Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Crawling and Teething

On the day of Luke's birthday party (Nov. 26th) Brady started crawling!  He has been getting around pretty well in his own little way of sitting, rolling and pushing backwards for a month or so, but he is now crawling.  And he crawls for the things he shouldn't play with.  If he is surrounded by his baby-friendly toys, he'll crawl through all those toys to get to the Christmas tree, Luke's snack or Luke's little toys.  Oh boy are we going to have our hands full! He's also starting to try to pull himself up to his knees.  He's ready to go!


Brady also has his two bottom teeth that are going to pop up any day now.  His little gums are so swollen and he gnaws on his fist all the time.  Poor thing!

Bye Bye "Binnie"

As of November 26, 2011 Luke is pacifier-free!!  Yippee!  Hooray!  Yes, it's probably two years too late...but better late than never. :)
Always a binky nearby....
....in the car...
 Since day one (well, actually day two...after a sleepless night one) Luke has loved his binky.  For the first year and a half of his life, his binky was never far...often it was attached to him with a binky clip.  Then we limited it to only nap time and night time.

...during playtime...
...at the pool....
At Luke's two-year check up his pediatrician recommended that we take away his binky after the holidays.  Well, we didn't have the heart to...and then a few months later Brady was born and we didn't want too many changes in Luke's life at once.
...weddings...
...in the wagon...
So finally we started prepping him to get rid of his binkies by his 3rd birthday.  We have been talking to him for about a month about how he will be a big boy when he turns three, and big boys don't need binkies.  We told him that the new babies at the hospitals need them.  At first Luke argued with us, saying that he didn't want to give away his binkies.  But after a couple weeks he warmed up to the idea.  And as his birthday got closer, when we'd ask "what happens on your birthday?", he would reply "we get rid of my binnies".
...while playing basketball...
...and baseball...
 I was not sure how it would actually all go down on his birthday.  I was sure there would be a fight and we'd be consoling him all night!  Luke had only one night without a binky and it was not a fun night.  He found so much comfort in his binkies...the second he popped one in his mouth he was calm and relaxed and ready to sleep.
...sleeping...
 Jump ahead to the day of Luke's birthday party.  Everyone had arrived but Amanda and JR.  Luke was patiently waiting for them to arrive so he could finally open his presents.  Once they go here, I told Luke that he should go sit on the potty before he opens presents (he's pretty much potty trained!).  To my surprise he said "Yeah!  And we have to throw away my binnies!".  So he ran into our room and found his binky, then he ran to the kitchen trash and threw it way.  Simple as that...no tears....no fighting...I was shocked!
...on the beach....
After everyone had left for the night and it was time for bed, Luke said "I'm going night night without my binnies".  AND HE DID!  He didn't ask for his binky at all.  He woke a couple times and never asked for it.  We were so surprised.  The next day before naptime he whined for it a little, but then a few minutes later he said he doesn't need his binky because he's a big boy.  
At daycare on Monday he even told Joy that he was going to throw out his binkies, and threw them away.  

....and the boat.

It makes me realize how much of a "big" boy he really is.  He's so smart and understands that he no longer needs that binky.  I think it may have been harder for me to give up the binky in a sense...letting go of that last bit of "baby" Luke.   We are so proud of him!

THREE!


Minutes old
My sweet little baby is three!!  I can't believe it's been three years since Luke was born.  I can remember his birth day like it was yesterday.  I hate how fast time flies and how quickly kids grow up...but we're having the best time.  
First Birthday party
Luke is such a blessing.  He's grown into a talkative, sword-fighting, super-hero-loving, running, jumping, wrestling, 'nack eating, little-brother-loving, movie-watching, competitive, funny, sweet little boy. It's impossible to put into words how much we love this little boy.  We would do anything for him.
Second Birthday party
Luke chose to have a Batman themed party....the "scary" Batman - meaning the one w/ the black suit, not the blue suit. :)  Our parents and most of Luke's aunts and uncles made the party (we missed you Nate & Jen, as you were laying on a beach in Hawaii!).  

Third Birthday party (if anyone got a better picture, send it to me!)

Before everyone arrived, Luke had to sample the frosting on the cake...I think he had to try each color before he approved. :)
After everyone arrived, the first thing Luke wanted to do was open presents!!  He'd been waiting patiently all day.  His favorite present was the Batman cave...once he opened that he wasn't very interested in opening the other presents.  But he did and he LOVES all his gifts.  



After playing with his new toys it was time for pizza and then Batman cake.  Mmmm!  Luke lost his shirt somewhere in there... :)


On Luke's real birthday, we put up our Christmas tree and had a lazy day...

and more cake!

We love you Lukey!!



Sunday, November 20, 2011

Dancing Brady

Brady like's his excersaucer...but he loves Grandma's.  Grandma's has a "piano" on it that he loves to dance to.  Below is a video of Brady "dancing" to the music @ 7 months.


Friday, November 18, 2011

Twenty-nine

Ahhh....29 is waaay too close to 30!  At least I have someone to share the depressing milestones with. :)  I love you Jess!




For my birthday, Jim arranged to have the huge evergreen in our yard chopped down.  Whoever decided to plant an evergreen right outside the front door did not think about how big it would get!  Since the day we moved in I have talked about how nice it would be if the tree was gone.  So Jim surprised me...it was a great gift!  I love the view from inside and you can now see our house from the street.  I love it!
BEFORE (where is the house??)
Luke helping dad rake up the pine needles
AFTER (not the same view, but you get the gist)




Captain America and the Duckie

This post is a little late...but I wanted to make sure to post a couple of pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes!  Luke was a little under the weather on Halloween, so luckily we took the boys trick or treating at Village Pointe the day before.  Luke and Brady also had a halloween party at day care, and it sounds like they had a blast!

Luke as Captain America & Brady with his "1st Halloween" shirt that was once Luke's
We took the boys to a local outdoor shopping center to trick or treat.  Luke was too shy to say "trick or treat"... but he still got lots of candy!  I guess Brady's costume is a little confusing...some people thought he was a chicken and someone thought he was a girl. :)


The last time Brady will be allowed to wear tights :)
Luke and Jim carving pumpkins 
Taa Daa!  Jim carved a Batman and a Mickey Mouse pumpkin
Brady and Great Grandma Johnson rocking.  About 5 minutes after this picture was taken, Brady conked out!

Brady with Aunt Jess