Friday, July 30, 2010

Troy's New Job

This is the end of Troy's second week at Chesapeake. So far Troy is really happy with his decision to move jobs. He is enjoying the project he has been assigned and has also received several confirmations on a job well done to this point. There has been some adjustment for all of us because Troy is getting home later than before but Luke and I have discovered it allows us a little extra time to run errands after his nap.

One of the nice perks Chesapeake has is allowing families to come share lunch with the employee on Fridays. Luke and I have joined Troy the last two Fridays and I'm really enjoying it. There are a few restaurants on campus but so far we've gone to Fuel for both lunches. I have to say that it is a really cool set-up. You order your food on a touch-screen and you may choose from chinese, mexican, pasta and pizza; all of which you may customize to your desire. I had pasta last week and a taco salad today and was impressed both times.

Luke has been excited to go see Daddy at work both trips. The first trip obviously was exciting because it was a new place to explore and this week Luke remembered all the cool water features he could look at as we walked around. The Chesapeake campus is awesome. I was highly impressed last week. There are numerous brick buildings which house the offices along with great landscaping so it doesn't feel like your typical office building. These are a few pictures from this week. The building in the background in the bottom picture is Troy's actual building.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Swim Lessons

Last week and this week Luke is taking swim lessons. I'm in the water with him so I guess I could say we're taking swim lessons although I do already know how to swim. I had high hopes for this experience for Luke. He loves the water and also has no fear of it. I didn't think this would be too tough. I thought wrong.

Luke doesn't like to participate with the class much at all. Two of the biggest things we're working on: blowing bubbles and kicking. Luke loves to blow bubbles but not in class. He's also pretty good at kicking but not in class. It's very frustrating for me because I want this to be beneficial for him. The other part that is frustrating is that I know he can do this stuff. We went to the pool on Saturday and he did everything we've been working on in class when I asked him to. I'm not sure why Luke doesn't like the class setting. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

There are a few things Luke does like to do. He loves to jump in the water. He has no problem holding his breath when he goes under and he's even gotten strong enough to hold onto the side of pool by himself (very good if he were to fall in accidentally). Luke also likes to glide. I think this is funny because it's almost the same position as when we work on kicking only his arms are above his head with his hands on top of each other. I figured out on Saturday that this is even more fun for him if you let him push off the wall with his feet. So there's hope in all of this somewhere even if my dream of an Olympic Gold in the 50 meter freestyle has faltered a little the past week. Luke is only just 2 so maybe I should cut him some slack :)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Vail, Colorado

It seems like our trip to Vail was forever ago already. Troy and I quickly planned our trip when we learned he would have 2 weeks off between jobs. We left the morning of July 6 and came back on July 9. It was just the right length to allow relaxation and fun plus we didn't have to miss Luke for too long.

Tuesday after we drove to Vail from the Denver airport (I absolutely love the drive up into the mountains from Denver) we quickly unpacked and then went to Vail Village and explored a bit and had lunch. We were both very tired from getting up at 4:30 so then we relaxed in our room and instead of going out to dinner we ordered pizza and watched a movie.

Wednesday morning we went on a 2 hour horse back ride. Troy had never ridden a horse before but he did fine. It was actually quite humorous because his horse would stop and eat grass whenever he had the chance. I told Troy the wranglers gave him the right horse :) Our ride was really nice--we went through some grasslands and up over a hill and along a stream. The views were all fantastic and we got to watch a storm roll in from a distance.
After our ride we decided to go to Breckenridge for the afternoon. We had lunch at a place that I've eaten at several times which is always fun. We wanted to walk around and shop and also ride the alpine slide but the weather did not cooperate. The storm we had watched roll in was now getting us rather wet. We enjoyed the drive back to Vail and again chilled in our room until the rain passed. We then had a nice dinner in Vail Village and enjoyed going in more shops.

Thursday morning we decided a hike was in order. Our original plan was to ride the gondola up to the top of the mountain and hike our way down (thinking this would be easier) but the guide at our hotel said we could do this hike up in about 2 hours and that is wasn't hard at all. He also said that we could save $50 because a ride down in the gondola is free. Um, I don't think he realized that we hadn't totally adjusted to the altitude and that neither of us is in the greatest shape. Well, we decided to save $50 for better or worse. So off we went--very slowly.

