STRIKE!

We've discovered Luke's new favorite activity: Bowling! We took him for the first time when we were in Pennsylvania last month, and he absolutely LOVED it! I hadn't been bowling in years, and had foggy memories from childhood of smoke-filled, noisy bowling alleys, with primitive blow-up gutter bumpers. However, the bowling alley near Mimi's house was clean and family-friendly, with high-tech automatic bumpers, touchscreen computers, and special "slides" for young children to use, which help the ball roll quickly down the lane. And my favorite: Adorable velcro shoes for all. Luke had so much fun that he decided to bowl for me, too, which meant that I literally didn't touch the ball once during the entire 40 frames of our 2 games. I had one tired little boy afterward- all that running back and forth, lifting and carrying heavy balls resulted in a super afternoon nap! We had an absolute blast, and a bonus perk was that the entire day only cost us $1.20, after some creative couponing and joining kidsbowlfree.com. Enjoy our pictures!



First bowling lesson.



Perfect form.



Wish I could capture the squeals of joy in this moment...



Fancy footwear!



Littlest fan.



Luke placed his ball on the special bowling slide...



...and down the lane it rolled!



Our scores for Game 1. (Luke more than doubled "Mommy's" score, although he bowled for both of us!)



Having so much fun can be exhausting!

Questions, Questions

Luke asks questions ALL the time. At first, I marveled at my son’s curiosity and interest in the world around him. What a fun, inquisitive 3 year-old trait this was, and what a wonderful way for me to provide educational opportunities during our daily conversations! But now, the questions are endless, and absolutely exhausting, as I never seem to have the right answer. This is what the first page of Go Dogs Go sounded like tonight:

Mommy: “Big Dog, Little Dog…”

Luke (interrupting): “Mommy, what is Little Dog doing?”

Mommy: “He’s pulling Big Dog.”

Luke: “Where is he pulling Big Dog?”

Mommy: “Maybe they are going to the Dog Party at the end of the book.”

Luke: “No, they are not going there. They are going home.”

Mommy (sighing): “Ok, they are going home.”

Luke: “What is Big Dog riding on, Mommy?”

Mommy: “He’s riding on a special cart with wheels that Little Dog is pulling…”

Luke: “No Mommy, it’s a wheelchair.”

Mommy (taking a deep breath): “Ok, he’s pulling Big Dog’s wheelchair.”

Luke: “Why does his chair have wheels?”

Mommy: “The wheels help Little Dog pull it…”

Luke: "No, Mommy, the wheels make it go. Why is Little Dog pulling Big Dog?”

Mommy, VERY patiently replies: “Because Big Dog is too tired and needs help.”

Luke: “Why is Big Dog so tired?”

Mommy: “Because Little Dog refused to nap for the 3rd day this week, is very grouchy and argumentative when he doesn’t get enough sleep, and never stops asking questions. This makes Big Dog very, very tired.”

Mommy attempts to turn to Page 2…

Luke shuts the book and states: “Mommy, that’s not right. Let’s start at the beginning again. Why is this book called Go Dogs Go?"

Mommy closes her eyes and sighs. It’s going to be a long, long 8 months until Little Dog turns 4…

7 Months

Our little peanut is 7 1/2 months old, and is such a joy! At 7 months, Leah:

-is still at the top of the charts for height and weight. At her 6 month appointment in early July, Leah was 28.25 inches long (99th percentile) and weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces (98th percentile). She is now officially in 12 month clothes and is our roly poly girl!


-loves the men in her life. Luke entertains her more than anyone else does. Her big brother makes her giggle and smile all the time, and she watches his every move. Mark has turned completely to mush somehow as the Daddy of a little girl, and it's quite amazing how Leah has wrapped him around her little finger. She is definitely a Daddy's girl, as you can see:



-sits up on her own to play! We no longer have to place a pillow behind her for support, and she looks like such a big girl sitting by herself. LeeLee likes the exersaucer as long as Mommy is in sight, and has outgrown her bouncy seat and infant swing. She loves taking baths and playing on her tummy, too. Here she is showing off her newfound sitting balance:



-still is not a great sleeper. She takes 2 naps each day. Her morning one is usually on the go, as she is toted around with Luke/Mommy on errands, to the park, or activities for her brother. Leah's afternoon nap is variable in length, and we have phased out the evening "catnap" in an attempt to get her to bed at a reasonable time. We started sleep training Leah in June, but took a break during our vacation last month. Leah cries anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours each night when we put her down, which is hard for everyone, but it is improving. She wakes up several times in the middle of the night, and usually eats and goes right back to sleep. She has slept through the night exactly 1 time in her life so far (Luke didn't do this consistently until he was 18 months old), so I have just accepted that my children are terrible sleepers as infants and will hopefully make up for it later in life!


