Trick or Treat!

Luke was a dragon this year, and you can see in one of the pictures of him 'roaring', according to him he was a 'dinosaur dragon'. He loved his costume! This year for Halloween we had planned on letting Luke trick or treat to the few houses on our cul-de-sac, take some pictures and then be done. We thought that with him being 2 he wouldn't get the concept of knocking on doors and all that stuff, so 3 houses would be enough. When we got started and he got the concept, he was a trick or treating pro. He would walk up, knock, say 'trick or treat', get his candy, say thank you, and then he was on to the next house. We then knew 3 houses wouldn't be enough for this pro so we headed over to Andrew's brother's house to trick or treat at their house, and we ended up walking their street too. Luke had a blast, and now every time we walk outside he asks to go trick or treat. 

Luke's 2nd Birthday

Can you believe that Luke is already 2?! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was bringing home a precious little baby home from the hospital, and here we are 2 years later with a toddler who is so loving, active, indpendent, and fun. He adds so much joy to my day and I am so thankful for him each and every day.

Right now Luke is very into being independent. He wants to do everything himself or to 'help mommy'. He has to put the soap in the washer, he has to bring in the trash can, he has to buckle his own car seat, etc, etc, etc. It is a battle, but a good battle each day. He loves any type of transportation, animals, Diego and Nemo. We are working on counting, one to one correspondence, letter recognition (mostly the letters in his first name), and his colors. Right now he counts like this '1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 14' and his favorite colors are blue and orange. He is a little sponge absorbing everything and learning new skills and words each day.

Anyways, we celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday this year with a construction theme. I tried to keep everything pretty small and simple. We had planned to have the party outside in our backyard and Andrew and my dad built Luke a sandbox, and we were just going to let the kids jump and play.  But on the weekend of his party it was very cold so at the last minute we had to move the party inside. We pushed back the furniture in the office and playroom and popped up a mini bounce house that Andrew's parents had and we just let the kids jump and play with the toys. They had a blast and it was very enjoyable morning.

Here are a few pictures of the party!

Here's to another year with a sweet little toddler!

Blanket for Baby Sophia

My cousin recently had a little baby girl, and I saw this tutorial on pinterest and decided to give it a try. I found this cute elephant fabric at Hobby Lobby, and gave it a try.

It was so simple to make. Luke decided to try it out, and was loving it. So my next project will probably be making him one in boy colors. 

I got this cute little outfit to go along with it.

I hope baby Sophia gets a lot of use out of her blanket! I enjoyed making it. 

 Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

Cowboy Game

A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to go to a Cowboy game. We brought along our friends the Jeffreys. They has the cutest little girl, June, who is Luke's age. We had so much fun. Luke and June were in awe of the big screen, and all that was happening! It was a great time!

 

Such a fun evening with fun friends! Go Cowboys!

Ke'Ohana Weekend.

For Labor Day, we went out to Andrew's aunt and uncle's lake house. It is amazing- there is so much to do. We spend most of the weekend eating, swimming, fishing, and sliding. It was such a fun time!

Luke and his cousin, Owen:

Night vision:

We spent hours a day sliding. This was by far the highlight for the kids!

Swimming with cousins!

Luke by far loved 'driving' all weekend. Luke loves any type of transportation, especially one that he can be right behind the wheel. 

Luke's first week of Mother Day Out.

Well, let me just say Luke LOVES school. He is doing so much better than I every thought (lesson I learned is never underestimate your child!).

Luke started school Tuesday, and he goes Tuesday and Thursday, I work at his school, but I'm down the hall so he doesn't see me. It is so comforting to me to be right there in case he needs me, but as I learned this week he is a 'bee boy' (big boy) and doesn't care if I am there or not. Let me just say that this is an answer to prayer that he loves it. I thought he would be crying or super attached but so far so good, I know its only the first week, and when reality kicks in that he has to keep going he might get upset. So far the only time he has gotten upset is when he has to leave. He throws himself to the floor and cries (that's another issue we are trying to break), because he doesn't was to leave his friends. He has the sweetest teachers and friends and I am so glad he is loving it! Yay Luke!

Last week for Meet-the-Teacher, Luke took these to his new teachers:

Ready for school:

Sorry this pick is blurry, but I snuck into chapel and took this pick of him singing songs! Love his little heart for dancing and singing for God. 

The other day Luke came up to me randomly and said in the sweetest voice "I love you, mama". My heart just melted. He is turning into the sweetest little boy, and I am so proud of him.

Olympics!

 

The Olympics are on! We watched every second of the Opening ceremonies, and have been watching lots of different events. My favorite is the swimming.  We will be glued to the TV for the next few weeks if you are looking for us.


In Olympic spirit I have seen several cute and fun Olympic things to try. Here is what I might try and attempt over the next few weeks.

Luke and I are going to try this: Looks fun (and messy)!








Maybe do one each morning for breakfast with a different fruit?








Making Metals would be fun!



Anyways, we are in full Olympic mode over here, and are loving every second. Go Team USA!!

Park City, Utah

This summer we went to the same place we ski in the winter. My parents are driving and visiting all over the western half of the US so we brought my brother and decided to meet up with them in Deer Valley for a few days. It is in Utah and is absolute beautiful. I have never been up there in the summer before, and I can't wait to go back! We enjoyed our vacation so much and it was a great break from this crazy Texas heat. The highs were in the 70s, so wonderful! Get ready for a photo dump... lots of pictures coming your way.

This mule deer was right outside the house and came at the same time every day!

We enjoyed the hot tub and played lots of "catch me".

The guys went fly fishing one morning and had a blast. The all caught several fish!

One morning Andrew, Luke, my brother and I went hiking and rode the lift to the top of the mountain. The views are amazing and really reminds you how creative and magnificent God is!

Luke loved riding in the backpack. We also saw some horses and Luke wanted to chase the horses so bad!

One evening we went to a resort down the road that was having a family friendly concert. There was a playground and sandbox in the concert area, so Luke was loving playing and dancing. He even found some friends to hula hoop with! 

There was also a crazy blonde lady that kept trying to dance with Luke. It was really awkward, and I didn't know how to rescue Luke. Ha!

Luke spent lots of time running up and down the drive way, and being thrown up in the air. He could of done that for hours.

We also ventured out to Olympic Park. It has a practice area for skiers to do tricks. It also has an Olympic museum for the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic games. 

The last day my parents had to leave early, so the rest of us went to a fun pond and fished and played. No fish were caught, but we had fun trying! Luke wanted to hit the water constantly with the pole, so I am pretty sure he scared off the fish.

 Traveling pals! My brother and Luke are 2 peas in a pod. They were loving each other. I am pretty sure Nelson taught Luke several things he shouldn't do & say, but that's what Uncles are for...right?!

It was a great vacation with my family and we can't wait to go back!