Cookie is 4 months.
September 3, 2010 | Filed Under Luke, Photos | Leave a Comment
I want to write about Lukie, but I’ve having trouble finding the words. I can’t believe his babyhood is going so fast.
Lukie loves to be outdoors. You can see him soaking up the sun, the breeze, the sights, and smells. He loves to sit up and watch the craziness in our house. He’s always trying to pull himself up and enjoys the upright position of his new jumper. He’s just starting to bounce in it and chew on the toys. When he’s in it, he looks so big, but so little too. Does that make sense?
Lukie is a big smiler, but more reluctant to laugh. We really have to work to get his chuckles. He’s not fussy or crabby, just more serious and watchful. Ben and Sam are always able to get smiles from him. He loves his brothers. Luckily, they love him too. Sammeers, who can be such a turkey, is so gentle with Luke. He loves to pet him, kiss him, and hug him. Both declare their love for their baby and say he’s cute. Ben has more patience to actually sit and play with Luke, and is thrilled when he makes him smile.
Sleeping isn’t quite consistent for Luke yet. Usually he’ll sleep 1 long stretch (about 10-4), then wake every 2 hours or so until 7-8am. Last week he had a bad stretch, waking every 40 minutes or so. Hopefully we’re back on track now.
Eating is going very well. He loves his mommy milk and has the thighs to prove it. As he starts daycare next week, I hope I can keep up. I don’t have much freezer supply.
He’s not really a fan of the pacifier, though he’ll take it occasionally. He does love sucking on his fist though, and I wonder if we have our first thumb sucker on our hands. He chomps pretty hard and is a big drooler too, so I know teething has started. No sign of the teeth though.
No doc appointment yet, so no official weights and measures. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes though! We plan to move him out of his infant car seat this week too.
I am doing my best to soak up his baby smell, his snuggles, his baby soft chub. I love snuggling him in bed, watching him sleep, watching him nurse, and the look he gets when he recognizes me and smiles. I’m trying to savor my sweet baby, because I know it won’t last nearly long enough.
Since I am all choked up, I’m going to shut up and share some pictures.

A little lost
September 2, 2010 | Filed Under Benny, Luke, Photos, Sammy | 2 Comments
Jason is at First Thursday. The boys are in bed-even Luke! I have an unexpected day off tomorrow. I’m a little lost on what to do. Sure, I have a pile of pictures to edit, not to mention the pile of laundry. I have a craft project I’ve been looking for time to finish, and a bathroom in desperate need of cleaning. Really, I just kinda want to sit.
The VERY least I can do while I sit is give welikedogs a little love…
Ben is very into “rock” right now. When we get in the car, he asks for “rock music.” (Apparently, he isn’t a fan of public radio like Mom). He plays air guitar, using a coin as a guitar pick, or air drums, or even air bass. He declared it the “most rock” today. He says a keyboard is more rock than piano, and electric guitar is more rock than guitar. He says he’s getting a guitar for his birthday. He drew his rock band. Pretty awesome if you ask me:

This afternoon, Kaleigh watched the kids while I worked. Then, she watched Sammers, as I took Ben to his elementary open house. When I returned, he told me how he had another apple. He kept babbling about apples. Kaleigh and I shrugged, as he hadn’t had an apple…or so we thought. Later, I found him opening his Little People school house box, sneaking a bite of apple, and hiding it back in his box. Kal wondered why he kept carrying that box around. This isn’t his first time sneaking food of course. Earlier this week, I discovered this on the counter:

Yes. That is a zucchini. Weirdo.
Random picture of Luke, with his BEAUTIFUL smile. Have I mentioned how much I love my Cookie?

I can’t believe summer is almost over. We’re headed into the end of cookouts and summer walks. On the bright side, we’re headed into the season for cookouts and autumn walks.













Perfect timing, as I hear a motorcycle in the garage. Hopefully I’ll post Luke’s 4 month pics this weekend.
summer 2010
August 25, 2010 | Filed Under Benny, Luke, Photos, Sammy | 1 Comment
We had lots of big hopes and plans for summer 2010. Luke’s first summer. The last summer before Ben starts school. We decided we wanted more time with the kids this summer, so we planned to pull the kids out of daycare/delay starting Luke. I’ve been working only 3 days, to spend an extra 2 with the kids. Things haven’t gone exactly how we expected. There has been more fighting, more time outs, more exhaustion and more frustration than we ever expected. There has also been all the fun stuff. Errands, crafts, story time at the library, play dates, picnics, and trips to the park. Plenty of extra hugs, snuggles, and kisses too. I’m ready for fall and for the new chapter. I’m eager for Ben to start kindergarten, meet new people, and learn new things. I’m ready for Sam to return to daycare and enjoy playtime with kids his own age. I’m actually ready to work full-time, if only to lessen the headaches that part-time brings. Not really eager for Luke to go to daycare, but it is part of the package. No, this summer hasn’t been what I have expected, but I’ll never regret the special times I had with the kids.
Story time at the library:

Guess what’s in the box?

Did you guess Brother?

for stacey
August 22, 2010 | Filed Under Benny, General, Luke, Photos, Sammy | 5 Comments
Stacey is keeping me honest with subtle reminders to update this site. There is so much going on and so much I want to write about that I get overwhelmed. I’m going to try a baby step here with a few recent pictures and words.
Lukie is (over) 3 months now. Like his brothers, he is strong. He always wants to sit or stand up. He’d walk if he could figure out the balance. He’s smiling and laughing now, but he’ll make you work for it. He’s good-natured and rarely fussy, but very serious and watchful. We retired his baby bouncy seat this week, as his efforts to sit up straight were causing him to fall out. I found him this week, still strapped in, but with his face laying on the floor fast asleep. It would have made a funny picture, but my first thought was “Oh my God! Is he dead?” We replaced his bouncy seat with a new saucer/jumper hybrid. He seems to like the upright position more.




Sam is … Sam. He’s the happiest kid on earth. He’s so sweet and loving and cuddly. He is so gentle with his baby and his dogs…yet so aggressive with Ben. So stubborn and so mouthy. He is such a joy and the cause of so many new grey hairs. We’re just starting to really think about potty training, and we’ve had some successes. I think he’s ready; we just need to be consistent…which is hard in our crazy life. He’s been plagued this summer with chapped cheeks, but Ben was too.



Ben. My big Ben. Starting school in just a few weeks. This kid just blows me away. He’s completely growing up. This summer he loves playing computer games on the Internet. He is obsessed with dinosaurs. He can identify about 20 and knows facts like their size and what they eat. So smart. He loves to play dinosaurs, which involves growling and wrestling. We had to tell him that when he approaches strange kids at the park, he should ask them IF they want to play dinosaurs…not just approach and growl. Goof. He’s at the age of testing his limits (when has he not been?) Asking to do something over and over and asking why or why not. Yes, I tell him “because I said so.” He idolizes our 8 year old neighbor, Preston. They go “bird hunting” together. He draws pictures of birds, tapes them around the yard, and shoot them with nerf or squirt guns. He then tells me he can’t eat dinner, because he is full of bird meat from hunting. Best, worst, weirdest usually involves some story of bird hunting or his neighbor. He loves to draw and is really quite good (mommy’s opinion). I plan to share some more of his drawing soon. Here’s a recent boat scene. I suggest clicking through to flickr where I included notes on parts of it.




Some pictures of the brothers:













