wonderful weekend

Beautiful Blues...despite his two scratches

This is Luke after a quick trip to the grocery store. Luke loves going to Target or grocery shopping with me, I think its just the idea of getting out of the house! We like to go to the grocery store around 7:30 a.m when nobody else is there because he tends to scream at the top of his lungs and laugh at himself as we stroll down the aisle. I truly don't mind, because it is all in fun, I am just being courteous to all the other shoppers!

Two of my three boys sporting their cubs attire!

We had such a great weekend hanging out together! Yesterday Luke and I went for a walk and played at the elementary school playground while Sean went to the gym. After Luke's afternoon nap we went over to check on the house and then went to the playground, where Luke encountered some bullying. Today after Luke woke from his morning nap, we packed a picnic lunch and headed out to beautiful Lake McBride. It was a little warm, but there was a great breeze coming off the lake. I have to admit, in all my years of living in Iowa City/Coralville, I was not aware of the great little picnic and beach area. I always thought it was just hiking, so our intent was to picnic and take a quick hike. Until we saw the beach, luckily I had a little swimmer in the diaper bag, there was NO keeping Luke out of the water. We had a great afternoon and it was so nice to enjoy the Lake area, I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time out there this Fall enjoying the change of leaves and doing a little hiking!

Now, back to the grind! I received many inquiries about my week away. I had to travel to Sunnyvale, CA just outside of San Fransisco. Our divisional headquarters has an office out there and I had to partake in some cadaver training, YES, I had to do a surgical procedure on a cadaver. Enough said. It is great to have the week long training behind me!

We have a pretty low key week planned on the work front, however I have a lot of catching up to do and party planning for our BIG Birthday next Saturday! I have found myself spending a lot more time putting Luke down to bed, I so much enjoy bedtime with him. He loves to read books so we read at least 3-4 books, we say prayers, and then we sing. It is so darn cute, he will start to hum along with me when I sing to him. Tonight when we were eating dinner, it dawned on me...no baby food. He was eating everything with us, a turkey burger, sweet potato, strawberries, and some bread, oh and don't forget his whole milk in a sippy cup! Wow, he is growing up!

I find myself thinking of funny "Luke stories" throughout the day and just laughing. This morning when I put him down for his nap, I whispered to him "it's nigh nigh time". He got real close to my face and whispered back to me...I died laughing which totally broke the quietness of the room, and of course he started laughing too. Priceless.

Sorry for the rambling post, lots of thoughts coming to me as I think about how great our weekend was and what an exciting week our family has ahead of us!

cat scratch fever

So, Luke had his first encounter with a bully! We took Luke to the playground this afternoon, we were there just a couple of minutes and Luke had an encounter with a little boy. Of course, Luke thinks he wants to play, but this other little guy had something else in mind...he scratched the heck out of Luke's cute little face. The first time he pushed him down, so I said to the little boy that wasn't nice, we don't push. Luke got up like no big deal, then the little boy came after him again and scratched him all to heck. Then the big old tears came strolling down his cheeks, along with a little blood. I felt so bad for Luke, because he was so excited to play and just loves little kids, he had no idea what to think of this kid. Needless to say, the little boy's babysitter took him away from the play area and shortly after, Luke was back at it, having the time of his life. He just loves the playground and being around other little kids. For those of you who know me, it took all I had to not say anything to this little boys care provider. The first time he pushed him was bad enough, but then the scratching...AND it wasn't just Luke, after his little timeout he was back to the play area and hit another little kid. Kids will be kids and I am sure Luke will have his fair share of encounters, and I am sure I will be that mom that gets embarassed by his acting out and misbehaving!


Picture taken from my phone but you can see two of the scratches on his nose and by his mouth.

On my way home

I write tonight as I am literally en route from San Fransisco to Minneapolis. In flight wi-fi is a wonderful gift, it definitely makes the flight pass quickly as I am SO eager to get home. This has quite possibly been one of the longest weeks I have experienced in a very long time. I think it has something to do with a cute little boy wanting his mommy!

It has been very hard for me to be away for this long. Sean and Ms. Judi have done a great job sending me pictures throughout the day, although it makes me miss him so much more. They have had a very busy and fun week back home. I hear the weather has been great! Ms. Judi took Luke to the park a few days and today he got a tour of the Iowa Football complex/office. I am sure his Grandpa and uncles will be very jealous!

Sean and Luke have had such a fun week! Sean was a little worried how the evenings would go, but so far so good. They have had five straight nights of fun! Luke can get a little temperamental around 6:00-6:30 if he doesn't nap real well and it makes dinner time pretty frustrating. Sean was dreading mealtime meltdowns, but it sounds like they didn't have any. They even enjoyed a "guys night out" with Randy and Ryder Laing Wednesday night at the Wig and Pen!

I have had a lot of anxiety about this week for several months, knowing how hard five days away would be, so I am thankful to have it behind me as I am just a few hours away from being home with my boys! I love and miss them SO SO much!

We are looking forward to a very relaxing weekend together as we gear up for Luke's 1st birthday. I am still in awe that next Saturday he will be one. I found myself over and over this week saying I have a little baby at home, and when they would ask how old, I realized he isn't a baby anymore, he is almost ONE!

This was the picture I woke up to yesterday that Sean sent me. Of course this brought a tear to my eye, missing this sweet little smile!

Gonna be a LONG week...

It's going to be a long week for our family...especially ME! How can it not be with these amazing guys I have to leave for a whole week...

my amazing hubby

my beautiful little boy

and our gentle giant Gunner

I have to travel to Sunnyvale, CA for five days of training for my job. It's been a long time coming and I have been dreading it for many months. I was originally suppose to go in January, then it was pushed to March, then I had a conflict, so the time as come for me to leave my boys for a week. This will be the longest amount of time I will ever be away from my family, at least for many years. Sean and I plan to take little getaways, just the two of us, but never for a whole week! I am a little bitter that the longest period of time I have to be away from my family is not for a fun, getaway, its for work:( boo-hoo! There is ONE good that will come out of this trip away from home, I will get to see my brother Nate. Sunnyvale is located just outside of San Fransisco, so we are going to meet in the city for dinner Tuesday night. It will be great to see him and I am hopeful that with a jam packed schedule, Friday will be here before we all know it! We are so fortunate to have Ms. Judi! She is so great with Luke and a tremendous help around the house. Let me tell you, the trick to staying sane during time away from my family is knowing that Luke is in good hands and I have very little to worry about, just bummed that I can't be there. Between Sean and Ms. Judi, Luke is going to have a fun filled week. I think it is so wonderful that Sean has this time with Luke, he is such a great dad! I have to hand it to Sean, I think it says a lot that he can handle the household for six nights with a very busy 11 month old. My last comment on work & travel and then I will move on...I think it should be against company policy to make working mother's be away from their children for more than 3 days!!! ha...think that will ever get accomplished??? I also think that nobody should have to travel for work on a Sunday. Sundays are meant to spend with your family, not in an airport! So, as I promised enough...I have had my pity party. All in All it will be a great week for Sean & Luke to "hang out", I get to see my brother, I am going to catch some good workouts, and am hopeful that Friday will be here before we all know it.

Reflection-ONE year ago today...

As September 4, 2010 is fast approaching, I have found myself "a year ago this time, we were..." quite a bit lately. I have to say that I am having a hard time saying that our little boy is almost ONE year old. The year has gone way too fast and I am ready for the clock to slow down. The invitations are out for Luke's 1st birthday bash and the party planning has begun, while all very exciting, it is still hard to believe.
A year ago this time we were organizing "Baby Love's" closet, washing all of the clothes, and getting the room just right for the arrival of our Sweet Little One. So if this is any inclination of things don't always go as planned. Sweet Little Luke never even slept in his 1st room at our home in Kalamazoo, MI. Because of my c-section, everything from his room was moved downstairs, being I couldn't take the stairs very well and then we moved when he was 7 weeks old! Little did we know, we didn't have five weeks to wait for our Baby Love, we only had to wait two more weeks!
As I think back to one year ago today...did I ever imagine that our lives could be filled with as much joy as this sweet little boy has brought into our lives??? I have to say that all those friends and family members who shared with us just how wonderful being a parent is, that is an understatement. I am not sure that anyone could have prepared Sean or I for just how wonderful it REALLY is. In the beginning the coos melted my heart, the cute little stretches, the way he curled up on my chest, the smell of a new baby, and now....the giggles, sloppy kisses, great big hugs, high pitched screams, his vocabulary is hysterical, and how he runs to me when I walk the front door....speechless....what a blessing this little boy has been to Sean and I. We are overjoyed. Being a mother has been one of the greatest gifts in the world!

In two weeks little Luke will be ONE year old!!!!

ONE year ago today....

Go. Cubs.Go

Luke is feeling optimistic about next season with all the recent changes taking place in Chicago!

Pretty cute Cubs fan!

"Put me in coach"

"Yeah, I think the Cubs are going to have a pretty good season next year!"

I had to add this one...he looks so grown up:(

Weekend

Luke and I spent the weekend at home, and had a great visit from my mom and brother Mitch. Sean went to Northern Minnesota fishing with his dad, my dad, and our friend Heath. So while the guys played in the Minnesota waters, my mom stayed with Luke and I for the weekend. Friday night my brother Mitch came down and we grilled out and watched our nightly entertainment, aka Luke! Luke's vocabulary has expanded greatly this weekend. He is saying, book, please or release, and I swear he said "mitch". Although, he has NO idea what he is saying, he has started repeating what we say. It is quite funny! We had another visitor Friday night. My good friend Kelle was driving through on her way from Denver, CO to Virginia, so she stopped for a short visit. Kelle is moving from Denver to Charlottesville, VA just in time to get married next Saturday in Virginia Beach. I am so bummed that we are not able to make it to her wedding. I have to fly to California next weekend for work:(

Saturday we went shopping downtown Iowa City and enjoyed a great lunch in the Ped Mall. After Luke's nap we went to a birthday party, and then church. It was a very busy Saturday and we were all whipped! We watched a movie and called it a night. Today we went to Cedar Rapids to do a little shopping and met Mitch for lunch before we all parted ways. It was just an overall great weekend! When I start missing Kalamazoo, I need to remind myself how thankful I am to have family close by to share these types of weekends with. Luke had so much fun with Gramma and his Uncle Mitch!

This afternoon we were finally able to go for a walk and enjoy sometime at the park. It has been so hot and humid these past couple of weeks that we were never able to get out and do much. Luke and I both enjoyed a little outdoors! We are excited for Sean to get home! Although we had a great weekend, we miss him!

Luke smiling for Grandma!

Daily wrestling match

"Brotherly Love"

"I'm going to get you"

"I told you, I am going to get you"

"Are you ready?"

"Hang on Gunner"

"What mom, we are just playing?"

"Gunner 1, Luke 0"
"That was a good match, I will get you next time!"

Prayer Request

Please keep a very sweet baby girl in your thoughts and prayers. One of my dear friends delivered a healthy little girl on August 12th, unfortunately there were some complications to follow and she is in the NICU with pneumonia. Her mom and dad needs prayers for strength and comfort as they patiently wait to take their sweet little girl home. This is such a special time for a family, as they welcome their first child, and as a parent can't imagine how they must feel caring for their sick baby. Please pray for a quick recovery so they can enjoy their new family together at home.

"You answer us in amazing ways, God our Savior. People everywhere on the earth and beyond the sea trust you. " Psalms 65:5

wanna play football?

Happy Anniversary

August 11, 2007

We enjoyed a delicious Chocolate cake from a local bakery "Yummy's"

My hopes were to replicate our wedding cake as I did the last two years, chocolate layered cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting. Unfortunately, I completely ran out of time, so I figured this will just have to do!

We enjoyed a delicious bottle of wine that I bought during my most recent trip to Napa. Sean grilled cinnamon sweet potatoes and NY strip, along with local sweet corn! It was a delicious dinner and most importantly the best company! Luke, Sean, and Gunner! Sean and I enjoyed dinner out on Tuesday night, just the two of us. Atlas World Grill is one of our favorites and holds a very special place in our hearts, our first date! Sean is all about starting traditions, so he thought we should dine there for every anniversary from hear on out!

Celebrating our anniversary is always very special, reminiscing about one of the most special and most wonderful days of our lives together. We had a beautiful ceremony and fabulous party, but most importantly we celebrate our commitment to each other, our love, our friendship, and now our family. We have had a very exciting three years to say the least. We have sold two homes, moved two times, four jobs (between the two of us, all with the same companies, just new positions), had a baby, and are now building a house!!!

It has been an amazing three years and we look forward to many more!

Back to work

What a dreary Monday! With the dark sky, thunder, and consist rainfall, it really makes me want to stay put for the day with my Sweet Little Luke more than ever. Despite him having hand, foot, mouth disease last week, my week home with him was great! We had a great four day trip to Wisconsin and then snuggling through his sickness. Luke took a turn for the better on Saturday afternoon, so we got some rest and we were ready to play! He is so much fun right now, it makes it so hard to get back into the swing of things at work. I just want to stay and play with him all day long! We are working on finding his tummy and nose. He does "so big", gives high fives, and does pad a cake! His newest words are "yuck" which he said ALL during church yesterday, and he gives his "daddy" a shout out every now and again. I had to spend most of church in the back yesterday. We are asking ourselves, what do we really get out of the mass when we are entertaining Luke the entire service? I am hoping that the more we bring him, he will get use to sitting still for one hour...I might be hoping a while. The problem is, when people talk or sing, he thinks he needs to talk or sing. So when Father is giving his homily, Luke feels the need to talk or scream back! Real cute. We are considerate of those around us, so we don't put up with much before we take off for the back of church.

I hope you all enjoy these next few weeks of summer. It is so hard to believe the first week of August is underway. I know many will be going back to school in the coming weeks. Iowa City has started to buzz. The college kids are beginning to stroll back into town. Note to self and other locals...avoid Target and Hy-Vee on Saturdays and Sundays!

do you blame me for wanting to stay home and play with this little guy?

it's HOT outside

Enjoying some pool time

This is how we roll on HOT summer days!

Luke & mommy

It was pretty steamy today which kept us in doors most of the afternoon, aside from a little pool time on the deck. Luke loves the water and running around in the nude. Oh the life of an 11 month old running buck wild around the house when it is 95 degrees out. We had a pretty low key day which was very enjoyable for my last day off before heading back to work tomorrow. We all took a morning nap, went to church, had some lunch, and played out in the pool. We didn't spend too much time outside because the heat index was super high.

Luke is finally feeling like himself again. He still has a few sores on his hands and chin, but I think the ones in his mouth cleared up, at least he is eating again! He is pretty much back to his rambunctious self, climbing over his gate, wrestling with Gunner, climbing on the TV stand, knocking over the lap, moving chairs around to get to the water cooler, and carrying everything he can lift around the house! We love our busy little Luke and we are so happy to have him back from a few days of sickness!

House update

They are coming along quite nicely with our home. They just started shingling the roof and putting up the screened in porch off the back of the house. When we returned from vacation they had all the windows installed. I noticed they also have the garage floor laid. We can now visualize what the finished project will look like much better. We are hoping to walk through it tomorrow. Our home has been struck with sickness so we have been somewhat quarantined. I needed to get out so I took a drive by to grab some new pictures. We don't really have a projected finish date. I am saying by Thanksgiving hoping for Christmas.

This is the view of the house as you drive from the entrance of the subdivision

catch up

We enjoyed a great four day weekend/vacation in Wisconsin. We took off last Friday and headed to Whitewater, WI to meet our friends the Migely's, and Bagan's, at The Migely Family lake home. We spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather and great company. Monday, we headed to the Wisconsin Dells to enjoy a couple of days at the Wilderness water park. If you have never heard or been, you need to check it out www.wildernessresort.com, it is a children's paradise! Luke had a blast enjoying all the water activities, so did mom & dad. It was a great four day vacation with our little guy! Unfortunately, Luke came down with 103 temperature on our way home Tuesday night and has just been miserable. I slept in the chair with him on my chest the last two nights, let's cross our fingers I can get a good night sleep in my own bed tonight. I took him in today because his fever hadn't broke in 48 hours and I wanted to make sure it wasn't his ears. Good news, ears looked great! Bad news, he has hand, foot, mouth. A horribly contagious virus that results in sores all over his mouth, feet, and hand. Luke has a whole body rash and sores all over his mouth/throat. Poor guy, he just buries his head into my chest in pain, I feel so helpless. We are hoping that he starts to feel better soon. I am somewhat bitter that he is so sick because I took this whole week off of work to hang out with him. I had all these fun things planned, the pool, museum, and enjoying mommy/Luke time. Unfortunately, we are not getting to enjoy any of these fun things. On the other hand, I am so glad that I am home with him and not working. When he is sick he just wants his mommy and I am thankful that I am home with him to try and comfort him as much as possible.