-has 5 teeth: 2 on the bottom, her top 2 middle, and 1 top right. Her toothy grin is quite adorable, and she does this funny thing sometimes where she sticks out her chin (resembling Jay Leno) when she smiles at you.


-has recently starting playing with her hair to self-soothe when tired or nursing. Luke began doing this when he was exactly the same age, and I was shocked when Leah did it for the first time. Her fine blonde hair is growing in, but it will still be quite awhile before I can put all those cute barrettes to good use! Click here for a funny video demonstrating Leah's new habit (although I still think she was covering her ears in response to Daddy's singing).


- Does not eat much baby food. After we started her on rice cereal at 5 months old, Leah began gagging and was quite dramatic in her refusals to eat any solid food. She didn't like oatmeal, any fruits, and seemed to dislike anything sweet or mushy. Green beans have narrowly replaced carrots as her "favorite" food (how bizarre is that?), which means she will tolerate up to a couple of bites of a Stage 1 jar at each meal/feeding attempt. After talking to our pediatrician and several of my friends who are speech & occupational therapists, we have decided that Leah has a hyper-gag reflex and some oral motor/sensory issues that we are tackling at home. I have hundreds of dollars worth of baby food in my pantry that I bought whenever there was a sale (in an attempt to stock up before we started feeding Leah solids). At this rate, we may get through these jars by the time she goes to college. In positive news, Leah is still breastfeeding like a champ (no, she still doesn't take a bottle), and is chunky enough from her Mommy milk that we are not worried about her nutrition/growth at all. Here she is "wearing" her green beans:



-is truly the most laid back, happy, adaptable child in the entire world. We are enjoying her so much, and she is such an easy baby. Leah is really starting to show us her personality, and has an incredibly sweet disposition. I love this honeymoon stage of her interacting, cooing, and playing, but not being mobile yet, and thus not getting into things/requiring close, constant supervision. I am also realizing how wonderful her January birthday is, because having a 7-month old in the summertime means that there is so much fun to be had by dressing Leah in sundresses, bathing suits, and onesies, and showing off her chubby, kissable rolls. She is our sweet little Nutty, and we love her dearly!

Renaissance Man

Always the Renaissance Man, Luke showed off his many talents yesterday as he wooed Brooke at the Hands-On Childrens Museum in Hendersonville, NC. Since the site of their "date" was about an hour from home, the Mommys served as chaperones and escorts, with the baby sisters also in tow.


First, Luke demonstrated his manly man side at the car racing ramp:



Leah cheered her big brother on in his quest to win the race (and the girl!):



Next, Mr. "Fix-It" tinkered around with tools and the ball funnels. What a catch!



Luke also showed Brooke his softer side at the vet clinic, by caring for the animals:



Painting a masterpiece always wins over the ladies, right?




He even planned and shopped for the ingredients to make a romantic meal:



The happy couple checked out of the "grocery store" together:



And just for extra points, Luke thought he'd send off a love letter at the "post office":



By the constant hand holding and this expression of adoration as we left the museum, I'd say he got his girl!

Vacation Wrap-Up

A brief wrap-up of some of my favorite things about vacation last month:

-Having another adult to talk to during the day, and an extra set of hands to help all the time is pure heaven for a stay-at-home mom. I can not stress enough how much I valued all of the grown-up conversations that I was able to have, and the tremendous help that I received from our families while we were away.


- I didn't need to clean my house for almost 3 weeks (although those of you who know me well realize that I may have gone through slight vacuuming withdrawal)!


-Thanks to a wonderful mother and mother-in-law, I was relieved from planning and preparing almost 60 meals, and only set foot in the grocery store once, voluntarily (and without 2 resistant children in tow).