It was a beautiful trail. The weather was great. The views were amazing. Our estimate of making it up the trail in reasonable time--a little off. It took us about 3 hours. We definitely bonded and encouraged each other. We decided that next time we probably won't save the $50. On our ride down in the gondola we read the description of our trail, Berry Picker. It was 4.6 miles long and the elevation change was just over 2000 feet. Next time we'll also read the description first.
The best part of the hike for me was seeing all of the wildflowers. I absolutely love Colorado's wildflowers. My 2 favorites are of course the state flower, columbine and also the Indian Paintbrush.
After our hike we had a beautiful scenic drive to Leadville. There we got on the Leadville Train (guess who had this idea). The train used to be for the molybdenum mining industry in the area. We learned about the industry and about the train. It was a nice ride but we both decided it was a bit long. On our way back to Vail we made several stops to enjoy the awesome scenery. We enjoyed another nice dinner and more walking around on our last night in Vail.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Toy Story 3

On Sunday afternoon after Luke's nap we decided to go see Toy Story 3. Luke has never seen a movie in the theater before and we both felt like this one would hold his attention so he would sit through the whole thing. Now even thinking that we went in with the mind set that we would be leaving early. Nope! Luke did awesome! Troy stopped to get us drinks so Luke and I went into the the theater by ourselves to find a seat. Luke had a hard time concentrating on walking up the stairs because his eyes were glued to the screen. After 25 minutes of previews (ridiculous) the movie finally started and Luke was enthralled from the beginning. He did move seats from between Troy and I to just next to me a couple of times but other than that he sat through the whole movie and he even made a few comments about what was going on. Luke told us that he really liked the movie on the way home. It was a great experience for all of us and Troy and I also really enjoyed the movie. Way to go Woody and Buzz!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Birthday Party X 2

Our first birthday party for Luke was in Kansas City on July 3rd. We all had a great time and Luke really enjoyed opening presents and eating ice cream cake. Thank you to all of you in attendance.
The second birthday party for Luke was here at home and actually on his birthday. Again we had fun hanging out with family and friends and eating good food. Thank you to those of you here that day as well.

Life with a 2 year old

Okay so this is mainly for my memory but you might enjoy learning what Luke is doing these days as a two year old. We had his 2 year check-up last Monday. Luke weighed 25 lbs 13.5 oz- basically 26 lbs. That puts him just below the 50th percentile which actually surprised me. I thought it would have been lower. He is also 33 1/4 inches tall which was between the 25-50 percentile.

*Luke is still refusing most solid vegetables except the ones that aren't so good for you- french fries. The exception to this is Chinese food which cracks me up. I can't fix it though; we have to go to Panda Express for the veggies to satisfy Luke's very picky vegetable palate.
*Outside, outside, outside. Playing in the pool, playing in the sandbox, playing on the new swing set, riding on his new fire engine or just checking to see what's going on around him- Luke is all about outside.
*Luke's vocabulary amazes me. I hear at least 1 new word every day usually more. One of the newest and a favorite of mine is food. Instead of telling me he's hungry, Luke will say, "Food, Momma." Also if he wants a specific kind of food, "Rice food, Momma. Rice food." It's absolutely adorable!
*Luke is also speaking in mostly sentences now. Of course they're not very complex but they are sentences which is also amazing especially when he uses a new word in a sentence. Smart boy!
*Potty training is on the horizon I think. Every now and then Luke will ask to sit on Elmo (we have a potty seat with Elmo on it). He's also very good at telling me if he's wet. I'm not pushing this because I've been told by numerous sources that Luke'll give me more clear signs of when he's ready. So for now, we wait.
*Luke is still absolutely loving music! He loves to sing on his own or with someone. His current favorite is Wheels on the Bus complete with actions. I'm hoping to catch it on video soon because it's so fun to watch. Luke also really enjoys playing the harmonica. He's quite good so I'll see if I can't get some video of that as well.
*By far Luke's current favorite toy: all of his Thomas the Train engines and track. He plays with it for at least an hour a day. Other favorites include: anything outside, helicopters, cars and just more recently crayons and drawing.
*The terrible 2's hit our house a bit early I would say- probably about 3-4 months ago. Luke has really developed an attitude and wants it his way now. I'm sure that this could be worse but we won't be sad when this phase is over.
*Luke's schedule hasn't changed much over the past 8 months. He still gets up between 8 and 9 (yes my boy likes to sleep in) and he takes anywhere from a 1 1/2 hr to 3 1/2 hr nap in the afternoon and he goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. I have absolutely no complaints about Luke's schedule- he is an awesome sleeper. Thank you Luke!
*Luke has really come to understand who people are lately. He recognizes voices on the phone and will ask about people we haven't seen for a while. Grandparents are an absolute favorite along with other close family members. If there is someone around Luke knows well it's all about them doing things for him. A common line, "No Momma, Grandma do it." It provides a nice break for me if we have company but it makes life a little tough after the company leaves.

