Last Minute Costume and Dilemma Over

Today after the fifth person asked me what Luke was going trick or treating as, I changed my mind about not dressing him up. I jumped back on Pinterest and searched for an easy and inexpensive late minute costume. This is what I came up with. It cost me $2.99 for the balloons. I loved it. I'm glad I decided to dress him up. I'm sure in future years he would have played that ignored second child card. 

Jack ended up choosing the Duplo costume. We intended to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a costume change, but we got too far away from their house and Luke ran out of steam. He was pretty excited to tell everyone who handed out candy that he was a Duplo. It was really sweet. 

We read all of our Halloween books one last time as I put Jack in bed tonight. I told him that we'll have to put them away in the morning. He fell asleep with them next to his pillow. I can't blame him. This Halloween really was magical. 

Halloween Dilemma

I was convinced that I was going to make Jack's Halloween costume this year. Costumes are expensive, and since they are only worn for one night I could not see the sense in spending a lot of money. I got on Pinterest and started looking at other people's ideas. I stumbled across a Duplo costume made out of a box and a few round craft boxes. I thought it was the perfect costume for Jack. I made it for under $10. 

About the time I finished the costume, Jack and John built the doghouse for the dogs. That's when Jack decided that he wanted to be a dog in a doghouse for Halloween and NOT A DUPLO!!! One afternoon, we were over at Grandma's house and she asked Jack what he was going to be for Halloween. He spilled the whole story about how he didn't want to be a Duplo he wanted to be a dog. He can be pretty convincing because when this cute dog costume went on sale, Grandma sent it our way. It turns out that if you're a smart shopper like Grandma, you can buy an adorable costume for nearly the same price that I made one for. 

Now, he flip flops back and forth about which costume he is going to wear. It will be interesting to see which one he chooses to trick or treat in tonight. I'm torn. I love the Duplo costume because I know just how crazy Jack is for Duplos, but he is totally adorable in the dog costume.

Luke is wearing this sweet little Halloween outfit with a pumpkin hat that Grandma found at the farmer's market. 

I'll try to take some pictures tonight once Jack makes his big decision. 

Feeding Ducks

Nearly everywhere Jack and I go, we drive past this little pond. On most days, there are several "ducks", aka Canadian geese, floating on the water. Jack and I always talk about how we should go feed the ducks some bread. Seeing some old bread in our pantry this weekend and knowing how excited Jack would be, I decided this weekend would be the weekend we made his little dream come true. The little man was giddy with excitement. I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. I couldn't help but remember the time the ducks at the zoo chased my nephew, Joe. He's never forgotten about it, and is still afraid of ducks to this day. I really hoped that this would be a good experience for Jack and not a scarring one. Fortunately, it was. The ducks were well mannered. In fact, Jack was even convinced that they said thank you. Hmmm.... As we drove off, he asked his daddy to roll down his window so he could tell the ducks you're welcome. I guess I know where all of our old bread will be going from now on. 

Potty Trained!

I thought I was going to wait until a weekend that John and I didn't have anything going on to potty train Jack. Jack had another idea. The stickers I had been collecting and had hanging on the refrigerator were too much for the little man. On Tuesday night, he basically insisted that he would do whatever it took to get one of those stickers. So, Wednesday morning was the beginning of potty training. Luckily, Grandma was able to come out that morning and help get us started. After two misfires, Jack never looked back. It was way easier than I ever expected it to be. Way to go, Jack!

80/20

A week ago I would have told you that the walking/crawling split was 30/70. Over the last few days, that split has shifted to 80/20. Luke pretty much walks all of the time now. I counted him walk 26 steps across the living room today. He can stand up in the middle of the room without needing something to pull up on. He has it all figured out. 

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Lucky Ladd Farm has become an October tradition of sorts for our family. As we walked through the farm today, I couldn't help but think about our trip there last year. 

2010

Jack was such a little guy back then, and I was waddling around the farm days away from delivering Luke. Today, I couldn't imagine Luke not being there with us. It's unbelievable how drastically my life has changed in the last three years. 

Both boys picked out a pumpkin that they liked. If we would have been buying pumpkins today, those are the ones the boys wanted. Jack went straight for the little, oddly colored ones. Luke went for the big guys. 

The majority of our afternoon was spent in the petting zoo. Despite Mom's pig bite, we had a pretty good time. Luke gazed at all the animals from his perch on Daddy's back. Jack kept asking me, "Is that guy hungry?" My answer was always an enthusiastic yes although I'm quite certain that those animals had had their fill by the time we came around. 

We also played in the park part of the farm. Jack loved the tractor tires that the kids were all climbing on. I wish I had about a dozen of those to put in our pasture. I think the boys would be out there all of the time. A sweet little girl invited Jack to try the teeter totter with her. He loved it for about ten seconds and then wanted OFF! 

As if being bitten by a pig wasn't traumatic enough, Jack decided he was big enough to ride the tractor ride all by himself. As I watched the tractor haul him away, I seriously had to wipe the tears from my eyes. He's growing up way too fast. 

Until next year, Lucky Ladd.

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.