Not Gonna!

Let me just warn you. I am not gonna show you the picture I took of Jack throwing himself on the floor in the midst of a temper tantrum yesterday. Instead I'm going to lead you to believe that things are all rosy around here. Rosy as in this sweet smile when I go get Luke from his nap. 

Things are always peachy around here. My children always play together nicely and read books. I'm not gonna tell you about that temper tantrum I witnessed yesterday. 

Who am I kidding? Of course I'm gonna show it to you! 

No Fear

We took the boys to the park after John was done with work tonight. All Luke wanted to do was climb up the slide time after time. The slide was probably six feet tall. He is such a little daredevil. We're in trouble!

A Boy and His Dog

The Face

Luke makes this face all of the time. 

It sort of reminds me of when Jack made this one all of the time.

The Zoo

When I was a girl, my favorite place to go besides Lake Amelia was the Minnesota Zoo. My nephews and nieces were a great excuse for us to go often, but I probably enjoyed it even more than they did. I still love the zoo. So when a friend (who had a guest pass!) invited us to spend the morning there, I jumped all over the chance. 

Jack is at an age where the zoo is quite magical. From the monkeys howling as we arrived to the up close view of the elephants to grooming the goats at the petting zoo, Jack was clearly in his happy place. There was an undeniable sparkle in his eyes and excitement in his voice as he frequently asked, "What's next, Mama?" Perhaps he has an affinity for the zoo just like his mother. 

Luke was all eyes and smiles the entire morning as he experienced his very first day at the zoo. I must have heard a dozen times about his smiles at strangers from his seat in the stroller. He's quite a charmer. He finally gave in and had a brief nap as we approached lunchtime. It was just enough to keep that smile on his face. Certainly, memories of the boys' happiness today is enough to keep a smile on mine. 

A Boy's Work is Never Finished...

These Moments

There have been things that have happened in the last few weeks that have made me realize that I need to treasure these moments more. Often I find myself too busy trying to cross chores off my to do list, and moments like these are missed. Repeatedly, I scold myself because every mother has read at least a portion of this wise poem: 

Song for a Fifth Child

Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

My bathrooms need to be scrubbed from floors to ceilings, but if I'd chosen that chore today I would have missed this; Jack pushing a delighted Luke in the swing. 

I would have missed this child's giggles, which I ran inside to get the video camera to capture. Coming soon...

I wouldn't be able to laugh at Jack's expression in this photograph. 

Oh, how sad Jack would have been if he had not had these moments with his kitty cats today. 

Children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow. I don't want to miss a moment. 

Because these are the moments that make everything worthwhile. 

Luke the Jokester- Take 2

I'm technically challenged. Let's hope it works this time.

Luke the Jokester

I'm not sure why my embedded video is not working. Try this link. 

Jack's Camera

I downloaded Jack's pictures this morning. I love to see what he decides to photograph. Here's the best of his pictures: 

Smurfs from Happy Meals

Mr. Potato Head

Me Driving

The Kid Brother

The Black Kitty on the Porch

Ready to Take Off

Birds Need Hugs Too

Our family was stopped at a stoplight this evening. John and I were chatting in the front seats when I heard Jack in the back talking about the birds beside the car. I had to completely crack up when I realized he was telling us what the birds were talking about. He said they were talking about how they just wanted hugs from their mommies. John asked him what they would do if their mommies were at work. Jack said that the daddies needed to go instead so the mommies could stay home and give the babies their hugs. I thought it was the sweetest interpretation of our family. 

Luke- 9 Months

Little Luke is 9 months old today. Sometimes it amazes me that the little guy is so young. He seems older. He can keep up with Jack on most days. As you've seen from the videos, his favorite thing to do right now is to climb. 

Here's his look of delight at reaching the top of the climber. He idolizes his brother. Anything Jack is doing, Luke wants to do too. It's awfully sweet, and usually Jack puts up with it. 

Luke also likes to climb into small spaces. It reminds me of Jack's love of crawling into the cupboards before all the babyproofing stuff ruined his fun. 

Luke has 8 teeth and uses them to chomp on lots of finger foods now. He loves cheddar cheese, but isn't too fond of mozzarella. He's also a fan of goldfish crackers. Mainly he eats a couple of homemade casseroles, and he's still nursing. 

He's a very happy boy most of the time, but we've seen a few little fits of temper from him recently. Just this week, we were at the library. Luke wanted down to crawl on the floor, and when I wouldn't let him he screamed like a banshee. So much for the library being quiet! 

Luke likes to imitate noises. It's pretty cute, especially when he plays with his daddy. Listening to him wake in the morning is pretty cute too. I can only describe it as singing. He loves to watch the dogs and cats out the window. 

Luke naps twice, around 9:30 and 2:00. Then he goes to bed around 7:30 or 8:00. I can no longer keep track of how many times he's slept through the night. It happens nearly as often as he gets up. I won't try to tell you that I miss getting up every night. 

Luke heads to the doctor on Monday for his nine month appointment. Jack is quite concerned that Luke will have to get shots. The poor guy, Jack, has fretted about it ever since he heard me making the appointment on the phone. 

Nissan is Somewhere Under the Rainbow

Did Somebody Say McDonald's?

Feller Buncher?

I took Jack and Luke to Grandpa and Grandma's house this morning to watch some trees be cut down. On the way there, Jack asked me if there would be a feller buncher there doing the work. It totally cracked me up.

Once we got there, both boys were glued to the front door watching the men cut down the trees. I never knew that mothering boys meant activities like this, but I can't imagine enjoying anything more.

Once He Started...

Once Luke started climbing the slide, he discovered that his technique wasn't good. So, here he is a couple of days later with much better technique. :-)

Luke Can Do It

I am constantly amazed by the things are youngest can do. For the last month or so, Luke has been trying to climb the slide. He is a very persistent baby. Today, he achieved his goal.