The Wizard of Oz (aka Halloween Part I)

Luke's friend, Melaina, celebrated her 2nd birthday yesterday with a Halloween-themed birthday party, and we had a blast! As you can see, the kids dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz (thanks to some great costume finds and months of obsessive planning by the moms) and they were absolutely adorable! Although Luke looks grumpy in a couple of these pictures, he surprised us by happily tolerating his Tin Man costume for most of the 2 hour party. And so the week of Halloween begins...



Our Tin Man checks out his treats!



Following the "Yellow Brick Road"
(Posing them for this picture was hilarious- The moms literally "dropped" the kids in place and sprinted out of the shot while the dads snapped pictures as fast as possible.)



Dorothy and the Scarecrow



Tin Man and Cowardly Lion



Enjoying birthday cupcakes!



The Wizard of Oz cast poses with their Mommies!

Pumpkin Time!

On Wednesday, Luke's play group met at the pumpkin patch, and it turned out to be the perfect fall day! Now that we've been in SC for 2+ years, certain events are becoming annual traditions, and it was so much fun to return to Niven's Apple Farm, which we visited last fall. I looked at last year's pictures of Luke posed amongst the pumpkins and propped up against the same sign, and was amazed at how much he has changed. Mark's comment when looking back at our previous pictures was "Where was Luke's hair?" Oh, Daddy! Luke had a great time this year, and was much more interactive and engaged in all of the activities. He and his play group friends ran through the pumpkin patch, visited the farm animals, checked out the apples and fall decor, and we also went on a hayride. As the tractor pulled us along, Luke snug in my lap, bouncing on bales of hay on this gorgeous, crisp, fall morning, I turned to my friend (who is also from Pennsylvania) and said, "Did you ever think you'd be in rural South Carolina on a random Wednesday morning, belting out "Old Mac Donald" with your child?" And she replied, "I know, isn't it great?". And we had a moment where we realized that although we never could have predicted where life would take us, we love that we are able to share all of these amazing experiences with our children, and there's no place we'd rather be!



Luke helps choose the perfect carving pumpkin for our jack-o'-lantern.



The cutest pumpkin I've ever seen!



So serious here...



There is just something so idyllic about the perfect fall day + children + pumpkins that makes parents take tons of pictures!



My stay-at-home girls with our babies!
(Julie & Thomas, Candace & Melaina, Laura & Brooke, and of course, me with Luke!)



Mommy and Luke on the hay ride



3 out of 4 staying still for a picture isn't bad!


Here is a slideshow of more photos from our fun fall excursion, also found under our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums:

18 months

Luke turns 18 months old today, which is a monumental milestone to me. At some point recently, I stopped tracking Luke's age/progress in months, and the 20th of every month wasn't as significant as it had been during his first year of life. However, 18 months seems like such a big deal- My baby is a year and a half old! I have started becoming wistful of some of Luke's baby-isms, and how rapidly they are disappearing. The chubby rolls on his legs have all but vanished (I'm hanging on to one fold left in each little thigh), those sweet dimples on his hands are fading (you know, the adorable indentations that all babies seem to have at the base of their fingers), and his infant feet with their "dinosaur toes", although still delicious to kiss, are no longer so tiny! I'm also starting to forget what life was like before we had a baby. For a while after Luke was born, Mark and I were able to remember life as a young, married couple. However, this was usually in the context of "What in the world did we do with all that spare time?" since caring for a child seems to consumes 100% of each day. But now that I so comfortably identify with my role as a mother, the "Before Baby" years seem like a different lifetime. It's hard to believe that only a year and a half ago, we didn't know our dear son yet! Here are a few cute pictures of our newly-turned 18 month old:


This cool dude is no longer a baby!
Editor's Note: (Luke will only wear my sunglasses upside down! A new fashion trend?)


Pantless modeling of Luke's new brown bear slippers- so cute!


Luke's 18-month birthday also falls within a few days of me turning 31, which seems like a much more mature birthday than 30 was for me. As my younger, 29-year old husband pointed out, "Carrie, you can't even pretend to be close to your 20's now that you are 31." Thanks, Mark! Maybe I'm just feeling older because of the gray hairs that Wake Forest gave me on Saturday when we attended the WFU-Clemson football game. I can't even discuss the score or the fact that tailgating in 45 degree cold rain on Saturday morning was especially painful for this old lady, but it was a fun day despite our team's dismal loss. My parents were in town last week visiting, and it was wonderful to celebrate with them, and so nice to have them watch Luke while Mark and I went to the game. Here we are, the ever-loyal Deacon fans:


Luke and Grandpa watched the game from the comfort of our couch!



The kids mourned the Deacon's poor performance...



