Bouncy

Ian and Luke loved the bouncy and thanks to the cold & wet weather our foyer was transformed into a bouncy house! Ian bounced his heart out and it's probably one of our favorite gifts of all times!! Thanks Santa :)

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

Lots more family time on Christmas Day--and of course SANTA!!

Christmas

Boys on Christmas Eve in Knoxville

Merry Christmas

The boys were such a joy this holiday. Seeing Luke experience the everything and this year Ian really "got it" for Christmas. He understood the Santa, the giving and oh boy the receiving of gifts. He also started to understand that it's the season for the birth of Jesus. It is such a beautiful thing getting to experience everything again through the kids eyes!

Having fun at Dollywood

Hopefully one of our new Holiday traditions will be visiting Dollywood near the Smokey Mountains. Ian just love the park and it was decorated so wonderful with thousands of lights for this Christmas. We rode the carousel, the train, the tea cups and saw the Babes in Toyland play. It was so late but Ian watched every second of the play and had such a wonderful time. It was a great way to start our Holiday break!

Watch out NHL

Ian has always been fascinated with Hockey. Marco and I always thought it was because we were watching the Olympics hockey when I was in labor with him at the hospital but who knows. he had his first time on the ice and was a natural. He LOVED it and I think he even did better than his dad on the ice (Marco bit it a couple of times hee heee..). For over an hour, he went round and round the rink in Alpharetta--so much fun to watch. He swore to us after he put his shoes on that he WAS a hockey player. He is already missing his front tooth so he has the look down. We hope to take him to see the Thrashers this season and maybe see them practice one day! The Zamboni was also a huge hit!! He kept calling it the ice "schimene"?.?.?.?.

Luke slept all bundled up on the sidelines!!

The hot chocolate was also yummy after the skating.

I Can Stand

Luke took a big leap this week and decided to stand up in his crib and then the same day in his "box" (Dutch playpen)!! Watch out world -- my first steps are not far away!!

PS.. He was sooo sooo mad at us for not picking him up!

Little about Luke - almost 8 months

OK--before I start all my Christmas related posts (and it has been a busy 2 weeks so there are several) I realized that I haven't made many updates on Luke lately. Well--maybe I am still learning how to balance with both boys...

Luke had his six month visit at the end of November because Mommy was sick at his originally scheduled visit. He is growing so fast and was 28 inches and 16 lbs 15 oz. He was "ranked" at 50% for weight, 50% for head and 80% for height which means he is staying consistent with his growth. He did great and we talked AGAIN about his sleep or rather the lack of it. Tough love was the recommendation and out of desperation, I am going to do it. Otherwise a very happy and healthy little man!!

He is also making huge leaps-

• Full crawling now and can really move with the right motivation. He loves to follow Ian and to be right in the middle of anything that Ian is doing. He loves toys and most definitely anything that rolls (just like big brother) and hammers! Hitting is just so much fun if you are a boy.
• Pulling up and pushing up on anything that he can get on. He will also sit in his bouncy seat forever and goes nuts in it!
• Moves from a crawl to a full sit now and can go back and forth between the sit and crawl.
• He loves everyone--no strangers for this babe!
• His favorite thing is to be with Ian and really misses him when he has been away. Laughs at his brother all the time and is so ticklish.
• He is trying to wave and has mastered clapping. Along with the clapping we usually get shrieks of happiness (most think he is angry but it's all fun when he starts yelling).
• The crying fits have completely ended and we have taken him off the reflux medicines with huge success.
• His little tooth is finally finally here and it is a little bittersweet because the end of the baby toothless smiles are over! The lower right tooth came through around Dec 18th and now the left side is all puffy. Won't be long until he has two!!
• He ate his first crackers and waggon wheels this week and loves to have the finger food.

• And now maybe the most important milestone.. HE SLEEPS!!! Luke started sleeping through the night and is taking naps like a real baby! Marco and I are different people--sleep really is a beautiful thing for the WHOLE family. Great job Luke!!!

I am sure there are tons of things I am forgetting because he is changing so much right now.

