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!

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.

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.

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 :)

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.