Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend, we traveled to NY for the wedding of my fellow BB and college roommate. Mark and I dropped off Winnie and Luke to spend the night with Mimi, Grandpa, and Gawa on Friday, and we had our first child-free trip together since Luke's birth. We had a great time celebrating Krissy's rehearsal dinner with some of our best friends from WFU:


All 6 BBs with their boys.


Luke joined up with us at the hotel the next day in time for the wedding. I think Luke was sold on hotel living once he saw the indoor pool, and he and Mark splashed around in the water for a long time on Saturday afternoon:



Luke took up most of our shared king-sized bed that night after deciding that the port-a-crib in the hotel room was much too small for him, and we returned to Pennsylvania on Sunday to wrap up Luke's birthday celebrations (doesn't it seem like we've been celebrating for weeks now?). Luke now joins in when we sing the "Happy Birthday" song to him, dictates who should blow out his candles, and when asked how old he is now, he replies: "Too old." (I think he means "Two YEARS old"). Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.


New golf cart from Grandpa







We returned home yesterday, and are thrilled to have nothing at all planned for the next several days. Here's our "cool dude" in the car on the way home. I'll pretend that he was this happy and cheerful for the entire 23+ hours that we spent in the car this weekend:



I am also including a couple of pics from the Children's Museum last week, where I took Luke on his actual birthday (mostly b/c if I stretch his birthday into yet another blog post, people may think he's turning 35):


Cute cake-decorating display at the museum. Very fitting for our bday boy!


My favorite shot: Luke filled his cart with produce only in the pretend-grocery store. We wandered up and down the "aisles" that had boxed and pre-packaged food, but Luke kept steering his cart to the fruits and veggies instead, naming them all.


One other funny parenting lesson learned this birthday: Make sure all gifts with "Some Assembly Required" are ready when your 2 year-old opens his presents. We learned this the hard way when Luke opened the gift-wrapped bag containing his new tricycle. He squealed "NEW BIKE!" with unadulterated enthusiasm, but when we explained that Daddy still had to put it together and that it would be ready the next morning, many tears were shed. We tried to change tactics by fibbing: "Oh, it's just a PICTURE of a new bike on a box." (Insert more stomping and screaming). Our last hope was distracting Luke by having him play in the gift bag, but that lasted about 2.3 seconds before he wailed again: "NEW BIIIIKKKKEE!":






Here's the best photo I could get the next morning of someone who was still apparently holding a bit of a grudge:


Sometimes, it's so tough to be 2, and have parents who are just learning all of this stuff for the first time!

Bean and Poppy's Visit

Luke's birthday celebrations continued last weekend with Bean and Poppy's trip to our house. We played at the park, visited the zoo, went out to lunch with Daddy, and had lots of fun. Luke loved the attention from his grandparents, and thrived on the 4-1 adult to child ratio and being in the presence of such admirers. Mark and I were able to go out on a Date Night on Saturday while Bean and Poppy baby-sat, and they helped us with lots of little projects around the house, too. Left with lots of new birthday presents and many special memories, Luke has been talking about "Bean/Poppy" all week, and already we can't wait to see them again next month!



Singing "Happy Birthday" to our dear Baboo.



Presents!
(Love the coordinating jungle-themed gift bag. Way to go, Bean!)


We found a monkey on Daddy's shoulders at the zoo.



Walking on a wall with Poppy


Here's a slideshow of some more pictures from our special weekend together:

To my Birthday Boy

Dear Luke,

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! Today, you turn 2 years old, which gives me a tangible date to write my annual birthday letter to you and reflect on all that has happened in the past year.

Your second year of life has been full of so many important milestones: From first steps to now running, jumping, and climbing, the advances in your motor skills this year have seemed every bit as dramatic as those initial motor milestones of infancy. You continue to grow by leaps and bounds, you tower over your peers, you're the best eater I know, and are a such a strong, healthy, little boy!