Reindeer

Reindeer Sightings

We went to visit Santa's Reindeer today at Harry's Farmers Market and Ian loved seeing them up close. We talked to them, watched them eat and then had tons of questions for Santa about the reindeer. Ian went back to Santa three or four times with questions:

• What do the reindeer eat?
• How do you get the reindeer to come to you?
• Why won't the reindeer listen?

It was so great!

We also went downtown to Centennial Park to check out the lights and to ice skate. Ian was so exited to try out the ice and practiced all afternoon on the carpet. It was so sweet!! The hot chocolate was actually the hit of the night and we had to even make a second run to get a second cup.

Thanksgiving Feast

Ian is just loving school this year and is making so many new friends. I am one of the class moms and get to help coordinate some of the class events and parties. It really is lots of fun to see the kiddos all together and they are such a well behaved group of 3 and 4 year old kiddos! For the Thanksgiving feast, each child could pick if they would be an Indian or a Pilgrim--Ian definitely wanted to be an Indian. He also made a great oreo cookie turkey for the desert.

More funny from Ian

Ian wanted to know why we would put baby Jesus in a nest! I guess a manger looks lots like a nest if you look close :)

Santa Visit

The boys met Santa earlier this month and did fabulous! Ian told him all the secrets and Luke did super when he sat in his lap. He really loved the big guy in red--Luke loves everyone!!

Little Lamb

Christmas Play

Ian had his Christmas Play at school today and was the cutest little lamb EVER!!! He did amazing and sang every song with the hand movements and all. Marco and I were so proud we could just burst watching him. He is quite the little performer!!

Pictures coming soon!! With more updates. I am having a WONDERFUL holdiay but just jumping from one event to another without many breathers. Marco leaves for Austrilia tomorrow and I'm going to Knoxville for several days. Hopefully a chance for a breather and to catch up a little. Christmas cards are coming but may just be here in time for the holiday!! I love this time of the year more than any other!!!

More funny

So anyone that knows us in the last 7 months knows how we have struggled with Luke's sleep. It's not been easy to get the little guy to take naps or sleep without waking 2-3 times per night. We are finally turning a corner with the sleep but not before I was almost committed!! Sometimes Ian and I talk funny about Luke and his sleep and I said that maybe we should just throw him away ! OK.. not my finest mother moment but we were just joking around. Later that night, Ian told Marco that I wanted to throw the baby in the trash but he just thinks we need to recycle him! Watch what you say but I am still laughing.


The neighbors behind our house have decided to decorate their house with lights in the back and on the deck. Ian peeked through the trees and decided the lights were monster eyes. (Monsters are actually getting a ton of discussion time in our family right now!) I asked Ian if it was a good monster and he said NO! He is a bad monster that wants to steal Christmas. I asked Ian if he would protect our Christmas and he said that he could until he was tired then I would have to do it. Then he told me that to scare the monster away, I would just have to tell him it was Halloween!

Funny things from Ian

Ian is getting more adorable by the day and his brain is on overdrive lately! I love it and here are some of my favorite conversations...

• When talking about Santa he had several revelations-- I asked him what he wanted ask for in his letter to Santa and he decided that Santa could just figure it out! He already knows everything else. (then he thought about it more and decided he should ask for something specific like Handy Manny tools)

• When we were figuring how Santa would get in the house he was very concerned that Santa would make a hole in the wall ! (maybe he knows how "handy" his dad is with home repair projects) And he wouldn't fit in the fire place. And landing on the roof--he wasn't convinced.

• Today he asked me for the first time who is God? and what does he look like? We talked for a while and then I told him God could look different to different people. He decided that God is Tall with Long Legs. Beautiful !!

• I just thought it was a great idea to get all the boys presents wrapped while they were with the grandparents and was so proud of myself. Well--not suprizing--this one bit me in the booty.. Ian was so upset he couldn't open them--grrrrr.... So I pimped Santa and told him that Daddy and I called Santa and he said that we couldn't open them until Christmas. Still so frustrated but I thought this one was won--yeah right. As we were in the car to go have dinner with Santa, he informed me that he would be asking Santa if he could open just one present... Smartie--called my bluff!!

Picture is worth a thousand words..

