Our Gifts from Luke

These are the gifts that Luke made for us at MDO. We didn't open them last week when he brought them home because I thought we should save them for Christmas day. I didn't make it that long (I'm a sucker for all things made by Luke if you hadn't noticed). The first one is a hot pad although I don't think I'll use it for that purpose. The attached card reads:

This isn't just a Christmas tree,
as anyone can see,
I made it with my hand,
which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love,
especially to say,
I hope you have a very special Christmas day!

The second one is an ornament with a snowman made out of Luke's finger prints on it. I collect snowmen so I really love this one!

What wonderful gifts from our sweet little boy!

Some thoughts and a few Pics

I'm not sure why this month has been so tough for me to blog but it has--even as I'm typing now I don't really want to be but feel I need to. I guess I'll just put a few recent pics of Luke on here and call it good for now.

I can say that we are all very excited for Christmas and visiting family and friends. We will be home just the three of us this year for Christmas day and Troy and I are really looking forward to experiencing the day and excitement with Luke. I don't know that Luke understands all about Santa and presents but we've been talking about that and also about the real reason for Christmas. He asks about the nativity scene on a daily basis and so we talk about Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph along with the Wise Men. Luke seems to understand that these are all important people but that's an even harder concept.

I don't anticipate another post before Christmas so as Luke has taken to saying, "I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." He's singing the song and has told me several times, "Mom, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas." I love it! Luke also sings Jingle Bells very well. So, a very Merry Christmas to you and your families!

Our cute reindeer!

Troy's birthday was over the weekend. He was very excited to get the banjo he had been wanting. Luke enjoyed popping the bubble wrap it came in.

Our friends the Dolezals came to hang out with us yesterday--it was great to see them!

We also had the Biery family stay with us last night on their way to Kansas. The boys enjoyed exchanging Christmas presents and it was good to see them too.

"Sleep with me Mom"

Occassionally Luke will request that I "sleep" with him after his nap or when he gets up in the morning. I LOVE when he does this because he's very snuggly and affectionate. The first few times this happened I wished that there would be some way for me to get some pictures of this special time with Luke because I was always home alone with him. Thankfully he has started asking for this time more and more and Sarah was able to get some pictures of it while she was here. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE MY SWEET BOY!!!

Chesapeake Lights

The lights decorating the Chesapeake campus are so awesome! We went to see them for the first time over Thanksgiving so this was our second visit. Luke likes the lights but is more interested in visiting the ducks that hang out in the stream that flows through the campus. So, the rest of us took our time taking pictures and enjoying the views. The pictures don't do any justice to how awesome these trees are in person. It's amazing!

Meeting Santa

This was actually Luke's second visit with Santa this year. The first time was during man time with Dad at Bass Pro (but there are no pics of that visit). Apparently when Santa asked Luke what he wanted for Christmas, Luke replied, "Stuff." So, Santa gets his choice this year for Luke--easy job for Santa :) Luke was quite excited to talk to Santa again and had no fear at all. I'm not sure either Santa or Luke said much during their time together but we got a few cute pics and Luke got a candy cane. You'll notice Luke is not looking at Santa but rather at the basket that held the candy canes--we know his top priority I guess.

Decorating the Tree

We had so much fun decorating our tree this year! I wasn't sure if Luke would be into it or not but he LOVED it! He even managed to get a few ornaments on all by himself. He is very excited to turn the lights on every morning and so far he hasn't messed with the tree since we decorated it. This Christmas season is really bringing joy to my heart watching Luke take in all the wonder and beauty.

Visitors

These are just a few pics of the last week or so with Aunt Sarah and Grammy. Grammy came on Wednesday and we all had a great time (more details in upcoming posts). Luke was thrilled to see her and relished in the attention from both Grammy and Aunt Sarah. Unfortunately they both had to leave yesterday afternoon. It was hard to say good-bye, especially to Sarah since she was here for 3 weeks. Luke told her, "Don't go away from here, Saw-waa." So sweet--melted our hearts! He has asked about Grammy and Sarah numerous times already since they left. I have a feeling there might be an adjustment period for all of us.

Playing with Sarah's phone.

An early Christmas present from Sarah.

Watching Dinosaur Train with Grammy.

The huge stick Luke found on his walk with Grammy and Sarah.

Enjoying another book! So glad Luke loves to read.

Christmas Parade

On Thursday night Troy and I went to his work Christmas party. As a special treat Sarah took Luke to the downtown Edmond Christmas parade with the McBride family. Apparently the boys loved all the lights and watching the trucks in the parade. At the end of the parade Santa came through and Sarah said that Luke was so excited; he was standing up in his stroller shouting, "It's Santa, it's Santa!" I'm sorry Troy and I weren't there with them but fortunately there were several cute pics for us to see.

Our Thanksgiving Week

Just a some pics from the last few days. My sister, dad, step-mom, step-sister and nephew have been here to help us celebrate Thanksgiving.

Gobble Gobble

Here is the handprint turkey that I mentioned earlier from MDO. Isn't he just so cute!?!? I love it! Happy Thanksgiving!

Sarah's Here

So what better way to celebrate her arrival than to have a big pile of leaves to play in? Well, that wasn't the real plan but I guess there wasn't a real plan so it worked out great. Luke went with me to the airport yesterday to pick Sarah up and when we got home Troy had been blowing the leaves into a huge pile in the backyard. It was so intuitive for Luke (Troy and I both commented on that later) to run and jump in the leaves! He wanted nothing to do with them last year but he was all about it yesterday. Luke stayed outside with Troy for over an hour until it got dark and had a blast throwing himself into the leaves, running through them and throwing the leaves up in the air.