You have made amazing developments in humor, personality, and cognition this year, too. You now pick out your books by name and help us read them, you tell us what you want to eat, you speak in full sentences, and still, months after you began talking, you astonish me daily by learning new words & phrases. You count and sing, your memory is incredible, and you can tell me where we are when we pass/arrive at many places while driving in the car (must be a male DNA thing with directions!). Socially, you charm everyone you meet with your endearing personality, adorable dimples, and infectious giggle. You are happy and playful, you love your toys & books, and adore being outside.

It has been a joy this year to watch you begin to learn the values that Daddy and I hold dear, and to know that the person you are becoming is most strongly influenced by what we model and teach you at home daily. Perhaps the gentleness of your spirit and the sweet affection that you show others is part of what you have learned from us, but we can't take credit for the utter joy that you have for life, and the way that you make the people who know you so incredibly happy and full.

Luke, do you know that Daddy and I still come check on you every night after you fall asleep? Often, I am shocked when I open the door to your room to find how your long body stretches from one end of the crib to the other. Somehow, I still think that I am going to see a sleeping infant, tiny and swaddled. We watch your chest rising and falling, your face so peaceful and content. Last week, as we lingered over your crib in the dark, I tearfully whispered to Daddy, "There's not even a SMIDGEN of baby left in him!" Daddy started giggling at my use of such a silly word, and you opened your eyes at the noise. We told you that we love you, as we do every night, and tucked you in again as you smiled and slowly closed your eyes, our darling big boy.

Although I know that I view you through a Mother's tinted lens, it's true that some nights when I put you to bed, you seem to visibly grow and change by the time I get you out of your crib the next morning. Just promise me that you won't grow up too fast: that you'll help me remember to cherish and savor each of the days, weeks, and years that you are in my care. I still think of you as that tiny miracle that surprised us 2 years ago today, by entering our lives over 5 weeks before your due date. You are my first born, the light of my life, and my existence is so intertwined with yours now that I don't know who I'd be without you. It has been such an incredible year to see you emerge as your own independent little being, and today I celebrate your birth and life, as I look forward to your next year and all that it will bring. Daddy and I love you with all our hearts.

Love, Mommy

Birthday Festivities Begin!

Our "Jungle Party" with Luke's friends on Wednesday was the first of our celebrations for the birthday boy, and it was a great time. Mark and I put up decorations while Luke was sleeping, and when he woke up in the morning, Luke stood at the top of the stairs and exclaimed "OH MY WORD- Balloons!" It was possibly the cutest thing ever to see my child so excited about something so simple, yet incredibly magical to him.


It was a gorgeous spring morning for the kids to play in our backyard. As you can see, Luke's water table was a very popular toy!




Daddy came home from work early to help us open presents.




Luke wasn't so sure about blowing out the candle in his cupcake, but luckily Mommy and Daddy helped!



As the kids lined up their vehicles in the yard, we attempted to get a picture of all/any of them looking at the camera. Easier said than done.


After the kiddos left, Luke ran around the house singing "Happy Birthday to You!" over and over, and when I put him down for naptime that afternoon, he wailed in despair, crying, "More Birthday!". Lucky for him, Bean and Poppy are here this weekend to continue the celebrations!

Click here for a video of Luke singing "Happy Birthday!"


Here's a slideshow of other pictures of the day, also found under our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums:




And for those of you anxiously awaiting the results of our family Cupcake Challenge:
I made the monkeys.
Mark made the lions.

Although the online voters overwhelmingly chose the monkeys, the kids at Luke's party ALL chose the lions (with one exception- One child chose a monkey, took a bite, & traded it in for a lion. I'm not offended, really!).

So we have officially declared a tie. Thanks to all who voted, whether by comment or taste test!

