with their kids' pictures on the internet):
Thanks for coming to celebrate Luke's birthday with us!
Luke actually turns 2 on Tuesday. We're planning to bring some of the yummy cupcakes made by Grammy up to his school so he can celebrate his birthday there. He has his 2 year check-up on Wednesday. Thankfully, there are no shots involved at this appointment. On Monday, I am starting MOPS. I am looking forward to meeting some new people and hopefully making some friends.
Last Friday, Luke and I attended our last Gymboree class. Last year, for Luke's birthday, Grammy and PawPaw gave Luke a membership to Gymboree. We have loved every second of it!! My cousin Becky couldn't say enough good things about Gymboree and took her kids when they were little (her oldest is now in college). I knew I wanted to try it out after her recommendation. We started on September 7 last year. Back then, Luke was just taking a few steps and was still crawling. Now he runs all over the place and jumps, slides, sings, and dances.
We decided to end our membership since Luke started in Mother's Day Out. I didn't want our schedule too overbooked. But we will really miss our weekly date with Gymbo and Miss Liz! I am considering rejoining in the summer because it is wonderful to have a nice, cool place to go and play and let him run some of his energy off.
Thank you so much for this wonderful gift, Grammy and PawPaw!!
Here are several pictures from his last class:
We're looking forward to enjoying Gymboree with all of our friends and family for Luke's second birthday party!