I could go on forever about Luke and how awesome he is and what joy he brings to our lives. Thank you to all for your love and support of our little piece of the world.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Picture Update

Pictures from the last month. Hopefully I can get Luke's birthday party pictures on here this weekend. Enjoy!
Having fun with Benjamin- they were trying to figure out how to get on top of the table and if I would let them.
In Branson with Sarah and Wesley. We were getting ready to ride go-carts. Sarah won but Wesley and I both agree that she cheated.
First time swimming in the lake. Luke loved being in the water and it was a great workout for my legs.
Taking a nap with Dad on the boat. Luke was a real trouper that afternoon. He was hot and tired but he never got too fussy.
At the park with Mom and Aunt Sarah. Luke really enjoyed feeding the ducks. I was concerned he was going to throw himself in along with the bread.
In Grammy and PawPaw's backyard in KC. Luke had fun playing in the pool and running through the sprinkler.
Tickling PawPaw.
Trying to fasten the seat belt on the Chinook helicopter. It required much concentration.
Looking in one of the windows on the Chinook.
Playing with the awesome new water table Grandma and Grandpa Johnson gave Luke for his birthday.
Helping Dad mow the grass.

A New Addition

To the backyard that is :) Troy and my dad put together the swing set we got Luke for his birthday on Tuesday. I felt bad for them; the heat index was over 100 and the humidity was ridiculous but they got it done. They started about 9 am and got finished about 4 pm with several breaks which I think is really good considering the box said 12-16 hours. When Luke woke up from his nap they were just finishing everything up so the timing was perfect. Luke loved the swing and he only wanted Grandpa to push him way up high. He also only wanted Grandma to catch him when he went zooming down the slide. The slide is super fast right now because the swing set hasn't been leveled yet. Luke pretty much flies right off the end of it but he loves it- of course! Unfortunately because it is so hot we haven't been able to spend much time outside so Luke hasn't really had a chance to play on the set a whole lot. I know though that it will provide hours of entertainment once the weather cools down a bit.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

What's Going on Here in OKC

Okay, so there is a lot to catch you up on. I'm going to do a summary in this post and then if time permits I'll do posts about each item below later this week.

*The biggest news is that Troy has a new job. He has accepted a geologist position with Chesapeake Energy here in OKC. This was a tough decision for Troy but he felt this was the best decision for his career at this point. I'm just glad it doesn't require moving again. Troy's first day is not until the 19th and his last day with Range was July 1 so we've been enjoying his time off.

*That leads to my next item. Because Troy had so much time between jobs we decided to go on a quick vacation just the two of us- yeah! We quickly planned a short get-away for last week. Troy and I went to Vail, CO and Troy's parents came down here to stay with Luke. We left very early Tuesday morning and got back Friday afternoon. It was wonderful to spend time together away from the stresses of everyday life. We had an awesome time!

*Luke's birthday was yesterday. We had a small party here for him but the 4th of July weekend we also had a party in KC. Luke had a great time being spoiled and eating ice cream cake. We spent the whole weekend with my mom and step-dad. One of the other highlights of the weekend was touring a Chinook helicopter and watching it take off at a 4th of July Festival. Luke loves helicopters so being on one was pretty cool.

*My sister Sarah was here visiting from June 22 until she drove to KC with us on July 1. It was awesome to have her with us for so long. Luke really enjoyed Aunt Sarah time! We enjoyed a trip to the pool, playing out in the backyard, going for walks and just good old hang out time. One highlight for me was going to see "Eclipse" at midnight the day it came out. That's a whole other post but man I had no idea how crazy teenage girls are for these movies!

Okay, so that's our news for the past couple of weeks. I'll do my best to get pictures posted later this week. Have a good week :)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Luke is 2!

Wow! My baby boy turned 2 today- it was official this morning at 5:41 am. I guess that means he's not a baby anymore. I can not believe how fast the last two years have gone by. I thought earlier about this day two years ago and it brought tears to my eyes. By far that was the best day of my life. I'll never forget how truly overwhelming and amazing it was to have been blessed with such a wonderful gift that day. Thank you God! Luke is the joy of our lives!

So, moving on from the mushy stuff. We had a great day! However, as it's 11 pm and I'm exhausted I am just going to put a few pics on here and tell you the rest of the story later.