Cupcake Challenge

To kick off Luke's birthday week (and the countdown of having a 2 year-old in only 7 days), we present our family Cupcake Challenge to our loyal blog followers. The first of Luke's birthday celebrations is tomorrow morning, when his friends will come over for a play group party at our house. In preparation, Mark and I baked and decorated homemade cupcakes to coordinate with the jungle-themed birthday festivites. One of us made lions, and the other one made monkeys. In the spirit of friendly competition, we'd like you to vote for your favorite cupcake (in the comments section of this post). Mark would like to let you know that his cupcake "tastes better", but we'll see where the numbers lie. Happy Voting!

Cupcake A:



Cupcake B:

Men at Work

We've had beautiful spring weather for the past several weeks, which means that Mark and Luke have been busy preparing our gardens, planting new trees, mulching, and doing lots of landscaping. These pictures illustrate what a good helper Luke has been, supervising all of the projects in our yard.


Last month, the boys created a new corner bed, where they planted a magnolia tree, roses, and snapdragons:

Digging up the sod



Luke pushes the wheelbarrow



Finished product!



Our ever expanding fruit/veggie garden now has zucchini, yellow squash, 4 types of tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and several kinds of herbs. Last summer, Luke loved picking the cherry tomatoes right off the plant and popping them in his mouth! Here's a photo of our early spring garden, after the boys did the planting. They water it together in the evenings, and it's so cute to watch them tend to our crops. I can't wait to reap the fruits of their labor this summer!



After all that hard work, I thought my boys deserved to relax, so we dug the hammock out of our garage and set it up in the backyard. However, Luke is much more enamored with the steering wheel toy that Daddy got him as an early birthday present:



Luke LOVES steering wheels that are a part of playsets at the park, so now he has his very own at home, attached to our fence. He runs to it, saying, "Babu Drive!" (Babu still stands for "Baby", and is how Luke refers to himself!).

(I love how the grass is so much greener in this photo, taken just a couple of weeks after the ones above. Spring has arrived- Hooray!).

Fine Dining

A funny story about the wedding we recently attended:

Luke was served a "Kid's Meal" of chicken tenders and french fries, presented on a china plate along with a pretty, silver cup of ketchup. Luke, who has never eaten a french fry before in his entire life, immediately picked one up, dipped it in the ketchup (which he has also never had or seen modeled) and took a bite. "YUMMY!", he exclaimed.

Mark and I glanced at each other with dropped jaws, wondering how in the world our son knew what a fry was and how to dip it! I pretended to be a normal, laid back person about this variation from Luke's regular, healthy diet, but was secretly worried that there would be screaming and tantrums at every future meal, as Luke now knows what we've been keeping from him. Luckily, Luke hasn't expressed any requests for fries at home (hopefully he associates them with very special occasions), so we are safe for now! The below pictures are just too cute- It's not every day that you see a little man in a tux eating fries!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, from our family to yours!











The Easter Bunny almost dropped the ball by falling asleep on the couch last night. Luckily, we have a good assistant:



This morning, when Luke woke up, we watched him through the baby monitor and heard him excitedly exclaim: "Bunny, Peep Peep, Winnie the Pooh, another Jesus!" (referring to his new baby Bible and items in his Easter basket):

Wedding Attire

We traveled to New Jersey last weekend to attend the wedding of Mark's cousin, and we loved seeing extended family and visiting with Bean, Poppy, Uncle Matt, Aunt Anika, and cousin Maya. I was a little nervous about the reception coinciding with nap time, but our party animal never slowed, and was such a good boy. Luke wore his tuxedo to the wedding & was quite a dapper little man, and Maya was beautiful in her pretty pink dress. It made my heart melt to see that as soon as we arrived, Maya ran up to give Luke a hug, and Luke clung to his cousin (with his head on her shoulder) for several minutes. Maya was also Luke's preferred dance partner for the festivities, and below, we highlight some of their moves:



The Tango, perhaps?



Slow Dancing



Perfecting their waltz steps...


Here are a few other cute pictures from the day:


Winterhoff Family Representation (minus Poppy, who was the photographer!)



Luke with his beloved Bean



Poppy's Special Boy



Tuckered out at the end of the reception!