OK you hear that a picture is worth a thousand words so you can guess at least 999 of the words that were being said at our last family picture session. It's funny now but at the time---not so much. There were some great shots too--we'll just have to wait until Christmas for those!

Ohh to be 3 and 3/4 years old

Ian is Ian... what more can I say. He is so much fun and stubborn (I blame his dad for this trait) but despite what we are doing--it's never a dull moment.

Lately he is very into boys vs girls. Every day we get a chorus of boys do this and girls do that! Well, he is also loving playing with the girls more and more--future heart breaker I am sure. Last night while we were eating at a local little Italian restaurant he spent most of the night flirting with the little girl behind us in the booth. They would play peekaboo and he would try so hard to get her attention and then as soon as he had it-- play hard to get. It was adorable and Marco and I could hardly eat with all the entertainment.

Today he played for over an hour with the older girls which live down the street. He goes into this ultra cute show off mode when they are around. Jacquline and Angiline are 7 and 9 and just adore him and he really eats it up.

He has also started helping more around the house. We have actually created a monster I think... Ian must clean his plate off the table before playing after a meal and if one of us get up without plate in hand--oh boy will he let us know it. He is also getting bossier with the cats--he had to put Jannake in a time out this evening for scratching at the door. He told us that he needed a little break to take care of something and next thing we saw was the cat in his arms (a very mild mannered cat to take it) and she was headed to the entry for a time out. Watch out Luke--your next and big brother is always watching for things you should do and should not do!

Almost 4 and learning every day

It is so much fun to watch Ian now and how he figures out things and describes them!! Last night one of our favorites--Ian told me that he is having trouble with his undies--"Mommy when I sit my underware goes in my butt" -- He learned a new word-- wedgie !

He is also doing great with his letters--he wrote his name for the first time the other day and I was so proud I could hardly stand it!

I just love this age!!

We did it.. first overnight with Nanno and Pappa

Well... after the first time that mom & dad tried to take the boys for an overnight sleep over turned out with everyone puking, I was not sure that they would try it again for years. They are brave grandparents and they tried it again this week!! SUCCESS!!
Both boys did great but Luke's sleeping schedule is not for the weak heart! I think that Luke had the best of my dad when it was his night to watch the little one.

Ian has soo much fun with the grands and didn't want to come home!!

BIG Little Leaps

How do the kids grow so fast? It seems like yesterday we were bringing Luke home and now we have just celebrated his 6 month birthday!! He is getting so big and making some huge leaps all of a sudden. Such a strong little guy--always has been solid but now he is so so strong too. This weekend he started to "army crawl" by planting his elbows and scootching to get his brother or a fun toy! But.. his biggest motivation is the remote control - daddy's boy!! I think that life is about to turn upside down. Hopefully Ian will still LOVE his brother when he can get into all of his things!

And his first little tooth popped through this weekend! The little white corner of his right lower tooth came through and then it wasn't much fun for anyone. He was not a happy camper.

More Fall Picts

Fall Days

Autumn is my favorite time of the year! The crisp days and beautiful colors are capitaviting!!

We enjoyed a perfect day in the mountians with the family. Ian loved Bert's pumpkin patch and the enormous pumpkins were so much fun to play between. We all took a hay ride -- best one ever and Luke thought it was great too! He wanted to eat the hay and threw handfuls around.

Then off to Reece Orchard to pick some apples-Ian had a blast getting his own apples off the tree. Then we all shared the fried apple pies and they were just as good as what my granny would make for us. Yummy. The perfect relaxing day for us before heading into a very very busy week!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was incredible this year even though the weather was a complete mess! Cool drizzle didn't spoil our fun !! The neighbors got together for a great dinner and drinks while the kiddos enjoyed all the fun of the night. Ian loved the trick or treating this year and couldn't get enough. After each house he said that it was time to "Hit the next house". Oh yeah -- he gets it!!

Thanks Heather and Grame for being fabulous hosts for the night ! Can't wait for next year.

Luke was an adorable little skunk and had lots of snuggles and loving from Kristen and her friends. Ian was Iron Man and such a strong super hero catching all the bad guys!