Making Jack Happy

Today, all it took to make Jack happy was helping him build this robot. I was so proud of him when he suggested making the robot able to turn his head around all the way and found the part that made our robot capable of the feat. It took us thirty minutes to make and all day to play. 

Santa Visit 2012

Thanksgiving Weekend

The beautiful sunset made it easier to forget the traffic we battled on our way to Thanksgiving in Nashville. We shared a beautiful dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's house with Annie, Shane, Eric, Betsy, and Betsy's parents. Grandpa dug out one of Grandma's childhood toys, a ViewMaster. It was a hit with Jack, and Luke gave it a try too. 

Grandma gave the boys their first Christmas present a little early. It's this little tv that plays a winter scene. Jack was and is enthralled. 

We headed back to Atlanta early Saturday morning so we would have time to decorate our tree. Luke scurried upstairs to the train table as soon as we arrived home. John, Jack, and I worked on the tree. 

When Jack finally convinced Luke to come down and look at the tree, Luke walked over to the lights, pointed at a blue one and said, "Green," a red one and said, "Blue," and so on. Pretty cute. 

Jack spent all evening and much of today looking at the tree. The boy loves Christmas. Buddy, our elf, arrived this morning after his long trip from the North Pole. We're happy to see him. And, we started our Christmas book each night tradition at bedtime. Jack is in Christmas bliss. 

Biker Boys

Ellie and I took the boys to the local BMX track in Powder Springs, Georgia today. We had some thrills and spills, but the boys enjoyed it enough to protest our departure after an hour or so. Jack and I scoped the track out a few weekends ago, but this time we brought his bike. He chattered the whole way there about his ambitions for jumping and going fast. He went straight for the starting gate when we arrived and took off down the track before I could gain a level of comfort with him on the track. Luke squealed his way around the track on his strider, while Jack made several laps. The biggest trick was getting him to maintain his speed. The next thing we need to work on is pedaling while standing up. Based on his delight in today's outing, I believe we will get plenty of opportunity to develop his skill. Here are a few videos of their first day on the track.

Favorite Shirts

Luke loves his new airplane shirts that his Grandma and I got him for his birthday. I think he has worn an airplane shirt every day this week. Ha! 

Jack has two long sleeved t-shirts in his entire closet. Eek! I guess that's a hazard of living in a place people call Hotlanta; the hazard being that your mom has no idea if she should even bother with long sleeved shirts. Luckily, he loves this pirate shirt and his robot shirt A LOT since he wears them each a couple of days a week. :-)

Skipping Thanksgiving

I saw this cartoon on Facebook today and had to laugh because about half of the conversations that take place in this house right now include a mention of Christmas, Santa, or what the elves are up to. 

Jack attacked the Toys R Us catalog with a black marker the other day. 

And, Luke got in on the action too. 

We went to see the boys' grandparents last week and had a family dinner that Jack confused with Thanksgiving. He's spent the last several days trying to explain to me that we have already had Thanksgiving and that Christmas is next. Ha! The anticipation may kill him. 

Luke's 2nd and 3rd Party

I couldn't imagine letting Luke's birthday pass without celebrating with my friends, Erin and Sarah. So, since Luke had to be in Nashville for his 2 year doctor check-up, I asked them to bring their kids to McDonald's playplace on Wednesday afternoon. The kids had fun, and Erin, Sarah, and I had a nice time catching up. 

Happy Meals

Candles

Blown Out 

By Big Brother

And Exciting Gifts

On Wednesday night, Luke had his third party. Grandpa, Grandma, Annie, and Linda helped us celebrate. We are home now, and the boys had a very exciting day of breaking into those gifts and playing. I'm lucky to have many people in our lives who love my boys. Thanks to all who made Luke's 2nd birthday special despite the distance between us. 

Luke Is TWO!

Luke is two! Here's what he's up to now that he is two:

• Luke weighs 31 pounds and is 34 1/2 inches tall. 
• You are incredibly physical. You love to climb, jump, balance, and take risks. For this reason, you like to play outside as much as possible. 
• Daddy has been taking Jack out and leaving you home with me. You love these days. We play hide and seek. You squeal in delight when I yell, "Where is Mama?" from my hiding spots. I absolutely adore the face you make when you find me. 
• You are finally starting to talk a little more. I started a list last week of the words you can say. It has about 80 words on it. My favorite word you say is Luke. It is just the cutest. You're just beginning to say phrases like "Night night, Mama." I spoke to Dr. Loh*se about your speech development. She said she did not see any indicators of a problem.
• You know everyone in the immediate family's name and all of your body parts. You know what most of the farm animals say. 
• You like to look at books and you listen very well to board books. You don't like to sit through the long books Jack likes to read.
• Your favorite toys are your Matchbox planes, Matchbox cars, the Duplo house, and Harold the helicopter. This photo is of the ottoman, your favorite place to play, and this is how you had your toys arranged today. You prefer to play alone. 

• You like to color with crayons. You draw lines until your entire page is full. 
• You have 16 teeth that you don't mind brushing. You're going to the dentist for the first time later this week. 
• You wear size 2t clothing, size 7.5 shoes, and size 5 diapers.
• You quit napping on Mommy the last month or so. You rest quietly in your room for at least an hour every day, but you very rarely sleep. 
• You love chicken nuggets, hotdogs, and noodles. You don't like to try many new tastes. If you haven't had a snack in the afternoon, I can get you to eat a more diverse menu for dinner. You aren't a big sweets fan yet, but I see it beginning to develop. 
• You don't throw many tantrums, but when you do they are something to be afraid of. And you don't forgive quickly at all. Thankfully, most of the time you are grinning from ear to ear.

We celebrated you all day, from the moment you woke up and found balloons that your daddy and I scattered throughout your bedroom until Jack's last words of the night were "Happy birthday, Luke," which he yelled from his room. Jack and I baked you a cake from scratch today, which you devoured. Mommy, Daddy, and Jack got you a few airplane shirts, an airplane hat, and some new Matchbox airplanes. You were soooo excited. You didn't want to put them away before bedtime. I had to sneak them from you one at a time. Jack was really jealous of your airplanes and hat. Soon after you opened your gifts, Jack put your airplane hat in his dresser and hid all but one of your airplanes. Stinker. 

We love you beyond belief, Lukey. I have such a soft spot in my heart for you. You make me laugh more than any little boy should be able to. Happy birthday, sweet boy. 

 

Snapshots

Luke as photographer

Jack is really into these car puzzles I made for him.

Look who went to bed tonight in a big kid bed! All grown up, and two tomorrow!