-Showers at home: Purely a necessary functional activity, completed as quickly as possible. They consist of plopping my 3 year-old in front of a video and entertaining my infant (by peeking my head out every 30 seconds or so, dripping wet, doing some crazy song and dance) to prevent her from screaming.
Showers on vacation: My equivalent of a spa getaway. While my children were busily playing with grandparents or Daddy, I took luxurious, lengthy, relaxing showers (and even had time to shave my legs!).


-Every single day during our 3 weeks away, we planned an exciting excursion for the children. These outings were so much fun, and Leah was such a great age this year to be toted around in the Bjorn or in the stroller. Not yet mobile and very flexible with morning nap schedules, our Nutty happily came along for the ride, while Luke was old enough to really enjoy and participate in new activities.


-Vacation = different sleeping arrangements, and this meant that Leah slept in bed with me for most of our time away from home. There was something very sweet about this change in our routine, and for one of the weeks, Luke and Mark slept together in a second bed next to us. Having my entire family snuggling so closely, and contained in one room together was quite wonderful and dear.


- Leah positively beamed at everyone all the time. She was a delightful, happy baby, who charmed all of her extended family with her constant smiles, sparkling eyes, and delicious, chubby rolls.


- I took Luke to his first movie. We saw "Winnie the Pooh", and were the only people in the entire theater. He called it the "cinema", which was adorable, and held my hand for most of the show. Luke was fascinated by the projector, the big screen, and the retractable seats, and sat still for most of the 1 hour and 9 minute film. It was my first movie "date" with my son, and was a perfect first show for us to see together.


-Unfortunately, I caught some sort of nasty virus in the middle of our last week of vacation (while in PA), and literally couldn't lift my head off the pillow for almost 2 days. Mimi took Luke to the zoo, brought Leah to me when I needed to nurse her, and gave me chicken noodle soup in bed. The recurring thought in my head was, "If you have to be sick, even at age 32, the best place to be is at home where your mom can take care of you (and your children)."


-Discovery of the Year: Luke's "Telephone Heads" (headphones). We plugged these into the portable DVD player or laptop while Luke watched his DVDs and we heard... blissful silence. For the past 3 years, we have listened to hours of Elmo's World, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Bob the Builder while traveling in the car, and finally, we got smart. There were wonderful periods where Mark and I had real, adult discussions in the front seat of the car while Leah napped and Luke watched his DVDs while wearing his telephone heads. (For the record, out of the 20+ hours we traveled in the car over the 3-week period, the children only napped at the same time for a grand total of 3 minutes. No, I'm not exaggerating. This is 100% true & we timed it. Therefore, the telephone heads were even more welcome than ever, so Mommy and Daddy could enjoy some peace and quiet!).


-Most of all, Mark and I felt so blessed that our families provided us with 2 distinctive wonderful beach vacations, with so many treasured memories and traditions for our children to embrace and anticipate each summer.


And now that we're settled back in at home, I've finally organized our pictures from Part 3 of our vacation: our annual week in Harrisburg. We did some really fun activities this year, including a day trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore:


Mimi and Luke check out the fish.



Our expressions watching the dolphin show.



-We also returned to one of our favorite traditions, Chocolate World:


Greeting the Hershey Kiss.



CHOCOLATE!!


He's an equal-opportunity hugger.



Kid in a candy store... literally.



Daddy's favorite candy!


-Of course, there was lots of fun to be had around the house, too:


The guys and their 3-Man-Band.


Grandpa's girl!



Here's a slideshow of more of our pictures from our fun week in PA:

Day Out with Thomas

Yesterday we took a day trip to the Bryson City, NC to spend the day with Thomas the Train at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. What a charming little town it was, surrounded by gorgeous, lush mountains on all sides! Luke was overjoyed when we told him that we were going to ride on Thomas, and the excursion proved to be lots of fun with live music, story-telling, tents with games & activities, and Thomas & Friends paraphernalia everywhere. Riding the train was a highlight that we hope our Thomas-crazed little boy cherishes and remembers for a long time!


As our train pulled out of the depot, Luke waved to everyone in the station.



Our family riding Thomas the Train.



Playing at the train tables.



Meeting Sir Topham Hat!



Leah was delighted to be on her first train ride!



Enjoying the Thomas-themed festivities.



Daddy and Luke pose on the quaint main street of this railroad town.