The best part of the day was coming home to snuggle together!


Luke loved having Grandpa and Mimi here, and since they have left, he's walked around the house looking for them and calling their names. Whenever my cell phone rang today, Luke would cock his head and ask, "Mimi?" in a hopeful voice. Below are some pictures from their visit:



Reading the comics with Grandpa


Cuddling with Mimi


Luke's new favorite activity is to "caw-ca" (color) with crayons.



Reading stories is still a great bonding time!

Happy 18-month birthday to our little boy. You are certainly loved and cherished by your parents, grandparents, and friends, and bring smiles and joy to all who meet you. You are growing up before our eyes, and I am so blessed to spend each day with you! Love, Mommy

P.S. Despite what Daddy says about me being old, you keep me young at heart! Thank you!

Singin' in the Rain!

We woke up to a dreary, wet Monday this morning, and decided that we would try out Luke's new rain boots and slicker. When I found these adorable, bright green frog boots at Target, I knew that they were a necessary addition to Luke's wardrobe, and today, my purchase proved priceless, as I watched my son stomp around in his rain gear!


A bright, yellow ray of sunshine on an otherwise gray day!



Impossible to be in a rainy mood with this cutie!

The Past Few Weeks

Our friends from Roanoke (who now live in Florida) came to visit recently and we had a fun few days, visiting our zoo, the Children's Museum, and playing. The above picture was taken of Luke and Anna (who is 6 months older) at our house, and we have a very similar photo of them taken in the same chair when they were just infants. (See our blog archives from August 2008). Although both children have grown and changed so much in a little over a year, Luke still towers over sweet, petite Anna!


Here's Luke on a bulldozer at the Children's Museum. Could he be any more "boy"?



Anna and Luke ride the gator at the zoo playground!



Posing solo...


The past couple of weeks marked another huge milestone for Luke, as he is now putting 2 words together to form "sentences." I tried to explain to someone that it finally feels like my child speaks English. His language progression from birth seemed to follow this pattern:

First came the initial infant grunts, coos, and cries, followed by Luke's baby babble of various consonants and sounds. Next Luke began to label things and people, pointing to "Ninnie, Mama, Dada", etc. Then he learned how to express his wants and needs: "Up, baattt (for "that", usually food!), juice..." and his words became clearer and easier to understand. But now we've entered a whole new arena of language, as Luke spontaneously will say, "Bye, Daddy!" when Mark leaves in the morning, "No, Ninnie" when Winnie does something he doesn't like, and "Hi, Mommy". This makes me naively excited for the day in the future when I can have actual conversations with my son, when his little personality will emerge through his words, and I will finally have an idea of what thoughts go through that cute little head. Mark and I do think it's funny that our 2 children (Luke and Winnie) don't "speak" to us in a literal sense, but still express their moods and needs very effectively, and we feel like we understand them and know them better than anything else in the world. It just goes to show that effective communication can be non-verbal, too!


Here are some of my favorite photos from the last few weeks:

We're still enjoying our apples from the orchard = Luke's new favorite snack!



Reading the business section with Daddy... My boys are 2 peas in a pod sometimes!


Our little Linus now carries his blankie around with him everywhere...



Comfy and Cozy Couch Potato, all wrapped up!



Luke stays very busy with his new vacuum and loves pushing it around to help me clean!



Luke often wants to "trade" vacuums with Mommy, leaving me with the little one!

Fall Williamsburg Weekend

We traveled to Williamsburg, VA this weekend to see Grams and Poppy, and had a wonderful time. I volunteered and shopped at their church's semi-annual Children's Consignment Sale, which has become a fun tradition, and found lots of clothing (many items new with tags still on!), toys, books, etc. for Luke. We also visited with Luke's Uncle Brian, Aunt Sara, & cousin Lauren, saw many of our extended family, and enjoyed seeing the animals in Colonial Williamsburg. Here are some of the highlights of our fall weekend:



Looking for the animals



Luke was enthralled by seeing the "neighs" up close and personal!



The "moos" were especially friendly and wanted to give Luke "kisses".



Feeding the ducks was a fun activity for everyone!



Making sidewalk chalk "art work" with Poppy.



Lauren and Luke pose with their loving grandparents.



The party animals celebrating Lauren's birthday.



No vacation is complete without a round of golf!



The next Tiger Woods practices his swing...



We had a nice visit with Great Grammy and Great Granddad, too!



On the way to Williamsburg, we realized that our portable DVD player wasn't working. Mommy almost had a nervous breakdown and it wasn't Luke's best car trip. However, we fixed it in time for our drive home. With DVDs and a new portable car toy/steering wheel, our little backseat driver was much happier! Thanks to Grams and Poppy for such a fun time- We miss you!