Minnesota Trip October 2011

We just returned from a short trip to see my family in Minnesota. Every time I leave I wish we lived closer to my sister's family. Their farm is lots of fun too. 

Jack, Luke, and John rode the 4-wheeler.

Jack talked Jake into jumping on the trampoline.

Kevin and Megan made sure that Jack got his first horse ride. 

Kevin's aquarium is always a hit. Luke loved it this time too.

... and so did Jack. Notice Kevin moving in to break up the action!

I saw plenty of sunrises over the cornfields, courtesy of Luke (and God).

I like to write about the funny little things the kids do. When Megan was getting ready to leave for college on Sunday evening, Jack got sad. He really did not want her to go. Expressing sadness isn't easy for a 2 year old. His best attempt was, "I am going to throw all your stuff on the floor." It was easy to tell that he meant that if her stuff wasn't in her backpack then she couldn't go. Poor Megan burst into tears. I know she was sad to leave, but I don't think Jack could have done a better job of telling her he loves her even if he could express himself better. 

So, to all you Johnsons I love, I am going to throw your stuff all over the floor. I mean, I miss you. 

Jack's Imaginary Lobster

In the last few weeks, Jack's imagination has really kicked in. He spots deer and turkey (totally imagined) along the side of the road, and screams "deer" or "turkey". I'm pretty certain my heart actually stopped the other day when his scream really scared me. This morning, Jack woke up talking about a lobster that slept in his room last night. Apparently they are pretty good friends because he is hanging out with us today, eating bagels and reading books.

Luke- 11 Months

Luke is 11 months old today. He's been a busy kid the last month. Here's what he's been up to:

• He's walking a little bit. It was funny because for a couple of days he was walking a lot. Then he decided to go back to crawling. Now he takes a few steps several times a day, but he's still predominately a crawler.

• He learned how to wave this month. It's really cute because when he waves he says a word that sounds an awful lot like hi. First word? Maybe. He also says something that sounds a little like Jack. 

• Luke cries almost every time I leave the room, but I still think Jack and John are his two favorite people. They just don't get the tears. 
• Those two teeth are closer to the surface, but still have not popped through. So, Luke's tooth count is still at 8.
• We went through a period this month where Luke was not sleeping through the night any more. I've adjusted his nursing schedule, and that seems to have helped a lot. Hopefully we're back on track!
• Luke is crazy for the cats. He chatters at them out the window, and races toward them when we're playing outside. 
• On the other hand, he isn't crazy about the dogs. 
• Luke still is not too fond of finger foods, and he's quite picky about the consistency of the casseroles I feed him. Jack was this way too, so I don't worry very much. 
• Climbing is still a favorite hobby, but anything Jack is doing is more fun than anything else. This usually works out ok, but occasionally we have sharing issues from both boys. Luke has learned to tug back at anything pulled from his grasp. Pulling is usually accompanied by shrieking. Astonishingly, Jack often times gives up before persistent Luke. 

Our youngest is an absolute delight. He's funny. He is good natured. He's happy. We're lucky.

Outtakes

I got two good pictures today of the boys. They look like the exact same picture, but I'm not complaining. It took me 76 photos before I got any good ones, but sometimes the outtakes make me laugh. 

In case you couldn't tell, this was a good one!

90% of the pictures looked like this. Jack dinking around. Luke crying.

Crying for some unknown reason. 

Crying for a pretty good reason. (This may be my favorite of the day!)

The other good one.

Doghouse Update

The doghouse is done! Here's a picture of Jack and John once it was all built. Then we moved it into the dog kennel, and John spent the rest of the afternoon painting it. Nice work, boys! It made me so happy to watch the two of you work on this project together.