Enjoy some photos of our time in Wisconsin!

Mommy & Luke on the dock

Luke enjoying the fish pool on the dock

now let's try the lake!

The Migely Family

Mike, Jodelle, Ben, & Kate

Ben & Kate

They were so good with Luke. He had so much fun playing and watching them both all weekend.

Luke with Daddy & Ben

Luke & Linus (best buddies)

Linus is Migely's dog and Luke loved him. I am not sure if Linus feels the same, but he was so kind and gentle

Mommy & Luke at the water park

Luke having fun in the water

Below are pictures of us enjoying the water park! We are not sure where this hand in the air thing came from but I thought I needed to show this 1st picture because Luke is now walking around with this right hand open...like give me some money dad!

11 months old

Luke is 11 months old

08.04.10

11 month "Bryan Bear" photo

(love his smile, it is so contagious)

Below are this months outtakes...it gets funnier and funnier every month

Luke on the go with his bear
Here we go....

I am taking you with me....

I'm tired, that wore me out...let's take a tap!

I can't believe that this is the last month before Luke turns 1 year old!!! It absolutely blows my mind away to think that he is almost ONE! This has been such an exciting month for Luke, as they all have been. Luke hit several milestones this past month and his growing by leaps and bounds. I was thinking that last year at this time we had the nursery ready, showers done, and were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Baby Love. It has been one of the most joyous times of our lives, and we truly do not know what we did with all of our time before we were blessed with the arrival of our little Luke. Being a parent has been one of the most rewarding experiences that Sean and I have been endured. We find ourselves laughing until we cry just watching all the new discoveries of Luke. For example, last week we had "runaway naked baby" right before bath time so we let him run around for a few minutes naked. We got a few pictures, but Luke might want to kill us if we post them. He was playing with his sit and play mirror and began talking to himself, screaming at the top of his lungs, then started playing peek-a-boo with himself in the mirror. He would lean to the side, then when he faced the mirror and he would scream! It was one of the most hilarious things I have seen. We also think Luke is starting to say his name...go figure! He has been walking around the past week saying "book", we kept thinking, wow, he wants to read books! Then yesterday I was talking with him and I said "Luke" and he replied back "book". Every time we say "Luke" he replies with "book"! I think it is kind of funny!

So...Mr. Luke what are you up to at 11 months old????

-you are wearing size 4 diapers
-you are WALKING EVERYWHERE, your preferred choice of getting around

-you crawl up the stairs every chance you get

-you are wearing 12 month clothing and size 4 or 5 shoe

-you don't like to wear shoes

-you are taking two naps a day!

-you are still sleeping 11 hours at night

-you now have 3 teeth, your bottom left front, top two incisor teeth (you will look like a vampire

when they come all the way through)

-you love the pool

-you are saying mum, baby, book, baba, and you scream a lot (along with lots of other gibberish)

-you love to make people laugh

-you just started "scaring people" then you laugh when they jump

-you are eating lots of table food, you love turkey burgers, chicken, blueberries, and strawberries

-you still get 3-4 bottles of formula

-you love to drink out of your sippy cup

-you love to drink out of mom and dad's glasses even more

-you love Gunner and wrestling with him

-you hum yourself to sleep

-you love to give sloppy kisses

-you started pulling your hair when you get tired

-you are getting much better at independent playtime

-you love all the people when you go shopping with mommy

-you are quite a flirt

Luke, you are growing up way too fast, we can't believe how much of a little boy you are becoming. You make everyday an experience and so much fun. Our day is made each morning when we see you smiling face. I spend more time holding you at night before I put you to bed because you just cuddle up on my chest so peaceful, I don't want that to go away. Pretty soon you won't want to cuddle with me because you will be all grown up. We love you so much!