Party Time!

All good things must come to an end, and this past weekend officially concluded Luke's 3rd birthday celebrations. Mimi came to visit, and on Thursday night, we had a family party for Luke. Saturday was Luke's party with his friends, and we held it at our neighborhood club house. We did a Kindermusik party, and Luke's teacher, Miss Dianne (who he's had since he was 9 months-old), led the fun with an Away We Go theme, with songs and dances about things that go: planes, trucks, cars, buses, and boats. The kids and parents had a great time, but I fear that we have now created a birthday monster. After almost 2 weeks of celebrating Luke's birthday, he wakes up each morning with the request: "I want another present!". Below are pictures of our latest parties:

All in blue for our birthday boy.

Kindermusik circle.

Parachute fun!

Magical bubbles!


Opening presents.


Happy Birthday to You!

Top Ten Easter Moments

10. The patience that our own Easter Bunny had when it came to posing with the Easter baskets:


9. Magical Easter Bunny footprints (and a basket of goodies left on our front porch!):


8. The thrill of watching our 3-year-old come out of his room on Easter morning and discover that the Easter Bunny has visited:


7. Finding out that one of the perks of being a big brother is that you get to open your baby sister's Easter basket, too:


6. The joy of dressing my infant daughter in a gorgeous pink smocked dress, bloomers, an Easter bonnet, tights and booties:


5. Enjoying a kid-friendly brunch after church:


4. Accepting that the only way we could coax someone into smiling for a family picture was to hold a ladybug in our hands:


3. Adoring my matching boys:


2. The gift of grandmothers who skip on stones and gummy baby grins & giggles:




1. How after hearing it once, Luke proclaimed over and over again on Easter Day: "Jesus is Risen!"


And of course, because I couldn't narrow down our memories into only 10 pictures, here are some other Easter highlights:

Easter Egg Hunt

We had our annual Easter Egg Hunt with Luke's play group this week, and it was amazing how much the kids have changed in a year! With the addition 4 new babies since last spring and a couple of friends who joined us for the egg hunt this year, we certainly had a busy, fun group. Here are a few pictures of the day:

The kids line up with their baskets, ready to look for eggs.


Luke wanted to open each egg as he found it to eat the treat inside.


Found another one!


Our group!


Luke was obsessed with his friend's play tractor, and toted his Easter basket in the trailer.


Pizza and cupcakes- what a great party!

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Here are my favorites from our neighborhood Easter party last weekend, too:

Our own little Easter Egg.


Decorating an Easter cookie.


Basketful of treats.


Such serious business!

Letter to My Birthday Boy

My dear Luke,

Happy Birthday! You are 3 today! I love the picture above because, to me, it captures the unbridled enthusiasm that you have for life. You literally skip through the world with such exuberance and joy, and bring such a positive energy to all that you do.

Your third year of life was full of so many amazing moments, but my most treasured memories are our weekdays together. This was the last full year that I had you home with me every day before you begin preschool next fall, and you truly are my little buddy. From our unstructured pajama days to our mornings at the playground or music class, we had so much fun together, just Luke and Mommy. You transitioned to a big boy bed this year, which meant that more often than I planned, I fell asleep “snuggling you” at naptime, and we spent lazy afternoons dreaming together.

Two-years-old meant unharnessed energy, contagious giggles, an incredible memory, a vivid imagination, and a vocabulary that astounded most adults. Two was Mickey Mouse, discovering ice cream, adoring things that go, and playing in the dirt & sand. Two was all things boy: Firemen, tools, balls, and bulldozers. However, Two also contained many gentle moments: Cuddling to read books, quiet times singing and rocking together, and knowing that Mommy’s kisses still heal a boo-boo almost as well as an Elmo Band-Aid.

You introduced me to the joy of rescue and construction vehicles this year, reminded me how much fun exploring and playing can be, and gave me the most precious gift of sharing each day with you, my beloved son. You challenged me with your strong will, too, tested boundaries, and are your own little person with definite desires and opinions. As my firstborn, we learned how to survive Two together, and you were incredibly forgiving for the mistakes that I made along the way. You helped me to grow immensely as a parent this year, and I am so thankful.

Most of all, you welcomed your baby sister into our family and learned how to share your Mommy and Daddy’s attention with a new tiny being, surely a huge challenge for any two-year-old. You make all of our lives so full and rich, and really are such a special little boy. I thank God for this day, 3 years ago, when you came into the world, and celebrate you today. Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! You are so deeply loved and cherished.

Love, Mommy

Easter Bunny Sightings

News Alert:
The famous E.B. has been spotted in Greenville, SC this week. When one particular almost-3-year old was asked about this creature, he responded that the Easter Bunny would do the following:
-Come to my house
-Bring me presents
-See my big boy room
-Play with my 'struction site
-Eat pizza with me

Adults in the home remain skeptical that all of the above will happen. Other Easter Bunny sightings have also been reported, involving a much smaller version of the adorable character:



Please be sure to report any Easter Bunny sightings in your area, as well. Thank you!

The Birthday Begins!

Luke's 3rd birthday festivities began this week during Bean and Poppy's visit. Luke is so excited to be turning 3, and as you can see in the above picture, he ate up all of the attention that he received during his celebration. We had a fun family party with birthday cake, Mickey Mouse decorations, and lots of presents. Luke even practiced posing with his cake earlier that day, and gave me this cheesy face when I asked him to smile:



The temptation of waiting to taste delicious cake was almost too much for our birthday boy:



Finally Poppy and Bean arrived and the partying began!



Winnie helped her brother open presents:



Hi Ho Cherry-O was a big hit!



Our attempt at a family picture:



Bean and Poppy took Luke to the park every day that they were here, and they had a lot of fun playing together:






Leah also showed off her new giggles for her grandparents, and was a sweet snuggle bug:






Here is a slideshow of some of our other favorite pictures from Bean and Poppy's visit:

Second Child

This is where Leah fell asleep for her afternoon nap today. She's right in the middle of our family room floor. I put her on a blanket on her back to play so I could get some things done, and heard her quietly fussing for a few minutes. When I went to check on her, she was sound asleep. Poor, neglected second child. I NEVER would have allowed Luke to be alone long enough to let this happen. With my firstborn, I would have been in tune to his cues of fatiuge and taken him up to his nursery where we would have completed our very structured routine of reading books, swaddling, nursing, and bedtime. However, I did learn something the first time around: Let sleeping babies lie. And at least I took a picture to document it and am writing about it on our blog. Precious little girl- It's not her fault that she's such an easy baby and that her parents are so much more relaxed this time around, leaving her to be plopped down anywhere. Sweet dreams, little one!

Mini-Mark

Luke loves to help Daddy do everything. He's such a mini-Mark in many ways, and I took some pictures of them this weekend that capture their similarities:



Washing the car was a favorite activity on Saturday.



The boys fired up their grills on a beautiful spring evening.



Another picture of our little griller- I love his shadow in this one!



Luke was doing such a good job grilling that Daddy decided to relax and have a beer. When we told Luke that he was in charge of making our dinner, this is the face that he gave me. (Also note that he has to have his red checkered napkin tucked into his shirt whenever he "grills".)



Watering our veggies!



After all that work, the guys needed to relax on the hammock. I love those boys so much!